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// On the 1st of February 2007, the lower house of the Afghan parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, composed of 249 members passed a resolution declaring amnesty for war crimes and crimes against humanity during 1978-2001, Afghan wars. These crimes include genocide, rape and murder. 35 members of the Wolesi jirga voted against the resolution.            Read More »Afghan warlords forgive themselves!

// Tehsil of Balakot is spread over 66 villages situated within 12 union councils; this area is the worst hit by the earthquake in NWFP, and which affected all its 2,50,000 inhabitants. The area is divisible into an upper and lower valley on the basis of altitude; with the villages Kawai, Paras, Jareed, Mohandari, PhagalRead More »Balakot one year after the earthquake

// Two days ago Afghan television showed three flags fluttering atop a house near the Durand Line; the three flags belonged to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the JUI(F).  One can draw many meanings from this picture.  To me it represents the probable future of this region. It also defines the recent agreement signed between the PakistanRead More »Return of the Taliban The North Waziristan Agreement

// A couple of months ago, the leadership of the tribal areas changed.  Governor Aurakzai, a former army general replaced Commander Khalil.  Aurakzai and tribal areas know each other well; besides being a tribesman himself, it was Aurakzai who led the army into the tribal areas in 2000; the first time that this happened inRead More »Tribal Areas Reform in Pakistan

// A few days ago two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped; Israel charged the radical Hezbollah and Hamas radicals operating from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine for this incident. The Israeli city of Haifa became the target of rocket attacks; subsequently, Israel launched preemptive military strikes against Palestinian targets and Lebanon. Many Palestinian, Lebanese and Israelis haveRead More »The Current Crises in the Middle East

// John Wall, World Bank's country director, made a controversial observation in his article "Poverty in Pakistan", appearing in The News of 10th July, 2006.  He stated that poverty is an ethical and not a statistical concept. Is this a just a statement or is it the deliberate forerunner of a strategy to cover Pakistan'sRead More »Is poverty an ethical concept?

// The President has appointed Gen. Aurakzai as the new Governor of NWFP. One wishes him luck as he comes at a difficult time; it is a time of troubles and also a time of opportunities.  Let me analyze the situation in a little more detail. The Governor takes office after the approval of theRead More »Will peace return to tribal area?

// The NWFP Government is holding its first development forum to discuss issues of economic growth and policy. This paper written for the Regional Institute of Policy Research & Training, Peshawar and presented to the forum raises important issues for deliberation. The United Nations decided through the Millennium Declaration, 2000 to halve poverty by 2015.Read More »Implementation of Millennium Development Goals in NWFP, Pakistan

// The following recent happenings should make us pause and reflect; a joint secretary of the ministry of finance is slapped and beaten by a rude and uncultured parliamentary secretary from Punjab; an NWFP minister accompanied by his religious party workers enter a private wedding celebration at night and ask to interview the bridegroom toRead More »Are we a failed state?

// Different conjectures were aired when the JUI-F got rid of its deputy speaker and three other legislative assembly members for taking bribes in the recent election for the vacant senate seats from NWFP; they had been found guilty for selling their votes.  The expelled belonged to the JUI (F) component of the MMA allianceRead More »Storm in a tea-cup or cynical maneuvering?