March 2024 – Maj Gen Harsha Kakar (Retd.)

March 28, 2024

Pakistan and Taliban-led Afghanistan Co-existence of incertitude and deep mistrust India vs Disinformation 28 Mar 2024

Pakistan and Taliban-led Afghanistan: Co-existence of incertitude and deep mistrust India vs Disinformation 28 Mar 2024 Last week there were conflicting messages from Pakistan on its relations with the Taliban dispensation in Kabul. Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, in an interview with the “Voice of America,’ mentioned, ‘Force is the last resort. We do not want to have an armed […]

March 28, 2024

Pak and Afghanistan at one another’s throats The Excelsior 27 Mar 2024

Pak and Afghanistan at one another’s throats The Excelsior 27 Mar 2024 On 15th August 2021, Pakistan PM, Imran Khan celebrated the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan by stating the country has broken the ‘shackles of slavery.’ The same day, his party’s spokesperson, Neelam Irshad Sheikh, in a television news debate, gleefully mentioned, ‘Taliban have said that they […]

March 27, 2024

An effective constable of the Indian Ocean The Statesman 27 Mar 2024

An effective constable of the Indian Ocean The Statesman 27 Mar 2024 After a nearly 40-hour operation, on 16th March, the Indian Navy’s INS Kolkata accompanied by INS Subhadra, employing sea-guardian drones, air dropping of marine commandoes from a C17 aircraft, led to the rescue of Maltese flagged MV Ruen from the hands of Somali pirates, who had seized […]

March 20, 2024

India shows the world how to deal with hegemonistic China First Post 20 Mar 2024

India shows the world how to deal with hegemonistic China First Post 20 Mar 2024 At the Express Adda last week, External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, answering a question posed by Zhou Yongsheng, political counsellor at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, mentioned, ‘I think it’s in our common interest that we should not have that many forces […]

March 18, 2024

As India moves into an elite group The Statesman 19 Mar 2024

As India moves into an elite group The Statesman 19 Mar 2024 Last week PM Modi himself announced the success of Project Divyastra, which was the launching of the indigenously developed Agni 5 missile with ‘Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV)’ technology. His announcement came on X (formerly Twitter). He tweeted, ‘Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, […]

March 18, 2024

Israel’s planned Rafah offensive The Excelsior 19 Mar 2024

Israel’s planned Rafah offensive The Excelsior 19 Mar 2024 Differences between Israel and its allies are increasing over their plans to invade Rafah, a Palestinian city in the South Gaza strip, which also has a border crossing with Egypt. The Israeli invasion of Gaza resulted in displaced Palestinians seeking shelter in Rafah, increasing its population to over 1.5 million […]

March 14, 2024

China’s ever increasing defence budget The Excelsior 14 Mar 2024

China’s ever increasing defence budget The Excelsior 14 Mar 2024 China last week released its annual budget as part of its National People’s Conference, the country’s rubber-stamp legislature. There was an increase of 7.2% for defence over the previous year. Defence expenditure has witnessed a steady rise since Xi Jinping became President of the country in 2013. The budget […]

March 13, 2024

The big brother syndrome E TV English 13 Mar 2024

The big brother syndrome E TV English 13 Mar 2024 China faces tensions with almost all its neighbours. It has disagreements with Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and even the small Sultanate of Brunei. Disputes stem from either shoals and islands in the South and East China Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) or on alliances with the […]

March 12, 2024

Pakistan is no longer a priority for India The Statesman 12 Mar 2024

Pakistan is no longer a priority for India The Statesman 12 Mar 2024 PM Narendra Modi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on being appointed PM with a formal message mentioning, ‘Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.’ A similar trepid response flowed from Pakistan. Sending congratulations is a diplomatic nicety conveying recognition of the new […]

March 5, 2024

India’s defence Aatmanirbharta advances; Many more roads yet to travel ET News 05 Mar 2024

India’s defence Aatmanirbharta advances; Many more roads yet to travel ET News 05 Mar 2024 Addressing the 41st DRDO conference in Oct 2019, General Bipin Rawat, then army chief, stated, ‘India is one of the largest importers of weapons and ammunition, and after 70 years of independence, it is not a very proud statement to make.’ He added, ‘We […]