The sectarian ghoul in Gilgit
The region of Gilgit-Baltistan made news this year not for its scenic beauty, but for sectarianism in the form of brutal murders and target killings. Historically, the region has been…
An evolving enemy
Three Chechens, one Uzbek, one Kyrgyzstani and one Dagestani. These are the nationalities of six of the 10 terrorists that attacked the Bacha Khan Airport in Peshawar on Saturday (the…
Critical choices
“Israel, India and agencies are playing games in Pakistan. They want to capture this country and its nuclear assets”. I was given this piece of news by a few knowledgeable…
Crime and terrorism: Financial challenges – I
INTRODUCTION: This paper seeks to integrate the efforts made by individual group activity members while studying and analysing the manifold directions of money laundering and terrorist financing. The topics assigned…
Pushing Afghans to failure
There have been many strange statements by US senior military officers over the years, and one of the more intriguing came last week from Marine Corps Maj Gen Larry D…
Karzai in Washington
By the time this article appears President Karzai will have arrived in Washington and possibly have had his first round of talks with President Obama and with a now recovered…
Talking with the enemy
In more than a decade-long conflict between the Pakistani state and the Al-Qaeda and its inspired local militants, the initiative undoubtedly has fallen into the hands of the extremists. They…
Pak-US ties in 2012
A series of crises in 2011 set the tone for US-Pakistan interaction in 2012; these included Raymond Davis’ shooting of two Pakistanis and Bin Laden’s killing. However, it was the…
An ally’s blow
So Mullah Nazir is dead, killed in a US drone strike on January 2, in the region of Angoor Adda, South Waziristan. And although the Foreign Office can’t confirm his…
Fruitless engagements
The time has come for Pakistan’s political and military leadership to objectively evaluate the shortcomings of the country’s operations for prolonged stability in the tribal areas. The military engagements, as…
