Any attempt to defang Islamic State must first cut off its main sources of funding, says Sandhya Jain. In a bid to legitimise its existence as a new State carved out of vast swathes of territories of Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has reportedly opened its own bank and … Read More
Pakistan’s policy of nurturing militias as strategic assets came home to roost on December 16 when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)jihadis shot 148 persons, including 132 students, at the Army Public School in Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The victims, mostly offspring of military personnel, were killed as revenge for Zarb-e-Azab, the Army … Read More
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brief visit to India last week was a rewarding climax to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s international outreach this year, deepening ties forged at the BRICS and other summits, satisfying some national security needs, and aligning with Mr Modi’s signature project, Make in India. The visit was … Read More
In an reluctant admission that the brutish, well-funded, and well-equipped Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh) or Islamic State (IS) cannot be defeated without the cooperation of Iran, the United States has tactfully shelved plans to oust Syrian President Basher al-Assad, a close ally of Teheran, and has since … Read More
Article 370 has been distrusted from its inception; but until now it could never be discussed seriously because the vested interests in favour of retaining it seemed invincible. Now, however, though it is far from being expunged from the Constitution, a serious debate has been joined. Last December, the then … Read More
An astonishing aspect of the Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir is not the controversy over Article 370 but the revelation that the Bharatiya Janata Party may itself be conflicted over this constitutional provision. After sharply raising the ante, infusing life into the lacklustre National Conference and increasing the dogmatism … Read More
In a development that has warmed many an Indian heart, the US State Department’s irascible Pakistan expert and India-baiter, Robin Raphel, is being investigated for possible counter-intelligence activities. This is a euphemism for spying on behalf of a foreign government, possibly Pakistan, with which she has had a long and … Read More
Even as the world learnt with surprise that US President Barack Obama has reached out to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for a nuclear deal and help in fighting the Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh, or Islamic State), there are startling reports that self-proclaimed caliph Abu Bakr … Read More
The Election Commission of India’s announcement of elections to the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly even as the Chief Minister was pleading for postponement in view of September’s natural calamity, and the Supreme Court’s startling decision to intervene in the poll process by seeking relaxation of the model code of conduct … Read More
The presence of the grim black flags of the Islamic State (IS) or Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh) in Jammu and Kashmir and other Indian States where jihadi cells nestle is testimony to Pakistan’s perseverance in undoing the civilisational framework and unity of India. New Delhi must realise … Read More
