The Londoner

By Sikander Hayat United States has declared that at the end of 2014, its army footprint in Afghanistan will be negli gi ble, contained in the designated bases and mostly in training capacity. American army will still have air cover, in case they get attacked by the rebels. At the same time, in theory at least, Afghanistan should have a new president as Hamid Karzai has already nearly completed his two allowed terms. What new alliance would bring about that new president is still to be seen. A ticket with a Pa shtun as president and a Tajik as vice president will have the most chance of winning and will be a stable choice. Anything else will make matters worse especially if Karzai tried to bring forward his own family members or loyalist to the fore. Provided the former scenario takes hold, a stable government is achieved and America leaves as promised, there is a good chance that Afghanistan despite its nascent state and infrastructure will be able to cope with t

By Sikander Hayat Azad Kashmir borders the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir to the east Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to the west, Gilgit Baltistan to the north, and Pakistan's Punjab Province to the south. With its capital at Muzaffarabad , Azad Jammu and Kashmir covers an area of 13,297 square kilometres (5,134 sq mi) and has an estimated population of about four million. In October 1947, Azad Kashmir was liberated from India. Azad Kashmir Day is celebrated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on October 24, which is the day that the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government was created in 1947. Pakistan has celebrated Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 of each year since 1990 as a day of protest against India 's de facto sovereignty over its State of Jammu and Kashmir .That day is a national holiday in Pakistan. Azad Jammu and Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. The majority of the population is culturally, linguistically, and ethnically related to the people o

By Sikander Hayat Appointing Mullah Fazallulah as the chief of of TTP was a very calculated move by Taliban to convey the message to Pakistan that they are not going to negotiate. It is time that Pakistan has a clear policy with respect to Taliban, Afghanistan & India. It is now very clear that intelligence agencies like RAW , NDS & CIA are all now working together to undermine Pakistan & keep it unstable in the medium to long term. Indian establishment has been successful in keeping Pakistan busy in Waziristan & other parts of FATA and keep their attention away from Kashmir . Also, India is waging a dirty war in Baluchistan against the Pakistani state & its civilians. Indian intelligence is waging a proxy war in Waziristan & Balochistan by funding the terrorist groups like that of Mullah Fazallulah who is known as the butcher of Swat . On one hand, India talks about resolving the Kashmir issue & on the other, they are backstabbing Pakista

( Associated Press ) - In this Saturday, Sept. 9, 2013 photo, people argue with Indian policemen during curfew hours following riots and clashes between two communities in Muzaffarnagar, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of troops have been deployed to quell deadly riots and clashes between Hindus and Muslims sparked by the killing of three villagers who had objected when a young woman was being harassed in northern India. Nine people were killed, including an Indian broadcast journalist and a police photographer, when the two groups set upon each other with guns and knives in Kawal village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, police said Sunday. LUCKNOW, India — Hundreds of troops have been deployed to quell deadly riots and clashes between Hindus and Muslims sparked by the killing of three villagers who had objected when a young woman was being harassed in northern India. Police said 19 people were killed, including an Indian broadcast journalist, a police photogra

By Sikander Hayat Current crisis on the line of control in Kashmir could have been handled well by the Indian establishment but the fact that it did not morph into a full blown crisis augers well for the future prospects of peace but there is an open question of Afghanistan hanging over India & Pakistan relations. If India decides to have a footprint in Afghanistan than Pakistan will fight tooth and nail to keep the eastern & southern Afghanistan in its sphere of influence as it is vital for the security of Pakistan to have these areas in Pashtun hands. USA should have conceded this fact a long time ago and this Afghanistan war could have ended few years earlier rather than going on until now and ending with a potential humiliation for the Western alliance . Pakistan has legitimate interest inAfghanistan and Pakistan has been trying to convey this message since the American invasion nearly 12 years ago. Pakistan & India need to reach a grand bargai

Unlike in democracies , where politicians vying for office first introduce themselves to their constituents, China's leaders take a rather different approach. Only after the Chinese Communist Party has chosen its top leader in secret does he begin the process of "introducing" himself to the people. The newly enthroned general secretary Xi Jinping has been busy firing corrupt officials, visiting factories and military leaders, boarding a battleship to dine with sailors. And in the process he has been defining his mission, which he calls "the great revival of the Chinese nation ". To the world outside the goal of national revival looks more like an irredentist mission that challenges the resolve of its neighbours. Read the full story here. HOME

Captain Morgan wins thriller for England Six-hitting from Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler carried England to victory at the death © BCCI Enlarge They don't come as smooth as Captain Morgan. As MS Dhoni and his senior associates debated the field for the final delivery of the chase, off which England needed three to win, Eoin Morgan was calm, had a word with his partner and then waited. Jos Buttler had tried to be cheeky and didn't succeed the previous ball, but Morgan put an end to the game in the only way an expectant crowd sensing victory could have been silenced in disbelief - a deathly blow over the sightscreen when there seemed to be enough room in the field to squeeze a couple and take the game to a Super Over. With a Test series won and a T20 series drawn, England rounded off their first leg of this tour of India on a happy note. The victory was also their highest successful chase in T

India’s foreign policy ever since Independence stands distinguished by being consistently strategically-deficit in terms of safeguarding India’s national security interests. The idealistic and morally driven Non Alignment foreign policy devoid of a strategic vision during the Cold War years was a heavy millstone that robbed India of a vibrant foreign policy driven by a strategic vision and a securing of India’s strategic interests. Such a foreign policy formulation could have been rationalised on the plea that India was then not economically and militarily strong and to steer clear of Cold War confrontations, an Indian foreign policy based on a high moralistic content bordering on neutralism would shield India against the Cold War strategic buffetings Read the full story here. 

NEW DELHI – Maoist rebels ambushed a patrol team in central India on Tuesday, killing at least 15 paramilitary policemen, a police official said. The policemen were traveling through a densely forested area of Maharashtra state when the rebels set off a land mine, blowing up their vehicle, the official said. Another 13 policemen were wounded in the powerful blast, he said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Read the full story here.  

NEW DELHI—The chief executive of India's largest private oil producer slammed the government for proposing an 80% increase in the company's taxes, a measure that could stoke foreign investors' concerns about India's business environment. Rahul Dhir, CEO of Cairn India Ltd., which is majority-owned by the U.K.'s   Vedanta Resources   VED.LN   +0.23%   PLC, said the proposed increase in the "cess" the company pays on each ton of oil it produces would cost it $2.5 billion by 2020 and could discourage it from pursuing a $6 billion expansion plan. "This came out of nowhere," Mr. Dhir said in an interview Tuesday. "The government has been desperately trying to attract investment in the oil-and-gas sector and it hasn't worked. This will just create further disincentives to invest."  Read the full story here. 

The 21st-century Asian order has entered a long interregnum between the hub-and-spokes security bilateralism of the US-engineered San Francisco system and the re-emergence of East Asia’s pre-modern international system.   To harmonise the interests of individual states with the requirements of the system at large in the decades ahead, the foremost challenge in the Asian Century will be to nudge the region’s geo-politics toward cooperation — perhaps even a   loose concert   of powers — as opposed to competition, conflict and division. India’s role and strategic orientation within this 21st-century order presents something of a conundrum. It was a non-participant within the San Francisco system and bears only dim familiarity with the earlier workings of the East Asian international system. Yet without the rise of India, on course to become the  world’s third-largest economy by 2025 , the Asian Century will not progress very far.  Read the full story here.