Tag: pakistan

Swat Residents Try to Make Life as Normal as Possible 

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Amid news of the Pakistani government’s arrest of another Taliban leader and a suicide attack in the volatile Swat district this month, residents here are bent on making the most out of a life that has been returning to as close to normal as possible. Since the Pakistani military reclaimed control of … Continue reading “Swat Residents Try to Make Life as Normal as Possible “

Jailed Taliban Leader Still a Pakistani Asset

Contrary to initial U.S. suggestions that it signals reduced Pakistani support for the Taliban, the detention of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the operational leader of the Afghan Taliban, represents a shift by Pakistan to more open support for the Taliban in preparation for a peace settlement and U.S. withdrawal. Statements by Pakistani officials to journalists … Continue reading “Jailed Taliban Leader Still a Pakistani Asset”

Destabilizing Pakistan

Almost every day, reports come back from the CIA’s "secret" battlefield in the Pakistani tribal borderlands. Unmanned aerial vehicles – that is, pilotless drones – shoot missiles (18 of them in a single attack on a tiny village last week) or drop bombs and then the news comes in: a certain number of al-Qaeda or … Continue reading “Destabilizing Pakistan”

Tough Minds and Tender Hearts

I spent Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday in Washington, D.C., as part of the Witness Against Torture fast, which campaigns to end all forms of torture and has worked steadily for an end to the indefinite detention of people imprisoned in Guantanamo, Bagram, and other, secret sites where the U.S. has held and tortured prisoners. … Continue reading “Tough Minds and Tender Hearts”

Pakistan: Vestiges of War, Hopes for Peace

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – "We aren’t going to be browbeaten by acts of cowardice and [will] continue exposing Taliban and [other] militants," said an angry Shamim Shahid, president of the Peshawar Press Club (PPC). The spate of media killings in Pakistan in the year just past – and the likelihood that it could continue unabated this … Continue reading “Pakistan: Vestiges of War, Hopes for Peace”

Civilian Surge Expected in New Pakistan Aid Plans

U.S. plans to substantially increase non-military aid to Pakistan to help curb Islamist extremism there will initially require a marked rise in the number of U.S.-based experts working in the country, according to a State Department "Strategy Report" released to Congress earlier this week. The 20-page strategy, which earmarks half of the seven billion dollars … Continue reading “Civilian Surge Expected in New Pakistan Aid Plans”

The Af-Pak Train Wreck

When President Barack Obama laid out his plan for winning the war in Afghanistan, behind him stood an army of ghosts: Greeks, Mongols, Buddhists, British, and Russians, all whom had almost the same illusions as the current resident of the Oval Office about Central Asia. The first four armies are dust. But there are Russian … Continue reading “The Af-Pak Train Wreck”

Increased Focus and Growing Pressure on Pakistan

While President Barack Obama’s announcement last week that he will "surge" 30,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan has received all of the attention here over the past week, Pakistan appears to be looming larger than ever in Washington’s strategic calculations and concerns. Not only is Washington increasing pressure on Islamabad to deny safe haven to … Continue reading “Increased Focus and Growing Pressure on Pakistan”