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SPEAKING
FREELY
Nepal: law and order denied
Nepal witnessed very
grave human rights violations during a decade of conflict, and even after five
years of peacemaking no attention has been paid to innocent victims and their
families. Cheap political compromises that block the route to justice and a
culture of impunity must give way to truth and reparation to end a vicious cycle
of lawlessness. - Gyan Basnet (Feb 10,
'12)
IMF faults Pakistan's optimism
on economy
The Pakistan government's economic forecasts, which in themselves paint a grim
picture, are far too rosy, says the International Monetary Fund, which is
particularly concerned at the easy monetary policy of the central bank. The
IMF's findings are likely to put more pressure on the weak rupee. - Syed
Fazl-e-Haider (Feb 9, '12)
India pivots, and pivots again
India is in a political bind. While its ruling class favors a close assignation
with the United States of the kind that fostered India'a development as a
nuclear power, the US demands too much. Close relations with China and healthy
communication to build trust in South Asia and Iran are the imperative, yet
India is under pressure to turn once again as American pushes for it to take
imports of Iranian oil off the energy menu. - Vijay Prashad
(Feb 8, '12)
India chokes on environmental
slight
Asian countries and India in particular have fared badly in recent
environmental surveys of air and water quality, with Delhi facing a monumental
task in meeting the standards needed to keep its people healthy and satisfy
international investors. With China and the rest of South Asia also scoring
poorly, over one-third of the world's population are at risk from toxic
elements. - Raja Murthy (Feb 8, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
NATO's not so smart initiative
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has launched a trust fund project to
secure or destroy hidden weapons and munitions in Tajikistan. The first
initiative in a move to low-cost support , it should mark a breakthrough in
multilateral cooperation, but budgetary constraints and commitments in
Afghanistan are making the "smart defense" initiative anything but a reality. - Emanuele
Scimia (Feb 8, '12)
Pakistan defiant on Iran gas
pipeline
Pakistan, in defiance of increased pressure and intensified warnings from the
United States, insists it will press ahead with construction of a pipeline
carrying gas from sanctions-hit Iran. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Feb 8, '12)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Kicking down the world's door
A new era of military planning is being launched to preserve an American planet
- fewer troops, fewer full-frontal missions, no full-scale invasions, no more
counter-insurgency: that's the order of a newly dawning day in which US might
is going "offshore" to face China where the American military position can be
strengthened without more giant bases or monster embassies. - Tom Engelhardt
(Feb 7, '12)
Pakistan snubs US over Osama
informer
Pakistan has rejected an American bid for the release of Shakil Afridi, the
doctor who helped the Central Intelligence Agency establish Osama bin Laden's
whereabouts in the successful US raid to kill the al-Qaeda leader on Pakistani
soil. Branded a "friend" by US lawmakers who want to give him citizenship, and
a "national criminal" by the commission probing the incident, Afridi faces a
possible trial for treason - and the death penalty. - Amir Mir
(Feb 7, '12)
Politics fuels India's literary
intolerance
A Bangladeshi author's book launch in West Bengal has been cancelled due to
extremist 
threats, just weeks after writer Salman Rushdie was prevented from attending
the Jaipur Literary Festival. While the incidents have intensified concerns
that religious tolerance is on the decline, the reliance of state leaders on
minority vote banks suggests regional politics are also to blame. - Neeta Lal
(Feb 6, '12)
Power plant threat to Sundarbans
Bangladesh is to build a US$1.5 billion coal-fired power plant, with the help
of Indian power company NTPC, that may threaten the famed Sundarbans mangrove
forest, a world heritage site, and against the advice of some of its own
Environment Ministry officials. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Feb 3, '12)
A border too far for Bangladesh
The torture of a Bangladesh man by Indian border guards, captured on video, has 
exposed the reluctance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to push the government
in New Delhi to end such regular border violence. Meanwhile, Dhaka is happy to
sign billion-dollar deals with Indian power companies. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Feb 6, '12)
AN ASIA TIMES ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Taliban eat into Afghanistan's
core
Even as several tracks of peace talks with the Taliban open up, Asia Times
Online has learned that senior members of the Western-trained and financed
Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police plan to defect with vast
numbers of their colleagues to the militants once foreign forces start to leave
the country, possibly as soon as next year. - Hamza Ameer and Ihsanullah
Tipu Mehsud (Feb 3, '12)
BOOK REVIEW
LeT: Terror incorporated
The Caliphate's Soldiers: The Lashkar-e-Tayyeba's Long War by Wilson
John
With thousands of recruitment and training centers across Pakistan, funds
pouring in from the Gulf and links from Nepal to Sri Lanka, Lashkar-e-Toiba has
flourished since the Mumbai attacks of November 2008. Detailing LeT's growth
into "the world's most powerful and resourceful terror consultancy firm" -
including a Department of Martyrs - this book offers an excellent primer on
LeT's global ambitions. - Surinder Kumar Sharma
(Feb 3, '12)
From sex to shame, a guru's
legacy
Squabbling among followers of late spiritual guru Acharya Rajneesh over a
US$7.1 million land deal has escalated in the courts, while visitors to the
"sex to super-consciousness" guru's ashram are falling due to exorbitant
pricing. The materialism on display seems far removed from the days of "free
love" and transcendental meditation. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Feb 3, '12)
Rants and raves for new US
pullout plan
The surprise decision to phrase out a combat role for US troops in Afghanistan
by mid-2013 has drawn mixed reaction in Washington, with critics of the 11-year
international occupation cheering and neo-cons and other hawks assessing that
the strategy will open the door to Kabul for the Taliban. The announcement
comes as a critical juncture on a number of fronts. - Jim Lobe
(Feb 3, '12)
Factory owners mourn
Mazar-e-Sharif clean-up
Mazar-e-Sharif residents are increasingly able to breathe fresh air and walk
clean, tree-lined streets in the northern Afghan city as authorities force
factories out of the center and ban old, high-emission vehicles - to the
consternation of taxi drivers, factory owners and their workers. - Ahmad Ramin
Delasa (Feb 3, '12)
Pakistan wins WTO go-ahead for
EU deal
Pakistan, swept by floods in 2010, has at last secured World Trade Organization
approval for temporary preferential trade with the European Union that was
originally intended to create early help in the recovery of the devastated
South Asian country. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Feb
2, '12)
Pakistan denies 'intimate'
Taliban links
Pakistan has rejected a leaked North Atlantic Treaty Organization report that
accused its intelligence agency of backing the Taliban because it believed it
was well-placed to regain power in Afghanistan - adding to strained ties just
as Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was traveling to Kabul
brandishing peace credentials. (Feb 2, '12)
Pakistani intelligence agencies
in the dock
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has reprimanded intelligence agencies for the
deaths of four civilians in their custody and demanded the release of seven
suspects still being held after the 2009 suicide attack on army headquarters in
Rawalpindi. The rap came after the court heard heart-rending evidence from a
mother whose son had been acquitted of terrorism charges before his death in
detention. - Amir Mir (Feb 1, '12)
India's stores on big-box
frontier
India has put off opening its consumer market to direct investment by
international retailers such as Walmart and Tesco. The pay and jobs destruction
such companies can apparently cause appears to justify concern among India's
shopkeepers that they could be next on the rubbish heap. - Kanya D'Almeida
(Feb 1, '12)
Conversion row torments
Kashmiri
Christians
A sharia court in India's Jammu and Kashmir state has ordered the
expulsion of three Christian priests who converted Muslim youth, with
inflammatory articles accusing the pastors of luring boys with girls, wine and
"swine blood". Ensuing threats against the Christian community have heightened
fears that Islamic radicalism could force the minority out of the Kashmir
Valley. - Sudha Ramachandran (Jan 31'12)
Pakistan closes in on EU trade
concessions
Pakistan may at last be close to securing trade concessions promised by the
European Union in 2010 to help recovery in the then flood-devastated country.
Bangladesh, a rival in the textiles trade, has dropped its opposition. Peru and
Brazil still hold out. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Jan 31'12)
Pakistan central bank issues
deficit warning
A fast-widening current account deficit is raising concern at Pakistan's
central bank, which has warned that financial flows have almost dried up. As
doubt grows on the country's ability to pay its debts, repayment time looms on
loans from the International Monetary Fund. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Jan 30'12)
US probe hardens Pakistani
suspicions
Pakistan has said a United States Air Force report on the US helicopter assault
along the Afghan border that killed 28 Pakistani soldiers merely deepens
suspicions the strike was intentional. Dismissing findings the attack was
"accidental" and down to a "misconfigured electronic map overlay", it asserts
that soldiers were being picked off one-by-one by gunships almost an hour and a
half after the US was warned. - Gareth Porter
(Jan 26, '12)
Hakimullah Mehsud evades
US drones, again
Reports of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Hakimullah Mehsud's death in a
United States drone strike appear greatly exaggerated, with witnesses
confirming that only lesser-known militants were killed in the January 12
attack. However, the successful drone killing of a senior al-Qaeda operative
days before suggests Washington and Islamabad are still sharing some
intelligence despite bilateral tensions, with Hakimullah likely still in their
crosshairs. - Amir Mir (Jan 26, '12)
Priyanka Gandhi steps from the
shadows
India's Congress party has unveiled Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of party
president Sonia Gandhi, as a major weapon in its campaign for Uttar Pradesh
state elections. Respected for abstaining from politics and seen as a pivotal
presence, Priyanka could restore Congress' fortunes in the key vote. However,
there are concerns she could overshadow the rise of her brother, Rahul. - Sudha
Ramachandran (Jan 25, '12)
Bhopal tragedy still haunts
India
After more than a quarter of a century, toxic waste from the world's worst
industrial disaster, in Bhopal in India, has still not been disposed of. The
abject failure of the state and central governments in dealing with the poison
raises fundamental questions about responsibility, while also pointing to
shocking bureaucratic apathy. - Neeta Lal (Jan
25, '12)
The crash and burn of drone
warfare
As the US's new drone "wonder weapons" are used with increasing frequency,
their deficiencies are becoming ever clearer. More than 70 of the multi-million
dollar robotic craft have gone down since 2000 due to "catastrophic mishaps".
