At long last, a firm step forward, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs

At long last, a firm step forward

Siddharth Varadarajan

The history of India-Pakistan relations is full of examples of leaders from both countries travelling to distant points on the globe — from Tashkent and New York to Sharm el-Sheikh and Havana — to meet each other only to end up standing still. Meetings held in the subcontinent, on the other hand, have invariably led to breakthroughs, big and small. Think Simla and Lahore, Islamabad and Delhi. Each of these encounters produced conceptual breakthroughs that briefly carried some promise of momentum before being swamped by the forces of inertia, dead habit, treachery or bad faith that are the constants in this cursed relationship.

To the list of promising South Asian summits can now be added the name of Thimphu, where Manmohan Singh and Yusuf Raza Gilani met on Thursday. Defying naysayers within their respective establishments and wider strategic communities, the two Prime Ministers crafted a simple but elegant formula for breaking the current impasse, thereby ensuring that the process of engagement — stuck for several months — now has some chance of moving ahead. The Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers have been tasked with meeting each other to assess the current state of the relationship and identify the reasons for the trust deficit. This is to be the first step in what will eventually lead to a dialogue process aimed at discussing and resolving all outstanding issues and disputes.

http://newageislam.com/at-long-last,-a-firm-step-forward/current-affairs/d/2780

US role in promoting Islamism in Central Asia and its implications for regional security, War on Terror, NewAgeIslam.com

War on Terror

US role in promoting Islamism in Central Asia and its implications for regional security

Indian interests in regional security

By M. K. Bhadrakumar

Certainly, India will be averse to being the promoter or participant in a competing effort. However, it cannot but be affected by the outcome of the ongoing struggle for spheres of influence between the pro-Russian and pro-American vectors or among contending projects Russias Eurasia Space project, Americas Greater Middle East Initiative, Chinas Assimilation project, and the EUs Integration project and last but not least the potential entanglement of the region in the World Islamic Caliphate project. Again, regional security in Central Asia is currently multilevel and unstructured and often contradictory, which compels India to avoid military-political cooperation. Having said that, India, as an affected party, cannot remain impervious to the permanent threat of the spread of challenges from Afghanistan to neighbouring countries. The diplomatic challenge is that India is called upon to promote regional stability and bolster its anti-terrorist efforts without resorting to military-political modes of cooperation. The predicament is similar to Chinas.

A redeeming feature of the Central Asian situation is that it is highly unlikely that any of the international players involved in regional projects will undermine the regions stability, which is already quite fragile. From the Indian perspective, Washington's continued focus on the Greater Middle East Initiative is of some particular interest. The U.S. thrust is on drawing the countries of the region into its sphere of influence as an area of responsibility, including Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan that constitute areas of instability. No doubt, the directions of the U.S. strategy to solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan problem directly impact on Indian interests.

http://newageislam.com/us-role-in-promoting-islamism-in-central-asia-and-its-implications-for-regional-security-/war-on-terror/d/1696

British Army to grill Harry over ‘Paki’ remark, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

British Army to grill Harry over ‘Paki’ remark

A source told the paper: “The worst that could then happen would be that he would get a letter of displeasure from the Army which would go on his record and might slightly affect future promotion prospects. If he had made the remarks last week, or addressed them to a private soldier, that would be a much more serious matter.”

“Harry will be hauled before the top brass over this, just as any other young officer would. His commanding officer will certainly give him a stern telling off. But as there has been no formal complaint, it will probably not go any further than that,” the Mirror quoted an unnamed insider as saying.

Meanwhile, leading British politicians from all parties described Harry’s remarks as irresponsible and unacceptable in modern Britain. Universities and Skills Minister John Denham said: “This sort of language can be seen as offensive, is offensive, is gradually going out of use in our society, and he’s apologised for it.” Opposition Conservative party leader David Cameron called Harry’s use of the racist term “completely unacceptable” and urged the army to “root out” such attitudes. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the prince’s words would cause “considerable offence”.

Asked if he would sack a member of his own front bench team who used phrases like that uttered by the prince, Clegg replied: “Almost certainly I would have to. Yes.”

Keith Vaz, Britain’s longest-serving MP of South Asian origin, said: “I can’t think of any circumstances in the House of Commons where I or anyone else has been called a Paki. This word is unacceptable, wounding and ought to be - as it has been - widely condemned.”

http://newageislam.com/british-army-to-grill-harry-over-%E2%80%98paki%E2%80%99-remark--/islam-and-the-west/d/1116