Ali Sarwar Naqvi The storm over the terrorist attack on the offices of the French satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’ ignores a fundamental fact.  It was not an attack against the principle of freedom of expression; it was instead a violent reaction to the long series of intolerable insults heaped by the journal on the sacrosanct beliefs of a significant percentage of French citizens. The horrific incident occurred against a background of a frequent and willful campaign by the magazine against Muslims and their veneration of the Prophet (pbuh). Even theRead More

Alexander J. Motyl The longer the Russian war against Ukraine continues, the more likely it is that President Vladimir Putin’s regime will collapse. Despite Putin’s bluster, the authoritarian regime he has constructed is exceedingly brittle. At the center stands Putin; surrounding him, the power-hungry loyalists he has folded into his inner circle. Some, called the siloviki, belong to powerful institutions such as the secret police or the army. Others, formally affiliated with various government agencies, are loyal only to Putin. In such a system, sycophantism is rewarded above good governance, empire-buildingRead More

 Mohammad Abdullah Gul The situation in Afghanistan has been rapidly changing in the last few months. After a prolonged standoff in Presidential elections between the two leading aspirants, John Kerry had to ultimately step in to break the stalemate. Dr. Abdullah eventually agreed to cede power to Ashraf Ghani and form a unity government, with himself taking over as CEO. This vital breakthrough was achieved at a critical time when the US led ISAF was packing its baggage to exit from Afghanistan, which it had been occupying for the last 13 years.Read More

By Sun Weidong This article is based on Chinese ambassador’s speech delivered at Chinese New Year. President Mamnoon Hussain was the chief guest on the occasion. Here are excerpts of the speech. It is such an honor and privilege for me that Your Excellency President Mamnoon Hussain graces this function today. Please accept my warmest welcome and heartfelt thanks to your Excellency, and to all the brothers and sisters of Pakistan for your attendance!