The Strange Case of the Indian Channels That Did Not Air the 26/11 Documentary

The 48 minute documentary titled "Terror in Mumbai - Dispatches" consists of interviews with victims, actual CCTV videos of the terrorists at various sites, video testimony of the captured terrorist Ajmal Kasab

Vision21: Waziristan Strategy or Pakistan Strategy?

Pakistan and Waziristan were not always like this. How we have come to this pass is crucial to analyse, but even more urgent is to assess that are we prepared enough to win this battle?

Zombie Nation - Random Thoughts!

The day begin with the graphics of Peshawar Bombing and Madam Hilary Clinton making a news conference with our foreign minister whose son, works as an intern for Senator Kerry's Office back in Washington D.C.

Terrorists Have Bombed My Future by Killing My Children

This is a true story of a man who met the young boy who was bombed in Lahore. I miss him. We miss him. He died because we are silent.

The Rex Cinema Fire

The atmosphere in Pakistan seems to be getting ripe for a situation, where, if the government does not regain the full confidence and trust of the people, it would be difficult to stabilize the situation again.

GHQ Attack-Serious Questions

The enemy is not in Waziristan or Afghanistan. The enemy is our own damn inefficiency and complacency. It merits serious thinking at all plains , tactical,operational and strategic.

I Held My Daughter Tight in the Peshawar Carnage

This is a true story of a man and his daughter who witnessed the Peshawar bombardment.

Mr. President, Stop the War!

The destruction of the Twin Towers was a fluke mass murder by a bunch of terrorists led by an evil genius who is now in your custody, and who, like Zarqawi, used to communicate with Osama bin Laden now and then. That's about it, get over it, it's been e

The Innocent Image in a Mirror

Where the looks turned to,
The happiness hid its face from;
And the blood and the soul,
With each tear came out;

Kabir Khan's "New York"

The film taps into what it imagines they (NRIs) want. What they want, apparently, is to be white in a white America.

Movie Review: New York

A thoughtful comment on terrorism that took place in America on 9/11 and its aftermath.

Is TALIBANIZATION a New Phenomenon?

Media has been an effective tool in changing public opinion; earlier it was demonstrations against US drone attacks, but some clips of Talibans, beating a woman, slaughtering Pakistan army and people took a 360 degree turn.

The Ever Changing MQM

The future is likely to see support for MQM from non Urdu speaking Pakistanis, as they begin to see MQM in positive light with regards to its active role in opposing religious fundamentalism.

Lessons From Another Lahore Tragedy

Our whole generations seem to have been sacrificed at the altar of the Afghan ‘jihad’ and now the war on terror.

Time for Introspection

Burying our head in sand like an ostrich will not get us anywhere. We need to come out of our siege mentality. The entire world is not out there to get us. The threat that we face is internal.

Insha'Allah: An Evening Walk in the Time of Terror

Ma! Terror reigns In each corner. Every criminal Has armed himself Using the name of Allah. Or if not that-Freedom. Or better still-Revolution.

Guerrilla Warriors...Freedom Fighters or Terrorists?

Are they motivated by love or hate? Do they promote peace or violence? Are their leaders progressive or regressive? Do they take their communities to a higher or a lower level of human evolution?

The Stone Age has Come

Ideas may give birth to nations but ideas do not sustain them. Ideologies are the province of well-fed stomachs, warm beds and loving embraces.

Out at Liberty Market

Let the people of Lahore march peacefully in protest on Liberty and fly the Sri Lankan flag on the streets. And let the cricketing lions of Lahore, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, lead that march.

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming

Another day, another catastrophe in Pakistan. For all intent and purpose international cricket is done in Pakistan for years to come, you can put a fork in it.

Study Of Terrorism

Is terrorism determined by socio-political, psychological and economic forces or springs from individual? What can we learn from theories of Durkheim, Faisal Devji, Walter Benjamin

Attack on Sri Lankan Team

From the pictures, seen by all of us, we have observed, that there was serious lapse of security due to lack of compliance on part of PCB and law enforcement agencies.

