Since the Chinese seem to have the Indians in a bind in Ladakh, it might be good idea to find out how they intended to play it out. In view of our higher than Himalaya ties, it should not be too difficult a proposition. In fact we should assume that the two countries had synchronised their plans.
The Lawyers Movement kicked-off in 2007 was essentially for the primacy of law. Churchill, “are the courts functioning”; and Ali, the fourth of the Righteous Caliphs, “a system based on injustice could not survive”, were so often quoted that one started to suspect that we were on a holy mission. When it was accomplished, the restored Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhray, not only went all guns blazing against the judiciary, but also violated some basic tenets of the Constitution. His unholy mission was furthered by another heady judge, Saqib Nisar, who even had some iconic figures of the struggle groveling before him in the Supreme Court.
After Balakot, Modi’s ‘pilot project’ rhetoric signals India’s new normal of retaliation, set against Pakistan’s restraint and the IAF jets it shot down.
How the ambitions of Mujib, Bhutto and Yahya Khan turned the 1970 election into civil war, and how India and Manekshaw exploited it to dismember Pakistan.
India’s 2016 boycott of the Islamabad SAARC summit, joined by Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan, read as a reply to Pakistan backing China’s membership.
Syed Khalid Muhammad, Executive Director – CommandEleven, spoke with Arab News’ Naimat Khan about Pakistan’s decision to shut down 18 iNGOs.
The main reason behind the waste of water is lack of reservoirs and proper management of water. This crisis has resulted in another major issue – shortage of power. To generate power with little impact to climate, Pakistan needs environment friendly hydropower generation projects.
Syed Khalid Muhammad, Executive Director – CommandEleven, spoke with Arab News on the recent drone strike that neutralized Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The 2018 FATA-KP merger met the Pashtuns’ main demand and left PTM irrelevant; PPP’s alleged role and why the Army should not negotiate with PTM.
Saeed Afridi draws on relatives who joined the 2018 Pashtun Long March to trace how its FATA grievances were turned into PTM, and how the State responded.
Pashtun grievances, KP’s progress, the neglect of FATA, PTM’s support base and the roles of PTI and PPP: a 2018 assessment of what the PTM really wants.
A January 2018 SITREP on Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification, Raheel Sharif’s legacy, threats from India and Afghanistan, and Trump’s ‘do more’.
From Cold War nuclear and conventional deterrence to central and extended deterrence, and the problem of deterring non-state actors in proxy warfare.
Challenges the myth that the 1971 fall of Dhaka left only half of Jinnah’s Pakistan, tracing East Bengal’s separate Muslim League politics back to 1912.
How India’s Cold Start Doctrine met Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons, and why consistent capability, credibility and communication sustain deterrence.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) on US and Indian pressure, debt, and politicians who blame the Establishment while echoing the enemy: Pakistan in late 2017.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) assesses US aims in Afghanistan, CPEC and Pakistan’s nukes, and argues Pakistan’s interest now lies in a US defeat in Afghanistan.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) defends the Army’s peaceful end to the 2017 Faizabad sit-in and argues the real problem is the absence of governance in Pakistan.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) reads the 2017 Faizabad dharna as a symptom of mob rule passing for democracy in Pakistan, and sets out what democracy requires.
India and Pakistan and Mutual Assured Destruction: the conditions for MAD that South Asia still lacks in 2017, and how the arms race could create them.
Part 1 of a study of Operation Black Thunderstorm: how close KP and FATA came to collapse before 2008, and the forces the Army and FC took into Dir.
Syed Khalid Muhammad, Executive Director – CommandEleven, spoke with Qadeer Tanoli at Express Tribune on the background & grown of Ansar ul Sharia in Pakistan.
How the Cold War nuclear triad concept applies to South Asia: India’s dual-threat arsenal versus Pakistan’s India-specific triad of Ra’ad and Babur-3.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) rejects US claims that Pakistan caused its failure in Afghanistan, sets out what the war cost Pakistan, and urges a firm response.
Andrew Korybko argues Syria’s rebuke of Modi’s 2017 Israel visit, possibly nudged by Iran, China and Russia, opens a door for Pakistan.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) rebuts Nawaz Sharif’s 2017 BBC interview, accusing the ousted PM of hypocrisy, corruption and failing to govern Pakistan.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) answers Trump’s 2017 Afghanistan strategy with an 11-point agenda for Pakistan, from closing NATO routes to countering India.
Assessing the role of mainstream media in shaping national narratives and the lack of accountability in regional information operations.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) defends Nawaz Sharif’s 2017 removal and rejects claims that holding him to account is a conspiracy against democracy.
So, we have an account of a foreign ‘contractor,’ unfortunately we have silence on our side. Who this silence serves, I don’t know, but it appears that the military is getting part of the blame.
While there have been constant attempts by New Delhi and Kabul to undermine these successes by continuing to wage terrorism in Pakistan from Afghan soil while employing their assets in media for systematic disinformation, anyone who wants to witness these successes with their own eyes can visit Pakistan and do so.
For decades, Pakistanis have been told that Afghanistan is a “brotherly Islamic country” with cultural and people-to-people ties with Pakistan. For decades, Pakistan has also consistently faced long and short waves of terrorism and crimes, a good proportion of which have been traced to Afghanistan.
Some people are of the opinion that India and Pakistan could have better relations, and that it is Pakistan who causes acrimony, with the Establishment specifically to blame. They qualify their argument by accusing the Establishment of creating an artificial situation so as to justify a huge defense budget, pay and allowances and perks.
In Afghanistan, Pakistan has been scapegoated for a while – tactical failures and strategic reverses are conveniently justified by blaming it on Pakistan. It is fashionable for our own intellectuals to join in the chorus and blame the infamous Establishment. At times, I feel that Pakistan would be a better place to live in and things would be so much more stable and peaceful if this establishment was taken out of the equation.
There seems to be an endeavor to prove that we can do without Kashmir and it should not be central to our relations with India. People have quoted from history, that it was we who invaded in 1948, sending in tribesmen into Kashmir and that India was justified in sending troops at the request of the Maharaja and Hyderabad was offered in exchange etc.
