Taj Hashmi

STRANGER THAN FICTION

Professor of Security Studies at Austin Peay State University. His recent publications include Global Jihad and America: The Hundred-Year War Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.

Removal of Nawaz Sharif and the future of Pakistan

We know, since the assassination of the first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951, no Pakistani Prime Minister has been able to complete his or her full term in office. However, someone's stating this becomes clichéd or worn-out unless one discerns the different circumstances leading to each removal and dismissal.

7y ago

Two disasters, two countries, two peoples

Surprisingly, “baby boomers” (born between 1946 and 1960)—the generation that took part in the Liberation War—and “millennials” (born between mid-1980s and early 2000s) of Bangladesh (both supposed to be articulated, brave, and liberal), to put it mildly, also seem to be apathetic and opportunistic, even during times of national emergencies.

7y ago

Trump's Riyadh rendezvous

Although there's no reason to take Donald Trump's erratic behaviour, and his ambivalent and unsavoury assertions seriously, we can't ignore what he staged in Riyadh in the name of defeating Islamist terrorism on May 21.

7y ago

What's so “interesting” in Bangladesh today?

Interest-ingly, “interesting” is an English expression, which may hide one's actual opinion about something one considers “interesting”.

7y ago

A gambit and a war crime

There are contrad-ictory opinions about who on April 4 used chemical weapons, which killed more than 80 civilians, including children in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun in Syria.

7y ago

ISIS threats in Bangladesh - Denials and Delusions

It has happened again! In the wake of the latest round of terror attacks in Bangladesh, with ISIS claiming credit for it, authorities in the...

7y ago

Another regression therapy for Bangladesh?

A recent move by the Government to allow child marriage under special circumstances is tantamount to excluding many Bangladeshis from the benefits of growth and development.

7y ago

Corruption in Bangladesh: Perceptions vs. reality

The country has already become a lower middle-income country. So far so good! However, these indexes don't always tell us the whole truth about the states of governance, corruption, poverty, inequality, and most importantly, frequent violations of human rights across the country.

7y ago
June 14, 2016
June 14, 2016

Why was Muhammad Ali Greater than his legend?

Last Friday (June 10), the “Great” Muhammad Ali was laid to rest at his birthplace, Louisville Kentucky. Around 15,000 people

June 11, 2016
June 11, 2016

Conspiracy theories and beyond

The Democratic and Republican parties have made presumptive nominations of their presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

June 5, 2016
June 5, 2016

Defiance of law and the state of impunity in Bangladesh

KARL Marx, among other critics of imperialism, had some kind words for British colonial rule in India, especially in regards to

May 27, 2016
May 27, 2016

Fallout from Narayanganj: Hope and Despair

Salim Osman might have put the last straw on the camel's back. His using of cheap, religious and communal sentiments of the people is absurdly wild and dangerous. It could wreak havoc on Narayanganj, and eventually on the whole country.

May 21, 2016
May 21, 2016

MP plays judge-jury-prosecutor!

An MP – who paradoxically represents the ruling coalition as well as its opposition in the parliament – recently played the proverbial role of the judge, jury and prosecutor.

May 15, 2016
May 15, 2016

Finding the beneficiaries of the killings

The way the U.S. and Indian governments, and some conservative think tanks in the U.S. are appraising the spate of killings in

May 13, 2016
May 13, 2016

Some unresolved issues

Not only the ruling coalition and its main Opposition (which is outside the Parliament) contradict each other as to who have been killing writers, bloggers and freethinkers in the country, but some ministers of the coalition government also contradict each other in this regard.

April 1, 2016
April 1, 2016

Terror in the East and West: Beyond Ankara, Lahore, Paris, and Brussels

Although Islamist or separatist terror groups bomb and kill hundreds of people in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Turkey, or Afghanistan on a regular basis...

March 12, 2016
March 12, 2016

A debacle in Pakistan

Am I an alarmist for believing elements of the Pakistani “debacle” might eventually trickle down to Bangladesh? I hope that it turns out so. But I don't think so.

February 29, 2016
February 29, 2016

Political violence, “rational ignorance”, and “political illiteracy” in Bangladesh

THERE was yet another shocking headline in this daily (February 22): “Priest killed, devotee shot”. Some “unknown” assailants raided a