The shock waves from a brutal terror attack that claimed the lives of more than 130 children in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar are being felt around the world. The Taliban assault, which began…
The horrendous attack on the army school in Peshawar has once again brought to public attention the pervasiveness of violence in Pakistan. Terrorism in the country is an almost everyday occurrence, but…
Shahzeb, a university student in Islamabad, who comes from the mountainous region of Waziristan in Pakistan, designated as a “tribal” area since colonial times, summed up the burden of harassment his fellow…
The awarding of a shared Nobel Peace Prize award to a 17-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, and a 60-year-old Indian man, Kailash Satyarthi, is historic and aimed at conveying multiple messages…
The Nobel Peace Prize is a major achievement in itself. For it to be awarded – jointly with the Indian anti-child slavery activist Kailash Satyarthi – to a teenager still at secondary school is extraordinary…
With Islamic State’s advance in Iraq and Syria gripping the world’s attention, al-Qaeda has been left on the sidelines. That all changed on September 4, as al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri released a 55-minute…
The protests that have rocked Islamabad for weeks seem to be soothing somewhat, with opposition leaders Imran Khan and Tahir ul-Qadri reportedly agreeing to begin negotiations for a political solution…
Shortly after Pakistan’s May 2013 elections returned Nawaz Sharif to power, I published an article asking whether, having been twice removed from the office of prime minister with less than half his term…
Though they have only just garnered international attention, the current protests on the streets of Islamabad started on Pakistan’s independence day, August 14. Ostensibly fomented by Imran Khan, former…
Ashok Sharma, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Reports that Pakistan has launched an offensive against militants in North Waziristan come after years of pressure from the West for Islamabad to deal with the wild border region which has for many years…
Only recently, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) was expected to fall apart: violent rivalries had split the insurgency in two, peace talks with the government had collapsed, and military jets had hit hide-outs…
The devastating Taliban attack at Karachi’s Jinnah airport this week was shocking not just for the loss of life, but for the sheer brazenness of the assault. Pakistan is no stranger to terrorist attacks…
The US’s program of drone strikes in Pakistan has, according to recent reports, slowed down considerably. But while this will encourage various observers, and while the Obama administration earned some…
The US government has told a group of local health educators that it will no longer use immunisation programs as a cover for espionage. But the damage from previous such programs is difficult to undo…
The Indian election has been afforded much publicity in the Western media. A record 814 million eligible voters have been expressing their choices in a poll taking place in nine phases. Voting began on…
Sumantra Bose, London School of Economics and Political Science
The seven million people living in the Kashmir Valley have a distinctive regional identity. Now the Valley’s continuing estrangement from the rest of India has sparked a peculiar incident on the campus…
Talks between the government of Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were initiated last week in a secret location in the country’s north-west. These talks…
In the past week, violence has hit several industrial areas in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where hundreds of thousands garment workers started protesting against unfair working conditions. They are demanding…
Jessica Jewell, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
UN inspectors descend on Iran this week to visit the Arak heavy water plant, and engineers at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan attempt one of the most challenging nuclear salvage operations…
At a meeting at the Wall Street Journal this week, Martin E Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that the United States’ ability to exercise influence in the Middle East had significantly…