tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post1865856680563183475..comments2024-03-27T15:36:44.737-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: Is US Playing India Card to Check China While Ignoring India's Pakistan Obsession? Riaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-79836757683799885972022-09-08T19:00:57.354-07:002022-09-08T19:00:57.354-07:00In a notification to the US Congress, the US State...In a notification to the US Congress, the US State Department has said it has approved a possible foreign military sale of F-16 for sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of $ 450 million.<br /><br />https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/us-argues-f-16-support-package-to-pakistan-not-to-alter-military-balance-india-mum-429805<br /><br />“Pakistan is an important counterterrorism partner, and as part of longstanding policy, the United States provides life cycle maintenance and sustainment packages for US-origin platforms,” said a State Department spokesperson.<br /><br />“This will sustain Islamabad’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet as well as support American foreign policy and national security objectives by allowing interoperability in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations,” said the Pentagon’sDefense Security Cooperation Agency in a note.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-87885821377377126982021-09-17T18:20:58.956-07:002021-09-17T18:20:58.956-07:00S. K
@SamKhan999
The fact that 14% minority Muslim...S. K<br />@SamKhan999<br />The fact that 14% minority Muslims dominate the mindset & are an object of awe, fear, hatred and obsession of so called great civilization and culture is itself an example of the hollowness and insecurity of the (Hindu) majority.<br /><br />https://twitter.com/SamKhan999/status/1438870016187797510?s=20Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-13953558912385182722021-08-13T04:01:46.757-07:002021-08-13T04:01:46.757-07:00Dear Anonymous
Thanks for your post, you said:
&q...<br />Dear Anonymous<br /><br />Thanks for your post, you said:<br />"THE OBSESSION OF PAKISTAN WITH INDIA IS UNDERSTANDABLE BUT OBSESSION OF INDIA WITH PAKISTAN DOESN"T MAKE SENSE".<br /><br /><br />My comment:<br />Sir, I agree with you, I was actually reading about the history of Pakistan and India and I came to know that since even before the creation of Pakistan, their were extremist Hindu elements in India like RSS,Bajran Dal and Shev Sina who had a dream of making India a complete Hindu country. They consider Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka as the part of this united Hindu India. This is why these extremist Hindus have started the program of converting the muslims of India into Hindus.<br /><br />Now the biggest obstacle in this objective and aim of extremist Hindus is "PAKISTAN". For India ,Pakistan is a big threat because it is the only Muslim country in the world which has nuclear weapons and strong millitary and it is a neighbour of Pakistan. Extremist Hindus know very well that Pakistan will never easily surrender to the growing influence of extrmist Hindus, this is why these extremist Hindus always attack Pakistan verbally (They know they can't do anything against Pakistan physically). This is why Indian media most of the time attacks Pakistan army and ISI. <br /><br />This is the main reason why India is more obsessed with Pakistan.<br />Ahmednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-43122966694685789472020-12-30T07:59:50.502-08:002020-12-30T07:59:50.502-08:00Has New Delhi's abject failure in containing t...Has New Delhi's abject failure in containing the coronavirus pandemic finally done what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's extreme brutality and open hatred against Zakaria's fellow Indian Muslims could not do? Has he really had it with Hindu Nationalist government? While he has not used his perch on CNN to do it, it appears that he has started expressing his disapproval of the performance on other platforms.<br /><br /> Here are a few of the key points Fareed Zakaria made while speaking with Shekhar Gupta:<br /><br />1. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Indian government, and by that I mean the Delhi government, has handled this crisis (COVID19) very poorly.<br /><br />2. Indian government functions very poorly, even in comparison to other developing countries. Coronavirus has highlighted that reality.<br /><br />3. In a way, India seems like roadkill for China’s obsession with absolute control over their borders. I do think there is an opportunity here for diplomacy. I don’t think India needs to be confrontational about it (the LAC issue), but of course it should push back.<br /><br />4. It is now a bipolar world. US and China are way ahead of the rest of the world. For the long term, India needs to decide it’s position with China.<br /><br />4. Turkey under Erdogan has become more confident and independent. It is culturally proud. It is telling Americans to buzz off.<br /><br />5. Popularity of political leaders around the world is linked to their performance on the coronavirus pandemic. In India, however, the issues of religion and caste are still dominating.<br /><br />6. What I wonder about (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is, is he really bringing all of India along with him? How many Muslims in Indian government? Or South Indians in BJP? It is much less diverse than Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.<br /><br />7. I have been very sad to see how Indian democracy has developed over the last few years. It has become an illiberal democracy.<br /><br />8. The India media is slavishly pro-government. Self-censorship is widespread in India.<br /><br />9. The Indian courts fold in cases where government takes serious interest.<br /><br />It has become increasingly clear that India's loudest cheerleaders like Fareed Zakaria are now starting to see the stark reality of Modi's India as a big failure on multiple fronts. Indian state has failed to contain the deadly COVID19 pandemic. India's economy is in serious trouble. The country's democracy is in decline. India seems like a roadkill for China. This turn of events has created serious problems for Pakistani "liberals" who have long seen and often cited India as a successful example of "secular democracy" at work in South Asia.<br /><br />https://www.southasiainvestor.com/2020/08/is-fareed-zakaria-souring-on-india.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-89809610350365534662019-04-24T17:03:54.173-07:002019-04-24T17:03:54.173-07:00#India’s perilous obsession with #Pakistan. Hyper-...#India’s perilous obsession with #Pakistan. Hyper-nationalistic frenzy to ‘defeat’ Pakistan comes with huge human & material costs.