[With Sitakanta Mishra] Mark Fitzpatrick’s argument for “nuclear rehabilitation of Pakistan” in his bookOvercoming Pakistan’s Nuclear Dangers reminds one of a scene from a famous Bollywood movie Sholey. Jai, one of the male protagonists goes to meet the female protagonist’s (Basanti) aunt (Mausi) to ask her consent for the marriage of Basantiand his friend… Continue reading ‘Overlooking’ Pakistan’s Nuclear Dangers
India and Pakistan, since their partition have remained embroiled in a seemingly unending acrimonious relationship. This remains so, despite periodic efforts undertaken at the governmental and the non-governmental levels. The overt introduction of nuclear weapons in 1998 added a new dimension to the Indo-Pakistan relations, which continues to evolve till date. Glancing at the… Continue reading India-Pakistan: Talking in Different Tongues
On 11 August 2011, China launched Pakistan’s first communication satellite, PAKSAT-1R on board China’s Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province. This marked a stronger technological cooperation between the two all weather friends. This is yet another important development for the two countries celebrating 2011 as the year of their… Continue reading Revisiting the early years of China-Pakistan Relations
The killing of Osama Bin Laden by the US further accentuates the security situation within Pakistan which is poised at a delicate juncture, carefully balancing the rise of fundamentalism and hatred against the West and tacking actions terrorists who threaten its very existence. Developments in Pakistan, therefore, would have direct fallout on its neighbours, especially India and… Continue reading After Osama: Pakistan’s Relations with the US, China & India
Pakistan’s relation with the US has been marked by an unprecedented low post the elimination of Osama Bin Laden in a US commando operation inside Pakistan. Amid these moments, Pakistan’s “time-tested and all-weather friend” China has been continuously expressing support for the country. Pakistan PM Yusuf Raza Gilani’s four-day official visit to China from May… Continue reading China and Pakistan: Dangerous Liaisons
Source: Pakistan’s Nuclear Complex, Defence AnD security Alert. Finally the realisation is dawning that the proposition that because Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is under the exclusive control of the Pakistan Army it is safe and secure and not likely to fall into terrorist hands is fundamentally flawed. Simple arithmetic will prove that since military dictator Gen.… Continue reading Pakistan’s Nuclear Complex
In 2005, Dr. Manmohan Singh first mooted India’s “Look West Policy” at the Prime Minister’s Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) meeting. The commencement of the policy was marked by launching negotiations for an India-GCC free trade agreement and a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with individual nations of the group. India and the Middle… Continue reading Time to strengthen India’s Look West Policy
In June 2010, the US officially voiced its stand against the Sino-Pak nuclear deal stating that it will vote against an exemption for China to sell two civil nuclear reactors to Pakistan at the next Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting in Vienna in the month of September. This announcement came in the wake of Pakistan… Continue reading The Sino-Pak nuclear deal: South Asia’s nuclear ailment continues
General David Petraeus recently broached the idea of blacklisting the Haqqani group. This move, if implemented has the potential of being an affront to Islamabad. The idea of labelling the Haqqani network as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) is intended to challenge the group’s links with Al-Qaeda. Coupled with General Petraeus’s message to Pakistan to… Continue reading Blacklisting the Haqqani network: One step forward, two steps back?
On April 6, 2010, the US Department of Defense released the much awaited Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). While the NPR comprises of an optimistic promise and asserts Obama’s path towards a nuclear-free world, a careful study of the document reflects a rather different side, possessing numerous caveats. Primarily, it is important to laud the NPR… Continue reading Nuclear Posture Review 2010: The Darker Side
Aditi Malhotra 