Ikram Sehgal Insurgency and terrorism having become endemic in Pakistan. The mixed success in developing an inherent capacity to counter both is surprising. We have to deal with two insurgencies, one feeding the Taliban in Afghanistan, the other directed towards terrorism within Pakistan and the world in general. Cocooned comfortably since 2002 in South Waziristan Agency by an inner core of Chechens, Arabs, Uzbeks, etc., settled here from the early 1990s, the Al-Qaeda hierarchy was holed up here since 2002, protected by an outer core of Mahsud tribal mercenaries, short on ideology but long on media hype, with cash fuelling … Continue reading Countering insurgency and terrorism

Thanks: Hamza Alavi Internet Archive Religious fundamentalism has become a powerful and dangerous force in Pakistan, due mainly to the opportunism of successive political leadership that has pandered to it. Militant sectarian religious groups and parties, led by half-educated and bigoted mullahs,many of them armed to the teeth, are holding our civil society and the state to ransom. They threaten the very fabric of Pakistan society. Threats of disruption from religious parties have escalated in recent decades. They have steadily grown in strength since the time of General Zia. They now claim that they are thet rue custodians of Pakistan … Continue reading The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism in Pakistan

Farrukh Khan Pitafi I have come across people who think that the Taliban have a better idea of our faith and should be proclaimed our saviours even when they kill us. And then there are those who think that the American predator attacks are a pretty neat idea and hence should be welcomed “The truth will set you free,” says Jesus in John 8:32. That is true. But truth is often presented as a thing ridiculously simple; something that is indivisible or that which is easily attainable. Yet such a perspective precludes the possibility of half-truths. Then where does the … Continue reading It’s complicated

Sara Suleri On an early April night Dadi awoke, seized by a desperate need for tea. It was three in the morning, the household was asleep, so she was free to do the great forbidden thing of creeping into Allah Ditta’s kitchen and taking charge, like a pixie in the night. As all of us had grown bored of predicting, one of her many cotton garments took to fire that truant night. Dadi, however, deserves credit for her resourceful voice, which wavered out for witness to her burning death. By the time Tillat awoke and found her, she was a … Continue reading Excellent things in women

Miranda Husain Surely, it is not too much to expect that Mr Obama’s Harvard education might have equipped him to recognise that any reconciliation efforts will be rendered meaningless once the concept of justice is eliminated from the narrative It appears that the US president is under pressure. In fact, we should really spare a thought for the poor chap. No one, it seems, understands just how weighty is the burden of that Nobel Peace Prize. It forever looms large. Like some realpolitik version of Banquo’s ghost. It was again there taunting him during last month’s conference on Yemen and … Continue reading Obama — illegally blonde in Afghanistan

Syed Talat Hussain Now we know that Delhi’s recent conduct has been an honest depiction of its actual intent and its durable, if not immutable, goals towards Pakistan. It is clear that meaningful engagement with Islamabad on the basis of parity, and with the aim to create regional peace to the equal benefit of Pakistan, is not part of Delhi’s designs Should Pakistan talk to India or should it not? Of course it should, but not now. Not so hurriedly. Since the Mumbai attacks, our position has been that Delhi’s pre-conditioning of the Composite Dialogue’s resumption with arbitrary demands cannot … Continue reading The path to nowhere

Gathered around a table with Karachi-based bloggers on Tuesday evening, Farah Pandith, the US Special Representative to Muslim Communities, asked, “can’t a person do more than one thing at a time?” The question was raised as a way to get around the fact that most conversations about America’s relations with Muslims around the world are held hostage by contentious issues arising in the context of the war against terror. She was trying to make the point that even while governments wrangle about drone attacks and Blackwater, Americans and Muslims can begin to engage on a grassroots level. Ms Pandith’s optimism … Continue reading Rules of engagement – Farah Pandith needs to pass on that relations between the US and Muslims remain strained