Is India moving on a path towards segregating society, enclaving economic space in a way that essentially excludes the majority from the development orbit?
Let’s try asking Afghan people: “Has the west failed in Afghanistan?”
India needs to drastically reformulate its policy in Afghanistan and adopt a more long-term political strategy based on the principles non-alignment, democracy and development, argues Jamal Kidwai
During Zia’s years, liberal forces presented the most radical opposition to the theocracy-military collusion and oppression. Today, we witness a liberal democratic government, with a secular alliance that is paralysed and besieged by its lack of vision and inability to govern, says Afiya Shehrbano
From the Shah of Iran to Egypt’s Mubarak to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, cozy relationships in US foreign policy need to be questioned
Pakistan’s society and government are under intense pressure from the growing influence of extreme religious movements. In the absence of enlightened and unifying political leadership the prospect of a great regression remains alive, says Marco Mezzera.
Declining political morality and increasing moral policing are suffocating the rule of law in India, shrinking spaces for civil dialogue and threatening freedom of speech, says Vijay Nagaraj
Collaboration between western academia and Pakistani women at home and in the diaspora has established a body of donor-funded research with an exclusive focus on Islam. Will development policies based on such research lead to any kind of liberation?
UK government linked to Bangladeshi 'death squad', renowned for use of torture. Eight arrested over mass rape in eastern DRC. The UN votes to increase peacekeepers in Ivory Coast as mediation fails. Nigerian troops ordered to shoot-to-kill in Jos as violence increases ahead of elections. All this
The misuse of religion by the state and the fragmentation of Pakistan’s political society have both been evident since Pakistan’s birth in 1947, long before Pakistan became the ally of the US and Britain
A leader of the Indian separatist group Ulfa indicates he is ready for peace talks with the government. Unconfirmed reports emerge that China has stationed troops in northeast North Korea. All this and more in today’s security briefing.
While the major political parties are busying themselves in realpolitik, the rest of the country, especially the southern part of Nepal and the hilly districts of west, feel that there is no government to speak of