<br />Come Indian elections, the bogey of Pakistan has overwhelmed the #nationalist discourse in the shrillest manner. #Modi #BJP https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/indias-perilous-obsession-with-pakistan/article26925287.ece<br /><br />-----------<br /><br />Here, one should ask the most pertinent question: why does India compete with Pakistan in every sphere, from military to sport, rather than with, say, China, which is comparable in size and population, and which in 1980 had the same GDP as India? (China’s GDP is almost five times that of India’s now.)<br />--------<br /><br /><br />Come Indian elections, the bogey of Pakistan has overwhelmed the nationalist discourse in the shrillest manner, with the Prime Minister and other Ministers’ relentless branding of the Congress/Opposition as ‘anti-national’ and as ‘agents of Pakistan’. Further, the Prime Minister even made an unprecedented threat of using nuclear weapons against Pakistan.<br /><br />As a country born of the two-nation theory based on religion, and then having to suffer dismemberment and the consequent damage to the very same religious identity, it is obvious why Islamic Pakistan must have a hostile Other in the form of a ‘Hindu India’. But what is not obvious is why India, a (much larger) secular nation, must have a hostile antagonist in the form of Pakistan.<br /><br />--------------<br /><br />Wars and military competition produce madness. Nothing exemplifies this more than India-Pakistan attempts to secure the Siachen Glacier, the inhospitable and highest battle terrain in the world. India alone lost nearly 800 soldiers (until 2016) to weather-related causes only. Besides, it spends around ₹6 crore every day in Siachen. Operation Parakram (2001-02), in which India mobilised for war with Pakistan, saw 798 soldier deaths and a cost of $3 billion. This is without fighting a war. Add to this the human and economic costs of fighting four wars.<br /><br />Granted, the proponents of India’s muscular nationalism who want only a military solution in Kashmir might close their eyes to the killings of some 50,000 Kashmiri civilians and the unending suffering of Kashmiris, but can they, as nationalists, ignore, the deaths of around 6,500 security personnel in Kashmir and the gargantuan and un-estimated costs of stationing nearly 5 lakh military/para-military/police personnel in Kashmir for 30 years?<br /><br />Ten years ago, Stephen P. Cohen, the prominent American scholar of South Asia, called the India-Pakistan relationship “toxic” and notably termed both, and not just Pakistan, as suffering from a “minority” or “small power” complex in which one is feeling constantly “threatened” and “encircled”. Tellingly, he argues that it is the disastrous conflict with Pakistan that has been one of the main reasons why India has been confined to South Asia, and prevented from becoming a global power.<br /><br />------------------<br /><br />Here, a look at the military expenditures is revealing: while India spent $63.9 billion (2017) and Pakistan $9.6 billion (2018-19), Bangladesh spent only $3.45 billion (2018-19). Only a muscular and masculine nationalism can take pride in things such as becoming the fifth largest military spender in the world, or being the world’s second largest arms importer. The bitter truth hidden in these details is that India, ranked 130 in the HDI (and Pakistan, 150), simply cannot afford to spend scarce resources on nuclear arsenals, maintaining huge armies or developing space weapons. Besides, in an increasingly globalised world, military resolution between a nuclear India and Pakistan is almost impossible.<br /><br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-12602445892157100462018-07-02T16:19:19.056-07:002018-07-02T16:19:19.056-07:00#India Folds Under #Trump's Pressure, Halts #I...#India Folds Under #Trump's Pressure, Halts #Iranian #Oil Imports | India’s oil ministry has asked refiners to prepare for a ‘drastic reduction or zero’ imports of Iranian oil from November 2018 https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/India-Folds-Under-Pressure-Halts-Iranian-Oil-Imports.html?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tw_repost … #oilprice<br /><br />In more dour news for Iran, India (the world’s fourth largest oil importer) is planning to cut oil imports from the embattled OPEC member. India’s oil ministry has asked refiners to prepare for a ‘drastic reduction or zero’ imports of Iranian oil from November, Reuters said on Thursday, citing two industry sources.<br /><br />The news comes as Tehran remains defiant over impending U.S. sanctions renewal and just days after India indicated it would push back against pressure from Washington to halt Iranian oil imports, stating that it did not recognize sanctions the U.S. has threatened to impose on countries that continue to buy Iranian oil after November 4.<br /><br />"India does not recognize unilateral sanctions, but only sanctions by the United Nations," Sunjay Sudhir, joint secretary for international cooperation at India's petroleum ministry, told CNN earlier when asked whether India would reduce oil imports from Iran. After China, India is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil.<br /><br />President Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. would level sanctions on countries that not did not cut Iranian oil imports.<br /><br />Though India made an initial defiant stand, it simply can’t afford to alienate Washington since it has to safeguard its exposure to the U.S. financial system, a powerful tool that the U.S. can wield as it pleases since the dollar is the world’s reserve currency. This allows Washington to level crippling sanctions on a wide range of countries all the way from Russia to Venezuela to Iran and anybody else that any sitting U.S. president sees fit to punish.<br /><br />This economic weapon is also why Beijing is working feverishly to supplement or replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. In September, John Hardy, the head of FX strategy at Saxo Bank said China was “eyeing the benefits of having its own currency play a larger role and to supplant the USD's role in global trade. The initial focus is on the global oil trade, where it has announced the intention of buying oil in yuan and allowing trade partners to settle that yuan in gold." He added that settling in gold is a clever move by Beijing as it provides oil-exporting countries with a greater degree of comfort.