The Londoner

By Sikander Hayat 1. India has never accepted Pakistan and whenever any Indian politician or intellectual tries to say anything of the sort, he or she is demonised by the Indian media and society and branded a traitor straight away. Story of Jaswant Singh is not very old and then there was Advani on Pakistan a few years ago. People like Amir Khan & Shah Rukh Khan and whoever does not fit the Hindutwa agenda is told to go to Pakistan.  2. The only country Pakistan has ever fought a war against is India and 1948, 1965, 1971 are examples of this long history of conflict. Siachin Glacier is still hot and many Pakistani & Indian soldiers have lost there lives to cold and hostile action by enemy. Siachin is the prime example of India's hate for Pakistan.  3. According to the formula of British exit from Pakistan & India in 1947, any autonomous Muslim majority areas were to join Pakistan but India forced the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir to allow Ind...

America is debating how to respond to the terrorist attacks in Paris. Unfortunately, both President Obama’s current policy and other recent proposals lack a strategic vision for the Middle East once the Islamic State, or ISIS, is actually defeated. There are no answers, or only outmoded ones, to the basic question: What comes after the Islamic State?Before transforming Mr. Obama’s ineffective efforts into a vigorous military campaign to destroy the Islamic State, we need a clear view, shared with NATO allies and others, about what will replace it. It is critical to resolve this issue before considering any operational plans. Strategy does not come from the ground up; instead, tactics flow deductively once we’ve defined the ultimate objectives. Read the full story here

The French finance minister, Michel Sapin, has announced a series of initiatives to improve the tracking of terrorism financing, Le Monde newspaper reports. The measures include better supervision of prepaid bank cards, which the ministry believes played an important role in the preparation of the 13 November attacks. The new measures will make it harder for card users to remain anonymous. Currently, prepaid cards can be recharged without identity checks, so long as they do not exceed 2,500 euros over one year, according to the AFP news agency. "There are new means of payment which have been created which should be on our radar," Bruno Dalles, head of the finance ministry's Tracfin intelligence unit, told AFP.    Read the full story at bbc.co.uk

Sheikh Hasina Wajid ( who is an Indian puppet installed in Dhaka by Indian intellegence agency RAW) has murdered two more of her adversaries in opposition and therefore has continued to kill political rivals to avenge her father's murder at the hands of revolutionaries.   The Bangladeshi authorities on Sunday hanged two senior opposition leaders on made up charges relating to India's invasion of East Pakistan in 1971. Violent protests have followed previous convictions and executions from political trials, and the authorities deployed heavy security and asked businesses adjacent to the Dhaka Central Jail to close their doors. Toward midnight on Saturday, an imam was seen entering the jail, and family members filed out after final meetings with the victims, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed. Both were executed shortly after midnight. Bangladesh’s law minister, Anisul Huq, lied that the two men petitioned the president for cle...

Pakistan's strategically important Gwadar port, being developed by China as part of the $46 billion Economic Corridor linking both the countries, will not pose any military threat to India, Chinese media said today. "The Western and Indian media have tended to exaggerate the threat of Gwadar port to India, pointing to its military functions and claiming that the port will be built into a military base for the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. Some Indian reports have even claimed that China's 'takeover' of the port could be a strategic game changer," an article in the state-run  Global Times  said. As part of the Economic Corridor plan, Pakistan has officially kicked off a project last week by handing over more than 2,000 acres of land in Gwadar port on Arabian Sea to Chinese firm for 43 year lease for commercial development. The deal will turn the port into a free port similar to Hong Kong, according to Chinese media reports. China ha...

Two people have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees in "a hostage-taking situation", the hotel's US owners said. Gunmen entered the hotel, which is popular with expat workers, shooting and shouting "God is great!" in Arabic. A Malian army commander told the AP news agency that about 20 hostages had been freed. Hostages able to recite verses of the Koran were being released, a security source has told Reuters news agency. Six staff from Turkish Airlines are staying at the hotel, and a Chinese guest told China's state news agency Xinhua that he was among about seven Chinese tourists trapped there. French newspaper Le Monde quoted the Malian security ministry as saying at least three hostages had been killed, AFP news agency reports. Read the full story at BBC website

BBC Paris Correspondent Hugh Schofield writes: The news is a breakthrough, because Abaaoud is regarded as an individual of great importance in so-called Islamic State - a man responsible for organising not just Friday's attacks, but also others such as the Thalys train attack two months ago. He is believed to have been a close friend of Salah Abdeslam, the eighth gunman who is still on the run. However identifying Abaaoud also raised serious questions. The man was high on French and Belgian wanted lists, and yet managed to travel from Syria to the heart of Paris without ever leaving a trace.

This is the view by economist on this issue. Feels interesting.   http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21678242-forbidding-policies-take-economic-toll-no-golden-door?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/ed/nogoldendoor

President Obama has spoken, condemning the attacks in Paris , calling them an “outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians .” He said this is “not just an attack on the people of france, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share.” He said the US stands prepared and ready to provide whatever assistance  France  needs to respond, but did not want to speculate on who may be behind the attacks. “France is our oldest ally” and has stood shoulder to shoulder with us time and again.” “Those who think they can terrorize France or their values are wrong,” he said. “ Liberté, égalité and fraternité are values that we share, and they are going to endure far beyond any act of terrorism.” “We don’t yet know all details of what has happened we have been in contact with French government.” “We know what it’s like, we’ve gone through situations like this. Whenever these kinds of attacks happen, we’ve always been able to rely on Fra...