The emergence of the Imran cult The Statesman 28 Mar 2023 Pictures of followers kissing the windshield of the car in which Imran is travelling, attacking security personnel as they attempt to arrest him, frenzied crowds cheering jubilantly when he arrives in public bring forth visuals of a revered head of a cult, who mesmerizes his audience with his […]
Much ado about nothing The Statesman 21 Mar 2023 The International Criminal Court (ICC), based in Hague, has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Kremlin. Charges include suspected involvement in the ‘unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.’ The ICC statement read, […]
Replacing army in Kashmir The Excelsior 20 Mar 2023 Yes, the news is correct. CRPF will be the force responsible for counter insurgency operations in Kashmir in the coming months. They will be inducted in few districts of both Jammu and Kashmir regions before being given complete responsibility. The future of Rashtriya Rifles (RR), the primary force currently responsible […]
Warm ties with India and vision beyond Kashmir: What Pakistan needs to battle economic crisis and global isolation First Post 15 Mar 2023 It has been over two years since the Indian and Pakistani Director General Military Operations agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC and surprisingly it has held. The scenario in Kashmir has since then moved towards […]
New beginnings in west Asia The Statesman 14 Mar 2023 The withdrawal of one power from a region opens doors for the entry of another. During his visit to Riyadh, in Jul 2022, President Biden claimed he raised the ‘execution’ of Jamal Khashoggi with their Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). Saudi Foreign Minister stated that MBS […]
Targeting Kashmiri terrorists in Pakistan The Excelsior 07 Mar 2023 Pakistan news agencies confirmed the death of Syed Khalid Raza, former commander of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Al Badr outside his residence in Karachi recently. He was killed by a single bullet to the head, implying a planned assassination. The Sindhi nationalist group, Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) has been […]
Mollycoddling China is not the solution The Statesman 07 Mar 2023 In a podcast with ANI, External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar stated, ‘Look, they (China) are the bigger economy. What am I going to do? As a smaller economy, I am going to pick up a fight with the bigger economy. It is not a question of being reactionary, […]
Reducing army footprint in Kashmir: A bold, brave and welcome decision First Post 01 Mar 2023 There have been media reports that the government is considering reducing the involvement of the army in parts of Kashmir. The Rashtriya Rifles (RR), which have been the backbone of anti-militancy operations in the region and are possibly the world’s best counterterrorism force, […]
A year into the war The Excelsior 28 Feb 2023 Biden’s visit to Kiev signalled a year into the conflict which is nowhere near termination and has transformed from a war between two states into a proxy conflict. While the west backs Ukraine it blocks all support to Russia, accusing Russia of being the invader. What the west fails […]
Strategic lessons from the Ukraine conflict The Statesman 28 Feb 2023 In 2017, Manohar Parrikar, as the defence minister, reduced India’s ammunition holding from 40 to 10 days on the premise that future conflicts would be short, intense and swift. This was a follow up of a CAG report which stated that Indian ammunition supplies can only sustain a […]