My Loneliness with None I Share..!!

The relations between Afghanistan and the US are often a hot topic of discussion in international media circles. Since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and the consequent overthrowing of the Taliban regime in 2001, a number of democratically elected governments have served their terms in the war-ravaged country. With passing time, the level of trust and the nature of expectations from each other has not only continued to evolve but for the most part has deteriorated. The civilian leadership of the two countries has not always been on the same page. Their relations have seen a lot of ups and downs over the last decade and a half as a result. The very nature of their partnership is intricate and complicated. One major factor is the lack of success in resolving the core issues of Afghanistan. On one hand, the removal of Taliban government has been welcomed largely by the Afghans, on the other, the inability of the new civilian administration to take charge and contro...

Afghanistan can perhaps be labelled as one of the most war affected country in the world. Peace has seldom been achieved since the  Soviet invasion . After the end of the Soviet occupation, the country saw severe infighting over power which led to major internal armed conflicts. The fact that Afghan groups who took arms against the former USSR but later turned to each other for support is not a surprising story. By nature, Afghans are a tough people, they have further been hardened by a war they fought against an extremely powerful foe. It was only natural all major players involved in the Afghan jihad saw themselves fit to lead the nation and reign supreme as well. Many of these warlords were mostly interested in serving their own purposes, rather than work towards the greater good of the locals. But this changed after the  rise of the Taliban  in the mid-90s. Within a few months, a major part of the country was under Taliban rule. They were rece...

Living all my life in Karachi, the biggest and the most progressive city of Pakistan, I never actually felt the need to think about living anywhere else, until now. My recent trip to the United States of America has led me to believe that there is still so much in this world that I need to see and learn from.   Being a journalist in Pakistan, a society that was exposed to free and impartial news channels a decade ago, I was selected for the ICFJ Journalism Exchange USA programme which provided me an opportunity to visit Washington DC, Virginia, Chicago, Denver and meet people shaping American news media. Working with the professionals was a great feeling. Before going to the US, I was not very optimistic after reading and watching anti-Muslim rhetoric going on in America and just like any other foreigner I was afraid to face some hostility towards my faith and country. However, what I received instead was love, love and more love. I fo...

The US symbolizes democracy in its true spirit which is why after every five years the presidential elections in the country are observed by the whole world as whoever sits in the White House impacts the world. Which is why these are not just elections for the US but for the whole world. And since I can remember, the presidential candidates have always exhibited tremendous restraint and maturity, which is not the case this time. This time, it is different, this time the US elections look like a power struggle between leaders of some banana republic under the cloak of democracy. he US Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has taken the center stage by storm. With no political background this real estate tycoon is all set to take United States of America into a new era (where the US will no longer be considered a tolerant world leader). This is a big change without a doubt. A nation built by immigrants is now considering imposing a ban on immigrants under ...

We have all heard the phrase “Home Sweet Home,” but little do we know that not everyone gets to say and live it. Unfortunately, even in today’s modernized and technologically advanced world there are many homeless people in the United States of America, who have nowhere to sleep but the streets. While the nation has exhibited immense economic growth over the past 100 years, the US has failed to provide shelter to much of its homeless population. The street sleepers are also a matter of security concern for the nation since many homeless have had a record of criminal activity. From petty thieves to serial killers we can find many living on the streets and without a permanent mailing address. Law enforcement agencies have tried to curb sexual predators in troubled neighborhoods but let’s face it these efforts haven’t been very successful. A study conducted in 2015 indicates the number of homeless people in the US to about 500,000. Sadly, a quarter of them are childr...