The infelicitous phrase ‘international basket case’ might better apply to Pakistan today than when it was applied to Bangladesh in the 1970s — Pakistan’s former eastern half. Bangladesh has surpassed Pakistan economicallyand in quality of life. There is even talk of Bangladesh graduating to upper middle-income country status. Quite a reversal of fortune as no one talks about Pakistan that way. Pakistani economists lament that Bangladesh overtook […]

Pakistan warned Thursday that cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan “is both alarming and dangerous” for regional peace, calling on the neighboring country’s ruling Taliban to honor their anti-terror pledges. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah issued the warning amid a new wave of deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people, mostly security forces.

Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul continue to rise. While Pakistan has made efforts to smooth over the growing rift, reopening a key border crossing at Spin Boldak-Chaman closed following cross-border gunfire that killed a Pakistani security guard on Nov. 13 and sending its minister of state for foreign affairs on an official visit to the Afghan capital at the end of […]

Pakistan has handed over medicines assistance for three hospitals built by the country in Afghanistan. The handover ceremony on Friday was attended by Afghan Public Health Minister Qalandar Ibad and his Pakistani counterpart Abdul Qadir Patel. The first consignment is leaving for Jinnah Hospital, Kabul. Second will be dispatched to Amanullah Logari Hospital in Logar and third to Nishtar Kidney […]

The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in a statement condemned Friday’s attack on Pakistan embassy in Kabul, adding security institutions will investigate the incident and that perpetrators of the attack will be punished. The statement said that IEA will not allow any individual or group to pose a threat to the security of diplomatic missions in […]

It can be argued that the binary construction, inherently divisive and discriminatory, of ‘self’ and ‘other’ is an outcome of the conditioned and egoic state of humanity. It reminds one of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida who said that ‘self’ and ‘other’ are different, but mutually constitute each other. Indeed, majority-minority group identities are constituted in a way where ‘majority […]

Superannuation is inevitable in all government organisations, and the armed forces are no exception. Yet, the impending retirement of a Pakistan army chief invariably becomes a major discussion point for the media with endless debates on who is likely to emerge as the next top man of the army. And when the name of the new incumbent is announced, the […]

Even as the floodwaters have receded, the people of Pakistan are still trying to grapple with the death and devastation the floods have left in their wake. The floods that swept across the country between June and September have killed more than 1,700 people, injured more than 12,800, and displaced millions as of November 18. The scale of the destruction […]

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Monday ended a monthslong cease-fire with the government in Islamabad, ordering its fighters to resume attacks across the country. In a statement, the outlawed TTP said it decided to end the 5-month-old cease-fire after Pakistan’s army stepped up operations against them in former northwestern tribal areas and elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, […]

A meeting was held between visiting Pakistani delegation led by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hinna Rabbani Khar and Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials on Tuesday, where various issues were discussed including the matter of Afghans in Pakistani prisons. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was chaired by the IEA’s Minister of Foreign […]