As late as a few days ago, Amin Fahim was widely believed to be the People’s Party’s prime ministerial nominee.  His fate has since changed.  The potential candidate pool has grown.  There is a reported trust deficit between Fahim and party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.  The basis for this is unclear; Fahim is as loyal [...]

A deadly bomb blast, believed to be a suicide attack, hit a funeral procession this evening in Swat. The attack occurred at the funeral of Deputy Superintendent of Police Javed Iqbal, who was killed earlier in the day by militants. The bomber reportedly detonated himself during the gun salute.  GEO reports that over40 [...]

Senator Joe Biden commented during yesterday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Pakistan:
“One of the things that startled us the day after the election is the first comment by [Nawaz] Sharif…[It] was that he wanted to see the release of A.Q. Khan. That was the first official statement he made, to the best of [...]

After an eight month search, President George W. Bush has appointed Sada Cumber, a Karachi-born Pakistani American, as special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference.  Cumber, who received his BA and MA from Karachi University, was chairman of an Austin, Texas-based technology firm till his appointment.  He has received a number of government [...]

Just finished a live interview on BBC Radio 5.  The segment was on the YouTube ban by the Pakistani government.  I’ll put up an audio clip once it’s available.

By Arif Rafiq
[Published in the Daily Star (Lebanon), Daily Times (Pakistan), and Guardian's Comment is Free]
President George W Bush rightly called Pakistan’s recent national and provincial elections “a victory for [its] people”. But, even as he uttered those words, his administration was working behind the scenes to subvert the will of Pakistan’s people by trying [...]

The cease fire is apparently over. Earlier today, a suicide bomber attacked the vehicle of Lt. Gen. Mushtaq Ahmad Baig, the surgeon general of the Pakistani Army, killing him and eight others–including five civilians. There is no reason to believe he was personally targeted by the bomber. Inter-Services Public Relations [...]

The Sunday Telegraph quotes an unnamed “close confidante” of Pervez Musharraf as saying that Musharraf’s resignation could (not definitely, as its headline states) be imminent:
“He has already started discussing the exit strategy for himself…I think it is now just a matter of days and not months because he would like to make a graceful exit [...]

Bolta Pakistan, the political talk show featuring Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq Minhas, is appearing for the first time in four months. Javed and Minhas were banned from Pakistani television by the government after emergency rule and media restrictions were imposed.
Their show is broadcasting on the Internet and satellite, but their feed to most Pakistanis [...]

People’s Party Chairman Asif Zardari and Muslim League President Nawaz Sharif held a press conference less than an hour ago at Zardari House in Islamabad. It was largely conducted in English, suggesting a given importance for international consumption.
Nawaz Sharif’s body language and voice suggest that he was a bit subdued or disappointed, though he [...]