MER Article Pakistan After Zia Just a few weeks before he died in the plane crash with Zia ul-Haq, even General Akhtar Abd ul-Rahman Khan was anxious over the possibility of a shift in US policy under a new administration. General Khan had engineered and administered the secret war in Afghanistan, first as director of the Inter-S Eqbal Ahmad, Nasim Zehra • 5 min read
MER Article Comprehending Terror Let us begin with the dictionary definition of terror -- “intense, overpowering fear” -- and of terrorism -- “the use of terrorizing methods of governing or resisting a government.” This simple definition has the virtue of fairness; it focuses on the use of coercive violence and its effects on the v Eqbal Ahmad • 8 min read
MER Article Yasser Arafat's Nightmare Eqbal Ahmad, a close observer of the Palestinian resistance movement since 1968, has made many visits to the region and conferred with Palestinian leaders. His involvement developed out of his speaking and writing on behalf of the national liberation struggles in Algeria and Vietnam. Ahmad, who is f Eqbal Ahmad • 18 min read
MER Article Pakistan and US Strategy How would you characterize the situation in Pakistan today? The most striking thing about the present regime is the extraordinary degree of its isolation. It is a regime which, from one end of the country to another, does not seem to have any popular support. It lacks even the support of vested int Eqbal Ahmad • 21 min read
