The urgent trumps the important
A striking aspect of a three-day conference last week in Brussels was the virtual absence of Afghanistan from its agenda and discussions. Not surprisingly, Ukraine dominated the Brussels Forum, convened…
Death by obfuscation
Pakistan is facing an existential threat and our confused leaders seem to have lost their ability to understand and process the information being given to them by national security institutions.…
It`s mostly about N-Pakistan
IN a New York Times report of Jan 27, US officials have admitted what some Pakistanis have long asserted: that the purpose of retaining US and Nato troops in Afghanistan…
Troubled transition
President Hamid Karzai’s mercurial behaviour and departing antics have thrown Afghanistan’s looming transitions into confusion even as the presidential election campaign has got underway in his country. The Afghan leader…
Will Afghanistan see peace?
Talk of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan is not a new phenomenon; it has been there in one shape or another since the day Soviet troops marched into that country.…
Dancing with the devil
“The war on terror cannot be fought and is not to be fought in Afghan villages or homes or country. If there is a war on terror, then it has…
Bilateral suspicion agreement
If the Afghan and US governments fail to reach a bilateral security agreement (BSA) about what the number and responsibilities of US troops in Afghanistan are to be at the…
A long awaited change
The moment many believe Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was waiting for has finally arrived with the change of command in top army echelons. He appointed a new chief of army…
Afghan drug explosion
The worst prime minister Britain has suffered in ages was Tony Blair who is now executive-jetting around the world to pocket vast sums by fixing deals for some pretty grubby…
Uncertain path to 2014
For some time it seemed that Afghanistan had slipped from Washington’s top priorities as the Obama administration became preoccupied by political gridlock at home, as well as fast moving developments…
