| Title: | 262 : India ASEAN FTA in Services |
| Author/s: | S Narayan |
| Abstract: | India and ASEAN finalized the Free Trade Agreement in services and investments on 20 December, on the sidelines of the commemorative India- ASEAN summit in New Delhi last week. The final legal documents on services and investment pact is to be given further shape by February 2013, and signing could take place in August during the consultations between ASEAN economic ministers in Brunei. |
| Date: | 21 December 2012 |
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| Title: | 261 : India ASEAN FTA in Services |
| Author/s: | S Narayan, Head of Research and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | India and ASEAN finalized the Free Trade Agreement in services and investments on 20 December, on the sidelines of the commemorative India- ASEAN summit in New Delhi last week. The final legal documents on services and investment pact is to be given further shape by February 2013, and signing could take place in August during the consultations between ASEAN economic ministers in Brunei. |
| Date: | 21 December 2012 |
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| Title: | 260 : UN Counterterrorism Strategy in South Asia: Role of Media in its Implementation |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | On 8 September 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 60/288. It contained the United Nations Global Counterterrorism strategy. By then it had become fairly obvious that the then US President George W. Bush’s so-called ‘War on Terror’ was failing to achieve the desired results. Iraq and Afghanistan had become imbroglios that underpinned the fallacies of military approaches in addressing the issue. A more sophisticated handling was called for. The global community aptly recognised the necessity of the UN being the principal mechanism, rather than any of its powerful member or members. Better still if the General Assembly, where all countries are represented, than the Security Council where a handful is present, takes the initiative. |
| Date: | 14 December 2012 |
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| Title: | 259 : US-Pakistan Relations and the ‘End-Game’ in Afghanistan |
| Author/s: | Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | As the rush towards the Afghan end-game intensifies, the United States and Pakistan are back to mending their fences. After more than a year of frayed relationship following the May 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the Salala incident and the increased drone strikes, the two allies are on the road to making amends to repair the relationship. As US prepares to drawdown, re-engaging Pakistan is seen as critical in maintaining its minimalist approach in Afghanistan. For Pakistan, ensuring its influence in post-2014 Afghanistan and avoiding implosion remain crucial. Whether the two can bridge their differences for the stabilisation of Afghanistan remains to be seen. |
| Date: | 5 December 2012 |
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| Title: | 258 : China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue Gains Momentum |
| Author/s: | Amitendu Palit, Head (Partnerships & Programmes) and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The 2nd China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) took place in Delhi on 26 November 2012. Coming at a time when the global economic outlook is hardly bright and both countries are visualising modest economic outlooks but when bilateral trade is growing at a fast clip, the SED was awaited for its decisions on future bilateral economic cooperation. While not announcing any radical initiatives, the Dialogue has built up on the momentum generated during the first meeting in Beijing in September 2011 by focusing primarily on cooperation in infrastructure and energy. |
| Date: | 3 December 2012 |
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| Title: | 257 : ‘Something of a Homecoming’: Aung San Suu Kyi’s Visit to India |
| Author/s: | Sinderpal Singh, Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s iconic pro-democracy leader, visited India for six days, from 13th to 18th November 2012, at the invitation of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Party’s chairperson, to deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru memorial lecture in Delhi. As part of her trip, she also held personal meetings with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders. Part of her itinerary also included a visit to the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore as well as Andhra Pradesh to view the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. This is Suu Kyi’s first visit to India since 1987. |
| Date: | 26 November 2012 |
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| Title: | 256 : What Does Obama’s Re-election Mean to South Asia |
| Author/s: | Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | While the world watched the closely contested Presidential elections in the United States in much anticipation, most observers and policy wonks in South Asia were bracing for change or continuity in the foreign policy that the new administration in Washington would herald. Although India received scant mention during the third Presidential debate which was focused exclusively on foreign policy, Pakistan and Afghanistan gained ample attention but with a caveat. There was little differentiated gap between the positions of the two candidates – President Obama and Governor Romney – on ending the war in Afghanistan. It is therefore no surprise that with President Obama's re-election, many in South Asia are bracing for continuity in US foreign policy. However, with his likely focus on legacy and attention towards other hot spots, there are imminent dangers of other South Asian countries taking a back seat in the US foreign policy priorities. |
