Despite having no credible evidence to support its farce of a “surgical strike,” India tried to get away with this blatant falsehood, mainly to impress its own population but also the international community. Indian commentators and defence analysts duly extolled this “tremendous” achievement, warning Pakistan that “years of turning the other cheek” was now a…
Three years after Alexander the Great aborted his invasion of South Asia east of the Indus around 321 BC, Hindu philosopher, economist and jurist named Chanakhya (also called Kautilya) wrote the “Arthashastra”. Written in Sanskrit it is the oldest treatise in the world on statecraft and issues of diplomacy, war and peace, intelligence, espionage, etc….
Altaf Hussain has an unenviable record of stirring up violence by remote control from London. More than any other leader in our chequered history, he is adept at playing the politics of dead bodies, whether of his follower and innocents is immaterial to him. The speed of the mob’s reaction on August 22 in such…
PreambleEconomic development thrives in a climate of tranquility while industry shies away from areas of conflict because battlegrounds are not synonymous with good industrial environment. While “power flows through the barrel of a gun”, one must also accept that “peace depends upon the power that flows through the barrel of a gun.” While peace has…
Dear Readers, Under the able leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah the Muslims of India attained a separate homeland, Pakistan. Millions sacrificed their lives, homes and hearth and marched towards their new home brimming with renewed hope for a better life and their dreams being fulfilled, but having to begin new life in adverse circumstances the…
Pakistan came into being in 1947 as the first ideological state founded on the basis of religion (followed closely by Israel). Separated by 1000 miles of an implacable foe’s territory, the common bond of Islam bringing different races and cultures from the two wings of the country together represented the finest experiment in nationhood of…
Attempting to justify his many self-granted extensions, Gen Pervez Musharraf started a needless controversy campaigning for an extension almost a year before Gen Raheel Shareef’s three year term as COAS was over in Nov 2016. Describing “speculation about extension in service of the COAS as baseless,” DG ISPR Lt Gen Asim Salim Bajwa quoted Raheel…
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…