Who Keeps the Deadly Duo in Business

Salman Taseer now rules supreme in Punjab, reporting, every so often, to Zardari who now rules supreme from his hideout in the President’s House.

Lahore Terror Attack Targeting Sri Lankan Team: Who is behind it?

The killing of five policemen and two others in Lahore blows the lid off the security arrangements in the city, especially at a time when the Sri Lankan team was visiting the city.

In Search of Political Will: Fight Against Militants in Swat

Not only the state of Pakistan has the right to take arms against these elements but rather has a duty to curb these elements with all of its might.

Palestinians Look for a Sliver of Hope in Obama Presidency

It appears Obama is reconsidering his earlier stance to take into account the historical background of the Middle East situation.

Swat Calls For Civil Society to Act

Government writ is a faded vision; elected councilors and Nazims are killed, women no more allowed to visit bazaars; markets are deserted, police stations vacated.

Terrorism Unveiled

Once again, the Israelis bomb the starving and imprisoned population of Gaza. The world watches the plight of 1.5 million Gazans live on TV and online.

Babel

“Babel� is the best word that describes the present situation in South Asia. Have we solved issues like poverty, unemployment, malnutrition that we want to go to war?

Thereek-e-Televiban: A Short History

Thereeka-e-Televiban (TT) – also called the Cable TV-Mujahids- is a militant organization operating in the cities of Pakistan. It is a collection of various radical groups.

An Old Man, an Ima and the 'green chili pickle' Woman

There is weariness to the soul and those images that seared my heart and mind for 70 long hours are now clamoring to be understood and their significance internalized and understood.

The Mumbai Terror Apologists

Whether or not other Muslims agree with their actions, the first step is to admit the existence of Pakistan-based Islam-inspired terror.

Introspection – Pakistan and Terrorism

Isn’t dispensing power to non state actors a crime against the state itself, and those who committed it should be brought before the court on the charges of high treason.

Open Letter to all Pakistanis: Bombay, Faridkot and Us

No matter how legitimate one's grievance or cause, it does not sanction violence aimed at unarmed civilian populations far removed from the cause itself.

A Just War?

If defensive war is found to be just, there is moral imperative to wage it; even if one is morally against war itself. Case regarding Pakistan's role in Mumbai attacks.

One Hour From Midnight

If the people clamour for more stringent laws, the government is bound to heed. After all, no political party can be trusted to resist a demand for a police state.

Do Not Wash This Blood; Do Not Wipe This Tear: Get Angry

Change the system, change the governing tools, change the consitution, change the laws, change the criminal jurisprudendec system and dump the politicians of present variety.

Zardari: An Emerging South Asia Statesman?

The article 'The Terrorists Want to Destroy Pakistan, Too' by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, published in NYT on December 9, 2008 is significant in many ways.

Evil Walks the World Today

Pakistanis are in denial and Indians are baying for blood and pointing a finger across the border at Pakistan as the source of the murderous plan.

How to Stop Terrorism: Appeal to Advani

Terrorism cannot be fought or prevented by mere expansion of our firepower. To attack it, we need to attack the tools of terrorism and roots of terrorism.

No Short Cuts to End Terrorism

There was such a huge feeling of outrage against the lapses of the intelligence and security services, the custodians of law as well as all the politicians and officials.

Pleas For Sanity as Sabres Rattle Over Mumbai Mayhem

Angry condemnations lead us nowhere; political demands may make vote-catching politicians rethink strategies, but we need to create space, think things out in the long term…

Mumbai Wounded

Yet amidst death,
The goodness of humanity, triumphed
Unknown brave hearts
Shielded strangers, fellow beings

I Am A Pakistani

(India, America) These are countries that I carry in my heart but do not carry their passports. I am a threat to the safety of their people. I am a threat to my friends.

India-Pakistan: Empathy, grief in Pakistan for Mumbai mayhem

The Mumbai attacks, hitting in the midst of the fifth round of the ongoing composite dialogue between India and Pakistan, are likely to have wide-ranging repercussions for India and Pakistan relations

An Indian Muslim

The Indian Muslim doesn’t need people killing in his name. He needs reform. The community is one of the most backwards in India, and largely the blame has to be shouldered by itself.

