This piece by MNA Farahnaz Ispahani (PPP) was published in USA Today on 27 March. Just as many Americans are expressing frustration with what they see as Pakistan’s slow progress in defeating terrorism (most recently underscored by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton‘s visit today to Islamabad), Pakistanis are equally frustrated with the increasingly ugly anti-Pakistan [...]
These days China is making headlines in our news almost on a daily basis. We Pakistanis in an effort to move away from under the US shadow, somehow feel much better to look to China for help. Noted as a true and an all weather friend, the relationship between the two countries has been described [...]
Seeing the photos of US President Barack Obama cooking burgers with UK PM David Cameron reminded me of the way different countries treat their political leaders. While President Obama is in Europe cooking burgers, over 300 Americans have been killed in violent storms that have wrecked the American heart land. But while the nation’s newspapers [...]
The US raid on Abbottabad pierced the bubble of invincibility that we allowed ourselves to believe. Two shocking facts were exposed on that fateful day: One is that the world’s most wanted terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was living comfortably with his family in the shadow of PMA Kakul; Second is that the US military [...]
Last night’s attack on PNS Mehran clears the fog and offers stark clarification about the sides in this war that ravages the nation. First of all, to everyone who continues to say that this is not our war, that there is a difference between TTP and al Qaeda and other militant groups, last night’s attack [...]
An interesting article in The News makes a compelling case that outsourcing war by using private contractors is a losing strategy. This was most clearly proven in Iraq when the private security company Blackwater did more harm than good to efforts to bring peace to the country. The Blackwater mercenaries were accused of murder by [...]
Our elected representatives and our people must realise that it is not the drones or national sovereignty or American aid that is the main issue. It is that termite of the extremist mindset that kills Muslims in mosques that has permeated our society and converted it into the rotten mess that it is in today. [...]
The fanfare over PM’s visit to Beijing comes as little surprise. Frustrated with our most allied ally in the West, there is understandable reason for people to see some hope in the East. But I worry that we are making the same mistake with China that we make with US – expecting a benefactor and [...]
Afghan news agency Tolo News reporter Shakeela Abrahimkhil wrote on Tuesday that Gen (retd) Hamid Gul has asked Mullah Omar to leave Pakistan. The reporter spoke with Afghan security officials who told that the ISI has requested Mullah Omar to leave Pakistan immediately. According to the reporter the message was conveyed by Hamid Gul. But [...]
In an interesting editorial, The News notes that terrorism lives on after Osama and Pakistan will have to manage the problem. The bombing demonstrates that the killing of the Al-Qaeda chief hasn’t solved anything. Terrorism lives on, and could grow in the country as anger against the US continues to mount. This is a problem [...]