Hafiz Saeed’s release completes the political mainstreaming of jihadists in Pakistan by ensuring that the prime suspect of the Mumbai attacks, and a UN designated terrorist, will now not only be able to streamline militant activities targeting India, he can now properly spearhead the MML and eye the Parliament next year…Saeed’s release has both symbolic […]
Pakistani strategic culture stems from pathological geopolitics infused with a Salafi jihadist ideology, suffused by paranoia and neurosis. The principal but not exclusive reason that Afghanistan has seen discernibly improved quality and quantity in its forces as well as fighting capacity, yet continues to face a strategic stalemate, is the Pakistani security elites’ malign strategic […]
Western observers are often blind to social currents within the Muslim world. During the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011, outside analysts confidently predicted that the uprisings would marginalize the jihadist movement in favor of more moderate and democratic reformers. In fact, the opposite happened… Read Here – Foreign Affairs
After deploying its ground and air assets across Syria, Russia entered into an agreement with the Shiite leaders of Iran and Iraq to coordinate military efforts. At the podium of the United Nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin looked as if he had pulled off a masterful power play in the Middle East. But Putin seems […]
The high level of motivation of jihadis in Muslim lands can only be understood by realising, as commentator Faisal al-Yafai points out, that jihadis have a radically different conception of history: they see Islam at the cusp of a special historical moment when its momentous destiny is being shaped. They see themselves as playing a […]
Pakistan’s military-to-military cooperation with Saudi Arabia goes back five decades. Between the 1960s and 1980s, tens of thousands of Pakistani troops were stationed in Saudi Arabia, working under Saudi command. Pakistani fighter pilots trained their first Saudi counterparts, and in 1969 flew jets that successfully repulsed incursions by Yemeni forces. Pakistani engineers built Saudi fortifications along its […]
If Sharif has learned any lesson from his previous two stints as prime minister, it should be that his chances for serving a full five-year term in office will depend on his establishing a modus vivendi with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. His prospects for establishing civilian control over the military and intelligence agencies, however desirable […]
looking beyond borders 