| Date: | 2 November 2012 |
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| Title: | 255 : What to Make of India’s Latest Ministerial Reshuffle |
| Author/s: | Ronojoy Sen, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | With 18 months to go before general elections are due, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced on 28 October 2012 what is expected to be the final reshuffle of the federal Council of Ministers. With two heavyweight portfolios — Finance and Home — having been reallocated earlier this year, the latest reshuffle was more an exercise to inject some urgency into the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government which has been battered by corruption scandals over the past two years and is seen to be in a state of policy paralysis. |
| Date: | 2 November 2012 |
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| Title: | 254 : A Wake-Up Call for Pakistan |
| Author/s: | Shahid Javed Burki, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | Pakistani women are being targeted by Islamic terrorists who fear that women's emancipation would ultimately reduce their influence over a society that has become increasingly conservative. It appears that the possible rise of women will not go unchallenged, particularly in the country's more conservative areas such as the tribal belt on the border with Afghanistan. |
| Date: | 22 October 2012 |
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| Title: | 253 : Do the Bold Reforms Signal End of Policy Paralysis in India? |
| Author/s: | Amitendu Palit, Head (Partnerships & Programmes) and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | Five major economic policies within 24 hours are not expected from a government saddled with charges of indecision, inaction and corruption for several months. But this is exactly what the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government in India has done. |
| Date: | 18 September 2012 |
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| Title: | 252 : China-India Defence Diplomacy: Weaving a New Sense of Stability |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana, Editor (Current Affairs) at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The real storyline of the Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister’s latest talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi is in the timing and the broad-based themes of his visit to India – the first in eight years by a military dignitary in his position. Significantly, a passage in a report on this visit, as carried on the official website of the Chinese Ministry of National Defence, says that the coming together of China and India “could tilt balances” in global geopolitics. Inevitably, therefore, the emerging US factor in the China-India equation becomes a matter of debate. Introduction: |
| Date: | 13 September 2012 |
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| Title: | 251 : India-Pakistan Ties: Do Signs of Warming Indicate Climate Change? |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | Of late there has been a vast deficit of good news from South Asia. Each country of that subcontinent confronts a legion and varied problems. The governments of at least three – India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – face impending elections which, though not necessarily imminent, impinge persistently on their minds. This phenomenon is shaping all their actions. Each feels that there is much work to be done if it is to return to power. Each appears to be well past its salad days, and is understandably anxious to prolong its longevity. Happy tidings do not generally emanate from such circumstances. Indeed not many have in the recent times. One exception, somewhat intriguingly, though it can be explained as this paper will seek to do, is the gamut of India-Pakistan relations. There are ample discernible indications of a modicum of thawing in the chill that has traditionally enveloped them. The latest action indicative of that is the visit to Islamabad by the Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna that, while not bereft of rhetoric, was not without substance either. This is definitely a sign of warming. But does it point to positive climate change? |
| Date: | 13 September 2012 |
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| Title: | 250 : Violence in Assam: Resource Wars, Illegal Migration or Governance Deficit? |
| Author/s: | Shanthie Mariet D'Souza is Research Fellow at the ISAS and Bibhu Prasad Routray |
| Abstract: | Since 19 July 2012, a wide range of issues, combined with gargantuan administrative ineptness, has produced nearly 100 dead bodies in India's northeast state of Assam and displaced close to 400,000 people from their places of residence. The month-long violence between the Bodo tribal community and the Muslims had its impact on distant Indian cities as well where protests by Muslim organisations and a neatly crafted strategy of cyber-intimidation led to the exodus of several thousand northeasterners.3 Even as a semblance of order has returned to the four Assam districts affected by the violence, and half of the displaced people have since returned home, each of the core issues that led to the mayhem has remained unaddressed. The danger of the subdued violence reappearing and possibly with worse manifestations, in these circumstances, cannot be entirely ruled out. |
