COMMENTARIES
  • Ceasefire Deals: The Pains of Myanmar's Transition
    Bibhu Prasad Routray    ·   23 May, 2012    ·    #3622    ·    Commentary    
    Emerging from a nine hour-long closed door negotiation with the Shan State Army-South (SSA-South) leader Yawd Serk on 19 May in the Shan state capital Kengtung, Aung Min, Myanmar's railway minister and the chief negotiator of ceasefire agree...
  • Reading Pakistan: Reopening the NATO Supply Line
    D Suba Chandran    ·   21 May, 2012    ·    #3621    ·    Commentary    
    The NATO supply line into Afghanistan via Karachi and the rest of Pakistan seems to have already opened with four trucks of the American embassy crossing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. What did Pakistan achieve by first closing the supply line...
  • Nepal: What is the Potential for Foreign Investment?
    Pradeepa Viswanathan    ·   21 May, 2012    ·    #3620    ·    Commentary    
    Beginning 2010, with the affirmation by Chinese entrepreneurs (during the 11th meeting of the Nepal-China Non-Government Cooperation Forum) and a US delegation (American Chambers of Commerce in India) about the investment potential in Nepal, Kat...
  • Reading Pakistan: How does Pakistan see the War on Terrorism?
    D Suba Chandran    ·   14 May, 2012    ·    #3619    ·    Commentary    
    This commentary is a response to a recent article on the war on terrorism (WoT), written by a former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Ambassador Shamsad Ahmed, which appeared in The News (http://bit.ly/KdScTU). Ambassador Ahmed argued: &ldquo...
  • Reading Pakistan: Stand-Off on NATO Supply Line
    D Suba Chandran    ·   14 May, 2012    ·    #3618    ·    Commentary    
    The military commanders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO in Afghanistan met recently to discuss border security issues. An important question, at present, seems to be the invitation for Pakistan to the forthcoming NATO summit in Chicago. The NA...
  • The Missing Elements in the Counter-Naxal Strategy
    Ali Ahmed    ·   09 May, 2012    ·    #3617    ·    Commentary    
    The Home Ministry’s Annual Report states this about its counter-Maoist strategy: “While it is necessary for the State Governments to conduct proactive and sustained operations against the extremists, and put in place all measures req...
  • The US-Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement: Nothing More Than Symbolic
    Aryaman Bhatnagar    ·   08 May, 2012    ·    #3616    ·    Commentary    
    Barack Obama’s recent surprise visit to Kabul was marked by the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) between the US and Afghanistan. The pact commits the US to provide long-term assistance – military and financial &nd...
  • The Rise and Fall of Bo Xilai
    Narayani Basu    ·   02 May, 2012    ·    #3615    ·    Commentary    
    The sensational ousting of Chongqing’s municipality chief, Bo Xilai, in March 2012, has not only blighted what was a particularly colourful political career, but has also exposed the bitter battle between the reformers and hardliners withi...
  • The Kargil-Skardu Route: Implications of its Opening
    Zainab Akhter    ·   26 Apr, 2012    ·    #3614    ·    Commentary    
    Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is strategically important for Pakistan both in terms of water security and because of the Karakoram Highway, which links Gwadar with China. Consolidating a road that intercepts the Karakoram highway is critically important...
  • Special Commentary: Resolving the ‘Siachen’ Dispute
    Dipankar Banerjee    ·   26 Apr, 2012    ·    #3613    ·    Commentary    
    A massive avalanche at Ghyari early in the morning of 7 April swept away some 130 soldiers of the 6th Battalion of the Pakistani Army’s Northern Light Infantry. Located west of the Saltoro Ridge, nobody seems to have survived. Glory lies i...
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