In its editorial of Wednesday, ‘Change of tone‘, Daily Times makes an important point that is not getting enough attention in the latest round of anti-American fist-waving. What is the economic impact of this behaviour? The cost of the downward spiral in US-Pakistan relations has already sent shock waves through the economy. The stock exchange [...]
- >> Adnan Aamir
- >> Ahmed Rashid
- >> Ali Malik
- >> All Things Pakistan
- >> Anas Muhammad's Blog
- >>Brown Pundits
- >> Changing Up Pakistan
- >> Cyril Almeida
- >> Five Rupees
- >> Global Perspective Study for Pakistan
- >> Institute of Democracy and Development
- >> Journeys to Democracy
- >> Let's Rise Above!
- >> Let Us Build Pakistan
- >> Mosharraf Zaidi
- >>Pakistan Policy Blog
- >> Plastic Tears: An Insight
- >> Raza Rumi
- >> Sadiq Saleem
- >> Watandost
Archive for September 2011
Sep 27, 2011
What exactly does Pakistan want?
That is the question ricocheting off the walls in offices from DC to Islamabad. It pertains to the barbed issue the infamous Haqqani network. Often described as “the Sopranos of Afghanistan,” the Haqqani network is one of the most powerful actors in the region – a brutal crime family established under the father, Jalaluddin Haqqani in [...]
Sep 25, 2011
The noose around our neck and how it got there
This week’s latest episode of Pak-US topi drama is discouraging for a number of reasons. The most obvious being that extremist militants really are a shared enemy of Pakistan and America, and neither side is able to defeat the menace without the other. The worst case for America is that it retreats back to the [...]
Sep 23, 2011
Case Studies in Dignity & Self Respect: Turkey vs. Iran
Yesterday I wrote about Dignity, Integrity & Self Respect and how to get there. I argued that these qualities can’t be gained by intransigence, deception and denial, but must be earned through honesty, sincerity and responsibility. Today I want to follow up with some examples from modern geo-politics that demonstrate my point. Earlier this month, [...]
Sep 22, 2011
Dignity, Integrity & Self Respect
In a debate on Twitter recently, Dr Awab Alvi wrote that “Pakistan needs a position of dignity, integrity & self respect vs being run by Foreign nations”. I agree completely. Actually, I suspect Dr Awab and I would agree on a lot of things. Where we diverge, though, is on the path to get there. [...]
Sep 19, 2011
Pakistan’s war and how it can get worse
Another suicide car bomb attack targeted security forces in DHA Karachi today. This is just the latest in the increasingly brazen attacks by Taliban militants. Soon after, Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan called the media and vowed the attacks would continue. Meanwhile, the Americans are growing tired of the double games being played by GHQ. It’s [...]
Sep 16, 2011
Friday Book Club: What Makes a Pakistani?
While politicians, diplomats and business leaders are negotiating trade deals that would grant open access to American markets, a lucrative new industry of writing books about Pakistan for Western audiences is starting to take hold. Two of these recent books were the subject of reviews this week, and provide an interesting starting point for a [...]
Sep 15, 2011
9/11 and the problem with tit-for-tat historians
Every year when 9/11 rolls around, I try my best to stop watching TV and reading the newspapers. In 2001, this date was one in which the entire world paused to think about our common humanity and, for a brief instant, set aside our petty differences. Since then, it has become the opposite, bringing out [...]
Sep 13, 2011
Pakistan’s Dark Ages
When people discuss the ‘Dark Ages’, they are usually referring to a historical period in Europe after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. This period is considered to be a period when Europe moved backwards from what was once its great height of political, cultural, and economic achievement. Today, Pakistan, once a part of [...]
Sep 10, 2011
What we can learn from 9/11
This weekend it will have been 10 years since al Qaeda terrorist few planes into the World Trade Center building in New York City, killing almost 3,000 innocent Americans. The terrorist attack had an enormous impact on America, but it had an enormous impact on Pakistan, also. Since Osama bin Laden and his jihadis snuck [...]