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Afghan scenario in terms of history

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By K N Pandita

China and Pakistan have joined hands to uproot the semblance of Westminster type of democracy from the Asian continent. That is what has happened in Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has re-emerged after fighting the invading forces for two decades. Now we have three Islamic republics in the region namely Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. All of them express their allegiance to sharia law meaning the law that has been derived from two sources, the holy book (Qur’an) and the tradition (hadith). Continue Reading…

Why overstate Taliban takeover in Kabul

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By K N Pandit

Because of the covert and overt help of Pakistan, and the US’ blurred vision of Afghan policy, the Afghan Taliban are walking the streets of Kabul without a stiff battle. The Americans are gone. The “elected” government of Ashraf Ghani is gone and the Afghan national army raised by the Americans with great fanfare is invisible – destroyed, absconding or deserted. Continue Reading…

India will handle the Taliban with tactful strength

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By K N Pandita

Pakistan is euphoric about the victory of the Taliban and the fall of Kabul. It is her fulfilment of the four-decades-old desire of achieving strategic depth westward. This country has been feeling nervous about the vulnerability of her eastern border after the loss of Bangladesh in the 1972 war with India. What added to her anxiety was the growing cordial relationship between India and Afghanistan. Why Muslim Afghanistan developed a cordial relationship with the infidel India and did not warm up with her has remained an unresolved enigma for the rulers of Pakistan. Continue Reading…

India enters its 75th year of independence

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By K N Pandita

Westminster model democracy takes a long time to strike its roots deep in the psyche of the people. The British democracy is more than a millennia, and the American democracy is nearly 250 years old. The survival of democracy, as we glean from the example of the two countries mentioned above, depends on how pragmatic these are with the inbuilt capacity of adjusting with a new imperative that appears rapidly in an age of scientific and technological advancement. Continue Reading…

Iran: problems after the change of regime

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By K N Pandita

The Problem

On August 5, Ebrahim Raisi, the President-elect of Iran took formal oath of office and thus replace the somewhat moderate predecessor Hassan Rouhani. His election for the top position in Iran is a shot in the arms of the conservative clergy since Raisi is known and the diehard Islamist very close to the patriarch Ayatollah Khamenei. To some commentators he is the most likely leader to succeed the patriarch when he is no more. What are the national problems looking into his eyes and how is he likely to react? This is what we intend to discuss here. Continue Reading…

Iran at a crossroads: emerging scenarios

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By K N Pandita

Stating the issue

On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the JCPOA and signing a presidential memorandum to institute the “highest level” of economic sanctions on Iran. In a statement, Secretary of the then Treasury Steve Mnuchin stated that sanctions would be re-imposed subject to certain 90 days and 180 days “wind-down periods.” Reacting angrily, Iran said that since the US had rescinded the nuclear deal unilaterally, she was not bound to honour the agreement. Continue Reading…

Taliban spill over to Central Asia: Exit the US enter Russia

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By K N Pandita

The Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar was right in saying that India wanted peace in and around Afghanistan. As Taliban are reported to be taking control over more and more towns and border crossing points, the neighbouring states, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, China and Russia, all are closely watching how the situation is developing in strife-torn Afghanistan after the exit of the US and NATO forces. Continue Reading…

New weapons in Pak’s jihad arsenal

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By K N Pandita

The Hindustan Times of 1 Dec 2020 published alarming news. It said: “Pakistan’s ISI, inspired by the success of using cheap drones to carry out small bomb attacks, has been exploring this option for terrorist groups. The ISI had laid out its plan first at a meeting with senior Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed commanders in Punjab province’s Texila in April this year. Continue Reading…

Gaza de-escalation: the tenuous ceasefire

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By K N Pandita

At the special session called by the Security Council to discuss the fighting in Gaza, the Pakistani foreign minister strove every nerve to project it a global Islamic issue and tried to invoke the Muslim countries to consider the Israeli attack nothing short of “genocide of Palestinian Muslims.”. He was more vocal than any other delegate and boasted that the “united effort had brought about the desired pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire.” Continue Reading…

Pandemic, opposition and the blame game

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By K N Pandita

In a situation of the pandemic, when the entire nation is in the throes of existential threat, it expects a true and disinterested democratic opposition to sweep aside political and other differences for the time being, and offer full support to the government in meeting the deadly challenge. Criticising the government for where or how it has faltered is all right, but more than criticism, the situation demands honest and pragmatic suggestions and practical involvement in saving the nation. Continue Reading…

The US’ pull out in Afghanistan: What are the implications?