This is just part of a developing record of drone disaster that includes Iraqi
insurgents hacking drone video feeds and a virulent computer virus infecting
the unmanned fleet. - Nick Turse (Jan 25,
'12)
Sri Lanka pressed on Tamil
devolution plan
Sri Lanka has assured India that it will grant sweeping powers to Tamil
communities in the north and east to address long-standing ethnic divisions,
with Delhi seeking "genuine political reconciliation". However, despite
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's pledge, officials say the planned constitutional
amendment isn't viable due to "serious concerns" over devolving land and police
powers to the Tamils. - Munza Mushtaq (Jan
24, '12)
Iranian oil poses Asian dilemma
It makes tactical sense for countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, India
and Turkey to slowly retrench from Iranian oil, but it would be a strategic
disaster for them to become reliant on Western approval to access Middle
Eastern energy, which will remain important in Asia's energy mix for at least
some more years. - Sreeram Chaulia (Jan 24,
'12)
Andaman 'human safaris' shame
Delhi
Footage of semi-naked Jarawa women dancing for food that has shocked the world
wouldn't have been possible if India's government had, as promised a decade
ago, closed a major road through the Andaman Islands' forests to protect
indigenous peoples from "harmful exposure". While some say it's time the
primitive Jarawa touched modernity, the fate of fellow tribes suggests
otherwise. - Sudha Ramachandran (Jan 24, '12)
China, India enter heating-up
Arctic race
India, China and Japan have sought permanent observer status in the Arctic
Council as competition heats up for the ecologically sensitive region's vast
mineral and energy resources. While Delhi's expeditions are studying the
potentially disastrous effects of climate change, Beijing is anticipating how
global warming could dramatically shorten its trade routes. - Raja Murthy
(Jan 24, '12)
Bangladesh warning after foiled
coup
The Bangladesh army claims that a coup it foiled last month had been instigated
by "some non-resident Bangladeshis" and "some retired and serving army officers
with fanatical religious views". Also under investigation is the banned Islamic
political party the Hizbut Tahrir, while any other suspects have been warned
they will be hunted down. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Jan 23, '12)
India faces identity crisis
The future of a vast biometric identification scheme for India's 1.2 billion
population seems bleak after a parliamentary body raised concerns over privacy,
the technology involved and the project's "clarity". Should the attempt to
improve access to welfare and centralize citizen data end in failure, Delhi
could face harsh questions over the implementation plans of the two-year-old,
US$603 million project. - Raja Murthy (Jan
23, '12)
India's state polls descend into
style wars
Fierce competition for voters in assembly elections in five Indian states,
including pivotal Uttar Pradesh, has seen political parties lavish funds on
public relations firms and 
advertisement gurus to maximize appeal across traditional and new media. Uttar
Pradesh's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party is taking its image makeover seriously,
with feisty chief minister Mayawati keeping an army of professionals at hand. - Neeta
Lal (Jan 19, '12)
Maoist Nepal to end Gurkha
tradition
Nepal's Maoist-dominated parliament has recommended that the tradition of
Gurkha soldiers, famed for their ferocity, bravery and curved Kukri knives and
who have filled 
British ranks since 1815, be ended as Nepal should cease exporting
"mercenaries". However, also fighting in India's army as Gorkhas, the soldiers
channel millions home in remittances. As yet, the Maoists haven't worked out
how to replace that income. - Dhruba Adhikary
(Jan 19, '12)
Bangladesh squeezes imports
Bangladeshi banks are curbing import financing in the face of a bulging trade
deficit and a gaping hole in foreign reserves. Manufacturers are now gasping
for finance, and the government may be unable to pay salaries within five
months, says a leading industrialist. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Jan 18, '12)
India can't turn page on Rushdie
row
A prominent Islamic seminary has demanded Delhi prevent a visit by Salman
Rushdie to a Jaipur book festival, with political parties stoking renewed
flames over his novel The Satanic Verses to attract Muslim voters for
crucial upcoming state elections. Stuck between appeasing Muslims and
maintaining its international image, the Congress party has pointed out that
the Indian-born author has a birthright to return. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Jan 18, '12)
Manmohan tries tiptoe for retail
FDI reform
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has salvaged something from his failed bid to
allow foreign direct investment in the retail market, although the benefit to
India and the world of opening the door to single-brand outfits such as Hermes
and Tiffany - if the opposition goes along with the reform - is severely
limited. - Benjamin Shobert (Jan 18, '12)
Pakistan courts step into the
fray
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani sees the fabric of the country's
democracy under threat with the Supreme Court's decision to begin contempt
proceedings against him over the government's failure to reopen corruption
allegations into President Asif Ali Zardari. It is a battle that the
all-powerful military establishment is happy to let the increasingly assertive
judiciary take on. - Amir Mir (Jan 17, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Afghanistan: What is truly
deplorable
The circumstances surrounding the desecration of bodies in Afghanistan by US
soldiers has gained world attention. The truth is that the act is hardly
illustrative of a few bad apples. Rather, the incident is illustrative of a
system of US imperial militarism that is rotten to its very core. - Ben
Schreiner (Jan 17, '12)
Negotiations and great
games
in Afghanistan
Hopes of a peace settlement in Afghanistan are undermined by its chaos of
confrontations, with domestic tensions pitting Pashtuns against northern
peoples, Pakistan engaged in bitter rivalry with India and China battling
Russia for the country as a gateway to Central Asia. Also a theater for Saudi
Arabia's conflict with Iran, Afghanistan is more complex than during the 19th
century's Great Game. - Brian M Downing (Jan
13, '12)
JUSTICE DELAYED
Commission fails to find
Shahzad’s killers
After an initial mandate of six weeks, the high-level judicial inquiry
commission set up to probe the murder of Syed Saleem Shahzad has taken six
months to find - nothing. According to the commission's 140-page report, it
could not unearth evidence of involvement of any security agency, including the
Inter-Services Intelligence, in the torture and assassination of the Pakistan
Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online in May last year. - Amir Mir
(Jan 13, '12)
Plot seen in Indian army chief's
age row
Indian army chief Vijay Kumar Singh is preparing to take government bosses to
court over his official date of birth, with the Defense Ministry insisting he
was born in 1950, not a year later, requiring his retirement in May. While some
critics say Singh is clinging to power for the privileges, others see a
conspiracy to remove him over his rare, principled stance on army corruption. - Sudha
Ramachandran (Jan 13, '12)
Little Bollywood struggles in
Afghanistan
Jalalabad has earned the nickname Little Mumbai after the Indian city renowned
for its bustling Bollywood film industry. The Afghan version in the southeast
of the country draws excited crowds to see locally made films, even though they
are shown in tents as the city has no cinema. This hits filmmakers hard as they
struggle to make a buck, while also living under the threat "of being beheaded
with a knife by the Taliban". - Hejratullah Ekhtiyar
(Jan 12, '12)
India seeks Saudi trade
As Iran, which supplies nearly a fifth of India's oil imports, is further
squeezed by international sanctions, New Delhi is looking to deepen trade and
other ties with its top oil supplier, Saudi Arabia. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Jan 12, '12)
There's more to peace than
Taliban
The United States took it for granted that the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance
groups in Afghanistan would fall into line over talks with the Taliban.
Instead, the alliance has challenged the US's monopoly of conflict resolution
and Washington's unilateralist estimation that the Taliban are the only group
that matters as protagonists on the Afghan chessboard in a peace process. - M K
Bhadrakumar (Jan 11, '12)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Lessons from lost wars
It has been a devastating decade of disastrous American war-making on the
Eurasian continent, although it was hailed by top United States officials as an
accomplishment, a success, anything but a debacle or a defeat. The adventure in
Iraq ended with a whimper, while in Afghanistan, the US is thoroughly dependent
on Pakistan and Russia. - Tom Engelhardt (Jan
10, '12)
Dangerous power play in Delhi
India's ruling United Progressive Alliance, led by the Congress party, is
seriously at odds with one of its coalition partners, the Trinamool Congress
headed by the feisty Mamata 
Banerjee. Congress has been desperate to save the union and has sought to
downplay the stinging remarks emanating from the Trinamool and even extending
it an olive branch, but a major political shift might nevertheless be underway.
- Sudha Ramachandran (Jan 10, '12)
Gazprom deal may ease
Dhaka
arms purchase
Gas well-drilling contracts awarded to Russia's Gazprom without a tender
process and a production sharing clause should help ease Bangladesh's energy
crisis. The deal should also help Dhaka secure a US$850 million credit deal to
buy Russian military equipment. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Jan 9, '12)
Pakistan keeps door for NATO
shut
Pakistan has given no indications that it will lift its ban on North Atlantic
Treaty Organization supply trucks entering Afghanistan. Instead, Islamabad
wants to negotiate new terms of engagement between Pakistan and United
States-led forces following the fatal incident that led to the blockade in the
first place. - Charles Recknagel and Daud Khattak
(Jan 9, '12)
India celebrates man who 'knew'
infinity
A major star of India's "National Year of Mathematics" in 2012 will be
Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius who despite dying at just 32 in 1920 is spoken of
alongside Isaac Newton, Euclid and Archemedes. Rising above impoverishment to
develop theorems that still confound experts today, Ramanujan was a worthy
inheritor of the country's 1,500 years-old heritage of innovation. - Raja Murthy
(Jan 9, '12)
Afghan forces under threat in
Helmand
Afghan troops have taken over control of more areas of Helmand province from
international forces, but some residents of the troubled southern province
worry that they are not yet up to the job. All that will happen, citizens
claim, is that the Taliban will be re-emerge stronger than ever. - Gol Ahmad
Ehsan (Jan 9, '12)
Rare spark of light in India's
economy
An uptick in manufacturing offers a bright moment for the Indian economy, after
a strong decline in the rupee last year and a similar tumble in the stock
market. Yet inflation remains stubbornly high at around 9%, limiting business
expansion. - Robert M Cutler (Jan 6, '12)
Indians split over cow ban
The Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has introduced a stringent law against the
slaughter of cows, adding more fuel to the fire of a long-simmering debate.
