Dear Readers, The two central pillars of good governance are transparency and accountability; unfortunately both are in very short supply from our political culture. Had this been any other country, governments would have fallen for such incompetence but this is Pakistan. Lack of accountability, ineffective and/or corrupt governance is the head of the fountain from…
With India’s visibly anti-American membership of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) during the four decades Cold War era, its tilt towards Russia was well documented. Pakistan being allied with the US, India used NAM to subject us to scorn as a paid US lackey throughout the third world. India is now enjoying the best of both…
Positioned at a geo-politically sensitive crossroads, Pakistan has since the 50s served off and on as a “cornerstone of US policy” in the Middle and Near East, joining the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954. With Iraq opting out in 1958, the US-sponsored “Baghdad Pact” (1955) became the now-defunct (1979) Central Treaty Organization…
More than 1000 Muslims were killed and over 100,000 displaced because police stood by and did nothing to stop the massacre during the Gujarat riots in 2002. Ransacking the home of Congress MLA Ehsan Jafri, rioters killed him and other 70 Muslims taking refuge at his house. They then burned and mutilated Jafri’s body. (Then)…
Advocating western policies to moderate extreme nationalistic and anti-western feelings in the face of Soviet Union’s domination of its neighbours, Pakistan enthusiastically joined the US-sponsored Baghdad Pact (re-named CENTO after Iraq left) and SEATO to contain Soviet advance southwards in Asia. With India refusing to be part of any US Alliance, its opposition to the…
The process of Islamisation in Pakistan started in earnest during Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s regime, this resulted in a marked shift in its entire frame of politics. When the fatal plane crash brought Zia’s decade in power to a violent end in an as yet-unexplained plane crash in 1988, it marked the end of the second military…
Dear Readers, The third- largest body of water containing vital sea lanes, the Indian Ocean feeds some of Asia’s largest economies and is strategically among the most important in the world. It carries more than 80 percent of the world’s seaborne trade in oil transits through its choke points but it is not just about…
Describing the May 12 Summit of 40 Heads of State and Govt alongwith important business leaders as “the biggest demonstration of the political will to address corruption”, British PM David Cameron said “I’ve really sensed today there is far more political will – not just from words but from actions – that will make a…
A recent “Pew Research Center” (PEW) survey finds the American people divided and uncertain, having mixed views about how assertive a role the U.S. should play internationally. With sharp differences about the greatest threats to the U.S. and the measures to deal with them, the 2016 US Presidential Elections may well decide the future US…
Two terms with the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s prestigious Global Agenda Council (GAC) on “Countering Terrorism” and given the nexus between corruption, organised crime and terrorism made it apparent that without interdicting or eradicating the source of funding of terrorism, this evil could never be rooted out. With my change over to GAC for “Anti-Corruption…