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-39850563215554084762018-07-02T13:38:12.356-07:002018-07-02T13:38:12.356-07:00Does 2+2=0? Another postponement of dialogue raise...Does 2+2=0? Another postponement of dialogue raises questions about #Indo-#US ties in #Trump-#Modi era. #Iran #China #Pakistan #Indo-#Pacific https://scroll.in/article/884415/does-2-2-0-another-postponement-of-dialogue-raises-questions-about-indo-us-ties-in-trump-modi-era via @scroll_in<br /><br />For the moment 2+2 equals zero, at least when it comes to Indo-US ties. The 2+2 dialogue, a reference to a summit that would involve the foreign and defence ministers of India and their US counterparts, was postponed on Wednesday for the third time. Washington said it had to push the meetings back due to “unavoidable reasons” and that it would work with India to figure out a new date for the dialogue. <br /><br />The inaugural meeting was originally slated for July 6, in Washington, DC. Now aides from both sides will have to carve out another spot on their calendars for the the ministers to meet. The ostensible reason is that a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected in early July for which the Americans will presumably need all hands on deck.<br /><br /><br />But the timing of the postponement also suggests a serious drift in ties between Washington and New Delhi.<br /><br />India has just announced retaliatory tarrifs after the US unilaterally imposed its own.<br />Unnamed State Department officials in the US told reporters they expect allies to cut trade with Iran down to “zero”.<br />India seems set to buy the S-400 air defence system from Russia, which would attract US sanctions.<br />US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who is visiting India, told reporters she spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about getting India to cut down its oil imports from Iran.<br />This is the third time that the 2+2 dialogue has been postponed in the last six months. When the dialogue was announced, after Modi’s visit to the US in June 2017, it was meant to be a sign of growing ties with India. The belief was the New Delhi and Washington were both agreed on the idea that India would act as a counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific region. Modi seemed more willing than previous Indian leaders to embrace this role, especially because it came around the same time when Indo-China relations were particularly tense because of the Doklam standoff.<br /><br />Much has changed since then. On the Indian side, Modi seems to have recalculated his position. Once the Doklam incident was resolved, New Delhi has steadily taken steps to reduce tensions with China, including holding an informal summit with President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in May. India still seems prepared to play a major role in the Indo-Pacific region, but it pointedly does not want this to be seen as an anti-China position – not least because there is nothing to be gained from tense situations with its bigger northern neighbour in an election year.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-17528166130914310472018-07-02T13:30:04.603-07:002018-07-02T13:30:04.603-07:00#America's #Indo-#Pacific strategy costs #Indi...#America's #Indo-#Pacific strategy costs #India development opportunity - Global Times. #China #BRI #CPEC #Trump #2Plus2 #Pakistan<br /><br />http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1109081.shtml<br /><br />India is eager for development, but the US is not the one that can provide New Delhi with the atmosphere that its development needs. The decision of the US administration to postpone the US-India "2+2 dialogue", scheduled for July 6, is a disappointment to India, and the second such time that this supposedly important dialogue between the two countries' foreign and defense ministers has been postponed. <br /><br />Indian media speculated that the latest postponement was due to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to North Korea to discuss denuclearization plans. Divergences over other issues between the US and India were also cited as a possible reason.<br /><br />The US has been generous about its fondness for India in rhetoric. But whether the fondness is what Indians need the most, or if the value is worth the price, remains undetermined. <br /><br />Of course, the United States and India do have common interests. Otherwise, there would be no Indo-Pacific strategy at all. However, any benefits from this strategy may be greatly outweighed by the costs to India.<br /><br />The subtext of this strategy of the United States is that it hopes India can play an essential role in balancing the rise of China. Does India really want to play the role that the US expects? Don't forget that this strategy has a strong military stance against China. At the very least, it is re-dividing Asia-Pacific with Cold War thinking.<br /><br />It is understandable that India wants to keep its sphere of influence as an emerging power, but this shouldn't come at the cost of its domestic development. Indulging in the game of military balance will only consume India's strength. <br /><br />India needs to be aware that without paying heed to Indian concerns, the US' strategy is hampering, not aiding, India's domestic development. Rather than falling victim to the US' purpose of containing China's rise, it is better for India to look to China for ways of self-development. What India can learn from China is that its ability to stand on its own feet will determine its place in Asia and the world. <br /><br />India is currently at a critical juncture in its development. Can India's economy achieve greater development in the next five to 10 years? The number one challenge is how India can lay the foundation for manufacturing and infrastructure to fully enter the global production chain. <br /><br />From this perspective, it is China, not the United States, that can provide more support and knowledge to India. If India follows the US strategy step by step, it will lose future opportunities to cooperate with China and many other neighboring countries. India should be able to understand the situation.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-47280574740045836192018-01-15T14:22:06.880-08:002018-01-15T14:22:06.880-08:00#Modi and #Indian media have significantly worsene...#Modi and #Indian media have significantly worsened #India’s ties with #Pakistan...with #Indians’ “very unfavorable” view of Pakistan up from 49% in 2014 to 64% now...a troubling development for South Asia<br /><br />https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/953001342355759104Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-62268698405407417942017-07-07T15:50:55.088-07:002017-07-07T15:50:55.088-07:00At #G20Summit, #Modi's obsession with #Pakista...At #G20Summit, #Modi's obsession with #Pakistan continues with attacks on #India's neighbor http://toi.in/yeMKea via @timesofindia<br />http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/at-g20-pm-narendra-modi-slams-pakistan-in-strong-message-on-terror-tries-to-rally-nations/articleshow/59497679.cms<br /><br />Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at Pakistan at the G-20 summit on Friday as he named terror groups LeT and JeM along with global scourges IS and Boko Haram to drive home the point that some countries use terrorism as a tool and that the outfits are united by a common ideology despite different labels.