Washington Frets Over Pakistan Response to Soldiers’ Deaths

As the Pentagon scrambled Monday to satisfy Pakistani demands for a full accounting of Saturday's lethal air attack on two border posts, official Washington expressed hope that Islamabad's retaliation will be limited in both time and scope.

PAKISTAN: Anger Soars Over Attack

"Enough is enough. Pakistan should respond aggressively to these unprovoked and unwarranted NATO air strikes," says local shopkeeper Muhammad Omar. Public anger is boiling over as the Pakistani government takes tough action to cut supplies and other support to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

PAKISTAN: At the Butt of a Joke

The Butts of Punjab have become the butt of jokes after Pakistan’s telecom authorities moved to ban "obscene" content on short messaging service (SMS) texts over mobile phones.

PAKISTAN: Persecution of Ahmadis Spreads

"Hatred against us has now spread to small towns and villages," Saleemuddin, spokesperson of the persecuted Ahmadiya community in Pakistan, told IPS.

PAKISTAN: Beating the Taliban on the Playing Fields

An outbreak of sports fever has gripped the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Northern Pakistan, as increasing numbers of civilians and government officials latch on to team sports as their only armour against creeping militancy in the border region.

PAKISTAN: Cricket Idol Bowls Political Googly

He could be Pakistan’s Obama, although he spews venom at the United States government for its drone attacks and its policies in the region. But Imran Khan speaks of change and, like Obama, enjoys huge online support from the youth.

PAKISTAN: Pilgrims Pray for Deliverance From Taliban

Pakistani pilgrims travelling to Mecca for the current Haj season have one prayer on their lips – to be delivered from the terror that the Taliban have unleashed on their country.

INDIA: Kashmir’s Fence Eats Crops

Touseef Bhat’s seven-acre farm in this scenic alpine valley of Bandipora district has an incongruous feature – an electrified barbed wire fence running through it.

PAKISTAN: Singing Against the Taliban

"In the last few years, I have sung more than a dozen songs against the Taliban," award-wining singer Khyal Muhammad tells IPS. "I got threatening messages on the mobile phone. But I will continue to sing because it gives me strength."

POPULATION: Youth Bulge Adds to Pakistan’s Woes

Pakistan’s population explosion is posing a greater danger than militancy and religious intolerance, says noted medical doctor and demographer Farid Midhet.

PAKISTAN: Diplomatic Tensions over U.S. Talks with Militant Groups

Assurances by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here late last week that Pakistan has a major role to play in future peace talks in Afghanistan have helped ease growing tensions between Islamabad and Washington.

PAKISTAN: Treatment Centre Begins to Break AIDS Stigma

"Today is the best day of my life," Gul Hamid, 40, told IPS. "Finally my family members are convinced that HIV/AIDS can’t be transmitted through handshakes or shared meals and utensils."

PAKISTAN: Gun City Profits From Killings

'Gun city' lies just a 40-minute drive from Peshawar, capital of the troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The city, Darra Adamkhel, lives off a thriving trade in making and selling guns.

Line Blurs Between Pro-India and Separatist Politics

As the blistering summer heat gives way to the first undertones of winter’s chill, the political landscape in the highly contested north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir also appears to be changing colour.

PAKISTAN: Divided Over the Death Penalty

"I think Mumtaz Qadri carried out his action in a highly emotional state and should not be given the death penalty," Mufti Muhammad Naeem, founder of Binoria University International, a religious seminary in Karachi tells IPS. Qadri has been sentenced to death on two counts for assassinating Punjab governor Salman Taseer in January this year.

U.S. Debate on Haqqani: Military or Political Solution?

Dissension over Adm. Mike Mullen's accusation that the Haqqani network of Afghan insurgents is a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's intelligence agency and the revelation that a U.S. official met with a Haqqani official have provided new evidence of a long-simmering struggle within the Barack Obama administration over how to deal with the most effective element of the Afghan resistance to U.S.-NATO forces.

PAKISTAN: Flood Fatigue Closes Eyes to New Disaster

Men and women wading through waist-deep water with infants straddling their sides; a convoy of donkey carts laden with entire families’ possessions moving towards dry land; people being rescued by uniformed men in rubber boats; ailing elderly carried on rope cots; bird’s-eye views of vast tracts of land submerged under water.

PAKISTAN: Guns Aimed Increasingly at Women

Guns available in new abundance in the troubled north of Pakistan are increasingly being used on women in ‘honour’ killings and domestic disputes, according to local reports.

U.S. Knows Pressure on Pakistan Won’t Change Policy

The U.S. threat last week that "all options" are on the table if the Pakistani military doesn't cut its ties with the Haqqani network of anti-U.S. insurgents created the appearance of a crisis involving potential U.S. military escalation in Pakistan.

INDIA: Kashmiris Hail Hague Stay on Dam

A ruling by the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) at The Hague, staying construction of a dam across a river that flows into Pakistan, has brought cheer to the tribal people who live around the site.

Polio Spreading Out From Pakistan

Despite two decades of mass oral polio vaccination (OPV) drives, Pakistan has failed to control the crippling paediatric disease. Health authorities now fear that it is exporting the virus and setting back global eradication plans.