COMMENTARIES
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Pakistan: Why are Christians Being Persecuted?
Roomana Hukil · 19 Nov, 2014 · #4747 · Commentary
On 4 November 2014, a young Christian couple was publically set on fire in Punjab, Pakistan. It was alleged by a mob of 1200 persons that the couple had desecrated verses from the Quran. According to source, the mob had apparently offered ...
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Asia and the Seas: Looking Back to Look Forward
Vijay Sakhuja · 19 Nov, 2014 · #4746 · Commentary
Three Asian powers – China, India and Indonesia – have, in recent times, attempted to project their power potential by recalling their maritime histories. China has highlighted the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) that has foundations in the...
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Big Picture
Understanding Democracy and Diversity in J&K
Varun Sahni · 18 Nov, 2014 · #4745 · Commentary · Column
As the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) goes to the polls to elect a State Assembly, it is an appropriate moment to reflect on how democracy, diversity and dissent are closely intertwined in the state. The last two state assembly el...
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Dateline Kabul
Af-Pak: A Fresh Start
Mariam Safi · 18 Nov, 2014 · #4744 · Commentary
Afghanistan’s newly elected President, Dr. Ashraf Ghani, arrived in Islamabad on 14 November 2014, marking his first official trip to Pakistan since assuming office. Officials from both countries have underscored the unique opportunity thi...
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Dateline Islamabad
Burying the Past: A New Beginning for Pakistan and Afghanistan
Salma Malik · 18 Nov, 2014 · #4743 · Commentary · Column
The newly-elected President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, while addressing a joint press conference at the end of his two-day visit to Pakistan, said “We must overcome the past…we will not permit the past to destroy the future.&rdqu...
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The Indo-Pacific
Modi in Myanmar: From ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’
Shankari Sundararaman · 17 Nov, 2014 · #4742 · Commentary
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the Myanmar endorses that all is well with India’s policy to the countries that lie to the east. Since he took office in May 2014, there were some views among observers that India...
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Red Affairs
Naxal Violence: Challenges to Jharkhand Polls
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 17 Nov, 2014 · #4741 · Commentary · Column
As electorates in Jharkhand start casting their ballot on 25 November, marking the beginning of the five-phase assembly elections spanning almost a month, the threat of left-wing extremism hangs heavy over the poll process. However, while the el...
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Indus-tan
Islamic State: Prospects in Pakistan
Sushant Sareen · 17 Nov, 2014 · #4740 · Commentary · Column
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of activity taking place in various parts of Pakistan in the name of the abominable, but also ineluctable, Islamic State (IS). Apart from some senior commanders of the Mullah Fazlullah-led Tehrik-e-Taliban P...
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Dhaka Discourse
Bangladesh in Global Forums: Diplomacy vs. Domestic Politics
Delwar Hossain · 17 Nov, 2014 · #4739 · Commentary · Column
Perhaps for the first time Bangladesh has achieved a new feat in the conduct of its diplomacy. This time it is not successful bilateral visits to major powers such as Russia or China neither the pursuit of Look East Policy, nor the Dhaka-Washing...
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Strategic Space
Global Nuclear Disarmament: The Humanitarian Consequences Route
Manpreet Sethi · 17 Nov, 2014 · #4738 · Commentary · Column
The tenacity of nuclear weapons to continue to exist is evident. At the end of the Cold War, many wrote obituaries claiming that these weapons would soon be the “detritus of the Cold War.” Nothing however, could have been further from ...
