The extraordinary joint statement last Friday at the level of the Director-Generals of Military Operations [DGMO] of India and Pakistan came like a bolt from the blue. It triggered speculations. Of course, it is preposterous to contemplate that the Indian Army went out on a limb without political directive, or that some “grand bargain” involving …
Continue reading “Guns fall silent on India-Pakistan border”
Curfew in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, in anticipation of ‘Black Day’ protests over first anniversary of state’s integration, Aug 5, 2020 India will be keenly watching the outcome of the Pakistani brain wave “to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support …
The new map of India issued by the government on 2 Nov, 2019 The unveiling of a ‘new political map’ of Pakistan in Islamabad on August 4 marks the aggravation of a bizarre period of South Asian politics that draws comparison with a controversial slice of the medieval history of England known as the Wars …
Continue reading “The Wars of the Maps in South Asia won’t have happy ending”
Chinese and Pakistani border guards at the Khunjerab Pass in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region bordering China. The border tensions between India and China are accentuating a malaise among Indian analysts — their tunnel vision. Every word that slips out of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s garrulous mouth is seen nowadays as ringing affirmation of the …
Continue reading “Don’t beat the bushes for China, there’s nothing out there”
Indian & Chinese patrols challenge each other, typically, in Ladakh. File photo The Indian analysts have been comparing the military build-up in the India-China border in eastern Ladakh to the Doklam standoff in 2017. This was only to be expected since the leitmotif was once again a road construction in disputed border regions. In Doklam, …
India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval (L) and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (C) met the US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad (R), Delhi, May 7, 2020 The two-hour stopover in Delhi on May 7 by the US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, accompanied by the White House official in charge of …
Continue reading “US leverages Delhi-Kabul nexus. But what’s in it for India?”
Panorama of an endless Oil Palm plantation in Malaysia (File photo) The report in the Economic Times that India has signed a contract with a Turkish firm to build fleet support vessels for the Indian Navy at the Vizag-based Hindustan Shipyard Limited gives much food for thought. Prima facie, the report is a motivated one. …
Continue reading “Turkey, Iran and Malaysia spoke up on J&K. Here’s why.”
US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (L) called on former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Kabul, Feb, 20, 2020 The manner in which the Trump administration is ramming down the Afghan throat a peace settlement is disconcerting. Delhi’s silence is more so. One shudders to think that comprador elements in the Indian establishment could be silently collaborating …
Continue reading “US rams down Taliban pact. Will Afghans throw up?”
US Acting Asst Secy of State Alice Wells met Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ijaz Shah, Islamabad, Jan. 20, 2020 The media reports that in the Indian estimation there is “a 75 per cent chance” of Pakistan exiting the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at the plenary of the international body on February 16 …
Continue reading “Pakistan’s exit from FATF list puts India on the spot”
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan received Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Islamabad on Dec.26, 2019. The one-day visit to Islamabad on December 26 by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah aimed at a reset of the Saudi-Pakistani relationship. What emerges is that Saudis are going the extra league …
Continue reading “Saudi placates Pakistan. What about India?”
