Abdul Amir (as we’ll call him), a chemistry teacher in Quetta, Pakistan, was taking an afternoon nap on Feb. 16 when his house began to shake and the earth let out an almighty roar. His mother and sisters started screaming and ran out of the house, but by the time they gathered in the...

When I told my assistant Bagus that I was going to Pakistan, he was worried.  His perception of Pakistan was a terrorist hotbed. A Western friend even asserted Pakistan was “not far from collapse” with a deteriorating security situation. He suggested I take a flak jacket, as “things are...

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