Proponents claim they are simply protecting the animal that is sacred to
Hindus, while opponents accuse politicians of crassly pampering to their vote
banks. - Neeta Lal (Jan 5, '12)
China sends a message to Nepal
The most recent manifestation of Nepal's political crisis is handwringing over
the postponement of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit. Beijing's decision
gives traction to the perception that the Nepalese government, under
(India-educated) Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, is determined to strengthen
relations with India - at China's expense if necessary. - Peter Lee
(Jan 5, '12)
Afghan market highlights
woes
facing aid agencies
Aid flowing into Afghanistan to improve livelihoods does not invariably receive
a warm welcome, as German agency GIZ is discovering as traders fear making use
of a new market built of local materials, saying they fear it will collapse on
themselves and their customers. - Ahmad Shah Jawad
(Jan 5, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Afghanistan: US press withdraws
Lost amid the attention paid to the United States withdrawal from Iraq is the
fact that nearly 100,000 US troops (and a near equal number of private
contractors) remain entrenched in Afghanistan. Yet the American media have
largely packed up and withdrawn from Afghanistan, possibly moving away from a
situation that reeks of US imperialism. - Ben Schreiner
(Jan 5, '12)
Enter the year of the Taliban
The decision by the Barack Obama administration to possibly transfer to Afghan
custody senior Taliban official Mullah 
Mohammed Fazl is a smart move; Fazl has the credentials to bring Taliban leader
Mullah Omar on board for launching formal peace talks. He is also the perfect
antidote to Iran's influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan and Russia have already
made their moves in response. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Jan 3, '12)
India fighting for a less
corrupt year
The failure of India's upper house to pass an anti-corruption bill in December
capped another year where Indian politics were dominated by graft-related
scandals and protests. Manmohan Singh's government will want to be seen as
tougher in 2012, but the country's culture of corruption - from Swiss bank
accounts to "speed money" for rushed driving licenses - won't surrender easily.
- Ranjit Devraj (Jan 3, '12)
Saffron could be killer of
Afghan heroin
An increase in the area of Afghanistan under poppy cultivation in response to
rising opium prices and poverty lends urgency to an initiative aimed at
encouraging farmers to switch to cultivating saffron. Prized by chefs worldwide
and priced at up to $6,000 per kilogram, the versatile spice has had a
significant impact on the economy of India's Jammu and Kashmir state. - Athar
Parvaiz (Jan 3, '12)
 THE
ROVING EYE
Playing chess in Eurasia
As Pipelineistan and hardcore geopolitics collide across Eurasia, China and
Russia are coordinating policy in fine detail. The trick is connecting China to
Central and South Asia and the Gulf, creating an economic/security powerhouse
that controls 50% of the world's gas reserves and undercuts the United States'
Empire of Bases. Old Europe wants in, but it may be locked out. The US,
meanwhile, is watching as its New Silk Road vision crumbles. - Pepe Escobar
(Dec 21, '11)
The life and death of American
drones
The crash of an American drone airplane is a game-changer. No, it wasn't the
super-secret RQ-170 Sentinel that ended up in the hands of the Iranians, but an
older Predator, that hunter-killer workhorse of the Afghan and Pakistan wars,
that fell in Kandahar in Afghanistan. The vulnerabilities of remotely piloted
missions are ever more regularly coming to light. - Nick Turse
(Dec 21, '11)
India: The mess of democracy
India's self-seeking and indecisive politicians will still not permit direct
overseas investment in the retail market - as if foreigners could do any more
damage than India's domestic retail giants. Meanwhile, poor infrastructure
wastes farm produce on a vast scale. No wonder foreign funds are quitting the
country. - Swati Lodh (Dec 21, '11)
All roads lead to Myanmar
With Myanmar slowly opening up, Western countries that shunned the country for
decades are likely to stream in. In response, India, Singapore and Thailand can
be expected to step up their engagement to protect their influence ahead of the
arrival of American and European business. China, which has invested huge
amounts of capital and other resources, is unlikely to watch passively as its
presence is whittled away. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Dec 21, '11)
Bangladesh exports gloom
Growth in exports from Bangladesh has more or less stalled as the faltering
United States and European economies lessen demand from two key markets. The
outlook for the vital textiles sector is bleak - unless a new report is correct
in identifying the South Asian nation as the "new China". - Syed Tashfin
Chowdhury (Dec 20, '11)
Bhagavad Gita to hot for
Russia
A ban on the Bhagavad Gita by a Moscow court that judged the sacred
Hindu religious text guilty of advocating war and spreading social discord has
vexed the Russian capital's 15,000-strong Indian community and the Hare Krishna
movement. With Indian luminaries and parliamentarians rushing into the
brouhaha, scholars say they cannot fathom why the transcendental teachings
should be branded "extremist literature". - Neeta Lal
(Dec 20, '11)
India facing trade 'disaster'
A free trade agreement being negotiated between the European Union and India
would make a mockery of all World Trade Organization rules and be "disastrous"
for the Indian economy, with zero import tariffs threatening the livelihoods of
Indian farmers and those working in the retail sector, warn critics. - Isolda
Agazzi (Dec 19, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
Kashmiri people should decide
Multiple wars, isolation, human-rights issues and ongoing angst between two
nuclear-armed neighbors should be enough for all parties to agree that a
solution is necessary in the territorial question of Kashmir. Give the people
of Kashmir a choice or the players, including the world community, could see
devastating results. - Gyan Basnet (Dec 19,
'11)
For Delhi families, justice is
suspended
A decade after a terrorist assault shook the parliament complex in New Delhi,
families of the 12 people killed in the gruesome attack have registered their
anger that of the three perpetrators sentenced to death, two have been freed
while another, Afzal Guru, is seeking a pardon. While boycotting annual
tributes this year, the families say that for them closure is suspended until
the day Afzal hangs. - Neeta Lal (Dec 16,
'11)
BOOK REVIEW
The
Unraveling
The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad by John R Schmidt
With relations between Pakistan and the United States in cold storage, John R
Schmidt, a senior US diplomat, sheds some light on the reasons. He argues that
Islamabad's dual policy of supporting US military actions in Afghanistan while
maintaining its connection with radical Islamic groups is understandable and
the US must face up to the problem; advice unlikely to lead to a thaw any time
soon. - Erico Yu (Dec 16, '11)
Proof in the pudding for
Manmohan's India
December in India is turning into a month of ferment for Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh as economic growth stutters, the rupee collapses and good cheer
is decidedly absent in coalition politics. While the government braces for more
year-end upheaval courtesy of the anti-corruption lobby, much churning in the
mixture of Manmohan's troubled times may be of his own making. - Raja Murthy
(Dec 15, '11)
Suicides blight Kerala farms
The Indian state of Kerala ranks well in such areas as literacy, good health
services and consumer spending, yet its debt-burdened farmers are committing
suicide as crop prices fall and the cost of inputs such as fertilizer rise.
Government aid falters due to a lack of willpower and administrative
inefficiency. - K S Harikrishnan (Dec 15,
'11)
Kabul starts race for Afghan
resources
Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines started a race for the country's resources with
the initiation of a tender process to explore and develop precious metal and
mineral deposits, notably copper and gold, across five provinces. The potential
riches are huge - as are the security risks. - Robert M Cutler
(Dec 14, '11)
Kashmir clamors for normalcy
Rising tourism numbers amid relative peace have led Kashmir's state government
to seek relaxation of draconian security laws and a reopening of cinemas and
liquor stores. However, Delhi says revocation of the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act could see militants stream back into the Valley, while religious
groups bristle at "sources of obscenity, immorality and imprudence". - Athar
Parvaiz (Dec 14, '11)
Indian tribals reject Maoists,
and Delhi
A refusal of villagers in India's Odisha state to accept Maoist demands to
boycott a by-election and hold a strike suggest the tide is turning in favor of
Delhi's initiatives to push back insurgent influence. The defiance is not all
victory for Delhi; it mirrors peaceful protest methods villagers employ against
government-sanctioned mining and energy projects that have impoverished and
displaced thousands in the area. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Dec 13, '11)
Blockade on NATO will
last until rules change
Pakistan hasn't ruled out more retaliatory action and is using its blockade on
military supply routes as a bargaining chip to get Washington to write new
"rules of engagement" for international forces in its border region, Gilani
says in an interview. A sustained blockade could threaten efforts to build up
the Afghan armed forces ahead of the planned 2014 withdrawal and its raises the
importance of an alternative route through Central Asia.
(Dec 13, '11)
Deep chill envelopes US-Pakistan
ties
With supply lines to American troops in Afghanistan blocked and relations
suspended, cynics argue that Pakistan is taking its freeze with the US to a
point of no return. As the whole nation is convulsed in rage over the deaths of
24 soldiers in an air strike the West says was accidental and Islamabad
concludes was carried out in cold blood, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani is
matching the mood. The American response is hardly helping resolve matters. - Karamatullah
K Ghori (Dec 13, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
Winning and losing in
Afghanistan
The war in Afghanistan has been a quagmire from the beginning that was driven
by the 9/11 tragedy. Western powers got their man, but the toils of war remain.
The US and its partners have recently announced a 2014 pull-out. The benefits
and the losses are many, just as the players are after the withdrawal. - Gaurav
Agrawal (Dec 13, '11)
US outed, and far from drawn
down
The eviction of the United States from its air base in Pakistan could mean the
end of the drone war in Afghanistan, but holds wider strategic implications
that reveal the Pentagon's hidden agenda as war clouds gather on another
horizon. The US military now has a reason to re-interpret President Barack
Obama's "drawdown" from Afghanistan, keeping combat troops there to help "box
in" Iran and use its bases as a springboard for invasion. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Dec 12, '11)
Pakistan trade deficit widens
Pakistan's trade deficit has widened 55% in the past year, putting further
pressure on the government as it prepares to pay back International Monetary
Fund loans secured during its most recent debt crisis in 2008. A declining
currency and industry-crippling gas shortages are not helping. - Syed
Fazl-e-Haider (Dec 12, '11)
Pakistan Taliban shift focus to
Afghanistan
The Pakistan Taliban and the government can't seem to agree in public on
whether or not they are engaged in peace talks, with both sides issuing
contradictory statements. What can't be denied, though, is that the number of
suicide attacks inside Pakistan has dropped dramatically, while terror
incidents across the border in Afghanistan are on the rise. - Amir Mir
(Dec 12, '11)
India not alone on reforms
slowdown
China and Indonesia have shown the benefits of foreign direct investment
reforms that India is again shying away from, to the detriment of its own
citizens as well as overseas retailers such as Tesco and Walmart. But even
there, the political balancing act remains fraught with risk. - Benjamin Shobert
(Dec 9, '11)
Delhi stumbles in social media
universe
Indian Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal's demands that Facebook,
Twitter and other social media pre-screen posts for offensive content have been
slammed as impractical and draconian, with comparisons made to China's Internet
controls. As a backlash "trends" in mediums Sibal had hoped to gag and Delhi is
painted as authoritarian and out of touch, perhaps the minister is considering
some self-censorship of his own. - Raja Murthy
(Dec 9, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
India puts the Indo in
'Indo-Pacific'
Indian ambitions to become a linchpin for the United States as it challenges
China's aggressive posturing revolve around US pledges that the "Indo-Pacific"
bilateral relationship is a "defining partnership" of the 21st century. That
the "Indo" in "Indo-Pacific" can be taken as referring to India and not the
"common values and interests" the US shares with Indonesia, tends to muddy
expansive waters. - Rukmani Gupta (Dec 7,
'11)
Indian despair at parliamentary
circus
Concerns that deadlock in the Indian parliament over a foreign investment issue
will see this winter session end without progress - on anything - are borne out
by research that proves Indian politicians are working less than ever. With
parliamentarians using any pretext to obstruct debate while seeking personal
sirens to scream through traffic, it's little wonder that people are so
disillusioned. - Sudha Ramachandran (Dec 7,
'11)
Terrorists can also bestow
favors
On the Afghan chessboard, it is impossible to accept Tuesday's twin terror
strikes on Shi'ite worshipers at face value. The ugly specter of sectarian
killings is a sudden departure from even the darkest days of the past decade.
