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Mr. Abdullah's statement about bringing peace in Kashmir is very confusing. He says military is not the solution, When his family's three generations ruled this part of India, their democratic ways did not bring peace in Kashmir either. Hence, democracy is not the solution either. He also blames BJP of creating rift between local Hindu and Muslim community. So, where does the solution lies, Mr. Abdullah? With my limited knowledge of the situation in Kashmir, I think the solution lies with the Pakistani military and ISI only. China does not need to be blamed. China is using Pakistan and its territory to achieve their objective which is to come closer to the Indian border. It will help them in the event of any war situation with India. Coming back to the nexus of Pakistani military/ISI, they will not let the Kashmir situation die because their livelihood is predicated on this. The moment there is a peace in Kashmir, the importance and need to have such a large military in Pakistan will go down. Their survival is at risk. Hence, this Kashmir issue is not going to go away. This can be solved only by one of the three ways- one to live with the status quo, secondly, accept LOC as the international boundary and the last and most difficult one is to have an all out war and the winner takes it all. This needs to be accepted by both countries including the Pakistani nexus cited above. The civilian government in Pakistan never had any say in this situation, it is military nexus which makes the decision. So, Mr. Abdullah ought to arrange his meeting with the Pakistan government and the military establishment to find out what their true intention is in this matter.

Those who keep track of political news know that Obama is a liar.  But the problem is most of the people, especially the milennials and many housewives, in this country are not interested in politics, and do not keep track of political news.  Hence, when Obama tells lies with  a straight face, he convinces all those people very easily which eventually shows its effect at the voting booth.  If, after reading many different articles and listening to some inside stories, my understanding is correct, Obama is not going to be around for a long time.  Pretty soon he will be in a Orange suit. Just for your information, his birth certificate issue is not resolved yet.  If that is proven otherwise along with other pending charges, this country may treat his presidency null and void, and Trump will be the 44th President.

You also sent me a clipping of an interview at the Indian channel about somebody opening a hospital in Telanagana where only Muslim patients will be treated.  Non-Muslims will not be entertained.  I think in the South there are two Owaissi brothers- both anti-India and anti-Hindu.  I will not be surprised if they are behind this move which is, if approved by the State government, will further polarize the society.  I am wondering how Muslim community will feel if the central government declares that in Delhi, no Muslim patient will be treated in the capital. I am also wondering if there is any counter response from the Muslim Organizations/Mullahs in India against the hospital in the south.  Also, I wonder what the Indian Constitution says about this hospital.  Can State government do it on its own without taking permission from the central government?

Prime Minister Imran Khan's gesture and offer to open Hindu temples for Hindus interested in travelling to Pakistan to visit these religious places is a nice and well received gesture. So was the latest opening a Kartarpur corridor to improve relations between the two countries. However, Ms. Mehbooba who sounded like a mouthpiece and spokesperson of Imran Khan should realized that the relations cann't improve unless the civilian government in Islamabad has a final decision making authority in this matter. She is in politics, especially in local politics, for a long time, and one wonders what is it so hard to understand the main stumbling block of deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan. It is not the access to Kartarpur corridor or lack of approval for the Hindus in India to their religious places in Pakistan, it is the hell-bent anti-India mandate and attitude on the part of the Pakistani military establishment. Unless this anti-India attitude is altered, this writer has his apprehension about seeing any improvement in this situation. So, may be Ms. Mehbooba ought to talk to Mr. Imran Khan to look into this bone of contention - altering military's set mind predicated on anti-India ideology- instead of supporting Mr. Khan's toothless and baseless proposals.

Mr. Imran Khan said that he and his party are willing to move forward for peace between India and Pakistan if India takes one step forward with two steps taken by his party. He also said that his party and military in Islamabad are on the same page. I wonder what page is he referring to - page chosen by his party or the page decided by the Pakistani military. Pakistani history tells us that there was never any common ground between the civilian and military establishment in Islamabad as respect to relation with India is concerned. If he really meant what he says then let him take two steps - one to declare openly to stop abetting, aiding all terrorist activities in Pakistan and imprison all those who openly move around in his country raising anti-India slogans. Secondly, hand over all members of D-Company to India. Can he do it or dares to do it? If the answer is yes, then India should initiate a dialogue. One can see from the pictures at the Kartarpur corridor ceremony where Mr. Gopal Chawla - a pro-Khalistani activist is being greeted by the Chief of the Pakistani army that their intention is not good as respects to ameliorating relation between two countries. These political statements, as Mr. Imran Khan is making, are just political to appease the local subjects in the country - nothing else.

