Apart from being the first elections to be conducted by a legitimately constituted civilian set-up on completion of a full term by a democratically elected government, Pakistan’s upcoming elections scheduled for May 11, 2013, are notable in more th....
Introduction In a bid to progress the Afghan reconciliation process, which has degenerated into a slanging match between Pakistan and Afghanistan, US Secretary of State John Kerry hosted a meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and P....
On 28 April 2013, VIF welcomed Gen. (retd) Shankar Roychowdhury PVSM, AVSM former Chief of the Indian Army, Amb. Satish Chandra, former Deputy National Security Advisor in the Chair, Shri DC Nath, President Patriots Forum and Shri Vikramjeet Banerjee....
In the end, Sarabjit Singh was executed not by a hangman but by Pakistan’s famed ‘non-state’ actors – his fellow prisoners on death row – who are believed to have been put up to the job of bludgeoning him into a lifeless pulp by ‘state’....
Prologue In October last, we had carried out a detailed analysis of the 2013 general election scene in Pakistan, identifying the main players and their prospects. Over the last six months many new developments have taken place, which necess....
What is often referred to as the Afghan endgame is in fact the US endgame in Afghanistan. For the Afghans there is unlikely to be any endgame because if the US desperation to exit from Afghanistan is anything to go by, then Afghanistan is in for a ve....
On 18 April 2013, Mr. Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India interacted with members of the VIF faculty on contemporary developments in Afghanistan. He spoke on the ongoing political, security and economic transition. He gave ....
A delegation led by Ambassador Richard Oslon, US Ambassador to Pakistan visited VIF on 17 April 2013. The delegation interacted with members of the faculty led by Shri Ajit Doval, KC, Director VIF on recent occurrences in Pakistan and the overall sec....
In what is being called a first in Pakistan’s history, a former military strongman, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has been formally arrested on charges of terrorism and illegal confinement of judges. Musharraf’s detractors see his arrest as a sign of the....
Introduction Afghan President Karzai during a visit to the Helmand province on 12 March continued, from the week before, his criticism of the US/NATO intentions in Afghanistan. He made a pointed reference to the US, claiming that it was ‘....