The party that stands to lose most from escalating tensions is the Taliban,
with Iran and Pakistan big losers too. United States interests are,
paradoxically, very well served if Western troops become the only credible
provider of security in Afghanistan. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Dec 7, '11)
Bonn 0 + Iran
From transition to transfiguration is a more apt description of where fragile
Afghanistan is heading, with intense regional rivalries, exhausted foreign
donors, internal corruption and a sustained insurgency plaguing the country
with violence and fear. In this complex situation, the United States and Iran -
both in attendance at the Bonn summit on Afghanistan - have every reason to put
aside their differences and open a new dialogue on regional security. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi (Dec 6, '11)
Tipaimukh dam pact deals
setback to 'subservient' Hasina
A commercial agreement
clearing the way for construction of a long-planned dam in Manipur is
unraveling two-years of improved relations between India and Bangladesh. Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina's ignorance of the latest move underlines her
government's subservience to an "imperial" New Delhi, claim opponents in Dhaka
of the Tipaimukh project. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Dec 5, '11)
Bhopal shrouds Dow, Olympics
Organizers of the 2012 London Olympic Games are under increasing pressure to
cancel a sponsorship deal with US-based Dow Chemical, now owner of the company
whose plant in Bhopal, India, was responsible for the release of poisonous gas
over the city, killing at least 15,000 people and maiming many more. - Sujoy
Dhar (Dec 5, '11)
Nepal bends to China over Tibet
Tibetans who've reached northeastern India say China has toughened refugee
controls and increased pressure on Nepal to tighten its borders, while
Dharamsala's exile community says arrivals have dropped too sharply since
Lhasa's 2008 riots to be attributed to Beijing's economics-based ethnic policy.
With China's premier set to visit Kathmandu this month, Nepal's Tibetan
minority fears heightened restrictions. - Saransh Sehgal
(Dec 5, '11)
Afghanistan: Land triggers new
conflicts
Afghanistan's turbulent past is impacting on its future as migrants and
refugees squabble over a complex system of deeds and inheritance to claim land
ripe for agriculture or construction, with disputes often turning bloody. Since
the courts are seen as corrupt, tribe militias armed by the United States to
police regions are instead turning their guns on rivals for real estate. - Rebecca
Murray (Dec 5, '11)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
He was 22
... She was 12 ...
In Afghanistan, young men from towns you have never heard of died, never to
enjoy another Thanksgiving with their families back in the US. In a farmer's
field meanwhile, a little girl died for reasons that may or may not be
"investigated". And on it goes. In a no-learning-curve world, the lessons from
the dead cry the loudest. - Tom Engelhardt (Dec
2, '11)
Pakistan retort squares
with
Taliban demands
The Pakistan government's sharp retort to the air strike that killed 25 of its
soldiers on the troubled border with Afghanistan matches much of the conditions
that militant Pakistan Taliban fighters set for taking part in peace talks.
Amid political endorsement for a breakthrough in the tribal areas come echoes
of past accords that militants have used to strengthen their hand, ultimately
leading violence to spiral. - Amir Mir (Dec
2, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
India, US - the way ahead
The mutual benefits of good relations between the United States and Indian are
too considerable to be ignored. Key areas of concern that should and can be
dealt include the future use of India's naval power, New Delhi's willingness to
play by the rules in its international relations, and India clearly indicating
it does not wish to break up Pakistan. - Siddharth Joshi
(Dec 2, '11)
To submit to Speaking Freely click
here.
Comfort for India's creatures
Animal-rights activists have welcomed India's moves to ban animal dissections
in college labs, with computer simulations set to save millions of rabbits,
monkeys, cats, guinea pigs and frogs from painful experiments. While new
guidelines were developed under Mohandas Gandhi's principles of ahimsa or
non-violence, the bold step is seen as equally beneficial to education and the
environment. - Raja Murthy (Dec 2, '11)
BOOK REVIEW
Down the wrong path
9-11 by Noam Chomsky
Updated to cover Osama bin Laden's death, this prescient work on the September
11 attacks written in November 2001 chillingly predicts how expensive and
bloody wars in Muslim countries would drain the American economy and kill
thousands of civilians. Though a compelling indictment of an "imperial
mentality" that's seen America abandon human-rights principals to pursue its
goals, the book's dialogue format may frustrate some readers. - Christopher
Bartlo (Dec 2, '11)
'Big-box' protests test India's FDI
strategy
The Indian government's handling of protests
against its decision to allow "big-box" multinational retailers such as Walmart
into the local market will indicate how serious it is about attracting
much-need foreign investment in other sectors, including infrastructure,
healthcare and education. - Benjamin Shobert (Dec
2, '11)
Pakistan attack a big loss for
US war policy
The story of what actually happened last Saturday - how and why a NATO
helicopter attacked a Pakistani army post inside that country's borders,
killing 24 troops - has been shifting all week, and the Pentagon seem unable to
come to grips with it. But one thing is clear: The Pakistani government and
people have become more aggressive in their stance against US activity both in
their own country and in Afghanistan. - Gareth Porter
(Dec 1, '11)
Deadly encounters of the fake
kind in India
A special investigation in India's Gujarat state has confirmed that a famous,
seven-year-old case that saw four young Muslims killed did involve
extrajudicial executions. Rather than dying in open combat as police claimed,
like dozens of other "terrorists" killed in the same manner in Gujarat the
suspects were kidnapped, tortured and dispatched. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Dec 1, '11)
Another last chance for Nepal's
constitution
Nepal's lawmakers have given themselves a fourth and "final" six-month
extension to write the post-monarchy constitution that's seen scant progress
since the Constituent Assembly was formed in 2008. With doubts swirling over
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai links to powerful southern neighbor India and
over the Maoist's commitment to democracy, the writing of the statute remains
an uphill battle. - Dhruba Adhikary (Nov 30,
'11)
US may abandon Pakistan supply
routes
Even before the weekend NATO air strike led Pakistan to block a key supply
route for international forces fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan, the
United States was exploring ways to sidestep increasing attacks on convoys on
roads through the Khyber Pass and in Balochistan. With diplomatic, political,
and military and intelligence activities under review, diplomats say the
Americans are trying to secure three different alternative supply routes. - Amir
Mir (Nov 29, '11)
 SPENGLER
Blazing Saddles in Pakistan
Even before America found itself on the defensive after the air-strike deaths,
the Washington consensus was summed up by the need to keep Pakistan on side as
a "friend'' because of its nuclear capability. While Pakistan menaces the
United States with the prospect of its own failure, the simplest solution to
the problem of atomic weapons to frighten the Pakistani army into eliminating
terrorists who might use them. The second-best solution is to take the nuclear
weapons away. (Nov 28, '11)
US and Pakistan enter the danger
zone
Pakistan's relations with the US continue to plunge after foreign forces
breached the ''red line'' with Friday night's fateful air strike that killed 28
Pakistani soldiers. Islamabad's response stops short of declaring an end to
participation in the US-led war in Afghanistan, but the colossal breakdown of
diplomacy at the political, military and intelligence levels is a shocking
state of affairs for a superpower with over 100,000 troops in Pakistan's
vicinity. The US knows it has no answer for strategic defiance from an
unfriendly nation. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov 28,
'11)
Delhi provokes Maoists with
leader's killing
While the killing of Indian Maoist leader Kishenji by security forces is a
major blow to the movement, the rebels have a reputation of quickly recovering
from the loss of individual leaders. Destroying the chances of Delhi's peace
overtures and exposing a lack of coordination between the government and the
military, Kishenji's death will likely intensify Maoist-led violence. - Sudha
Ramachandran (Nov 28, '11)
Pakistan's ambassador takes the
fall
Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan's influential ambassador to the United States, has
been forced out of office over an alleged memo delivered to Washington in which
he is purported to have sought the US's help in preventing a possible coup
against the civilian government in Islamabad. The broader lesson to be learned
from "Memogate" is that the civil-military imbalance in Pakistan remains
dangerously tilted. - Amir Mir (Nov 23, '11)
Intolerance grows in the
Maldives
Monuments donated by Pakistan and Sri Lanka were vandalized last week in the
Maldives as they were seen to be "idolatrous" and "irreligious". The incident
points to growing religious intolerance in the Islamic island nation in the
Indian Ocean and a threat to its young democracy. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Nov 22, '11)
A burial plot for India's most
wanted terrorist
Persistent media reports putting Dawood Ibrahim, India's most wanted terrorist,
in Karachi are making Pakistan uneasy. While former president Pervez Musharraf
said recently that the prime suspect in the 1993 revenge attack for the
massacre of Muslims in the Gujarat riots is held in high esteem, Pakistan's
establishment denies harboring him. As the trail heats up, the ailing mafia don
could have reason to need a shield from Indian crosshairs - and is reportedly
looking for a burial plot. - Amir Mir (Nov
22, '11)
The legend of Gondwana
resurfaces
The lost supercontinent of Gondwana has surfaced in scientific minds again
after Australian scientists discovered bits of the gigantic land mass where
dinosaurs roamed in the Cretaceous period. Samples taken from beneath the ocean
floor on a deep-sea expedition could reveal how Gondwana broke into present-day
Australia, Antarctica and India and advance the discipline of plate-tectonics,
offering practical spin-offs for life today. - Raja Murthy
(Nov 22, '11)
India's Mayawati proves size
does matter
The firebrand chief minister of India's Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati, has proposed
that the vast state of 200 million people be divided into four smaller parts.
