Current Analysis Pakistan's Dilemma Pakistani media reports indicate that on the evening of September 14 the president, General Pervez Musharraf, met with his cabinet and national security team in a marathon session lasting until the early hours of the next morning. The task at hand was to decide if the Pakistani government should accede Kamran Asdar Ali • 6 min read
MER Article The Taliban, the Shari'a and the Pipeline Underlying the appearance of the Taliban movement, first of all, are factors internal to Afghan society, in particular the discrediting of the government and the “commandos” born out of the resistance to Soviet intervention. The rapid expansion of the militia, culminating with the conquest of Kabul Olivier Roy • 8 min read
MER Article The Fall of BCCI Aga Hassan Abedi, the founder of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), talked a lot about starting an “ordinary” bank with an extraordinary mission. He never tired, and still does not, of expounding on his vision and ambitions, which became the bank’s credo and one that many (Author not identified) • 5 min read
MER Article Mediations Intifada Chic We’re not really sure what this tells us about the present state of the Israeli Jewish psyche, almost two years into the intifada, but here are some of the designer T-shirts being sold these days in Jerusalem: Al Miskin • 3 min read
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 Pakistan After Reagan Before they died in a suspicious plane crash on August 16, President/General Zia ul-Haq and his officer cohorts were looking with dismay at the prospect of a new administration in Washington. Pakistan forged the closest ties ever with the United States during the eight years of Ronald Reagan’s admin Ahmed Rashid • 7 min read
MER Article Lessing, The Wind Blows Away Our Words Doris Lessing, The Wind Blows Away Our Words (London: Picador and NY: Random House, 1987). The travel book that touches on the political is a tricky genre. At its best it enables the author, freed from the constraints of formal narrative and factual analysis, to present a special insight into a Fred Halliday • 2 min read
MER Article Pakistan's Movement Against Islamization Nikki Keddie traveled to Pakistan in 1985 and 1986 to investigate groups that in various ways have worked against President Zia ul Haq’s attempts to “Islamize” Pakistan’s legal system. Many of these activists are from women’s organizations; the Shi‘i community and certain lawyers groups have also mo Eric Hooglund, Joe Stork • 6 min read
MER Article Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Gulf After the Iraqi attack on the USS Stark in mid-May 1987, senior State Department officials scurried around the Gulf to drum up political support. Pakistan received a more significant visit. In late June, Gen. George Crist, commander-in-chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) arrived in Islamabad w Ahmed Rashid • 13 min read
MER Article Pakistan's Nuclear Fix Earlier this year, stories citing US intelligence documents reported that Pakistan now had the capacity to enrich uranium to 93 percent. In other words, Pakistan could produce its own weapons-grade nuclear material. This is perhaps the single most difficult step in manufacturing nuclear bombs. Few Joe Stork • 7 min read
MER Article Pakistan and the Central Command Congress this fall will begin reviewing a new six-year US aid package to Pakistan totaling more than $4 billion. Crucial to the outcome is Pakistan’s military role in the Gulf. Pakistan’s military missions in 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa make it the largest exporter of military manpowe Jamal Rashid • 20 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