| Date: | 6 September 2012 |
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| Title: | 249 : India’s Infrastructure Needs |
| Author/s: | Ishraq Ahmed, Research Associate at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The recent power blackout in India has shed light on the poor condition of the country's infrastructure. Government spending on infrastructure has been long overdue even before the blackout took place in much of north India. For India to sustain its economic growth and development, spending has to be stimulated, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. |
| Date: | 27 August 2012 |
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| Title: | 248 : Tokyo Summit and Afghanistan’s Business Potential |
| Author/s: | Suleman Fatimie and Arian Sharifi |
| Abstract: | Delegations from over 60 countries and 20 international organisations gathered in Tokyo on 8 July 2012 and discussed plans for economic development in Afghanistan. The delegates pledged a total of US$ 16 billion in multi-donor aid to fill the Afghan government’s fiscal gap and to develop the Afghan economy over the next four years. The event attracted widespread media coverage – inside and outside Afghanistan – and raised hopes that the international community will stand by Afghanistan in the coming years. While this seemingly generous pledge by the international community does signal hopes ahead, if the Afghan government fails to correct the current state of affairs, this US$ 16 billion will be as much a waste as the tens of billions of international aid has been so far. To go ahead and create real hope for the future of Afghanistan, the Karzai Administration needs to come out of its 11-year old cocoon and bring about some bold changes in its economic development strategy. |
| Date: | 27 July 2012 |
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| Title: | 247 : Gilani’s Removal: A Step in the Right Direction |
| Author/s: | Shahid Javed Burki, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | On 19 June 2012, Pakistan’s Supreme Court issued an order aimed at removing Yusuf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister. This should have happened earlier had the court’s decision in the “contempt case” on April 26 been fully implemented. The judgment was largely ignored by the administration headed by President Asif Ali Zardari, forcing the superior court’s hand. This time around, President Zardari blinked and accepted the court’s verdict. Gilani left office a few hours after the court spoke. After one misstep, Zardari was able to get his nominee in place as the new prime minister. This paper argues that these significant developments move Pakistan’s evolving political order in the right direction. There is of course an alternative view, held by some legal scholars and others, that the Supreme Court should have exercised judicial restraint and left the decision in the “contempt case” to take the slow route towards eventual implementation. |
| Date: | 27 June 2012 |
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| Title: | 246 : Delhi Investment Summit: Building on the Narrative of ‘Opportunity’ in Afghanistan |
| Author/s: | Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, Shanthie Mariet D'Souza is a Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The search for peace and stability in Afghanistan is taking a detour from a narrow security-centric approach to trade and investment, aiming to use the country's resource potential to build its economic viability, sustainability and independence. The New Delhi Investment Summit on 28 June 2012 is a gamble worth taking to ensure that Afghanistan's economic and transit potential becomes its inherent strength to accrue the much-needed economic dividends for itself and the region. |
| Date: | 25 June 2012 |
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| Title: | 245 : Pakistan’s 2012-13Budget: A political rather than an economic document |
| Author/s: | Shahid Javed Burki, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the leading political group in the coalition that has governed from Islamabad since 2008, presented the budget for the financial year 2012-13. It took great pride in the fact that this was the first elected government in Pakistan’s history that was presenting a budget for the fifth consecutive year. This was considered to be a triumph for democracy. But this sense of triumph was tarnished by the way the budget speech was received. It was read out by Finance Minister Abdul Hafiz Sheikh on Friday 31 May 2012. The presentation was made before a raucous parliament, with the main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), protesting the presence in the chamber of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani who had earlier been convicted by the Supreme Court for contempt. It was expected that this conviction would lead to the prime minister’s resignation. That did not happen and the opposition, led by Imran Khan, president of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, had moved the court to remove Mr. Gilani from his position. This paper suggests that the 2012-13 Budget is more of a political than an economic and financial document. It postpones addressing the difficult problems the country currently faces, expecting that the PPP will have another term after the next elections that must be held before the end of the spring of 2013. Then it could deal with the economy. |