While critics dismiss the plan as a stunt designed to attract separatist voters
ahead of next year's legislative assembly elections, those same detractors have
long said splitting up India's larger states would improve governance. - Neeta
Lal (Nov 21, '11)
Karzai skates on thin ice
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has violated a sacrosanct tradition by convening
a loya jirga (grand tribal assembly) to essentially endorse a pact with
the United States for its continued presence in the country after after most
foreign troops leave in 2014. With the Taliban repeatedly and categorically
stating their opposition to such an accord and influential sections of Afghan
(non-Taliban) opinion and key regional powers questioning the move, what does
Karzai hope to achieve? - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov
21, '11)
Wiki-world targets India
Wikipedia, the world's leading free reference site, has set its sights on
India, where the first "WikiConference" of its kind is taking place. Just as
Wikipedia serves as a quick general outline or base, and not the final
destination for information, the encyclopedia hopes to use the Mumbai meeting
as a foundation for its India expansion. - Raja Murthy
(Nov 18, '11)
Gujarat's rising star woos China
China's business and political circles last week gave visiting Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi a warm welcome, seeing past his alleged encouragement of
2002 anti-Muslim riots. Beijing sees Modi as a prime contender for India's next
premier and in Gujarat, a vibrant investment destination. Washington too has
noted Modi's ascendancy, which could prompt a quiet rethink of his US travel
ban. - Sudha Ramachandran (Nov 18, '11)
Australia backflips on uranium
to India
If Australia goes ahead and sells India uranium, Japan's policymakers will be
under pressure to take similar steps, suiting United States plans for the three
nations to form an Indo-Pacific security bloc that counter-balances China's
regional assertiveness. With such major political and economic forces set in
motion, left-wingers in Canberra will struggle to cling to their
non-proliferation high ground. - Purnendra Jain
(Nov 17, '11)
TCC loses battle to mine Reko
Diq
The Balochistan government has rejected an application by Tethyan Copper
Company, a venture between Antofagasta and Barrick Gold, to mine for copper and
gold at Reko Diq, a mine that could be worth US$250 billion. Chinese interests
are willing to become involved in what would be Pakistan's biggest
foreign-financed project yet. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Nov 17, '11)
Tiger in the dragon's yard
Limited expectations in India over this week's East Asia Summit underline the
country's bit player status in the Asia-Pacific. Strategic elites want India to
court China-fearing nations and rise as a countervailing force in Beijing's
backyard, but until it owns a world-class navy, Delhi will struggle to balance
the United States' decline. - Sreeram Chaulia
(Nov 17, '11)
Afghanistan turns to assembly of
elders
More than 2,000 Afghan politicians, tribal leaders and clerics have assembled
in Kabul for four days of debate on the future of the foreign military presence
in the country and negotiations with the Taliban. The government is depending
on the loya jirga to help gauge national opinion on the two contentious
issues. - Abubakar Siddique (Nov 17, '11)
Whose finger's on Pakistan nuke
trigger?
If it ever comes to Pakistan launching an atomic warhead, the final say would
be with the all-powerful army leader, even though in theory the prime
minister's finger should be on the trigger. All indications are that the White
House, despairing at the fragile government in Islamabad and reassured that
security is state-of-the-art enough to prevent jihadi sympathizers from hitting
the button, appears to like it that way. - Amir Mir
(Nov 16, '11)
Indian flair, 3D make for movie
success
Indian acting superstar-turned-producer Shah Rukh Khan recouped within five
days the record amount spent on making Ra.One, a video-game movie. Not
to be outdone, India-born Tarsem Dhandwar Singh's Immortals topped US
box-office charts at the weekend. Never mind the critics or the script, just
thrill to those spicy 3D special effects. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Nov 16, '11)
Buddha's birthplace courts
controversy
Nepal's former Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal is courting support and
controversy as champion of a government plan to develop the birthplace of the
Buddha. Critics lament that a leader of the Maoist war who has never repented
the violent path should be appointed as the international face of a
multi-billion-dollar push to revive Lumbini as a spiritual site and focal point
for peace. - Sudha Ramachandran (Nov 16, '11)
Matheran: The 21st century stops
here
Matheran, a popular hill station near Mumbai, only recently loosened a "no
vehicles" rule to let ambulances drive along its red-soiled streets. As the
world's only town to ban even bicycles, feet, rickshaws or horseback are the
only carriage. While locals suffer without motorized transport, they resist
even horse-drawn carts that could deprive them of livelihoods and a unique
charm that attracts thousands of tourists every year. - Raja Murthy
(Nov 14, '11)
Pakistan Taliban chief snubs
peace bid
Elusive Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakeemullah Mehsud has rejected
Islamabad's offer of peace talks by vowing to carry out more terror attacks and
to strengthen bonds with the Afghan Taliban. Amid more United States drone
strikes in the tribal areas, international terror experts say Pakistan's peace
moves are doing little but stir the vast al-Qaeda-linked jihadi infrastructure
along the border to attempt to inflict more carnage on the state. - Amir Mir
(Nov 14, '11)
Hindu art of double hedging
against China
The discovery that an unsolicited United States offer to sell India F-35 Joint
Strike Fighters was prompted by financial concerns, not "high regard", is a
sign of the economic times. India's increasing assertiveness in the
Asia-Pacific appears misguided amid the apparent US decline, but Delhi will
gain if China's resultant angst translates into conciliatory gestures on other
geopolitical fronts. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov
10, '11)
Ramayana row divides India
India's Hindu right-wing is celebrating the removal of an essay on the Ramayana
from Delhi University's syllabus that was deemed "blasphemous" and "capricious"
for exploring the epic's numerous interpretations. By insisting the only
Ramayana is Valmiki's, the right-wing has endangered a golden thread that's
linked Asia's peoples for millennia. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Nov 9, '11)
Hasina tries woman talk after
poll defeat
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina put on a brave face when her official
Awami League candidate, Shamim Osman - a former MP facing trial in five
criminal cases - was thrashed in a local election by "clean" Selina Hayat Ivy,
running as an independent. "Pleased" to see a woman win, Hasina then ordered
the victor and vanquished to "work together". - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Nov 7, '11)
India awash in goodwill gestures
Pakistan has finally accorded "most-favored nation" status to India in trade
relations. The onus is now on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
reciprocate, while at the same time not allowing Delhi's burgeoning
relationship with the United States to get in the way of rapprochement with
Islamabad. The decision by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to expedite
India's membership further complicates matters. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Nov 7, '11)
Pakistan's cricket idol bowls
'em over
Former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan is pitching his aspirations at the
country's college-going urban youth and women - traditionally left out of the
political process. Many believe that whether Khan's enterprise - "tsunami" as
he calls it - succeeds or not he will be a game-changer in the next elections,
due in 2013. - Zofeen Ebrahim (Nov 7, '11)
Russia targets China's clout
Burgeoning defense and trade ties between Myanmar and Russia compliment plans
by the former to study Moscow's politics for its vision of "disciplined
democracy". As Russia prepares to deliver Nawpyidaw 20 MiG-29s and build the
capital's first subway, its and India's increasing involvement are set to
become a balancing force to China's domineering influence. - Sudha Ramachandran(Nov
7, '11)
US's post-2014 Afghan agenda
exposed
This week's Istanbul conference on Afghanistan's future was doomed to failure
by a United States-led focus on geopolitics, rather than issues pivotal to
stabilization. Central Asian players are well aware that the West's "regional
security and integration mechanisms" are simply a US effort to roll back
Russian and Chinese influence. And as Kabul's violence further weakens
Washington's hand, Pakistan may emerge emboldened. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Nov 3, '11)
US night raids killed 1,500
Afghan civilians
Analysis of coalition data shows night raids by United States Special
Operations Forces killed well over 1,500 Afghan civilians in 2010-2011, making
them the conflict's single-largest cause of civilian casualties. The strategy
has proved so deadly because while the US targets individuals, Pashtun males
are obliged to assist neighbors in repelling intruders under the centuries-old
tradition of "Pashtunwali". - Gareth Porter (Nov
3, '11)
Tainted 'Team Anna' lurches into
disarray
With charges of financial irregularities leveled against core members, the
Indian anti-corruption campaign led by 74-year-old activist Anna Hazare appears
to be imploding. Two months after forcing the government to agree to a bill
that could see an ombudsman appointed to tackle the scourge, "Team Anna" is
under fire and Hazare has taken a vow of silence. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Nov 3, '11)
India tries to stay in gear
New orders helped India's manufacturers recover last month from September's
30-month low, but high inflation, erratic power supply and global uncertainty
cast a dark pall over the country's economic prospects for the months and year
ahead. - Robert M Cutler (Nov 2, '11)
Iraq pullout threatens US Afghan
presence
The United States' failure to secure a continued troop presence in Iraq may
endanger its plans to keep soldiers in Afghanistan past its 2014 withdrawal
deadline. While Pakistan's safe sanctuaries and Iran's reported support for
militants underline regional support for a complete US pullout, US domestic
support for the war is flagging amid the country's polarized politics. - Barbara
Slavin (Nov 2, '11)
'Wicked' travel advisories miff
India
Advisories from five Western nations asking citizens to "exercise caution" when
traveling to India in view of "terrorist threats" dampened spirits over the
Diwali festival. With the peak season approaching, the alerts created
widespread panic in the tourist trade, which expects as much as 20% of
travelers to cancel their trips on advice that it characterizes as "wicked" and
the government in Delhi says is "nothing but scaremongering". - Neeta Lal
(Nov 1, '11)
Khyber's new fanatical face
under attack
Haji Mangal Bagh Afridi, the commander of the Lashkar-e-Islam Islamic militia
in Pakistan, claims he can call on a 120,000 armed force to back up any
threats he might make in nightly radio broadcasts from his base near Peshawar.
