Organizer, Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy
Professor of Linguistics and Communication at Bahria University in Islamabad, Pakistan and organizer of the Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy, a think-tank that studies terrorism and regional cooperation
Is Pakistan Ripe for an Islamic Revolution? In Pakistan's Swat Valley on Sunday, the militant Islamist leader Sufi Mohammed bluntly defied the country's secular government and its system of laws. As to Pakistan's democratic institutions, he said, “supporting an infidel system is a great sin.” He laid out a plan to bring what he called “a complete Islamic system” for the entire country. His speech to a crowd of thousands was carried live on TV.
Is Pakistan Ripe for an Islamic Revolution? In Pakistan's Swat Valley on Sunday, militant Islamist leader Sufi Mohammed bluntly defied the country's secular government and its system of laws. As to its democratic institutions, he said, "supporting an infidel system is a great sin," and he laid out a plan to bring "a complete Islamic system" to Pakistan. Such Taliban-style militants are assuming control in Pakistan's northwest provinces, openly promising to take over the rest of the country. Despite brutal enforcement of Islamic law, the secular government seems powerless against determined radicals exploiting poverty, class hatreds and decades of corruption. The US has vital interests in a region where both Pakistan and India have nuclear arms. We hear mounting concern about instability with international consequences.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?