Terror in Mumbai.....and also in 'Bannu or somewhere'

Also in ‘Bannu or somewhere’?? What does that mean? That the premier of this country was not briefed about a bomb blast. Or that it has become so routine that one does not care to know the complete facts.

Mumbai Attacks: Shocking

This kind of terrorism is unforgivable and must be condemned unilaterally in no uncertain terms, in all forms, in all contexts.

Terror Unlimited

I Hope that God’s wrath doesn’t fall on Punjab because we, the inhabitants of NWFP, are truly suffering from the wrath of militants and other criminal elements, terror unlimited as I call it.

The Taliban and Our National Interest!

The Pakistani Taliban is not an ideological but an opportunistic anarchic group. The farrago of Sharia is a cover to step up recruitment to create anarchy in FATA and NWFP.

Ways of the Taliban

Its tradition of gory acts of public beheading, suicide bombings and acts of terrorism is rapidly unmasking the Taliban in NWFP and swinging public opinion against them.

Momin Khwaja Case: Canada's Anti-Terrorism Law Tested

Khwaja could not have been proven guilty of criminal charge and would have gone scot-free without the anti-terror legislation; By Oct 29 ruling, he is likely to get life imprisonment.

The Man in the Mirror

How naïve we are sitting in one part of the world watching someone like us getting hurt somewhere else and we don’t do anything about it thinking it is not going to happen to us.

Seeking a way out of the 'war on terror'

The calls by decision makers for political engagement rather than military means to end the ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan reflects a major change in US policy.

Terrorism Accused: Is Legal Aid Justified?

The BJP National President, Mr. Rajnath Singh’s recent statement opposing the providing of legal aid to the suspected terrorists

Losing the Battle, Losing the Faith

The car is an old Toyota Mazda with two gentlemen with long beards. Few years back I would've thought how blessed are they for practicing the religion of peace. Today ...

Demon

They slither, mock, and laugh at me
these demons, I can't walk away
I feel the curse well up in me
it tugs the life right out of me

Better Times

It is Akhtar’s fifth year in captivity. Like the others, he too is given the food confiscated from the UN and other aids which came in frequently at different locations in the city.

A Weak Pakistan is a Threat to Neighbours

Thanks to past policies, Pakistanis are caught between a rock and a hard place - American military attacks on the border and suicide bombings and sectarian violence around the country...

Into The Thick of the Battle

It is in the interest of the US that Pakistan is given a free hand to deal with the Taliban on its side of the border. This is Pakistan’s war now.

We Have Met the Enemy and the Enemy is Us!

How the Chowkidar is Destroying the House from Inside.

The Marriott Bombing: ‘Pakistan’s 9/11’?

The message was clear: they can strike Pakistan’s capital, and they care nothing for democracy or for religion.

Don't Shoot the Messenger

We can go blue in the face shouting about the pernicious predators, but we stay silent while innocents are slain within our own borders.

Hotel Babylon: The Marriot Hotel Explosion

The latest reports from Geo News, as I write, are that a small car entered the front of the hotel and a man came out screaming for those who wanted to save themselves to run.

A Guantanomized Age

The questions aimed at us fall into two broad categories: "Why aren't more moderate Muslims condemning terrorism?" and "What is it about Islam that produces terrorists?

Emerging Pakistan-U.S. relations

On September 12, 2008, Army Chief Ashfaq Kiyani sought to defend Pakistan’s sovereignty by authorizing the Army to retaliate to any attempts by ‘foreign troops’.

Delhi Under Fright, Innocent Targeted

Today evening on 13th of September around 6’o clock bomb blasts took place at prime time in markets. The first attack took place at Karol Bagh, Gafar market.

September Morning

The pace might be pathetically slow but an increasing cadre of writers and thinkers have started to question smugness of the Islamic world.

Aafia Siddiqui to Appear in Court

Disappeared in Pakistan, hysterical screams heard in Afghanistan, and now appearing in a New York court

Responsibility of the Media and the Repercussions of Terror Strikes

What is forgotten in the attempt to pacify the people is that there is no restraint in labelling a community responsible.

