Horse-Trading Democracy The PML-N and PTI have been shuttling between the Pakistani opposition parties, since the arrival of former President Zardari on 26 February. This shuttling is to get their consensus on the proposed 22nd Amendment that would force party members to vote for their party candidates and for the ballot to be done in an open manner rather than the secret ballot that has characterized past senate elections. The…

News: The masked Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John", who has been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named. He is Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British man in his mid-20s from west London, who was previously known to British security services. British police declined to comment, citing ongoing investigations. Emwazi first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed the US…

News: On 25th February 2015, Agence France-Presse, (AFP) reported a news story titled ‘Afghan female stars defy clerics' pressure'. It reported that the 29-year-old singer is a judge on worldwide hit series "The Voice" that launched in Kabul in May, immediately attracting huge audiences and an array of angry critics. As a symbol of female independence in a strictly conservative Islamic country, Aryana receives regular death threats and lives in…

America's Permanent Presence Must Be Met with Jihad by Armed Forces President Barack Obama's new Pentagon Chief said on 21 February the United States was seriously considering slowing the pace of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, as the country faces a growing Taliban insurgency. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter's comments in Kabul offered the clearest sign yet that Washington was ready to delay the closure of some bases and retain more…