What the future may hold – Are Mullahs are being used to destroy Pakistan?

By Iqbal Jafar Indian President Pratibha Patil (2R) poses with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina (R) after presenting her with the Indira Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2009, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi (L) and Indian PM Manmohan Singh (2L) at The Presidential Palace in New Delhi on January 12, 2010. – Photo by AFP. World Israel’s Barak seeks to mend fences with Turkey Israel’s Barak seeks to mend fences with Turkey To have an idea about what the future may look like — as seen from Washington, Delhi and Tel Aviv — it seems we have to see … Continue reading What the future may hold – Are Mullahs are being used to destroy Pakistan?

Rallying the Pakistani diaspora against the destructive Mullahs

Dr Mohammad Taqi Painting the current war as just the Pashtuns’ war might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It compartmentalises and isolates the Pashtuns even from their direct neighbours in Peshawar, Kohat and DI Khan. It is our war — of the Pashtuns, Hindko and Farsi speakers of Peshawar, Hazara-wals, Chitralis, the Shiite of Kurram and Barelvis of Swat. It is as much a Punjabi, Baloch or a Sindhi war One freezing night in January 1948, a woman landed in New York on a campaign to raise funds for the state of Israel and its armed forces. She had no winter … Continue reading Rallying the Pakistani diaspora against the destructive Mullahs

Mullahism in Pakistan, is it coming to an end?

By Huma Yusuf Extremists shout anti-Norwegian slogans during a protest in Lahore on January 15, 2010, against the publication of drawings depicting the Prophet Mohammad. – Photo by AFP. World What the future may hold What the future may hold As Shakespeare aptly told us, roses, no matter what you call them, will smell as sweet. The same, metaphorically speaking, can be said of religious parties: drop Islam from their party names, but the ideological leanings and support for militant fringes will remain. This could soon become apparent in Bangladesh, where the supreme court recently upheld a 2005 high court … Continue reading Mullahism in Pakistan, is it coming to an end?

Did Mullahs destroy Pakistani cricket?

By Nadeem F. Paracha Inzimam’s exit and the delayed actions taken by the board to root out the Jamaat’s weight from the team did clear the air a bit, but the culture of fatalistic unfolding in times of non-religious on-field pressures that the Jamaat’s influence seems to have injected, remains. Much has been lamented about the Pakistan cricket team’s pathetic surrender against Australia in the second Test at Sydney. Much more will be said about the lack of experience, talent and a prominent backbone in the Pakistan team. Very little however is being said about the psychology that triggers long … Continue reading Did Mullahs destroy Pakistani cricket?

Pakistan: What next?

Posted by Sholto Byrnes A man walks past the Pakistani flag. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images A distinguished panel, including the chief of the general staff, General Sir David Richards, the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, Professor Anatole Lieven, US political analyst Jonathan Paris, Chatham House’s Farzana Shaikh, the NS South Asia correspondent William Dalrymple and India’s former Foreign minister, Jaswant Singh, discussed this question at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea last night. Despite media reports such as the one last year that labelled Pakistan “the world’s most dangerous country”, the tone was pragmatically, if cautiously upbeat. Imran Khan made a passionate plea for observers to understand … Continue reading Pakistan: What next?

Indonesia pulls new strings to tackle terror

By Sara Schonhardt JAKARTA – Nasir Abas’ easy smile grows when asked to explain the aims of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the radical Southeast Asian terror group he once led and which stands accused of plotting some of Indonesia’s most deadly terrorist attacks, including the 2002 bombing of a Bali nightclub that took more than 200 lives. JI has long called for the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Muslim areas of Southeast Asia, including across Indonesia, but that objective has over the years come at the expense of civilian lives. Nasir remains at heart a jihadi, but he now uses … Continue reading Indonesia pulls new strings to tackle terror

A $1bn sweetener for the Taliban

By Abubakar Siddique Senior Afghan officials have unveiled a plan to reconcile with up to 35,000 Taliban insurgents by offering jobs and vocational training, in the hope that the scheme will gain traction in the lead-up to a major international conference on Afghanistan in London later this month. Elements of the plan, which could cost more than US$1 billion to see through, were discussed during a one-day summit in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on January 12. Richard Holbrooke, the United States’ special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, attended the event along with those two states’ foreign ministers. … Continue reading A $1bn sweetener for the Taliban

Iran skeptical of US’s Afghan strategy

By Mitra Farnik WASHINGTON – Iran has taken a skeptical view of President Barack Obama’s new Afghan strategy, but doesn’t have one of its own. Though Tehran shares Washington’s desire for the Taliban to be neutralized, it is wary of an increased American military presence in Afghanistan, even if this is aimed at achieving such a goal. Since the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan, the US and Iran have engaged in a complicated competition for influence that has been swayed by events on the ground in Afghanistan but also ideological battles inside both Iran and America. This competition has … Continue reading Iran skeptical of US’s Afghan strategy

Hunt for al-Qaeda intensifies in Yemen

By Brian M Downing A top al-Qaeda commander was reportedly killed on Wednesday by government forces in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province, coinciding with a top United States official suggesting that the US should launch air strikes there and Iran ramping up tensions with Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Saba news agency reported that Abdullah Mehdar, described as a leader of an al-Qaeda cell, was killed and four militants captured after Yemeni troops surrounded a house in Shabwa where he and other militants had gathered. On the same day, the chairman of the US Senate Armed Services committee, Carl Levin, said the US … Continue reading Hunt for al-Qaeda intensifies in Yemen

Pakistan’s military makes a stand

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – After several months of backroom wheeling and dealing between the United States and the top brass in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi, Washington has expressed its full trust in Pakistan’s military leadership and its apparatus, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which in turn is preparing to fight the next phase in the South Asia war theater. This will focus on the hunt for high-profile al-Qaeda targets in the Shawal and Datta Khel areas of Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, where it is believed Osama bin Laden’s deputy, Dr Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and the shura … Continue reading Pakistan’s military makes a stand