Abducting social activists
Had last week’s kidnappings of bloggers and social media activists happened in Balochistan, it would have been a non-event. But all five abductions happened in Punjab — and now the…
Determining the enemy
There is confusion over who our enemies are. The narrative pushed forward by the military since Operation Zarb-e-Azb began in 2014 suggests that the extremists and those promoting hatred constitute…
Benazir: leader par excellence – II
The theory propounded by Dr Sachithanandam got credence as proved by later events. Dr Sachithanandam aptly highlighted that "the earliest foreboding surfaced in the backroom manoeuvres by United States and…
Rise of IS
Monday's appalling suicide attack on a Shia mosque in the heart of Kabul highlights the bloody, expanding footprint of the militant Islamic State group in Afghanistan. Despite President Ashraf Ghani’s…
Do Colombia’s FARC rebels have a hidden fortune?
Do Colombia's FARC guerrillas have a multi-billion-dollar fortune from kidnapping and drug trafficking stashed in foreign bank accounts? That question has triggered an explosive debate in Colombia just as it…
Fighting terrorism
"Terrorist trade and experience are passed on from Western masters to their new Muslim recruits. The Mujahideen, Al-Qaida, ISIS - on closer examination, their tactics of intimidation and terrorisation are…
The Mustafa Kamal factor
Landing back in Karachi on Mar 3, 2016 all of a sudden after going off into self-imposed exile on August 14, 2013 (what he calls symbolically his own personal Independence…
Remembering Benazir Bhutto
December 27, 2015 marks the 8th death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto. She sacrificed her life courageously. She resisted the agenda of fanatics. Certain forces want to make Pakistan a theocratic…
AQIM in Africa
One of Al-Qaeda’s remaining affiliates, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was officially created in 2007 from the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC). AQIM has followed a…
The boy who finally made it
Had he not been plucky and courageous Shahbaz Taseer would never have made it. He endured brutal torture at the hands of his Uzbek captors – fighters of the Islamic…
