During general elections in Pakistan every major political party advocates popular policies and catchy slogans like roti, kapra aur makan (bread, clothing and shelter) in order to win public support. In other words, they try to win elections to implement their preferred policies. In both cases, the aim is to govern. Religious parties are no…
Pakistan and India are in the midst of a Cold War to influence developments in Afghanistan. Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 both have injected their confrontation into Afghan affairs where they follow a zero sum game in which the gain of one is the loss of the other. This equation is…
Wonderland of nuclear non-proliferation has a treacherous history; it is full of fantasies, rhetoric, dilemmas, deceit and duplicity. Third nuclear test by North Korea, an interesting statement by the Speaker of Iranian Majlis about the status of his country’s nuclear programme, and recent imposition of fresh American sanctions on four Chinese and two Belarusian entities…
The words in my log book are faded and the pages show the yellowish tinge of age, but the memory is alive and vivid as though it happened just yesterday. The entry says that the mission was flown in Twin Otter AP-AWF departing Dacca at 22:30 Z (04 Dec 1971) and arriving at Akyab (now…
Looking at the grotesque disparity between the Air Forces arrayed against each other in the Eastern wing – one PAF combat squadron versus twelve[1] of IAF – one cannot but agree that the idea of ‘defence of East lies in the West’ reflected a realistic appraisal of the grim situation by the Pakistani military strategists….
Theme for debate in the 67th session of the UN General Assembly is fascinating as well as elusive: “Adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means”. General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations, comprising 193 members. It is a unique forum for multilateral discussion on…
The Indian Army had responded vigorously to Pakistani infiltration of irregular forces into Kashmir which had started in August 1965. With a double pincer on Badori bulge, the Indians had captured the strategic Haji Pir Pass. Core areas in Azad (liberated) Kashmir including towns of Muzaffarabad and Mirpur lay threatened. The only way out of…
IntroductionThe various theatres of war against terror are taking a huge toll of human lives both military and civilian through the incessant use of a weapon known as an improvised explosive device (IED), also identified as a roadside bomb. An IED is generally a rudimentary homemade explosive device constructed and deployed in ways other than…
Soft power is a vital concept in political science and international relations disciplines. With the dawn of globalization, information technology revolution and emergence of different financial resources, soft power concept has become significant in national and foreign policies. Implementation of soft power activities vary from country to country but the basic them is the same…
Closure and reopening of Ground Lines of Communication has exposed the fragility as well as indispensability of Pak-US relations. America has learnt that exercise of raw power, strategy of arrogance, arm twisting and coercive brawls could only go to a certain limit; and beyond that they would be restrained by law of diminishing returns. Ultimately…