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By K N Pandita

In the later phase of his administration, former President Trump had expressed his desire of sending the American troops “back home for Christmas”. The Doha conference of 2020, arranged after much legwork was done silently by the diplomats, showed that his intention was genuine. There had been some re-thinking among the US planners that continuing the two-decade-old war in Afghanistan has a reduced priority in the wake of changing political alignments on a global level. Continue Reading…

The intricate deal of Chahbahar port

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By K N Pandita

At a time when India, after a temporary halt, resumed and accelerated work at Chabahar seaport in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian Foreign Minister gave an intriguing statement that made observers raise an eyebrow. Speaking to the audience at an event in Raisina Dialogue 2021 in the second week of April, Javad Zarif said, ” We have made very clear to our Indian, Chinese friends that Chabahar is open for cooperation for everybody. It is not against China …. is not against Gwadar…..” Continue Reading…

Whose baby is the Tehreek-i-Labbaik?

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By K.N. Pandita

The anarchy and bedlam let loose by the extremist right-wing party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Lahore and other major cities in Pakistan is the reward deservingly offered to the politicians of Pakistan. It is a stunning example of Frankenstein. Continue Reading…

Are we heading towards ‘Asian NATO’?

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By K N Pandita

The Quad is an offspring of the US’ Indo-Pacific security, under contemplation for quite some time at various levels of the US think-tanks. The perception received a boost during the Trump administration when relations between Washington and Beijing soured. Continue Reading…

Pakistani peacenik warriors: Changing strategy not heart

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By K.N. Pandita

General Bajwa says India and Pakistan must live in peace and dialogue is the only way. In recent months this is the third time he has spoken of peace in the region. It sounds bizarre. The army that initiated three wars with India with the fourth an ongoing proxy war believing that it has to inflict a thousand cuts on the body of India, wants to abandon war and seeks peace. Is this posture real or fake? Continue Reading…

Sub-continent in the grip of disquiet

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By K N Pandita

Three countries of the Indian sub-continent – India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan – are bogged with grim disquiet whose roots lie in the exclusivist beliefs of the Islamic State of Pakistan. After actively stoking the embers of Theo-fascism for more than three decades, the deep State finds that at the end of the day the flames are engulfing it. Continue Reading…

Pakistan struggles for Pan-Islamic bloc

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By K N Pandita

How the Biden administration will deal with Pakistan is not an immediate concern for policy planner in Islamabad: their real concern is how the divided Islamic world patches up and agrees to stand behind her for realizing the Kashmir dream. Pakistan foreign minister’s jaunts to some West Asian countries and the statements emanating from the host as well as the visitor, both, are clear indications that Pakistan wants to mend the fence and bridge the chasm not really for bringing peace and prosperity to Muslims but to garner the support of Islamic radicals for grabbing the entire region of Kashmir. She wants the ummah to believe that Pakistan’s struggle is Islam centric whereas actually, it is Kashmir centric. Continue Reading…

A new phase in Himalayan border strategy

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K N Pandita

Reporting that the embattled commanders of India and China in Ladakh have agreed to disengagement of troops at the Pangong Tso watershed, the Hindustan Times of 16 February quoted an official source making a cryptic remark which no policy planner can afford to ignore. The commentator had said that the speed at which China has moved back its armoured units is not only surprising but it also shows their capacity to deploy the tanks and heavy vehicles again. Continue Reading…

Momentous farewell to veteran parliamentarian

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By K N Pandita

Rajya Sabha or the Upper House of the Parliament witnessed an unprecedented event of momentous farewell given to Ghulam Nabi Azad, the leader of the opposition (Cong), who along with his other three co-parliamentarians will be retiring after completing their tenure next week. Continue Reading…

Farmers’ strike ends in a fiasco

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By K N Pandita

That the 53-day strikes by the farmers ended in a fiasco did not spring a surprise to anybody with an understanding of the democratic arrangement of our politics and the astute manner in which the government handled the situation. During the long period of the strike there surfaced numerous occasions where people began to apprehend a physical lash likely to take shape. Continue Reading…