Pakistan Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Pakistan

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  • Playpaki_drone2

    Investigation Finds U.S. Drones Strike Pakistan Every Four Days, Killing 775 Civilians Since 2004

    A new report from a team of British and Pakistani journalists finds one U.S. drone strike occurs every four days in Pakistan. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan have killed as many as 775 civilians, including 168 children, since 2004. The report also challenges a recent claim by President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, that no civilians have been killed in the drone attacks for...
    Aug 15, 2011 | Story
  • Hasan

    U.S. Officials: Pakistan Spy Agency Deliberately Killed Journalist

    Obama administration officials have told the New York Times that senior officials of the Pakistani spy agency, the ISI, ordered the killing of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad of the Asia Times in an effort to silence him. One U.S. official said, “Every indication is that this was a deliberate, targeted killing that was most likely meant to send shock waves through Pakistan’s journalist community and civil society." Ali Dayan Hasan,...
    Jul 05, 2011 | News
  • Ali_hasan_wx_button

    Drones, Aid and CIA Contractor Raymond Davis: Ali Dayan Hasan on Pakistani Attitudes Toward the U.S.

    In part two of our interview with Human Rights Watch Asia senior researcher Ali Dayan Hasan, he describes the work Asia Times reporter Syed Saleem Shahzad was doing when he was kidnapped, murdered and tortured in May, allegedly by state security forces. He also discusses the impact of drones, U.S. aid, and the case of CIA contractor Raymond Davis on Pakistani attitudes toward the United States. [includes rush transcript]
    Jun 29, 2011 | Web Exclusive
  • Hasan

    Inquiry into the Murder of Journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad May Implicate Pakistan Intelligence Agency

    A rare inquiry to investigate the murder of Asia Times reporter Syed Saleem Shahzad has begun in Pakistan. Shahzad was kidnapped in May near his residence in Islamabad and found dead two days later. His body showed signs of torture. He had complained of being threatened by Pakistani intelligence and had just published an exposé of a militant attack on a Karachi navy base, alleging links between Pakistani navy officials and al-Qaeda. Shahzad is...
    Jun 29, 2011 | Story
  • Hersh_mideast

    Seymour Hersh on the Arab Spring, "Disaster" U.S. Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Looming Crisis in Iraq

    Veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh assesses the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa amidst ongoing U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Despite touted gains and an upcoming U.S. military withdrawal deadline in Iraq, Hersh says, "Whatever you’re hearing, Iraq is going bad... It’s sectarian war. And the big question is going to be whether we pull out or not." On the uprisings, Hersh...
    Jun 03, 2011 | Story
  • Play-paki-binladen

    Pakistani Military Faces Scrutiny as Unfolding Evidence Suggests Direct Role in Harboring bin Laden

    Numerous questions have been raised on how Osama bin Laden could have been living in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad just down the street from Pakistan’s premier military academy. CIA Director Leon Panetta has reportedly said Pakistan was either "knowledgeable or incompetent" when it came to bin Laden’s whereabouts. Some evidence has emerged to indicate that the Pakistani military may have had a direct role in harboring...
    May 05, 2011 | Story
  • Alexander

    Former Military Interrogator Matthew Alexander: Despite GOP Claims, "Immoral" Torture "Slowed Down" Effort to Find Osama bin Laden

    The death of Osama bin Laden has sparked a debate over whether torture of suspects held at places such as the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay helped track down and kill the al-Qaeda leader. Some claim the mission vindicated controversial Bush policies on harsh interrogation techniques. We speak with Matthew Alexander, a former senior military interrogator in Iraq. "The laying of the groundwork, if you will, of these [Bush-era] techniques,...
    May 04, 2011 | Story
  • Play__scahil

    Jeremy Scahill on Killing of Bin Laden: Obama Has “Doubled Down on Bush Administration Policy of Targeted Assassination”

    The manhunt for Osama bin Laden is over. Nearly 10 years after the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, U.S. forces are said to have assassinated the Saudi-born founder of al-Qaeda inside Pakistan. The U.S. operation was reportedly carried out by 25 Navy SEALs under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command. At the time of his death, bin Laden was reportedly living in a heavily fortified mansion just a mile from the Pakistani...
    May 02, 2011 | Story
  • Play_paki_osama

    Did Pakistani Gov’t Know Where Osama bin Laden Was Hiding?

    "The idea that bin Laden got from Tora Bora to that house over the last seven or eight years without a single element of the Pakistani state knowing about it just doesn’t ring true," said Pakistani journalist Mosharraf Zaidi, who has been reporting in Abbottabad. "What rings even more hollow is the notion that somehow U.S. military choppers and gunships could fly into Pakistan undetected." Pakistani writer Tariq Ali questions...
    May 02, 2011 | Story
  • Ciabutton

    Former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern: Petraeus Will Expand Pro-War Agenda as New CIA Director

    President Obama is expected to announce a major shuffling of his national security team today. Under his plan, CIA Director Leon Panetta will move to the Pentagon to replace the retiring Robert Gates. Gen. David Petraeus will become the new head of the CIA. U.S. Marine General John Allen will be nominated to become the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, a position currently held by Petraeus. And Ryan Crocker will be nominated to be U.S. ambassador...
    Apr 28, 2011 | Story