Ahmedabad Blasts: Numbed Apathy and The Conspiracy Of Our Resilience

I lost my Chacha (father’s younger brother) in the Ahmedabad blasts yesterday. He was only 49. No, he had not participated in the post-Godhra riots of 2002.

The Indian Mujahideen – The Answer to BJP’s Pseudo-Secularist Fascism or a New Method to Spread Unrest?

The blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad have brought into focus the potent terror network that exists in India unbeknownst to Indian intelligence agencies and the government.

A Fatal Act-Bad News for India Pakistan Relations

The assassination of Indian Defence Attache in Kabul on 7th July 2008 is a watershed in the ongoing undeclared low intensity war in Afghanistan.

The Emerging Threat

According to some people, Mangal Bagh has the full backing of government. If this is true than another Frankenstein is in the making.

Simply Outrageous!

In their recent visits, the US officials kept looking for those who could listen to them and nod in the affirmative. They found none.

The Deoband Declaration on Terrorism: Why Now?

On February 25, 2008 an “All India Terrorism Conference� was attended by over 10,000 Islamic clerics, scholars, muftis and teachers.

The Naval War College Bomb Blasts

I was about 800 meters away from the bomb blast. The force of the explosion was powerful enough to rattle the windows nearly a mile away.

Long Road Ahead

PML(Q) showed a very dismal performance with managing just 38 seats against the boastful claims of more than 110 seats in national assembly before the elections.

Monday Morning Blast in Rawalpindi ... An eyewitness account

This morning marked the first day of classes for the current batch of officers chosen from around the country to take the Unit Command Course. Five of them never signed-in today.

Taliban, Pashtoons and Pakistan

The militants have become so bold that they have started to fight pitch battles against the Army instead of employing hit and run tactics that were the hallmark of tribal battle skills.

Child Interrupted

The boy who blew himself in Dera Ismail Khan last Muharram was hardly 17 years old. Still a child, legally speaking, dying a violent death, martyr to some, and terrorist to others.

Why the American War on Terror is Failing Miserably

USA's counter terrorism effort in the Global War against Terror is frankly creating more terrorists than it is stopping.

Pakistan at War

There is little doubt that Pakistan is under attack by the combined forces of Al Qaeda and Taliban. It is equally clear that the war is not going well.

Voice from Waziristan

Today on 28th October, 2007 I woke up to the horror stories of killing and beheading of thirteen people in Swat, Pakistan.

Of Carnage and Triumph

At least 135 innocent lives lost; hundreds of families devastated.

A Silent World

There are bodies strewn as far as the eye can see. Are they amongst these dispersed corpses? No! I quell all such thoughts. To be certain, I now start looking carefully.

The Arrest of Nuon Chea- Terror is an Old Hat

The arrest of Nuon Chea, a now obscure but once powerful symbol of terror re-minds us that the war against terror is not a new one.

Twin Blasts in Rawalpindi leaves 27 dead, 70 injured

A chilling response to Musharraf's military operation in tribal areas

Suicide attacks: Is there an end in sight?

During the first seven months of 2007, nearly 22 suicide attacks were carried out in the country.

As The Drama Unfolds

Mulana Abdul Aziz calls for Jihad one minute and runs for his life the next second.

Liberation of a Monster

The double standards employed by the US to protect its own buddy Posada have shocked the world. By its refusal to either prosecute Posada for his crimes against humanity on its own or refusing to extradite him to Cuba or Venezuela it has clearly violated

Why Have This Train At All?

The complete Samjhauta Express scenario as it operates now, with a full night for the bad guys and their cohorts to create havoc between Delhi and Attari, as well as on the way back, is all about smuggling between India and Pakistan

Terrorists Strike Samjhota Express

Both India and Pakistan have condemned this act which appeas to have been timed to disrupt a high level meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

Why Not Hate All Types of Terrorism?

People seem to pick and choose which terrorist groups to denounce. Why not denounce all of them?

India-Pakistan talks: the endless cycle

The two countries agreed to set up a six-member panel to counter terrorism; A nuclear safety agreement was signed; However, no progress took place on reducing troops in Kashmir and in Siachen.

