US National Security Adviser Gen H.R. McMaster has remarked that President Donald Trump wants Pakistan to change its ‘paradoxical’ policy of supporting the militants who are causing the country great losses. “This is Pakistan in particular that we want to really see a change in and a reduction of their support for these groups. I mean, this is of course, you know, a very paradoxical situation where Pakistan is taking great losses. They have fought very hard against these groups, but they’ve done so really only selectively”, first time such allegations were attributed to Trump administration. Let us peep back to the dark windows of the past. The dreadful view and the doubtful scenario regarding the infiltration of extremist powers in the country were quite intricate to comprehend. An apparently unending bloodshed engulfed not only the valuable lives but the peace of the entire Pakistani nation. A study by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) brought forward the unfortunate figure of 34,242 civilian causalities between 2005 and 2010. In 2011, an additional 6,550 civilians were killed. And 4,711 were killed in 2012. It was the combined effort of Pakistani military and civilian sacrifices that put a rein on the ever escalating number of casualties. Several military operations were carried out in the country. This decision of confrontation with the extremist and enraged powers was not an easy one. There were 311 IED blasts, 74 attacks, and 26 suicide blasts in 2014. That operation against militants caused cost of $107bn according to one estimate. The retaliation as the reaction of such confrontations was fought with the unparallel valor. Consequently terrorists’ acts got dropped to three quarters in the last years. The country is safer than at any point since the United States launched its war on terror almost 15 years ago. Any statements even focusing on the trivial gaps that are assumed about the Pakistan war on terror not only put down the military efforts but also undermines the sacrifices of the entire community. The war that the Pakistanis are fighting has never been selective. It is a war against the fanatic powers who want to distort the image of Islam in general and Pakistan in particular.
Beyond Politics: Ensuring Judicial Independence for a Thriving Democracy
it is evident that some people believed that senior judges would be as "manageable" as our more experienced politicians. This...
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