Pakistani Army must stop using terror groups as instruments of foreign policy: Pakistani dissidents Under the banner of South Asians Against Terrorism & For Human Rights (SAATH) Forum, the group that includes Pakistan’s former envoy to the US Hussain Haqqani, said the security agencies must close “torture cells and black sites”, known as internment centres. A group of dissident Pakistanis […]

Khaled Ahmed On November 14, Prime Minister Imran Khan repeated himself on the unwisdom of Pakistan “fighting others’ wars” instead of presumably its own which it dodged. He added that “Pakistan would no more join any alliance for any other country’s war” but “rather play the role of a reconciler or bridge-builder”. The occasion was the concluding session of The […]

By Kamran Siddiqui The levels of intolerance, irrationality and ignorance are continuously on the rise in Pakistan since its creation. However, at present, they have reached a point where the damaged caused by such behavior is not only threatening the survival as a nation both internally and externally, but also highlighting the incapability and incompetence as a nation to move […]

Khaled Ahmed On 9 November 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan got together with thousands of Sikh pilgrims to inaugurate the Kartarpur Corridor on the bank of river Ravi in Punjab in Pakistan. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi thanked Pakistan for opening up the route to the last resting place of the great Sikh founder-guru Nanak Dev in accordance with […]

Reviewer: Habeeb Sheikh I have read a few self-improvement books but “A New Earth – Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” stands out significantly reading on this topic.  The author, Eckhart Tolle, based on human history, is convinced that we have inherited a Dysfunctional mind that needs to be evolved to Consciousness. A Dysfunctional mind creates suffering for itself and for […]

Khaled Ahmed It is another cut-and-run moment for America in Afghanistan, this time after the longest war in its history. Will Trump repeat in 2019 what Nixon did to South Vietnam in 1973, leaving when 150,000 men of North Vietnamese army were in occupation of parts of South Vietnam where people knew they would be massacred at the hands of […]

By M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, Islamabad A Pakistani doctor who helped the US find al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is appealing against his jail sentence. It’s the first time Shakil Afridi’s case has been heard in open court. The judge adjourned the case until 22 October at the request of prosecutors. Dr Afridi’s role was a huge embarrassment for […]

Mohammad Taqi US President Donald Trump has cancelled what had appeared to be an imminent deal with the Afghan Taliban. In a series of tweets over the weekend, Trump blasted the Taliban for not agreeing to a ceasefire and continuing to kill in order to buttress their negotiating position. He cited the death of a US soldier last week as the reason for his decision. But […]

Kamran Siddiqui The recent revocation of Articles 370 and 35(a) of the Indian constitution by the Modi government has created an uproar across South Asia. There is a divided option on this action, where those in favor, primarily BJP supporter are hailing it as a historic and overdue move. On the other hand, the opponents are arguing this action as […]

Pakistan has repeatedly altered the status of the parts of Kashmir it controls, weakening its current protestations. Hussain Haqqani For decades, Pakistan has sought to internationalise the problem of Kashmir, hoping that it could change the territorial status quo over the erstwhile princely state. India’s decision to repeal Article 370 of its Constitution, ending the special status of Kashmir territory […]

Mobarik Haider PM Imran Ahmad Khan said he will now be the global ambassador for Kashmir. Since ambassadors of India and Pakistan are gone and borders between the two countries securely sealed, Mr. Khan seems to think that the world arena of diplomatic conquest is free for him. So he will be on a world tour to talk about an […]

HUSAIN HAQQANI The Donald Trump administration flattered Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief General Qamar Bajwa, hoping that Pakistan will use its influence over the Taliban to advance the Afghan peace process. The recent spate of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, including the one targeting vice-presidential candidate Amrullah Saleh over the weekend, makes it obvious that the Taliban see […]

By Steven Butler July 16 was just another night for Najam Sethi on his show at Pakistan’s 24 News BD, where the sometimes jocular veteran journalist sits and analyzes the day’s news, answering questions interspersed with video clips. Yet as he got to the last item on the show — nationwide demonstrations by journalists against censorship and layoffs — management suddenly pulled the […]

AYESHA SIDDIQA Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Bajwa was recently in London to meet his counterpart and many other bigwigs of the security establishment of the UK ostensibly to discuss issues of strategic cooperation. However, the visit – his second in nine months – was more than the usual tête-à-tête. If anything, there were four objectives of the tour: find a via-media to improve relations with the US that […]

Pakistan’s new budget will not fix the country’s economic woes. Here is why. by Taha Siddiqui The Pakistani government unveiled its first annual budget for the fiscal year 2019-2020 on June 11 and was only able to pass it on June 28. The considerable delay was due to strong resistance from the opposition in parliament which threatened with protests over […]

Pakistan Army replaced its ISI head within 8 months with an ‘average’ officer close to chief Bajwa, whose hold in country’s politics grows by day. AYESHA SIDDIQA The Pakistan Army’s strategic intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, got a new chief this week, Lt General Faiz Hameed, making the world wonder what has he done to deserve the position. Or what will now be […]

  Husain Haqqani Espionage case shatters Pakistan army’s myths – and the belief its nuke secrets are secure The court-martial of three individuals, including a recently retired three-star general, on charges of espionage and revealing classified information to foreign intelligence agencies seriously, dents the charisma that helps keep Pakistan’s army in charge of the country. The fact that senior military officers […]

Farhatullah Babar By official account three – but by unofficial account, many more – were killed and injured in firing after Pakhtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) marchers were stopped at a military check post in North Waziristan on Sunday. MNA Ali Wazir, arrested on charges of terrorism, has since been remanded in the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department by an anti-terrorism […]