<br />Looking to take the lead on terrorism, Modi also presented a 11-point Action Agenda for fighting the global menace as he made a clear reference to Pakistan when he said "some nations are using terrorism for achieving political goals".<br />Modi named Lashkar and Jaish in the same vein as IS, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. "Their only ideology is to spread hatred and commit massacres," he added. He said all these groups had the same basic ideology even if they went by different names. Modi emphasised that nations today are not as well networked as terrorists are.<br />The G-20 leaders' statement reflected the "safe havens" concern to some extent. "There should be no `safe spaces' for terrorist financing anywhere in the world...In order to eliminate all such `safe spaces', we commit to intensify capacity building and technical assistance, especially in relation to terrorist financing hot spots," it said. The statement stressed the resolve to make the international financial system "entirely hostile" to terror financing.<br /><br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-87417598853502759832017-03-19T10:12:42.868-07:002017-03-19T10:12:42.868-07:00TRUMP PREPARES TO PASS THE WORLD LEADERSHIP BATON ...TRUMP PREPARES TO PASS THE WORLD LEADERSHIP BATON TO CHINA<br />Posted by Fareed Zakaria on March 17, 2017 ·<br /><br />https://fareedzakaria.com/2017/03/17/trump-prepares-to-pass-the-world-leadership-baton-to-china/<br /><br /><br />We do not yet have the official agenda for next month’s meeting in Florida between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. But after 75 years of U.S. leadership on the world stage, the Mar-a-Lago summit might mark the beginning of a handover of power from the United States to China. Trump has embraced a policy of retreat from the world, opening a space that will be eagerly filled by the Communist Party of China.<br />Trump railed against China on the campaign trail, bellowing that it was “raping” the United States. He vowed to label it a currency manipulator on his first day in office. But in his first interaction with Beijing, he caved. Weeks after his election, Trump speculated that he might upgrade relations with Taiwan. In response, Xi froze all contacts between Beijing and Washington on all issues, demanding that Trump reverse himself — which is exactly what happened. (Perhaps just coincidentally, a few weeks later, the Chinese government granted the Trump Organization dozens of trademark rights in China, with a speed and on a scale that surprised many experts.)<br />The Trump administration’s vision for disengagement from the world is a godsend for China. Look at Trump’s proposed budget, which would cut spending on “soft power” — diplomacy, foreign aid, international organizations — by 28 percent. Beijing, by contrast, has quadrupled the budget of its foreign ministry in the past decade. And that doesn’t include its massive spending on aid and development across Asia and Africa. Just tallying some of Beijing’s key development commitments, George Washington University’s David Shambaugh estimates the total at $1.4 trillion, compared with the Marshall Plan, which in today’s dollars would cost about $100 billion.<br />China’s growing diplomatic strength matters. An Asian head of government recently told me that at every regional conference, “Washington sends a couple of diplomats, whereas Beijing sends dozens. The Chinese are there at every committee meeting, and you are not.” The result, he said, is that Beijing is increasingly setting the Asian agenda.<br />The Trump administration wants to skimp on U.S. funding for the United Nations. This is music to Chinese ears. Beijing has been trying to gain influence in the global body for years. It has increased its funding for the U.N. across the board and would likely be delighted to pick up the slack as the United States withdraws. As Foreign Policy magazine’s Colum Lynch observes, China has already become the second-largest funder of U.N. peacekeeping and has more peacekeepers than the other four permanent Security Council members combined. Of course, in return for this, China will gain increased influence, from key appointments to shifts in policy throughout the U.N. system.<br />The first major act of the Trump administration was to pull the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a treaty that would have opened up long-closed economies such as Japan and Vietnam, but also would have created a bloc that could stand up to China’s increasing domination of trade in Asia. The TPP was, in Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s words, “a litmus test” of U.S. credibility in Asia. With Washington’s withdrawal, even staunchly pro-American allies such as Australia are hedging their bets. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has raised the possibility of China joining the TPP, essentially turning a group that was meant to be a deterrent against China into one more arm of Chinese influence.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-82405758911007925032017-01-23T19:47:39.006-08:002017-01-23T19:47:39.006-08:00Goyal Foil: #Pakistan-Obsessed #Indian-#American R...Goyal Foil: #Pakistan-Obsessed #Indian-#American Reporter at the #Trump #WhiteHouse. #India http://www.riazhaq.com/2017/01/goyal-foil-pakistan-obsessed-indian.html … When the Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer found himself being barraged with unpleasant US media questions at his first press briefing today, he called upon Pakistan-obsessed Indian-American Raghubir Goyal to ask a question.<br />Washington Post's Dana Milbank says Goyal, often described by reporters as the Goyal Foil "almost invariably asks about what sort of terrible thing Pakistan has done in the last 24 hours. So--and because of the obvious sound of his name he became the `Goyal Foil.'" Here's a full excerpt of what Milbank wrote in Washington Post about the "Goyal Foil":<br /><br />"There's a whole bunch of foils in the White House press corps. There's characters from talk radio and all these specialty publications. Goyal is the most intriguing of them all, I guess you'd say, because he is very dedicated to getting a seat right up front at each and every event, and he almost invariably asks about what sort of terrible thing Pakistan has done in the last 24 hours. So--and because of the obvious sound of his name he became the `Goyal Foil.'"Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-14405210587644658562016-08-26T16:10:18.775-07:002016-08-26T16:10:18.775-07:00Pakistan’s obsession with India is quite understan...Pakistan’s obsession with India is quite understandable but India’s obsession with Pakistan makes absolutely no sense.<br /><br />Pakistan has a population of two hundred million, whereas India’s population exceeds 1.2 billion. Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) is roughly $930 billion dollars, whereas in India it is over $8 trillion dollars. Pakistans GDP growth rate is estimated at 4 percent, whereas Indias economy is growing at over 7 percent. Including military reserves, India has an army three times the size of Pakistan’s, 3.4 million versus 1.1 million, with a budget six times greater than Pakistan’s, $40 billion versus $7 billion. This is just a quick snapshot of Indias superiority over Pakistan. Choose any category from geography to economy to conventional military capabilities, and India has better indicators across the board.<br /><br />In the past year two major think tanks based out of Washington DC have encouraged the American government to work with Pakistan in an effort to bring the country into nuclear orders mainstream. Their recommendations are based on the fact that Pakistan has made a number of efforts to match its export control lists with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and Missile Technology Control Regime. Not only this, Pakistan fully complies with Resolution 1540, which establishes legally binding obligations on all UN Member States to have and enforce appropriate and effective measures against the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, their delivery systems, including by establishing controls. The 1540 Committee at New York has nine experts and a Pakistan is proud to have Mr. Zawar Abidi working at the Committee as an expert there are no Indians in that elite group. Pakistan is one of the most proactive States in implementing UNSCR 1540.Pakistan proactively participates in initiatives like the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) and the Global Initiative on Countering Nuclear Terrorism. Pakistan’s Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Security (PCENS), praised by President Obama during the 2010 NSS is a regional hub for sharing best practices in nuclear security and training. PCENS is already running courses for regional countries, while India has nothing like it.<br /><br />During the previous National Command Authority meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif indicated that Pakistan would ratify the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. This is another positive step to build Pakistans credentials for NSG membership<br /><br />Despite all of this, America still shies away from supporting Pakistan’s interest in membership of these export control arrangements.<br /><br />Pakistan meets the criteria for membership of these regimes like any other non-NPT State (Other nuclear weapon States that are not signatories to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT) include Israel and India). This political apartheid against Pakistan must end to improve the credibility of the nonproliferation regime.<br /><br />The only reason America chooses not to back Pakistan for membership to these regimes is because of the strong Indian lobby in Washington DC, obsessed with denying Pakistan any opportunities to develop a strong relationship with the United States.<br /><br /><br /><br />http://nation.com.pk/columns/06-Mar-2016/india-s-pakistan-obsessionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-70637099695744297232016-05-25T10:29:04.478-07:002016-05-25T10:29:04.478-07:00Why #India’s construction slowdown threatens to in...Why #India’s construction slowdown threatens to increase #poverty #Modi #BJP http://scroll.in/article/807702/why-indias-construction-slowdown-threatens-to-increase-poverty … via @scroll_in<br /><br />The construction sector in India, which employed more than 44 million people at the end of 2010 (the last date for which official data are available), is witnessing a slowdown, affecting millions of people moving from farming to the construction sector.<br /><br />Constituting 7.8% of India’s gross domestic product in 2013-14, the real-estate sector was buffeted by domestic and global slowdowns, with growth decelerating from 7.6% in 2012-13 to 6% in 2013-14.<br /><br />As India tries to move its people away from agriculture – which contributes 15% of the GDP but employs 263.2 million or 54.6% of the working population – a majority of those leaving are finding employment in construction.<br /><br />While agricultural employment declined 5% between 2005 and 2010, construction saw a growth of nearly 70%.<br /><br /><br />The construction sector is now India’s second-largest employer after agriculture, the trend coinciding with India’s high-growth phase and decline in poverty levels.<br /><br />India’s poverty rate declined from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 21.9% in 2011-12; 269.7 million Indians now live below the official poverty line, down from 407.2 million in 2004-05. Construction has played a major part, both in rural areas (through the 10-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which provides jobs building ponds, roads and other infrastructure) and urban areas (through real estate and infrastructure).<br /><br />Construction is a $126 billion (Rs 8.39 lakh crore) industry – larger than pharmaceuticals and gems and jewellery sectors, for example – attributed to the infrastructure sector, industrial activities, residential and commercial development.<br /><br />India’s urbanisation might also explain the expansion of rural infrastructure and non-farm jobs in rural India. India’s urban population rose from 286 million in 2001 to 377 million in 2011, a growth of about 32%, according to Census 2011. These are estimations; the actual figures may be higher.<br /><br />How rural and urban construction benefits from the declining interest in farming is evident in this 2005 survey from the National Sample Survey Organisation, which found that about 40% of 51,770 farm households surveyed would quit farming if given a chance.<br /><br />A more recent study released in 2016 by the Centre for Study of Developing Societies in Delhi confirmed this trend, revealing that 76% of youth are not interested in farming.<br /><br />“The process of diversification of employment away from agriculture has … accelerated… and a large share [of diversification] has gone to services and construction,” said the 2014 The India Labour and Employment Report by the Institute of Human Development, Delhi.<br /><br />With a 9% decline in jobs over five years (2004-05 to 2009-10), manufacturing – which in China and Southeast Asia offered employment to those moving off farms – is not an option, threatening what has been touted as India’s demographic dividend, the benefits of having the world’s largest working-age population.<br /><br />This will hit job creation and potentially stall the fall in poverty levels.<br /><br />Several million of those lifted out of poverty continue to hover just above the poverty line (officially described as the ability to spend Rs 47 person per day in urban areas, Rs 32 in rural areas), in danger of slipping below it when livelihood opportunities slow down.