A retired Pakistan army officer incurs army chief General Bajwa's wrath, reveals Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
As the people of Pakistan woke up to a new dawn on Sunday, the details of the gruelling and murky political activities in the preceding day and night have emerged, showing the country may have averted a damning showdown between ousted prime minister Imran Khan and the powerful Army.
'While the US-Pakistan relationship has been stabilised, it's still mired in uncertainty.'
India cannot afford to be complacent about a possible Pakistan resort to military options across the LoC, warns Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Pakistan's new Army Chief has begun setting the stage to act against groups like LeT and JeM
'He could indeed survive [the no confidence vote] even as he faces his biggest political test.'
'Given the past practice in the Pakistan army, this delay is most unusual,' notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
All Pakistani moves towards peace will be seen as tactical compromises, to be abandoned when the situation changes, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
General Bajwa, who commanded the 10 Corps that looks after Pakistan's border with India, is unlikely to change his army's and nation's policy on Kashmir,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, on the latest changes among Pakistan's top generals.
Sudhir Kumar Ojha from Muzaffarpur, an advocate known for his penchant to file cases against the high and mighty, has fired a legal salvo at the irrepressible cricketer-turned-politician.
Sadiq, who was the Speaker of the National Assembly during the PML-N government, made a similar statement earlier on Wednesday in Parliament that Foreign Minister Qureshi had said in an important meeting that if Varthaman was not released, India would attack Pakistan 'at 9 pm that night (sic)' and 'for God's sake we should let him go'.
These promotions will allow General Bajwa to shuffle the deck on the top, but this is likely to be a limited reshuffle, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
General Bajwa and the outgoing DG, ISI Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, had a long meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza is the Pakistan army's new chief of general staff, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Usually, the army chief sends three names for the coveted slot and the prime minister has the authority to pick any one of them, the report added.
India will need to watch carefully and understand the new round of instability and uncertainty in Pakistan, while charting the course of its future diplomatic initiatives, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'Without doubt, General Bajwa has deliberately snubbed India.' 'But why did he do that?' 'The Male leadership is simply fed up with Indian interference,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi's hardline policy towards Pakistan and J&K has created numerous leverages and bargaining positions that New Delhi can bring to the bargaining table and translate into concessions, argues Ajai Shukla.
Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad launched to fight terrorism across country.
"Sidhu could not manage a thing. I know him very well. Don't think that he is some sort of magic word for Punjab. He is going to be a disaster," he said.
In return for Pak's gesture, the US has authorised the reinstatement of a military training and educational programme which had remained suspended for 2 yrs. Pak blamed Iran's Maj Gen Soleimani for Baloch militant attacks against its forces.
With the maulana fully committed and PML (N) cadres prepared to court arrest, this would be the first time where both Punjabis and Pakhtuns would be standing up against the Pakistan army, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Reacting to the embarrassing development, Khan chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting and took back the notification to extend services of General Bajwa.
'The narrative of patriotism has been framed around the army and competing worldviews about Pakistan and those who do not fit the army's parameters are ostracised as rebellious, treasonous, and even blasphemous'
'If there is a background of some kind of mutual understanding on how the dialogue process might develop in a mutually satisfactory manner...' 'If this understanding impacts positively on the ground situation...' 'As of now this is a heroic assumption. But it does not have to remain such.'
General Qamar Bajwa, his colleagues say, is a firm opponent of extremism and terrorism. He may prove even more forceful in the fight against terrorism than his predecessor, who is credited with launching Operation Zarb-i-Azb, which helped lower the frequency of terrorist attacks.
'No prime minister of India is averse to normalise relations with Pakistan, if it is possible to do so without altering our fundamental position on Jammu and Kashmir,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'There is much to glean from such exercises. And make it known that we are ready to take them on together!', says Air Commodore Nition Sathe (retd).
Khan said the Pakistan government was 'determined to demonstrate' that it is capable of protecting its people.
'The scheduling of Imran Khan's visit to Beijing and its focus on the J&K situation underscores that Beijing shares the Pakistani concern that tensions with India are only going to escalate further in the period ahead,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment.'
'The picture only looks worse from where Bajwa sits.' 'He sees a domineering India to the east, an unravelling Afghanistan and a complex Iran to the west, an overbearing China on the north and a US which is no longer an ally,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
India has opposed the CPEC project and protested to China as it is being laid through PoK.
The meeting took place two days after a military tribunal sentenced Indian national Kulbhushan Jadav to death on charges of spying
"Each violation of any kind must be responded to with full force in the most effective manner," he said during a visit to the 10 Corps Rawalpindi and troops at forward locations along the Line of Control.
Chawla, who is the general secretary of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and is known to speak for 'Khalistan', had shared the purported picture on his Facebook page.
With its new army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa set to take charge, Pakistan has asserted that focus will remain on country's eastern border with India, even as the US nudged Islamabad to keep the pledge of not allowing use of its soil for terror attacks against neighbours.
'A resurgent Jaish could be a reflection of the Pakistani security establishment's view that with the region moving ever closer to a post-US Afghanistan, it is time to redirect attention to Kashmir.'
'The Chinese made their point repeatedly after August 5. They backed Pakistan more overtly than in the past.' 'Kashmir is not completely off their radar. But in order to keep the atmosphere surrounding the Chennai meeting, they did not discuss Kashmir.'
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