Pakistan

A quiet power: The time I saw a wild snow leopard in Pakistan

I was in 7th grade when I attended Murree Christian School (MCS) in hills outside of Islamabad, Pakistan. It was a British boarding school, and the boy’s boarding facility was located a short drive away from the school itself. Every morning we would load up on a bus and head over to the school compound, […]

The wars that we have forgotten

There are too many wars and conflicts around the world to keep up with. It’s difficult to stay updated on some of the conflicts that do occasionally make their way to the headlines, even just for a little bit. Firefights in Afghanistan will sometimes make the headlines, but to many consumers they look like the […]

Pakistan’s border fence: Keeping out the Taliban

Since the announcement in 2005, Pakistan has developed plans and made efforts toward building an approximate 1,500 mile fence running along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. This is an effort to hinder the Taliban’s freedom of maneuver between the countries, as well as drug runners. Pakistan aims to spend approximately $483 million in constructing the fence line, […]

Pakistan Building Fence Along Border with Afghanistan

In order to slow the flow of terrorists from Afghanistan, Pakistan has begun a project to construct border fences along their porous 1500-mile border with Afghanistan. The project is slated to cost $483 million and the military is hoping it will help in dismantling militant networks in the largely lawless North and South Waziristan regions. […]

Humanity Divided: Seeing the Sunni and Shiite conflict firsthand

The first time I ever heard gunshots take a person’s life, I was in the fourth grade. They would often blow up chunks of the surrounding mountain range with bundles of dynamite, but this sounded different. My Dad would later explain to me that a Sunni had shot a Shiite dead in the bazaar. It […]

Opinion: K-pop, North Korea, and passively building cultural bridges

Recently, the Supreme Leader of North Korea attended a K-pop (Korean Pop) concert in Pyongyang, one of several moves made by the dictator that has shocked the world as he appears to be making uncharacteristic moves toward openness and diplomacy. Another such move, and one that could possibly have far greater, positive (or negative) implications, […]

Pakistan and India: The Kashmir dispute

The conflict between Pakistan and India is often overlooked — like many conflicts that have been going on for decades, it’s easy to slip out of the limelight when it sounds like the same news is getting reported over and over. However, the Pakistan-India tensions have had some serious fallout: they have had massive tank […]

Suicide bomber targets Pakistani Police in Lahore

A suicide bomber detonated his vest on Wednesday in the town of Raiwind, Pakistan, just south of Lahore. The attack was meant to target Pakistani law enforcement, as it happened at a police checkpoint as they were changing shifts. So far, 25 people have been injured, 13 of which were police officers. The death toll […]

The miracle of hot water

There are certain memories that snap you back to the past. Smell can carry you all the way back to the earliest memories, like Grandma’s house on a Sunday, or freshly cut grass in the morning. The sharp bite of the cold can bring back memories of childhood Christmas, or training missions in the worst […]

Opinion: The ‘Noble Savage’ trope and its modern counterpart

The “Noble Savage” character is an idea about a distant culture or group of people (often used in works of fiction) that are uncorrupted by the evils of society. It’s usually an oversimplification of an indigenous people who are in touch with nature, and, while misunderstood by the industrial powers at large, they are innately […]

Russia Says IS Making Afghanistan “Resting Place” For Terrorism

Russia’s Ambassador to Pakistan had strong words against the rise of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, stating that the terror group is turning northern Afghanistan into a “resting base” of international terrorism and a “bridgehead” for establishing its destructive caliphate in the region. The “international wing of Daesh” is spearheading the effort of terrorists spilling […]

India successfully tests new nuclear capable ICBM with its sights set on China

India successfully test fired their latest and most advanced nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to statements made by their military on Thursday. The new platform, dubbed the Agni-V, has an estimated range of over 3,100 miles, placing all of Asia, as well as parts of Europe and Africa within its operational range; something […]