<br /><br />While the current government’s thrust on infrastructure – building 30-km of highways per day, the promise to connecting all villages to roads by 2019 and 44,000 low-cost houses per day –could boost construction, the economic indicators do not currently reflect such activity.<br /><br />The sectors that can absorb construction labour are slowing, as the fall in credit growth, in infrastructure and roads, respectively, indicates, according to Reserve Bank of India monthly data.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-80670605740724171762016-05-13T08:15:41.453-07:002016-05-13T08:15:41.453-07:00Doval Doctrine can’t help #India make peace with n...Doval Doctrine can’t help #India make peace with neighbors #Pakistan #China #RAW http://atimes.com/2016/05/doval-doctrine-cant-help-india-to-make-peace-with-neighbors/ … via @httpstwittercomasiatimesonline<br /><br />BY KADAYAM SUBRAMANIAN on MAY 12, 2016 in ASIA TIMES NEWS & FEATURES, CHINA, INDIA, SOUTH ASIA<br /><br /><br />Ajit Kumar Doval, National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the second most important official in the government of India. His close ties with Prime Minister Modi reminds one of BN Mullik who, like him, was IB chief (1950-64), had close relationship with then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and influenced his key decisions on Kashmir, Pakistan and China. But Doval is going a few steps ahead of him with his hard line on Kashmir, Pakistan and China. The ‘doctrine’ named after him and expounded by him in two lectures delivered in 2014 and 2015 is analysed here in the light of the Pathankot airbase attack <br /><br />A former Director General of Police Punjab, a crusader against the drug-trafficker-politician nexus, observed in an interview (Outlook magazine, May 12) that a ‘sleeper cell’ of the terror groups was involved in the Pathankot attack.<br /><br />India’s national security establishment, while dealing with the attack, had failed to examine the role of drugs-arms trafficking and money laundering networks operating in the border areas of Punjab and Pakistan with links to terrorists. This would have called for a cooperative approach between Indian and Pakistani security and criminal justice establishments.<br /><br />Doval is a hawkish thinker, activist and speaker popular in the predominantly right wing middle class social circles of India. He has delineated his approach to Pakistani terrorism in his Nani Palkiwala Memorial Lecture, 2014 and the Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture, 2015.<br /><br />Pakistani terrorism against India, according to him, is a tactic to achieve ideological and political advantages.<br /><br />So the enemy has to be engaged at three levels: defensive, defensive-offensive and offensive modes. The often resorted to ‘defensive’ mode is ineffective and irrelevant.<br /><br />The “offensive-defensive mode” required going into Pakistan and tackling the problem where it originated. To make it clear, he used the famous phrase: “You may do one Mumbai; you may lose Baluchistan.”<br /><br />This seemed to be crux of the Doval Doctrine. Either Pakistan give up terrorism against India as a state policy or India would let it “bleed with the Taliban”.<br /><br />Doval states that terrorist organizations could be bought with money, weapons and manpower. Or a “paradigm shift” should occur with the use of high technology and “intelligence-driven covert operations”.<br /><br />Doval used a boxing terminology and deplored the Indian tendency to punch below its weight. It must punch not below or above its weight but improve its weight to hit proportionately.<br /><br />Doval emphasized that “individual morality should be imposed on the larger interest of the state”. The values of the state are above the values of individual.<br /><br />Doval-approved covert operations were conducted by the then Army Chief General VK Singh who set the Technical Support Division and carried out several such ‘operations’ in Baluchistan, part of Pakistan, in 2015. Baluch dissident leaders were hosted in Delhi and the Baluch Liberation Organization (BLO) has existed in Delhi since 2009 (Indian Express, October 23, 2015).<br /><br />Aggressive actions by Doval against Pakistan included the cancellation of the Foreign Secretaries’ meet in August 18 2014 and the NSA’s in August 22 2015.<br /><br />Modi, on the advice of Doval, has adopted a hard line on Pakistan and has refrained from commenting on the peace efforts made by his predecessor Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in back channel diplomacy with President Musharraf and has ignored the four-point formula evolved to settle the Kashmir dispute.<br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-16867595305010902642016-04-27T14:14:09.931-07:002016-04-27T14:14:09.931-07:00Yet another fantastic conspiracy theory! Bravo!Yet another fantastic conspiracy theory! Bravo!Nitin Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231842414432861708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-75113116129659044522016-04-27T10:05:07.001-07:002016-04-27T10:05:07.001-07:00#Pakistan helped #US get #Osama #BinLaden , insis...#Pakistan helped #US get #Osama #BinLaden , insists #PulitzerPrize winning #American journalist Seymour Hersh.<br /><br />https://www.dawn.com/news/1254693/pakistan-helped-us-get-osama-insists-hersh<br /><br />“More than ever,” says legendary US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh when asked if he still believes Pakistan helped the United States get Osama bin Laden (OBL).<br /><br />When the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist first made this claim in an article published last year, it shook Washington and forced the White House to reject the story as false. Major US media outlets also rejected his claim as incorrect.<br /><br />But Mr Hersh repeated the claim in his new book, “The Killing of Osama bin Laden,” published this week, insisting that he was right.<br /><br />In an interview to Dawn on Tuesday, Mr Hersh said that since last year he had seen new evidence that cemented his belief that the official US account of how OBL was found in his compound and killed was deceptive.<br /><br />He reiterated his claim that Pakistan had detained OBL in 2006 and kept him prisoner with the backing of Saudi Arabia. The United States and Pakistan then struck a deal: The US would raid bin Laden’s compound but make it look as if Pakistan was unaware.<br /><br />“I learned a lot more than I knew in the beginning,” he said.<br /><br />“Pakistan is in constant alert because of India. Their radars are watching, their F-16s are up all the time,” said Mr Hersh while arguing that it was not possible for US helicopters to enter Abbottabad without alerting the Pakistanis.<br /><br />He said the then army and ISI chiefs had made this deal with the Americans, which upset other Pakistani generals.