General Articles

Hillary Clinton's visit with a difference was probably the most significant event in Pakistan-American relations since the advent of President Barack Hussein Obama. She came, she saw, but while she did not quite conquer the "hearts and minds" of Pakistanis, Hillary at least earned their grudging admiration. She showed more guts than the bunkered-up Pakistan rulers, who refuse to leave the comfort and safety of their "5-star prisons" in Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on Sunday dubbed the address of President Asif Ali Zardari a speech of a confused, frightened and angry person who sees enemies all around within Pakistan and outside.

As 2009 draws to a close, there are genuine reasons for hope that Pakistan is turning the corner in its quest to overcome some of the challenges by moving in the right direction. While a perennial “cribbing culture” is purveying doomsday scenarios, reinforced by some of our American friends who had virtually written off Pakistan predicting the country’s “imminent implosion,” the hard fact is that Pakistani society’s resilience and resolve were grossly underestimated.

There is consensus on three issues across the political spectrum of Pakistan: that military takeovers are not the solution to our problems; that corruption is a major issue in this country and we need accountability; and that we are proud of our independent judiciary and media, which have emerged as a check on an overweening executive, whether civilian or military, after decades of struggle.

Caught between competing constituencies, President Barack Obama has chosen the best of a bad bargain. Having inherited a weak hand, he is treading the middle ground between open-ended escalation and an immediate exit.

An interesting dynamic seems to be developing in today's Pakistan. There is an inverse relationship between the success of Pakistan's counter-insurgency and the failure of the country's counter-terrorism. Clearly, since the beginning of the military offensive in April, the militants are on the run but, concurrently, they have run amok by striking Pakistan's urban population at a time and target of their own choosing.

New Delhi -- WHEN, in May 1991, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India was killed by a suicide bomber, there was an international outpouring of grief. Recent days have seen the same with the death of Benazir Bhutto: another glamorous, Western-educated scion of a great South Asian political dynasty tragically assassinated at an election rally.

It's wrong for the West simply to mourn Benazir Bhutto as a martyred democrat, says this acclaimed south Asia expert. Her legacy is far murkier and more complex

om Plate says that despite her faults, Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as a true Muslim heroine.

Disfigurement of the superior judiciary during the last decade first began during the "democratic" period when Ms Benazir attempted the forcible ouster of Chief Justice (CJ) Sajjad Ali Shah, consummated finally by Mian Nawaz Sharif during the second reign.