17 attacks killed 34 in Balochistan and KP in September 2018

17 attacks killed 34 in Balochistan and KP in September 2018 No act of terrorism reported from Punjab, Sindh, AJK, and GB: PIPS monthly security review of Pakistan Islamabad (PR) – Two less than previous month, 17 terrorist attacks took place in Pakistan in September 2018, which claimed 34 lives.  Out of the reported 17 … Read more

“Overcoming mistrust a must to reset Pakistan-Afghanistan ties”

Despite best efforts to reset ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, major breakthroughs are rare. At root lies mistrust, which thrives on misperception about each other. These should be overcome, should the two countries really want to move forward. These thoughts came in a seminar “Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Exploring the Way Forward”, which PIPS organized with the … Read more

“Mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan a major stumbling block”

PR/Islamabad 4 October 2018   To bring about a major change in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, the two needs to interact with sincerity, focusing on people and overcoming misperceptions about each other.  Overcoming mistrust still remains a key challenge.   These thoughts came in national seminar on “Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Exploring the Way Forward”, organized by Pak Institute … Read more

“Pakistan’s contribution in UN peacekeeping in Somalia, should be highlighted to promote goodwill”

11 September 2018 PR/Islamabad The contribution of Pakistan in the UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia, which marks 25 years this year, should be explored and documented, to promote goodwill on behalf of Pakistan and to draw lessons for further sharpening the idea of peacekeeping. These thoughts came in remembrance conversation in honour of the sacrifices … Read more

Attack on Chinese engineers in Balochistan

On August 11, 2018, a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying Chinese engineers in Balochistan. It later emerged that the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was behind the attack. The attack has raised questions about security to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) especially in Balochistan. Below are comments by some experts on the incident: BLA suicide attack … Read more

“Uplifting minorities requires provision of equitable basic services and securing their rights”: PIPS report

Discrimination against minorities seems so pervasive that even attempts to seek solutions are fraught with polarizing society further Non-government organizations working on “rights” or “peace” issues are forced to scale down their activities, further narrowing peace mediums Faith-based vulnerabilities also interplay with other identities such as gender and economy; new avenues of solutions can be … Read more