Afghans protest against Pakistani air strikes, Khost, April 16, 2022 The Pakistani air strikes on Saturday on the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Kunar and Khost killing dozens of people may seem at first glance a crude knee-jerk reaction to the ambush in North Waziristan the previous day in which seven Pakistani soldiers were killed. But …
Pakistan at crossroads. Turkish footfalls beckon.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (L) and Turkish President Recep Erdogan (R), Ankara, Oct. 2019. File photo. The Indian establishment, including the political leadership, is running into a strange predicament. Never before has India’s image looked so visibly sullied in comparison with Pakistan’s as much as in the most recent years under the present government. …
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Saudi Arabia reads the riot act to Imran Khan
Rohingya refugees in prayer at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, November 2019 The KL Summit 2019 hosted by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on December 18-21 was originally conceived as a landmark event in the politics of the Muslim world. It still is, albeit on a wet wicket struggling …
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Pakistan-Iran ties set for makeover — Part I
(Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan receiving Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Islamabad, August 31, 2018) The visit by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to Iran on April 21-22 will be a major event in regional politics. Whether it will be remembered as a landmark event, time only will tell. At its most obvious level, …
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Pakistan is blackmailing Modi and Doval
Doublespeak is commonplace in statecraft. A celebrated case is of the former US President Barack Obama who was facing re-election in 2012. Battered by criticism by his Republican contender Mitt Romney for being “soft” on Russia, Obama sought a private understanding with the Kremlin leadership that he couldn’t afford to be seen by the American …
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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The geopolitics of Pulwama
(Saudi Crown Prince, Pakistan PM chair joint Supreme Coordination Council session, Islamabad, February 18, 2019) It is improbable that Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a motor car driving licence. And it is an intelligent guess that even if he did possess one, Modi will not emulate Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan by driving the car …
Pakistan wriggles out of IMF clutches
The visit by Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid A Al-Falih on Saturday to Gwadar to inspect the site allocated for a multibillion oil refinery in the port city suggest that Riyadh and Islamabad are giving the final touch to reaching agreement for a Saudi Aramco Oil Refinery in Pakistan. Reports say that Saudi Arabia will be …
Modi curries favor with Trump but it won’t work
Nearly a year it took for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President to have a phone conversation. The last time they spoke was reportedly in February 2018. On Monday, Modi took the initiative to dial up. Two divergent accounts of the conversation have appeared. The Indian version labored to inject some verve into the …
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Modi-Trump bromance ends on sour note
The highly disparaging remarks to by the US President Donald Trump on Wednesday regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India’s role in Afghanistan come as a shocking revelation. Trump was talking to the press following his first cabinet meeting of 20i9 at the White House in Washington. No Indian PM has been reduced to look …