Hang Guru, if that helps

Right from the day, the death warrants were pronounced Srinagar city is under virtual siege as it has become difficult for the government and forces and keep protesting people off streets.

9/11: DOB of Islamophobia

People all over the world are marking the fifth anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack ever. It’s time they marked five years of the onset of Islamophobia too and searched for its permanent end.

Terrorism is Nobody's Monopoly

There are or have been terrorist groups among Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and even Buddhists. And secularists amongst these (anarchists) have been the biggest killers.

Jihadis are Our Real Enemies!

No more can we dilute our debate by blaming external conspiracies; imperial design, Zionist strategy, Hindutva resurgence etc. Our enemies are within…

Facing the Inevitable (Part I)

How different are China and the US anyway?

Psychology of Suicide ’Bombers’

A ’suicide bomber’ symbolizes a contradiction, vulnerable yet strong. He wants to die and yet also live forever. He is the most rational being in planning his attack and yet acts in the most irrational way by being destructive to himself and o

Let's Kill All The Moslems

The other option is to sit down like civilized people and figure out why is it that these kids like the one's in London most recently and in Canada couples of weeks ago, are trying to resort to violent means to settle the score? Is it frustration? Is it h

Trite Phrase of the 21st Century

Oxford English Dictionary gives one of the definitions of the word terrorism as “government by intimidation”. Surprisingly the meaning has been reversed by the anti-terrorist states as “intimidation of government’. Going deep into

Corporate War on Terrorism

After decades of brutal war, emergence of Islamized violent power group in Afghanistan under the name Taliban was a sign of colossal failure of the idea of society and intellectual bankruptcy.

US QDR Impacts the World Scene

US Quadrennial Defense Review Report-2006 is a document that combines in it the attributes of philosophic prose of realities and phenomenal wishes studded with Mr. Rumsfeld’s impact of steely personality.

When Locals in Locals lost their Lives - July 11, 2006

When you share a compartment in a Mumbai local train, you bond with the others in there.

Terrorism: Do you handle it as a crime or as a war or both?

I would prefer to go down the British School. The reason is that given a strong legal system, it is always better to de-legitimise the political agenda of the terrorists.

Mumbai Rocked by Seven Bomb Blasts

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put India’s major cities on high alert and called an emergency meeting. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for this dastardly act.

The Long War: Rethinking American Options in the War on Terror

As the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attack approaches, the United States political thought still has not crystallized the manner in which it hopes to confront the challenges of the Global War on Terrorism.

Blowing Up People and Property is Not Islam

The arrests, last week in Toronto, of 17 mostly Muslim youths, some barely in their teens, should be a wakeup call for the Muslims of Canada, calling this largely tolerant, and happily multicultural country their home. It’s high time for a reality c

Education isn't the Magic Bullet for Terrorists

What makes an educated person suddenly decide to break all these education and culturally provided societal constraints and go off to murder innocent people? It is just not terrorists, but we see this behaviour in normal society as well.

On death of a Terrorist

I did not know what to feel about the death of the most dreaded murderer and terrorist. I thought I should feel something.

Colours of Terrorism?

The attack on RSS headquarters allegedly by terrorists belonging to LeT preceded by large haul of arms from Aurangabad and Malegaon in Maharashtra has brought into short focus the dangers posed by Jehadi terrorism and its sprawling homegrown network.

Gods of War

With atrocity upon atrocity piling up in the US war against terror, one has to wonder if the world’s most self-righteous nation will ever have the courage to be morally righteous or not.

Images and Symbols -- Deconstructing the Iraq War

The destruction and control of Iraq was essential in shattering the Jihadi spirit and to stop the cycle of revenge. Three years later, Iraq’s destruction is almost complete. The obliteration of the US buildings in the United States has been avenged

The Quest for American Popularity in Pakistan

Public diplomacy may melt some icy precepts in Pakistan but American ideals will still flounder in the murky waters of conspiracy theories until there is tangible movement towards regional reconciliation

Anatomy of a Karachi Bomb Blast

With so many issues whipping the air like a tornado on the national canvas it is impossible to assign responsibility of such terrorism to any single group unless someone claims it and provides a signed affidavit to that effect

Give Us this Day our Tandoori Chicken

Apart from the usual news, there were accounts of the latest breed of terrorists. They need no bombs, they are small and undetectable and they are constantly on the move

Here We Go Again

I have yet to see a lot of Pakistanis marching in protest against these terrible jihadi outfits, like they do, against, say, women marathon runners, or supposed Christian blasphemers?

