The Londoner

It is time to again humanise the Pak-Chinese relationship. Pakistan’s friendship with its giant northern neighbour clearly deserves greater attention and must be approached with greater creativity and less sentimentality The residents of Islamabad will surely remember the militant assault on massage parlours in the city two years ago, which escalated into a siege of Lal Masjid. Chinese massage parlours were declared by the ulema of the mosque to be dens of sin and, much to the embarrassment of the government, some of the Chinese massage therapists and acupuncturists were held hostage by madrassa students under accusations of spreading immorality. Such incidents were probably still raw in the minds of the Chinese when they denied Mr Zardari a financial rescue package last week, not to mention the string of other abductions and murders of Chinese workers in Pakistan. The Pakistani government had to remain content with a hydropower deal and a few other crumbs but the big bailout that seem...

Srinagar October, 2008 Jammu & Kashmir: The Self-Rule Framework for Resolution Contents: Preface Executive Summary Chapter I: The Overall Context of Resolution: i) International: Globalisation ii) National: Democracy & Conflict iii) Regional: Resistance to Representation Chapter II: Contours of Resolution: i) Demilitarisation ii) Challenges Chapter III: Framework for Resolution: Self-Rule i) New political superstructure ii) Economic Integration iii) Constitutional Restructuring Main Proposals PREFACE The Peoples Democratic Party prepares and offers this working paper on J&K as an act of hope. The hope lies in the belief that if the decision-makers and responsible political parties discern the categorical imperatives that have impelled this formulation, realize its intent and motive and examine its contents on merits, ob...