Armed forces must change in nation’s interest The Statesman 06 Jul 2021 Speaking at a seminar organized by the Global Counter Terrorism Council last week, both the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, and the air chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, spoke on the role of airpower. Their comments, partly contradictory, were blown out of context, […]
Pakistan and the drone challenge India news network 05 Jul 2021 The employment of drones to target the Jammu air force station opened eyes of the government on the damage which this simple, available over the counter, low-cost device can inflict. The efficacy of drones was already visible in multiple battlefields across the globe, including Syria, Libya, Iraq or […]
Countering Pakistan’s narrative on Kashmir The Excelsior 05 Jul 2021 Last week, Pakistan foreign minister SM Qureshi challenged India to conduct an opinion poll of Kashmiris around the world on its decision to abrogate Article 370. He added that if majority were opposed, India should revert its decision. Earlier he had written a letter to the UNSC claiming India […]
Why is Pakistan concerned about Afghanistan? Bharat Shakti 30 Jun 2021 In an interview to Tolo News of Afghanistan last week, Pakistan Foreign Minister, SM Qureshi stated, ‘if you try and create this impression that violence is high (in Afghanistan) because of the Taliban…again, that would be an exaggeration. Why do I say that? Aren’t there other elements over […]
Defining the contours of a Kashmir agenda The Statesman 29 Jun 2021 Last week, PM Modi met a group of politicians from J and K seeking to break, what he termed, ‘dil se doori, dilli se doori.’ The group included former chief ministers, deputy chief ministers and representatives of major political parties of the UT. There was free and […]
Hypocrisy, thy name is Pakistan The Excelsior 26 Jun 2021 The attack on a Muslim family in London, Ontario, Canada led the entire Pakistan political hierarchy claiming Islamophobia must be curbed. The same day, within Pakistan, local protestors blocked the funeral of an Ahmadi woman. It took a day of discussion between the provincial government and protestors to permit […]
India must not always be on the backfoot The Statesman 22 Jun 2021 Kargil in 1999 and Ladakh in 2020 had few commons, the most obvious being surprised and subsequently reacting. Indian polity had closed its mind to the fact that China was a threat, while in 1999, it never expected Pak to risk an offensive manoeuvre, considering differences […]
India must change its China policies India News Network 17 Jun 2021 The Galwan incident, the turning point in Indo-China relations, occurred just over a year ago. There was loss of lives on both sides, with India accepting 20 casualties. Disengagement and de-escalation on both banks of the Pangong Tso was successfully completed in February, this year. Since then […]
Throwing the blame on the polity The Excelsior 16 Jun 2021 A collection of retired bureaucrats, claiming to have no political affiliation, have written to the Prime Minister on the centre’s poor handling of COVID. At first glance, it appears that the bureaucracy, which failed in correctly advising the polity in every adverse situation that the nation has faced, […]
The dilemma Pak faces The Statesman 15 Jun 2021 It is confirmed that the US, while withdrawing from Afghanistan, are seeking drone bases in the region for monitoring, engaging terrorist targets and supporting Afghan forces in their operations against the Taliban. Simultaneously, it is pushing for an agreement within Afghanistan, resulting in the establishment of a coalition government. It […]