South Asia is undergoing an extremely unmatchable time of its politics. In the politics of last three decades, Pakistan has become an island in international politics in the South Asian matters particularly with reference to India and Afghanistan. The internal politics of Pakistan is a contour which today has emerged as cornerstone in the post-China-Pakistan Economic ...
Despite India’s protests, Russia will participate in the first joint Russia–Pakistan military exercise in close proximity to the disputed Kashmir, where the confrontation between New Delhi and Islamabad has again escalated into armed confrontation in recent weeks. How do New Delhi and Islamabad perceive Moscow’s actions?...
... loyalty. A few months of self-proclaimed Caliph’s emissaries’ hard work and negotiations with the Taliban leaders
were crowned with success and creation of a new IS stronghold
. Given the recent history of the Af-Pak region (Afghanistan and Pakistan), and the role played in it by the Taliban, it is difficult to overestimate the implications of such an alliance and the future prospects for the countries of Central and South Asia, as well as for the whole system of regional security. What ...
... sustainable development and peace.’
President of Turkmenistan
Slowly but surely, steps are being taken to actually start the construction of the TAPI pipeline. But what exactly is the motivation of the four countries (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) to take part in this project, and what are the main challenges they are facing? Who is supporting the project and what factors are pushing neutral and closed Turkmenistan to reach outside of its borders? Finally, what are the project’s ...
... pressing security problems of the region. While the central focus of the meeting was on the fight against terrorism and extremism, the question of extending membership to several countries was discussed. The main result of these discussions was that Pakistan and India signed memorandums of obligation to join as full members. It is expected that they will accede to the organization by 2017.
Expansion of the organization into South Asia is being viewed as crucial to tackling security threats that ...
... status of full SCO member states in the near future will boost the organization’s potential and provide a fresh impetus to further securing its role on the regional and international arena.
The
signing
of the Memorandum on the Obligations of India and Pakistan for becoming SCO member states was a landmark event that took place in Tashkent (link in Russian). The final phase of their accession to the organization was thus launched. It also reaffirmed the positive dynamics of the SCO’s development achieved ...
... settling international conflicts.
Why is the organization expanding now? Is it due to new threats and challenges?
Of paramount significance were the SCO decisions taken at its 2015 summit in Ufa on the launch of the procedure for admission of India and Pakistan. The status of Belarus was elevated from partner to observer. More partners were invited, among them Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal. Thus, the group now incorporates 18 states and about 44 percent of the globe's population.
The SCO is ...
President of Pakistan’s
Strategic Vision Institute
Zafar Iqbal Cheema paid a visit to the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) on 22 April.
During his visit to the RIAC, he learned about the Council’s current projects for South and Central Asia,...
On September 23, 2015, RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov and Deputy Program Director Timur Makhmutov met with Chairman of Pakistan-Russia Business Council Muhammad Farooq Afzal, a member of Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (
KCFR
).
The discussants focused on the current state of Russian-Pakistani relations, stressing poor advance of person-to-person contacts and mutually ...
... expressed support for the negotiation process taking place in Qatar. We can add to this the fact that Mullah Omar resisted the Taliban’s subjugation to Al-Qaeda and frequently disagreed with Osama bin Laden.
Pragmatists oppose the so-called “Pakistan Taliban”, which continues to take a tough stance in its policies and seeks to overthrow the current Afghan regime of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.
The struggle between the two sides will continue, contributing further to the split within the organization,...