People were pouring in from both sides, and piling on top of one another. One moment, I had enough room to extend both arms, and the next, I was in a human vise, unable to breathe and unable to move, in blind panic,” says Salahuddin, who survived a Hajj stampede during the ritual stoning of Satan in 1991. “The mob pushed me against the fence on one side, I managed to grab one of the bars and pull myself close to it. I pushed my head through the bars and could finally breathe.” According to the latest figures released by the Saudi health minister, at least 1,100 people have lost their lives in the horrific stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year. At least 42 of them were of Pakistani origin. Although this was the deadliest stampede in over two decades, stampedes and associated deaths are a common trait of the annual event. Edbert Hsu at John Hopkins School of Medicine conducted a study of stampedes in 2010. According to his research, 215 human stampedes occurred between 1980 and 2010, resulting in 7,000 deaths and 14,000 injuries. If the figure is accurate, over a third of these deaths, or nearly 36%, have resulted from six major stampedes during Hajj. Every year, nearly two million Muslims congregate in Mecca, Mina, Arafat, and Muzalfah for the various stages of the pilgrimage, completed over four days. This influx of pilgrims obviously presents a range of operational and logistical challenges for the Saudi administration, officially responsible for the upkeep and management of the holy sites. “Back then, there was no management to speak of. We were provided no facilities, no bathrooms; people would defecate and urinate wherever they could find the space. At night, even at the doors of Mosque Al-Khaif, it would be pitch-black.” Salahuddin seems visibly upset, and shudders as he recalls the stampede he had witnessed. “That day when we entered the bridge to stone Satan, two groups collided. There were no signs directing traffic and no officials...

The recent legal action by the regional office of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Dr Ihsan Ali, vice-chancellor (VC) of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, has sent shock waves across academic circles in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and raised many an eyebrow. Other targets of NAB included Dr Syed Sakhawat Shah, former VC of Hazara University, Dr Muhammad Aziz Khan, chairman of National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Abbottabad, and Professor Humayun Zia, ex-chairman of the Higher Education Regulatory Authority. A NAB statement alleged that Professor Ali and Dr Shah granted affiliation to NIMS Abbottabad without a mandate enshrined in the Khyber Medical University Act of 2006. NIMS, according to the NAB statement, lacked medical faculty and the former VCs conducted examinations at the “illegal” institute. Together, they not only deprived parents of their hard-earned money (to the tune of Rs550 million), but also played with the future of unsuspecting students. This brazen action against prominent academicians, which many say is Pashtun-centric, has kicked up a storm. For these voices, the Pashtun have always been the victims as a consequence of the Soviet-Russian aggression in Afghanistan, the US response to it and then the post-9/11 Operation Enduring Freedom, and continue to suffer even now. Others have likened Dr Ali’s arrest to an assault on an academic institution. One would assume NAB did its homework before going after three noted professors. The onus of proving the former VCs guilty now rests with the watchdog. It will have to justify its actions that have tainted the image of the accused with charges of illegal, power-abusive conduct. Now, regardless of the veracity of charges against the three academics, what we all need to ponder over and probe are matters such as the manipulation of university charters, dubious affiliations, questionable admission policies, non-compliance with the criteria laid down by the Higher Education...

On September 18, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out yet another brazen attack on military infrastructure in Pakistan. In the early hours of the day, the Badaber Air Force Base in Peshawar was breached by an armed group of terrorists at two points. The military’s Quick Response Force (QRF) engaged the assailants, who had split into sub-groups. A major was shot in the leg during the crossfire, and a captain was one of the 29 killed in the ensuing gunfight. This was one of the biggest attacks on a military base in recent times, and resulted in the largest number of friendly casualties. Whether this attack was successful or foiled depends on perspective. The Inter-Services Public Relations calls it a foiled attempt. Reports indicate a siege plan – the terrorists were well-armed, well-trained, carried explosives and grenades and had rations for several days. This is a common trait with the larger, more organized attacks. The perpetrators of the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment also brought several days of rations with them. “None of them [were] wearing suicide vests. They were not suicide bombers. They had come to fight a long battle and fight till the last bullet,” said an official. The QRF engaged and contained the 13 militants, but one group managed to reach the nearby mosque and kill 16 worshippers mid-prayer. The police formed a cordon outside the base to cut off a potential escape. Lt Gen Bajwa, the recently promoted head of the ISPR, said three helicopters were utilized in clearance and evacuation of casualties. The argument made here is that this could have been a much bigger tragedy if they had managed to go deeper into the base, or worse, entrenched themselves for a protracted engagement. The attack was foiled because the assailants were killed swiftly and denied entry into the more sensitive areas of the base. In the process, 25 valiant soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country. The attack was planned and...

