In my first article of this three-part series, I made the case that the victory of the Taliban would radicalize Pakistan and increase its global nuclear threat. Notably, the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is not only changing its eastern neighbor, but also fundamentally altering the...
It is now well known that younger officers in the Pakistani army are no longer members of the Scotch-swilling elite. To understand the growing radicalization in Pakistan, it is instructive to read Nadeem F. Paracha, a noted columnist in Dawn, Pakistan’s most reputed newspaper. In 2013, he...
Kabul has fallen again to the Taliban. Surprisingly, so has the Panjshir Valley where the legendary Ahmad Shah Massoud defied both the Soviets and the Taliban. Even more surprisingly, India has stayed silent so far. It was in 1996 that the Taliban took over Kabul the last time around. Following...
Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed joins FO Talks by Fair Observer to present his controversial thoughts on Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
When Pakistan was formed in 1947, it included two parts: West and East Pakistan. These two parts of the country were approximately 1,600 kilometers apart. Between them was India. The two parts of Pakistan were divided by more than distance. The biggest linguistic group in East Pakistan were...
Fact 1: The June 3, 1947, partition plan announced by the British government and its 1947 Indian Independence Act pertained only to the directly-administered British provinces and other territories. Note that there were 565 princely states that covered 40% of the area of pre-independent India...
Tensions are rising in South Asia after India ended the special status for Jammu and Kashmir by revoking Article 370. Lockdown continues in the Indian state as key leaders are in custody, communications are blocked and thousands of troops patrol the streets. Across the border, Pakistani Prime...
Blasphemy laws create religious extremism, repress the people, bind the hands of government and paralyze the country at will. On February 25, 2018, Rome's ancient Colosseum was lit in red to condemn Asia Noreen’s death sentence. Commonly known as Asia Bibi, Noreen is a Christian woman in...
The world’s major nuclear powers are treaty-bound to move toward disarmament. The India-Pakistan clash underscores the need to get moving. The recent military clash between India and Pakistan underscores the need for the major nuclear powers — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France —...
India and Pakistan can either make peace or continue in an endless cycle of violence. On February 14, a suicide bomber killed more than 40 paramilitary police in Indian-administered Kashmir. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a militant group based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack....
