Foreign Policy Blogs

Pakistan

Wikileaks Invites Discussion in Pakistani Press on Nukes and Sovereignty

The current bits of news, volatile, mercurial coming out of the latest Wikileaks cache is surprisingly easy to bear.  Nothing untoward has happened.  All the players have played their parts. International politics between the U.S and Pakistan continues in recognizably similar ways as it did yesterday, and the day before.  Of course, strategic politics has […]

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Simple Solutions for Pakistan

    “The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.” Bertrand Russell A careful examination of contemporary Pakistan presents a bleak picture and objective analysts have been sounding alarms about Pakistan’s overall economic, social and political health for a while, but now, it seems that the […]

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Christian Woman Sentenced To Death For Blaspheming the Prophet

There are grounds on which we accept moral doctrines that vary from those we profess.  We might say that we have not experienced the history that other people in other places have experienced; we might say that there mores that have not entered our lexicon, for our social arrangements are different. We might call all […]

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How to solve Pakistan’s Problems

We all know Pakistan is facing serious challenges and regretfully, there are no simple solutions for these problems. So far, repeated experiments with democracy and dictatorships in the country have yielded nothing, but more failures and even more misery. When Benazir returned to Pakistan to help steer the country in the right direction, she was […]

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Pakistan's Human Development Index 2010: Marginal Improvement, Dismal Prospects for Human Development in Near Future.

The 2010 UNDP Human Development Report offers some muted good news for those concerned with the reach of socially structured human welfare and development in Pakistan.  However, given the way the good news is structured, recent events in Pakistan suggest that the prospects of Pakistan’s human development look strikingly bleak  for the coming few years. […]

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Conflict in Pakistan, As India Enjoys the Fruits of Economic and Jobs Growth Policy

At least eighteen people are dead in Karachi, many more wounded, victims of a car bomb and subsequent armed attack that targeted a police compound set up to investigate and counter militant activity in that southern port city.  Karachi, the commercial hub and a major political constituency in Pakistan is now increasingly becoming home to the […]

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IMF Offers Long Term Policy Solutions to Pakistan's Immediate and Urgent Needs

The IMF delegation led by Mr. Adnan Mazerei  met Pakistani authorities to discuss IMF’s Stand-by-Arrangement to patch together economic aid and assistance to Pakistan as it builds out of the recent summer floods.  A press release was put out by the mission.  It reads, in part: “Progress has been made regarding the measures to be […]

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American Elections and Pakistan

Pakistani community in America is watching the mid-term elections in the United States with fascination as for some of them, it is a great exercise in human freedom. For this community, this election is also the source of anxiety because of its impact on Washington’s relationship with Islamabad.  Some argue that it will further complicate a very […]

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Farooque Ahmed's Arrest

There we go again. Earlier today, law enforcement authorities arrested yet another terrorist in the making – a naturalized American of Pakistani origin, Farooque Ahmed for trying to help coordinate bombing at Washington’s Metro System, also known as the subway system. Once again, fortunately, this nut’s plot was never a serious threat, but for his […]

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Pakistan's Failure

The strangely bizarre and comical launch of Musharraf’s so called Muslim League (or whatever name he is using) forced me to examine Pakistan. And, believe me, this time; I really looked hard not only at today’s Pakistan but also at its short, but awfully tumultuous history. And, it is extremely distressing to realize that nothing, […]

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Strategy and Threat for Public Alerts in America and Europe

The recent news of threats emanating from Pakistan and Algeria have spooked the American and European public milling about in great and famous cities.  But the reasons behind the news that seems to single out machinations wrought in Pakistan remain murky, as they must by dint of the ways and means of intelligence. However, given […]

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Remember Pakistan's Liberal Dictator?

Remember Pakistan's Liberal Dictator?

Zainab Jeewanjee reports on Pervez Musharraf’s planned return to Pakistani politics. With the launch of the All Pakistan Muslim League, Jeewanjee discusses Musharraff’s liberal policies in hindsight and comparison to his opposition and political change seems imminent in the country.

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A Message from Insanity

According to the New York Times, Pakistan’s military is maneuvering to remove the current government. This, according to the paper, is because of corruption and lack of proper response to the flood. What is missing from the report is that once this government is gone, angels and superheroes are going to takeover and they will […]

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Obama’s Wars – Not Planning to Fail, but Failing to Plan

Obama’s Wars – Not Planning to Fail, but Failing to Plan

Zainab Jeewanjee discusses Bob Woodwards book, Obama Wars and it’s reference to Pakistan. As President Obama goes head to head with the military establishment in trying to wind down the war in Afghanistan, he consistently calls for a shift in focus to Pakistan. However, Jeewanjee highlights that the Presidents National Security Strategy from May 2010, offers little, if any clearly spelled out approach to achieving our objectives in Pakistan. She concludes that a more practical, specific approach to Pakistan must exist should the President shift focus to Pakistan as the “epicenter of violence” as the National Security Strategy recommends.

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Pakistan's Art and Artists: Toward Compelling Narratives or Turning Back to Modernist Views of the Non-secular Other

It may have gone unnoticed and unremarked within politics and policy circles, but Pakistan is out again, renewed and replenished in odd ways that speak to a disjointed narrative about contemporary art and literature.  Consider the new edition of Granta out in newsstands and haute stores that peddle in that version of mature sensibilities that […]

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