Latest Articles about South Asia
MONEY CAN’T ENTICE BIN LADEN ALLIES TO REVEAL HIS WHEREABOUTS
Yesterday, March 1, U.S. President George W. Bush visited Afghanistan amid increasing uncertainty about the future of U.S. involvement in the region. This was the first time in more than 50 years that a U.S. president has visited Afghanistan. Although kept secret due to security... MORE
Baluchistan in the Shadow of al-Qaeda
The sudden surge in violence in southern Afghanistan, which Kabul blames on Pakistan-based al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, has thrust Baluchistan into the international spotlight (Dawn, January 21). Afghanistan's southeastern province of Kandahar and southwestern province of Helmand, which border Baluchistan, have recently convulsed with violence.... MORE
History Overtakes Optimism in Afghanistan
Every rule has an exception and Afghanistan seems to be the rock-solid exception to the rule that history never repeats itself. The increasingly emboldened insurgency now confronted by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan is eerily similar to the insurgencies previously initiated, fought, and lost by... MORE
Al-Zawahiri’s Pakistani Ally: Profile of Maulana Faqir Mohammed
Maulana Faqir Mohammed was catapulted into prominence last year when his house was raided by Pakistani security agencies hunting a "high value" al-Qaeda target. In the span of seven months, a combination of public sympathy, treacherous local terrain and the intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan has... MORE
DONORS PLEDGE MORE AID, BUT WORRY HOW KABUL WILL SPEND IT
A two-day conference on Afghanistan wrapped up on February 1 with commitments by major donor countries for rebuilding Afghanistan. About 70 countries took part in the conference, and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Secretary of... MORE
Internet Mujahideen Analyze the Latest Bin Laden Audio Tape
The rarity of an Osama bin Laden commentary (one year after the last broadcast in December 2004) is stirring a wealth of commentary in the world's media. The focus is on its veracity and on the implications for the West of the truce offer coupled... MORE
WAVE OF BOMBINGS IN AFGHANISTAN THREATENS WESTERN TROOP DEPLOYMENTS
As the deadliest bombings this year hit Afghanistan, there are doubts about the deployment of some NATO troops in southern parts of the country, raising concern in the government as well as the people about the security in the country. This week for Kandahar province... MORE
Islamists Pose a Growing Threat to Stability in Bangladesh
Between August and December 2005, a series of attacks hit Bangladesh, collectively killing 12, wounding hundreds of others and involving the country's first suicide strikes. In the most audacious assault on August 17, 434 homemade bombs were set off in 63 districts over the course... MORE
QUESTIONS SURROUND CONTINUED U.S. PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN
Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, Afghans have been wary of the continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan. They remember bitterly the aftermath of the war against the Soviets in the 1980s, when the West -- led by the United States -- left... MORE
Inside Pakistan’s Madrasas
In the northern hills of Quetta, girls from the ages of eight to their early twenties study the holy Qur'an in Madrasa Tul Banat (literally, an all-girls seminary), the oldest religious school for girls with nearly 900 students. Established in 1989 by a graduate from... MORE