India finally gets moving The Statesman 08 Nov 2022 Threats never reduced nor attitudes of neighbours changed, nor did we learn from history. Indian defence planners shouted from rooftops of a two-front threat for decades, but their cries were ignored. As a nation we failed to modernize our forces to counter emerging threats, despite being aware that capability enhancement […]
Targeted killings result in fear The Excelsior 04 Oct 2022 A news report of last week stated that ten families of Kashmiri Pundits from Choudhary Gund in Shopian, who had remained in the region even at the height of terrorism in the 1990’s, migrated to Jammu post the targeted killing of Puran Krishan Bhat, on 15th Oct. Farooq Abdullah […]
Thoughtless actions often have strong reactions The Statesman 01 Nov 2022 In Apr 1989, the mysterious death of pro-reform Chinese Communist party leader, Hu Yaobang, led to protests by youth in Beijing’s Tiananmen square. On 04 Jun, PLA soldiers accompanied by tanks were sent to forcibly regain control. The takeover was brutal. Figures of protestor casualties vary from a […]
Message to India from the Chinese Congress The Excelsior 28 Oct 2022 The 20th Chinese Congress has concluded. Xi Jinping has gained an unprecedented third term, cementing his place as the most powerful leader in China since Mao Zedong. He will now seek to fulfil his pending agenda, largely projected in his address to the Congress. Xi’s almost 2-hour […]
Disqualification of Imran Khan is a strategic action Last week Imran Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from being a member of parliament for ‘corrupt practices.’ He was charged for making ‘false statements and incorrect declaration’ in his details of assets and liabilities filed for 2020-21 with the commission. The ECP released the results of […]
Compulsions constrict India’s defence expo The Statesman 25 Oct 2022 The 12th edition of the Defence Expo, inaugurated by the PM, was held in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, last week. It was originally scheduled to be conducted in March but was postponed almost at the last moment due to unexplained ‘logistic problems.’ These arose post an online QUAD heads of state […]
The damage to the Kerch bridge linking Russia to Crimea led to Putin accusing Ukraine as being responsible. Though the bridge was repaired, and traffic resumed, it was one more of a series of setbacks faced by Russia. Ukrainian troops have in recent weeks retaken areas in the South and East, while Putin has been compelled to order a partial […]
Ignore Pak’s calls for talks The Excelsior 20 Oct 2022 Addressing the 6th summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif stated, ‘I am absolutely ready and willing to have a serious dialogue and discussion with our counterparts, Indians, provided that they show sincerity of purpose, and they show that they […]
India should ignore reset in Pak-US ties The Statesman 18 Oct 2022 Recent weeklong visits by Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto and army chief, General Bajwa, to Washington, signal resetting of US-Pak ties, believed by some to be a message to India. These were preceded by sale of maintenance stores for US delivered F 16s and followed by the […]
Blaming others, ignoring own faults India vs Disinformation 11 Oct 2022 When Pakistan’s Punjab faced severe floods in Aug-Sept 2014, they blamed India for releasing additional water from its dams. Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the terrorist group, LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), termed it as a war launched by India. The reason for blaming India was mainly to divert minds from […]