Taliban & TTP Archive
Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan’s teflon tiger – by Irfan Hussain: Nawaz Sharif has a remarkable ability to retain the image of a clean, mainstream leader despite such a tarnished record. Teflon tiger Pity the poor tiger: hunted to the brink of extinction, it now has to suffer the indignity
Zardari’s Courage – by Selig S. Harrison: In response to U.S. pressure, India and Pakistan recently conducted their first diplomatic dialogue since the Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba staged its terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008. The discussions were acrimonious, and the blame game began almost
My daddy’s never coming home – by Hayat Umar: LAHORE: Thirteen-year-old Waqar lives with his paternal aunt in Keer Kot, a small dwelling near the Defence Housing Authority. His nine-year-old sister Noor and brother Waqas live with their maternal uncle in Islampura. This scattered family of four, along
General Ahmad Shuja Pasha’s letter to Mullah Baradar – by Hakim Hazik: A man believed to be Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in a photograph taken in 1998, given to The New York Times by a former photographer for the Taliban. Photo – New York Times Article cross-posted from: Justice Denied Brother
Punjab can no longer live in a state of denial – by Ayaz Amir: If FATA represents the cutting edge of terrorism in the name of Islam, Punjab, unfortunately, is the hinterland of this phenomenon. Or, to borrow a phrase from the repertoire of military folly, Punjab is the strategic depth of bigotry
Allama Iqbal Town blasts in Lahore were a message to Shahbaz Sharif: The following is a most interesting yet much ignored news item in Pakistani media. Here is how I interpret the series of six low-intensity ‘cracker attacks’ in Lahore. The Taliban do not ‘waste’ their precious assets (human bombers and
Shahbaz Sharif’s Taliban entreaties — by Zafar Hilaly: We can be sure that when the Taliban do not respond positively to his entreaties, Mr Sharif will not blame the Taliban, or fate, but Musharraf, the PPP, the MQM, the Americans, the Indians, the British, the Nigerians, the
Talibangate and Sharifs’ old tricks – by Cyril Almeida: Shahbaz Sharif was saying, I get it, God, country and family is my motto, too. I feel your pain. Support me and I’ll take care of you. –Photo by AP Shahbaz Sharif’s boo-boo had everyone up in arms. Even
Shahbaz Sharif’s bargain with the Taliban – by Ayesha Siddiqa: Shahbaz Sharif appears to have his footprints all over the PML-N’s future. –File Photo Shahbaz Sharif’s faux pas Shahbaz Sharif’s comments asking the Taliban not to attack Punjab have caused a furore in many parts of the country. In
Verbal diarrhoea of Shahbaz Sharif – by Fasi Zaka: Imagine a situation where you have to speak before a large crowd. Right there and then, even though you are not a cow, you discover you have foot-and-mouth disease. That is to say, you mistakenly put your foot in
Double Face- By Sajid Ali: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif in his speech at Jamia Naemia Lahore requested Taliban to spare Punjab from terrorist attacks. It shows the double face of the Chief Minister as well as the double face of his party’s
Justice Khawaja Sharif speaks once again, this time against Hindus – by Abdul Nishapuri: Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Khawaja Sharif, has spoken once again, with the hate speech and prejudice which are his usual characteristics. Justice Sharif is notorious for his unflinching support for PML-N and Taliban and for his hostility
To PML-N: ‘If you shut your door to all errors, truth will also be shut out’ – by Shafiq Awan: The Punjab chief minister’s unique idea of offering an olive branch to the Taliban and in return demanding amnesty for Punjab from their terror spree was not at all a precipitous act but a well-thought out deliberation. The CM’s
Fighting in the dark against terrorism in Punjab — by Meher Bokhari: Last year alone, innumerable incidents made a mockery of the Punjab government and its denial. The truth is, there is no dearth of facts. The tragedy is, there is no visible action being taken to address the evil, which
Encountering fundamentalism — by Nizamuddin Nizamani: Extremist Islam is encroaching deeper into the Thar Desert and almost all district and tehsil headquarters of Sindh and Balochistan, where large numbers of seminaries, with new buildings and equipped with every kind of infrastructure, have been erected during
Punjab khappay? – by Nadeem Paracha: According to many emails that I received after posting a blog in the wake of the terrible bomb attacks in Lahore last week, I was ‘spreading politics of ethnicity.’ I don’t know exactly what made these folks think this way,
Dr Farhat Hashmi: Cultivating Al Qaeda in Muslim women: Biography Dr Farhat Hashmi, daughter of the (late) scholar Abdur Rehman Hashmi, is a mother of four, and comes from the Indo-pak subcontinent. She received her Ph.D. in Hadith Sciences from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Al-Huda International Welfare
From Osama to Taliban, where are the Sharifs headed? – by Saeed Minhas: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s careful treading through the power corridors received a severe blow as his public appeal to the Taliban for avoiding his fiefdom raised an unprecedented hue and cry in the National Assembly. If the CM’s
By aligning itself with Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba, PML-N poses existential threat to Pakistan: Existentialist threat The PML-N’s right wing ideology is an open secret. Thus it is not surprising if the party has now come clear on its stance vis-à-vis the militant outfits. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has finally exposed the
Cornered PML-N launches bid to limit damage, forced to explain its ties with Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba: During the national uproar, the PML-N continues to make failed efforts to control the situation, but without much success. Cornered PML-N launches bid to limit damage Source: Dawn Correspondent, 16 Mar, 2010 ISLAMABAD: The entire counter-terrorism effort being spearheaded
