The writer is a former member of the police service of Pakistan The long-running war in Afghanistan tragically does not appear to be moving towards an early resolution. The informal contacts for peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in Doha, Qatar are seemingly mired in suspicion and opposing demands, and hence at the moment expectations from such contacts are low. America committed itself to the ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan in October 2001,…
Posts published in “Day: October 22, 2016”
The reported resumption of peace talks between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban in Qatar for the first time since 2013 was long overdue. The war in Afghanistan is at a stalemate. The government and its Nato allies know that they cannot militarily defeat the Taliban. The Taliban know that they cannot hold major cities for too long and certainly cannot take over the entire country. A negotiated settlement is the only possible solution and…
The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) for Beyond Boundaries Phase II, a Track I.5/II dialogue series undertaken by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in partnership with Afghan counterpart Women Peace and Security Organisation (WPSO) is aimed at fostering better understanding and cooperation between civil society members of the two neighbours, the organisers say. The adviser said Pakistan’s message to all the combatants is loud and clear; nobody can capture Afghanistan on its own,…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has no favourites in Afghanistan and will follow the priorities that Kabul determines for pursuing peace and reconciliation, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told members of an unofficial Afghan delegation in Islamabad on Friday. Welcoming the peace deal between the National Unity Government and the Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (Hekmatyar), Aziz said the agreement seems to have motivated and encouraged other groups to join talks. “These groups should realise that it is…
ISLAMABAD: Three senior leaders from Taliban’s Qatar office have arrived in Pakistan to”‘discuss arrests” of several Taliban leaders across the country, sources said on Saturday. The group last week confirmed the arrest of three key members, including Ahmadullah Muti alias Mullah Nanai who served as intelligence chief under Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. “I can confirm that a three-member delegation from the Qatar office arrived in Pakistan two days ago to raise the issue of arrests of…
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged building a solid national defense and strong armed forces that are commensurate with the country’s international status, national security and development interests. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at a gathering on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March. He noted that the Party’s absolute…
The dismal state of security affairs once again reared its ugly head at the Pakistan-Iran border where a dearth of personnel continues to inconvenience thousands of pilgrims stranded on their way back home. In the last few days, an unavailability of security escorts had trapped these pilgrims returning from Iran and Iraq at the country’s border where they suffer from unanticipated expenses in terms of food and lodging. The pilgrims cannot be allowed to travel…
ISLAMABAD: India’s vicious campaign to isolate Pakistan globally fell flat bringing the Modi administration nothing but embarrassment. But New Delhi’s spite towards Islamabad continues unabated. A recent World Bank initiative to conduct the first of its kind study on sustainability of Indus Basin water resources management failed to take off due to India’s obduracy. The World Bank Indus Forum convened in Zurich, Switzerland, in mid-October. Attendees at the five-day meeting included Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and…
MILITARY power is relatively easy to measure by counting the number of soldiers, tanks, planes, ships, etc. Economic might is quantified by readily available data on exchange rate, GDP, productivity, and so on. But how do we measure soft power? This is a state’s influence abroad through the sum total of its cultural, scientific and sporting achievements, among many other factors. The image a nation acquires in the eyes of outsiders is a nebulous thing,…
The writer is a retired officer of Pakistan Army and a political economist. There is a debate about Pakistan’s international isolation subscribing to Indian dominated international media. The unkindest cut is through leads termed “blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented”.In a realist paradigm where Pakistan is being subjected to kinetic and non-kinetics attrition there is neither space for selfish stratagems nor pacifist journalism. The truth is far and between.Why don’t we accept that the consequences of going…
The writer is an Islamabad-based security expert associated with Strategic Vision Institute Newton’s third law of motion and gravitational force states, “to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”, interestingly, it is also considered a quintessential quote in many aspects of life. In consideration of this law, Pakistan’s responses to Indian distressing tactics whether these are economic, religious, societal and political have never been of equal magnitude. At the testing times, Indian threatening,…