India-Pakistan: hiding behind excuses again? —Naeem Tahir The 2008 terrorist act in Mumbai surely needs to be condemned in the strongest possible words, but one wonders why was the incident allowed to happen when all advance information was available. Why? Once again, India and Pakistan “fail to make a breakthrough”. The Kashmir and Mumbai attack issues have blocked any progress. Over 60 years have passed since independence and we still cannot show the maturity to shed the old baggage and move forward like civilised, progressive people. The reservations are too deep, vested interests too strong, and there are suspicions about … Continue reading India-Pakistan the maturity of the common man compared to the politicians and religious types….

Sir, the militants have multiplied —Sher Ali Khan When Rana Sanaullah visited Jhang, it was a cause of great worry for the citizens when SSP leader Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi was included in the entourage and given full government protocol The recent admission by Rana Sanaullah about his association with the banned militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) illuminates that Pakistan is a country where a nexus between politicians and militants is still active. Since only a few political parties have picked up on this issue, it is worrying to assume that relationships between the government and militant outfits still exist. … Continue reading The eggs that Mullahs laid are now hatching…

A lesson and a few reminders —Syed Talat Hussain The Saudis, in their national interest, can get into a tighter hug with Pakistan’ archenemy without fearing as much as a raised eyebrow in Islamabad, because Saudi Arabia is a giver and Pakistan is a taker Imagine Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu speaking to the National Assembly of Pakistan and saying the following: “We seek cooperative relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our objective is a permanent peace because we recognise that we are bound together by a shared future. If there is cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia, vast … Continue reading A lesson for Pakistan in realpolitik!

By M K Bhadrakumar United States AfPak special representative Richard Holbrooke enjoys a fabulous reputation, no matter the current prospects of the Afghan war. The Eurasian space knew him as a potential Nobel winner who evicted Russia from the Balkans. The world at large expects him to take over if and when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton steps down to enter the US presidential election ring in 2012. Holbrooke’s tours abroad inevitably get noticed. His maiden tour of Central Asia and the Caucasus last week was no exception. A State Department spokesman drew attention to it as a significant happening … Continue reading An AfPak star over Central Asia

By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler TEL AVIV – The United States is raising the stakes in its bid to halt Iran’s nuclear program, putting the issue on a “pressure track”, says the chief of US Central Command General David Petraeus. The US and other world powers are drumming up support for a fourth round of United Nations sanctions against Iran for its refusal to comply with repeated ultimatums to suspend uranium enrichment and to agree to a United Nations-backed deal involving Iran’s nuclear fuel being enriched abroad. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, meets this week to discuss a tough … Continue reading US’s top brass target Israel

By Julian Delasantellis Ancient Greece built outdoor amphitheaters at Delphi and Thespis for performances of the plays of Sophocles and Antigone; in England, it was The Rose and The Globe theaters that first saw the brilliance of the Bard. Let no one believe America lacked the commitment to culture and fine arts that produced Oedipus and Twelfth Night; those people will be humbled by their ignorance very quickly. America’s great contribution to the Thespian gods, is, and always will be, the invention of dinner theater. Almost like the product of a time and motion study that seeks to more effectively utilize the … Continue reading Greece calls in war debts

Home is best for China’s migrant workers By Olivia Chung HONG KONG – Chinese factories ranging from electronics giant Foxconn to diminutive outfits employing a handful of people are struggling to find workers to help fill surging export orders. Migrant workers who returned home for the recent spring festival are deciding to stay there, where they are finding opportunities that appeal more than going back to long hours and often hard conditions in the Pearl River Delta. The week-long annual festival sees millions of migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta region, the driver behind the country’s now decades-long economic … Continue reading China’s migrant workers rather stay in China…

By Zahid U Kramet LAHORE – The penny appears to have finally dropped. Diplomatic niceties aside, the media in the United States, at least, have concluded that the positions India and Pakistan have adopted on their differences are much too hardened to be resolved bilaterally. Two of the most influential journals in America, the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor, independently ran editorials on February 26 highlighting this fact while openly calling for US intervention. The New York Times editorial, titled “India and Pakistan (Barely) talk”, argued for “nudging the two sides harder”. Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor … Continue reading India, Pakistan need a little help…

Yemen in for a fight By Oliver Holmes SANA’A – In an attempt to combat al-Qaeda, the United States administration of President Barack Obama is now asking the US Congress to increase security assistance to Yemen. But the aid will come with a price: Washington wants President Ali Abdullah Saleh to seek a political solution to his country’s internal strife. The Pentagon recently agreed to $150 million in military assistance to Yemen, which will pay for equipment and training. Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved the aid, more than double US support to Yemen last year, highlighting the importance Washington places … Continue reading Yemen and US

Iran’s nuclear swap option revived By Kaveh L Afrasiabi Yukiya Amano, the new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has raised hopes that a “confidence-building” plan for a swap of nuclear material between Iran and a third party could still be salvaged. At the same time, Amano used his opening speech to the Vienna meeting of the agency’s board of governors on Monday to reaffirm that Iran hadn’t provided “the necessary cooperation” to confirm all such material in Iran is for peaceful activities. He did not, however, repeat a February 18 report about “the possible existence in … Continue reading Iran’s nuclear options?