U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wound up a bridge-building visit to Pakistan on Friday leaving a sharp question ringing in my ears; ‘If she can go to such many places in Pakistan not only to approach Pakistanis hearts but facing tough questions and answering them herself (either satisfactory or not), why our leaders are reluctant to follow her foot steps?  Read more... (306 words, 1 image, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

The Taliban in Pakistan have released a video confirming that their former leader Baitullah Mehsud is dead. Mehsud was killed on August 6 in the tribal region of South Waziristan in a missile attack by a suspected US drone.  Read more... (266 words, 2 images, estimated 1:04 mins reading time)

It cost just three rupees. Squashed between a doughy naan and seasoned with a splash of green chutney of dubious provenance, the ‘samosa-naan’ was sold for three bucks a pop at my college. With the triple dose of carbs – potatoes, pastry and naan – it was obviously filling. Less obvious is how satisfying the concoction was: the naan’s rubbery dough, the crushed but still crisp samosa shell, the spicy potatoes with little bursts of flavor in the form of anardana (dried pomegranate seeds) and dhaniya (coriander) seeds, the tart chutney. Is talk of textural complexity too pretentious for what is essentially a meal of necessity? I say no.  Read more... (943 words, 1 image, estimated 3:46 mins reading time)

The noise of down fall of Musharraf is not silent yet. There has been scandals and news and views keeping him a popular personality for the media. Former Inter-Services Intelligence official Khalid Khwaja has sought a compensation of Rs700m for his alleged kidnapping and illegal confinement in 2007 and registration of “false” cases against him. According to the claimant, nothing incriminating had been proven against him. He said he had been detained on the orders of Musharraf and other former government functionaries were responsible for the misery he had undergone for “crimes which I did not commit”.  Read more... (453 words, 1 image, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

The first meeting between India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, since the terror attacks in Mumbai last year, the brief encounter before Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Yekaterinberg, Russia was freighted with expectations of a fresh opening between the two countries.  Read more... (266 words, 1 image, estimated 1:04 mins reading time)

What is swine flu?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses. Outbreaks of swine flu happen regularly in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Most commonly, human cases of swine flu happen in people who are around pigs but it’s possible for swine flu viruses to spread from person to person also.  Read more... (858 words, 1 image, estimated 3:26 mins reading time)

Written by Humayun Gauhar.

Trying to identify assassins of the great is a zero sum game. Theories sprout up instantaneously, depending on where the theorists are coming from politically. The real assassins are hardly ever definitely identified. Surprising, then, that an experienced journalist like Seymour Hersh slipped into the maze called ‘Who killed Benazir Bhutto?’  Read more... (1424 words, 0 images, estimated 5:42 mins reading time)