The international community has a moral obligation to speak up but will not; morality is not a factor in the affairs of the world. Pakistan needs to present a narrative to the world but it is too incompetent to do it and displays criminal indifference to the matter.
Have been away for a while, was watching matters with concern and disappointment as Pakistan stumbles through one crisis to another. But then am I qualified to say anything at all in the first place? A retired officer of the armed forces, it appears may have no right to criticize, suggest or recommend anything within this sacred democracy.
Decorated with Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Mil), and Sitar-e-Jurat, Lieutenant General Masood Aslam (Retired) served for almost 40 years in the Pakistan Army. He was seriously wounded during the 1971 War with India and was awarded Imtiazi Sanad.
The Indian Defense Minister Arun Jatley visited the frontlines on the currently active Line of Control (LoC). After meeting field commanders and troops deployed on the Forward Defended Localities (FDLs), he expressed his satisfaction over the morale of the troops and called upon them to maintain heightened vigil.
When DawnLeaks happened, the State handled the crisis as best as it could. No one says that it is to everyone’s satisfaction, nevertheless it was resolved with the best of intent. Our DG-ISPR was the messenger and unkind remarks about him are either out of ignorance or malice.
Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint and is the main reason why Pakistan and India remain antagonistic towards each other. In the recent days, after an intense disinformation campaign on Indian media about mutilation of Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops at LOC, the tensions are rising again.
Why does a media tycoon, his empire under criticism for playing second fiddle to a political stunt generated by the sitting government, need a tweet from the US Consulate in Karachi to prove his innocence?
Pakistan’s tenuous house is built on a torturous effort to balance relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran amid rising tension between the two regional rivals, prevent Pakistan from becoming an operational base for possible Saudi and US efforts to destabilize the Islamic republic, and employ militant groups as proxies in achieving its geopolitical objectives.
General Sharif had barely landed when Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman dashed the Pakistani’s hopes to include Iran in the alliance that nominally was created to fight terrorism rather than confront Iran.
Pakistan and Iran had traditionally enjoyed cordial relations. When Pakistan was formed, Iran was the first country to recognize it. Iran (under Reza Shah Pahlavi) and Pakistan both were part of the western capitalist camp during the tight bipolarity of the cold war.
Following the brazen attack by the Taliban on a corps headquarter in Balkh, the Afghan Defense Minister and the Army Chief resigned from their posts. This is tantamount to a concession by the state apparatus that the upsurge in the activities of the Taliban is hard to fend-off.
The statement of Mr. Ahsan Iqbal clearly expresses that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is pivotal for both Pakistan and China. It is a $ 46 billion project, which will connect Chinese province of Xinjiang with Pakistani port of Gwadar through the land route.
Pakistan has been for at least four decades a major theatre of operations in the global struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for dominance in the Muslim world. The stakes for both regional powers are high given that Pakistan borders on Iran; shares with the Islamic republic the restless region of Baluchistan that potentially allows Saudi Arabia and Iran to stir the pot in each other’s backyard; and is home to the world’s largest Shiite minority viewed by the kingdom as an Iranian fifth wheel.
CommandEleven’s briefing paper on the terrorism threat to CPEC — mapping BLA, TTP, and other groups targeting Chinese infrastructure and workers across Pakistan.
What is democracy in context of Pakistan? There are a few political dynasties ruling the roost. These dynasties control the political parties where there are no internal elections and an inner circle makes all the important appointments.
In his seminal work titled “On War”, the celebrated military theorist Carl von Clausewitz referred to war as an “act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will”. This treatise is a complete guide and a must read for practitioners and scholars alike.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the G7 countries has threatened Pakistan with sanctions if it “fails to comply with necessary actions against terrorism” (Corr,2017). It has, rather magnanimously, given Pakistan three months’ time to comply or else face the music.
Infographic mapping the 48,000 sq km Pakistan’s military reclaimed from militants after 2007, and how Radd-ul-Fasaad consolidates those operations.
India never paid much attention to Gilgit-Baltistan or even claimed it along with Kashmir, so much so that the world did not even know that the ‘Kashmir dispute’ included the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, it was thought to be just the Kashmir valley which was claimed by both countries. Indian claim on Gilgit-Baltistan is a relatively recent development because it feels threatened by increasing Chinese influence and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor CPEC.
This Haqqani Network, consisting of Husain Haqqani, Christine Fair and Bruce Riedel, operates outside Pakistan to damage and weaken Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence structure.
This new ‘wave of terror’ has transpired just as the country is poised to make its debut as a global trade destination. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor has been progressing satisfactorily, foreign investment has been rapidly multiplying and Pakistanis have never been this hopeful about the future before.
Moscow will host six-party talks about Afghanistan on 15 February, with Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iran, India, and naturally Russia expected to be represented. Moreover, Zamir Kabulov – thought of as being the leader of the “Islamophile” South Asian faction in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – extended an invitation to the US as well, though stipulating that it should first be “ready to work constructively with regional powers” and “determine what they are planning to do in Afghanistan.”
For quite some time, a debate has been going on worldwide that, given Pakistan’s conventional military weakness in the face of a sudden Indian offensive under the Cold War doctrine, Pakistan will retaliate by using tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) early in the conflict.
A country is only as good as its statesmen, decision makers, thinkers, strategists, Generals, Spy masters and political leaders who are collectively known as the ‘intelligentsia’. The decisions made by the ‘intelligentsia’ have far reaching consequences for a country’s fate, especially if the state in question is an infant country with scarce resources, limited national power and is dearly wanted by its powerful neighbors due to its valuable geography.
Not so long ago, “Counter-Terrorism” was an abstruse word for Pakistan’s military till General Tariq Khan stepped up and was handed over the command of 14 Division and later on Frontier Corps.
The New York Times has long considered itself an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan, based on the sheer number of articles and books that have been published by staffers.
While some of the faces and names may have changed, the result is the same – a tense relationship that is always open to modification by other parties, whether part of the US government or not.
Syed Khalid Muhammad, Executive Director – CommandEleven, spoke with Kunwar Khuldune Shahid about drone technology and developments in Pakistan for a Newsline magazine article.
One of the core problems with using buzzwords is limiting their scope and definition. When we talk about national security dynamics, we see pigeonholed definitions based on the need of the situation.
It’s rare that someone hands me the opportunity to counter the dream script that is being prepared in New Delhi and Kabul for Pakistan, but this “journalist” did exactly that.
So, let’s play…
There is a fantastic principle that is taught in most schools of government and war colleges. It’s a principle that is very easily understood by many of us, but very difficult to identify when we are busy with our normal lives. It’s actually designed to be that way.
If I were to tell you that the training contingent that is in Saudi right now is only Sunni soldiers and officers, would you still believe that the Yemen war is justified?
First, for years now, I have been talking about the Balkanization of Pakistan, while most people have laughed at me for saying it. Let me paint the picture for you as it stands today.
The Peshawar attack is another brutal example of the heinous criminals that infest our nation. As the death count rises, we are counting the bodies of dead children. Dead children, for God’s sake.
An in-depth intelligence analysis of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Explore the critical breakdowns in surveillance, inter-agency coordination, and early warning signs.
