Int’l Affairs

On 3 July 2013, General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, the incumbent Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Egypt removed President Mohamed Morsi and suspended the Egyptian constitution after ongoing public protests. Thus Egypt went again into the hands of army and the rise of the nascent democracy was curtailed. The Egyptian uprising of 2011 was about many things, but one …

Lambah and Khan now form a credible channel of communication between Singh and Sharif, thanks to their long experience in India-Pakistan negotiations. Lambah has been PM Singh’s back channel negotiator with General Pervez Musharraf and President Asif Ali Zardari since 2005. He was high commissioner to Pakistan and has known the Sharifs for more than a quarter of a century. …

The terrible floods in India’s tiny north Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, which killed more than 1,000 people, left 70,000 stranded for days and destroyed livelihoods, have been officially termed a natural calamity caused by cloudbursts and unprecedented heavy monsoon rainfall. However, the true causes of the epic tragedy lie in the grievous damage recently wrought on the region’s ecology by …

The Iranian President-elect, Dr Hassan Rowhani, himself went out of his way to signal his willingness for a new relationship with Riyadh. Even Saudis, who are usually sceptical about Iranian intentions, are encouraged by the new Iranian president. “Moderation in foreign policy means neither surrender nor confrontation but constructive and efficacious interaction with the world,” Mr Rowhani said in his …

On May Day 2013, the police poured tonnes of tear gas on tens of thousands of workers and youth in different quarters of Istanbul, Turkey in order to stop them from approaching Taksim Square. The government had decided that this square, the traditional venue for May Day celebrations and home to daily political actions big and small, was to be …

The armed conflicts in Syria are continuing unabatedly. Although the Syrian army has succeeded in precluding rebels’ military dominance plan in the city of Aleppo, the clashes have not tilted in favour of any side of the conflicts. The close distance between Aleppo and Turkish borders and Turkey’s generous logistic support to the anti-government rebels have impeded the total retreat …

Hassan Rouhani’s election victory can help ease tensions in the Middle East and with the United States Although Rouhani had been well ahead in the final pre-election polls, no one expected him or anyone else to receive enough votes to avoid a runoff. That he did so in a six-horse race is astonishing. The result confirms that Iran’s elections are …

Recently President Obama announced restrictions on US drone strikes. He touted the rules’ ‘written policy standards and procedures that formalize and strengthen the Administration’s rigorous process’ for authorizing targeted killings’ in a policy statement, a speech, and a background briefing by senior administration officials. In the last week of May, Obama went right back to business. He killed a Taliban …

In 2013 election, for the first time ever, the grip on power of the National Front (Barisan Nasional – BN), the coalition that has ruled the country for several decades, was on the brink of collapse. On the other hand, the Peoples’ Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat – PR) – a three-party coalition formed by the People’s Justice Party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic …

China has an opportunity to assert leadership in helping steer Afghanistan in a more positive direction. Investing in Afghanistan now will save years of trouble later. The 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is fast approaching. China has just over a year before Afghanistan fades from the West’s radar and Western attention toward the country shrinks substantially. …