Pakistan

Unity of purpose and synergy between state institutions required to deal with sectarian violence is largely missing and, as a result, the Pakistani state is responding to the growing Taliban threat in Karachi in a knee-jerk manner.

India's relationship with Iran has been uneven owing to external factors. This article traces the role of the Pakistan factor in this relationship, wherein the religious identity of a fellow Islamic nation, the strategic outlook towards Afghanistan, and energy relations between the three countries are discussed. The article outlines the Pakistani primacy in the India–Iran strategic relationship and showcases how Afghanistan is the glue for India–Iran relations despite the breaks in their continuing relationship.

It is precisely Zardari’s ability to do the unthinkable that has consistently confounded both his detractors and admirers and given him the aura of great cunning and cleverness.

The terrorist strike on Minhas airbase in Kamra on August 16, in which one Pakistani soldier and nine terrorists were killed, is but the latest manifestation of the state’s inability to protect even its vital military installations.

Unless Pakistan opens the NATO supply route, it is very unlikely that the US will transfer any coalition support funds, thus creating serious trouble for the aid-dependent Pakistani economy.

The spate of killings has unleashed fear and uncertainty among the people and there is an open outcry about the government’s inaction and inability to control the situation.

The Pakistani leadership has apparently come to the point where it realises that for the survival of the country and its structures created by Jinnah, it must buy peace for the present with its arch-enemy India.

If the tragedy of Gayari has induced some sense of introspection in the leadership of the Pakistan Army, it may be a fitting tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in the avalanche.

Post 9/11, the regional strategic discourse in and on south Asia has been overwhelmed by Pakistan and Afghanistan. The past 10 years witnessed Pakistan’s degeneration into a violent, terror-infested state with diminishing authority of the civilian set-up. Moreover, its role in abetting terrorism as an instrument of state policy became known and was acknowledged internationally. The prevailing situation in Pakistan is grave and the likely future scenarios dismaying.