I want to put Pakistan football on the world map: Graham Roberts By Tabinda N. Siddiqi “I look at this job as an opportunity to pass on my knowledge and experience to the Pakistani players.” —Photo by M. Arif Ali/White Star   Sport Graham Roberts promises to lift Pakistan football   In an unprecedented turn of events, Pakistan’s football team will have a former English football star at their helm when they participate in the Asian Games next month. Graham Roberts, a former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur defender, has joined the Pakistan Football Federation as a coaching consultant for a … Continue reading Pakistani Football – Can It Succeed?

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Mohammad Usman was little-known other than for being wanted for the killing of a police officer in 1997 and his connections with prayer leaders at the Taliban-friendly Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad in the early 2000s. His death this week in a United States drone strike in the North Waziristan tribal area along with several other militants therefore made few headlines. In the al-Qaeda camp, however, Usman has been described as “irreplaceable”, his death on a scale of the killings of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid and Shiekh Fateh al-Misri. Misri in May replaced … Continue reading Al-Qaeda takes a big hit ?

By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON – On the ninth anniversary of the United States military intervention in their country, a report released on Thursday finds that Afghans remain deeply distrustful and resentful of the impact and intent of foreign forces there. Based on dozens of interviews and focus group sessions in seven provinces in western, eastern and southern Afghanistan over the past year, the report by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) found that Afghans tend to blame US-led forces as much or more than the Taliban for the country’s continuing violence and instability. “This reflects a growing divide between the perceptions … Continue reading Losing the propaganda war

Egyptian journalist tells poisoner’s tale By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – Forty years after his death at the age of 52, president Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt still raises plenty of controversy throughout the Arab and Muslim world. There are many theories regarding Nasser’s untimely death in 1970, ranging from heart failure to poisoning at the hands of his Russian masseuse. Nasser was famously wrapping up an Arab summit aimed at ending war in Jordan between King Hussein and Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization. After seeing off his Kuwaiti guest, Prince Sabah Salem al-Sabah, the Egyptian leader collapsed and was proclaimed … Continue reading Nasser was killed by Sadat ?

The foreplay of an Afghan settlement By M K Bhadrakumar When “well-placed Pakistani and Arab sources” sing like magpie robins, you never get tired of hearing them. There is a lot of variety to their songs. The magpie robin gives voice to a range of motifs: loud songs to establish territory and pair formation; soft, aggressive songs to defend territory; or, haunting resting melodies. Remember how such well-placed sources sang without a break from the mid-1980s in the run-up to the Geneva talks all the way to February 15, 1989, when the last Soviet soldiers, led by General Boris Gromov … Continue reading Afghan foreplay

Al Qaeda views terror alert as victory: experts Police officers stand on duty before Westminster Abbey in London, Britain. PHOTO: EPA PARIS: The US warning that stirred public panic in Europe over a possible al Qaeda attack at tourist hotspots has given a sense of victory to extremist networks, intelligence experts said. Even though the threat of terror strikes should not be underestimated – it is a real, ongoing threat – warnings such as the recent US travel advisory of a high risk of an attack in Europe make for frightening headlines and television news broadcasts. As ominous images of … Continue reading Al Qaeda views terror alerts as victory!