The TTP has been insisting till very recently that they represented all the groups committing terror in Pakistan. Only when the terrorist acts continued unabated after the negotiations started that the TTP (and their vocal sympathizers) changed tack and started distancing themselves from the sporadic violence. Even then only proforma regret was expressed. It took…
Dear Readers, Now that the government has formed a new Committee for holding talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), will peace prevail again in Pakistan? If one is to look back there is very little chance of that actually happening and here one is reminded of Albert Einstein’s famous quote, “Insanity is doing the something over…
Besides the recent dastardly attacks on policemen and Rangers in Karachi, the TTP brutally beheaded 23 Frontier Corps (FC) men in their custody in Afghanistan. Why are we talking to these sadistic murderers when they are not going to stop their atrocities, and more importantly, does their negotiating committee really have the mandate to represent…
To quote my article “Keep PIA flying” (June 20, 2013), “Facing multiple crises simultaneously – most of them man-made – Pakistan’s workforce and institutions remain amazingly resilient. Beset by extraordinary interference over the years, both during military and civilian rule, PIA continues operating thanks to the competence of its core staff, for this miracle one…
The recent Islamabad attack highlights the fact that the TTP either, viz (1) has no control over most of its 30 plus factions (and certainly not on the 60 or so ones criminally inclined but existing under the cover name of TTP), or worse (2) is deliberately ignoring the obvious militancy of groups not under…
Dear Readers, The World Economic Forum (WEF) is committed to improving the state of the world by assembling together and engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society in an effort to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. It is best known for its annual winter meeting in the mountain resort of Davos in…
Our major problem is that we cannot seem to separate Counter-insurgency (CI) operations from Counter-terrorism (CT). Terrorism is more urban- based, insurgency normally operates mainly in rural areas. With great sacrifice CI has been a resounding success, a CT policy does finally exist now but it is yet to be translated into reality. Contrast the…
Dear Readers, This DJ issue is dedicated to one of my flying instructors who died recently in Canada. Cal Patrick Tierney was no ordinary individual, both as an instructor and a human being he was outstanding. A very clear and upright person, he was an excellent professional and a very good friend. An extract from…
What a travesty that the prime beneficiary of Ms. Benazir Bhutto’s murder should shed crocodile tears on her death anniversary and call former President Pervez Musharraf a “Billa” (tomcat). While one could disagree with Pervez Musharraf on any number of counts (including the NRO that permitted Zardari another go at Pakistan’s treasure chest), Musharraf is…
To trace the origins of insecurity in Pakistan we must study both the natural and contrived deficiencies in our social, political and economic sectors. Ethnic and religious strife have not only morphed but become further complicated by ruthless terrorist activity. Unfortunately partisan and parochial viewpoints from both sides of the spectrum tend to be counter-productive…
