Pakistan
All countries-
India and Pakistan
"If Germany can be reunified, so can Kashmir"
Calls for a free Kashmir are becoming louder on both sides of the divided region. Can the German reunification model be applied to the India- and Pakistan-ruled Kashmirs? And what can Kashmiris learn from it? By Shamil Shams
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Modiʹs identity politics
Islamophobia threatens to engulf India
Indiaʹs constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, but the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not care. Run by Hindu-supremacists, it is enforcing aggressive anti-Muslim policies. By Arfa Khanum Sherwani
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Pakistani poet Yusra Amjad challenges societal convention
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Rapprochement between India and the Gulf States
The realpolitik of Modi and MbS
Abu Dhabi and Riyadh see a natural partnership with Modi’s government, a co-operation that could change the dynamics of the South Asian-Gulf nexus. By Jean-Loup Samaan
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Cultural politics in India
India's celebrities confront Hindu nationalism
In July 2019, with hate crimes against minorities in India rising sharply, 49 eminent personalities signed an open letter to Narendra Modi, stating that the slogan 'Jai Shri Ram' – Hail Lord Rama – a Hindu chant usually reserved for prayers or religious gatherings had become a war cry. By Amrita Das
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Rawalpindi's Murree brewery
Beer and whisky made in Pakistan
To many the name of Pakistan calls up images of Islamic extremism, religious intolerance, state corruption and the long years of terror. It’s probably safe to say that single malt whisky, half a dozen brands of beer and a 120-year-old brewing tradition are unlikely to be near the top of anyone’s word association list. By Philipp Breu
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Afghanistanʹs political future
Is peace with the Taliban possible?
Despite ongoing peace negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, the bloody conflict in Afghanistan continues to take a heavy toll on the country’s people. Can talks with the Taliban really bring about peace? By Amin Saikal
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Interview with film director Schokofeh Kamiz
"I was surprised she wasn't a bigger sensation"
In early 2015, Pakistani activist Sabeen Mahmud organised an event on missing Balochi activists in her cafe. Later that day, she was killed by two men on the streets of Karachi. The documentary film "After Sabeen" is a very personal portrait of the woman. Interview by Schayan Riaz
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Modi and the revocation of Article 370
Kashmirʹs tormented quest for freedom
Since India scrapped its special status, tensions in Kashmir are rising once again. The conflict over the valley has defined the lives of Kashmiris for decades. Marian Brehmer reports from Kashmir
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Kashmir, Xinjiang and Arab land in the Middle East
Victims of the civilizational agenda
India's decision to deprive Kashmir of its autonomy, alongside a clampdown in the troubled north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang and US-backed Israeli annexation of Arab land, is the latest indication of what a new world order led by civilizational leaders may look like. By James M. Dorsey
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India, Modi and the Muslim minority
"Not yet a Hindu Pakistan"
Many regard Modi's Hindu nationalist policies as an attack on India's pluralism. But does this mean that pluralism has really died a death? Marian Brehmer reports from the Muslim pilgrimage city of Ajmer
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Book review: Bina Shah's "Before She Sleeps"
A bleak future scenario
In "Before She Sleeps", which is set in the Muslim world of the twenty-second century, the Pakistani writer Bina Shah takes us on a dystopian journey into a future that may not be all that distant, where women attempt to take a stand against male domination. By Claudia Kramatschek