How the country's all-powerful military succeeded in bringing down the Pakistani ambassador to Washington.
Former Pakistani ambassador (left) Husain Haqqani, with US senator John Kerry and President Asif Zardari in August 2010Source: Getty Images
On October 11 the FT published an article by Mansoor Ijaz, whom they describe as an American of Pakistani origin who helped negotiate between the Sudan government and the Clinton administration in 1997. What Ijaz said in his piece was that fearing a military coup ... read more
The death of two British nationals in Pakistan raises serious questions about UK complicity.
In the latest casualties from America's hidden war in Pakistan, two British nationals have reportedly been killed by drone missiles.
According to their friends and familiy, Ibrahim Adam and Mohammed Azmir died in a single strike in Waziristan at least three months ago. Both men were suspected of terrorist activity -- Adam had absconded from a control order (yet was still able to leave Britain and enter Pakistan; there is a ... read more
His memoirs, written while he was still military president of Pakistan, are a fascinating source of inadvertent information.
How much did Pervez Musharraf and his then head of intelligence (from 2004-2007), Ashfaq Kayani, now head of the army, really know? Musharraf's 2006 memoir, In the Line of Fire, suggests they may have had more than an inkling that Abbottabad was something of an al-Qaeda hotbed.
As president of Pakistan, Musharraf describes how the army was pursuing Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the alias of Mustafa Muhammad, who, after the death of ... read more
Many of those who are quick to condemn the country have a limited understanding of its structures and attitudes.
In the aftermath of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, big questions have emerged over Pakistan's role and its relations with the US.
John Brennan, a counterterrorism adviser to Barack Obama, told journalists that it was "inconceivable" that Bin Laden did not enjoy a "support system" in Pakistan. While both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have emphasised Pakistan's importance in fighting al-Qaeda, the circumstances of his discovery are damaging.
Carl Levin, a ... read more
Almost no one believes that the ISI could not have known of Bin Laden’s whereabouts.
Now that Bin Laden has gone to a watery grave, attention is focused on the role of Pakistan. Almost no one believes that he could have rented a mansion in Abbottabad, within a mile of "Pakistan's Sandhurst", without the knowledge of the Pakistani secret service (the notorious ISI).
Ming Campbell and Rory Stewart are among the British politicians who have argued that ... read more
David Cameron criticises Pakistan’s tax-dodging rich at a press conference in Islamabad.
In a speech at a press conference in Islamabad, David Cameron told Pakistan's elite that:
Many of your richest people are getting away without paying much tax at all – and that's not fair.
When considering Cameron's words, let's remember that the UK facilitates the very same actions through its sovereignty over 13 of the 24 biggest tax havens in the world, including Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands and the City of ... read more
The PPP’s decision to back down on blasphemy laws gives a huge boost to the country’s extremists.
Shahbaz Bhatti has become the second prominent Pakistani politician this year to die for his opposition to the country's blasphemy laws.
Bhatti, the minister for minorities and the only Christian member of the cabinet, was shot dead outside his home in Islamabad by four gunmen proclaiming themselves to be the "Punjabi Taliban".
Like Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab who was shot on 4 January, Bhatti advocated ... read more
The death of Taseer is a huge blow to all those working for a peaceful and modern Pakistan.
"One must be determined and brave in standing up for human rights," Salman Taseer told me at my last meeting with him at the Governor House, less than two weeks before he was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards angered by his opposition to blasphemy laws.
Taseer, the governor of Punjab and a member of the ruling PPP party, was widely regarded as one of the most high-profile and influential ... read more
The international relief effort has worked — but it has thrown up new problems.
Flying over Pakistan's Swat Valley, you can see encouraging signs of post-flood reconstruction. Where bridges had been destroyed, temporary structures are being put in place, where roads had been washed away now hardened dirt tracks are appearing, and where schools had been flattened, makeshift buildings are being erected.
I had deliberately held off visiting Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of the devastating floods this summer to avoid becoming another spectator getting ... read more
Despite its terrible troubles, this part of the western subcontinent is lively, beautiful and misunderstood.
I've worked in Mumbai and been in India many times, but have always had an ill-concealed soft spot for Pakistan, which sits in the west of the subcontinent.
Pakistan has a much longer history than its three-generational link to 1947 -- it's the land of Gandhara Buddhism, Ashoka and his pillars, the lovely city of Lahore and the archaeological remains of Mohenjo Daro as well as the Indus ... read more
History, ethnic mix and religious breakdown — all in one elegant infographic.
Occupying the centre spread of our current issue is this excellent primer on Pakistan. Click on the image below to see it in all its glory.
Making an association between the flood and the war on terror distracts attention from the disaster.
Flood levels in Pakistan are expected to surge even higher along parts of the Indus River in Punjab and Sindh. But as the crisis caused by the worst flooding in the region for 80 years deepens, the international response remains inexplicably slow.
An analysis of UN figures by Oxfam this week shows the shocking disparity between aid contributions to relieve the ... read more
what is so irritating is the arrogant presumption that people soft-headed enough to subscribe to superstitious twaddle are somehow morally superior because they share an ill-defined delusion which...
From p stanton, 15 February 01:34
Sure, "Sir Michael". Let's honestly invent and negotiate our laws, rather than pretend they came from some magic man in the sky we don't really quite believe in. That's part of the point of RDF's...
From G Wilson, 15 February 00:37
calm down beef, you know that this dynamic will go on forever and a day.
From gmac, 15 February 00:35
Can the UK achieve it’s commitment to carbon reduction targets by 2020?
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