‘The Pakistani move to ban militant outfits and placate international opinion and Islamabad’s openness to a UN security council resolution on Azhar — instead of beseeching China to cast yet another veto — enables Islamabad to occupy the high ground,’ notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. Continue reading…
Modi’s war rhetoric may boomerang on India
The government should welcome Islamabad’s move to ban militant outfits designated by the UN Security Council as a step in the right direction. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain by making a gesture. But a leap of faith is needed. Pakistan is crossing the Rubicon. Even if it is only acting under …
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US kept ‘cool’ during India-Pak crisis. This is why
(Indian soldiers patrol along the fence at the India-Pakistan border) With the India-Pakistan standoff somewhat waning, the time is ripe to put under the scanner the stance taken by the Trump administration through the crisis situation developing since the February 14 terrorist attack in Pulwama. On the face of it, Washington was strongly supportive of …
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Russia and China offer the SCO platform for India-Pak de-escalation
(Foreign ministers of Russia, India and China on the sidelines of the RIC meet at Zhejiang, China, on Feb. 27, 2019) Saudi Arabia is pushing forward as mediator between India and Pakistan with a messianic zeal that patently enjoys US backing. The Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir is arriving in Delhi …
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Do not barter away national security interests
There has been an avalanche of reports in the international media quoting western diplomats and security officials to the effect that India’s “intelligence-led… non-military preemptive strike” on a big terrorist camp in Pakistan on February 26 was all baloney. Apparently, these reports say, there was so such terrorist camp in existence in Balakot. Incredibly enough, …
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Cherrypicking in West Asia
On the face of it, Iran is down 0-2. That is, if a metaphor from soccer were to be used to describe India’s affection toward Iran’s archetypal West Asian rivals — Israel and Saudi Arabia. After all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives their leaders at the tarmac of Delhi airport with a hug, but there …
For Indian diplomacy, Organisation of Islamic Conference invitation is a challenge and an opportunity
It is possible at once to both exaggerate and minimise the significance of the invitation extended to India to be the guest of honour at the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2. Continue reading…
US checks India-Pakistan tensions from spiking
The crisis situation following the Indian bombing of Pakistani territory on February 26 — described as “intelligence-led… non-military preemptive action” against terror targets — and the swift Pakistani retaliation the next day in the form of an aerial attack on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, leading in turn to a ‘dog-fight’ in the sky, …
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What next as tensions rise in India, Pakistan
India was in a triumphal mood after the air attack on Pakistani territory on Monday. For almost all sections of Indian opinion, Monday’s event has been a matter of celebration. For military analysts, the attack signified a leap of faith they’d long clamored for – challenging Pakistan’s ‘bluff’ that under a nuclear overhang, Islamabad could …
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Pulwama diplomacy loses way in labyrinthine plots
(Prime Minister Modi & dignitaries at Ardh Kumbh Mela, Prayagraj, Feb 24, 2019) By deputing the Sindhi-speaking Hindu MP belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani to India, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan signalled a desire for de-escalation of tension with India. It followed two other signals — takeover of the Hqs of Jaish-e-Mohammed in …
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