By Kashif Hussain The United States’ Afghanistan-centric South Asia strategy aimed at outlining a plan for victory in its more than one-and-a-half decade long war with the Taliban. A combination of tools — including diplomacy, economic might, intelligence and military power — was employed during the past year for that purpose. However, at the same…
By Amina Afzal The July 2018 election has been criticized for being engineered in favor of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, of being contested under China’s shadow, and for bringing religion to the fore of Pakistani politics. Yet the nation chose to exercise its right to elect a new government and cast their votes notwithstanding the terrorist attack in Quetta and despite the…
By Dr. Shireen M Mazari The inadequate response on the part of the state and government (both the previous PML-N government and the caretaker) on Kashmir in the wake of the first-ever report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released on June 14, 2018 is astounding and reflects a…
by Dr Shireen M Mazari Pakistan gets placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List. The US threatens Pakistan on multiple counts but we remain silent. India increases its cross-LoC and Working Boundary attacks, but Pakistan does not raise the issue in the UN (at least not effectively). India gets membership of three…
By Muhammad Abdul Qadeer During a recent interview to The Indian Express, Indian Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat sent out a message to Kashmiri youth that “Azaadi isn’t possible. It won’t happen.” He warned that India would fight those with “full force” who seek “Azadi”. His comments follow a new round of clashes between Kashmiris…
By Amina Afzal In Pakistan, both the establishment and ethnic, nationalist, religious, and regional parties have played important roles as kingmakers, helping shape electoral politics, and will continue to do so in the upcoming general elections. Provincial strongholds are also an important factor influencing elections, as is evident in Punjab—the electoral success of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz…
by Amina Afzal Pakistan-India relations are defined as much by cricket as they are by conflict. Mirroring the political tensions between the two countries right now, the relationship between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is also at its lowest. Amid growing tensions, the Asia Cup…
by Muhammad Shoaib Trump was persuaded by neoconservatives to keep forces in Syria, because U.S. withdrawal from Syria would implicate Russian dominance in the proxy theatre. Broadly the situation in Syria is reminiscent of the Cold War, but more complex due to several smaller proxy conflicts between regional state and non-state actors. The U.S.’ inability…
by Moiz Khan Under the directives of US President Donald Trump, the Pentagon released the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) on February 2, 2018. The new NPR identifies Russia and China as strategic rivals and claims that both countries are modernising their strategic systems. In response to Russian and Chinese nuclear forces expansion and growing…
By Amina Afzal Conflict along the line of control (LoC) — the dividing mark between Indian and Pakistani-controlled portions of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir — has become a permanent feature of India-Pakistan relations. Even as India and Pakistan accuse each other of violating the ceasefire agreement and of unprovoked firing, both…