Diplomacy Archive
Saudi diplomats avoided drink-drive charges in UK because they have diplomatic immunity – but would be sentenced to 800 lashes if caught in Riyadh: Two Saudi diplomats have avoided drink-drive charges in the UK because they have diplomatic immunity. However, anyone caught drink-driving in Saudi’s capital Riyadh would face 800 lashes. Mark Simmonds, a Foreign Office minister, said Scotland Yard’s diplomatic protection
Postponement of Putin visit, a tragedy for Pakistan – by Shiraz Paracha: The postponement of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pakistan is a tragedy and conspiracy against President Asif Ali Zardari and the PPP government. This conspiracy is similar to the one that was hatched in 1951 when the then
After slaughtering U.S. diplomats in Libya, Saudi-funded goons attack an Iranian diplomat in New York: Related post: Western media and analysts are downplaying Saudi-funded Salafists’ role in US Ambassador’s murder in Libya A group of Saudi-funded protesters, waving Free Syria flag, attacked Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast near the United Nations in
War with NATO, suicide for Pakistan – by Shiraz Paracha: A low-intensity military conflict between Pakistan and the United States is going on in Afghanistan and along the Pak-Afghan border since the U.S. military invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Both sides have been using proxies and guerrilla war tactics
Memogate: Two psychopaths, a ‘new threat’ to Pakistani democracy? – by Shiraz Paracha: After the 1993 Elections, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) under the leadership of Benazir Bhutto formed the government for the second time. Husain Haqqani became the Press and Information Secretary in that government. At a meeting with Haqqani at the Prime Minister’s
Investing your future in a poison peace process – by Peter Chamberlin: The Indian analyst who authored the following piece (SEE: India, Pakistan, and God’s geostrategic will) is probably giving an accurate assessment of his government’s opinion of the current status of the Pakistani military, even though both his opinion and the
Saleem Shahzad murdered by Pakistani security service: Saleem Shahzad had warned that the authorities might act against him and revealed a previous threat. by Andrew Buncombe A surge of outrage and grief jolted Pakistan last night after the discovery of the body of a journalist who
Isolationistan: Pakistani Parliament’s recent sovereignty-obsessed-resolution clearly illustrates power of the establishment in an important arena of domestic and foreign policy making. The resolution also manifests the unwillingness of our real decision makers to permit change in our military dominated, flawed
We need a mature approach towards India-Pakistan relations – by Naveed Ali: پاکستان اور انڈیا کے حالیہ میچ سے پہلے اور بعد جو کچھ دیکھنے سننے کو ملا بہت غیر متوقع تو نہیں مگر تکلیف دہ پھر بھی ہے.دونوں طرف یار لوگوں نے ایک کھیل کو جس طرح سے انا کا
Diplomatic duplicity on the Raymond Davis saga – by C. Christine Fair: Related articles: LUBP Archive on Raymond Davis The following article by C. Christine Fair differs from the typical, one-sided,”ghairat-obsessed” analysis that have appeared in the local press and seeks to go beyond the conspiracy-theory laden clichés that are so generously provided
WikiLeaks founder threatens to release entire cache of unfiltered files: At the centre of a tightening web of death threats, sex-crime accusations and high-level demands for a treason trial, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange threatened to unleash a “thermonuclear device” of completely unexpurgated government files if he is forced to
American diplomacy of contempt – by Shiraz Paracha: The mastermind as well as the motive behind the WikiLeaks release of US diplomats’ official correspondence with Washington is not known yet. However, the material released so far shows that George W. Bush was not the only mediocre with
Redefining national interest: Raza Rumi The elusive quest for peace between India and Pakistan remains hostage to the military-industrial complex at both the global and regional levels. Such is the dynamic unleashed by two imagined “nations” that their existence as states is
China carries Benazir Bhutto’s dream – by Antoaneta Becker: Source: Asia Times BEIJING – When President Asif Ali Zardari appeared at a Pakistan-China renewable energy forum in Shanghai on July 10, he rekindled a vision of his assassinated wife and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who had envisaged
No alternative to peace with India: Raza Rumi Once again, the fragile peace process between India and Pakistan has commenced. It is too early to say whether it will lead to an amicable settlement of seemingly intractable issues. What is clear is that the peoples
The Peace Pipeline – by Peter Chamberlin: First published at There Are No Sunglasses Obama is a flexible puppet in the empire-builders hands, readily facilitating the decades-old scheme to seize control of the former Soviet satellite nations and all of their vast energy resources. But, unlike
Pak-US dialogue: a Pakhtun perspective — by Farhat Taj: Basically, the jirga is saying that it does not trust the military establishment, which is leading the dialogue with the US. The military establishment will follow the policy of strategic depth in Afghanistan, which is the key cause of
Pak-Afghan relations — by Agha H Amin: I fail to understand how some of the country’s leading analysts can dub Afghanistan as being Pakistan’s backyard. Afghanistan is an independent state that boasts a great history. Seen in this context, how would Pakistanis feel if India tried
Strategic dialogue and the Pashtun — by Zubair Torwali: The Pashtun, who undoubtedly are the direct victims of terrorism and the war on terror, have never been asked to express their views in this regard. The Pashtuns are now so tired of the strategic depth policy that they
