A very special relationship
American anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims has sparked protests across the Muslim world. The protests began in North Africa, where the US ambassador was among those killed in an attack in Benghazi,...
View ArticleMisrule in the valley: The people of Jammu & Kashmir have been ill-served by...
Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah patted himself on the back for having "transformed" the state as he completed his fourth year in office on January 5. A bulk of the claim's intended...
View ArticleKashmir band politics: A reality check
Habba Khatun’s journey from an ordinary peasant girl to Kashmir’s preeminent cultural icon began with a rebellion in the 16th century. She walked out of an unhappy marriage, divorced her husband and...
View ArticleGuru's execution and hollowness of equality before law
The concern for many over Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's execution seems to be the delay in carrying it out instead of the questionable evidence used to implicate him besides other unanswered...
View ArticleUnlikely trio behind Pak’s democratic milestone
Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition has achieved a historic feat of becoming the first democratically elected Pakistani government to complete its term in office. It did so despite dire predictions...
View ArticleHopes and fears in Maldives’ tentative run up to polls
The halt on ex-Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed’s controversial trial has raised hopes of more credible presidential polls in the country, where electioneering has picked up pace with the nomination...
View ArticleImran Khan’s fall may push his rise
The ‘cornered tiger’ t-shirt Imran Khan wore before leading his country to the 1992 cricket world cup win remains one of the enduring images etched to Pakistan’s collective memory. It was the...
View ArticleTraditional power structures contain Imran Khan’s ‘tsunami’
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf may have witnessed a late surge in popularity, but odds like caste/biradari linkages and culture of patronage politics were always stacked against it. The...
View ArticleJ&K killing symptomatic of larger issue of pervasive impunity
The killing of four civilians in BSF firing in Jammu & Kashmir’s remote Ramban district has followed a familiar pattern of cover-up. Pro forma denials with predictable phraseology as usual...
View ArticleMaldives heads for inclusive elections belying fears
Ex-Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed led a parade through the streets of Male on August 24 before unveiling his manifesto ahead of next month’s presidential elections. Thousands of his supporters...
View ArticleNasheed vindicated, but faces tricky runoff
Ex-president Mohamed Nasheed has fallen short of a clear majority in the Maldivian presidential elections, warranting a runoff later this month. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader secured 45%...
View ArticleFight Taliban on military, theological front instead of pandering to them
Pakistan has agreed to hold talks with outlawed Taliban to end the deadly, decade-long insurgency, which has killed and maimed thousands of people. The alliance of loosely-affiliated groups has...
View ArticleTaliban’s war isn’t on a religion, sect but on humanity
The Peshawar church bombing left behind a familiar trail of death and destruction the north-western Pakistani city seems to have learnt to live with for years. Once known for its cultural vibrancy that...
View ArticleClosure of Kashmir extrajudicial killings case signals impunity shall prevail
The Army’s decision to ‘close’ the infamous Pathribal case involving alleged extrajudicial killing of five innocent Kashmiri civilians in 2000 is yet another confirmation of how blatantly impunity...
View ArticleGrim electoral prospects & Congress-NC shadowbox in J&K
Jammu & Kashmir’s ruling National Conference (NC) has averted a potentially destabilizing split with alliance partner - the Congress - following intervention of the top leaders. The alliance was...
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