A Devastated Metropolis

Plots and skirmishes have footnoted the sub-continent’s history, warmongering coupled with bomb blasts sometimes provide the punctuation. The question is can we as a South Asian people stem the tide and end this feudal-frenzied animosity through cro

Bomb Blasts in Delhi

A series of bomb went off in Delhi on Oct 29th, three days before the festival of Diwali.

The Ambiguities of Global Terror

Although the acts of terror are spread over a wide canvas, but each event and situation has its own dynamics. The suicide bombers in Iraq are motivated by reasons that are different from London or bombing at the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.

Terrorism and the Muslim World

Certain extremist outfits in Muslim countries, and the most violent of them so to speak, were erstwhile partners of the West for their own vested interests.

20th Century Versions of Cronus

Ideologies are good and fine for a period, but after some time, all that the people want to do is to live in peace. That is where the control starts slipping and the terrorist groups start devouring themselves.

Muslims and the Road to Perdition

In today’s globalized flat world, Muslims must harmonize themselves with other communities and reap the benefits of a changed world. Like the true deputies of God on earth, let’s make it a better place.

Confronting Terror

A successful confrontation of terror will have to include addressing its deep-rooted psychological and socio-economic origins. This can only be done via a comprehensive economic and political partnership between the Muslim world and the West.

Pardon, didn’t mean to kill you...

Three frozen moments of grief, captured by wire photographs at different parts of the world in one day last week stand out... Anguished families in Brazil, Kashmir, and Iraq, captured by Reuters and AFP cameras and printed in newspapers on July 25 are tie

Recent Terror in Egypt

Egypt is where it all started as early as 1928. Indeed it was not as much a reaction to non-Muslims or even colonial rule as it was opposed to its own co-religionists.

London’s Hour of Reckoning

A surreal silence and eerie calm haunts Europe. Yet Londoners display steely resilience in the eye of the terror tiger.

London Targeted: Numbers Game

today’s mourning
in the wake of
yesterday’s jubilation
and the futility of
fragmenting one
into us and them

Ayodhya Back On Top

Why did it come now?
What was the aim of the attackers?
Who benefits most if the peace process is hindered or rolled back?
How soon will calm prevail?

Dance of the wolves

No part of the temple has been damaged. But the red alert has been sounded. To protect temples and other religious places. Not human beings.

Ride Across the River

For one long instant, I have the feeling that I’ve been transported back to that day. That any second now, as we drive past, the bicycle will explode and send sharp bits of metal slicing into my flesh. As it once did to 38-year-old Major Abhimanyu S

Shrinking Violets in the Global Village

They come on TV shows and accuse each other of chicanery; they create issues where none exist; they worry audibly about our morals while possessing none themselves; they embezzle our money and wail about the disastrous state of our economy; they nearly di

Confessions of Jihadis

And while it is often feared that to explain terrorism is to justify it but it is only in this introspection that we can understand that the question is not what Islam has done to muslims but what the muslims are doing to Islam

The Beslan Silver Lining

If our battle against terrorism has to be more sophisticated we have to realise sooner than later that the greatest tool at our disposal is the piety, decency, and courage of the world’s vast majority of muslims.

The Dragon’s Teeth

There are many more like the man with the briefcase who walked into the Sialkot Imambargah. They did not develop their warped mindsets overnight -- nor will they be wiped out overnight by military means.

The Unbeatable Weapon

Washington doesn’t realise it faces a weapon capable of defeating superpowers.

Use of the Internet by Terrorists

Even shutting down the sites can’t stop them from spreading their agenda ... by the time the website is forced to shut down, the material has already been replicated all over the web.

