Tag: Nawaz Sharif

Can Pakistan take on the Taliban?

- by India Writes Network

The December 16 killings of over 130 school children in Peshawar by terrorists was generally described as the 9/11 moment of Pakistan, a moment in which the Nation is shaken to its core and resolves to strike at the enemy with all its might. Even by the annals of terrorist killings in Pakistan, this was by far the most gruesome and barbaric incident. And it called for the most resolute response.

What then was the response of the Pakistan government? The Prime Minister of Pakistan called for an all-party meeting. The Army Chief flew to Kabul, seeking a meeting with the President of Afghanistan, apparently to seek extradition of Mullah Fazlullah, the head of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that claimed responsibility for the massacre of the children. How would Gen. Raheel Sheriff respond if President Ashraf Ghani demanded the reciprocal handing over of Mullah Omar or Haqqani from the sanctuaries of North Waziristan?

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Floods in Kashmir ignite India-Pakistan goodwill diplomacy

- by India Writes Network

As floods and landslides continue to wreak havoc in Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan have put aside their recent diplomatic acrimony and extended a helping hand to each other in this time of unfolding human tragedy.

Late monsoon rains have trigged massive floods on either sides of the Line of Control (LoC) that divide the two halves of Kashmir, inundating hundreds of villages. According to reports, over 270 people have died in India and Pakistan.

The death toll in India is reported to have crossed 160 with around 5000 homes destroyed. Srinagar, the capital of India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, too, have been inundated by flood water in the worst floods in over 60 years.

In what is being termed as “flood aid diplomacy” by Pakistan’s media, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a personal letter to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to express condolences and offered humanitarian assistance to Islamabad for relief and rescue operations.

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