COMMENTARIES
  • Pakistan: The FMCT Debate Within
    Rabia Akhtar    ·   29 May, 2013    ·    #3956    ·    Commentary    
    What is Pakistan’s position on the Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty (FMCT)? Would the country enter negotiations on a FMCT? What conditions are acceptable to Pakistan to become a party to this treaty? Pakistan would enter negotiations on...
  • Pakistan Elections 2013: Declining Support for Religious Parties
    Anu Krishnan    ·   29 May, 2013    ·    #3955    ·    Commentary    
    Religious parties in Pakistan, led by the JI, JUI factions and others took part in the elections individually in 2013. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) as an alliance of the religious parties has been out of action since 2008. An unsuccessful a...
  • Pakistan Elections 2013: The Roar of PML-N and Nawaz Sharif
    Portia B. Conrad    ·   29 May, 2013    ·    #3954    ·    Commentary    
    The turnout of 60 per cent of the Pakistan electorate, as highlighted by the Pakistan Election Commission, signifies political maturity in the system. Not only was the voting percentage encouragingly high, given that only 48 per cent voted in 20...
  • Pakistan Elections 2013: Imran Khan Came, Saw, but did not Conquer
    Anu Krishnan    ·   29 May, 2013    ·    #3953    ·    Commentary    
    The performance of the Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) in the recent Pakistan elections contradicted much of the predictions that its campaign had prompted. PTI leader Imran Khan was widely touted to be Pakistan’s next Prime Minister, with the abilit...
  • A New Beginning
    Shujaat Bukhari    ·   29 May, 2013    ·    #3952    ·    Commentary    
    With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy Satinder K Lamba who met the Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif at his Lahore residence, New Delhi has established the first official contact with him ahead of his...
  • China: Reading Beijing’s ‘Blue Book’ on India
    Rana Divyank Chaudhary    ·   28 May, 2013    ·    #3951    ·    Commentary    
    Much attention is riveted on the way in which India-China relations are shaping up in the aftermath of the PLA’s incursion into Ladakh. The incident would probably not have stood out had the new Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, not already cho...
  • China: The Plight of Sex Workers
    Namrata Hasija    ·   28 May, 2013    ·    #3950    ·    Commentary    
    A report released on 14 May, 2013 by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) about sex workers in China has brought the dismal conditions of sex workers in the country into the limelight, and has revived the debate regarding their rights and also the atroc...
  • Social Media and Conflict: An Analysis of the Rohingya Crisis
    Shanta-Maree Surendran    ·   28 May, 2013    ·    #3949    ·    Commentary    
    The Rohingya crisis continues and is spreading beyond Myanmar. Reports detail the flight of individuals and families, seeking asylum in neighbouring nations and further afar. Described as an ‘unwanted people’, no government leaders w...
  • China: The Dawn of the Drones
    Narayani Basu    ·   23 May, 2013    ·    #3948    ·    Commentary    
    In April this year, China considered, for the first time, using a drone strike in an attempt to kill a Myanmar drug-lord, wanted for the murder of 13 Chinese sailors. While the plan itself was abandoned, the very consideration of the use of a dr...
  • Myanmar and Cyclone Mahasen: Weathering Disasters in the Rakhine State
    Nayantara Shaunik    ·   23 May, 2013    ·    #3947    ·    Commentary    
    Even as Cyclone Mahasen made landfall on 16 May 2013 at Chittagong coast in Bangladesh, it missed the expected shift to the northeast toward Rakhine State in Myanmar. The Rakhine is home to approximately 140,000 Internally Displaced Pe...
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