On September 18, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out yet another brazen attack on military infrastructure in Pakistan. In the early hours of the day, the Badaber Air Force Base in Peshawar was breached by an armed group of terrorists at two points. The military’s Quick Response Force (QRF) engaged the assailants, who had split into sub-groups. A major was shot in the leg during the crossfire, and a captain was one of the 29 killed in the ensuing gunfight. This was one of the biggest attacks on a military base in recent times, and resulted in the largest number of friendly casualties. Whether this attack was successful or foiled depends on perspective. The Inter-Services Public Relations calls it a foiled attempt. Reports indicate a siege plan – the terrorists were well-armed, well-trained, carried explosives and grenades and had rations for several days. This is a common trait with the larger, more organized attacks. The perpetrators of the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment also brought several days of rations with them. “None of them [were] wearing suicide vests. They were not suicide bombers. They had come to fight a long battle and fight till the last bullet,” said an official. The QRF engaged and contained the 13 militants, but one group managed to reach the nearby mosque and kill 16 worshippers mid-prayer. The police formed a cordon outside the base to cut off a potential escape. Lt Gen Bajwa, the recently promoted head of the ISPR, said three helicopters were utilized in clearance and evacuation of casualties. The argument made here is that this could have been a much bigger tragedy if they had managed to go deeper into the base, or worse, entrenched themselves for a protracted engagement. The attack was foiled because the assailants were killed swiftly and denied entry into the more sensitive areas of the base. In the process, 25 valiant soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country. The attack was planned and...

On September 18, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out yet another brazen attack on military infrastructure in Pakistan. In the early hours of the day, the Badaber Air Force Base in Peshawar was breached by an armed group of terrorists at two points. The military’s Quick Response Force (QRF) engaged the assailants, who had split into sub-groups. A major was shot in the leg during the crossfire, and a captain was one of the 29 killed in the ensuing gunfight. This was one of the biggest attacks on a military base in recent times, and resulted in the largest number of friendly casualties. Whether this attack was successful or foiled depends on perspective. The Inter-Services Public Relations calls it a foiled attempt. Reports indicate a siege plan – the terrorists were well-armed, well-trained, carried explosives and grenades and had rations for several days. This is a common trait with the larger, more organized attacks. The perpetrators of the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment also brought several days of rations with them. “None of them [were] wearing suicide vests. They were not suicide bombers. They had come to fight a long battle and fight till the last bullet,” said an official. The QRF engaged and contained the 13 militants, but one group managed to reach the nearby mosque and kill 16 worshippers mid-prayer. The police formed a cordon outside the base to cut off a potential escape. Lt Gen Bajwa, the recently promoted head of the ISPR, said three helicopters were utilized in clearance and evacuation of casualties. The argument made here is that this could have been a much bigger tragedy if they had managed to go deeper into the base, or worse, entrenched themselves for a protracted engagement. The attack was foiled because the assailants were killed swiftly and denied entry into the more sensitive areas of the base. In the process, 25 valiant soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country. The attack was planned and...

Law enforcement agencies picked up more than 60 suspects, including about 30 Afghan nationals, in a number of raids in Islamabad on September 18. They seized weapons and ammunition from the dreaded stronghold of Imtiaz Khokhar – popularly known as Taji Khokhar – and arrested 20 suspects, according to news reports. Imtiaz Khokhar is the brother of former deputy speaker of National Assembly Nawaz Khokhar, who belonged to the People’s Party but was reportedly expelled in 2002. He is the uncle of former minister for human rights Mustafa Nawaz.  Imtiaz Khokhar had been accused of using armed men at his disposal for extortion and to illegally occupy people’s land, and was also facing a trial for allegedly murdering a woman over a land dispute. Imtiaz and his aides – including his sons and employees – were sent to Adiala Jail in 2013. The judge hearing the murder case was found dead in his house last month. Police claim they have arrested the killers. But religious circles respect Imtiaz Khokhar as a kind, magnanimous and God-fearing man. If insiders are to be believed, Khokhar’s son is married to the daughter of a famous hardline cleric. That explains the nexus between crime, militancy and religious entities. The reports, followed by explanations from his elder brother Nawaz Khokhar, reminded me of my eye-opening meeting with Taji Khokhar in January 2011. Following are some excerpts from my diary after that eventful visit: “On the chilly evening of January 30, 2011, I had a meeting with Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz, a former legislator whom the Supreme Court had acquitted of involvement in the abduction and eventual murder of a polish engineer. “I had been chasing Aziz for some time to figure out his role as a religious cleric from Karak, an underdeveloped district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was said to be a go-between for Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), until the latter was killed in August 2009 by an American drone. ‘They love to suck...