Muslims Meet the FBI

A mutual outreach effort is underway across this country as American Muslim leaders and officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have been getting together to address not only the concerns of one party but also the expectations of the other

The War on Terrorism Stalled?

This was the first, albeit the most important, of many legal fights to come.

An Alternative Blow to Terrorism

Some experts claim Al Qaeda is now stronger than ever - others say it has been weakened by the Afghanistan and Iraq campaign.

Some Mother’s Son

There is strength and inspiration to be drawn from those who use their pain, not to cause further destruction, but to heal and move ahead. One such woman is Visaka Dharmadasa, whose young son Achinte went missing in September, 1998 when the LTTE attacked

Questions About Thursday’s Attack

how in the world does a bullet-riddled van full of armed assassins get away so easily in rush-hour traffic.

September 12

you toss my brothers in the water– sink or float? now tell me– what separates the sheep from the goats?

To Die For.....the War at Wana

Images flashed on the television screen; a burning truck, scattered FC troops behind mud barricades and coffins wrapped in the national flag. This was the footage of the war taking place in Wana - where our soldiers are engaged in a bloody combat with the

False Alarm

This true story is about how terrorism, coupled with an odd coincidence has affected my life.

Iraqi Resistance Warns Turks to Keep Off Iraq

Many Turkish experts suspect the bombings were a warning to Turkey, one of few Muslim countries to have ties with Israel.

Outsourcing Torture

I too was born in a Muslim country. Should I carefully try to recall who I came in contact with during my 35-year stay in Canada and be careful not to transit through an American airport?

Who is Afraid of Al Qaeda?

As another tape from Osama surfaces on October 18, 2003 ...

Iranian Nuclear Program nettles the US

If the US failed despite exhausting all the diplomatic options to halt Iranian programme, would the Americans resort to exhibit its military supremacy against a much weaker country? Or will it encourage a mutiny in Iran? Or will the US attack Iranian nucl

A Tale of Two Fugitives

While one is known to inhabit jungles somewhere in the Western Ghats at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, in southern India, the other has his last living address somewhere in Afghanistan or Pakistan

Just Another BLOW-UP?

The moment I saw that shiny steel box, I knew it spelled trouble. I had no idea of what it contained, but my gut feeling was that it would not be a fair report.

Suicide Bombers

If you don’t allow people to live honourably, you cannot deny them the luxury to at least die defiantly

A Strange Tango

It’s easy for Pakistanis to blame everything on the United States (the west in general). The truth is that’s why they do it. Surely our economic and social woes have more to do with our own inability to right our ship, no matter how evil the A

History Rehearsing: Dark Ages of Islam

poor masses hopelessly in search of a savior

When Democracy Failed: The Warnings of History

The 70th anniversary wasn't noticed in the United States

They Shoot Kashmiri Pandits, Dont They?

They say they will act as a “buffer against the export of jehad into India”. They who ran away?

War and Terror

Is use of precise weapons of mass destruction justified to destroy imprecise ones?

February 14th with the INS

I was petrified and insisted on accompanying him to the INS office.

The Urdu Press in New York

We never thought we would flee America

The March of Folly

Is It A War On Islam?

What, then, should be the strategy for all those who believe in a just world and are appalled by America's war on the weak?

USA and Muslims

Muslim extremists generally dislike non-Muslims and they hate various people at local level

The Unmaking Of Gujrat

The key players in these elections and therefore Indian polity seem like characters in a drama of the absurd.

Husain Haqqani at UC Berkeley

Pakistan has to revisit its relationship with India

Hypocrisy Big

Is America an Empire? Is the Pope Catholic?

Jihad – The Misperceptions

It would be unfair to mistrust the dedication and valour of the jihadis

Myopic, Malevolent, Megalomaniac

Musharraf knows that PPP (P) and PML (N) would not like to join hands with MMA because it displeases USA

Unraveling Pakistan: Taming The Shrew-Mare

Pakistan’s Army has become a wild mare. It has to be broken into. It has to be re-taught to walk, run, trot

Road Blocks in Normalising Relations

If cross border terrorism ceases, facilitating a dialogue between India and Pakistan, will a dividend of long term peace follow?

