At Least 100 Dead in Mumbai Terrorist Attacks…

On the same day that India and Pakistan negotiated a joint anti-terrorism mechanism, agreeing to exchange information on terrorists, coordinated attacks struck India’s commercial capital Mumbai Wednesday. At least eight targets were hit and 100 are said to have been killed, and hostages are reportedly being held in the Hotel Oberoi. Although a previously unknown [...]

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Pakistan Strengthens Alliances, IMF Approves $7.6 Bn Credit

On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund announced that its executive board had approved a credit of 7.6 billion dollars for Pakistan, “the Fund’s first rescue in Asia since the global financial crisis began,” reported the AFP. According to USA Today, “The IMF said a first installment of $3.1 billion will be transferred immediately.” The news [...]

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A Dancer and Activist’s Perspective on Pakistan: An Interview with Sheema Kermani

Sheema Kermani, a classical dancer, teacher, drama artist and women’s rights activist, heads Tehrik-e-Niswan, ["The Women's Movement"], an organization dedicated to improving women’s rights in Pakistan by raising awareness through the use of dance and the performing arts. According to the group’s official website, Tehrik feels “that the fight for women’s rights has to be [...]

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The Case of Dr. Afia Siddiqui – Updated

On August 5, 2008, CHUP first reported about Dr. Afia Siddiqui, the Pakistani woman who, along with her three children, disappeared in early 2003. Many, including her family and several human rights groups, claim that Afia was actually Prisoner 650, a prisoner-of-war who was reportedly held without trial in a U.S. prison in Afghanistan. Despite [...]

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U.S. Missile Strike Kills 5

According to media outlets today, a suspected U.S. drone attack fired two missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least five and wounding seven. According to CNN, “The strike targeted a home outside the tribal areas that U.S. intelligence says have become a haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters battling U.S. and [...]

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Mustafa Kamal: The World’s Second Best Mayor? – CHUP’s Correspondent

CHUP recently introduced its new correspondent. Each week, Jackie, an American now living and working in Karachi, [see her first post], will discuss the prevalent day-to-day issues occuring on the ground. Below, she addresses the controversy surrounding Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal’s alleged award of being the world’s “Second Best Mayor”:
Last week, several media outlets, including [...]

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CHUP on TGK

The Green Kaleidescope, a monthly online magazine that highlights the diverse perspectives and views of Pakistanis at home and abroad, included my piece [originally posted on CHUP] on the Balochistan Earthquake that occurred several weeks ago. Click here to read it, and to read this great publication. Although this month only marks its third issue, [...]

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Three Days, Three Incidents of Violence in Peshawar

On Thursday, media outlets reported that an Iranian diplomat was kidnapped in Peshawar one day after a U.S. aid worker was killed and two days after a suicide bombing at a sports stadium in the city. According to news agencies, at least four gunmen abducted the man, identified as Heshmatollah Attarzadeh, [the embassy's commercial attache [...]

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A Military Perspective on Pakistan – An Interview with Shuja Nawaz

Shuja Nawaz is a political and strategic analyst, and the author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within, [click here to read reviews and purchase the book on Amazon.com]. He previously headed three separate divisions of the International Monetary Fund, was the first director of a large division of the International Atomic [...]

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U.S. Aid Worker Assassinated in NW Pakistan

Media outlets are reporting today that an American aid worker working for a U.S.-based development firm was shot and killed in Peshawar. According to the NY Times, the man, identified as Steve Vance [Dawn identified him as "Stephen Wanz"] was “assassinated” in his car when he was on his way to the house in Peshawar [...]

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