By Abu Ezaan With the relative improvement in Pak-Afghan bilateral relations post 20th visit of President Hamid Karzai to Islamabad, fresh optimism vis-à-vis the resolution of Afghan issue has emerged. Notwithstanding the shared quest of both nations towards stable and prosperous environment in the region, the prospects of peace continue to be marred with uncertainties, and suspicion. Given impracticable ex ...

By Asif Haroon Raja The US and the Western world’s deep-seated interest in the strategically important and oil-rich Middle East are well known. In order to maintain control over oil wells and to keep sea lanes and choke points in Indian Ocean open, the British Empire in line with its policy of divide and rule, split up the Ottoman Empire in 1918 into small Muslim States and installed puppet rulers. By 1923, ...

By Abu Ezaan In Pakistan, often an argument in favour of extended Chinese involvement in Afghanistan is proffered on the pretext that any such development would be in our strategic interests in the region.  Presumably, greater Chinese involvement in Afghanistan is reckoned as a rational to offset negative US presence that consistently advances Indian interests.  Here, it is assumed that Pakistan and China w ...

 by Asif Haroon Raja The Army and paramilitary forces are fighting a guerrilla war against home based militants in the northwest since 2002 without a break. The militants are Islamists waging an ideological war to establish Islamic Caliphate. They neither believe in Pakistan’s constitution nor in democracy saying these are of western model and anti-Islamic. They had picked up arms against the state in react ...

[caption id="attachment_3168" align="alignright" width="270"] Golden Temple - Indian Brutality 1984[/caption] By Sajjad Shaukat Pakistani media is so engaged with the coverage of internal issues and acts of terrorism that some important news are not highlighted. In this context, a lawsuit against Sonia Gandhi, President of ruling Congress Party of India regarding the genocide of the Sikhs in 1984 was ignore ...

نغمہ حبیب ایک اور بڑا دھماکا ہوا اورپشاور لرز اٹھا۔ چیختی ہوئی عورتیں ،بلکتے ہوئے بچے، شوہروں اور بچوں کو ڈھونڈتی ہوئی عورتیں، ایک عورت اپنے سر کو مارتی ہوئی کانوں پر ہاتھ رکھتی ہے جیسے کہ وہ بُری خبر کو نہیں سنے گی توسب خیریت رہے گی، ایک اپنے بچے کے پیچھے چھیتی ہے کہ دیکھے گی نہیں تو لاشیں گریں گی نہیں۔ یہ منظر اب کوئی نیا نہیں لیکن دیکھ کر پھر بھی دل دہلتا ہے۔ نیا تو یہ اُس دن بھی نہیں تھا جب میں اسی طرح ...

By Swaleha Malik The developments of the previous weeks have effectively settled the enthusiasm of the US President of attacking Syria.  His last efforts to energize his nation and congress men, was on Tuesday, 16 minute address in which he tried his best to remind the public that why it is so necessary to act and attack. He was persuading his nation to the re-think of the innocent women and children being ...

By Asif Haroon Raja Delving into the history of Pak-US relations spread over six decades one finds that the US relationship was always transitory in nature. After the birth of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam and Liaquat Ali Khan managed to keep foreign influence at bay. Through their strength of superior leadership and character, they overcame plethora of teething problems mostly created by the British and India. Th ...