The Indian media reports make out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reception for the seven parliamentary delegations waging the war on terror turned into a social occasion to celebrate the flashes of ‘national unity’ before the hurly-burly of politics returns as the election cycle picks up. The PMO did not issue any press release on …
Regional opinion urges Iran-Pakistan amity
Unsurprisingly, the eruption of tensions in the Pakistan-Iran diplomatic ties on Tuesday following Tehran’s air strike across the border against Baluchistan is subsiding, which testifies to the political maturity of the two countries. Neither side wants the tensions and both are astute observers of the regional and international environment. Their chosen path of reconciliation becomes …
Continue reading “Regional opinion urges Iran-Pakistan amity”
Doval creates synergy in India-Russia ties
President Vladimir Putin (R) met top security officials of the region surrounding Afghanistan, Kremlin, Moscow, Feb 8, 2023 The scheduled visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Moscow on February 7-9 was in connection with the multilateral consultations of the secretaries of security councils and national security advisors regarding Afghanistan hosted by the Secretary of the Russian Security …
Continue reading “Doval creates synergy in India-Russia ties”
US commits a perfect murder in Kabul
Eleven days after the US President Joe Biden’s dramatic announcement of August 1 regarding the killing of the emir of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Moscow has broken its silence. Ten days back, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova had replied to a query that Moscow was yet to “get the details” on what had happened on July …
Pakistan stirs up Pashtun hornet’s nest
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 …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-38
Fence along Durand Line separating Pakistan & Afghanistan 38. Blowback from Afghanistan Reports of the recent period are indicative of tensions between the Taliban forces and the Pakistani military deployed on their border. On December 22, the Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khwarazmi disclosed that the Taliban forces had stopped the Pakistani military from erecting …
India, Pakistan, Taliban on the same page
Afghans sit beside sacks of food grains distributed as aid The three-week long “anti-terror operation” undertaken by the Indian Army from October 11 in the Bhatta Durrian forest in Poonch following the killing of nine soldiers, including two junior commissioned officers and two policemen, was billed as “one of the longest” in the history of …
Continue reading “India, Pakistan, Taliban on the same page “
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-36
Taliban Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (L) met Qatari officials before talks with US/EU representatives, Doha, Nov. 27, 2021 36. One Hundred Days of Solitude As the Taliban completes its first hundred days in power, the Western powers are groping for a face-saving formula to engage with the authorities in Kabul with some modicum …
Afghan nationalism faces existential challenge — Part 2
Afghan children walk past a Taliban Red Unit, an elite force, Alingar district, Laghman province in eastern Afghanistan (File photo) Apocalyptic scenario is unwarranted The Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on May 13, “We will not allow boots on the ground or military bases on our territory.” He was referring to the future …
Continue reading “Afghan nationalism faces existential challenge — Part 2”
US-Pak reset to advance Biden’s Afghan settlement
Barack Obama (C) with advisers reviewing Afghan exit plan, vice- president Joe Biden (L), White House, Washington, DC, circa 2010 Mark Twain is credited with the saying ‘History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.’ The echoes of history resonate as the new US administration prioritises the Afghan problem for policy review. The …
Continue reading “US-Pak reset to advance Biden’s Afghan settlement”