After spending almost two months in a Lahore jail for killing two Pakistanis, CIA contractor Raymond Davis was released today, ending one of the most serious diplomatic standoffs between Islamabad and Washington in nine years of partnering in the fight against terrorism. Davis was set free after family members of the Pakistanis killed by Davis told a Pakistani court that they were dropping charges in exchange for financial compensation, often referred to as “blood money” in Pakistan. It is likely that the deal to release Davis in exchange for compensation …
According to the latest news, India has successfully tested two nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles. New Delhi is developing a range of missiles to improve its strategic capabilities against neighboring Pakistan (with whom it has fought three wars) and China (with whom it fought a brief border war in 1962). Pakistan was quick to follow suit and tested its own short-range missiles shortly thereafter. South Asia is a nuclear tinder box, and U.S. policymakers should do everything possible to keep regional tensions in check. But the heightened missile activity in South …
Today’s murder of Pakistani Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti by religious extremists establishes a pattern of growing religious intolerance. It is undermining Pakistan’s struggling democracy by shutting down free speech and political expression in the name of a ruthless ideology disguised as religion. The murderers left pamphlets at the scene of the crime, explaining that they killed Bhatti because of his opposition to controversial blasphemy laws, which are often misused against Pakistan’s religious minorities. Some Pakistani officials had sought to argue that the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer at …
In the midst of a tense bilateral dispute between the U.S. and Pakistan over the case of Raymond Davis—an American Embassy employee who shot and killed two armed Pakistanis in what he claims was self-defense—civil society leaders from both countries met in Lahore, Pakistan, February 17-19. The initiative, dubbed the U.S.-Pakistan Leaders Forum, was convened by the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Initiative (a non-governmental, non-partisan collaboration of four U.S.-based organizations) and hosted by the Lahore University of Management Sciences, a world-class educational institute started in 1985 by Pakistani industrialist Syed Babar Ali. …
This week, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), which oversees the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), met with General Khalid Wynne, Chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The meetings, and associated announcements, underscore the close security relationship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Pakistan. China and Pakistan have a long history of military cooperation. The Chinese have helped Pakistan develop its indigenous arms industry, and joint ventures between the two states include joint production of the …
Compared to the U.S.–China joint statement in 2009, this year’s joint statement issued at the summit between Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao contains no mention of improving U.S.–China “communication, dialogue, and cooperation on issues related to South Asia.” India objected strenuously to the language in the 2009 joint statement, and the U.S. has apparently taken on board New Delhi’s concerns. In any case, China’s actions over the last two years have demonstrated that China’s interests in South Asia don’t significantly match up with the Obama Administration’s goals or U.S. …
The international community has been shocked and sickened by reaction in Pakistan to the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer. Support for the Governor’s murderer was found not only within the religious parties but also from lawyers, parts of the media, and even some politicians from the mainstream political parties. This has been a wake-up call for U.S. policymakers, who now see that support for extremist ideologies is much broader and deeper in Pakistani society than previously understood. In the midst of the horrific demonization of the late Taseer, Pakistani …
In a twisted response to the devastating assassination of Pakistani Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, several hundred Pakistani clerics and so-called “scholars” signed a statement condoning the slaying and warning Pakistanis against grieving the death of the Governor. Adding insult to injury, several of the country’s clerics refused to lead funeral prayers for Taseer, who was shot down by his own bodyguard for defending the rights of religious minorities against the misuse of anti-blasphemy laws. Indeed, Pakistan’s top religious political parties said Taseer’s murder was justified and resulted from his failure …
The long-awaited White House Review on Afghanistan demonstrates that General Petraeus’ counterinsurgency strategy is beginning to pay dividends. The additional U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan have helped the U.S. and coalition forces begin to uproot the Taliban from some of their traditional strongholds in southern Afghanistan. The most important task now is to gain greater Pakistani cooperation. There has been less progress on standing up civilian government in the areas cleared of insurgents, however. While the U.S. and coalition forces have shown they are capable of clearing Taliban from their …
A recent New York Times article on microcredit in India may have missed the whole point. Their headline implies massive defaults in the microcredit industry, yet in the first paragraph they state, “borrowers in one of India’s largest states have stopped repaying their loans, egged on by politicians.” If borrowers are defaulting because their businesses are failing, or because the microcredit institute shouldn’t have given them a loan, then ok, perhaps there is a place to examine industry practices. In this case however, it sounds more like the politicians aren’t …
