COMMENT 140- Why is PTM becoming a major challenge for Pakistan’s ruling establishment?
Pakistan is currently facing a number of challenges both at home and abroad. Domestically the country has locked horns with its arch-rival India on the Eastern border, while also facing security threats in its Western border shared with Afghanistan. However, the issue most threatening to Pakistan’s “all-powerful” military establishment...
COMMENT 139- Georgia and India: A ‘love hate relationship’ with bigger prospects
Georgia is a tiny country located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Having applied to join the EU, the nation also cherishes and seeks to revitalise relationships with its Asian neighbours, large and small. China has brought in huge investments and lines of credit in recent years. Local...
FOCUS 42- Fighting terrorism: can Pakistan overcome its negative image?
Abstract
The debate on whether Pakistan can be considered a trustworthy actor in the international arena has surfaced again. Recent events have shown that Pakistan is capable of prudence and moderation when dealing with non-aligned South Asian powers, which is a welcome, (if relative), improvement in its international image. The...
COMMENT 138- The Easter bombings and the growing Jihadist Terror in Sri Lanka: Context...
Introduction
On April 21 - Easter Sunday, 2019 - the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka witnessed several waves of bomb blasts – including suicide bombings - targeting churches, popular luxury hotels, and other widely accessed places in three of the country’s cities. The explosion of an improvised explosive...
FOCUS 41- India votes in 2019: A trendsetter for majoritarian politics and populism
Abstract
This SADF Focus outlines the onset of the 17th General Elections in India between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Grand Coalition of parties, which includes the Congress. Political campaigns currently swing between divergent areas – we witness a great variety of promises, including ‘India/Hindu First’ propaganda and...
COMMENT 137- Illegal and Ecologically hostile fishing in Goa’s Zuari River
Introduction
The issue of overfishing affects not only artisanal fishers but also marine ecology in general. Ecologically hostile fishing gears such as trawl nets and purse-seine nets are deployed in the Zuari River even though their use is banned by the Goa Fisheries Department within a radius of five kilometres...
Comment 136 – The 46th OIC Summit: a landmark in dialogue
The Indian Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, addressed for the first time the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The 46th summit, held on 1 March, heard her as a guest of honour. Whilst the 180-odd million Muslim population is a minority in...
COMMENT 135- The why and how of getting the Teesta Agreement signed by India...
The why and how of getting the Teesta Agreement signed by India and Bangladesh
The Teesta water sharing dispute has been simmering between India and Bangladesh for a long time. Despite the derailment of the Teesta negotiations in 2011, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s inability to get the agreement signed...
COMMENT 134- In the shadow of a looming war: How to react to state-sponsored...
In the shadow of a looming war.
How to react to state-sponsored terrorism?
The two nuclear powers India and Pakistan are once again at the edge of a serious crisis. And again, the trigger was a cross-border terrorist incident. On 14 February, 2019, a convoy of security forces was attacked on...
COMMENT 133 – Venues for peace in the Eastern shores of the Gulf of...
1. The context
In September last year, I travelled extensively through Bangladesh’s conflict area within the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the immense refugee camps on the right bank of the Naf River. In the first half of February, I stayed for some days in Yangon, Myanmar, in the wake of...