Politicians and visual media houses have always been self-serving. Comments on Kashmir clearly follow party lines or media biases, while national interests, national security and national unity come last. After all, TRPs and votes count, national unity has little value. This has resulted in clear stands being adopted, anti or pro the government and since the army and other security […]
The recent by polls in Srinagar and resultant videos dominated news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Holding elections in a strife torn region was a wrong decision to start with. Even the state had protested to the Election Commission (EC). However, for the EC and the government, it was a tough choice. Delaying elections would give the opposition including […]
The recent split judgement of the Pakistan Supreme Court giving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif breathing space by appointing a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), to investigate the Panama papers claims of financial irregularities by him and his family, has changed the strategic scenario in the country. The JIT comprises of members of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), […]
Two videos, amongst many other similar clips, went viral on social media recently. The first was the manhandling of a CRPF jawan and the second of a stone thrower, tied to an army vehicle. The reactions of the media and politicians depended on whether they were pro or anti- government. It has also resulted in twitter battles between supporters and […]
The launching of fifty-nine Tomahawk missiles against the Syrian regime by the US has again brought the region into focus. While the world deplores the use of chemical weapons, there is always a lingering doubt, on who is correct, the US, which blames Syria for the strike or the Russians, who claim it was done by the rebels to malign […]
South Asians being attacked or insulted in different parts of the globe, on racial grounds, is a daily occurrence. Recent reports include incidents in New Zealand, Australia and most commonly the US. The shooting of Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas recently, was a case of the shooter assuming he was targeting Iranians. Similarly, Sikhs have been mistaken for Moslems and targeted. […]
Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are three states, intrinsically linked, facing varying levels of militancy. Each country blames the other for supporting groups inimical to them. Politically the nations have grown so apart that resolution of any crises appears unlikely. The summer is yet to set in, passes yet to reopen, movement of militants across borders still to commence in earnest, […]
J and K is a unique state in the country, almost a nation within a nation. Its three entities, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are each distinct in character and possess no commonality. Jammu, being a major rail and road head, located at the entrance of the state, is a funnel through which all commodities transiting to Kashmir and Ladakh pass. […]
Post terror strikes which killed over a hundred innocents in a week, spread across the country, Pak army announced, with much fanfare, the launch of Operation ‘Rad-ul-Fasaad’, its latest in a series of crackdowns against terror groups across the country. The aim of the operation, as announced by their Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), is ‘indiscriminately eliminating residual and latent […]
The past few months have witnessed a series of media attacks on the army. It began with the present Chief of Army Staff’s (COAS) appointment, moved to the complaint by one jawan of a million plus army and covered the statement made by the COAS on stone throwing and disrupting operations against militants in the valley. Every incident erupted on […]