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Syed Talat Hussain Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi must be on a long leave from the real world to say that the Biden Administration’s priorities and those of the bumbling government he represents are in alignment. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The two issues that he mentions as examples of shared views---climate change and corruption---are self-serving rhetoric. Bloated and fake figures on tree plantations are NOT caring for the environment. Scandalous political persecution is NOT a fight against corruption. At any rate, the latest Transparency International report that documents Pakistan’s consistent slide on the corruption index under the Imran government drills more holes in an already torn sheet of lies about the so-called anti-corruption agenda.  The reality is that the Biden Administration sits opposite to the Imran government on fundamental issues. The Danial Pearl murder controversy is an outstanding example of these deep divisions. You only need to read the...

Syed Talat Hussain A Voice of America report out of Islamabad quotes the Taliban representative sounding a dire warning to the newly-arrived Biden Administration. “If they remain in Afghanistan after this [the agreed deadline] we will also kill them even if somebody rewards us or does not reward us. We take our reward from God. We fight the invaders without a reward, without any bounty,” the report cites Sher Mohammad Stanikzai, a senior Taliban leader.  The context of the warning is a review of the Doha Agreement that is underway in Washington from where the signals are that the Joe Biden team may revisit the whole deal signed with much hope and hype last year by the Trump Administration.  The Talibaan anticipating a negative review may be attempting to forewarn the US of the consequences of reopening the Agreement. Hence the death threat. The Biden Administration’s review is pegged onto the assessment that the Taliban has used the Agreement to expand their influence in Afgh...