Though anticipated, the timing of the Islamabad High Court’s verdict to release disgraced nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan from house arrest has surprised many, since it came days before the first ever visit by Richard Holbrooke, President Obama’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Zardari government has tried to play safe by citing this as a decision taken by an ‘independent’ judiciary. Such arguments are, however, unlikely to find many takers.

• A. Vinod Kumar |
• February 20, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

Although insurgency in several areas of the North-East region of India has declined, external manipulation and support to insurgency in Assam, the most populous State in the region, continues to be a problem.

Three States in the region, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim, are mostly unaffected by insurgency, while there has been substantial decline in insurgency in Tripura and Meghalaya. Thus, insurgencies in the region are largely confined to Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

• M. Amarjeet Singh |
• February 19, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

In its interim budget for 2009-10 the Union Government has allocated Rs. 1,41,703 crores for the country’ Defence Services that include three Armed Forces (i.e., the Army, the Navy and the Air Force), and other Departments, primarily Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Defence Ordnance Factories. This is apart from Rs. 24,960 crores which have been earmarked to defray civil expenditures of Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its affiliated organisations, including, the Coast Guard, and for defence pension (Rs. 21,790 crores).

• Laxman Kumar Behera |
• February 18, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

The fourth consecutive visit of President Nursultan Nazarbayev culminated in his being the chief guest at India’s 60th Republic Day parade. This shows the increasing importance India attaches to its strategic ties with Kazakhstan, a fact that has also been acknowledged by President Nazarbayev. In fact, the custom of inviting a head of state, particularly on such an occasion, is an effort to showcase two facets of India. One, to provide a glimpse to the chief guest of vast opportunities that exists in Federal India.

• Zakir Hussain |
• February 18, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

In a report titled “President Obama’s Policy Options in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)”, Hassan Aabbas, Fellow at the Michigan-based Institute for Policy and Understanding (ISPM), argues that the US “should help India, Pakistan and Afghanistan reconcile their differences in lieu of the tensions in the region.

• Arvind Gupta |
• February 18, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

Vice President Hamid Ansari’s four-day visit to Myanmar from February 5 to 8, 2009 was significant for business matters as India and Myanmar signed agreements with regard to Tata Motors setting up a truck manufacturing unit in Myanmar, cross-border transport, telecommunications, the establishment of English Language training Centre and Industrial Training Centre at Pakokku.

• Namrata Goswami |
• February 18, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

In a surprise move, Pakistan has once gain spawned the water issue on a political fast-track against India.

• P. Stobdan |
• February 13, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

Amidst apprehensions of a conflict between India and Pakistan after attacks on Mumbai on 26 November, as Pakistani security forces ostensibly diverted their attention from the Western to the Eastern borders, terror related violence showed an increase from 372 in November to 388 in December. Although there was no movement of troops from the Western borders to the East, Pakistani security forces allowed vast tracts of land in FATA and Swat Valley go under the control of Taliban.

• T. Khurshchev Singh , Alok Bansal |
• January 31, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

This year Pakistan is facing an acute water shortage and the shortage during the current Rabi crop is estimated to be around 35 to 40 per cent, which will adversely affect the wheat output, critical for the country’s food security. Pakistan also faces an acute power shortage, which has exacerbated by the reduced outflow from Tarbela Dam. To tide over the problems, Pakistan is building Bhasha Dam on River Indus, which is the largest dam being built in Pakistan since Tarbela was completed in 1976. Continuous silting has reduced the storage capacity of Tarbela and Mangla dams considerably.

• Priyanka Singh , Alok Bansal |
• January 31, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments

In an article published by Washington Post on January 28, 2009, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari hinted that Pakistan regards water as a major issue in bilateral relations with India. The article, titled “Partnering with Pakistan,” was a plea to US President Obama to continue to recognize Pakistan’s role in the US’ war on terrorism and regional stability. But Zardari did not miss the opportunity to make a mention of the water. He wrote:

• Arvind Gupta |
• January 30, 2009 |
• IDSA Comments