Perhaps no presidential election campaign in the United States in the recent past was a source of... more Perhaps no presidential election campaign in the United States in the recent past was a source of as immense interest to the people of Pakistan as the one that was carried out in the year 2008. The whole world took a great interest in the critical election campaign of Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama and the candidate of Republican Party John McCain. However, in Pakistan the situation was different because of the periodic US drone attacks on the tribal areas and the collateral damage caused as a result of these attacks, the Bush administration’s rhetoric that Pakistan should do more to eliminate what Washington alleged were “safe heavens” for Taliban/al-Qaeda in the tribal areas of Pakistan, and the serious concerns in the Western circles about the deepening of chaos, disorder, and insecurity in some parts of Pakistan because of violence, terrorism, and unabated political unrest.
This title compares conflict and co-operation in the context of the Arab-Israeli and India-Pakist... more This title compares conflict and co-operation in the context of the Arab-Israeli and India-Pakistan peace processes and examines the important similarities and contradictions in this regard. It also discusses the role of third party mediation, the nuclear factor, the role of external factors, and the military and economic dimensions of the two processes.
As the world’s second biggest Muslim country after Indonesia, Pakistan’s major predicament since ... more As the world’s second biggest Muslim country after Indonesia, Pakistan’s major predicament since its inception as an independent state on August 14, 1947 till today is how to deal with issues which deepen the state of social under-development, social stratification and social chaos. Although considered as a neglected field, social development has been dealt in a different manner by various regimes which came to power in Pakistan since August 1947. This paper will examine in detail the predicament of social development in Pakistan and will also attempt to argue why in many Muslim countries, social development is considered as an uphill task and how the ruling elites in these countries accentuated the level of under-development particularly in education, health, communications, economy and politics. Finally, as long as good governance is not ensured along with accountability and the rule of law, one cannot expect any plausible change to ensure social emancipation, empowerment and human development in Pakistan.
The Paris summit held in November 1990 and attended by the signatories of the Helsinki Final Act ... more The Paris summit held in November 1990 and attended by the signatories of the Helsinki Final Act was a landmark in consolidating the process of peace and cooperation in Europe. President Mitterrand of France has rightly examined the significance of the Paris summit by terming the treaty signed on limiting conventional weapons as an historic event. Two important decisions taken at the Paris summit opened a new era in European security. Firstly, the 23 countries of NATO and Warsaw Pact signed the much awaited Conventional Disarmament in Europe (CDE) treaty, drastically cutting the number of conventional weapons from Adantic to the Urals. Secondly, the summit institutionalised the process of peace and cooperation unleashed by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) 17 years ago by approving the establishment of two bodies in order to stablise the CSCE process. From any account, the participants of the Paris summit formally declared an end to the cold war politics and pledged to strengthen the framework of European Security under the auspices of the CSCE process.
Much has been written on the subject of nuclear proliferation in South Asia but the book under re... more Much has been written on the subject of nuclear proliferation in South Asia but the book under review is the only comprehensive study that depicts the Pakistani perspective on the issue of Indian nuclear deterrence and its implications for South Asian security. When ...
