The Gulf El Dorado
What an eventful year 2017 has turned out to be for the Middle East! This is the year that may be known for the great Gulf divide, with traditional friends…
Not taking sides in the Middle East
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is preoccupied with the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of whom Pakistan has very cordial relations with. It is a conflict in which…
Is there a different Islam in Dubai?
Is Dubai not a Muslim country? Is it not a prosperous country, or call it emirate, doing rather well for itself, with not much oil but lots of imagination? Its…
Balance in the Gulf
The exhibition of pettiness and skulduggery within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the last few days, combined with, essentially, the all-out war between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the…
More rivers to cross
On July 29, 2007, a group of terrorists under the command of Omar Khalid Khorasani captured the mosque and shrine complex of Haji Sahab of Turangzai in the Mohmand Agency…
Beyond the hostilities
The exclusion of Iran from the US-Arab-Islamic summit this month is likely to sour ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia even further and sharpen the sectarian divide across the Muslim…
Widening the security lens
Afghanistan recently witnessed two important developments. The first was the return of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to Kabul after signing a peace deal with the Ashraf Ghani government and the consequent immunity…
US considers supporting new UAE push against al Qaeda in Yemen
The United States is considering a request from the United Arab Emirates for military support to assist a new offensive in Yemen against al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate, US officials…
Unwarranted criticism
Now that former strongman Pervez Musharraf breathes free and enjoys his cigars in Dubai, the government faces a barrage of accusations for letting him off the hook. The opposition parties,…
A dangerous standoff
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban after 9/11, the Islamic State after Paris, Beirut and Sinai. The western reaction repeats itself, with lesser fury but joined this time by an angry Russia.…
