Kerry-Karzai marathon talks on Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), also known as Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), fizzled out after raising high hopes a day earlier. Americans want to extract maximum concessions from the outgoing Afghan president. Afghanistan side is careful, and thus is in no hurry. “I believe Karzai wants the BSA, but he doesn’t…
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s address to the UNGA came as a disappointment for all those wishing to re-rail the peace process between Pakistan and India. It was an anticlimax of the peace overtures extended by Pakistan’s Prime Minister since his assumption of office in June. Contents of Manmohan’s hubris clad utterances indeed left a bad…
These days, the entire nation is confronted with a serious quandary about engaging the Taliban in reconciliatory negotiations. Military history is full of examples highlighting the complexity of negotiations between the militant outfits and the governments. It has always been analogous to one step forward and two backwards. While making mockery of the so-called beefed…
In an all encompassing, first speech since the general elections, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif admitted that the country’s institutions have failed on almost all fronts, including the war on terror. He thanked the people for expressing their confidence in him. But he said, “We should face reality that the country faces severe challenges”. This frank…
Recent Pak-Afghan summit had many interesting features. Before leaving Kabul for Islamabad, President Karzai had said that it would be his 20th visit to Pakistan, and that earlier 19 had not yielded any results. Afghan President’s visit came at a time when Afghanistan is undergoing important political and security transitions. Draw-down of foreign forces is…
Gap between Pakistan’s state policy and public aspirations in the context of Pak-US relations is quite wide. Moreover, public sentiment is hostile about the areas of divergence, and indifferent regarding areas of convergence. Most important issue that America and Pakistan are conjointly seized with at the moment is post 2014 Afghanistan. And this is the…
During his two-day visit to Pakistan, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, had a busy schedule, covering diverse areas of interest ranging from disease to drones. His presence on the Independence Day ceremony has earned him immense goodwill amongst the people of Pakistan. Pakistan has traditionally supported the purposes and principles of the…
Participation of overwhelming majority of the people of Balochistan in the electoral process indicates that the province is back to the flock of Pakistani nation-hood. Now it’s a matter of consolidating these political gains and converting them into a viable plan of action; indeed a task easier said than done. Political gains achieved through the…
As John Kerry circumvented Islamabad, Special Representative James Dobbins and Prime Minister David Cameron strived to wear his shoes. After a pro-India statement in New Delhi asking India to play a central role in Afghanistan, and with no tangible proposals with regard to Drone attacks, Kerry hardly had a chance of meaningful engagement with the…
Recent visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has provided further impetus to the strong and time tested friendship that Pakistan and China have nurtured over the previous decades. Twelve agreements signed during the visit include a number of arrangements which are of strategic consequence. Focus on economics, connectivity and finding a solution to Pakistan’s energy…
