Pakistan is undertaking a difficult mission to diffuse tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has a natural inkling for this sort of enterprise— indeed a romance. Theoretically it seem all too simple, however, practically it touches the boundary of Mission Impossible. Saudi arrogance and Iranian shrewdness both are equally unsurmountable and…
Pakistan had identified Gwadar as a port site as far back as 1954 when Gwadar was still under Omani rule. After 200 years of Omani rule, Pakistan purchased Gwadar from Oman for $3 million on 8 September 1958. Most of the money for the purchase from Oman came from donations, with Prince Sultan Mohammad Shah,…
President Barack Obama vowed on November 22 that the United States and its allies would not relent in fight to combat Daesh extremists and would hunt down their leaders and cut off the group’s financing. “Destroying (Daesh) is not only a realistic goal, we are going to get it done…We will destroy them. We will…
During his recent address to the UN General Assembly, PM Nawaz Sharif had said: South Asia needs strategic stability and this requires serious dialogue to achieve nuclear restraint, conventional balance and conflict resolution. He proposed a new peace initiative, comprising four specific and feasible steps: 1) Pakistan and India formalise and respect 2003 understanding of…
China has offered to host a meeting between the Afghan government and Taliban but has declined to mediate. China’s special envoy for Afghanistan Deng Xijun called the Taliban “one of the main forces in Afghanistan’s political arena.” Earlier this year, China had facilitated a meeting between Afghan High Peace Council and Taliban in Urumqi. Deng…
On the eve of Hajj, Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz said the terrorists have gone astray and are destroying the image of Islam. He cautioned the Muslims about the menace of terrorists using the religion’s name while sabotaging peace. He urged Muslims to strive for spreading the real message of Islam— peace, love and…
Article 25 of the Indian constitution states that: “Every person has the right to practice their faith as they choose, or no faith at all without fear or discrimination”. However, in practice such rights are flouted quite frequently. The ongoing beef controversy in India has reinforced the conviction behind the creation of Pakistan. Many Muslims…
In an erratic move, the Afghan government has walked away from the second round of the peace talks with mediation of any second country, and has asked Pakistan to take action against Taliban leadership in its territory instead of bringing them to the negotiation table. The former president, Hamid Karzai who recently opposed Ghani’s soft…
American National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s visit had been planned in advance had nothing to do with the current tension between India and Pakistan. Also, would be unrealistic to harbour expectations regarding the US role in Indo-Pak relations. Notwithstanding, trails of Indian arrogance lead towards undue coddling by America and India has to realize that…
President Erdogan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, inter alia, discussed the prospects of the budding Afghan peace process during their meeting in Chaklala on August 01. Over the previous years Turkey has been taking keen interest in a negotiated settlement of the Afghan crisis; initiatives like Istanbul, Ankara and Heart of Asia processes are just…
