The Supreme Court of Pakistan has fired a volley at the beleaguered civilian government. In its latest decision, the Court announced that "The Government is not taking interest to observe the order for the last two years," adding that "the Court has taken an oath to defend the...

A few short weeks after President Obama took the oath of office, he introduced a policy to combat terrorism in South Asia. This policy became widely known as AfPak, a term coined and promoted by the then-U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. The term reflected the Obama...

Osama bin Laden: killed and al Qaeda: on the run. That's the balance sheet -- more or less -- that the U.S. has to share with the world. Meanwhile, its biggest ally in the War on Terror -- Pakistan -- has nothing to present except that its own people have...

There is never a dull moment in Pakistan. You'll always find big news of one sort or another. If it's not extremists killing hundreds of people in broad daylight in a crowded marketplace, then it's a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a mosque or a shrine. If it's not...

Only a year ago, the Obama administration decided to ramp up military support to the Pakistani army as part of an effort to persuade Islamabad to do more to combat militants. The new military aid, which was contingent on Congressional approval, was expected to amount to more than $2 billion...

The tense relationship between Pakistan and the United States has often been described as a bad marriage. Like a couple teetering on divorce but frozen in mutually dependent inertia, the U.S. wants one thing while Pakistan wants another, at least most of the time. This love-hate relationship long precedes the...

It's surprising to many that the majority of Pakistanis support the Islamists and their apologists as the saviors of their religion. But this didn't happen overnight. The mindset of the large segment of society didn't change with a blink of an eye.

No serious attempt has been made to analyse...

The relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan has almost always been termed as crucial. It has also been characterized as complicated because of the mistrust on both sides. The question is, why is there so much suspicion? Is it just because of the difference of interests, that the U.S. wants...

It was early 2008 when the Pakistan Peoples Party came into power and long-time politician Yousaf Gilani was named Prime Minister. There was change in the air. Emotions were intensified. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto and hatred for General Pervez Musharraf had energized the Pakistani populace.

There were high expectations...

The playwright Samuel Beckett once asked, "Does one ever know oneself why one laughs?" Apparently, no one answer has yet been found. Some find humor in tragedy. They try to find reasons to laugh especially when helpless. Such has been the case with Pakistan.

The sense of humor is...

It was embarrassing enough for the people of Pakistan to find out that Osama bin Laden was living in their midst for years. Even more shameful was the realization that their politicians are incapable of questioning the security apparatus of the country. The masses rallied and protested and faced hardships...

One of the most familiar story lines in the beloved comic strip "Peanuts" involved malicious prankster Lucy holding a football and encouraging poor Charlie Brown to kick it. At the last moment, Lucy would pull the football away. Year after year after year, Lucy played Charlie Brown for a sucker....

You can't fool all of the people all of the time. At some point reality catches up to you.

Just like it did in Pakistan over the past week.

During the six years that Osama bin Laden was "hiding" in his compound in Pakistan, experts compiled research, wrote...

Bin Ladin is dead. Again. In the last ten years he has been reportedly "killed" at least four times. The only difference this time was that the president of the United States announced the death of the number one terrorist in the world. Above all, this time he was killed...