Dialogue about Pakhtuns without Pakhtuns! — by Shahid Ilyas: Talking is not a bad thing, but when it is done without the participation of those who are the subject of such talks, it will most likely result in a disaster Pakistan’s political and military top brass will soon
PakUS Strategic Partnership without Pashtuns: Contributed by: Nasir Ahmad Pashtun Peace Forum Press Release Toronto – (March 19, 2010 ) – The United States and Pakistan will hold their first strategic dialogue at the ministerial level in Washington DC on March 24. The significance
Zardari’s Courage – by Selig S. Harrison: In response to U.S. pressure, India and Pakistan recently conducted their first diplomatic dialogue since the Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba staged its terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008. The discussions were acrimonious, and the blame game began almost
HE Hamid Karzai and FATA – by Zar Ali Musazai: People of FATA are grateful to His Excellency President Karzai for his statement against FCR in FATA President Hamid Karzai was right to say that Frontier Crimes Regulations commonly known as FCR is a terrible legacy of the British
The 1947-48 Kashmir War — by Ishtiaq Ahmed: Take up any book published in Pakistan on the division of the common assets of the Indian Royal Armed Forces and you will find Pakistan, justifiably, claiming that it was not given a fair share of the tanks, guns
Hypocrisy unlimited: FATA parliamentarians’ scanning at US airport: In the last few days, we have witnessed a pseudo-nationalist hype in Pakistani media, newspaper columns and TV talk-shows alike, in which a matter of ‘great national honour’ (ghairat) was highlighted. The matter pertained to the alleged insult of
Pakistan sets ground rules for AfPak policy – by M K Bhadrakumar: Natural law brings AfPak crashing By M K Bhadrakumar Be it a baseball struck in a neighborhood sandlot game or in high-wire diplomacy, an elementary principle of physics holds good – what goes up must come down. In a
Manmohan Singh in Saudi Arabia: A lesson and a few reminders — by Syed Talat Hussain: The Saudis, in their national interest, can get into a tighter hug with Pakistan’ archenemy without fearing as much as a raised eyebrow in Islamabad, because Saudi Arabia is a giver and Pakistan is a taker Imagine Israeli Prime
A ‘friendly’ Afghanistan? — by Shahid Ilyas: The risk of failure and backfiring are much higher in trying to install a friendly government in a foreign country than in attempts to develop friendly relations with an incumbent government. The failure of Pakistan’s Afghan policy is a
Congratulations, General Kayani, on defeating ‘bad’ Taliban and ‘bad’ politicians at the same time – by Cyril Almeida: Coming full circle Friday, 12 Feb, 2010 OUR boys in uniform have a spring in their step again. Domestically, they have taken on two enemies and appear to be winning: the civilian government has been reduced to parroting the
If politicians have the “Sindh Card”, “Islam Card” etc, army has the “India Card”: The travails of our democracy —Munir Attaullah The days of direct military rule are now probably over. Even though nothing is certain in unpredictable Pakistan, every passing day makes it more and more likely that the public will resist
Anti-Americanism – by Talat Masood: Monday, December 14, 2009 Anti-Americanism continues to rise unabated in Pakistan. It is not confined to fringe elements alone but is spreading in the mainstream. A few recently retired military officers and politicians have gone as far as accusing
Blackwater in Pakistan? A clandestine affair: Blackwater Worldwide, now known as Xe Services, has been in the news for many months now. It is a private military security firm, also serving as one of the private security contractors used by the US State Department. Recently
How to Mend Fences With Pakistan – by Asif Ali Zardari: December 9, 2009. With thanks. NYtimes NOW that President Obama has recommitted the United States to stand with Pakistan and Afghanistan in our common fight against terrorism, extremism and fanaticism, it would be useful for Americans and Pakistanis to
US Friendship Factor – Guest post by Aal e Hashmat: A press release no: 512 / 2009-ISPR dated 4th December 2009 reads as under: ‘In a highly tragic incident 36 innocent people including 17 children, 10 civilian, 9 Army personnel embraced shahadat when terrorists attacked a mosque in Parade
Why did Taliban-US talks fail? By Amir Mir: LAHORE: The American initiative to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies has failed to produce the desired results so far primarily due to the trust deficit between the two sides and the obstinacy
JF-17 Thunder figher jet: Congratulations to Pakistan and China: We at “Let us build Pakistan” offer our felicitations to the nations of Pakistan and China on the joint development and production of JF-17 Thunder fighter jet. Here are two op-eds on this topic, by Talat Masood and Nazir
Pakistan’s internal dynamics and security: POSTED BY: JARRI MIRZA This column by Ismail Khan originally appeared in Daily Times on November 20, 2009. In a diverse country like ours, parliamentary democracies largely settle these things. With institutions like the Senate, where there is equal
Where are all the KLB bashers?: Ibrahim Sajid Malick Do you wonder why have the Pakistani pundits stopped complaining about imperialist tyranny and exposing the onerous conditions of Kerry-Lugar Bill? Why all of a sudden KLB is a non-issue? I was curious and I spend
Taliban / Sipah-e-Sahaba kill Iran consulate official in Peshawar: Group responsible:The jihadi and sectarian alliance between Sipah-e-Sahaba and Taliban (who usually operate under various banners such as Jundollah, Lashkar-e-Jhangavi etc). Motives: To damage the inter-sectarian harmony in Pakistan
Attention Talibanic media-wallahs: Musharraf, and not Zardari, gave US insight into Pak nuclear command and control structure: US seeking to secure Pak nukes in case of ‘crisis’ WASHINGTON: The US has been negotiating highly sensitive understandings with the Pakistani military about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in the latest issue