Benazir Bhutto is still haunted by corruption, writes Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Last week Interpol announced that it had issued red notices for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari. The notices were issued at (...)
The US bombing of tribal territory has further accentuated Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's dilemma, writes Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf once again finds himself in domestic strife because of his support for (...)
The Pakistani earthquake was described as retribution for the rulers' misdeeds and particularly for the "massive rigging of local government elections in the holy month of Ramadan", reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Earthquakes are a natural (...)
As women's rights activists continue to make their voices heard, recent remarks made by President Musharraf regarding rape cases in Pakistan have added insult to injury, writes Iffat Idris
"You must understand the environment in Pakistan. This has (...)
It might be in Pakistan's interest to improve relations with Israel, but convincing the Pakistani people of this is going to be an uphill task, reports Iffat Idris
On Thursday 1 September, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri held a meeting (...)
Claiming that cruise missiles were not covered by confidence-building agreements, Islamabad tests a new missile without informing India, reports Iffat Idris
On Thursday 11 August, Pakistan test-fired its first cruise missile. While Pakistani leaders (...)
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is between a rock and a hard place confronting domestic Islamist forces and international demands, reports Iffat Idris
Today Pakistan comes under intense international pressure to curb religious extremism -- (...)
Pakistani authorities scramble to act as international attention turns to the country's religious schools, writes Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Pakistan is once again in the international spotlight, and again for all the wrong reasons. Since London's 7 (...)
Sectarian strife between Pakistan's Shia and Sunna hit a new high this month, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
May 2004 might have been one of the bloodiest months in living memory in Pakistan as far as sectarian violence is concerned. A bomb (...)
Pakistan is paying the price of collaborating with the US in the war on terror, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Pakistan is a front-line state in the war on terror. This was the point stressed by President Pervez Musharraf in his address to the (...)
The first face-to-face meeting of the leaders of India and Pakistan in New York brought the two men, and the two rival South Asian nuclear powers, closer, writes Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had a busy week. In New (...)
India and Pakistan are patching up their differences, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
On 6 January 2004, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf launched the "composite dialogue" between their two (...)
To stay in Washington's good books, Pakistan steps up the fight against terrorism three years after the 11 September attacks, writes Iffat Idris from Islamabad
On the third anniversary of the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center and the (...)
Though patently placed by President Musharraf, Pakistan's new prime minister is inspiring cautious optimism, writes Iffat Idris
The 21st prime minister of Pakistan was sworn into office on Saturday 28 August. While question marks remain over the (...)
Pakistan has come a long way since it was founded, but it has further to go before it lives up to the ideals for which it was born, writes Iffat Idris
On 14 August 1947, the State of Pakistan came into being -- the result of colonial Britain (...)
Pakistani authorities got a pat on the back for catching big fish this week, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
A number of arrests in Pakistan, and subsequent security alerts in Washington, New York and London, have once again highlighted the (...)
President Musharraf finds himself sucked into the Iraqi quagmire, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Should Pakistan send troops to Iraq? This is the question that has been hanging over the Pakistan government, and particularly over President Pervez (...)
The appointment of a new premier in Pakistan is only cosmetic, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
For a country whose prime minister has just resigned, and whose nominated successor is just a stopgap until the real successor takes over in a few (...)
Pakistan intensifies its "war on terror", reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
Pakistani armed forces have scored impressive victories over Al-Qaeda and its Pakistani sympathisers, but they have also taken heavy losses. The ever-present danger is that (...)
Once again, sectarian violence rocks Pakistan's largest city. Iffat Idris reports from Islamabad
Sectarian violence is a menace that periodically rears its ugly head in Pakistan, and particularly in its biggest port city of Karachi. The scale of the (...)
Musharraf faces up to threats from within Pakistan's own military
President Musharraf of Pakistan has many opponents, inside and outside the country. The combination of domestic moderation and foreign policy U-turns initiated by him has antagonised (...)
Pakistan welcomes the Congress government, writes Iffat Idris from Islamabad
It has been a big week for Pakistan in terms of foreign relations. The swearing-in of a new Indian government and Pakistan's re-admission to the Commonwealth after an (...)
Forced exile seems a preferred response to political criticism in Pakistan, writes Iffat Idris
On Tuesday Shahbaz Sharif, former chief minister of Punjab and brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was escorted into exile for the second time. (...)
Last week proved difficult for Pakistan with Chinese expatriates killed and a Karachi mosque bombed, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
For a country striving to shed its image as a haven for extremism and terrorists, last week was disastrous. Two (...)
Pakistan watches as India votes, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
The long and complex process of the Indian general elections began this week. Staged in four phases from 20 April to 10 May, with 600 million voters, 543 Lok Sabha (national (...)