Author: Writer

Islamabad finally managed to hold an all-parties conference (APC) on 12 September on the issue of fighting terrorism. Earlier, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur) and the Awami National Party (ANP) had also held similar meetings as their concern regarding terrorism seems to be the greatest — their main constituency is Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province in north Pakistan, where violence is at its worst.

I was trying to figure out from a much knowledgeable friend about a particular American academic’s relationship with the Pakistan military. Described by many as a conflictual bilateral relationship because the person in question often sharply questions some of the military’s policies, there are friendly ties under the surface.

“We probably need maturity or a stick.” That’s how a frustrated Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader vented himself on the phone, talking about how things were manipulated to ensure his party’s defeat in Karachi and parts of Punjab. The poll results came as a great shock to the youth supporting the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who expected a landslide victory.