A thin red line – Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

The bar of revolution cannot be lowered for exigency and convenience; it is you who have raised your standards and if you cannot then part ways

Revolutionary struggles demand of its proponents, leaders and supporters that if anyone assumes authority in the name of the people it also means that he or they are answerable to people and cannot act arbitrarily by making peoples’ will the excuse for the use or misuse of that authority.

No one can be allowed to use that authority on their whim and palm it off as action necessary for the struggle. They have to be accountable to the people, especially when those actions endanger or destroy lives; at such times the leader or the group tread a very thin line making just or destructive actions quite indistinguishable and makes it imperative that such actions are taken after enough consideration and caution.

ایک باریک سرخ لکیر

Behave or be like North Korea: former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad on Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif’s role is limited, ISI decides key Pakistan policies says Former U.S. diplomat

Zalmay Khalilzad, who was born in Afghanistan, moved to the US as a teenager and rose to be President George W Bush’s points man for Afghanistan and Iraq, post-9/11 attacks. He was more than the eyes and ears of Washington DC; as a backroom man armed with extensive contacts, knowledge and cultural instincts, he was part of the nation-building exercise in these two volatile countries.

In his recently-published memoirs, The Envoy, Khalilzad shares his insights and offers a way ahead. Pakistan, he says, remains a spoiler as it provided sanctuary to Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, and President Bush ignored his (Khalilzad’s) requests to put additional pressure on Pakistan to deliver