Today I received an email from Manal Ahmad on behalf of American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)’s Frontline/world and Christian Science Monitor. The mail invited our readers to preview an investigative video report (See Part 1/ Part 2/ Interview of the reporter) on the Talbanization in Swat and Musharraf’s imposition of [...]
There is a lot of talk going on regarding the fate of the war on terror expecially after the change of the tide in Pakistani politics. Most of these concerns are misplaced because the real partners, the legitimate ones in this war are now taking charge in Islamabad. Pakistan People’s Party the [...]
Change is nigh and the world is watching the US presidential race with increasingn interest. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both managed to stay in the race with considerable grace. Having read the writings of both the leaders it is difficult for me to tell who has promise. Obama’s Audacity of hope and Clinton’s [...]
If you think there was any room for conscience in the actions of states, please try to rethink the things through. The establishments of all countries behave in same fashion. While the western leaders pay great lip service to the cause of democracy their hearts remain with the dictators. Take the example of Keith Ryan’s [...]
Any conjecture on Keith Ryan would be premature at this hour however his death indeed leaves behind some harrowing questions. Why would a diplomat despite having worked in uncountable stressful places all of a sudden commit suicide? Why such things are only happening in Pakistan? After all, these days you don’t even find diplomats killing [...]
Robert Fisk: They don’t blame al-Qa’ida. They blame Musharraf
Published: 29 December 2007
Courtesy: The Independent
Weird, isn’t it, how swiftly the narrative is laid down for us. Benazir Bhutto, the courageous leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, is assassinated in Rawalpindi – attached to the very capital of Islamabad wherein ex-General Pervez Musharraf lives – and [...]
[Candle in the wind I By Farrukh Khan Pitafi I Who killed Benazir Bhutto? I Dated: December 31, 2007]A week before Mohtarma Benazir’s martyrdom, a curious thing happened to me. No it was not any agency threat or anything of the sort (I am not important enough). I was sitting in my office typing something, [...]
Dubai certainly is an oasis in the desert. It is certainly not Egypt which could pride itself on the legacy of the Pharaohs or Iraq which could boast about the Mesopotamian splendours. It is an artificially carved state without any original culture or history built painstakingly upon the petrodollars and with a clear view to [...]
(Breathing space - September 28, 2007)
The month of Ramadan usually comes with a spiritual package. To me, at least, it used to promise a host of emotional luxuries. I used to feel that I was only inches away from God from where I could whisper anything in the Almighty’s ears. But that feeling is gone. [...]
The world of espionage and spy-speak needs no introduction. Our fiction, movies, discussions and everyday news all are full of vivid images from this field. The world of secrets that should actually stay out of sight remained visible for about a decade immediately after the end of the Soviet Union and hence the star-crossed Cold [...]
