MER Article The Bitter Harvest Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, is a nervous city. In the past, Quetta was a provincial capital where people were accustomed to taking leisurely walks on Jinnah Road, the main boulevard of the city, gazing at shop windows and haggling over the goods on display. Young Stephen Dedalus • 14 min read
MER Article Baluchistan’s Rising Militancy Baluchistan, a region long associated with instability and armed conflict, straddles the borders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan is home to the largest number of Baluch, at 5 million, and the largest province of Baluchistan, at 43 percent of the country’s land mass. In Iran, the Baluch, Sonia Ghaffari • 11 min read
MER Article The Forgotten Refugees of Balochistan While the US “war on terror” in Afghanistan and areas in bordering Pakistan occupies the imagination of millions in the West, the simmering conflict in the Pakistani province of Balochistan (Baluchistan) an its disastrous effects on the civilian population evade the radar of popular media. In 2005, Stephen Dedalus • 6 min read
MER Article Maalouf, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes Amin Maalouf, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (London: Al Saqi Books, 1984). Maalouf’s reconstruction of the Crusades (“Frankish invasions”) as seen by Arab historians and chroniclers is a fascinating and instructive narrative of that bitter conflict. He concludes his account with a reflective epilo Shiraz Dossa • 1 min read
