KUOW in Seattle, a part of the National Public Radio network in the U.S., interviewed me, Ahmed Rashid and Arif Jamal for a programme on "Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Islamic Extremism"... 29 July 2009
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Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Islamic Extremism
07/29/2009 at 9:00 a.m.
Journalist Ahmed Rashid says that the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan has resulted in "an unstable and nuclear armed Pakistan, a renewed al–Qaeda profiting from a booming opium trade, and a Taliban resurgence and reconquest." What do a resurgent al–Qaeda and Taliban look like? How are they related? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travelled to India last week. What does the conflict between India and Pakistan over the territory of Kashmir have to do with the troubles in Afghanistan? We'll try to untangle the relationships between Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.
Guest(s)
Siddharth Varadarajan is a journalist with the Hindu, India's leading English–language newspaper. He joins us from Dehli, India.
Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He writes for the Daily Telegraph, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, The New York Review of Books, BBC Online and The Nation. His books include "Jihad," "Taliban," and "The Resurgence of Central Asia." He frequently appears on NPR, CNN and the BBC World Service. Rashid's latest book is "Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia."
Arif Jamal is a Pakistani journalist based in Islamabad. He is a contributing writer to The New York Times and is currently a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights policy at Harvard. He has written for The Pakistan Times, The News, Radio France International and the CBC. His book is "Shadow War: The Untold Story of Jihad in Kashmir."
4 comments:
Siddharth,
An excellent overview of the current situation in the region, for an audience not really used to the intricacies.
As regards the domestic opposition in India regarding the Egypt communique, it is unfortunate. Jaitley's views in the cnn-ibn show is worrisome as it reveals the mindset of the bjp as a party that is just not able to see the ruling party make progress on intractable issues in foreign policy. one would have thought that as self proclaimed patriots, they would have a good understanding of what national interest entailed. this does not seem to be the case.
your analysis of the joint declaration was perceptive and more importantly, necessary.
-N
N:
Why bashing BJP? when they are simply doing what they are suppose to do? you agree you disagree or you simply walks away, they just did the possible & given. what is signed in S-e-S is signed before new attack.
Peace At Any Price?
Pakistan is not a normal adversary. It came into existence by its rejection of India; embracing us may threaten its survival. Peace with India would threaten entrenched interests as it would alter Pakistan's internal power equations, release the military's grip on politics, reduce the salience of Islamic groups and allow the growth of democracy there. Our 'entrenched' interests gain from peace with Pakistan, as our commitment to secularism, internal communal harmony, policies of inclusiveness as well as our economic growth and external influence get consolidated.
UPA-2 has repeated earlier mistakes and compounded them. The baffling Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement delinks the dialogue process from action on terror by Pakistan. It equates us again with it as a victim of terrorism. And it narrows Pakistan's wide 2004 commitment not to allow terror directed at India from its territory, and our demand for dismantling its terrorist infrastructure, to prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's limited assurance that Pakistan will do "everything in its power" to bring those guilty of Mumbai to justice.
Inclusion of Pakistan's concerns on threats to "Balochistan and other areas" officialises its accusations of state-sponsored terror against us, drags our consulates in Afghanistan into greater controversy and gives Pakistan's concerns domestic and international legitimacy.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/OPINION/Edit-Page/Top-Article-Peace-At-Any-Price/articleshow/4838707.cms
Robin Raphel, notorious in India in the 1990s for her role in getting J&K declared as a “disputed territory”, is now reported to be joining the team of Richard Holbrooke for the Af-Pak region
Even after she left the State Department and joined the faculty of the National Defence University, she reportedly maintained active contacts with anti-India elements in J&K.
The News has correctly described her as “one known to be Pakistan’s friend”.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?261156
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