By Faisal Shakeel

The Nato-led Isaf’s incursions into Pakistan’s tribal areas cannot be justified either on the basis of the doctrine of ‘hot pursuit’ or through the concept of engagement in a ‘combat zone’.

By Faisal Shakeel

The flooding in Pakistan this July has created a situation that still perplexes the government and the NGOs engaged in helping millions of displaced people. Eight weeks on, the emergency is far from over and people in Sindh still need to be airlifted to safe places where they can get food and shelter.

By Steve Graham

The Merseyside deployment is merely one of the first, tentative step within a much wider push by arms contractors and security and technology corporations. Supported by Governments, these are working extremely hard to ensure that the deployment of aerial drones for policing purposes quickly saturates UK airspace and becomes completely normal and taken for granted. We thus face a pivotal moment in the evolution of civilian surveillance by electronic means, both in the UK and other western democracies. This moment raises four particular concerns.

By Qalandar Bux Memon

Pakistan is in a state of crisis. The history of Pakistan looked at from a human perspective may suggest that it has been a state in perpetual crisis since birth. The ruling elite have operated from the beginning on the basis of cronyism, nepotism, and legal and illegal corruption. Due to this they have always been inefficient and indifferent to the plight of the masses.

The international sanctions on Iran reinforce conservative rule. The threat of a military attack by the United States or Israel offers no aid to democratic advance. The result is a standoff on the edge of escalation, says Rasool Nafisi.

By Tahir Ali Wahid

The Pakistan floods are a tragedy of biblical proportions which Pakistanis are confronted with at every turn. In this tragedy – unlike the story of Noah – there was no Messiah to warn us and it appears, no Messiah to save us. As Pakistanis we have wailed against our government for its ineffective response and witnessed torturously sluggish international mobilisation of aid commitments. This, however, is the moment for the Pakistani Diaspora all over the world to rise to the challenge and replace conventional emergency responses with fresh ideas.