Militancy in Punjab
The suicide attack on the Punjab Home Minister Col (r) Shuja Khanzada, in the backdrop of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) Chief Malik Ishaq’s killing, indicates the magnitude of the problem the security…
Students to soldiers
Since Dec 16 last year, it has become heartbreakingly evident that no space has remained sacred. Schools, mosques and churches, all have been violated and smeared with blood. While authorities…
Rights of victims of bombing
WHILE the jury is still out on the desirability and impact of US drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas the argument that innocent civilians’ deaths in these strikes constitute inevitable…
Convenient pretext
Even by the standards of a country that thrives on heady rhetoric, recent public statements about the menace of ‘foreign hands’ have been notable in their frequency and pointedness. Foreign…
Who killed the Ismailis?
It is still unclear which militant group was involved in the terrorist attack on a bus transporting members of the Ismaili community in Karachi on May 13. Responsibility was initially…
After turbulent 2014, next year may be no calmer
From financial crisis in Russia to cyber warfare with North Korea, 2014 has generated new flashpoints right into its final days, setting 2015 up to be just as turbulent. Almost…
The Chinese ‘cure’
Our prime minister is back in form, emerging from the dark days of dharnas, starting to feel victorious. He has swatted away the gas and electricity tariff hikes, and given…
Hard choice
It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice. — Deng Xiaoping Deng’s remarks about the irrelevance of the colour to a cat’s…
The scourge within
Perhaps it is the shocking violence in Iraq. Or it might be the growing brutality of the attackers, who now pursue the relatives of previous victims and do not hesitate…
The persecuted
If nothing else has made Pakistanis awake to their country’s serious predicament, perhaps this will: a country that has historically welcomed refugees — first migrants from northern India and subsequently…
