Tag: Pakistan

Iranians take part in a protest against violence in Myanmar after weekly Friday prayer in Tehran on 8 September 2017. (AFP)

Reputational Repair: Iran Tries to Capitalise On Myanmar’s Rohingya Crisis

On By Asif AzizIn OpinionLeave a comment

The Iranian leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, made a strikingly strong statement on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar this week, berating “hypocritical” (presumably Western) governments for their double standards on human rights. Addressing a gathering of clerical students, Khamenei on Tuesday urged Muslim countries to apply pressure on the Myanmar government, which according to Khamenei …

Continue reading Reputational Repair: Iran Tries to Capitalise On Myanmar’s Rohingya Crisis

Advertisements

Iran Turns The Art of the Deal Upside Down

On By Asif AzizIn OpinionLeave a comment

As President Hasan Rouhani prepares to address the UN General Assembly in New York and the Trump administration and allies relentlessly lobby for the Iran nuclear deal to be decertified, Tehran is busy clinching deal after deal with Asians and Europeans. For the Chinese government, Iran – and Pakistan – are so geopolitically important that they are …

Continue reading Iran Turns The Art of the Deal Upside Down

US soldiers prepare to raise the American flag during a memorial ceremony in Kabul to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 11, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Mohammad Ismail

9/11 and the Unsolvable Afghan Drama

On By Asif AzizIn Opinion1 Comment

Sixteen years after 9/11, and the subsequent US bombing that toppled the Taliban, where do we stand? Osama bin Laden is no more. Al-Qaeda is not in Afghanistan but swarming Idlib province in Syria, metastasized into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former Jabhat al-Nusra; 30,000 jihadis with combat experience who absorbed brigades from other “moderate …

Continue reading 9/11 and the Unsolvable Afghan Drama

China’s Consistent Stand on Pakistan Made India’s ‘Diplomatic Victory’ at BRICS Momentary

On By Asif AzizIn Opinion2 Comments

Even before the Indian establishment and the media stopped their celebrations over the BRICS declaration in Xiamen in China earlier this month condemning terrorist groups, including those based in Pakistan, hoping that this could be the game-changer moment in Islamabad-Beijing relations, the Chinese made a U-turn by openly defending their all-weather ally. In fact, China’s …

Continue reading China’s Consistent Stand on Pakistan Made India’s ‘Diplomatic Victory’ at BRICS Momentary

Recipe for Total War on the Grand Chessboard

On By Asif AzizIn OpinionLeave a comment

The late Zbigniew Brzezinski was the mastermind of the Afghan “jihad”. It was under his auspices that the United States created “mad mullahs” to unleash “terror” against the Soviet regime in Kabul. When the deed was done, and the Red Army packed its bags and went home, the US abandoned Afghanistan. Pakistan, on the other hand, …

Continue reading Recipe for Total War on the Grand Chessboard

The Truth behind 9/11: Who Is Osama Bin Laden?

On By Asif AzizIn Opinion1 Comment

The article below entitled Who is Osama bin Laden? was drafted on September 11, 2001. It was first published on the Global Research website on the evening of September 12, 2001. From the outset, the objective was to use 9/11 as a pretext for launching the first phase of the Middle East War, which consisted in the bombing …

Continue reading The Truth behind 9/11: Who Is Osama Bin Laden?

Pakistan and the 2017 US Strategy in Afghanistan and South Asia

On By Asif AzizIn OpinionLeave a comment

The differences in the approaches of the US towards Afghanistan, India and Pakistan as part of the new strategy in Afghanistan and South Asia for 2017 have respectively led to three responses. The Kabul authorities had been expecting, and thus widely welcomed, the return of the United States. New Delhi was encouraged by the White …

Continue reading Pakistan and the 2017 US Strategy in Afghanistan and South Asia

America’s Long War: US Tightens the Noose on China

On By Asif AzizIn OpinionLeave a comment

Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory signalled an about-face for American foreign policy. With control of the US military apparatus temporarily wrested from its spy agencies for the first time since Truman kicked off the Cold War, the strategists behind Trump’s MAGA platform have been far more focused on waging economic war on China and Latina America …

Continue reading America’s Long War: US Tightens the Noose on China

A soldier stands guard during evening prayers led by Sheikh Saleh bin Ibrahim Imam Qaba at the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan April 9, 2017. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza​

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Feeling the Pain

On By Asif AzizIn OpinionLeave a comment

President Trump has decided to follow the lead of his military advisers in Afghanistan, choosing not to pull out the U.S. troops that candidate Trump had pledged to withdraw. Rather, he’ll send more troops, with the express purpose of training and supporting the Afghan security forces. Also, he emphasized that he won’t engage in nation …

Continue reading Afghanistan and Pakistan: Feeling the Pain