MIANZHU, China—At a grave in western China rests one of Chen Man’s first lawyers, who for years had fought to free Mr. Chen from a justice system that convicts nearly all who are accused. On a chilly November day, a handful of attorneys looking into Mr. Chen’s case clambered to the mountainside tomb to pay their respects. They burned paper money, laid flowers, and one of them made a silent promise. Attorney Wang Wanqiong had…
Posts published in “Day: July 4, 2016”
Recently, Turkey has witnessed a series devastating terrorist attacks on its soil. Many believe one of the reasons for this is the gradual erosion of the Kemalist state. The erosion has opened up avenues of heated expressions which were once tightly closed. The complete collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War threatened to relegate Turkey to the status of a bankrupt and exhausted country, destined to linger as the ‘sick man of…
PEJA, Kosovo — FIRST, a three-part quiz: Which Islamic country celebrates as a national hero a 15th-century Christian who battled Muslim invaders? Which Islamic country is so pro-American it has a statue of Bill Clinton and a women’s clothing store named “Hillary” on Bill Klinton Boulevard? Which Islamic country has had more citizens go abroad to fight for the Islamic State per capita than any other in Europe? The answer to each question is Kosovo,…
The writer is a retired police officer. IT is high time that tough questions were asked of those who wield authority in Pakistan. If we claim to be a democracy then our citizens have a right to know what is ‘rotten’ in the state of our nation today. Questions must start with the prime minister, who wields the highest position in office — even though he has ceded much of his powers to Caesar, especially…
The author is a retired Senator and an analyst of regional affairs There is no denying the fact that international isolation of Pakistan has significantly intensified in the last year and a half. The falling apart of the previous deal on the purchase of F-16s with US, the political and military setback that the country had to face with the first US drone strike in Balochistan taking out Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, rising tension with…
The writer is a former editor of Dawn. Our foreign policy successes are miserably outnumbered by failures as few countries in the world would boast of being surrounded by estranged neighbours on all sides save for one tiny window in the north accessed through some of the highest mountains in the world. Against this rather bleak backdrop, there is a bit of good news too. There are suggestions that the prime minister is about to…
Over 200 loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed during the operations launched nearly a week ago, local officials said. The officials further added that the operations were jointly conducted by the Afghan security forces as well as the US forces who were carrying out drone strikes against the terror group. According to the officials, the majority of the militants were killed in drone strikes in the restive…
KABUL—An Islamic State suicide bomber attacked the leader of a militia backed by the Afghan intelligence agency, officials said Saturday, following a resurgence in the militant group’s activity in eastern Afghanistan. Haji Hayat Khan, the coordinator for several anti-Islamic State militias in the area, survived the bombing that killed two other people and wounded at least 18. It took place Saturday in Jalalabad, a major provincial capital that has in recent years seen a rise…
Sartaj Aziz oppose crackdown on Afghan militants based in Pakistan By KHAAMA PRESS – Sat Jul 02 2016
Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz has opposed a large-scale crackdown against all extremist militants in Pakistan, warning that pushing too fast could lead to ‘blowback’ in the form of more terrorist attacks. He was apparently gesturing towards the growing criticisms on Pakistan for failing to act against the notorious Haqqani terrorist network and the Taliban group which are having leadership councils based in the country. “I think what we have achieved in these three…
The writer served as Executive Editor of The Express Tribune from 2009 to 2014 With the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project involving development of the Gwadar seaport and setting up of three trade corridors running up from south to north across Pakistan to Kashgar, in China the concept of regional connectivity seems to be fast turning into a reality. What is, however, missing from this connectivity chart is an east-northwest overland trade…
The Foreign Office in a statement on Thursday rejected the perception that the military was blocking normalisation of ties with India. This comes in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent comments where he tried to suggest that the civil-military inequity in Pakistan was hindering his efforts to have better relations with Islamabad. The blame game is an endless endeavour. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had earlier this week…