A Novelist’s Perspective on Pakistan – A Conversation with Bapsi Sidhwa

Bapsi Sidhwa is the internationally acclaimed and award-winning author of five novels, including The Bride, The Crow-Eaters, and An American Brat. Her book, Cracking India, tells the story of India and Pakistan’s 1947 partition through the eyes of a young Parsi girl, Lenny, who was inflicted with polio. The novel, which won the NY Times [...]

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Dr. Afia Siddiqui’s 11-Year-Old Son in Afghan Custody

An interesting update on the controversial Dr. Afia Siddiqui case, the Pakistani woman currently held on U.S. federal charges in New York but who is also suspected of being Prisoner 650, a prisoner-of-war who was held in U.S. prison in Afghanistan for the past few years, [see related posts]. Siddiqui allegedly disappeared in Karachi along [...]

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Pakistan’s Disabled Cricketers Make Strides

The recent negative developments in Pakistan has dominated media coverage of the country, with headlines focusing on coalition splits, impeachment debates, and the deteriorating economic and security situation.  However, the inspirational work of the Pakistan Disabled Cricket Association (PDCA) merits an opportunity to highlight something positive that is occurring in the country. On Monday, the PDCA announced that it “hoped [...]

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Zardari’s Bumpy Road to the Presidency

Today, I ran across an interesting article in the Financial Times. Entitled, “Doubts Cast on Zardari’s Mental Health,” the FT’s Michael Peel and Farhan Bokhari reported, “Asif Ali Zardari, the leading contender for the presidency of nuclear-armed Pakistan, was suffering from severe psychiatric problems as recently as last year, according to court documents filed by [...]

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CHUP Poll: Should Asif Zardari Be Pakistan’s Next President?

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Will the Coalition Survive?

UPDATE [930 EST]: Media outlets reported Monday that former PM Nawaz Sharif announced he is withdrawing his party from the ruling coalition. The Associated Press reported, “Sharif said Monday that he is pulling out of the five-month-old alliance because it has failed to restore judges ousted by ex-President Pervez Musharraf.”
Original Post Below:
There was a great [...]

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Bomb Blast Kills 59 at Pakistani Arms Factory

On Thursday, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside of Pakistan’s main army munitions factory, killing 59 people, reported the Associated Press. News sources (as is expected after major attacks) varied in their reports of casualties and few identified which group perpetrated the bombings. However, the Associated Press, Reuters, BBC News and Dawn all reported the [...]

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All Hail President…Zardari?

According to the Associated Press today, a major opposition party, the Muttahida-Qaumi Movement (MQM) voiced their backing for PPP co-Chairman, Asif Ali Zardari to become Pakistan’s next president, “as the power struggle following the resignation of Pervez Musharraf intensified.” The news agency added,

Zardari has played down speculation that he covets the top job. However, opposition backing will strengthen [...]

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Musharraf’s Exit: The Aftermath

News of President Pervez Musharraf’s surprise resignation yesterday prompted many media outlets and people to ponder the question, “What next?” The overwhelming response to Monday’s development motivated me to sift through the various assessments of the president’s exit.
From the Western Press:
The NY Times editorial discussed the challenges currently facing Pakistan’s coalition government in the wake [...]

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CHUP on BBC World Radio

I was really honored to take part in a dynamic discussion today on BBC Radio’s “World Have Your Say” program, where the topic was, “Will the world be a more dangerous place now that Musharraf is gone?“  The discussion started off a bit catty with PPP politician Syeda Abida Hussain insulting my accent and saying [...]

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