Interview with Abdul Naeemi & Imtiaz Gul: Afghanistan and Pakistan have been close allies, but their current relationship is driven by mutual mistrust. The international community should help open diplomatic channels and promote Afghan-Pakistani negotiations to collectively succeed in fighting terrorism.
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There is a subtle shift in the long held dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. ++ In public and private there is a growing view that Kashmir should take a back seat in favor of solving Pakistan’s domestic problems. ++ Pakistan has high inflation, unemployed and under-educated young men. ++ The strategy of “bleeding India to death” in the area, through insurgency and terrorism, has
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The U.S. government has all but ignored the conflict in Kashmir and espoused a “hands off” approach on the issue. However, pressure to engage is increasing. After all, a resolution of the Kashmir conflict, which pits two nuclear powers against one another, is closely tied to failure or success in Afghanistan. It is therefore crucial not only to security in South Asia, but to U.S. national
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The Mumbai attacks were nothing new, but they struck a people that were starting to feel secure. ++ “Confidence in the political system is at a low.” ++ “The middle class is accustomed to overlooking the fault lines in India.” ++ India cannot be stable with unstable neighbors such as Pakistan, or with large, marginalized internal groups, such as its 150 million Muslims. ++ Hindu nationalist
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“Americans are right to express solidarity with India.” ++ Facing Maoist rebels in the east, separatists in the northeast, organized crime and communal violence, India is a world to itself. ++ Unfortunately, the bloodiest conflict with Pakistan is over Kashmir. ++ The US needs Pakistan to defeat Islamist militants within its borders and in Afghanistan. ++ American mediation over Kashmir would
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Seven years after the advent of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Taliban, al- Qaeda and various insurgents have regained strength particularly on Afghan and Pakistani soil. The fight for
security in the Middle East has spiralled downward as the Taliban have “established a new “safe haven” in Pakistan. Serious efforts to build a transparent, secure Afghan state with an intact justice system will
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Indian elites are showing insecurity over India’s role with relation to Washington. ++ That Obama is courting Islamabad for support in Afghanistan shouldn’t be cause for worry. ++ The lack of criticism of US military action in Syria from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs is a sign of weakness; confidence is required. ++ India’s response to Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria mustn’t be determined
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The next administration might find itself entangled in a dispute over Kashmir as Obama wants Pakistan to cooperate in Afghanistan. ++ Obama strongly acknowledges the importance of a Indo-US partnership, but what “Indians fear is that they are being asked to pick up the political tab for America’s failed policy in Afghanistan.” ++ If Obama wants India to cooperate he should
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The former colony India is now confronted with separatists who call for an independent Kashmir. ++ India’s governance of the region was dreadful at times, but it is still a legitimate democracy. ++ Nobody should oppose an independent Kashmir, but instead they should ask for a consensual secession by taking a vote in Kashmir and in India. ++ The “Idea of India” would not be wounded if it let
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