As the Tripartite Talks Come to an End, Pakistan’s PM Calls for “Elimination” of Militants

On Thursday, Pakistani PM Yousaf Raza Gilani announced to the nation that the army was being called into Swat, “to restore the honor and dignity of our homeland.” He asserted in his nationally televised address, “We will destroy those elements who have destroyed the peace of our people and our nation.” According to the Washington [...]

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Beitullah Mehsud Claims Responsibility for Manawan Police Attack

On Tuesday, media outlets reported that Beitullah Mehsud, the head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the Manawan police academy in Punjab province, which killed at least 13 people, including at least eight recruits and instructors, and wounded more than 100. Mehsud reportedly told Reuters by telephone, “Yes, we have carried out [...]

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Some Good Pakistan News Op-eds to Check Out

From The News, op-ed contributor Babar Sattar wrote in “Pakistan on Trial”:

It is not the Pakistani identity of Ajmal Kasab that makes Pakistan guilty of having a hand in Mumbai. But it is the misguided inclination to hide unflattering truth born of false pride and misperceived patriotism that could make us complicit. The Indian media’s [...]

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National Security Chief Fired After Mumbai Statements

Mahmoud Ali Durrani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States and the current national security adviser, was fired after publicly acknowledging the surviving Mumbai attacker – Mohammed Ajmal Kasab – was Pakistani. According to a statement released by PM Yousaf Raza Gilani’s office, Durrani was fired because “he gave media interviews on national security issues [...]

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Pakistan Slated to Talk with IMF, Boucher Visits Pakistan

Media outlets report that Pakistani officials will meet with representatives from the International Monetary Fund in Dubai on Tuesday, “amid growing speculation that the country may formally ask for a balance of payments support program,” noted Reuters. According to the news agency, “The CNBC news channel reported on Sunday that the seven-month-old civilian government would [...]

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Selling the War on Terror

The most recent issue of the Friday Times** included an in-depth discussion of the October 8th in-camera parliamentary briefings, [see this past post for more background]. According to the news agency,

In a move seen as an attempt by the government to win over skeptics and dissenters within Parliament, parliamentarians were given an overview of the [...]

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As the Dust Settles, President Asif Ali Zardari Emerges Victorious

Yesterday’s presidential election ended with the predicted result – PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari swept the polls, winning a two-thirds majority that made him the next president of Pakistan. So what now? Does the future of Pakistan fall magically into place? Are all our problems solved because, hurrah, we now have a new president? Not [...]

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Sharif Facing Corruption Charges as Presidency Election Approaches

On Tuesday, a Pakistani prosecutor for the state anti-graft agency, the National Accountability Bureau [for more background on the agency, read this past CHUP piece] announced he wanted corruption charges against PML-N head Nawaz Sharif taken up by the courts. However, reported Reuters, “Sharif says the corruption charges, filed against him after he was [...]

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Pakistan Investigates Honor Killings

On Monday, Pakistan opened an investigation into the honor killings of five women “who tried to choose their own husbands,” reported media outlets today. The BBC reported,

According to reports from Balochistan, three women between 18-20 years of age from the Imrani tribe were abducted by tribesmen who had heard about their plans to marry [...]

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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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