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
March 1, 2015
March 1, 2015

Can Mamata really deliver?

THE brouhaha in Bangladesh about Mamata Banerjee's recent visit is astounding. The widest possible media coverage of what Ms. Banerjee “assured” Bangladesh about its due share of the Teesta water -- in the most condescending manner -- is unbelievable.

February 16, 2015
February 16, 2015

Bangladesh crisis in the mirror of historical sociology

ENOUGH has already been written, discussed and debated on the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh, especially with regard to the usefulness of a meaningful dialogue between Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia to resolve the crisis, albeit in the short term. However, all the unsolicited advice seems to have gone down the Buriganga, which is also as polluted as Bangladesh politics.

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