By Anatol Lieven U.S. STRATEGY toward Pakistan is focused on trying to get Islamabad to give serious help to Washington’s campaign against the Afghan Taliban. There are two rather large problems with this approach. The first is that it is never going to happen. As U.S. diplomats in Pakistan themselves recognize (and as was made ever so clear by the WikiLeaks dispatches), both Pakistani strategic calculation ...

November 12, 2012 The Honorable Barack Obama President of the United States The White House Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama: Congratulations on being re-elected President.  We know that you, Vice President Biden, and your team will continue to do everything that you can to protect the interests of the United States. One of the challenges you continue to face as president is managing America’s rela ...

By LOLITA C. BALDOR WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon says an Iranian military plane fired upon, but did not hit, an unarmed U.S. drone aircraft a week ago in what a spokesman said was international airspace over the Persian Gulf. Pentagon press secretary George Little disclosed the incident was disclosed Thursday. Little said the drone aircraft was performing "routine surveillance" and was about 16 miles off ...

By Asif Haroon Raja Although India’s borders are not contiguous to Afghanistan, it has always vied to maintain friendly ties with Afghanistan and to keep Pak-Afghan relations frosty. To India, ties with Kabul mean new trade routes, access to Central Asia’s vast energy reserves and a way to stave off the rise of Islamic militancy. It gives an opportunity to India to undermine Pakistan, as it nurtures its sup ...

Asif Haroon Raja Historically Pak-US relationship has always been marked by convergence and divergence of national interests that kept on switching from friendship to friction. The US gained more during the times of convergence of interests but periods of divergence outweighed the former.  Although Pakistan earned the title of ‘most allied ally of USA’, it is also the most sanctioned country in the world. B ...

Asif Haroon Raja Afghanistan shares 1400 km border with Pakistan. Apart from geographic contiguity, 42% Pashtuns of 28 million population of Afghanistan share religious, ethnic, linguistic and cultural ties with 15.2 million Pashtuns of 174 million population of Pakistan. Pashtuns living in close vicinity of Durand Line have blood relations and the border line has never acted as a barrier in their cross bor ...

Asif Haroon Raja   Historically Pak-US relationship has always been marked by convergence and divergence of national interests that kept on switching from friendship to friction. The US gained more during the times of convergence of interests but periods of divergence outweighed the former.  Although Pakistan earned the title of ‘most allied ally of USA’, it is also the most sanctioned country in the world. ...

By Sajjad Shaukat [caption id="attachment_3455" align="alignright" width="244"] Hanna lake snow Quetta[/caption] After taking cognisance of the general pardon announced by the Pakistan government for the Baloch separatist leaders, and favaourable hearings of the  Supreme Court of Pakistan about the missing persons of the province of Balochistan, holding Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligen ...