The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) rose from the extra judicial killing of a young Pashtun man by a police team led by Rao Anwar in Karachi early this year. From its humble start, it has marched on and threatened the power of the most powerful institution of the country, its army. Its largest rally was in Peshawar where it drew […]
The conclusion of the summit between North and South Korea was monitored across the globe. With cameras rolling it was excellently choreographed by both leaders. It indicated the setting in of a bonhomie not seen in the peninsula for decades, especially as tensions had risen to a peak in the last one year, when North Korea conducted a series of […]
Elections in Pak are scheduled in the middle of the year. As per their constitution an interim government must be in place prior to the elections. Thus, it will be sworn in by 31st May and the new government will be formed by end Jul. As elections draw close, open interference by their Supreme Court and deep state in matters […]
There were a few adverse comments from Pak in the press recently. Firstly, post the encounter last weekend resulting in 13 militants being eliminated, Pak leadership termed it as a ‘brutal crackdown’ in Kashmir. Their PM Abbasi stated, ‘The brutal crackdown including the use of pellet guns on civilians protesting against the killing is deplorable’. The government supported protests criticizing […]
Mehbooba Mufti, while interacting with Kashmiri Pundits again made a call for talks with Pak. Whether she made it for public consumption or seeking a lasting solution to Kashmir, remains mired in doubt. Unless the internal mindset in Pak changes, calls for talks are meaningless, should be well known to her. A few examples below illustrate this aspect. A tweet […]
Press reports emanating in Pak and western newspapers mention the Bajwa doctrine (credited to the Pak army chief, General Bajwa) now being adopted by the state. It was initially enunciated by the Pak Director General Inter Services Public Relations in a press conference earlier this year. Subsequently, it was highlighted when General Bajwa spoke to select journalists. However, since the […]
Till recently Indo-Pak diplomatic squabbles were confined to multiple international forums, including the UN and its agencies. It even involved ministers of both countries on the General Assembly (UNGA) platform. One nation rose to blame the other for their poor record of human rights, the other retaliated accusing the first of even worse performance. There has never been an occasion […]
The recent decision to give Pak time till May to provide its action plans prior to placing it under the ‘grey or black list’ by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was not unexpected, despite China and Saudi Arabia’s initial support to Pak. In fact, the seeds for warning Pak were sowed by their own army chief, General Javed Bajwa, […]
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting in Paris last month concluded with a demand for Pakistan to submit its action plan by May on stopping the flow of funds to terror groups as also curbing their activities. If it does not accept Pak’s proposal, which is very likely, it could be placed in the ‘grey or black’ list, the […]
The LoC is on the boil, India retaliates to Pak firing, despite causing disproportionate casualties, it also loses valuable lives of soldiers. Fedayeen attacks hit army bases resulting in casualties. It was Pathankot, followed by Uri and now Sanjuwan. Over the years Pak has been retaining the initiative and choosing the areas for infiltration, violation of ceasefire and locations for […]