Pakistan

Paskistan's Former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani /  by Justin Merriman


This is a photograph I took in 2009 of Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled today was disqualified to hold office. Gilani's disqualification comes after his conviction of contempt after he failed to pursue corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari. At the conviction in April this year Gilani was spared jail. The case ends a long-term feud between the Pakistani Government and the country’s judiciary. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told a the court: ‘Since no appeal was filed therefore Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani stands disqualified as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora [parliament].' 

Pakistan: On Terror's Frontline /  by Justin Merriman



Madrassas: The war on terror hinges on the safety and security of Pakistan. Increasing instability in the world's largest Muslim country has raised fear and concern across the globe. In recent months, the Taliban and extremist groups within the country launched attacks with increasing frequency and ferocity. They spread from the lawless tribal regions to the heartland of the nuclear-armed country....Where is extremism bred? Madrassas, translated, means place of learning. For children in the most impoverished places, local madrassas and the Islamic theology they teach offer the only option for schooling. Many feel the extremism spreading through Pakistan is born in poverty and raised in the more radical madrassas.
To read more about madrassas and Pakistan's struggle against terror read Betsy Hiel's story at http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/trib-in-pakistan/s_622366.html

Pakistan Prime Minister /  by Justin Merriman



Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani discusses his three-pronged strategy to defeat extremists in Pakistan during a exclusive interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review at his Islamabad home. The Prime Minister says his country faces a dizzying array of jihadi groups launching near-daily terrorist attacks on its army, police and people. This nuclear-armed nation of 170 million is “a frontline state fighting extremism and terrorism” despite U.S. doubts about its commitment, its prime minister declares.

Pakistan Minister /  by Justin Merriman


The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Quresi, sits in his hotel room in Washington D.C. The minister is hopeful that tri-lateral talks with the United States and Afghanistan will bring better understanding and success in the troubling situations in Pakistan and the region.