Pakistan has a deep interest in seeing stable, peaceful democratic processes in Afghan elections this week. Islamabad’s insistence on allocating resources to uprooting domestic factions and maintaing troops along the Indian border rather than focusing directly on fighting terror in Afghanistan do not mean they are uncommitted to stability in Afghanistan. Rather, Pakistan is better equipped and rightfully focused on fighting domestic turmoil and given current Indo-Pak relations, must keep forces on the Indian border. Also, Pakistan has a profound interest in seeing their large refugee population repatriate to Afghanistan, which can only happen if elections are successful and lead to a more stable, democratic Afghanistan.
U.S. Envoy to Pakistan, Holbrooke expresses possible U.S. assistance in energy development in Pakistan offering hope to everyday Pakistani’s. President Gilani specifies increased funding is most useful and this could serve as a profound opportunity to finally begin winning hearts and minds of Pakistani’s and move in the direction of truly securing Pakistan for the long term.
Breaking news informs us that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud is “believed dead when a drone fired two Hellfire missiles along the Afghan border”. U.S. and Pakistani officials have yet to confirm the reports let alone acknowledge this as a triumph against Tehrik-e-Taliban, the organization Mehsud headed. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik expressed “cautious optimism” while […]
No explanation can at this moment adequately address the horrors carried out in Gojra Pakistan. But these horrors are newsworthy and have potential to serve as a lesson in uprooting such inhumanity. Rather than focusing squarely and vaguely on vast historical causation that might allow factions to commit these horrors, a closer look at the […]
A meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani and Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh at the Non-Aligned Summit (NAM) resumed cooperative talks since they had stalled after the Mumbai atrocities. The summit marked a breakthrough in Indian-Pakistani relations when both sides decided to bracket issues of terrorism from future peace talks, by signing an agreement that identifies […]
Current news on the group with which perpetrators of last years Mumbai atrocities are linked, are connected to Pakistan. While news outlets report on Lashkar-E-Taibba’s, it is important to that these connections are viewed within the context of a history of U.S. Pakistan relations, and Pakistan’s current commitment to fighting terrorism. Some reporting on the issue of Lashkar-E-Taibba lacks this comprehensive discussion on Pakistan by overlooking the costs and immediate interest Islamabad has in uprooting terrorism.
Latest sources tell us that unmanned CIA predator aircraft are credited with killing Osama bin Laden’s son with strikes in Pakistan earlier this year. Although this has yet to be officially confirmed given the highly “sensitive nature of CIA operations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier” according to the Washington Post, debate on the use of unmanned […]
“Pakistan Objects to U.S. Plan for Afghanistan War” reads a New York Times article yesterday updating us on our foreign policy. The article forewarns of “fissures” in the U.S. Pakistan alliance at this critical moment when President Obama sends additional troops to the region. The article specifically outlines Pakistan’s insistence on maintaining forces along the […]
A positive week for U.S. Pakistani Relations
Popular from Press