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Pakistan is often portrayed in the international media, particularly the western media, as a highly tradition-bound conservative society dominated by Taliban sympathizers. Fatima Bhutto, a granddaughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, offers evidence to suggest otherwise. …
Added by Riaz Haq on December 27, 2022 at 4:30pm — 20 Comments
Maryland Democrat Chis Van Hollen, a key US senator who was born in Karachi, said it was the Trump administration that asked Pakistan to release the top three Taliban leaders for US-Taliban peace talks in Doha Qatar. He was speaking at a recent US Senate hearing on the fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the chaotic US withdrawal that followed the Afghan Army collapse. …
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on September 16, 2021 at 9:30am — 32 Comments
Pakistani security officials had warned Americans and Indians that the Afghan Army would collapse when faced with the Taliban onslaught, according to multiple people including American journalist Steve Coll and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Former US Ambassador Ryan Crocker who has served in both Afghanistan and Pakistan has recently written that Pakistanis' skepticism has been validated. …
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on August 24, 2021 at 7:00pm — 44 Comments
The open hostility of successive Afghan governments toward Pakistan begs the following questions: Why do Afghan leaders scapegoat Pakistan for their own failures? Is Afghanistan a friend or an enemy of Pakistan?
Scapegoating Pakistan:
Carter Malkasian, former advisor to US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dunford, has recently talked about how Afghan governments have scapegoated Pakistan for their failures. He said: "Let’s take Pakistan, for example. Pakistan is a…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on August 13, 2021 at 11:30am — 37 Comments
Many fear the return to civil war in Afghanistan after the US pull-out. Are these fears well-founded? If so, who will be the main combatants in such a civil war? The Afghan Taliban? Or notorious warlords of yesteryears like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Ismael Khan, Abdur Rashid Dostum and progeny of Ahmad Shah Masood? Or terror groups like ISIS, TTP, ETIM, IMU, etc etc.? …
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on July 25, 2021 at 4:30pm — 37 Comments
When President Joseph R. Biden announced his decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, he said: "We will ask other countries in the region to support Afghanistan, especially Pakistan, as well as Russia, China, India and Turkey." Biden has also talked about the US reorganizing its counterterrorism capabilities in the region to be able to hit the target from “over the horizon.” These discussions have triggered speculations about the Biden administration seeking access to military…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on April 23, 2021 at 11:30am — 20 Comments
Is the tragic Pulwama attack in Kashmir a surprise? Are Modi's policies of relying on force alone contributing to rising violence in Kashmir and across India? Is blaming Pakistan just a distraction from the core issues in India? Why has India seen the world's …
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on February 16, 2019 at 10:00am — 10 Comments
What are the key sources of the current crises faced by Pakistan? Can any of these be traced to blunders committed years ago by Pakistani leaders?
Pakistan's Gen AK Niazi Signing Surrender in East… |
Added by Riaz Haq on January 20, 2019 at 8:15pm — 2 Comments
Why is the violence in Afghanistan intensifying? Why has US-NATO coalition dropped more bombs in Afghanistan in Jan-March 2018 quarter than in any other 3 month period in the last 15 years? Is it in response to the Taliban annual spring offensive? Or the Daish (ISIS) contributing to more killings? Is the Trump administration too busy with the military option and paying too little…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on May 6, 2018 at 6:30pm — 2 Comments
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Added by Riaz Haq on October 1, 2017 at 5:12pm — 7 Comments
Added by Riaz Haq on September 27, 2017 at 12:00pm — 14 Comments
Added by Riaz Haq on August 26, 2017 at 7:39am — 26 Comments
Announcing the new US strategy on Afghanistan this week, President Donald Trump singled out "valued partner" Pakistan for increased American pressure to act against "agents of chaos" such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network who attack American service members and officials. Trump said this "will have to change, and that will change immediately." He also sought India's help in Afghanistan while ignoring the increased…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on August 23, 2017 at 10:04am — 4 Comments
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Added by Riaz Haq on May 14, 2017 at 4:00pm — 4 Comments
Added by Riaz Haq on December 11, 2016 at 8:23pm — 3 Comments
While Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were ganging up to bash Pakistan at the recent Heart of Asia conference in the Indian city of Amritsar, General John Nicholson, the US commander in Afghanistan, was accusing Iran and Russia of supporting the Afghan Taliban. Russian diplomat Zamir Kabulov's recent comments in India appear to give credence to the American…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 5, 2016 at 9:45pm — 6 Comments
Added by Riaz Haq on August 8, 2016 at 8:00pm — 5 Comments
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Aaron Bushnell, an active serviceman in the United States Air Force, burned himself to death in front of the Israeli Embassy in protest against the US policy in Gaza. Before setting himself on fire in what he called an "extreme act of protest", he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide". Polls show that the vast majority (63%) of Americans want an immediate end to the carnage being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. …
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on February 27, 2024 at 5:30pm
Independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) party emerged as the largest single block with 93 seats in the nation's parliament in the general elections held on February 8, 2024. This feat was accomplished in spite of huge obstacles thrown in front of the PTI's top leader Imran Khan and his party leaders and supporters by Pakistan's powerful military…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on February 16, 2024 at 9:22pm — 1 Comment
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