Say no to amnesty
Would the present scheme meet any different fate than its predecessors? A new amnesty scheme is on the anvil. For politicians, few things are more irresistible than the thought of offering an…
American drone strikes and other developments
This is an evolving scenario On 24 January 2018, an American drone struck a target deep inside Kurram Agency in FATA. This was part of a series of strikes (during the period…
The US defense strategy
Downgrading the war on terror On 19 January 2018, the US defense secretary unveiled the country’s Defense Strategy, companion document to the National Security Strategy, which was announced by President Donald Trump…
India-Israel alliance
Implications for Pakistan Should Pakistan have any concerns about the deepening ties between India and Israel? Ordinarily, a third country should have no concern about relations between other countries. But India-Israel ties…
Dealing with American Threats
Vagaries of Consciousness Our inherent shortcomings are the real barrier between aid and self-reliance There is a great deal of clamoring about Pakistan’s response to American threats. A strand of thought (‘The…
Trump’s tweet
We should ignore it Just when we think we may have hit rock bottom in our relations with America, the Trump Administration, nay, Trump himself, has the ingenious ability to dig holes…
The Belfour Declaration
A Centennial Assessment In 1917, the British government approved the public declaration of its sympathy for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” at the time an…
What is the future of modern Westphalia?
Abiding lessons of history Westphalia is a little-known town in north-west Germany, which earned unparalleled fame in 1648 as the venue of a Treaty signed among the countries who were fighting a…
Vagaries of consciousness
US Senate hearings echo concerns on Pakistan President Trump has finally begun to make appointments against a large number of important offices both in the Departments of State (DOS) and Defense (DOD).…
Building Frenzy against Pakistan
The video interview begins: “..No, Pakistan is mad, we know that already…. What is there to cry about, we have to teach it a lesson, the lesson to teach is that earlier…
Fanning Indian hubris
Pakistan has no interest in subverting Indian ascendency. But India does need to live up to the words of its first premier Jawaharlal Nehru and its commitments to the United Nations…
America’s aggressive designs have economic implications
However, designation as a state sponsor of terrorism would create a break in relations between the two countries that may not be easily repaired. Through the ebbs and flows of that…
Trump’s unlimited war in Afghanistan
Given the fate of a much bigger surge back in 2009 by President Obama, analysts believe that the exercise would amount to nothing more than the old strategy of ‘don’t lose’. …
America: a nation divided on Afghanistan
…and old men in suits playing with young lives “Senator McCain should take the high ground of bringing the conflict to an end. He is misrepresenting the US objective in Afghanistan.”…
US Afghan Policy Mired in Internal Feuds
Trump Administration has so far failed to finalise its much-awaited new Afghan Policy because of internal discord. Even though the President had authorised the defense secretary (retired) general Mattis to deploy more…
Building frenzy against Pakistan
“And perhaps we’ve grown so used to horror we assume there’s no other way.” Clearly, the aim of the recent interview is to create frenzy about Pakistan just as the administration is…
Pakistan and the emerging environment
Caution: men at work “President Trump welcomed further Indian contributions to promote Afghanistan’s democracy, stability, prosperity, and security. Recognising the importance of their respective strategic partnerships with Afghanistan, the leaders committed to…