Archives

Recent suicide bombings clearly show that the insurgency has shifted from FATA and NWFP to the left bank of the Indus. The destabilisation resulting in Pakistan by participating in the "long war," now threatens Pakistan's stability and calls for immediate remedial steps in the field of security. We may recall that Pakistan made military commitmentsRead More »Return of the warlords

// Many Pakistanis are at a loss to understand the underlying reasons for the diminishing mandate of the state in the tribal areas and the NWFP. It is now arching into southern Punjab which was the main recruiting ground for the Kashmiri mujahedeen. Recent statistics from the conflict areas show that the losses in manpowerRead More »Towards resolving FATA conflict

// Our prime minister's visit to Washington ended with a whimper. If the pathetic stories coming out of Washington are correct then the poor man got what he did not deserve. He is a gentleman. Pakistan for many decades has been a two layered system; those who are shown on the TV every evening performingRead More »Pakistan’s agony

// The visit is taking place at a crucial time both for Pakistan and the US. The prime minister's visit to the US comes at the cusp  the end of a presidency and the start of a new one. President Bush is at the tail end of his tenure and would wish to leave behindRead More »Our man in Washington

// Many years ago I attended a class on international trade and which was discussing the inequity in the terms of trade between the rich and the poor nations; between those who produced technological goods and those that produced agricultural commodities. During the heated discussion I made an immature comment to my dour Scottish professor,Read More »The need for clear thinking about the war on terrorism

// Events are moving fast forward to the final act of this episode of the war on terror in Fata. It began with the attack by the US and Afghan forces on the Pakistani frontier corp post in Mohmand agency some weeks ago in which an officer and ten other soldiers were killed. It mayRead More »Clear and present danger in tribal areas

// A few days ago the Frontier Corp began a cleanup operation in the Bara sub division of Khyber agency. Many negative comments have appeared about the operation. Let us examine the importance of this operation from the objective of re-establishing the writ of the government.             The main criticism emerging against the operation isRead More »The significance of the Khyber operation

// The tribal areas and NWFP are again in the forefront of attention. This time it is caused by the federal government's decision to challenge the writ of Mangal Bagh, a local war lord of Khyber Agency and who has become a threat to the adjoining villages lying on Peshawar's outskirts. His men have threatenedRead More »Mangal Bagh and the fragmenting state

// A few days ago I had the opportunity to present a paper, “FATA: internal security and Pakistan’s international obligations,” to a conference in Islamabad. It included five proposals for tension reduction between the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The conference came at an opportune time. NATO and the ISAF are dismayed at the peace negotiationsRead More »Crisis in Pakistan-US relations

// Introduction This paper gives reasons why militancy grew as a result of a flawed Pakistani  US security policy based on a military approach without building on a program to win the hearts and minds of the people. The report highlights recent research findings into insurgency in Afghanistan and Fata. The conclusion is that weRead More »Fata: Internal Security and Pakistan’s International Obligations