106 results found
The explosion in the midst of a Shia congregation at a shrine in Islamabad on May 27,2005, which resulted in the death of 25 Shias and injuries to about 80 others has been attributed by the local police to an unidentified suicide bomber. No organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the blast,
The political-intellectual discourse of the region had over the years evolved a historical disconnect with Kashmir — somewhat inherent, some enginee
The Supreme Court's decision has given a huge jolt to the fragile democratic system. And, Sharif's political legacy is lying in tatters.
With surgical strikes becoming a tactical success the real triumph will be in achieving a strategic shift in Islamabad
Now that BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi is approaching what could possibly be the pinnacle of his career, the last thing he wants is to box himself in by his own rhetoric. It is for this reason that in his Haryana speech, he also invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee's policy, which used the Kargil crisis to get the world community to pin down Pakistan on avoiding the use of violence in relation to Kashmir.
It has been a few weeks since the ¿momentous¿ Islamabad declaration by Indian PM Vajpayee and Pakistani leader Gen.Musharraf. The full effects of the declaration may not be known for a few months at least, but there have been enough clues coming out of South Asia for prognosticators to decipher. But first one must look at the declaration itself.
By delineating bilateral relations from the larger SAARC format, and at the same time taking them up after the Islamabad summit had addressed major agendas, India and Pakistan have done well for themselves and for the region ¿ without continuing to hold one the hostage of the other.
Chances are that the tit-for-tat exchange between Iran and Pakistan will not escalate; neither side wants nor can afford an open conflict
Like Moscow and New Delhi, Riyadh and Islamabad are old allies. There are numerous issues which will ensure that closeness between New Delhi and Riyadh will not cause bilateral ties to spiral downward. If Riyadh gives up on Islamabad, the latter will move closer to Tehran, something the Saudis want to avoid.
Facts on the ground suggest that Army Chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, and his army are interested only in the formal trappings of democracy.
Pakistan’s strategic calculations in Afghanistan have backfired, leaving it entangled in the complexities of the South Asian geopolitics.
While Russia is aware of Islamabad's role in fomenting international terrorism, it realises that any successful resolution of the problems associated with Afghanistan must involve Pakistan. A cancelled presidential visit cannot change the relevance of this, or of Russia's goal, in enhancing ties with Pakistan.
This return to business as usual is reflective of the wariness on both sides to escalate the crisis further and prevent it from metastasising into a new front of conflict.
Call it a game of good-cop-and-bad-cop being played out by President Musharaff and Prime Minister Jamali, yet Pakistan¿s willingness to ¿keep aside¿ the UN resolution on plebiscite in Kashmir should come as a welcome turn, if not relief, for India, and all those hoping for permanent peace in South Asia.
If Nawaz Sharif really believes that Islamic insurgency has no role to play in Indo-Pakistan relations henceforth, he should enforce immediate control and effectively neutralise LeT and its parallel organisation, the Jamat-ud-Dawa.
For Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the foremost challenge will be to handle the economic crisis and keeping the political alliance intact. The incoming government will face a strong opposition from Imran Khan and his PTI, who are masters at street campaigning
With the upcoming No-Confidence vote, Pakistan finds itself further embroiled in political and economic uncertainties.
Delhi must bite the bullet and make the political case for moving forward boldly with Islamabad and Dhaka. Nothing will demonstrate India's commitment to transforming its relations with its neighbours more than an early visit to Pakistan by the Prime Minister.
By announcing the American decision to ¿nominate¿ Pakistan as a ¿major non-NATO ally¿, US Secretary of State Colin Powell may have done a calculated disservice to the ongoing peace process between Islamabad and New Delhi. His reference to greater military-to-military cooperation with Islamabad may have stirred,
The Beijing-Islamabad bonhomie is a given fact for making strategic calculations in the subcontinent.
The synchronised protest marches undertaken by Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and cleric Tahir-ul Qadri, chairman of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), culminated in a combined sit-in outside the Parliament building in Islamabad.
