Brendan J. Cassar, chief of UNESCO’s cultural program in Afghanistan, has—for the moment—backed denials by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) denial that their soldiers damaged remains of the Bamiyan Buddha statues (destroyed by the Taliban seven years ago) by… Read moreAfghanistan: ISAF troops destroy Buddhist artifacts?
In the face of growing violence, NATO is considering ending its rotating command for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. NATO commander Gen. Bantz Craddock of the US said “it would be better if we had one country… Read moreUS to take control of NATO Afghan force?
Baitullah Mahsud, an al-Qaida ally who leads the Taliban in Pakistan, pulled out of a peace deal with the government after it refused to withdraw the army from tribal lands on the Afghan border. Tribal elders in Pakistan’s South Waziristan… Read morePakistan: Taliban leader pulls out of talks
A suicide attack in front of a mosque in Zaranj, capital of Nimroz province in southwest Afghanistan, killed 16 and wounded more than 30 others April 17. The attack took place as worshipers were preparing for evening prayers. At least… Read moreAfghanistan: insurgency spreads
A car bomber tried to hit a government building in the Tani district of Afghanistan’s eastern Khost province March 3, but Afghan guards opened fire. A police officer was killed and five others, including an Afghan soldier, were wounded in… Read moreAfghanistan: bombs rock Khost
The third suicide attack in Pakistan’s northwest in as many days left up to 40 dead and 30 wounded near Darra Adam Khel, North West Frontier Province, March 2. The bomber struck a grand jirga of five tribes in Zarghon… Read moreDefeated at polls, Pakistan’s Islamists strike back with bombs
Ten alleged terrorists, mostly Arabs, were killed and seven others injured in a missile strike on a house near the village Kaloosha, South Waziristan, near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan Feb. 27. A “security source” told the Italian news agency AGI… Read morePakistan: another US air-strike?
The Taliban, it seems, are a bunch of posers. If they were for real in their rejection of modernity, they would want cellular telephones banned on principle, and not merely to prevent the whereabouts of their apparently cellphone-addicted militants being… Read moreTaliban threaten cell phone companies
Oops, he did it again. While it has gone largely unnoticed in US media coverage, press outlets on the subcontinent are noting (with trepidation or glee) alarmingly bellicose comments by Barack Obama at the Austin Democratic presidential debate Feb. 21… Read moreObama rattles saber at Pakistan —again
Divided over whether to boycott the polls, Islamist parties were among the biggest losers in Pakistan’s general elections. Islamists participated in the 2002 elections under the banner of the six-party Muttehida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), and secured 66 seats in the National… Read morePakistan elections: Islamists lose —despite intimidation
Three bombings in as many days have left 140 dead in Afghanistan’s Canadian-occupied Kandahar province. More than 100 were killed in a suicide attack on a dog-fighting competition on the outskirts of Kandahar city attended by local luminaries Feb. 17…. Read moreKandahar carnage; Canada sends in the drones
A guardedly optimistic op-ed, “In Pakistan, Islam Needs Democracy,” appears in the Feb. 16 New York Times by one Waleed Ziad of the Truman National Security Project, a think-tank that “unites Americans who believe equally in strong liberal values, and… Read morePakistan: Sufis make NYT op-ed page
