Mustafa Qadri

After a decade-long hunt, Osama bin Laden has been killed. But the grievances and poverty that give rise to terrorism remain, writes Middle East correspondent Mustafa Qadri No individual has influenced the course of US military strategy more over the last 10 years than Osama bin Laden. In an age of increasingly narrow ideologies, Osama has been [...]

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Zardari’s decision to visit Europe as Pakistan is ravaged by floods reflects the elite’s flagrant indifference to human suffering Mustafa Qadri, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 10.00 BST Contempt for human life is at the heart of Pakistan’s miseries. Although the relationship between rich and poor is complex and far from monolithically asymmetrical, fundamental inequalities make [...]

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Violence and uncertainty in Pakistan are driving increasing numbers of people to seek solace in superstition and prayer

Mustafa Qadri,
guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 June 2010 07.59 BST

More and more Pakistanis are looking to prayer for protection in these troubled times. In the absence of credible, secular options, the fatalism this generates is a mixed blessing.

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Negotiating with the Taliban is too little, too late – western allies need to fix the socioeconomic mess started long before 9/11

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 February 2010 08.00 GMT

Memory spans are short in modern politics, but even by those standards the relative ease with which the discourse on Afghanistan has shifted from fighting the Taliban to negotiating with them is remarkable.

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The greatest militant threat facing India comes not from the Islamists who attacked Mumbai but Naxalite Maoist rebels

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 September 2009 09.00 BST

Last November’s fedayeen-style attacks on Mumbai may have reminded the world that India was not immune to terrorism. But few outside the subcontinent are aware that the greatest source of militancy in this diverse country comes not from Islamists but Maoists.

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Ordinary Pakistanis still suffer from energy shortages – and are unlikely to benefit from their country’s rich natural resources

· Mustafa Qadri
· guardian.co.uk, Sunday 2 August 2009 17:00 BST

Few things are as oppressive in Pakistan as the summer heat. In colonial times, the British would shift their garrison headquarters from Rawalpindi to the cool peaks of Murree, just north of present day Islamabad. Today, the elite are more likely to skip the country entirely or barricade themselves in the air-conditioned comfort of their cars and homes.

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Courtesy of the excellent Tofu Notes: So you can talk about the smell of urine and the kids rummaging through rubbish which has been dumped by the roadside. You can see rusted tin roofs, narrow muddy alleys, streams containing human waste, and kids with grubby clothes and bare feet. But if you do see those [...]

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Pakistan is an incredibly divided society. Most of those divisions relate to class. Even within a class there are several different subclasses. Here’s one example. The neighbour’s servant, who’s a top bloke, came over today to give me some yummy desert. I offered him most of the food in my fridge because I’m leaving for [...]

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