The writer is a senior journalist, teacher of journalism, writer and researcherOn October 26, the Prime Minister’s Office issued the notification for the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum as the new chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The much-awaited decision dispelled the impression of differences between the civil and military leadership. “The prime minister has seen and approved the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as director-general Inter-Services Intelligence, with effect from November…
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The writer is a security analyst.IT seems that the government has eventually decided to confront and neutralise the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan. The group’s continuous manipulation of deals and negotiations with the state to gain more power has apparently led the government to show resolve which many hope will not prove ephemeral. Strict action will certainly help offset the group’s street power, but it will also entail a political price. The real challenge of deconstructing and…
The writer is a columnist and analyst of GEO, The News and JangPakistan’s handling of or dealing with militants and extremists has always been poor and only led to more extremism and loss of innocent lives. No wonder our society, for all practical purposes, is a ‘hostage’ to this narrative. The state has surrendered repeatedly before two outlawed organisations of different nature. The developments over the last few days clearly showed the confusion within the…
Recent protests by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), and response by the Government of Pakistan, have laid bare our State’s inability to conceive and implement permanent solutions to the myriad of domestic fault-lines that run through our politico-religious diaspora. It has exposed all sides as being reactive, short-sighted, and devoid of strategic thinking to address deeply entrenched issues of national importance. Let us start with the brief recounting of the relevant facts. The story, culminating in…
Prime Minister Imran Khan has been a man of crisis, be it cricket or politics. Today he is faced with some new challenges and crises. The tension between the opposition and the government already exists, and the Electronic Voting Act is acting as a catalyst. Relations with the establishment are turning cold at a time when the dust of the NAB Ordinance has yet not settled. The hanging sword of curbs on the media, including…
The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Islamabad.WHEN Sheikh Rashid is at a loss for words, you know we are in trouble. The voluble interior minister is a picture of dismay and distress. As the Tehreek-i-Labbaik marches on towards the federal capital, the good Sheikh’s personae is experiencing a slow but steady process of meltdown. Within him, he is carrying the weight not just of his lofty office, but also of his government’s multifarious contradictions.…
One hears and watches with utter incredulity the demands being heaped on the Afghan Taliban government soon after the complete and forced exit from Afghanistan by the US and allied forces. The revengeful invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 by the US and NATO/ISAF allies, rubber stamped by the UN and followed up by 20 years of pulverisation of Afghan culture, society and the country as a whole with complete disregard to human rights, international laws…
Over the years the US has perfected and executed an extremely well-articulated strategy to establish an incontestable sphere of influence and strategic reach all over the globe. It has two basic components, a military and a diplomatic one. In the military domain, it has ensured forward deployments of very potent military resources/forces and headquarters in all critical spaces in the world, particularly Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greater Middle East Region (GMER), the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR),…
The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories BoardTo assess a nation’s future, several things need to be considered. One of these is the policies pursued by the government, another is the thinking of the leaders in power and opposition, and the quality of public discourse in the media and public forums. Other indicators include the…
The writer is a freelance journalist and researcher based in Balochistan.Balochistan has been lurching from one weak government to another. The post-2018 election era, too, has been reminiscent of the previous governments that had completed tenures with hiccups. Political gimmickry played in the provincial assembly has always engendered social chaos at grassroots and a political upheaval at the top. Thus, the current political upheaval in the province is an addition to the already prevailing political…
Wages of religiosity: op-ed by Ghazi Salahuddin in The News, Oct 31, 2021
The writer is a senior journalist.Again and again, as we accumulate our wounds, we get notifications that we have obstinately been rejecting. And what is it that flashes on the dark horizon like a bolt of lightning that we are unwilling to read? One way of interpreting this message is that the ruling ideas that have steered this country for decades have led us into an ideological wilderness. We need to abandon this death wish…