India’s Potential Lose-Lose-Lose Scenario

India may actually be helping Pakistan in the long run, not harming it, with its current war hysteria

The Hindu Right

Advani’s yathra in an air-conditioned Toyota left a trail of blood in its wake

The Quarterbreds of Californet

What choice is left in the face of such enmity?

The Last Crusade

Sharon’s visit finally removed the façade from the Israeli diplomacy

The Pattern of Violence

if the man at the helm sees the larger picture

Deja Vu

General Musharraf should be open and honest

The Panel of Vendettas at UC Berkley

A true hero would make a radical notion and never back track

The Place of Debate

He said there was also a need for debating on the concept of secularism, whether it is contrary to Islamic teachings and concept?

Empty Vessels And All That Jazz

do you think he is up to task to rid us of feudals next?

Indian Diplomacy : Time To Recheck

The year saw a marked upswing in new Delhi’s relations with the US, Russia, Japan, Germany and France

Borders are Made of These

if I join this ideological war, the blood will only congeal in my heart

India, Pakistan and America’s Mixed Signals

War is the last thing that we need there

Is Jehad Passe’?

it is too early to say that the military has changed its spots

Muslims and The West After 11th September

America has exacted blood revenge for the Twin Towers

Here Are the Muslim Feminist Voices, Mr. Rushdie!

Muslim women HAVE been speaking out against the obscurantist Islam he decries

A Decision to Regret

the Afghans have always resisted a government imposed from abroad

Jihad: Paradoxes and Defining Moments

There will always be a lunatic fringe in the Muslim society

Bahr-e-Zulmaat

a mother who wears the hijab suggested to her 28-year-old daughter she take it off

Explaining it to an American Friend

godspeed and prudence in this time of grieving

Implications for India

India needs to show maturity

Caught In Between

Pakistan is on the defensive almost constantly

Random Thoughts From a Far Away Land

On the Eve of Pakistan’s Independence day ... these thoughts occupy a migrants mind

Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry, SJ

An interview with a war hero ...

The Quest for Power

It took General Zia 14 months after the July 1977 coup to assume the Presidency, while General Musharraf waited 20 months to do the same

The Winds of Change

When the world’s only superpower changes direction, smaller states, especially those located on the periphery of potential conflict, have to be nimble in adjusting their policies.

A World Upside Down

can the United States honestly determine the reasons behind the tragedies in Washington

Bigotry, Racism and American Media

all of us have vividly seen that Israeli security forces consistently breached all international human rights standards

A Different Story

The winds of change are slowly whispering their way across the South Asian sub-continent

Negotiating Human Rights

arrested in Pakistan for saving the life of a battered woman

Khuda Hafiz, Kashmir?

I am a militant. According to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member ...

The Millenium Manifesto or ’Ikeesween Sadi Dastoor’

Kashmir does not belong to Pakistan regardless of historical events during partition...

Twosome Troubles of Troublesome Two

The adolescent behavior of both the Indian and Pakistani elites and their awry management of bilateral relations has become a matter of international notoriety

Falsehoods Galore

Pakistan has thus turned into an oligarchy well versed in the art of making things disappear

Karachi, a City Born of Dreams, Bred with Love and Left to Rot

Only Karachi can define Karachi the way it is

A Visit to Pakistan

Could it be that there is a feeling that India does not accept the existence of Pakistan?

Evolution of South Asia

Information revolution and the future of the sub-continent

Muslims should take control of their own image

Whining about caricatures only shows an unwillingness to face reality.

Monks on a Pilgrimage

a peace march to Pakistan across the India-Pakistan border

Wag the Dog

A war between the lackeys of capitalism claiming to represent the free world, and violent, fascist mercenaries

ATA: A Terrifying Act

There are numerous silly, but harmless laws, as well as a few really dangerous ones. One such well-intentioned but seriously flawed law, is the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The Pakistani Connection: An Opinion

Pakistani media watchers have to be concerned today because people and the newspapers in this country have recently started mentioning Iraq and Pakistan in the same breath.