Maldives is back on the boil. The Maldives Supreme Court in a judgement ordered the release of political prisoners and demanded their retrial. The release order included that of former Vice President Ahmed Adheeb Ghafoor, former Prime Minister Mohamed Nasheed (presently in exile) and reinstating 12 members of parliament, thus giving the opposition a majority in the country’s assembly. Post […]
Trump’s administration, post his anti-Pak tweet on New Year’s Day, has begun applying pressure on Pak to act against the Taliban and Haqqani network. Hardly a day goes by without comments from a member of his administration conveying in strong terms that it expects Pak to act. Simultaneously, the US has commenced launching drone strikes on Pak soil. The number […]
The recent decision of the J and K state government to condone stone throwers, many of whom were habitual offenders, while charging army personnel, who were victims of stone throwing and opened fire in self-defence, in an FIR, is the latest confused news emanating from the valley. Photographs of damaged vehicles, injured army personnel and littered stones were ignored. Had […]
The Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pak has always been active. Firing to support infiltration has been the design by Pak over the years. Further, it needs to keep the Kashmir border alive, thus indicating to the world the disputed nature of the region. India always desired a peaceful LoC, as civilian population reside and till their lands […]
Last month has been witness to massive attacks on the population of Kabul. A strike on the Intercontinental Hotel claimed 20 lives, following which was the explosive laden ambulance suicide attack which claimed over 100 lives. This is still the winter season and under normal conditions the Taliban and their affiliate the Haqqani network spend this period recouping and preparing […]
The recent comments of the army chief stating that ‘the time has not come for any rethink on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)’, at a press conference last week, has drawn criticism from many quarters, including editorials in leading newspapers. He was accused of crossing his limits as the head of the organization and commenting on topics beyond […]
Military power determines the standing of a nation in the international domain. A strong military is always respected and nations flock to engage with it. The other elements of power, economic and diplomatic, are only effective if backed by resolute military power. All nations who presently have a strong international standing possess strong militaries. A weak military would never be […]
The parliamentary committee on external affairs in its report to the government last month, suggested reviving stalled talks with Pakistan. It stated that despite bilateral relations plummeting due to support for terrorism and the treatment meted out to Kulbhushan Jadhav, ‘geopolitical realities’ make such a process a necessity. The present government has been stating that no dialogue is possible without […]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his address in the Raisina dialogue was noteworthy and realistic. He stated, ‘The weak don’t survive. The strong survive. You make peace with the strong. You ally with the strong.’ It thus implies that the nation is only as strong as its military is. It is also a well-accepted fact that a nations economic and […]
Doklam went into slumber post the mutual withdrawal by both forces, after a tense 73 days standoff. One adverse incident during the standoff could have snowballed into an embarrassing situation for both nations. There were press reports from the Chinese side threatening India, which it ignored, indicating its maturity. India also rightfully handed over the crises for resolution to the […]