The hawks and the offer
Should the government talk to the Taliban, or should it not? That is the question. The answer from the hawks would be a resounding no. They would argue that the…
Crime and terrorism: Financial challenges – II
Risk-based approach: Nations are operating within a comprehensive international framework that deters financial crime and terrorism in the first place; detects it when it happens and disrupts the activities of…
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…
And pine for what is not
This is that time of the year when endings come together with beginnings. But some prophesied endings have failed to turn up. The Mayan apocalypse was not to be and…
Lone rangers in the drone zone
For several months last year, I was at the receiving end of occasional emails that conformed to a particular pattern. They all began with a reasonably uncontroversial critique of the…
Challenges of the war
There are four major actors on the political stage of Pakistan as far as the war against terror is concerned: Washington, the Pakistan Army, the Taliban and proto-Taliban groups, and…
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…
The enemy within
The change in the military’s stance on who represents the biggest threat to our nation is hugely significant. Under the altered doctrine decided on by army leaders at a key…
Mullah Nazir’s death will change nothing
The death of Mullah Nazir during a drone attack on his vehicle near the Afghan border has come as no surprise to many people, including those from South Waziristan. There…
