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Tag Archives: Pakistan

Climate change latest battleground in India-Pakistan relations

Climate change latest battleground in India-Pakistan relations

Relations between India and Pakistan have been notoriously frosty for decades. But the two long-time adversaries will soon need to work together to effectively combat literal frost: in other words the effects of climate change.

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Focus on Pakistan

Focus on Pakistan

In a country where terror strikes are commonplace, you grow insensitive. You don’t flinch at the sound of a bomb, you don’t jolt at the sound of a gunshot. Death tolls that don’t touch the double digits don’t leave you in a state of shock, debilitated.

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When a Revolution is Undemocratic

When a Revolution is Undemocratic

It’s been said that “every country has an army, Pakistan’s Army has a country.” It’s a young republic at 67 years old, but it’s formidable military has never shied from seizing political power. Having spent several decades under martial law, last year’s elections were welcomed as ushering a new era of democracy with Asif Zardari […]

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That hiatus on drone strikes in Pakistan? No more.

That hiatus on drone strikes in Pakistan? No more.

Just days after Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) militants attacked the Karachi airport, the U.S. ended its hiatus on drone strikes in Pakistan. Approximately 16 died in the strikes, according to Pakistan’s English-language newspaper Dawn. Both strikes targeted locations in North Warziristan. For the past several months, Pakistan has been drone-strike free, leaving the U.S. to focus most of its targeted […]

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The Brave Pakistani

The Brave Pakistani

Pakistani born British author, Nadeem Aslam, once said that “Pakistan produces people of extraordinary bravery. But no nation should ever require its citizens to be that brave.” Aitizaz Hasan is one such brave 15-year-old boy. Born and raised in the village of Ibrahimzai, Hangu, in the North-Western province of Khyber Pakhtunkwa of Pakistan, Aitizaz was […]

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Nuclear Weapons in Asia Predicted to Increase

Nuclear Weapons in Asia Predicted to Increase

Expect the number of nuclear weapons in Asia to increase over the short to medium term according the latest edition of Strategic Asia 2013-14, aptly titled Asia in the Second Nuclear Age. Nuclear states across the region are all looking to further develop or enhance their nuclear arsenals, namely Pakistan, India, China and North Korea. […]

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The FPA’s Must Reads (October 12 – October 18)

The FPA’s Must Reads (October 12 – October 18)

The Russia Left Behind By Ellen Barry The New York Times Through a string of narratives about towns and villages stretching between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Barry captures the deterioration of small-town Russia and explores how these towns — while not very far from the Kremlin’s reach — are worryingly far from modernity. The War […]

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Pakistan’s Absurdities

Pakistan’s Absurdities

As a Pakistani, I know that we are some of the most resilient people with the biggest hearts and the most gullible minds. Since time immemorial, Pakistani’s have been  has been held hostage to their long desire to have a country that is run by the equitable laws of God. Since its inception, politicians and […]

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The Unwanted Federally Administered Tribal Areas

The Unwanted Federally Administered Tribal Areas

There are few places in the world that do not afford its citizens basic human rights, or at least a garb of human rights. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (or better known as “FATA”) are one of those areas. FATA are the semi-autonomous areas in the northwest frontier of Pakistan, bordering both the […]

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India Should Not Leave Nawaz Sharif Hanging

India Should Not Leave Nawaz Sharif Hanging

Renewed military tensions in the disputed Kashmir region are once again underscoring how even localized incidents there can subvert important diplomatic initiatives between India and Pakistan.  Skirmishes this past January put the brakes on the détente process that picked up steam last year.  The current round of fighting has led to a rising chorus in India demanding […]

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Pakistan’s Polio Problem

Pakistan’s Polio Problem

Among Pakistan’s many problems—rampant power cuts, extremist violence, anemic economic growth, widespread poverty—it can seem puzzling that a disease that has claimed only 58 new victims in the last few years has commanded so much attention. Polio, or poliomyelitis, has suffered a stunning defeat in the last 30 years, with a worldwide eradication rate of […]

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Sometimes a cigar is just a stogie

Sometimes a cigar is just a stogie

  This past week was one that offered sharp reminders that – under the veneer of white papers and white lies — reality can bite. In other words – hello, why are you surprised at these “surprises.” Let’s start with an easy one. Who is surprised that at least some elements of Pakistan’s government probably […]

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U.S. and India: The So-So Strategic Dialogue

U.S. and India: The So-So Strategic Dialogue

This year’s session of the annual U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, which brought Secretary of State John Kerry to New Delhi two weeks ago, produced few headlines.  The gathering was preceded by low expectations as well as talk (here and here) about how bilateral affairs have plateaued in the years since the nuclear cooperation agreement between President George W. […]

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The History of Rape in Pakistan

The History of Rape in Pakistan

Growing up in the Indian Sub-Continent, we are taught that British India was partitioned on the basis of differing religious ideologies. Hindus didn’t want to be governed by Muslims and Muslims by Hindus, and the Sikhs, well, they weren’t given too much importance, but they were somewhere in the middle too. As is still the […]

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Think: ‘Independent’

Think: ‘Independent’

In its 65 years of independence, this election year was the first time Pakistan managed to vest power from one democratically elected government to the next – this being the first time the process was not interrupted by a coup d’etat. This is also the first time Pakistan saw the advent of a strong third political party. […]

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