Pakistan humiliated by south Asian countries’ boycott of summit

SEPTEMBER 28 2016

| JON BOONE AND MICHEAL SAFI |

Four south Asian countries are to boycott what was set to be a historic regional summit in Islamadad in November, dealing a humiliating blow to Pakistan and isolating it diplomatically.

India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan all said they would pull out of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting following a collapse in relations between Pakistan and India, the subcontinent’s nuclear-armed rivals.

Statements by the region’s foreign ministries echoed India’s criticism on Tuesday night, which blamed “increasing cross-border terrorist attacks and growing interference of the internal affairs of member states” for Delhi’s decision to boycott the conference…THE GUARDIAN

DONALD TRUMP’S SNIFFLING, HUMBLING DEBATE DEBACLE

 

SEPTEMBER 27 2016

| MATTHEW COOPER |

“How are you, Donald?” Hillary Clinton asked as she shook her opponent’s hand onstage Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. She wasn’t going to use the “Mr. Trump” honorific like some sort of Apprentice contestant. Trump, of the other hand, asked her if “Secretary Clinton” was a good label, then slipped and used “Hillary” a few times.

Debates are often won or lost on such details, or on how well you prepare and execute. If you’re attacking Janet Yellen, the head of the Federal Reserve, who is not exactly a familiar name, you’re wasting your time. Trump did just that, while for most of the debate, Clinton was calm and assured. She was not easily rattled. Most importantly, she exploited her opportunities and…NEWSWEEK

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Press Pointed Attacks in Debate

NBC host looks on as Donald and Hillary warmly greet each other

SEPTEMBER 27 2016 |  PATRICK HEALY and JONATHAN MARTIN 

Donald J. Trump relentlessly attacked Hillary Clinton over trade and her private email server during their fiery first debate on Monday night, often brusquely interrupting her, while Mrs. Clinton portrayed Mr. Trump as unqualified for the presidency and lacking facts to back up his arguments.

After initially approaching Mrs. Clinton with uncharacteristic restraint, even making clear to her that he would address her as “secretary,” Mr. Trump confronted her aggressively. He noted that her husband, Bill Clinton, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law and accused her of wanting to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“Nafta is the worst trade deal ever signed everywhere,” Mr. Trump said, invoking a pact that is deeply unpopular in several swing states, and then added that the Trans-Pacific Partnership “will be almost as bad.” After Mrs…NEW YORK TIMES

Ten Years And Waiting

MAJA DARUWALA | SEPTEMBER 22 2016

Anniversaries and birthdays are joyous occasions. The 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Prakash Singh case should be one of them — a reason to look back with pride at the court’s seven directions in its September 22, 2006, verdict aimed at propelling police reform. The judgement was intended — but perhaps not expected — to kick-start police reform.

On paper, the directions pull together recommendations generated since 1979. They make up a scheme, which, if implemented holistically, will cure common problems that perpetuate poor police performance and unaccountable law enforcement. The design requires states and the Centre to put in place mechanisms to ensure that: The police have functional responsibility while remaining under the supervision of the executive; political control over the police is kept within legitimate bounds…INDIAN EXPRESS

Justice eludes

SEPTEMBER 20 2016 | PRASHANT BHUSHAN AND RAVINDRA BADGAIYAN | INDIAN EXPRESS

A lackadaisical and limping judiciary has far more serious consequences for society than the harm it inflicts on individual litigants. It is rule of law that distinguishes us from pre-historic barbaric societies. The very foundation of civilised society rests on justice. Today, corrupt elements in government, business, politics flout the law with impunity and without fear of punishment. The authority to punish lies with the judiciary. The police, the CBI and even the much-publicised Lokpal can only…INDIAN EXPRESS

Soldiers and businessmen

Pakistan army has a battle to win: The corruption within

---

Christophe Jaffrelot

| AUGUST 26 2016 | INDIAN EXPRESS

When a Pakistani chief of army staff (COAS) usurps power from a civilian government, he justifies his action by claiming — among other things — that the civilians lack integrity. Pervez Musharraf was no exception. In 1999, he issued a National Accountability Order (NAO) reminiscent of Ayub Khan’s 1959 Elective Bodies Disqualification Order (EBDO) that offered politicians suspected of corruption the choice of either going on trial or retiring from politics. The NAO led to the establishment of a National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which launched an anti-corruption campaign that targeted, among others, Benazir Bhutto.

Today, the military is not in office and cannot go so far, but they continue to obliquely expose the lack of scruples of civilian rulers and cultivate a reputation for probity. Last spring, COAS Raheel Sharif made a very shrewd use of the Panama…CONTINUE READING

After Dalit Anger, This Could Be The Next Big Upsurge

BRINDA KARAT

The BJP propaganda machine never ceases to amaze. The stuff it churns out, from tweets to articles, establishes records in their distance from the truth. A recent example is thepiece written on this site by Bhupender Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP, who in his effusive praise for the Compensation Afforestation Fund Bill recently adopted by the Upper House makes the claim that the Bill takes “due care of the livelihood of the people dependent on forests.”  He also claims that the

| NDTV

Bill promotes “active involvement of the local community,” that it will “compensate local communities in wild life human conflict” and also that it will lead to “uplifting societies living in remote areas” and so on.

Which Bill is the Honble Member of Parliament referring to? Certainly not the one which is up on the official website. This piece of legislation does not refer to “local communities” at…CONTINUE READING

Ahmadi Embarrassment

 

KHALED AHMED | JUNE 4 2016 | INDIAN EXPRESS

Pakistan was created in the name of Islam because all Muslims in south Asia presumably felt like a nation. No one bothered to check if there were any footnotes to this feeling. But soon after they got Pakistan, Muslims started feeling odd living together. The first “exception” were the Ahmadis: the “nation” felt like expelling them from its common Muslim identity.

The Ahmadi exclusion is in the Constitution in the shape of its Second Amendment, which is a blot because it apostatises a community and forces it to give up its religious rituals or face prison.

The government that did this horrible deed in 1974 belonged to the “liberal”…CONTINUE READING

 

No jobs in sight

HARSH MANDER | APRIL 7 2016 | INDIAN EXPRESS

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan raised many hackles with his demand for affirmative action or job reservations for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in the private sector. He suggested that “providing quota in private jobs will help cool down anger among SC and STs”, thereby stemming the rise of Maoist militancy among them. He observed that the lands of these vulnerable communities “are being snatched away. This land has gold and coal beneath it. You dig it out and shoo them away. The youth then take up the wrong path”. The merit of the minister’s line of reasoning is that at least it recognizes that Maoist militancy is not just a security challenge, but results from deeply embedded socio-economic causes…CONTINUE READING