<br /><br />“The then head of Pakistan’s Air Defence Command was very, very upset. He was ready to go public,” said Mr Hersh, claiming that the disgruntled general was made PIA chairman after his retirement to compensate for his silence.<br /><br />In an interview to Democracy Now, a network of more than 1,400 radio and television outlets, Mr Hersh said the US and Pakistan had jointly created the ‘myth’ “we discovered” where he was living.<br /><br />“What I know is … that in August of 2010, a Pakistani a colonel … came into our embassy, went to the then CIA Station Chief Jonathan Bank, and said: ‘We’ve had bin Laden for four years’.”<br /><br />Mr Hersh told Dawn that the colonel was later moved to the US and was now living somewhere near Washington.<br /><br />“The Pakistani intelligence picked him (bin Laden) in the Hindu Kush area, built the compound in Abbottabad and put him there,” he said. “Pakistani officials did so because the Saudis asked them to. The Saudis did not want Americans to interrogate OBL.”<br /><br />According to Mr Hersh, when the CIA asked Pakistani officials to make the May 2, 2011, operation at OBL’s compound in Abbottabad a surprise raid, they agreed “because they had kept OBL in custody without telling us”.<br /><br />The Americans were already very upset and the Pakistanis did not want to make it worse, he added.<br /><br />“I wrote the name of the station chief, Jonathan Bank, something you are not supposed to do, but he did not attack me for doing this. He did not contradict my story, although if there is one guy who can end my story, it is him,” Mr Hersh said.<br /><br />“Of course not, I have a great deal of sources here,” said Mr Hersh when asked if he based his story entirely on Pakistani intelligence source.<br /><br />“I was going to take a chance that Bank would not succumb to pressure. I knew a lot about him. He’s a Harvard grad, very bright guy, very competent. And I just didn’t think he would be trotted out by the CIA to say, ‘What? What’s Hersh writing about? I don’t know anything about a walk-in,” Mr Hersh told Democracy Now.<br /><br />“I did have more contact with people in the ISI after I wrote. I learned much more, that gave me much more flesh on the skimpy bones I guess I had,” he said.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-50137840915355150232016-04-27T07:52:38.319-07:002016-04-27T07:52:38.319-07:00
What to read into a growing alliance between #Chi...<br />What to read into a growing alliance between #China and #Pakistan? #CPEC #Gwadar #India #US http://reut.rs/1qSaVgH via @Reuters<br /><br />Pakistan holds a unique position in Chinese diplomatic circles. The Chinese state media describes Pakistan as China’s only “all-weather strategic cooperation partner.” Though it is the largest beneficiary of Beijing’s investment, it is not a client state, as North Korea is. Rather, in a neighborhood where many countries either distrust China, feel beholden to it or both, Pakistan is the closest thing to a real ally and friend that Beijing possesses.<br /><br />This means that China and Pakistan sometimes cooperate in ways that concern the United States and India. Washington and New Delhi worry that all this largesse will bring Pakistan firmly into China’s orbit. With subtle diplomacy, however, all four countries may be able to create a workable balance.<br /><br />The Gwadar port is just one example of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. This effort is by far the most spectacular example of Beijing’s strategic policy of combining aid, trade and foreign direct investment to build goodwill, expand its global political sway and secure the natural resources it needs to grow.<br /><br />Declaring that the Chinese-Pakistani friendship is “sweeter than honey,” and “stronger than steel,” Beijing announced last year that it would finance a 1,800-mile-long superhighway and a high-speed railway from the Arabian Sea over the Himalayas to China’s Xinjiang province. In addition, it would fund an oil pipeline route to the inland Chinese city of Kashgar. This network of infrastructure, including the Gwadar port, would help Pakistan grow, while pushing back against the growing power of regional competitors like India.<br /><br />Helping Pakistan so dramatically also fits into China’s overall economic strategy. With a deep-sea port in the Arabian Sea and a land route to remote western China, some of Beijing’s Middle Eastern oil could travel the short route through Pakistan, instead of 6,000 miles through the Malacca Straits to Shanghai. That’s the route more than 80 percent of China’s oil and natural resources now have to take.<br /><br />---------<br /><br /><br />Many in India and the United States are alarmed about what they see as a China-Pakistan axis. They worry that China’s largesse means that Western nations will have little leverage to shape Pakistan’s actions on militants or nuclear weapons, or in supporting peace in Afghanistan. Another concern is that China would protect Pakistan when, for example, it refuses to cooperate with India and the West on handing over dangerous militants<br /><br />-------<br /><br />The United States, India and others should keep in mind that — weak as it is — Pakistan is one of China’s only real partners. They should engage both Chinese and Pakistani officials on economic development in the region, as well as terrorism and Afghanistan’s future. They should make clear, again and again, that Washington wants good relations with all states in the area. As long as India and the United States have a seat at the table, all four may be able to work out a satisfactory balance.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-4579658916447637582016-04-25T12:35:49.319-07:002016-04-25T12:35:49.319-07:00#India's #Modi won praise for 'slapping...#India's #Modi won praise for 'slapping' #China, then came a humiliating U-turn on #Uighur leader visa. #Pakistan<br /><br />https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/25/indias-modi-won-praise-for-slapping-china-then-this-happened/<br /><br />Patriotic chest-thumping over the weekend in India gave way to embarrassment and bitterness as the government made a very public U-turn on issuing a visa to Uighur dissident Dolkun Isa. He is the executive committee chairman of the World Uighur Congress, an organization that represents a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in China's far-west, and has been labeled a terrorist by the Chinese government. China issued a "red corner notice" to the international policing agency Interpol seeking his arrest more than a decade ago, but other governments have refused to act on the request.