The unpopularity of US drone strikes has been exaggerated
Pakistani politicians fume and rant against US unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strikes against al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in the tribal areas in Pakistan’s North-west. The outrage is a charade, at least for the politicians in government, because some of the UAVs are operating out air bases in [...]
NATO’s supply route through Pakistan is a gravy train for the military establishment…and the Taliban
Western troops fighting in Afghanistan depend on the Karachi-Khyber-Kabul supply route for 70 to 80 percent of their needs. While its importance to US and NATO forces has received considerable coverage in recent months, there has been less attention given to [...]
…and the Indian wisdom concerning mangoes and trees
It is impossible to eschew sarcasm when you read that the alternative supply route through the Central Asian states “could leave the United States more reliant on cooperation from authoritarian countries like Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which have poor records when it comes to democracy and human rights.”
One would [...]
…shouldn’t be taken seriously anymore
It is about time the Pakistani government—as indeed some of the country’s more enlightened newspaper editors—stopped this ridiculous business of asking for evidence and promising legal action. These demands may be a fig leaf to cover their own impotence against their military establishment, but they only have the effect of reinforcing [...]
It’s 2008
You write (linkthanks Offstumped)
…we should push much harder for a peace deal in Kashmir—including far more pressure on India—because Kashmir grievances empower Pakistani militants. [NYT]
Now you are a perspicacious man. So it is baffling that you miss the point by a thousand kilometres. Because today Pakistani militants are far more empowered by Afghanistan, NWFP [...]
If you are robbed by the Taliban, remember to ask for a receipt
If you thought that posing for photographs with hijacked US military Humvees was a nice touch, you will find this nicer.
Yet many expect raids on the convoys to continue. Rahmanullah, 28, said the attacks have become so commonplace in recent months and so [...]
The après moi le déluge routine
President Asif Zardari wants the world to bail Pakistan out—financially to the tune of US$100 billon—because, if he fails, Pakistan with its arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads could be toppled by al-Qaeda and its allies.
A remarkably familiar pitch it is. Until a few months ago, it was General Musharraf who [...]
..and violations thereof
Over at Five Rupees, Ahsan has an excellent take on the goings-on between the United States and Pakistan along the Durand line.
I should also stipulate for the record that the violation by the U.S. of Pakistan’s sovereignty—the notion that a state practices exclusive control of territory within its borders—in FATA is a red [...]
Nuclear power to the rescue
For some good writing turn to Mohammed Hanif in The National (linkthanks Samanth Subramanian):
Every pundit in Pakistan has made a long to-do list for President Zardari: security, economy, electricity, flour prices, fuel prices and more security. No doubt the Americans – who made his presidency possible, and who, despite his democratic [...]
The story of the two wishes
The farce continues to remain with Yusuf Raza Gilani. The hapless Pakistani prime minister told his surprise guest from Washington DC that he was surprised at the recent raids by US forces into Pakistani territory.
Gilani said he had reminded the visiting US admiral on Wednesday that in his closed-door meeting [...]
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