Latest Articles about Pakistan
Pakistan Battles a Resurgent Hizb ut Tahrir
A series of raids by Pakistani counterterrorism forces in recent months has resulted in the arrest of several members of Hizb ut Tahrir (HuT). The group remains an insidious threat to the country and one that should not be overlooked. While it has not yet... MORE
Pakistan’s Militant Conspiracy Theorist: Zaid Hamid
Farhan Zahid According to a 2014 Pew Poll, a mere 14 percent of Pakistanis have favorable views of the United States (Pew Poll, July 2014). There may be other reasons for growing anti-Americanism in Pakistan but Islamist militant conspiracy theorists play a pivotal role. According... MORE
Kashmir Jihadism and the Threat to India
It is increasingly evident that each time the relations between India and Pakistan improve, India-focused jihadist groups from across the Pakistani border attempt to disrupt it with attacks in the Indian states of Kashmir, Punjab, and elsewhere. The inevitable aim of these is to upset... MORE
Growing Evidence of Islamic State in Pakistan
After months of denying the Islamic State’s presence in Pakistan, the Pakistani government has finally acknowledged that the terrorist network, both as an inspiration and an organized group, is fast luring Pakistani jihadists into its fold. In one such admission, the Provincial Law Minister of... MORE
Russia and the TAPI Pipeline
On December 13, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India broke ground on the constructions of a new natural gas pipeline that will carry Turkmenistani gas eastward toward the other three partner countries (Tribuneindia.com, Tribune.com.pk, December 13; Timesca.com, December 14). The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) pipeline project, in one... MORE
Farhat Hashmi: Mentor to Pakistan’s Future Jihadist Mothers
Very few female Islamist preachers are as successful, popular and networked as Farhat Hashmi in Pakistan. Hashmi preaches an ideology not dissimilar from that of other contemporary Islamist preachers and ideologues in Pakistan; the vital difference is her approach and target audience. Hashmi’s audience is... MORE
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Evolves Under Pressure
The recent attack by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp at Badaber, located 10 miles from Peshawar, fully displayed the jihadist group’s professional, yet highly violent, nature. Dressed in uniforms of the Frontier Constabulary (a paramilitary force), 14 militants breached the... MORE
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Road to Riches?
On April 20, Sino-Pakistan relations took a great leap forward as Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled plans for investment of $46 billion in the Pakistani leg of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (Xinhua, April 22). CPEC is an important component of China’s ambitious ‘One Belt,... MORE
Javed Ibrahim Paracha: Al-Qaeda’s Lawyer in Pakistan
Javed Ibrahim Paracha, a former member of Pakistan’s National Assembly (the lower house of parliament), has a history of assisting al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Paracha first entered the public eye for his consistent efforts to free al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistani government custody, going so far as... MORE
The Successes and Failures of Pakistan’s Operation Zarb-e-Azb
On June 15, the ongoing Pakistan Army operation “Operation Zarb-e-Azb” (Sharp Strike) completed its first year. The military operation is the first of its kind against the Islamist insurgents based in the North Waziristan district of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. However,... MORE