In the 1930s, no foreign language was more dominant in Afghanistan than Urdu. At no time in Afghanistan’s history did Urdu have more influence in the corridors of power in Kabul than in the 1930s. After Persian, Urdu was also the most widely spoken language...
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A letter to Mrs Priyantha Kumara from an ashamed Pakistani
Dear Mrs Priyantha Kumara, As I write these lines, you would be receiving the remains of your husband. The husband you knew as a loving and living human being, your life partner, with whom you must have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories. Father...
The importance of Turkmenistan’s pragmatic Taliban stance
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow expressed a very pragmatic stance towards the Taliban while addressing the United Nations General Assembly via video earlier this week. Publicly financed Russian international media outlet TASS quoted him as...
Why did Imran Khan and Glenn Beck join forces?
Popular conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck recently praised Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan for intervening to assist his private effort to evacuate American civilians and some of their local allies from Afghanistan. The disclosure of their close...
The second amendment and its impact on religious harmony
Whoever has needed to get their Pakistani passport made or renewed may know that in order to start the process, Muslims must, as part of the paperwork, declare Ahmadis non-Muslims. To challenge this bigotry, a Pakistani citizen, Hareem Sumbul, recently...
Sowing the seeds of hope in Thar
As I stepped out of the coaster with my colleagues and onto the barren land that is Thar, I knew my perception of the world was about to change. It was surreal to look at the vast expanse of sand, almost glistening under the hot sun. The light brown...
The long and short of the Single National Curriculum
The Single National Curriculum (SNC) for grades one to five has gotten a lot of attention since the new textbooks were published. Many concerns have been raised about the pictures on the covers, as well as about the actual content inside the textbooks....
How significant was the reported Islamabad intelligence summit?
Reports circulated over the weekend that Islamabad hosted an unprecedented summit of regional intelligence chiefs. The Russian, Chinese, Iranian, Uzbek, Kazakh, Turkmen, and Tajik ones allegedly participated in this gathering. None of these countries...
Pakistan’s ambivalent economic outlook
Pakistan’s economy is witnessing a swift changeover courtesy of Shaukat Tarin. The government has shifted gears from stabilisation to growth by adopting expansionary policies. It hoped to induce sustainable growth on the premise of having rectified the...
What did the Pakistani ambassador to Moscow say to Russian media?
Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan was interviewed by Russia’s publicly financed international media outlets Sputnik and TASS, which reported on his comments in five separate articles here, here, here, here, and here. For the sake of those...
Who does and does not support the Taliban in Afghanistan?
The Taliban victory would not have been possible without (some degree of) popular support. No neighbouring country can sustain an insurgency for 20 years, especially against the U.S. and its NATO allies, unless the insurgents have a support base inside...
Should the US rely on the Taliban instead of airstrikes to fight ISIS-K?
The US is increasingly concerned about the growing capabilities of the ISIS-K terrorist group after last week’s attack at the Kabul Airport. It’s since launched two separate strikes against its members, the first of which was against some of that attack’s...
The Khan-Putin call is a defining moment in Pak-Russian relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to call Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday was a defining moment in their countries’ bilateral relations, which have been rapidly improving over the past few years. According to the Kremlin’s...
