Twenty four years of shared history between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan preceded the violent emergence of Bangladesh on a groundswell of hate and bitterness on 16 Dec 1971. Yet a little more than 2 years later when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Dhaka in 1974 at the invitation of Shaikh Mujib-ur Rahman, he…
Writing in the New York Times (NYT), Amanda Taub and Max Fisher talked about shadowy networks within govt bureaucracies, referred to as “Deep States”, undermining and coercing elected govts very much like the spate of leaks be-devilling the Trump Administration. They compared the present situation in the US to countries like Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan,…
Despite the complex and demanding negotiations during the tumultuous days of March 1971, a positive outcome was possible and seemed near but it came to grief because of the game plan of extremists of both the sides. The plans for military action to restore the writ of the central authority in East Pakistan was unanimous,…
Introduction Donald Trump, the US president is targeting Muslims on the pretext of the war against terrorism. He is under influence of a common myth invented after 911 by Christian fundamentalists, Neocons and Islamophobes that Islam is to be blamed for militancy and terrorism for fuelling wars. This is corollary to the earlier myth persistently…
The Economic Cooperation Organization ECO is the successor organization of RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development that was formed in 1964 leveraging the status being in American block) and was re-formed in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey under a mutual agreement to further enhance cooperation in economic, trade and tourism sectors due to border connectivity….
After the change of administration, the Afghanistan issue is once again picking up momentum in the American calculus. The month of February saw a series of high profile terrorist attacks in various urban centers of Pakistan. Linkage between the two is quite complicated and very strong and that is why in the contemporary world there…
The Heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan will resume direct flight operations from Lahore, to Tashkent from April 5, 2017 and will launch two flights a week. Flights would operate on every Wednesday and Friday with the number of flights to be increased in the future. Previously, Uzbekistan Airways suspended flight operations to Pakistan due to…
The recent Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Islamabad was an interesting event. It had symbolic as well as substantive significance. In the symbolic context the event negated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s articulation about isolating Pakistan internationally. All ten members and three observers participated in the summit, even Afghanistan did not oblige Modi by…
The Pakistan Navy is one of the more powerful and experienced navies indigenous to the Indian Ocean. It has played its part in ensuring peace and co-operation in the Indian Ocean Region and continues to strive do so. Though on an individual basis, it is the main guarantor of stability in the northern reaches of…
Pakistan is located adjacent to the most important maritime trade routes such as the Straits of Hormuz and Bab Almandab. Not only these two choke points, but its connection with Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba made it lot more visible for global Navies and especially for Pakistan Navy In terms of its naval…