The 38-year-old former bus driver now faces a massive Pakistani military
assault to uproot his jihadi infrastructure after the Lashkar attacked the
supply lines of international forces to Afghanistan in the Khyber Pass. - Amir
Mir (Nov 1, '11)
Karzai's Pakistan stand bemuses
Afghans
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has backtracked on comments that he would
side with Pakistan if the Afghan neighbor went to war with the United
States. The view surprised Afghans who believe Islamabad covertly sponsors the
Taliban and the Haqqani network as a way of keeping Afghanistan in a constant
state of turmoil. - Khan Mohammad Danishju (Oct
31, '11)
US changes tack towards Taliban
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testifying before the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, did not dismiss the prospect that reconciliation
talks with the Taliban and other insurgents could include Mullah Omar. Whether
the Taliban leader is prepared to sit down with the US is another matter, but
Washington - and Pakistan - clearly realize he is pivotal to any Afghan peace
process. - Amir Mir (Oct 28, '11)
Military threat halts Pashtun
land war
The threat of military action from Nangarhar provincial governor Gul Agha
Sherzai put an end to fighting in a Pashtun tribal land dispute that has
claimed more than 100 lives in two years. While former anti-Soviet guerrilla
Sherzai's assertion of authority is rare, land disputes in Afghanistan have
grown increasingly common amid perceptions that the government is too weak to
intervene. - Abubakar Siddique (Oct 28, '11)
BOOK REVIEW
A graveyard for US war
strategies
The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, And the Way Out of Afghanistan by Bing
West
This cold hard look at United States' Afghan war strategies concludes that
Washington's focus on nation-building rather than military supremacy since 2006
has reinvigorated the Taliban's influence. Through boots-on-the-ground
chronicling, readers glimpse how US soldiers are battling bureaucracy as much
as insurgents. However, its final argument - that Afghanizing
counter-insurgency will turn the conflict - is problematic. - Geoffrey Sherwood
(Oct 28, '11)
US sows discord in South Asia
The United States has embarked on a divide-and-rule strategy in South Asia with
a propaganda assault on Pakistan's warming relations with India and Iran,
highlighting Washington's increasingly desperation to embed itself in the
region as the Afghan endgame enters a crucial phase. In this context, a recent
rebuke from Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna underscores that the
US approach could stir region-wide enmity. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Oct 27, '11)
Pakistan: Reversing the lens
There is a way out of the morass that is the complex and fraught relationship
between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and India, but it will require
a very different strategy from the one the US is currently following, and one
far more attuned to the lens through which most Pakistanis view the war in
Afghanistan. - Conn Hallinan (Oct 27, '11)
UN tally excluded Afghan
civilian deaths
A United Nations estimate that just 30 civilians were killed by night raids in
Afghanistan during the first half of 2011 glazed over that the raids' focus on
Taliban-run areas made information-gathering dangerous and inaccurate. The
average of five people killed per coalition raid "targeted" on a sole insurgent
suggests the real number of civilian deaths is much higher. - Gareth Porter
and Shah Noori (Oct 26, '11)
India finally races in
Bernie's circus
Fears of a Commonwealth Games-style fiasco were put into rear view at the sight
of the US$400 million state-of the-art circuit where India's first Grand Prix
roars into action on Sunday. On 
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone's radar for 20 years, India has changed
dramatically since the last failed attempt to stage the race, and motor sport
fans - and the track's "Grid Girls" - are ready for the glitz. - Raja Murthy
(Oct 26, '11)
China seeks military bases in
Pakistan
China says it will not accede to Islamabad's request and build a naval facility
at Gwadar in Balochistan province. This could change in a flash if China
is allowed to establish military bases in Pakistan's tribal areas from where
rebels launch cross-border attacks into troubled Xinjiang province. India,
which suspects China already has troops in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, is
watching developments with some trepidation. - Amir Mir
(Oct 25, '11)
America's secret drone empire
Whether desolate airstrips or sophisticated command and control centers,
American drone bases are the backbone of a new robotic way of war and the
latest remote-controlled arm of the United States' power projection. Most of
the 60 or so facilities that increasingly dot the planet according to "evolving
mission needs" have remained uncounted and remarkably anonymous - until now. - Nick
Turse (Oct 25, '11)
India's 2014 election games
begin
India's "eternal prime minister in waiting", 83-year-old politician L K Advani,
is in the midst of a cross-country journey that is perceived as launching his
never-too-late ambition to occupy the hot seat. The stunt shows how hopefuls
have already started maneuvering for the 2014 election battle - and that some
never learn. - Raja Murthy (Oct 25, '11)
Pakistani wolf to guard Afghan
henhouse
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Islamabad underscored that the
United States now sees the futility of visualizing Pakistan as a hostile power
and of trying to impose an Afghan settlement that is unacceptable to the
Pakistani military. The US has switched to a startlingly innovative strategy -
to "incentivize" Pakistan by inviting it to play a major role in Afghanistan. - M
K Bhadrakumar (Oct 24, '11)
Gilani starts $12 bn dam amid
funds riddle
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has laid the foundation stone for
the US$12 billion Diamer-Bhasha dam in the far north of the country. But five
years after the project was announced, no one seems to know where the money to
pay for it will come from. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Oct 24, '11)
US puts the squeeze on Pakistan
The unprecedented visit to Islamabad by United States big hitters led by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underscores the brinkmanship underway as the
US puts maximum pressure on strained ties. With talk of a military conflict
brewing on the Afghan-Pakistani border, the unthinkable seems to be happening.
While better sense should prevail, Washington is playing a dangerous game as it
seeks a raison d'etre for bases for its armed forces in Afghanistan. - M K
Bhadrakumar (Oct 21, '11)
Now Islamabad strikes back
Repeatedly under American pressure to stem cross-border raids from
Pakistan-based Taliban militants, the Pakistan army has hit back with claims
that United States-led forces in Afghanistan are doing nothing to prevent
raids on Pakistan soil. Islamabad has fiery cleric Maulvi Fazlullah in mind.
Beyond the tit-for-tat, it is undeniable that the mullah's fighters have
regrouped after defeat in the Swat Valley - and are as dangerous as they ever
were. - Amir Mir (Oct 21, '11)
Nepal-India ties make China wary
Nepalis are concerned Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's historic connections
with India will see him grant too many concessions to their giant
southern neighbor during a four-day visit, with fears he will compromise
external security and sign away rights to precious Himalayan waters. Equally
suspicious of a pro-Delhi tilt, Chinese diplomats are reminding Bhattarai of
his country's sensitive geographic position.
- Dhruba Adhikary (Oct 20, '11)
Anwar takes top job at
Pakistan
central bank
The appointment of Yaseen Anwar as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan is
raising concern he will be a compliant tool for the cash-strapped government. A
recent rate cut might serve as evidence, although his backers say he will bring
much-needed stability to the post. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Oct 20, '11)
India's hangman kept waiting
India's complex relationship with capital punishment has seen the hangman
employed just twice since 1995, despite a shocking list of terrorist acts and
political murders. Last week's stay of execution for Mumbai terrorist Ajmal
Kasab has forced the issue, with many unhappy that the perpetrator of a
pre-planned mass killing spree gets to live to enjoy more death-row chapatis.
- Raja Murthy (Oct 19, '11)
India, Bangladesh target
students'
'digital divide'
The "digital divide" that keeps high-priced electronic gadgets out of the hands
of poor students and underfunded schools has prompted India and Bangladesh to
develop their own brands of tablet and laptops, at unthinkably low prices. - Syed
Tashfin Chowdhury (Oct 18, '11)
India holds Gandhi card for
Tahrir Square
The religious violence in Egypt and the prospect of Islamist parties sweeping
post-Arab Spring elections threaten to fulfill dark prophecies of extremism
overtaking the protest movement. The wave of intolerance is similar to
that of post-partition India. Then, leaders committed to secular and
non-violent nation-building strangled hatred, now Delhi must pass the lessons
on.
- Sreeram Chaulia (Oct 18, '11)
Royal wedding stirs change in
Bhutan
Bhutan's royal wedding saw colorful celebrations and widespread media coverage
in sharp contrast to the country's years of self-imposed isolation, with King
Jigme Khesar's public kisses of commoner Jetsun 
Pema stoking public euphoria. However, the Himalayan enclave landlocked between
India and China will not relax a commitment to preserving traditional culture
seen as key in avoiding its neighbors' fate of annexation. - Vishal Arora
(Oct 17, '11)
India burnishes its Myanmar ties
Myanmar's nascent reform program has allowed India to more openly embrace the
government in that country, highlighted by the visit of President Thein Sein to
Delhi last week. At the same time, with signs that Myanmar is seeking to reduce
its dependence on China, India is well placed to get down to some real business
deals, provided it can improve on its poor record of not delivering on its
promises. - Sudha Ramachandran (Oct 17, '11)
India blinks as art treasures
disappear
Already embarrassed when paintings of the Himalayas by legendary Russian artist
Nicholas Roerich in India's charge surfaced at a London auction, Delhi has had
to admit that the works were not even inventoried. The scandal underlines how
lax laws, poor security and inefficient bookkeeping make it easy for art
thieves and unscrupulous dealers to spirit precious heritage items out of the
country. - Neeta Lal (Oct 14, '11)
Haqqanis sidestep US terror list
The deadly Haqqani network is likely to remain branded by the United States as
insurgent rather than being officially designated as a "foreign terrorist
organization", despite being blamed for the attack last month on the US Embassy
in Kabul. That's because Washington cannot afford to exclude from peace talks a
powerful group it knows has a key role in determining the shape of the
Afghanistan that American troops will leave behind. - Amir Mir
(Oct 14, '11)
Bangladesh starts market rescue
fund
Bangladeshis burnt by severe share price falls this year are being enticed back
with a mutual fund supported by a range of state banks and other investors. The
government claims the fund will help to stabilize the market; no chance, say
its critics. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury (Oct
11, '11)
Pakistan rate cut defies flood
bill fear
Local industrialists welcomed Pakistan's surprise 150 basis point interest rate
cut at the weekend, as the central bank welcomed lower inflation and government
borrowing, and strong remittances and exports. More cautious observers raised
concerns about who will pay the bill for this year's severe floods. - Syed
Fazl-e-Haider (Oct 11, '11)
Haqqani: Military or political
solution?
A divisive policy debate pits top US military leaders, Pentagon officials and
the Central Intelligence Agency, who want to put priority on pressuring
Pakistan to attack Haqqani network forces, against those in the Barack Obama
administration who doubt that a military effort could be decisive and support a
political approach towards the key insurgent force. - Gareth Porter
(Oct 7, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
Why is USA targeting Pakistan?
The only way out of the quagmire of accusations, counter-accusations, lies and
deceit between the United States and Pakistan is an early withdrawal of
American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces and an end to this war.
