Comment 229 – The end for Khan?
Pakistan is witnessing a most severe political crisis, as the government is strongly challenged by both state and society. It is not the first time that Imran Khan, as Pakistan’s Prime Minister (PM), is facing severe criticisms; it is not the first time that a wide array of oppositional...
COMMENT 228 – Genocide in Bangladesh – The politics of Disinformation
For the whole eleven years during which I have been actively engaged in South Asia, nothing touched me more than the Bangladeshi people’s struggle for memory, justice, and accountability regarding the Genocide perpetrated against Bangladesh by the Pakistani military authorities. This genocide, organised in tandem with Islamic fanatic organisations...
COMMENT 227 – From Kabul to Kyiv, Pakistan’s persistent diplomatic course
On February 23, Pakistan’s Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan arrived in Moscow for a two-days visit. According to open sources, the PM’s Russia trip was for a ‘exchange of views on major regional and international issues’, aiming at a reset of bilateral ties and ‘expanding cooperation in the energy...
Focus 80 – Facts Versus Falsehoods: Decoding the Gandhi-Bose Relationship
Abstract
Indian History vehemently celebrates two particular days of the Year: 26th January and 15th August. One is Republic Day, wherein the coveted Indian Constitution was enforced: the other is Independence Day (when the country was liberated from prolonged colonial rule). The literature surrounding the Indian National Struggle particularly focuses...
Focus 79 – Sri Lanka looks back to India
Abstract
Geopolitical competition is increasing everywhere, and the Indian Ocean is no exception. One of the most significant causes of this phenomenon is the Chinese-driven Belt- and Road Initiative (BRI). In its quest to challenge the economic, political, and military supremacy of Western liberal democracies and their like-minded partners in...
FOCUS 78 – Saving the United Nations from the Shadow of The Great Hall...
Abstract
The future of global security, peace, and power balance is presently being shaped by conflicts and cooperation among major powers. China's rise on the international stage, as well as its growing dominance in the United Nations, poses a threat to US hegemony. The brief explores the evolution of the...
COMMENT 226 – Bangladesh in 2022: Revisiting Ancestral Secularism and Promoting Religious Pluralism
Recently, Bangladesh celebrated its half-century of independence and victory, the Golden Jubilee, with great ceremony and circumstance. The birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh, was also celebrated with due dignity. On this crucial double occasion, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has administered oaths simultaneously all...
Comment 225 – Gwadar protests and the peculiar role of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan
For nearly a month, the coastal town of Gwadar has been witnessing the emergence of a protest movement called the Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek (Give Rights to Gwadar Movement), ‘considered one of the largest in Baluchistan’s history’. The movement is led by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). Baluchistan’s General Secretary and...
Comment 224 – Recognition and trial of the 1971 genocide against Bengalis
The United Nations declared 9 December as the International Genocide Day. Sixty-seven years after the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, in 2015 it was decided to globally observe the International Day of Genocide remembrance. It commemorates the victims of genocide in different parts of the world and suggests a global...
Comment 223 – On the UN Genocide Remembrance Day
Seventy-three years ago, the United Nations (2020) approved its first human-rights treaty – also known as the Genocide convention, because it mainly concerns the crime of genocide. The 9th of December, the day of its original approval, has been celebrated since 2015 as ‘the International Day of Commemoration and...