South Asia

AJ+ |– “Pakistanis are calling for the arrest of a Muslim cleric, Abdul Aziz, who refused to condemn the recent Pakistan Attack that led to 148 deaths. Some feel the Taliban school attack in Peshawar is a turning point in Pakistan’s complex relationship with extremist groups. There’s been an ongoing controversy both inside and outside […]

FATA

3 Problems Pakistani Politics has to Resolve after Grisly School Attack

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | — Pakistan politics has been mired in stagnation for some time now. In September of 2013, Pakistan undertook the first successful civilian hand-off of power in its entire history. Then-president Asaf Ali Zardari was succeeded by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Despite this milestone, Pakistan’s politics have been full […]

Afghanistan

Even Other Terrorists Denounce Taliban School Attacks In Pakistan

contributors

Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks) | — “”In one of the worst terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s history, militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday launched a brazen attack on a military-run school in the city of Peshawar. Officials said the eight-hour siege left at least 141 people dead, most of them students. Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed […]

History

‘The Struggle for Pakistan’ (Ayesha Jalal)

contributors

By Joseph Richard Preville and Julie Poucher Harbin (ISLAMiCommentary) Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville| — Pakistan is a nation with a strong will to survive. It has endured political upheavals, ethnic discord, military dictatorships, and the challenges of religious extremism. In her new book, The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and […]

FATA

Child Survivors Describe Horrors of Peshawar School Massacre

contributors

By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal | — [Written by Michael Scollon, based on reporting from Peshawar by RFE/RL Radio Mashaal correspondent Zaland Yousufzai (RFE/RL) ] Islamist militants have killed more than 140 people at a military-run school in Peshawar, most of them children, in a devastating assault Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called a “national tragedy unleashed […]

Afghanistan

Desperate Pakistani Taliban, on the ropes, attack Army School in Peshawar: Large scale Casualties

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | — On Tuesday, six members of the Movement of Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan or TTP) invaded a school for children run by the Pakistani army in Peshawar The Pakistani military counter-attacked, with early reports of dozens killed and wounded in the cross fire. Some of the Taliban were wearing suicide […]

Afghanistan

Enter the Dragon: China offers Iraq Aerial Strikes on ISIL/ Daesh

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | — The list of powers eager to see Daesh (what Arabs call ISIS or ISIL) defeated grew larger this weekend with a report in the Financial Times that Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim Jaafari received a pledge from his counterpart Wang Yi that China would intervene against Daesh from the air. It […]

Afghanistan

What if it was Russia and China invading and Bombing? The Blindness of MSM and Washington

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt (Tomdispatch.com) | — Let’s play a game, the kind that makes no sense on this single-superpower planet of ours. For a moment, do your best to suspend disbelief and imagine that there’s another superpower, great power, or even regional power somewhere that, between 2001 and 2003, launched two major wars in the […]