Afghanistan
During his unannounced visit to Kabul last week, President Barack Obama sought to invest the murkiness of the moment with some sort of significance.
A joint fight against terror
New Delhi should realise that the road to Beijing goes through Islamabad. This is what a Pakistan foreign minister told me many years ago. There is some truth in this…
The elusive Afghan peace
In Kabul, it is not just the political opponents of President Hamid Karzai that believe that the peace process initiated by the government is doomed to failure. It is also…
Search for reconciliation
THE idea of reconciliation is gradually picking up steam. President Hamid Karzai’s ‘preliminary talks’ with a delegation of the Hizb-i-Islami in Kabul recently threw some light on the efforts that…
Because of the foreign troops
Protests have broken out in Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan against the US-led foreign forces, following a spate of civilian casualties in military operations and a lawmaker wept during…
The view from Afghanistan
Afghans love their tales and folklores and parables. So here`s one from a High Peace Council member in Kabul on his return from Pakistan: Once upon a time, a disease…
Snags in the pact
Washington and Kabul are close to finalising a strategic partnership agreement ensuring continued American military footprints in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Although the details are still to be worked out, the…
The hinge of fate
An American general who has just earned his fourth star has taken charge in Kabul. His predecessor got the brusquest dismissal of a commanding general since MacArthur was relieved of…
Pak-US ties in 2012
A series of crises in 2011 set the tone for US-Pakistan interaction in 2012; these included Raymond Davis’ shooting of two Pakistanis and Bin Laden’s killing. However, it was the…
The Persian connection
In 2006, a leaked British defence ministry report said it. In June 2008, Afghan officials furious about an attempt on Hamid Karzai’s life said it. The next month of the…