| Date: | 12 June 2012 |
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| Title: | 244 : India-Myanmar Ties: The Trade Perspective |
| Author/s: | S Narayan, Head of Research and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The recent visit by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Myanmar had as much to do with bilateral trade as with diplomacy and security. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in Myanmar firmed up to 5.1 per cent in 2009 after a decade of anaemic growth. 2010 was even better, at close to 5.5 per cent. Growth in the neighbouring countries, especially those that import gas, also helped to boost these GDP figures. Nominal GDP has risen from US$ 16.7 billion to an estimated US$ 35.2 billion in 2010. There are also large projects that have been committed by foreign investors in power, petroleum and infrastructure that are likely to contribute to Myanmar's economic growth in the next few years. Natural gas reserves are estimated to be 2.54 trillion cubic metres, and Myanmar is emerging as a major supplier of gas to its neighbours. It has also large deposits of metals, minerals and gems, and accounts for 90 per cent of the global production of rubies. |
| Date: | 12 June 2012 |
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| Title: | 243 : Nepal’s Constitutional Crisis |
| Author/s: | Hema Kiruppalini, Research Associate at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | In November 2011, the Supreme Court of Nepal ruled in favour of a fourth extension for the promulgation of the constitution. A final deadline of 27 May 2012 was set for the delivery of this mandate. However, once again the task has not been fulfilled and this stalemate will certainly push Nepal into a deeper political crisis. Inter- and intra-party politicking, ideological clashes and the inability to reach a consensus on the state's restructuring process on the basis of ethnic federalism have altogether hampered the major political parties from working together. Although some political headway has been made in the recent months, the transition to a federal democratic republic and the overall peace process in Nepal will remain incomplete if a constitutional crisis persists. |
| Date: | 7 June 2012 |
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| Title: | 242 : Politics of the Indian Presidency |
| Author/s: | Nalin Mehta, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | Debating the role of the President in the Constituent Assembly on 21 July 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru articulated some of the dominant political expectations of the time, arguing that even though 'we did not give him any real powers' in the proposed Constitution, 'we have made his position one of great authority and dignity'. As the discussion unfolded, Nehru made the case for the President being first and foremost a 'symbol' of the country, one who, despite not having the powers of the American President, is like him, the Commander-in-Chief of the defence forces. What India's soon-to-be first Prime Minister chose not to focus on in his speech that day was the crucial political role inbuilt by the Constitution into the Presidency. The sheer moral certitudes attached to the Presidency and its ceremonial aspects have always served to obfuscate its key political function ever since and fostered a somewhat romanticised view that the Presidency is somehow meant to be an apolitical office. As the Constituent Assembly's member from Bihar, Tajamul Husein, later argued, 'the first President of India would be the first gentleman of the land and equal to any monarch in the world'. Irrespective of gender, the sentiment behind this expectation was clear from the beginning. |
| Date: | 25 May 2012 |
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| Title: | 241 : Performance of the Indian Rupee: A Comment |
| Author/s: | S Narayan, Head of Research and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The Indian Rupee has depreciated by around 22 per cent since August 2011, and is hovering around the 55-56 mark with reference to the United States Dollar. It has declined sharply since March 2012, and there has been considerable anguished comment about the reasons as well as the foreseeable trends in the value of this currency. |
| Date: | 22 May 2012 |
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| Title: | 240 : A New Myanmar on South Asia’s Borders: Changes and Challenges |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | As Myanmar’s icon of democracy, the Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, recently walked towards the Parliamentary Chamber to take her seat for the first time, a journalist asked her if it was going to be a historic day for her country. Her response was as laconic as it was profound: “Only time can tell”, she observed. And she is right! Myanmar is at a cross roads. Its future will hinge on choices it makes, the path it decides to take henceforth. What it expects from the international community is not direction, or advice or guidance with regard to the choice of the road. But support, empathy and understanding, and when asked for, aid and assistance, as Myanmar moves forward along the route of its own choosing. Myanmar must be allowed to be in the driver’s seat of its own destiny. Today that is the emerging consensus among the nations of the world. |
