If one concentrates solely on areas of concern, one will develop an unduly pessimistic attitude. If one looks only at the galloping trade and proliferating exchanges of visits, there could be unwarranted over-optimism. There is a need for a balanced perspective.
From the indications available so far, the November strikes in UP appear to have been carried out by Indian cells of the HuJI. If this is proved by further investigation, the HuJI possibly now has an Indian branch with operatives, capable of carrying out terrorist strikes autonomously without too much dependence on their counterparts in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
'They have succeeded in killing Benazir. They will now step up their efforts to eliminate Musharraf. Whoever was responsible for killing her could not have done it without inside complicity.'
Benazir Bhutto had too many elements against her -- anti-US, pro-Al Qaeda jihadi elements, the Zia-ul Haq loyalists, junior members of the Pakistan army and, possibly, the Pakistan air force.
'For large sections of Hindus he gave them a sense of pride in their identity as Hindus.'
Unlike in India or even Pakistan, where the Hindu elite rushes to voice its discontent whenever Muslims are ill-treated and vice-versa, the Malaysian Mulsim elite has done nothing in the current unrest.
Ranjan was a lovable individual and officer. He left this world without ever having made an enemy. His contribution to the protection of our national security was immense. He is one of the heroes of the Indian intelligence, who chose to live and die unsung and unknown outside a very small circle of the cognoscenti
Will Kiyani be able to deliver, if not bin Laden and Zawahiri, at least others such as Mulla Mohammad Omar, the amir of the neo Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, who is the de facto ruler of South Waziristan, and Maulana FM Radio Fazlullah, the de facto ruler of the Swat Valley?
Since the US has agreed to steer the 123 Agreement with India through the NSG after India has signed an India-specific Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, it would have been difficult for India to go ahead with the signing in Moscow
There was an unanimous endorsement of his decision to impose emergency, suspend the Constitution and sack Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhury. However, the majority of the commanders expressed their reservations over the wisdom of his attempts, under US pressure, to reach a power-sharing agreement with Benazir Bhutto.
Will his calculation be proved right? Unlikely. He has created so many pockets of anger in Pakistan against himself and the US that it would be highly improbable that he would succeed in extinguishing the jihadi fire of his own creation. Musharraf proposes, bin Laden disposes. That may be the ultimate denouement in Pakistan.
The successful air strike at Kilinochi will encourage the SLAF to re-double its efforts for a decapitation strike on Prabhakaran himself
Brig Ejaz Shah has been strongly criticised by Benazir and her supporters for the security failure and they have demanded his removal and arrest. When he was in the ISI, he used to be the handling officer of Osama bin Laden and Mulla Omar
The tribals, many of whose children, particularly girls, were killed during the raid, have hit back with ferocious vengeance at the Pakistan Army, paramilitary forces and the police deployed in the Pashtun belt as well as outside.
Reports from the NATO forces in Afghanistan of the presence of increasing numbers of Uzbeks, Chechens and Uighurs with the Neo Taliban forces operating in Afghan territory added to the pressure for action. Responding to these pressures, the Pakistani government started sending further reinforcements to the area.
Kiyani is a non-controversial officer, who had in the past not come to notice for any dubious association with the Taliban or Al Qaeda or any of Pakistan's fundamentalist organisations.
While the UK and many Commonwealth Countries have revised their Official Secrets Act keeping in view the requirements of transparency and accountability, India and Pakistan have not done so.
Their policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries is cited as the ostensible reason for their reluctance to exercise pressure on the Myanmar junta.
According to sources, the Pashtun army officer came from the SSG, to which Pervez Musharraf belonged and which was specially trained by the US Special Forces for covert ops.
The threat of maritime terrorism is real. What must India do to protect its eastern and western seaboards?
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