Naveed Ahmad is, a Doha and Istanbul basedPakistani investigative journalist and academic The S-400, a Russian integrated air defense system, is the forthcoming state-of-the-art augmentation of the Indian military arsenal. Last December, India’s premier Narendra Modi and Russian president Vladimir Putin finalised the milestone deal. Dialogue on modalities led India to revise its need from 12 battalions or units to five at an undisclosed cost running into billions of dollars. So far, there is no…
Posts published in May 2016
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MICHAEL FORSYTHE WASHINGTON — The Chinese government on Thursday denied a Navy flotilla access to the port in Hong Kong, Pentagon officials said Friday, the latest sign of escalating tension between the United States and China. The rare refusal to allow the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, and several other vessels accompanying it, to visit the port comes two weeks after the Stennis hosted the defense secretary, Ashton B. Carter,…
The work on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has not started yet due to US sanctions that have still not been lifted after the US-Iran deal.The sanctions will be lifted in phases, and the delay comes as a mixed blessing as we not only need to take on loans to complete the pipeline but we also are being penalised by Iran for delays.Our deal with Iran requires us to pay a penalty if we fail to…
The writer is a former Ambassador and Secretary. President Barack Obama has undertaken the Riyadh visit (April 20-21) at a time when US–Saudi relations are in the doldrums. Saudi Arabia is considered a key US ally in the Middle East, but lately several developments have left the Saudi royal family in a tense situation. First of all, Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Iran on January 4, 2016, following an attack on its embassy…
The writer is a former caretaker finance minister and served as vice-president at the World Bank Saudi Arabia is a big part of the uncertain external environment in which Pakistan must learn to operate at this delicate moment in its history. Which way the Kingdom goes will have consequences for Pakistan’s future. A new generation of leaders headed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Sultan is moving into positions of authority. They will take over…
the writer is a staff correspondent ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Islamabad in March this year was a significant development in the wake of the removal of international sanctions from Tehran. As part of intense diplomatic moves, it was aimed at kick-starting bilateral relationship that had become stuck over the past decade or so. With the lifting of global curbs, foreign investors have flocked to Iran to grab a slice of the bonanza…
The year 2015 was marked by perceptible shifts in foreign policy that were indicative of a state moving into youthful maturity. There was a swing away from the states in the Gulf region and on the Arabian Peninsula which have dominated the foreign policy landscape for decades, tied as we are to their oil supplies and largesse when we are in financial difficulty. Pakistan declined the invitation to join the war being fought by Saudi…
Russian President Vladmir Putin has turned down Islamabad’s invitation to visit Pakistan and inaugurate a key pipeline project, a report carried by Indian news agency ANI said on Friday. Providing a reason for turning down the invitation, Moscow explained that there was not enough ‘substance’ in this trip, ANI news agency reported. The high-level visit was supposed to have seen the Russian president inaugurate the $2 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) North-South Pipeline Project from…