Cooler, smarter heads in Washington must rule and drive home the point, as the
problem is the occupying forces, not Pakistan. - Yasmeen Ali
(Oct 6, '11)
Afghans skeptical US will change
Pakistan
Pakistani officials have expressed outrage at allegations by the United States
that sections of the Pakistani administration, especially Inter-Service
Intelligence, have covertly backed the Afghan Taliban, even though such charges
are nothing new. The bottom line is that Washington is unlikely to sustain the
pressure on Islamabad to break off ties with insurgent groups as the bigger
strategic relationship is too important to be put at risk. - Khan Mohammad
Danishju (Oct 6, '11)
Delhi immobilized by Manipur
blockade
A blockade of India's Manipur state by Nagas protesting against a proposed
district division is making daily life hell in the insurgency-wracked
landlocked area, which depends almost entirely on imported commodities.
Although people want the government to use force, Delhi has not stepped in,
likely concerned that its ceasefire with the National Socialist Council of
Nagalim would collapse. - Sudha Ramachandran (Oct
6, '11)
Afghanistan's energy war
Impoverished Afghanistan is facing not only the loss of the economic benefits
its energy resources could provide, but also increased instability as they are
exploited by overseas, largely Western interests - ensuring a prolonged US and
foreign military presence. Iraq provides the template. - Shukria Dellawar
and Antonia Juhasz (Oct 6, '11)
India promises to prop up Karzai
If India has decided to take the plunge and stand overtly behind Afghan
President Hamid Karzai and the axis of power that is taking shape in Kabul, it
is in part because of Delhi's deep disillusionment over United States policies.
The stage is getting set for a vicious eruption of Pakistan-India animosities.
- M K Bhadrakumar (Oct 5, '11)
Gilani payout fails to stop
power riots
Emergency payments by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani have failed
to halt riots and protests demanding an end to power outages that have extended
to as much as 20 hours a day due in large part to the government's failure to
pay its bills. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Oct 5,
'11)
No escape for Pakistan's Hazaras
Nearly 600 Hazaras have been killed in Pakistan since 1999, with 13 members of
the minority Shi'ite sect being gunned down in the latest incident on Tuesday.
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned extremist Sunni organization, is behind most of
the attacks, but the Hazaras, despairing that they cannot get justice in their
own country, are organizing international rallies to bring attention to their
plight. - Abubakar Siddique and Khudainoor Nasar
(Oct 5, '11)
India, China lead gold rush
China has joined the few countries with ATMs that dispense bullion and gold
coins. It is the latest indication of the yellow metal's popularity in Asia,
where consumer demand surged 25% in China in the past year and 38% in India. - Raja
Murthy (Oct 5, '11)
India draws poverty battle lines
India's economic planning commission has distanced itself from a poverty line
of US$0.64 per day it set for food costs after the estimate caused outrage in a
country ravished by starvation and poverty. Critics said that rather than
spending his time fudging figures to give a rosier picture of national growth,
the commission's chief should be made to live on a couple of chapatis a
day. - Raja Murthy (Oct 4, '11)
Blood flows freely in Pakistan
Thirteen Shi'ites on Tuesday were forced off a bus in Quetta, Pakistan, made to
line up and then were gunned down. This is the latest outrage by the
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an al-Qaeda-linked sectarian-turned-jihadi group. It has
significantly stepped up attacks since Malik Mohammad Ishaq, one of its
founding members, was released from prison in July. The authorities appear
incapable, or unwilling, to stop the group as it in cold blood goes about its
stated goal of radicalizing Pakistan. - Amir Mir
(Oct 4, '11)
Bangladesh gas find boost
A big gas discovery in northeast Bangladesh has raised hopes that the country
may eventually have the means to end its severe energy supply problems. More
immediately, government pricing and regulations are leaving domestic suppliers
short of cash and consumers short of power. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Oct 3, '11)
Karzai trapped in no-man's land
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has come out fighting after Burhanuddin Rabbani's
assassination, painting the Taliban as a Pakistani proxy. However, the death of
the Afghan High Peace Council's chief has stranded Karzai in isolation as the
insurgents, the United States and erstwhile Northern Alliance allies seize on
his weak position. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 30,
'11)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Sex and the single drone
When government lawyers reach for their dictionaries to define terms, whether
having to do with torture or "targeted killings" by robotic drones, it's time
to duck. A new form of on-the-cheap American imperial wars is emerging right
before our eyes, involving drones, the Central Intelligence Agency, and our
growing special operations forces. - Tom Engelhardt
(Sep 30, '11)
India in for difficult times
India's economy is still expanding at a fast lick, but the slowing rate of
growth points to difficult times, with inflation remaining stubbornly high and
a weakening currency adding a possibly superficial glow to export figures. - Robert
M Cutler (Sep 29, '11)
Japan a gauge of India's 'Look
East' policy
India's inability to forge deeper strategic ties with Japan beyond rhetoric on
greater economic, security and nuclear engagement is indicative of wider
failings in its two-decade-old "Look East" policy. Despite holding the
necessary financial and military cards to become a major player in East Asia, a
lack of strategic vision has prevented Delhi from challenging China in setting
the regional agenda. - Chietigj Bajpaee (Sep
29, '11)
THE ROVING EYE
Pentagon aims at target Pakistan
If - when - the Pentagon decides that United States Special Forces will violate
Pakistani sovereignty by helicopter, a la the Abbottabad raid that killed Osama
bin Laden, and go for the Haqqani network in the North Waziristan tribal area,
it risks a direct clash with the Pakistani army. Yet Washington is desperate,
feeling the urge to do something. - Pepe Escobar
(Sep 29, '11)
Afghan rug trade unravels
A return of exiled Afghan rug weavers to their home villages after the Taliban
government was ousted in 2001 is now reversing itself, as a lack of
infrastructure, high taxes and competition from Pakistan make their skilled
work unsustainable. - Abdul Latif Sahak (Sep
28, '11)
Kashmiris hail dam ruling
Farmers in the Gurez Valley, part of India-administered Jammu and Kashmir, have
welcomed an International Court of Arbitration finding that stays construction
of a dam across a river that flows into Pakistan. They also recognize their own
lack of influence on the decision. - Athar Parvaiz
(Sep 28, '11)
US knows pressure on Pakistan
won't work
Sharp words from the United States that military escalation is possible if
Pakistan fails to cut ties with the Haqqani network carry more hot air than
substance. The tougher line is primarily about domestic political damage
control and an emotional reaction to recent attacks by the anti-US insurgents.
The White House knows it's futile to press Islamabad to change long-held
allegiances. - Gareth Porter (Sep 28, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
India: fighting corruption or
adapting to it?
The fight against corruption may be the fashionable thing going well in India.
But there exist some forms of corruption still to be recognized as such. A
startling example of a double murder to obliterate a scam speaks a lot about
the issue. - Jiwan Kshetry (Sep 28, '11)
The actress who took on the
mufti
Actress, model and reality television star Veena Malik hit the headlines by
getting into a televised slanging match with a respected mufti. The
incident provoked an intense reaction among her supporters and her opponents -
conservative religious figures, nationalists and Taliban loyalists. Fearing for
her safety, Malik now lives in exile, but her fight to help female victims of
domestic violence and other abuse continues. - Kristin Deasy and Farishte
Jalalzai (Sep 28, '11)
Bangladesh gains from
China's rising cost base
Bangladesh and other South and Southeast Asian countries are increasingly
attractive alternatives for international companies seeking a lower-cost base
than China, where rising labor costs and an aging workforce are taking their
toll. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury (Sep 27, '11)
9/11 conspirator lost in the
ether
Said Bahaji shared an apartment with hijacker Mohammed Atta and was one of the
Hamburg cell of 9/11 conspirators. Ten years on, the German-Moroccan remains at
large, leaving only the faintest of trails. Bahaji has managed to outlive much
of al-Qaeda's original leadership, most likely either in one of Pakistan's
sprawling urban centers or by evading drones in the AfPak tribal areas. - Derek
Henry Flood (Sep 27, '11)
Deconstructing the death of
Rabbani
The biggest gain for the United States from the assassination of Afghan Peace
Council head Burhanuddin Rabbani is that the idea of the "Afghan-owned"
peace process that President Hamid Karzai spearheaded (which Washington never
really favored) has floundered for all practical purposes. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Sep 26, '11)
India's grand university plans
falter
Joint plans between India and other Asian countries to build an international
university near the ruins of Nalanda University, a vast, ancient center of
higher learning that flourished between the fifth and 12th century, have hit
controversy, with academics tussling over its direction. While Nobel Laureate
chief Amartya Sen insists his vision is on track, critics say he'll erode the
school's Buddhist legacy. - Raja Murthy (Sep
26, '11)
If not the Taliban, then who
killed Rabbani?
The Taliban's muted response to the assassination of former Afghan president
and head of the Afghan High Peace Council Burhanuddin Rabbani, its refutation
of early claims of responsibility, and various accusations being tossed about
add to what is developing into a genuine whodunit. - Bashir Ahmad Gwakh
(Sep 23, '11)
Indian activists take fight
against
coal to World Bank
Activists from India are calling on the World Bank to follow through with its
proposal to dramatically cut funding for coal-burning power stations. As part
of their struggle, they are linking up with communities in the much-destroyed
Appalachian Mountains of the United States. - Amanda Wilson
(Sep 21, '11)
Taliban strike at peace process
The Taliban have struck a major blow by assassinating former Afghan
president Burhanuddin Rabbani, the chairman of the High Peace Council
that is trying to end 10 years of war. President Hamid Karzai has cut short a
visit to the United States for urgent meetings, but vows that the peace process
will not be derailed. (Sep 21, '11)
US night raids 'aimed at Afghan
civilians'
United States special forces in Afghanistan have increasingly targeted their
night raids at civilian non-combatants to exploit their possible intelligence
value, according to a new study. The sweeping up of large numbers of civilians
to find out what they know about insurgents is stoking anger, and their brief
detention may violate the Geneva Conventions. - Gareth Porter
(Sep 21, '11)
Pakistani Taliban changing
tactics
A suicide bomb that exploded in a posh Karachi suburb on Monday marked the
second attempt by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan to kill a high-profile police
official who has vowed to crush the militants - and a sinister change in
tactics to hit residences. Attacks on such soft targets could be a sign of
increasing desperation after the capture of senior al-Qaeda-linked operatives.
