Author Archive

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's deteriorating health conditions and his possible death raises questions about the fate of Saudi Arabia after the 86-year-old king's demise. Given the uncertain future ahead of 84-year-old Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, who has kept a low profile since last year and refrained from talking to local [...]

During the weekend, leaders of 28 NATO countries gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, for a face saving meeting as it became clear that the Western military alliance could face a humiliating defeat in one of the world's poorest countries. Contrary to the NATO's official statement about providing security in Afghanistan as long as it takes, the NATO [...]

On the eve of NATO summit in Lisbon, the state-funded BBC World Service and the Pakistan military, apparently, provided a PR opportunity for the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, where he claimed in an interview with the BBC that the Taliban had weakened in Afghanistan. Mr. Rasmussen was asked by the BBC to respond to a statement [...]

Keeping Turkey under control and on board is becoming a serious challenge for the United States and the European Union (EU) as the Turkish public and government are frustrated with Western double standards and hypocritical policies. Turkey is transforming from a pro-Western state to a country that is bursting with anti-imperialist and [...]

Five years ago, when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in the United States, the rich and affluent people of the city escaped in big cars, leaving behind hundreds and thousands of mostly poor African Americans to drown and die. A month later, when a massive earthquake hit Pakistan, hundreds and thousands of rich and affluent, with tons of food [...]

A senior manager of the World Bank who served in the organization at a time when the Bank's policies led Africa and Latin America into debt, destruction and extreme poverty, later on established the so-called Transparency International (TI) -- a self-proclaimed global watchdog on corruption. Launched in Germany by a group of mostly Westerners [...]

Slaughter of cow calves is common in some parts of Pakistan but the society is shockingly insensitive to such cruelty. It seems insane to raise the issue of animal cruelty in a country where violent human deaths are taken casually; however, a recent report from Peshawar has compelled me to write about the growing greed, dishonesty and cruelty in [...]

US interference in the regional issue of the South China Sea has caused a stir in Beijing's military and political circles and some in the Chinese military are prepared for a show of power with the United States. It appears that continuous China bashing by the United States and its allies has compelled Beijing to challenge Washington's hegemony [...]

Energy resources of Central Asia, the containment of Russian and Chinese influence in the region, and the monitoring of Iran are the main motives of the United States and the NATO presence in Afghanistan and in parts of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Moscow considers Central Asia as Russia's backyard and to China, Central Asian [...]

On 24 September 2010, the BBC World Service television broadcast an interview with the US President Barack Hussein Obama in which the U.S. leader trashed the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his comments at the UN General Assembly the previous day. Not a U.S. news organization but the BBC provided Obama its platform to attack the Iranian [...]

Russia has become a leading world power because of its leader Vladimir Putin’s vision and political strategy. Prime Minister Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev have introduced new concepts of team leadership and ‘Sovereign Democracy’ in Russia’s political system. The relationship between Prime Minister Putin and President Medvedev is [...]

The murder of Imran Farooq in London has provided the MQM boss Altaf Hussain a perfect excuse to say no to calls for his return to Pakistan and lead the ‘revolution’. He may not come back due to security fears. Last month, from his London control room, Altaf, now a British citizen, urged the people of Pakistan to stand up and bring the [...]

Twenty three years ago, we were sitting in a PIA Fokker aircraft at Peshawar airport waiting to fly to Dera Ismail Khan. Among the 40 passengers of the plane also was a very special couple. Almost every one of us was curious about them. There was a strange tension inside the small cabin space. “Go and greet her, she knows you by name,” my [...]

Central Asia’s richest and largest state Kazakhstan is following a strict visa policy for Pakistan and Afghanistan at the same time offering further relaxations in visa regulations to nationals from Western and several non-Western countries. Pakistan has an image problem in the former Soviet republics. The current floods and the continuing [...]

Passengers of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight to London from Islamabad were forced to stay inside the aircraft at London Heathrow Airport on 8 August 2010 as the British Police and officials of the UK Boarder Agency made their guns and papers ready to scare hundreds of innocent people including women and children who came to the [...]

It was a very hot and bright day in July when I entered the main hall of a newly built private hospital in Peshawar for a medical checkup. A wave of cool breeze touched my face as I opened doors of the air-conditioned hall of the hospital. The semi-dark hall was covered with whiteness from one end to the other. Actually, it was a huge crowd of men [...]

Europe is at the verge of the biggest overhaul since the Second World War. The target of the change is the welfare state. At the beginning of the Cold War, several Western countries adopted the idea of the welfare state and showcased it as the best model for a society. The actual aim, however, was to discredit Communist and Socialist [...]

The U.S President Barak Hussein Obama has removed a senior general who made mockery of the civilian leadership and democracy while talking to a reporter. The general was fired within 48 hours after the President learnt about the general’s remarks. By dismissing a senior general, young Obama has sent a clear message to reckless men in Khaki [...]

(Map source) LUBP Exclusive Pakistan and India both face energy shortages but this crisis can be turned into a huge opportunity if (and there is big if) India and Pakistan are able to form an alliance that also includes Iran and the Central Asian republics. The driving force behind the alliance between South and Central Asia should be [...]

LUBP Exclusive Pakistan is a country of contradictions and conflicting identities. It is a country that is at war with itself. A vast majority of Pakistanis are confused and most of them have no clear sense of their place in the world. The military in Pakistan has been in the driving seat since the creation of Pakistan. It is the military, [...]

Thirty one years after the Soviet Union sent its troops to Afghanistan on the invitation of the then Afghan government, Russia, the successor of the USSR, has declined a troop request from another Central Asian state. Perhaps Russia does not want to bogged down in the internal conflict of a country, which is now reaping the fruits of a U.S backed [...]

The London School of Economics’ (LSE) recent report on the alleged links between the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban is yet another proof of an unholy alliance, in which Western secret services, the mainstream Western media and some Western academic institutions are partners. The report is based on a [...]

LUBP Exclusive The United States of America is the most powerful country in the world therefore dealing with America is not easy for some nations and countries. The bigger problem, however, is the Americans’ perception of their place in the world. Understanding the delicacies and complexities involved in relations with the USA and with the [...]

LUBP Exclusive Islam is a religion of peace but Jamat-i-Islami has imposed a completely opposite and false version of Islam in Pakistan with the help of civil and military bureaucracy, especially during the past 30 years. Some in the Pakistani media also bought the Jamat's disastrous interpretation of Islam and have assisted in turning Pakistan [...]

LUBP Exclusive Veteran Pakistani journalist Shiraz Paracha has very kindly written the following note in appreciation of LUBP. Over his long experience as a professional journalist, Mr Paracha has contributed hundreds of news reports, analytical articles and opinion pieces on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia for a variety of media [...]