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Mr. Afridi's statement that Pakistan does not want Kashmir i .. 

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Pakistani authorities have the right to allow and not to allow on their TV channels predicated on what they think is good or not good for their people.  There is nothing wrong.  If they do not like the contents of Indian TV or cinema, it is OK.  There is a very large and vast market available for the Indian cinema products to sell on worldwide basis.  Indian producers do not have to hold their breath for the loss of Pakistani market which is not very big to start with.  It is loss to the Pakistani government and Pakistani actors who would love to come to India and work in the entertainment industry.  India should also ban everything being televised and shown in India which originates from Pakistan

If there is any validity in the Oxford Study Report, then India should be ready to face ISIS terrorist activities on their front door.  We know the current Prime Minister - Imran Khan - is a puppet of the Pakistani nexus of Pakistani military/ISI group and will be dancing on the tune of this group as long as he is there.  A recent live example shows it very clearly when Chief of Pakistani Army Mr. Bajwa selected Director of ISI without even checking with Mr. Imran Khan as to who should be appointed for this position.  If tomorrow Mr. Hafiz Saeed is make to sit on the Prime Minister throne, then God bless the region.  I hope the western word takes a serious note of this and initiate remedial measures urgently to stop this happening.  Of course, needless to say, Pakistan is an epic center of terrorism, but some body has to stop it before it gets worse.  It is needed for the sake of safety, peace and prosperity of the whole world.  Because once the nuclear war starts irrespective where it originates from, it will mean annihilation, complete destruction all over and for the coming generations also.

The tripartite meeting among India-China-Japan officials is very helpful so long as it is based on sincerity and honesty. The reason I used those words - sincerity and honesty- because so many summit meetings have taken place between India and China to resolve border disputes, but all in vain. India ought not to forget what China did in 1962 - rest is history. Unless China withdraws its claim and defense forces from the Kashmir and other areas of Indian territory, there is no reason to cave in and sign any agreement with the Chinese authorities. If Japan or any other nation can pressure China to vacate those territories, I think without any ambiguity, this agreement will bring peace and prosperity in the region. Is China ready to help bring tranquility in the region?

The Pakistani government run by PTI by announcing that the non-state fanatic terrorist actors are free to operate shows that Pakistan is a territory available to the terrorists to move around on their free will.  This order is against what the UN authorities had promulgated in the past about these terrorists.  The US government has $25 million bounty on the leader of JuD and Let.  It seems that these terrorists organizations are untouchable because they are being used as Pakistani army's proxies against India.  The newly elected Prime Minister, Mr. Imran Khan, is a puppet of the Pakistani army and has no say in this matter.  In short, what it means is that there will be violations on the LoC and there is no way Pakistan can be a sincere and legitimate partner to negotiate peace in the region.For the USA, it is a hint not to expect any change in the Pakistani policy as far as eradicating terrorism from the region.  They will keep killing the NATO forces in Afghanistan with the help of Haqquani group.  Since Pakistan is in dire need of hard cash, the US government should not extend any loan offer to them, and also put pressure on Saudi Arabia to tighten their purse while discussing this with the Pakistani authorities.

On the paper, this agreement between India and China may sound good which includes a provision to fight against terrorism together.  However, I wonder if this means that China will not support non-state terrorists in Pakistan who are creating havoc on the LoC.  Does it also mean that China will declare the activities of heads of JeM, Let and other such organization as illegal?  Is this agreement based on some sincere desire to eradicate terrorism from the region or is it just an eyewash to placate their own people and divert the attention to some other avenue?This writer is very apprehensive about the intention of Chinese government.India should not cave in under the pretext of this agreement unless India observes real efforts on the part of Chinese authorities to help India about eradicating terrorism.

