IDR Blog
Nawaz Sharif: Sniveling up to Mamma
Nawaz Sharif’s call to the United States to intervene in the resolution of Kashmir is no different from a spoiled weakling running up to mamma for solace. After all, American soft corner for Pakistan is well established. Witness the US decision to quietly release of more than $1.6 billion in military and economic aid to Pakistan that had been...
Military discipline: recast officer cadre
Of late a number of units have experienced trouble between officers and their men. The disturbing aspect is that there have been scuffles between officers and men, which was quite unheard of in the Indian army. So what has gone wrong! Some may put to the outcome of an overstressed army and yet some others may point it to changed environments,...
Indo-Pak: Military to Military Hot Line
Talks between neighbouring countries, particularly if their relations have a long history of friction, are never easy, even if necessary. The prevailing sentiments among the population, the agenda that each side wants to set and confidence level in the person that sits across the table are important pre-requisites that have to be considered....
Did the PMs of India and Pakistan need to meet just yet?
Manmohan Singh’s meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in New York on September 29 produced limited results. After Singh himself mentioned toned down expectations from the encounter, it became clear that little would emerge from it. …opportunity to retrieve the political mistake of delinking dialogue from terrorism was,...
Is Army entering politics?
[This article includes comments made by the author in a panel discussion titled “Is the army entering politics?” in a TV news channel on September 24, 2013. Other two panelists belonged to the Congress and BJP parties.] The sensational title of the discussion “Is Army entering politics?” is an insinuation on army – a national...