The Londoner

By Sikander Hayat 1. Afghan insurgents are part of the fabric of Afghan society, can never be defeated just by force and there is a need for a political settlement. 2. West will have to talk directly to Mullah Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar as they are the two major stakeholders in the talks. 3. It has to be accepted that Pakistan is the main force that can help resolve the issue of Afghanistan. Pakistan has said categorically that it is talking with all levels of Taliban leadership to bring a lasting peace to Afghanistan. Afghan & Pakistani presidents met in Turkey before the London conference to discuss ways of dealing with Taliban. Real decisions are going to be made among Afghanistan & Pakistan, not the nearly 70 countries who met in London today. 4. India & Pakistan cannot coexist in Afghanistan. To get Pakistan’s help, the current occupiers of Afghanistan will have to ask India to leave that country. For last 9 years, India has tried to side-line Pakistan in Afghanist...

By Sikander Hayat Pakistan has lost one it’s most senior and trust journalist, columnist & opinion maker Irshad Ahmad Haqqani has died. His career spaned more than half a century and saw many upheavals in the history of Pakistan. He was a great thinker and the senior editor of The Daily Jang newspaper. He was also associated with Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Society as Patron and was one among the founders of Jang newspaper Lahore besides, his columns Hurf-e-Tammana remained well acclaimed among different schools of thoughts including scholars, politicians and thinkers. According to knowledgeable sources, he had been ailing of heart problems for some days and had quitted writing columns for newspapers. It may be mentioned he offered his services as federal information minister during tenure of interim government in 1993.Earlier in the beginning of his career; the deceased remained annexed with Jamaat-e-Islami and also offered his services as principal Islamia College Qusoor. He has bereav...

Related Posts: 1. Banning “Islam for UK” Is a Very Good Move - Now Put Anjum Chaudhry in Jail 2. A Somali Man Shot While Trying To Enter The House Of Muhammad Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard - How Far Right Will Take Advantage Of This Act Of Terror? 3. Swiss Ban On Minarets - What Should Be The Muslim Reaction? 4. HOW CAN WE DIFFERENCIATE BETWEEN MUSLIM, Irish CHRISTIAN, HINDU & JEWISH TERRORISTS

By Sikander Hayat India has beaten Bangladesh in the first cricket test. Mushfiqur Rahim made a well played hundred in the 2nd innings and gave the crowd something to cheer about. It has to be said that Bangladeshi batsmen threw away the advantage that their blowers gave them in the first innings by bowling India out for 243. If they had taken a good lead on a pitch which played quite well, they could have put India under pressure but their batsmen played some ordinary shots and got out cheaply. It has to be said that India played below par as well; at least in the first innings but Bangladesh never pushed India too much and never came close to winning this match. Bangladesh cricket team has still a long way to go before they can be taken seriously in a test match or in any form of the game for that matter. Related Posts: 1. England Cricket Team Involved In Ball Tempering In Cape Town 2. Writing Is On The Wall For Pakistan Cricket Team In Hobart Test 3. Shane Bond Retires From Int...

By Sikander Hayat There are those who say that Obama’s health care plan will be dead if Democrats lose Massachusetts senate seat left vacant due to the death of Senator Edward Kennedy. In my view, it will be a massive blow to Obama’s reputation and he will begin to have second thoughts about America’s views about his agenda but he will still be able to have some sort of health care reform by not sending it to senate and asking the house democrats to pass it in its previous version. From the dizzy heights of post-election success to the present day where Obama is in mid 50s in his approval ratings, his dream of “change” has come crashing down to earth. Massachusetts has been a Democratic bastion for many years due to the Kennedy name and losing it to the republicans will be a massive downer for a president who hopes to spread the appeal of Democratic Party to the “red” states of Middle America. At the time of writing, the race is neck & neck but let’s see what happens by the end of...

By Sikander Hayat I am not saying that it is the start of the Tet offensive but this is major indeed. Militants striking at the heart of Kabul at about 100 yards from the presidential palace, where Hamid Karzai was going to take oaths from the new ministers, is an attack to send message to the United States that Afghan Taliban are still strong and able to mount headline grabbing attacks. This also signals towards a worrying development and that is the presence of Taliban sympathisers in Kabul. Nearly 20 men stayed in Kabul for days if not weeks planning this attack. They were fed, housed and armed by the people from within the city. This is worrying indeed for the NATO & US forces as this attack came just after the attack which killed 7 CIA operatives in Khost. Add this attack to the fact that there almost daily deaths among the coalition soldiers and the picture becomes even more disquieting. This attack also shows that Afghanistan is not ready to be left alone to its own device...

RELATED POSTS: 1. Can United States Change Its Course & The Way It Treats The World 2. Is It Possible To Resolve Conflict Between Pakistan & Afghanistan 3. End Game In Afghanistan - Possible Implication For Pakistan In Case Of An American Withdrawal .