Pakistan
Killing of Pak Taliban leader in US Drone Strike: Implications for AfPak

Introduction Just days after Barack Obama announced fresh stipulations on the use of drones, a US drone strike on May 29 killed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) deputy chief Waliur Rehman. The TTP confirmed his death the next day, decl....

Test of democracy in Pakistan

Apart from being the first elections to be conducted by a legitimately constituted civilian set-up on completion of a full term by a democratically elected government, Pakistan’s upcoming elections scheduled for May 11, 2013, are notable in more th....

Sarabjit Singh: Execution by Murder

In the end, Sarabjit Singh was executed not by a hangman but by Pakistan’s famed ‘non-state’ actors – his fellow prisoners on death row – who are believed to have been put up to the job of bludgeoning him into a lifeless pulp by ‘state’....

Reappraisal of The Election Scene in Pakistan

Prologue In October last, we had carried out a detailed analysis of the 2013 general election scene in Pakistan, identifying the main players and their prospects. Over the last six months many new developments have taken place, which necess....

Interaction on Situation in Pakistan and Regional Security

A delegation led by Ambassador Richard Oslon, US Ambassador to Pakistan visited VIF on 17 April 2013. The delegation interacted with members of the faculty led by Shri Ajit Doval, KC, Director VIF on recent occurrences in Pakistan and the overall sec....

General in The Gaol: Musharraf’s Arrest and Its Implications

In what is being called a first in Pakistan’s history, a former military strongman, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has been formally arrested on charges of terrorism and illegal confinement of judges. Musharraf’s detractors see his arrest as a sign of the....

Pakistan’s Dangerous Quest for Tactical Nukes

Pakistan’s quest to acquire tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) has added a dangerous dimension to the already precarious strategic equation in South Asia. The security discourse in the subcontinent revolves around the perennial apprehension of a conve....

Pervez Musharraf Returns...From Exile into Oblivion?

Pakistan’s former military dictator, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has ended his nearly five year long self-exile to return home to a tepid welcome by a handful of die-hard supporters and what was clearly a ‘rent-a-crowd’ bunch of people. While his ret....

India, Afghanistan and Developments in Pakistan

A wise man does not venture into unknown territory, at least not till he has reconnoitered it thoroughly. Perhaps I am not wise because I am trying, through this paper, to venture into an area about which my knowledge is sketchy at best. I do thi....

Pakistan’s Lame Lawmakers’ Resolution on Kashmir a Challenge for India

The highly provocative, extremely offensive, and utterly reprehensible resolution passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan condemning Indian ‘state sponsored brutalities’ and demanding the handing over the body of executed terrorist Afzal Guru....

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