Begging Taliban for mercy: Shahbaz Sharif is loyal to Punjab at Pakistan’s expense?: Related articles: The Punjabi Taliban and the Ostrich of Punjab: Shahbaz Sharif The umbilical connection between PML-N and religious conservatism: Jaag Punjabi jaag – by Aamer Ahmed Khan Shahbaz Sharif’s bargain with the Taliban – by Ayesha Siddiqa According
Societal perspectives on terrorism — by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi: At least one generation has been socialised into a favourable disposition towards Islamic conservatism and militancy. They have a natural sympathy towards the political discourse of the militants even if they do not support their violent methods The terrorist
The Al Qaeda Connection – by Imtiaz Gul: Chilling truths Book Review by Afrah Jamal The Al Qaeda Connection – By Imtiaz Gul, Penguin Global; Pp 320 Today, the landscape has been transformed into a hunting ground as the showdown between the military and militants gets underway
Kamal Mehsud, the most famous singer of Waziristan: did the ISPR cheat him? — by Farhat Taj: Kamal Mehsud’s story is just one of the hundreds of stories of horror in Waziristan. The other stories are much more brutal and sinister in terms of the intelligence agencies’ collusion with the Taliban Kamal Mehsud was the most
Blast after blast after blast in Lahore, who is responsible?: Terror drama unfolds in Lahore Two suicide bombers targeting Army vehicles detonated explosives within seconds of each other on Friday, killing at least 45 people and wounding 100, police said. It was the fourth major attack in Pakistan this
Veteran Pakistani journalist Nazir Naji faces threats by Taliban terrorists: This is an alarming development. In his op-ed in Daily Jang on 11 March 2010, veteran journalist Nazir Naji has provided details of various threats which he has been receiving from Taliban and their affiliate jihadi and sectarian organisations
Rehabilitation of the Taliban: Differentiate between the branch and the root — by Gulmina Bilal Ahmad: Roots Branches Young children were kidnapped by the Taliban and then made to serve as suicide bombers. These young men, and in the latter part of the battle young women, became cannon fodder for the Taliban’s heinous designs. They
ISI’s Colonel Imam: Ideologue or pragmatist? – by Wasif Khan: Amir Sultan Tarar also known as Colonel Imam. — File photo In a recent interview with the New York Times, the once renowned Colonel Imam made some very insightful remarks and dire predictions. For those unfamiliar with the name,
Punjabi Taliban belonging to Sipah-e-Sahaba responsible for the Lahore’s Model Town suicide attack – by Amir Mir: Police and rescue workers stand near a crater, which was made from a suicide bomb targeting the Special Investigation Agency in Lahore. A suicide car bomb attack on a police intelligence unit in Lahore killed at least 12 people
Arresting Taliban to serve America’s interests – Guest post by Peter Chamberlin: First published at: Therearenosunglasses’s Weblog The multitude of theories on the reasons for the arrests are divided between cooperation and confrontation theories, either it is explained by mutual interests or by rivalries. In my opinion, it is both. Researchers
Suicide attack on SIU Centre, Lahore. Wake up, Punjab, against the PML-N, Sipah-e-Sahaba, Taliban alliance – by Nadeem Paracha: Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N’s political alliance with a terrorist organisation Sipahe-e-Sahaba (an affiliate of Taliban and Al Qaeda) seems to be paying off. Only recently, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered release of two most dangerous terrorists belonging to Sipah-e-Sahaba; the
Peshawar: The tale of an orphan city – by Ismail Khan: The scars of wars went deeper and left an impression not only on the social and cultural fibre but also devastated Peshawar’s infrastructure. — Photo by AP “Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the
Haroon Rasheed, the provincial deputy head of Jamaat-e-Islami NWFP, harbouring Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists: For the past one week, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and their pro-Taliban agents (Pakistani Taliban Union of Journalists – PTUJ) in media (e.g. Hamid Mir, Ansar Abbasi etc) have been propagating a one sided story of the “brutal killing” of the
An innocent victim of the Taliban’s suicide attack: An innocent victim of the Taliban’s suicide attack on a Shia convoy in Hangu on its way to Parachinar. A man lifts a girl injured in the suicide attack from an ambulance to be treated at a hospital in
Interpreting tribal leaders of FATA — by Farhat Taj: Anger against the Pakistan Army and the Taliban is intense and getting more intense with every passing day and so is disappointment with the government of Pakistan I am compiling a list of the tribal leaders of FATA who
Taliban suicide attack kills at least 14 Shias travelling to Parachinar in NW Pakistan: A suicide bomber on foot, Friday 5 March 2010, killed at least 10 people in Pakistan’s northwest and injured another 15, a senior regional official said. (Update: Death toll now reaches 14) The bomber exploded his bomb near a
My life with the Taliban – by Abdul Salam Zaeef: Humanising the monster Dr Mohammad Taqi My life with the Taliban By Abdul Salam Zaeef Translated from Pashto and edited by Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn Hurst/Columbia University Press; Pp 331 In his foreword to Mullah Abdul
Wahhabization of Gitmo prisoners: Ex-Gitmo detainee now a Taliban commander * US officials say 20% of released prisoners go back to Taliban LASHKAR GAH: A man who was freed from the Guantanamo Bay after he claimed he only wanted to go home and
Women in Afghanistan: A tale of Afghan women’s plight —by Miranda Husain The Patience Stone By Atiq Rahimi Other Press; Pp 160 Afghanistan, a nation still on fire, a nation still home to a centre-stage Taliban. An entity that still remains resoundingly
PML-N the Taliban midwife: Sir, the militants have multiplied —Sher Ali Khan The recent admission by Rana Sanaullah about his association with the banned militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) illuminates that Pakistan is a country where a nexus between politicians and militants is