October 2011

The contemporary age is particularly conspicuous because Pakistan is regularly visited by crises of great magnitude. By the start of September, I had to come to Cairo for some official assignment. It was a good opportunity to visit Egypt and to savor the Historic Egyptian Civilisation that has always been the tourists’ attraction. Moreover, it is always refreshing to take …

Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. If history is any hunch we can be definite that the decade ahead will bring with it many new challenges in peace and security, not just in Afghanistan, but also in new crisis around the world. Much conjecture has …

At a time when the relations between Pakistan and US go from bad to worse, it is important that Pakistan formulates a comprehensive national policy to deal with the security challenge. As the anti-Pakistan cacophony by the top American administration officials reached frenzied pitch accusing Pakistan of supporting the Haqqani network, Pakistan bounced back with a vengeance. Both political and …

Is the Haqqani Network really capable of what the high US command in its recent statements have accused it of? Named after its founder and veteran Mujahideen commander Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Haqqani network is once again at the centre of a heated debate. Senior US officials have levied blunt warnings and accusations, claiming that this group of insurgents is …

Bhutto believed that only nuclear weapons could guarantee Pakistan’s security against Indian threats. A doctrine is a set of principles that are formulated for a specific purpose. A nuclear doctrine, therefore, is a set of principles formulated for employing or not employing nuclear weapons and the associated systems in the wake of war. Pakistan, since its inception in 1947, is …

LeJ’ which stands out for its secrecy, lethality and unrelenting pursuit of its core objectives; targeting the western interests in Pakistan and the Shia community and the eventual transformation of the country into a Taliban-style Islamic state. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) ‘widely believed to be an al-Qaeda-linked anti-Shia and anti-US Sunni-Deobandi sectarian turned jehadi organisation’  has let loose a reign of …

Eventually Pakistan and the US will recognise the compulsions of their partnership, notwithstanding the prohibitive costs The affair between Pakistan and the United States, closest allies for a better part of Pakistan’s life as a state, is becoming curiouser and curiouser. Both sides are indulging in ungainly rhetoric of a confrontation neither of them can afford, and the reasons for …

Instead of unmasking the faces of those who have since long hijacked the city of Karachi, if the Supreme Court gives more importance to some other political or worldly consideration, it will be an act of worst injustice with the ordinary people of Pakistan, who will not be able to see the real faces of those who claim to be …

Prof. Dr. Masoom Khan Yasinzai Vice Chancellor Quaid-i- Azam University, Islamabad Dr Masoom Khan belongs to Yasinzai tribe of Balochistan which is the sub-tribe of Kakar tribe. He got his education from Balochistan till the university level. He did his PhD from UK. In addition to PhD he has four post-doctoral research experiences from four different countries. Five students have …

The new growth framework developed by the Planning Commission is an innovative plan that seeks accelerated and sustained growth and development Planning Commission of Pakistan evolved a new strategy to boost the long run growth of the economy.  This strategy is based on the consensus that without economic growth, country cannot be put on the path of progress and prosperity …