Comment & Briefs

Even though the respective military exercise held by Pakistan and India are about handling of respective offensive reserves, the message that emerges is that their employment is best avoided.

Whereas employing Armed Forces may appear to be an attractive idea to control the naxal menace, the adverse effects of their long term commitment, particularly of the Army, need to be understood.

Unless the SCOMET list includes munitions items, and is harmonised with the Wassanaar Agreement list, India will be unable to get the full benefits of international commerce in defence goods.

While the United States charges Iran of being in non-compliance with its NPT obligations, Iran points out that the United States and other NPT nuclear weapon states are in non-compliance of Articles IV and VI, among other provisions.

The Maoists have formed a State Committee comprising six members to spearhead the movement in Delhi, and it has been in operation at least for the past four to five years.

Under the deal that was worked out in the back channel, the LoC would have remained a de facto and not a de jure border, something that would keep alive Pakistan's irredentist claims over Jammu and Kashmir.

It is unlikely that the Revcon will be able to agree on a credible roadmap for nuclear disarmament although there may be some marginal progress on some issues.

With Prachanda’s announcement that the Maoists intend to launch an indefinite nationwide general strike, a major crisis seems to be brewing in Nepal.

In order for ICC jurisdiction to truly have a sway it needs to be credible as a deterrence mechanism, and it should keep track of the political strategies used by various actors to resist a tribunal.

The outcome of the April general election makes clear that Sri Lanka would be evolving its own model of post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation to address the causes of conflict.