Lessons from the Peshawar army school attack

The year that saw Malala Yousafzai win the Nobel Peace Prize is drawing to a close with a horrific attack on schoolchildren in Peshawar. So much for our dreams of a world where kids can go to school without fear.

Malala’s got mail from the Taliban, but what in the world does it mean?

A Pakistani Taliban commander’s letter to Malala Yousafzai is a sort of madcap Islamist version of William Hazlitt’s “On the conduct of life, or advice to a school-boy”.

Egypt’s Jon Stewart ‘insults’ Pakistan, ‘cools’ Qatari relations: The show goes on…

Egyptian prosecutors are probing new complaints against TV satirist Bassem Youssef for “insulting Pakistan” just days after some critics warned that his skit lampooning Qatar would affect Egyptian-Qatari relations.

Taliban, CIA...who else can we blame for Pakistan’s polio campaign tragedy?

After a series of attacks killed eight Pakistani polio vaccination workers over two days, much time will be spent trying to figure whodunit. But with lives lost and more lives at stake, it’s time to set the blame-game straight. And it’s not the CIA.

Succession Sagas: Daddy Is a Warlord, Junior Has a Foreign Degree

A new Time magazine article chronicling the return of mujahedin scions educated in “some of the world’s best schools” is surprisingly long on commendation and short on condemnation.

Goodbye Haqqani, Hello Rehman, Pakistan’s New Woman on the Job

There are two men at the center of Pakistan’s “memogate” scandal: the whistleblower and the victim. They come from the opposite ends of the credibility spectrum. Now one man’s gone and there’s a woman replacing him. End of story? Oh no.

Another Pakistani reporter killed and this time, all eyes are on the ISI

Last year, when Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad published an incriminating story, he was summoned for “a discussion” by the ISI. Now with the news of his gruesome killing, all eyes are on the ISI.

Osama’s gone, Pakistan drones on and Afghanistan is the biggest loser

Osama bin Laden’s death exposed the trust deficit in US-Pakistani relations. But the US will continue to trust Pakistan with billions of dollars of aid while withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The losers? Afghanistan once again.

Silencing the Silent: Taseer’s Murder Exposes Pakistan’s Deep Divide

The murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer by his own bodyguard has exposed the deep divides within Pakistani society and threatens to further silence the country’s already beleaguered liberals.

Pakistan’s ‘Last Man Standing’ Against Blasphemy Laws Becomes Its Latest Victim

In a recent tweet, the late Punjab Governor Salman Taseer vowed to be “the last man standing” against Pakistan’s infamous blasphemy laws. With his horrific murder, Pakistan has lost one of the most vocal critics of one of its most criticized laws.