S M Hali

The Cyprus issue is regarded as a "frozen conflict" and has defied resolution for fifty years. The recent discovery of gas in its vicinity has raised the hope of providing a platform for greater cooperation between the two protagonists; the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. While at the same time it has rekindled possible animosity leading to conflict. Currently this scribe is touring Cyprus, at the … [Read more...] about Cyprus gas exploration-boon or bane?

Indian obsession with Pakistani “spies” is so deep rooted that it is bordering on being delusional. On 28 October 2018, Indian media was in a state of frenzy reporting that it had captured two Pakistani spies infiltrating into Indian Territory at Ferozepur Sector. Entire India went berserk, gloating over the arrest of the alleged spies but no sane Indian would stop to ponder over the probability … [Read more...] about Indian obsession with Pakistani spies

The high point of Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to New Delh, i was finalizing the $5 billion Dollars' deal for Indian acquisition of the Russian S-400 Triumf, air defence missile system. The contract with Russia is likely to invoke American sanctions under the US administration's domestic law, "Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act" (CAATSA), to impose sanctions … [Read more...] about India’s S-400 tripwire act

COAS General Qamar Jawed Bajwa made a high profile three day visit to Beijing, where he was afforded the opportunity to call on Chinese President Xi Jinping. This level of protocol is normally not provided to visiting heads of militaries but an exception was made in the case of General Bajwa. The Pakistani Army Chief also held meetings with his Chinese counterpart, officials of the China Pakistan … [Read more...] about Bajwa’s Beijing sojourn

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan made a genuine and sincere effort to reach out to India for dialogue in his letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, seeking to re-start bilateral talks on key issues "challenging the relationship." Prima facie, the overture was received positively and India responded by announcing that, to break the ice, the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India would … [Read more...] about Why won’t India come to the negotiation table?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accompanied by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and newly appointed Advisor to the US Government on Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad stopped at Islamabad on their way to New Delhi. The recent hubris demonstrated by US president Donald Trump and rhetoric emanating from the White House via his South Asia Strategic Review, the new-year … [Read more...] about Resetting Pak-US ties

At a time when Turkey is faced with severe economic challenges because of a disagreement with the US, Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has given Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan his backing. Using Twitter, Imran Khan assured the Turkish President and the people of Turkey that Pakistan was praying that they could successfully overcome the formidable economic challenges … [Read more...] about Imran pledges support to Erdogan

Last week, US President Donald Trump, in a bid to squeeze the Pakistani military further slashed military aid meant for Islamabad. US Congress approved the National Defense Authorisation Act-2019 (NDAA-19) which capped its security-related aid to Pakistan to $150 million, significantly below the historic $1 billion to $750 million per year. In January 2018, the US suspended more than$1.15 … [Read more...] about The death of Pak-US military ties