- Amir Mir (Sep 20, '11)
Indian college launches ghostly
studies
A recent seminar on the supernatural in Mumbai didn't aim at debunking or
hunting ghosts, rather it encouraged students to be more receptive to
non-conventional issues. By better appreciating how belief in ghosts and other
phenomena can expand the frontiers of spirituality and science, perhaps the
living could develop a healthier perspective on life. - Raja Murthy
(Sep 20, '11)
Haqqani network sours
Pakistan-US ties
The audacious attack on the US Embassy in Kabul has been squarely blamed on the
Pakistan-based Haqqani network, one of the key militant groups fighting with
the Taliban against foreign forces in Afghanistan. The United States - tired of
Islamabad's stalling on going after the Haqqanis - now says it will take
matters into its own hands to eliminate this ever-growing threat. - Amir Mir
(Sep 19, '11)
Pakistan may bank on survival
without IMF
Pakistan may stay try to do without help from International Monetary Fund loan
programs, including the suspended US$11.3 billion standby arrangement which
ends on September 30. Officials reckon its existing resources are sufficient to
do without, even as repayment of debts comes due. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Sep 19, '11)
Obama sears the arc of
instability
What in the George W Bush years was branded the "the arc of instability"
involves at least 97 countries across global south, much coinciding with the
planet's oil heartlands. A startling number of these nations are now in
turmoil, and in every single one - from Afghanistan and Algeria to Yemen and
Zambia - Washington is involved in outright war or what passes for peace. In
the projection of military power, President Barack Obama is trumping his
predecessor.
- Nick Turse (Sep 19, '11)
India picks a quarrel with China
Planned exploration of Vietnamese offshore oil blocks by a state-owned Indian
firm is Delhi's calculated provocation of South China Sea sensitivities, and
the actual target: Beijing's burgeoning alliance with Pakistan. China's stepped
up involvement in Kashmir has not gone unnoticed in the Indian capital.
Drumming up a sea territories spat also proves a timely distraction from
domestic woes.
- M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 16, '11)
Pakistan takes rap for Taliban's
Kabul attack
While new US Ambassador to Kabul Ryan Crocker was dismissing the Taliban's
brazen attacks on high-value Western targets in Kabul as an exercise in
desperation, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta was blaming Pakistani militants
in the latest tightening of Washington-Islamabad tensions. Regardless, the
Taliban's message to the US was clear: we're ready to step in as you step out.
- Karamatullah K Ghori (Sep 16, '11)
BOOK REVIEW
Lashkar-e-Toiba - safe at home
Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Toiba by Stephen
Tankel
A detailed study of Lashkar-e-Toiba's evolution from a relatively unknown group
into the infamous militant organization that launched the 2008 Mumbai attacks,
this book also covers how Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence nurtured LeT
as an indispensable asset in its anti-Indian struggle. The author concludes
that ISI's strong support of LeT leaves it unlikely to turn against Islamabad.
- Brian M Downing (Sep 16, '11)
Bangladesh farmers cash in on
kidneys
Debt-bound farmers in Bangladesh are discovering that a quick route to clearing
the slate is to sell a kidney or other body part to doctors in Dhaka, India or
Singapore. Police rounding up one gang reckon 42 farmers have sold their
kidneys. Local media put the figure at five times that. - Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
(Sep 16, '11)
The suicide-bomb capital of the
world
Pakistan suffered one suicide bombing before 9/11 - and 4,808 deaths in 303
attacks since. Responsibility is at the door of jihadi groups who for years had
been indoctrinated by the Pakistan military and intelligence services for
action in Afghanistan and Jammu and Kashmir. In a circuitous path that leads
from the establishment's switch to Western allegiance, to the Red Mosque siege
and tribal Waziristan, Pakistan is now the suicide-bomb capital of the world. - Amir
Mir (Sep 15, '11)
Gilani's trade goal drowning in
floods
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has set Pakistan an export target of almost
US$26 billion for this fiscal year, but as floods again devastate the country's
agricultural heartland and global cotton prices slide, his hopes of narrowing
the trade gap are already looking optimistic.
- Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Sep 15, '11)
Taliban hijack the US's
narrative
While this week's Taliban attacks on multiple high-profile targets in Kabul
claimed fewer lives than previous assaults, their sophisticated nature, likely
use of insiders in the Afghan security apparatus and powerful media impact
highlight how the insurgents have in recent months taken the US strategy of
crafting a winning "narrative" for the war - and turned it on its head. - Gareth
Porter (Sep 15, '11)
Bhutan plays it safe with
neighbors
The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has avoided China's wrath by not inviting the
Dalai Lama, while its famous pursuit of "Gross National Happiness" has helped
it sidestep the mass unrest that saw neighboring Sikkim annexed by India. As
the tiny land-locked nation prepares for a royal wedding, preservation of
culture and domestic peace remain its paramount means of staying a haven away
from geopolitical wrangling, says Prime Minister Jigmi Yoser Thinley. - Vishal
Arora (Sep 15, '11)
Taliban make a massive statement
The brazen Taliban attack in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul, did by its
nature not aim to inflict much damage; it was meant to be more of a
psychological operation than a physical one designed to undermine United States
efforts to negotiate with the senior leadership of the Afghan Taliban movement.
(Sep 14, '11)
Lashkar-e-Toiba in the dock
Allegations from a Virginia-based federal court about a 19-year-old man and
investigations into the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai lead to the
Lashkar-e-Toiba and the leadership regarded as the moving spirit behind its
guerrilla operations. Though proscribed in Pakistan, its base, the Lashkar
continues to morph unchecked as a wider jihadi threat across Pakistan, India
and beyond, taking inspiration from al-Qaeda.
- Amir Mir (Sep 13, '11)
Indian media face accountability
surgery
India's cabinet is mulling mechanisms to ensure media objectivity after
elements of the press misrepresented anti-corruption activist Anna
Hazare's fast - a protest largely confined to one park in New Delhi - as a
nationwide revolution. The manufacture of mass appeal for Hazare's movement,
which arguably helped it blackmail an elected government, sets a dangerous
precedent for South Asian democracy. - Raja Murthy
(Sep 13, '11)
Sri Lanka set age challenge
Sri Lanka's rapidly aging population means that by the end of this decade, over
40% of Sri Lankans will be of non-working age. Timely planning could turn this
impending demographic shift towards grey into a golden opportunity, say
experts. Creating well-paying jobs for younger folk would be a start. - Amantha
Perera (Sep 13, '11)
What if the 'Lion' hadn't been
slain?
Al-Qaeda's assassination on September 9, 2001, of the Taliban regime's most
powerful enemy - Ahmad Shah Massoud - was as pivotal an event for
Afghanistan as the United States-led invasion of the country following the 9/11
attacks. Ten years on, the legend of the "The Lion of Panjshir" lives strongest
at his birthplace, the Panjshir Valley, and in neighboring areas in the
northeast where he was most revered. (Sep 12, '11)
Taliban claim new missiles
downing aircraft
The Taliban say sophisticated new surface-to-air missiles downed at least four
United States and Afghan helicopters in recent months, including the Chinook
incident that killed 30 US soldiers. The claim raises historic parallels with
the game-changing US-supplied Stingers used against the Soviets, but government
officials insist that in most cases, technical problems or low-level flying
were to blame. - Habiborrahman Ibrahimi (Sep
9, '11)
Al-Qaeda's roots grow deeper in
Pakistan
The United States and its allies claim to have killed or captured over 75% of
senior al-Qaeda leaders, the latest being operational chief Younis
al-Mauritania. Despite this, and the elimination of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda
remains a potent threat from its base in the Pakistan-Afghanistan tribal belt,
where it has forged an alliance with anti-American sectarian and jihadi groups.
- Amir Mir (Sep 9, '11)
Nepalese victor seen as
pro-Delhi plant
Doubts have been raised over the commitment of Nepal's new Prime Minister
Baburam Bhattarai to national interests after the Maoist leader cut an historic
deal giving the pro-India regional block "Madhesis" the right to
self-determination just hours before he was elected. Far from being the latest
revolutionary leftist leader, Kathmandu elites view Bhattarai as a pro-Delhi
plant who'll turn Nepal into an Indian protectorate. - Dhruba Adhikary
(Sep 8, '11)
Blast puts Delhi back on terror
radar
India's political capital Delhi is back on the terror radar with the killing of
a dozen people queuing outside the city's High Court by a bomb designed to
inflict maximum loss of life. The judiciary has figured frequently in the
crosshairs of sectarian attacks that have their origins in Kashmir, and if more
caught in the blast die, support will harden for the death of a man whose
hanging is a divisive issue. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Sep 8, '11)
More water under the Delhi-Dhaka
bridge
The much-anticipated visit this week of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
Bangladesh resulted in a flurry of memorandums of understanding - and little
else. Conspicuously absent was any agreement on sharing crucial river waters
after one of the key players involved in negotiations decided to stay at home.
- Syed Tashfin Chowdhury (Sep 7, '11)
India's forgotten fast
A painful nasal drip administered by Indian armed forces in prison hospital
keeps Irom Sharmila alive. Since November 2000, the 39-year-old woman has been
on hunger strike over special powers given to the armed forces across India's
northeastern conflict zones. In sharp contrast to the coverage of
anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's 13-day fast, few Indians know about her
11-year protest. - Sudha Ramachandran (Sep 7,
'11)
CIA drone war driven by internal
needs
As David Petraeus takes control at the Central Intelligence Agency, he is
walking into an organization where a profound shift from gathering intelligence
for policymakers to supporting drone wars is now ingrained. The institutional
interests in continuing drone strikes on al-Qaeda targets may have become so
commanding that no director can afford to override them. - Gareth Porter
(Sep 6, '11)
More power to Pakistan's jihadis
The resurgence of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group shows that the
Pakistani intelligence establishment remains deeply embroiled with its jihadi
proxies and continues to treat them as the civilian face of the Pakistan army.
- Amir Mir (Sep 1, '11)
Global halal market opens to
Bangladesh
Bangladeshi foodmakers are preparing to capture a slice of the US$660 billion
global market for halal products after a local Islamic authority won
recognition as a certifying body. That means much more of its cattle population
- the world's seventh-largest - will end up on dinner plates overseas. - Syed
Tashfin Chowdhury (Sep 1, '11)
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ATol
Specials
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Syed Saleem Shahzad in
Pakistan's Swat Valley (May '09) |
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By Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Jan '09) |
Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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A series by Syed Saleem Shahzad
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