2240 results found
The usual shady politicking ensures that it doesn’t take a psephologist to figure out who will win the Pakistan elections.
Islam had reached Punjab along with the invasion of Muhammad Bin Qasim in the 8th Century. It spread in the province through the efforts of an array of Sufi saints who arrived in the province in the centuries that followed. Naturally, that meant that Islam in Punjab was deeply influenced by Sufi traditions. Today, both sides of the divided province are dotted with Sufi shrines or dargahs. The Sufi saints of Punjab have been venerated through the
In aftemath of Uri the Kashmir flare up has increased the domestic pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act decisively
After an uneasy truce brokered by Delhi with the amalgamation of the splinter Democratic National Conference (DNC), Prime Minister Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad again escalated tensions after the 1962 elections, cutting erstwhile DNC members down to size in the Cabinet and engaging with anti-India formations like Plebiscite Front, while Delhi tried to maintain the status quo. In this special report, the author uses private, classified correspondence and
The Modi government has been diplomatically polite and is in no haste to reach out to Pakistan for bilateral talks yet.
At the international summit on Terrorism, Democracy and Security held at Madrid from March 8 to 11,2005, which I attended, the foremost concern in the minds of the participants was the likelihood of an act of catastrophic terrorism involving the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
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.
Whatever little sympathy Pakistan wanted to milk for its position on Kashmir was lost because of the Uri terror attacks.
Massive migrations, triggered by natural calamities and the decade-long 'war on terror', are severely testing state's credibility and capability in Pakistan. Reeling under the cumulative effect of terrorism and economic meltdown, Pakistan, with a growing population.
On May 25, four terrorists (initial reports suggested almost a dozen armed men) scaled the perimeter walls of PNS Mehran, Pakistan's only naval air base, located in Karachi. Guided by their commander through hi-tech wireless systems,
On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai undid in less than 60 hours what governments of two sovereign nations had been struggling for over four years to achieve-peace and stability in the region. These terrorists were from Pakistan, recruited, trained and armed by Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), a terrorist group with visible presence across the country.
The military-mullah alliance is fundamental to the pervasive role of the army in Pakistan’s polity. This trend has led to many Islamist and terrorist organisations seeking the status of political parties, a move dubbed as ‘mainstreaming of terrorists.’
On March 9, 2004, Pakistan test fired solid propellant Shaheen-2 ballistic missile, which is supposed to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead upto a range of 2500 kilometers. The aim of the test as stated officially was ¿to ensure the reach of the missile was sufficient to deter aggression and prevent military coercion¿. The speculations -or unstated aims- of the test were
Cricket has always come in handy for India and Pakistan leaders to break political ice at difficult moments. And this World Cup has provided Modi with an opportunity to end the current diplomatic impasse. Modi called up Sharif to wish Pakistan well in the Cup and offered to send the new foreign secretary to Islamabad.
In the post BRICS narrative, Modi government’s recent policy towards Pakistan has been described as a "game changer" but has it's own limitations
No matter how you nuance the outcome of the recent Sharif-Modi meeting, the fact is that continuity, rather than change, marks the Indian PM's new Pakistan initiative. And, Time has shown the success of this strategy because India has, if anything, become more resilient, while Pakistan has come to the brink of collapse.
In his Kozhikode speech, Modi managed to underscore how Pakistan was going against the forces of history and how isolated it stood today as a result.
The Modi government should have put in place systems, structures and strategies that would make it politically very difficult for any future government to slide back to the pusillanimous policy on Pakistan.
Pakistan is grappling with multiple challenges currently and perhaps the only silver lining on the horizon is the possibility of a deeper economic relationship with India. There were more questions than answers about the situation inside Pakistan.
Pakistan has for long been grappling with several fundamental problems without any visible signs of overcoming them. Its economic, social and political indicators are amongst the lowest in the world. In its conflicts with India, which it perceives as its sworn enemy, all its tactics have proven to be of insignificant success, as has its intrusive attempts to control Kabul so as to gain strategic depth in Afghanistan. The successive governments' m
This brief discusses the character of Nepal’s responses to recurring India-Pakistan conflicts, with a focus on the 2025 military escalation following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Despite deep-rooted military, cultural, and economic ties with India—including the longstanding recruitment of Nepali Gurkhas into the Indian Army—Nepal’s response has remained anchored in strategic ambiguity, balancing condemnation of terrorism with a delibera
The threat to India and Indian interests will still come from Pakistan-based terrorist forces. The name of the terrorist regiment or the colour of its uniform is not important. Conceivably, the first test for the Modi government will be in Afghanistan.
Just compare the return of Benazir Bhutto with that of Musharraf. Both equally botched up. Bhutto's return was part of a deal between the Army and the US. Which interests had struck the deal with Musharraf?
The least reported link in the otherwise raging controversy over Pakistan¿s nuclear proliferation happened on January 1, 2004, at the Denver International Airport. Asher Karni, 50, a Jewish businessman from South Africa, was snared in a sting operation launched by the US Commerce Department and other federal agencies.
Indian customs officials reportedly intercepted a Malta-flagged merchant ship carrying a computer numerical control machine en route from China to Pakistan.
Pakistan and the US have much to lose if the US disengages from Pakistan. Therefore, US-Pakistan relations are likely to overcome their present turbulence and continue being an alliance of convenience for both.
Pakistan created the Taliban in the first place to capture Afghanistan politically. It is Pakistan's dangerous, anti-Indian ambitions in Afghanistan that are recoiling on it today, with the Pakistani Taliban as an off shoot of the country's chosen tryst with its anti-Indian destiny.
The composite dialogue between India and Pakistan has reached a critical juncture. In the past 20 months, there have been countless discussions on a variety of issues that have been plaguing the relationship between the two neighbours.
Brigadier V R P Sarathy (retd) initiated a discussion on Political Developments in Pakistan and Impact on India on Saturday 22, 2007 in ORF Chennai. He started his discussion on Pakistan's political development with Stephen P. Cohen's words: 'Pakistan is cursed by history but blessed by geography - always at the right place at the wrong time'.
At an Interaction of the ORF Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation on 5 January 2008, Mr K J M Varma, until recently the Special Correspondent of the Press Trust of India (PTI) at Islamabad, spoke on 'Pakistan after Benazir Bhutto'
It is high time that enlightened Pakistanis realize that the real threat to the existence of the Pakistani state comes from their own army which has usurped authority due to debilitated political institutions and geo-political concerns of western powers.
India has embraced an assertive strategy of escalation dominance to impose steep costs on future Pakistan-backed terrorism.
Pakistan seems ready to expand its counter-terrorism strategy. But such a break from the past needs time, and a sense of ownership. Patience, therefore, will yield greater long-term returns. So, repeated public admonishment by the US will serve to be only counter-productive.
The voyage highlighted Riyadh’s role in the balance of ties between the three states and India’s continued concerns on that front.