CPEC loan/investment is a honey-trap for Pakistan.  The loan has been given to Pakistan at a very high interest rate along with many other stringent conditions.  They are building coal generated energy plants in Pakistan whereas they are getting out of this source of energy in China because of environmentally damaging effect of it.  Under no circumstances, Pakistan will be able to pay back that loan to China which means Pakistan has to cave in and lease Pakistani territory around CPEC to China on a long term basis.  Pakistan should have learnt this lesson from Sri Lanka, Angola, Malasia, Indonesia where China tried to play the same trick of investing money to upgrade infrastructure in those territories.Unfortunately, that analysis was not done and now they are in the lap of their big brother China for ever

Finally, Mr. Abdullah has admitted that Kashmir needs more investment and more jobs to keep the youths in the state occupied.  However, he still refrained from saying what the actual cause of ill-investment in the state is, and i.e. Articles 370 and 35A.  Mr. Abdullah and his sycophants do not have to take two steps forward to bring investment in the state which thus will create jobs for the youths, only one step will be sufficient and that will be to cooperate with the central government and help them delete those two above cited Articles from the Indian Constitution.  Rest will follow, and he can be rest assured of ever lasting peace, tranquility and stability in the region.  Can Mr. Abdullah swallow this bitter pill? Since he has admitted that Kashmir is part of India, then why does that state need special status?

Mrs. Mufti's comment provides an implied impression of anti-cbentral government's intention of not doing anything to bring peace in the Kashmir region. She is forgetting that the Indian government has been trying to bring peace and tranquility in the region since 1947. It is Pakistani establishment which is creating all sorts of stumbling block on this issue. As she pointed out, Mr. Vajpayee attempt also to achieve this objective, then there was a violation on the LoC which derailed that effort also. Yes, Imran Khan said during his inaugration address that if India takes one step to bring stablity and peace in the region, Pakistan will take two steps in that direction. But my opinion is that Pakistan does not have to take two steps, it has to take only one step first that is to control all terrorist activities on the LoC and punish all non-state militant actors in Pakistan . Everything else will follow.

Mr. Farooq Abdullah's comments and emphasis seem to be addressing the Indian government for lack of initiative for furthering peace and tranquility in the region.  By citing what Mr. Bajpayee did during his tenure, he is blaming the Modi government for not following the same foot steps to improve the situation in Kashmir.  Even though his family's three generations were on the throne of Kashmir, they did not do anything to bring and maintain long lasting peace in Kashmir.  He should know that peace comes when there are two parties willing to sincerely ready to shake hands to achieve this mission.  India has been trying since 1947 to achieve this objective, but it is the Pakistani government not showing the same response.  To some extent, the civilian governments tried to bring peace by improving relations with India, but, unfortunately the nexus of Pakistani military/ISI appeared to be a big stumbling block on the way.  They do not want to improve relations with India.  Whenever, there was a little sign of relief in this respect, the Pakistani establishment created problem at the LoC.  What Mr. Imran Khan can and cann't do in this matter, only the time will tell.  But this writer is not going to hold his breath.  In my opinion, the relations between India and Pakistan cann't improve till the organizational chart in Pakistan changes which means the Pakistani military/ISI becomes subservient to the civilian government.

The big problem in the state of J &K is the existence of two Articles - 370 and 35A.  The provisions under these two Articles prohibit and block the appearance of prosperity and tranquility in that part of India.  Unfortunately, the politicians for their own selfish motive and prestige are playing a party partisan game and do not favor a revocation of these two Articles.  Hence, the continuation and existence of chaotic situation in the state.  Innocent people are being killed on a daily basis.  Public and private properties are being destroyed in front of the eyes of these selfish politicians and they do not even ready to blink, and take a decisive action to remedy the situation. How unfortunate?  When these two Articles were inserted into the Indian Constitution, the timing was different.  Now with the advent of changing time, one should change and make appropriate provisions to set the record in order.  Those who do not change with the time, stay behind.  Is that what the local government wants for the people of Kashmir?  Revocation of these two Articles is the only solution to bring peace, prosperity and tranquility in Kashmir.  THE BALL IS IN THE COURT OF POLITICIANS- ESPECIALLY THE POLITICIANS AT THE STATE LEVEL

What Mrs. Mufti is doing the right thing.  Too many relatives in the government is a recipe for disaster.  However, changing the guards is not the only solution to the problem her state is facing.  The problem is lack of jobs for the youngsters there which creates frustration and out of this frustration destructive activities develops.  People across the border exploit this frustration of youths to achieve their political objective.  Unfortunately, creation of jobs needs a little reshuffling of governments' set mind.  Central and local governments have to take some constructive actions to create jobs and that can be done only by inviting external investment in the state.  It is doable with the revocation of an Article 370 and Clause #35A.  Local government has to decide whether it wants to see prosperity in the state or continue experience a chaotic life under the status quo.  This decision is not tough, all it needs for the decision makers is to set aside party politics and think about the people of J & K- delete the above Article from the Indian Constitution and see how prosperity and tranquility take place so quickly.

