How the US made its Putin problem worse
In September 2001, as the US reeled from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Vladimir Putin supported Washington's imminent invasion of Afghanistan in ways that…
Tragedy of 1971
Thanks to our own follies, Pakistan was dismembered on December 16, 1971 and East Pakistan emerged as a new country – Bangladesh. Even after a period of over 40 years…
While diplomacy dawdles
While diplomacy between Pakistan and India dawdles, nuclear capabilities are moving forward at a brisk pace. Since testing nuclear devices in 1998, both countries have flight-tested no fewer than 17…
Issues of obedience in international law
The analytical jurists like Austin had questioned the validity of the international law on the ground that the system lacked sovereign's command and as such its norms were not enforceable,…
Washington’s nuclear agenda
The Pakistan-US joint statement on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Washington last month contains a section on ‘Non-proliferation, Nuclear Security and Strategic Stability’. As noted by Michael Krepon of…
Peace in the peninsula?
North Korea is back in the headlines following a surprise offer to restart official negotiations with South Korea on reopening a joint commercial project which many hope could end recent…
Foreign policy challenges
THE new government emerging from yesterday`s elections will face difficult domestic problems. The external challenges it will confront are equally daunting. The most urgent foreign policy challenges could be summed…
Why break the relationship?
The US agenda with Pakistan pre-9/11 was, in order of priority viz (1) nuclear non-proliferation (2) terrorism and (3) drugs, with the Taliban government in Afghanistan figuring prominently in the…
Pipeline economics
A G00d deal of excellent comment has appeared recently on the geopolitics of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) natural gas pipeline. But what about the economics of it? Contrary to most expectations,…
The strategic agenda
The present flows from the past, and the future will emerge from the present. Syria’s sectarian war: The headline issue today and in the near future is likely to be…