<br /><br />Supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, who are often self-conscious about how India matches up with China, took to social media over the weekend to celebrate the news that Isa had procured a tourist visa to India, using the hashtag #ModiSlapsChina. Many viewed the visa as a "slap" because China had used its clout at the United Nations earlier in<br />April to block India's attempt to have Masood Azhar, the alleged mastermind of an attack on an Indian air force base in January, designated an international terrorist.<br /><br />Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was quoted in the Indian media as saying that "Dolkun is a terrorist on red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries.”<br /><br />A spokesman for India's Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Swarup, was noncommittal in his response, simply saying, “We have seen media reports and the ministry is trying to ascertain facts.”<br /><br />On Monday, it became clear that India's various ministries had not coordinated closely enough, if at all, on Isa's visa, and its potential geopolitical ramifications, and they canceled the visa. Isa came forward with a statement expressing disappointment and said he could only speculate that Chinese pressure led to the reversal. The turnaround by the New Delhi government did not please Indians, with the hashtag #ModiBowsToChina topping India's Twitter trends Monday.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-75861889584876895632016-04-24T20:53:47.786-07:002016-04-24T20:53:47.786-07:00RamSingh: "There was a US Senate Hearing Of U...RamSingh: "There was a US Senate Hearing Of US-Pakistan relations not long ago (12/2015"<br /><br /><br />Talking about US Senate hearings and American politicians' self-righteousness, let me offer you the following:<br /><br />Here is the text of the exchange between Def Sec Robert Gates and Leahy during the US Senate hearing on Pakistan that began with Leahy asking Gates how long the U.S. will be willing to "support governments that lie to us?"<br /><br />GATES: Well, first of all, I would say, based on 27 years in CIA and four and a half years in this job, most governments lie to each other. That's the way business gets done.<br /><br />LEAHY: Do they also arrest the people that help us when they say they're allies?<br /><br />GATES: Sometimes.<br /><br />LEAHY: Not often.<br /><br />GATES: And -- and sometimes they send people to spy on us, and they're our close allies. So...<br /><br />LEAHY: And we give aid to them.<br /><br />GATES: ... that's the real world that we deal with.<br /><br />http://www.riazhaq.com/2011/06/straight-talk-by-gates-on-pakistan.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-89323425209643204412016-04-24T19:18:04.735-07:002016-04-24T19:18:04.735-07:00One can have much chatter and needless reports don...One can have much chatter and needless reports done by every Tom, Dick & Harry but what really counts is the stuff that is discussed at the highest level of US Government. There was a US Senate Hearing Of US-Pakistan relations not long ago (12/2015). https://youtu.be/iQpCn83PV6k<br /><br />It is a thorough lash out against Pakistan and the "clique" that is actually running Pakistan.<br />I am assuming the Pak Military and the ISI is the "clique". There is yawning trust-deficit with Pakistan and rest of the West shares US's view. <br /><br />https://youtu.be/iQpCn83PV6kRamSinghnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-63949009638535190332016-04-22T20:27:20.347-07:002016-04-22T20:27:20.347-07:0019640909rk "Any India from Kerala to Kashmir... 19640909rk "Any India from Kerala to Kashmir, Gujarat to Arunachal pradesh are proud of being Indian first (lately we are having to exclude our muslims)."<br /><br /><br />People in India have many more dominant identities than people in any other nation. <br /><br />They are divided among regional, ethnic, religious, caste and other lines across the length and breadth of the country.<br /><br />India has more and fiercer insurgencies than any other country. Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur. <br /><br />Examples: Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Kashmir conflict · Khalistan movement · Naxalite–Maoist insurgencies.<br /><br />Then there is Dravidian nationalism in the South. <br /><br /><br />Berkeley Political Science Prof Pradeep Chibber in a Silicon Valley presentation explained that the Indian democracy faces two key challenges. The first challenge is the complete absence of the government or state in large swaths of India. The second challenge is that the government often acts in inconsistent and arbitrary ways where it does exist. He went on to say that, in some parts of Chhattisgarh, the government relies on private militias to act on its behalf. He also acknowledged the existence of corruption and criminal elements among the politicians in India. He said about a third of Indian legislators have criminal records.<br /><br />http://www.riazhaq.com/2008/06/ahmad-rashid-in-silicon-valley.html <br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-67756871914991445712016-04-22T20:03:03.786-07:002016-04-22T20:03:03.786-07:00"Most Indians also think that India is a nati..."Most Indians also think that India is a nation and have an obsession about it. -G. Ali"<br /><br /> Of course they all do. Any India from Kerala to Kashmir, Gujarat to Arunachal pradesh are proud of being Indian first (lately we are having to exclude our muslims). Unlike Pakistanis. Pakistanis are Muslims first and Pakistanis next.Rkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271440807315548555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-80095401736273797402016-04-22T18:13:17.247-07:002016-04-22T18:13:17.247-07:00"Most Indians do not know where Pakistan is. ..."Most Indians do not know where Pakistan is. There is no obscession." <br /><br />Most Indians also think that India is a nation and have an obsession about it. <br /><br />G. AliAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-37974291915174821432016-04-22T18:10:13.903-07:002016-04-22T18:10:13.903-07:00Gabbar Singh wrote "Pakistan may not have Bal...Gabbar Singh wrote "Pakistan may not have Balochistan for too long." <br /><br />No doubt that there is a very strong separatist movement going on for Balochistan, but fortunately this movement in not happening in Balochistan but in the minds of Indians(and may be 13 people in Balochistan). <br /><br />Every separatist/independence movement has some common traits, massive rallies in large cities, strong and well defined leadership and political parties. In Balochistan's case we see none of these traits. No one can name a single leader or political party, no rallies have ever taken place in Quetta or any other large city of Balochistan. <br /><br />Considering that Indians are the second most clueless people on the planet, no wonder they think the Balochistan is about to break away from Pakistan. <br /><br />There is probably a higher chance of India's seven states separating from India than of Balochistan separating. <br /><br />G. AliAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com