October 2012

The recent abbreviated visit of S.M. Krishna to Pakistan was a continuation of the trade liberalisation being achieved by both the countries. Low expectations were attached with his visit due to the insignificant outcomes of talks between the foreign ministries throughout the year. Krishna’s recent visit had been more about trade again rather than the promotion of people to people …

There were certain key policy interests that brought change in the US stance towards Russia under Obama Administration. Russian policies towards Central and West Asia do not bode well for the greater interests of the US in these regions. Additionally, the geopolitical influence that Russia is gradually and swiftly achieving in these regions poses a formidable challenge to the US …

During his inaugural address, Supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made it clear that his country was pursuing nuclear technology for peaceful purpose. He alleged the United Nations Security Council of exerting ‘overt dictatorship’ on Iran at the behest of the US, UK, and France. Another high point of Summit was President Zardari’s meeting with Ahmadinejad in which both leaders …

The parallels are spooky. In Syria, as in Afghanistan, CIA officers are operating at the borders (in this case, mostly in Jordan and Turkey), helping Sunni insurgents improve their command and control and engaging in other activities. Weapons are coming from third parties (in Afghanistan, they came mostly from China and Egypt; in Syria, they’re mainly bought on the black …

Many Israelis, particularly in the military and defense establishment, understand that an Israeli strike would delay, not destroy, Iran’s programme. The programme could be rebuilt, probably quickly and with greater determination. Colin Kahl is among several scholars who have documented how, contrary to conventional wisdom, Israel’s 1981 attack on Iraq’s Osirak reactor actually accelerated Saddam Hussein’s determination to build nuclear …

In the years after 9/11, anti-Muslim rhetoric simmered on blogs, YouTube videos and a stream of inflammatory best sellers. But not until Barack Obama’s presidency was it allowed to erupt into prominent corners of mainstream politics. Mitt Romney, to his credit, has shunned notions of American Muslim disloyalty, but Republican political and media figures have tolerated or even advanced these …

A recent study of Global Attitudes by Pew Research Center concluded that most Muslims want democracy, personal freedoms, and Islam in political life, while few believe that the US backs democracy. Support for an institutionalised democracy and a re-orientation of the US foreign policy in order to negotiate with the Islamists is pertinent.   President Barack Hussain Obama accepted nominations …

Mr. Obama explicitly shifted from his 2008 appeal of hope and change to talk of tough choices and tough paths. ‘You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear,’ he said. ‘You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that …

We just had the 16th three-yearly NAM Summit held in Tehran attended by leaders of 120 states but no one even heard of what it decided. The event was no different from the earlier 15 summits in terms of heavy agenda, high-sounding rhetoric and voluminous documentation with little readable substance. Nothing earth-shaking came out from the Tehran Summit to change …

Syed Mustafa Kamal, Senator and former Mayor of Karachi Jahangir’s World Times (JWT): You were an ordinary worker of MQM then you became Nazim Karachi and now serving as senator please share with us the journey of success? Syed Mustafa Kamal (SMK): Well, I joined MQM as a street worker in the mid 1980s when I was in school and …