| Date: | 11 May 2012 |
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| Title: | 239 : Capital Loss for Congress in India |
| Author/s: | Nalin Mehta, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The fog of war is confusing. The fog of defeat can be even more debilitating: the comfort of denial and post-defeat rationalization are its natural offspring. The Indian National Congress Party’s comprehensive defeat in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections in April 2012 has added to its growing list of recent electoral setbacks and its public response has followed a time-worn typescript. Swinging between defensiveness and despair, its official statements have ranged from the technical “this was not my election” response by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to the carefully crafted “it was a local election” comment by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Further down the pecking order, party spokespersons, struggling to find silver linings in the defeat, have half-haughtily, half-hopefully pointed out that they managed to win the last Delhi assembly election after a similar MCD rout in 2007. |
| Date: | 25 April 2012 |
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| Title: | 238 : Beyond the Sparks and Fumes of India’s Agni-V Test |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana, Editor (Current Affairs) at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | India now exudes confidence at having come of age as a space-faring power with a minimum credible nuclear deterrence. A follow-up task awaits New Delhi. It must prudently send out the right political message across to China and other major powers. Both China and India have consistently enunciated the principle of no-first-use of nuclear weapons in the conduct of international affairs. The two countries have also regularly called for the non-militarisation of space. It is, therefore, insightful commonsense that India and China should now be able to move towards meaningful engagement based on the principles of trust or at least 'trust but verify'. |
| Date: | 23 April 2012 |
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| Title: | 237 : Taliban, Spring offensive and Transition in Afghanistan |
| Author/s: | Shanthie Mariet D'Souza, Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | It was the biggest ever attack by the insurgents on capital Kabul, in terms of the number of suicide attackers employed. It was also one of the most audacious and well coordinated attacks in recent times. On 15 April 2012, simultaneous attacks on the Afghan capital and three other eastern provinces – Nangarhar, Logar and Paktia – left 51 people dead. Counted among the dead were four civilians, 11 members of the security forces and 36 insurgents.2 The Taliban announced the launch of its spring offensive and Afghanistan, which had registered some days of peace and tranquillity, has braced itself for another season of bloody violence. |
| Date: | 18 April 2012 |
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| Title: | 236 : Zardari’s Pilgrimage to Ajmer: Is Time for a Thaw in Relations Nigh? |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Senior Research Fellow at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | The most strikingly remarkable feature of the visit of the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to India on 8 April 2012 is that it took place at all! Analysts generally would agree that the level of the current understanding (or the lack thereof) between the two countries would not extend to the felt need for warm hospitality to be accorded by one to the other. Yet this has happened. It does not necessarily signal a thaw in relations between the two often-implacable South Asian protagonists. But it certainly points to the palpable desire on both sides for such a phenomenon to begin. Rational acts in their bilateral relations seem to come in sudden flashes. This occasion was one such. It was billed ‘private’. That was largely because to call it ‘official’ would have heightened expectations. Too often too many hopes have been raised in the past between the two. Those were only to be dashed to the ground almost immediately. Also, given their prevalent tensions, an official visit by one to the other would have brought grist to the mill of ardent detractors in both nations. They are, as the world knows, legion. The low-key nature of such a rare event is, therefore, quite understandable. |
| Date: | 11 April 2012 |
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| Title: | 235 : An Indo-Pak Search for the China-India Model |
| Author/s: | Chilamkuri Raja Mohan |
| Abstract: | In the world's most accident-prone relationship, even the most carefully choreographed meetings between India and Pakistan tend to collapse in acrimony, thanks to the huge popular emotion and media hype that burden the ties between the South Asian subcontinent's siblings and rivals. |
| Date: | 9 April 2012 |
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| Title: | 234 : India’s Diaspora Vote |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana, Editor (Current Affairs) at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | A comprehensive calculus of ethnic, political, and strategic factors has shaped India’s firm vote against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council on 22 March 2012. In a broad sense, India has cast a Diaspora Vote, which is compatible with the so-called ‘Indira Doctrine’ of the 1980s. However, New Delhi, by casting its lot with the United States and by being the lone Asian voice against Sri Lanka on this occasion, has charted a newly interesting and uncharted course in foreign policy. |