The debate on giving the People’s Republic of China full membership of the South Asian Associatio... more The debate on giving the People’s Republic of China full membership of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is primarily seen in the context of positive and negative thinking. While China has an observer status in SAARC along with Australia, the EU, Japan, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States, its case for full membership is primarily advocated by Nepal and Pakistan but not supported by India. China shares its borders with five out of eight SAARC member states and has meaningful ties with all the South Asian countries. Yet when it comes to the issue of admitting Beijing as a full-fledged member, serious reservations are expressed primarily from the side of India listing various reasons and arguments as to why China should not be considered to join SAARC. Logically speaking, since China is culturally and historically not connected with South Asia, it cannot claim membership in SAARC. Sharing of borders with some South Asian countries does not mean that China belongs to South Asia. Furthermore, if China is considered to be a full member of SAARC, regardless of its cultural and historical disorientation from South Asia, other countries located in the proximity of South Asia like Myanmar, Iran and the Central Asian States may also stake their claim to membership of SAARC. Yet in view of China’s growing economic, trade, political, security and strategic interests in South Asia, its admission in SAARC is considered useful for the region by some states given the asymmetrical regional characteristics of South Asia. If the reservations of the author in his article entitled ‘China in SAARC? To What Effect’ about China’s admission in SAARC are examined from a Pakistani perspective, three submissions could be made. First, to argue that Islamabad’s prime interest in advocating Beijing’s membership in SAARC is to counter India in South Asia is not true. One is aware of a qualitative change in Chinese foreign policy in the last three decades which rejects alliances, encirclement and containment. China wants stability in its neighbourhood, including South Asia and sees SAARC as a regional organisation with a promising future. Inclusion of China in SAARC needs to be looked at from a positive angle as its enormous economic power can be a source of strength for the countries of South Asia and no country in the region should feel insecure if someone
Abstract This article will bring to light the transformation of the Pakistani state from a relati... more Abstract This article will bring to light the transformation of the Pakistani state from a relatively tolerant to an unstable state dominated by militancy and violence. In the formative phase of Pakistan, the notion of religious extremism was almost non-existent as the founder of the country, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, made it clear that the new state would not be theocratic in nature. However, after his demise on September 11, 1948, his successors failed to curb the forces of religious militancy that not only changed the nature of the Pakistani state but also succeeded in making it a monolithic religious state in which non-Muslims were disqualified from seeking the highest positions in the state structures. This article also aims to examine the vision for a secular order in the context of Pakistan while relating it to the management of conflicts.
... During the December 1964 presidential elections, the Mohajir population of Karachi experience... more ... During the December 1964 presidential elections, the Mohajir population of Karachi experienced the wrath of a Pathan (Pakhtun) backlash when Gohar Ayub Khan, son of President Ayub Khan, launched a series of attacks on Mohajir communities because of their support for ...
The change of political order in Central Asia is being viewed from different angles by analysts o... more The change of political order in Central Asia is being viewed from different angles by analysts on international affairs. With the emergence of six sovereign states in Central Asia in last one year's time, the question of decentralisation and reassertion of a religious and socio-cultural phenomenon cannot be ruled out. The implications of a 'New Central Asia' for the neighbouring countries are being gauged in terms of security, politics, economics, religion and ethnicity.
Perhaps no presidential election campaign in the United States in the recent past was a source of... more Perhaps no presidential election campaign in the United States in the recent past was a source of as immense interest to the people of Pakistan as the one that was carried out in the year 2008. The whole world took a great interest in the critical election campaign of Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama and the candidate of Republican Party John McCain. However, in Pakistan the situation was different because of the periodic US drone attacks on the tribal areas and the collateral damage caused as a result of these attacks, the Bush administration’s rhetoric that Pakistan should do more to eliminate what Washington alleged were “safe heavens” for Taliban/al-Qaeda in the tribal areas of Pakistan, and the serious concerns in the Western circles about the deepening of chaos, disorder, and insecurity in some parts of Pakistan because of violence, terrorism, and unabated political unrest.
This title compares conflict and co-operation in the context of the Arab-Israeli and India-Pakist... more This title compares conflict and co-operation in the context of the Arab-Israeli and India-Pakistan peace processes and examines the important similarities and contradictions in this regard. It also discusses the role of third party mediation, the nuclear factor, the role of external factors, and the military and economic dimensions of the two processes.
As the world’s second biggest Muslim country after Indonesia, Pakistan’s major predicament since ... more As the world’s second biggest Muslim country after Indonesia, Pakistan’s major predicament since its inception as an independent state on August 14, 1947 till today is how to deal with issues which deepen the state of social under-development, social stratification and social chaos. Although considered as a neglected field, social development has been dealt in a different manner by various regimes which came to power in Pakistan since August 1947. This paper will examine in detail the predicament of social development in Pakistan and will also attempt to argue why in many Muslim countries, social development is considered as an uphill task and how the ruling elites in these countries accentuated the level of under-development particularly in education, health, communications, economy and politics. Finally, as long as good governance is not ensured along with accountability and the rule of law, one cannot expect any plausible change to ensure social emancipation, empowerment and human development in Pakistan.
