Pakistan is again the focus of The Atlantic Monthly in its regularly surveying of American foreign policy experts. It asked 41 foreign policy authorities: Should the United States unilaterally go after al-Qaeda leaders and training camps in Pakistan? Results: 50% Yes; 50% No How likely is a U.S. incursion into the tribal areas in the [...]

NOTE: Bush in joint press conference with France’s Sarkozy speaks of his telephone conversation with Musharraf in which he told him, “You can’t be the president and the head of the military at the same time.” He added that extremism can’t be beaten with extremist tactics. ——————————————————————————————————————- Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte just completed [...]

Bomber Sketch Released Two Severed Heads Found; Police Still Assert One Bomber Explosives: Russian-Made Grenade and 14 kg RDX suicide belt Multiple Attack Teams? A Nexus Against Bhutto? Political Fallout of the Attacks: Playing Musical Chairs Can Be Dangerous More Questions PAKISTANI POLICE RELEASES IMAGE OF ALLEGED KARACHI BOMBER Sindh Police has released a sketch [...]

In the footer of the previous post, “The Massacre at Karsaz Bridge: Analysis of the Bhutto Blast (Part 1),” I posted real-time updates of Benazir Bhutto’s press conference at Bilawal House this afternoon Pakistan Standard Time. The press conference was long and my summary ended up becoming lengthy, deserving a separate post. It is below. [...]

Karachi Police and Interior Ministry: Single attacker threw grenade and then blew himself up Alleged Suicide Bomber Found: Severed head retrieved; DNA tests being conducted Asif Zardari, Bhutto’s Husband: Intelligence bureau responsible The Toll: 138 dead; 550 injured–including senior politicians The Location: Potential significance Bhutto to Name Names: Intelligence Bureau? The night was over — [...]

Developments in Pakistan in recent days further the view for both insiders and outsiders that the country is a perplexing bowl of contradictions and political intrigue. KSE RISES The Karachi Stock Exchange closed at all-time highs on Monday and Tuesday. Investor confidence boosted due to Pervez Musharraf’s re-election as president (pending the validation of his [...]

The Daily Times August 18, 2007 By Arif Rafiq Pakistan is emerging as a frontline state in yet another war: the battle for the presidency of the United States. The firestorm caused by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s roundly criticised pledge to violate Pakistani sovereignty should President Musharraf not respond to actionable intelligence concerning Al [...]