As already pointed out in our earlier articles on this subject, the unrest is, inter alia, due to anger over the suppression of the nationalist aspirations of the Balochs by the Government in Islamabad,
Pakistani authorities will make cosmetic changes of incumbents handling crucial matters, rope in foreign ambassadors, diplomats, military attaches and foreign media based in Islamabad.
Sino-Indian ties have been going downhill for the last few years. At the BRICS summit, India sought to re-engage Russia more substantively.
The challenge is to enable Islamabad to make a soft-landing rather than a crash that can have unpredictable consequences.
The September 29 strike was different in a significant way that not only did the Narendra Modi government own it, but also publicised it.
To counter Islamabad’s determined push to stir up trouble in the Kashmir Valley, India will have to formulate a new counter-terrorism strategy that
Islamabad’s inability to control elements in both Afghanistan and Pakistan is proving to be a major hurdle in the execution of the CPEC project.
The Observer Research Foundation, in partnership with the Center for Contemporary Conflict (CCC), Naval Post-graduate School, California, USA, and the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Pakistan undertook a project, Crisis and Escalation in South Asia: The 2002 India-Pakistan Military Standoff....
History is all set to repeat itself in the subcontinent. As usual, the search for a permanent thaw in the India-Pakistan relationship seems to be hitting a big bump in the days ahead that might possibly derail the bilateral negotiation process initiated during the Islamabad SAARC Summit in January this year.
The killing of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on January 4 in Islamabad and the wide-spread adulation of his killer, a Punjab Police commando, has raised a whole litany of fears and dilemma in, and about, Pakistan.
On the eve of the February 18 elections, no two people in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi were agreed on the certainty of elections taking place. Elections cannot take place, it was argued then, because the establishment will not risk an open-ended process which might produce inconvenient results. In the Pakistani context, the establishment has always meant the Army, the bureaucracy, big landlords and the United States.
India lacks resources and direct access to Afghanistan, but it can derive some comfort from the fact that, if the past is any guide, you can always trust Islamabad to give us the opening through its propensity to overreach.
The thaw in the India-Pak relations has opened a new window of opportunity. In the first stage, it will assist in India hosting the Heart of Asia conference next year and may also lead to a fruitful visit by Modi to Islamabad for the SAARC Summit.
Though nobody is sure what will be the outcome of the march to Islamabad, it is clear that Pakistan is in for a period of continued instability
Long sidelined by Islamabad, Moscow, and Beijing, New Delhi is finally taking a seat at the table.
It could even consider participating in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, subject to Islamabad fulfilling a few conditions.
The Modi government came to power in New Delhi pledging a muscular approach to relations with Islamabad. But now, the government has realised that while it can control the narrative at home, it cannot do so abroad. Most countries saw New Delhi's actions as somewhat over the top.
It is important for both countries to think outside the box and create constituencies of peace outside New Delhi and Islamabad, especially in the two Punjabs. While Punjabi tarka can not be the core of India-Pakistan relations, it must not be overlooked either.
The process of rapprochement between India and Pakistan began during the SAARC summit at Islamabad in January 2004. The two estranged neighbors set aside the bitterness of the recent past and decided to work together for peace and stability. That such a beginning could be made is itself a major achievement.
The pressures to change in Pakistan are real. It is not inconceivable that over a period of time, Islamabad will recognise that there are alternatives for Pakistan to exercise regional influence.
Manmohan Singh is sometimes accused of focusing too much on Pakistan. Perhaps he could try paying a visit. Also consider visiting towns outside Islamabad and Lahore, such as his own ancestral village, which is waiting with open arms to welcome its prodigal son.
Pakistan's persistent anti-India stance and unreliable dialogue offers from the civilian leadership in Islamabad have rendered the relationship insign
The apparent role of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba in the terrorist attack in Srinagar on June 24, killing 8 jawans, has raised several questions which may sour the tone and tenor of New Delhi's renewed engagement with Islamabad.
The diminishing returns are starting to set in for both Imran Khan and his “selectors”.
The absence of a clear centre of power in Pakistan raises a serious question mark on the ability of the government in Islamabad to execute any agreement with India in letter and spirit.