The Paris summit held in November 1990 and attended by the signatories of the Helsinki Final Act ... more The Paris summit held in November 1990 and attended by the signatories of the Helsinki Final Act was a landmark in consolidating the process of peace and cooperation in Europe. President Mitterrand of France has rightly examined the significance of the Paris summit by terming the treaty signed on limiting conventional weapons as an historic event. Two important decisions taken at the Paris summit opened a new era in European security. Firstly, the 23 countries of NATO and Warsaw Pact signed the much awaited Conventional Disarmament in Europe (CDE) treaty, drastically cutting the number of conventional weapons from Adantic to the Urals. Secondly, the summit institutionalised the process of peace and cooperation unleashed by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) 17 years ago by approving the establishment of two bodies in order to stablise the CSCE process. From any account, the participants of the Paris summit formally declared an end to the cold war politics and pledged to strengthen the framework of European Security under the auspices of the CSCE process.
Much has been written on the subject of nuclear proliferation in South Asia but the book under re... more Much has been written on the subject of nuclear proliferation in South Asia but the book under review is the only comprehensive study that depicts the Pakistani perspective on the issue of Indian nuclear deterrence and its implications for South Asian security. When ...
The debate on giving the People’s Republic of China full membership of the South Asian Associatio... more The debate on giving the People’s Republic of China full membership of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is primarily seen in the context of positive and negative thinking. While China has an observer status in SAARC along with Australia, the EU, Japan, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States, its case for full membership is primarily advocated by Nepal and Pakistan but not supported by India. China shares its borders with five out of eight SAARC member states and has meaningful ties with all the South Asian countries. Yet when it comes to the issue of admitting Beijing as a full-fledged member, serious reservations are expressed primarily from the side of India listing various reasons and arguments as to why China should not be considered to join SAARC. Logically speaking, since China is culturally and historically not connected with South Asia, it cannot claim membership in SAARC. Sharing of borders with some South Asian countries does not mean that China belongs to South Asia. Furthermore, if China is considered to be a full member of SAARC, regardless of its cultural and historical disorientation from South Asia, other countries located in the proximity of South Asia like Myanmar, Iran and the Central Asian States may also stake their claim to membership of SAARC. Yet in view of China’s growing economic, trade, political, security and strategic interests in South Asia, its admission in SAARC is considered useful for the region by some states given the asymmetrical regional characteristics of South Asia. If the reservations of the author in his article entitled ‘China in SAARC? To What Effect’ about China’s admission in SAARC are examined from a Pakistani perspective, three submissions could be made. First, to argue that Islamabad’s prime interest in advocating Beijing’s membership in SAARC is to counter India in South Asia is not true. One is aware of a qualitative change in Chinese foreign policy in the last three decades which rejects alliances, encirclement and containment. China wants stability in its neighbourhood, including South Asia and sees SAARC as a regional organisation with a promising future. Inclusion of China in SAARC needs to be looked at from a positive angle as its enormous economic power can be a source of strength for the countries of South Asia and no country in the region should feel insecure if someone
Abstract This article will bring to light the transformation of the Pakistani state from a relati... more Abstract This article will bring to light the transformation of the Pakistani state from a relatively tolerant to an unstable state dominated by militancy and violence. In the formative phase of Pakistan, the notion of religious extremism was almost non-existent as the founder of the country, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, made it clear that the new state would not be theocratic in nature. However, after his demise on September 11, 1948, his successors failed to curb the forces of religious militancy that not only changed the nature of the Pakistani state but also succeeded in making it a monolithic religious state in which non-Muslims were disqualified from seeking the highest positions in the state structures. This article also aims to examine the vision for a secular order in the context of Pakistan while relating it to the management of conflicts.
... During the December 1964 presidential elections, the Mohajir population of Karachi experience... more ... During the December 1964 presidential elections, the Mohajir population of Karachi experienced the wrath of a Pathan (Pakhtun) backlash when Gohar Ayub Khan, son of President Ayub Khan, launched a series of attacks on Mohajir communities because of their support for ...
The change of political order in Central Asia is being viewed from different angles by analysts o... more The change of political order in Central Asia is being viewed from different angles by analysts on international affairs. With the emergence of six sovereign states in Central Asia in last one year's time, the question of decentralisation and reassertion of a religious and socio-cultural phenomenon cannot be ruled out. The implications of a 'New Central Asia' for the neighbouring countries are being gauged in terms of security, politics, economics, religion and ethnicity.
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