Pyramid of challenges
IT is not so much religion-based narratives as religiously inspired actors who pose — either advertently or inadvertently — the greatest challenge to peace and stability in Pakistan. However, while…
How serious a threat is IS?
THERE was nothing new and surprising in the recent official statements, including those made by the foreign affairs and national security adviser Sartaj Aziz, that the Islamic State (IS) poses…
IS: a global challenge
The sensational rise of IS, also known as Islamic State has caused global panic. It has also dramatically altered geopolitics, producing strange bedfellows. Putting aside their hostilities, the US and…
Our ‘battery-powered toy chickens’
The battle lines are clearly drawn. Insofar as the armed forces of Pakistan are concerned, there is no looking back. The ongoing military onslaught in North Waziristan, code-named operation Zarb-e-Azb,…
The dead we grieve for
WHY is it that those who support enforcement of a regressive brand of Sharia, those who endorse a worldview that supports turning back the hands of the clock on human…
The internal crisis
The annual survey of ‘failed states’ covering 2012 has just appeared in Foreign Policy. Using data on elements such as ‘demographic pressures’, ‘refugees’, ‘public services’, ‘economic decline’, ‘factionalised elites’, ‘security…
Combating financing of terrorism – II
Appraisal of global and domestic initiatives: Since the tragic event of September 11, 2001, the United States and its allies have been engaged in what they call 'war on terror'…
High cost of misgovernance
As a jirga magistrate and political agent of the frontier regions 50 years ago, I have felt, with the passage of time, increasingly persuaded that our tribes wouldn’t have turned…
Finding gains in chaos
As 2026 rings in geopolitical tumult all across the globe, the 21st century is adrift on what seems the edge of a new world disorder. Serial geopolitical crises are shaking…
Trumpian imperialism
THE image of a blindfolded and handcuffed Nicolás Maduro being taken to a prison in New York presented the ugly face of Trumpian imperialism. It is not the first time that the…
