Pakistan journalist Hamid Mir on issues like Musharraf's compulsions in resorting to this extreme measure, conducting elections and restoring democracy in Pakistan, whether its nuclear weapons are in danger of falling into extremists' hands and what the ramifications for India would be.
Mir says, "We are not surprised. Similar attacks are being carried out every day in Swat valley. Today it has happened before the full glare of the media.'' He said the timing of the attack is significant.
'I am leaving Swat today. I am committed to return to Swat but I cannot come back if there is no peace. I can only use my pen and camera to report the truth if there is peace. Otherwise, I will become another Musa Khankhel and my pen will be silenced.'
'In Pakistan, people have started believing that democratic forces will win this battle and the army will go back to the barracks, this time forever.'
"The imposition of martial law will lead to the downfall of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. He will have to lose power to pay the price for siding with America," said Hamid Mir, the political editor of Geo television channel, in a telephonic conversation with rediff.com.
Pak Army officers write to Musharraf on the sacking of CJ issue.
'The reality is that India is not ready to accept Kashmir as a core issue,' says Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Salahuddin.
'I am a misunderstood person in Pakistan,' L K Advani tells Hamid Mir.
The British prime minster on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East.
'Declaring Pakistan a non-NATO ally has no link with military operations in Pakistan. We give that status to countries that have special relations with us,'says US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In an interview to Geo TV, he said a "lot of things were going on behind the scenes."
'We're there until the Iraqi people have a democracy and make sure they are not a threat to their neighbors.' General Richard B Myers talks to Hamid Mir.
'Whether in Kuwait, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, in Afghanistan, where the Muslim population was freed of one of the worst regimes in the 20th century, the Taliban,' says US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
He later went on to clarify his stance, tweeting that his words were taken out of context.
The Pakistani media on Thursday mostly towed the official line.
A journalist working for a private TV channel was killed on Sunday in Pakistan's Punjab province by unknown gunmen, the channel said. Yaqoob Shehzad, a news correspondent with the Express News was sitting with a friend inside an office in Gujranwala city when armed men came and opened fire.
Pakistan has temporarily banned two private television channels, including one of the Geo TV network, and imposed a hefty fine of Rs 10 million on them for airing blasphemous content and ridiculing the judiciary.
"Pakistan Foreign Minister is a political pygmy in a powerless government kowtowing to the terror organisations. These pusillanimous comments reflect Pakistan's frustration with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's successful diplomacy in exposing the terror face of Pakistan to the world," said BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao.
Only one soldier has "minor injuries" from stepping on a mine once he was back on the Indian side of the Line of Control, said army sources.
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Pakistan's powerful Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif has described Kashmir as the "jugular vein" of his country, saying the issue should be resolved in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiris and in line with UNSC resolutions for lasting peace in the region.
Three weapons have been recovered from them.
Pakistan Air Force closed the Lahore-Pakistan motorway on Thursday to let it practice landing jets on the road, in what it said was routine training not related to heightened tension with India after a deadly attack in the disputed Kashmir region.
A major controversy erupted on Sunday over Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif purportedly calling his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh a "village woman" with Narendra Modi terming it as the "biggest insult" of the prime minister.
The attacks on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is merely one in a long list of attacks on the media by extremist groups that would like to mandate what and how of free press. So, for the uninitiated, we take a stroll down recent times to see how the media and media persons have seen fearful responses to perceived transgressions.
The death sentence handed out to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav for "spying" was on Tuesday described as "unprecedented" by the Pakistani media, with experts weighing in the diplomatic fallout of the move.
'It is important to note that American officials were trying their best to use the Taliban for their oil games till December 1997 when Mullah Ghous was invited to America. State Department officials did not show any interest in capturing or killing Osama bin Laden even at that time.'
However much one underplays the meeting between India and Pakistan's top leaders, it can never be undervalued, reports Sheela Bhatt.
'I will need a few more pictures, sir, can I get some time from you for a more extended photo shoot?' asked Singh. Modi, ever-obliging before the camera, laughed. 'Sure, but let us plan to do it after my swearing-in is over in May!' The Balakot effect was evident. A fascinating excerpt from Rajdeep Sardesai's 2019: How Modi Won India.
No one should be allowed to use Pakistan's territory to import or export terrorism, says Hamid Mir.
Both Messrs Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri claim to march independently, but most of Pakistan believes they are marching to the Army's tune
By weakening Sharif, the corps commanders could have a final say in important matters like relations with India, dealing with Taliban militants, interacting with Americans and once again achieving strategic depth in post-NATO Afghanistan. Which is why they may be behind the unrest in Pakistan led by Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri, says Shahzad Raza.
The India card is now almost obsolete. There are more pressing challenges. People of Pakistan are fed up with years of bad governance, corruption and broken promises of successive governments. However, the politicians and former generals are still provoking sentiments on what is happening on the Line of Control for petty political gains, says Shahzad Raza.
Protesting against enforced disappearances in Balochistan, Abdul Qadeer Baloch, 72, has led a small group that has covered more than 2,000 kilometres on foot, breaking the 84-year-old record set by Mahatma Gandhi during his Dandi march. Hamid Mir reports from Islamabad.
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