| Date: | 6 April 2012 |
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| Title: | 233 : The Haves and the Have-Nots |
| Author/s: | Pratima Singh, Research Associate at the ISAS |
| Abstract: | A recent press note by India’s Planning Commission releasing the poverty estimates for 2009-2010 created a stir in the Indian Parliament and media. Widely criticised as being too low, the Planning Commission outlined S$16.61 (Rs 672.8 monthly per capita consumption expenditure) for rural areas and S$21.22 (Rs 859.6 monthly per capita consumption expenditure) for urban areas as the poverty line. Most say this line is perceived as identifying the starving, not the poor. The paper analyses the methodology behind the Planning Commission’s poverty estimates and recommends another measure -- including the burgeoning vulnerable classes in the estimates. |
| Date: | 26 March 2012 |
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| Title: | 232 : The Paper is Not Available |
| Date: | 23 March 2012 |
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| Title: | 231 : Is the US-Afghan Strategic Partnership in Doldrums? |
| Author/s: | Shanthie Mariet D'Souza |
| Abstract: | As the search for the Afghan ‘end game’ has intensified in the United States, a Strategic Partnership Deal (SPD) entailing a limited but long-term presence of US forces in Afghanistan is seen as a crucial cornerstone to prevent the return of Afghanistan to the pre-9/11 days. A series of incidents such as the burning of the copy of the Holy Quran and the massacre of civilians at the hands of an American sergeant has yet again thrown the US ‘exit strategy’ into disarray. In the ensuing negotiations over the contentious conditionalities, the recent incidents have worked into tilting the balance in favour of President Hamid Karzai, a shift that could have telling effects on just not on the future US-Afghan relationship but also for the overall prospects of peace and stability in the war-torn country. |
| Date: | 23 March 2012 |
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| Title: | 230 : Pakistan’s Economic Troubles |
| Author/s: | Shahid Javed Burki |
| Abstract: | There are indications that Pakistan is again headed towards a deep economic crisis. While the country's economic history was punctuated by many upheavals, the anticipated difficulties will come at a time when remedial action will be hard to adopt. There are good reasons why the world should watch the developing situation in Pakistan since its impact will be felt way beyond the country's borders. Pakistan is central to the economic and political evolution of the Muslim world. Its experience could discourage other Muslim countries to adopt democracy in order to bring inclusive economic development. |
| Date: | 21 February 2012 |
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| Title: | 229 : A Musharraf Order Haunts Pakistan |
| Author/s: | Sajjad Ashraf |
| Abstract: | The spectre of Pakistan’s embattled Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani being convicted for contempt of court on 13 February 2012 – for flouting court orders to write to the Swiss authorities to re - open money laundering cases against President Asif Ali Zardari – threatens to plunge the country deeper into a political crisis. Benazir Bhutto, Zardari’s slain wife and a former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was the co - accused in those money laundering cases. It is widely believed that Gilani will now be formally indicted. Earlier, after a two - day preliminary hearing, the court was ‘satisfied prima facie that there is enough case for further proceedings’. |
| Date: | 13 February 2012 |
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| Title: | 228 : Painful Politics in ‘Paradise’: Changes in the Maldives |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury |
| Abstract: | The Maldives conjures up an image of paradise, with turquoise seawater lapping against the silver sands of a thousand idyllic islets! Alas, this serene picture does not portray its politics, whose volatility has not ceased to surprise observers. Even prior to formal independence from the British in 1965, a head of government, Mohamm ed Amin Didi was lynched by the public as he had fallen foul of the people. The three - decade - long rather repressive rule of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who won six consecutive elections (all uncontested, with no chance of his losing any), saw a number of coup attempts, in 1980, 1983 and 1988. The last one required Indian support to be put down. |
| Date: | 13 February 2012 |
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| Title: | 227 : India Eyeing a New Gateway to Southeast Asia |
| Author/s: | Chilamkuri Raja Mohan |
| Abstract: | India’s strategic objective of establishing close connectivity with Southeast Asia has received fresh impetus following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s talks with Thai leader Yingluck Shinawatra and with Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Maung Lwin in New Delhi at this time. Coming into focus now is the interest expressed by India in associating itself with Thailand’s ambitious plans of developing an infrastructure hub at Dawei in southeastern Myanmar. |
| Date: | 26 January 2012 |
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