This week, Pakistan's voters put a new sheriff on the throne of Islamabad to turn things around for the better.  The new Sheriff has announced that he will pursue a serious negotiation/dialogues with his neighbors especially with India.  Prime Minister Modi has expressed a similar desire to achieve this objective.  However, as we know, to bring real and long lasting peace in that part of the world, it needs two parties with sincere desire and backing of their governmental establishments.  India has been trying without any fruitful outcome for the last seven decades to accomplish this objective, but because of non-cooperation of Pakistani military, it failed.  Military is a big stumbling block in this matter.  Now, for the last couple of decades, a new phenomenon has been added to this unaccomplished objective and that is -terrorism.  Pakistani establishment has been aiding, abetting and encouraging Talibans and other non-state actors-a group of terrorist organisations - to orchestrate illegal and terror generating activities on the LoC.  Lot of innocent civilians are being killed.  Now the question to this new Sheriff is,  can he control his military and order that establishment to stop aiding and abetting those non-state actors and put them behind bars if found doing anything illegal across the LoC?  Right now, as we all know, Military controls the civilian government in Islamabad, and unless that order is reversed on the organizational chart of the Pakistani constitution, one should not keep one's hope high.  Let's see if this new Sheriff can turn the tide for the better.

Mr. Abdullah''s statement that Kashmiris are not terrorist is partially true but not 100% accurate. We all know it is the Kashmiri people who with the help from across the border playing as puppets and create chaos and turbulence in the region. Mr. Abdullah also is seeking a state of affair in the region what India experienced when Ganhiji was alive. He should know that there is a big change in the timing going back to those days and the present political situation. People have to change with the changing of time. If he is so anxious to see those peaceful days in the region, I wonder why was not he and his other two generations able to bring peace in that part of India. His three generations were happy with the status quo. Central government''s position is not to divide India and create racial discrimination between Hindus and Muslims. If that is the case, then one will find turmoil and racial conflicts everywhere where Muslim population lives. But that is not the case. The trouble is only in the Kashmir area where the local governments have so far failed to work with the central government to stop the flow of financial, military and political assistance from across the border.Article 370 is a big stumbling block to bring tranquility and prosperity in the region. It needs to be abrogated asap.

As we all know, the menace of rape in India is alarming.  Basically, all big cities have been affected by this evil social problem.  What MP Government has done in this respect  requires commendation.  However, I being a proponent of  anti-rape legislation, feel that this legislation in MP is not going to eradicate rape issue altogether because it will punish only those culprits who are involved in the minor rape cases.  This legislation needs to be expanded to all rape cases. Once a rape is proven by the court, accused ought to be hanged, and his assets, if any, should be auctioned to compensate the victim or her family.  This law should be applied to all indiscriminately irrespective of accused  class, status and party affiliation.  The intent of this legislation ought to be to create a fear in the society for the next person who is contemplating to get involved into this nefarious activity.  Kudos to Mr,. Chouhan with the hope that all other Chief Ministers will follow suit.

Mr. Abdullah’s comments about repeal of an Article 35A does not make sense knowingly that this particular Article is the main stumbling block as far as economic development and peace in that part of India is concerned.  He says he will fight till he dies.  Everybody has to die one day.  I think it will be prudent to get rid of this Article and welcome foreign investment in the region.  Then he, along with others, can enjoy prosperity in the state of J & K before he dies.  Right now, with the existence of this Article, innocent people are dying for no reasons.  It is pure politics.  Mr. Abdullah also compared revocation of this Article to ‘scratching a wound’.  He said the more you scratch, more blood will come out of it.  That is precisely the reason that one does not want to scratch this wound, rather to get rid of this wound by initiating appropriate action, and that action is bringing more technological and economic investment in the state.  That investment will create a manufacturing base thus creating more jobs.  More jobs means, the youngsters of that state will be occupied, financially well of, less time to demonstrate in the streets, no destruction of public and private properties.

This Article has been sitting there as an Appendix to the Indian Constitution for decades, and served no fruitful purpose.  Hence, the time is ripe to find alternative means and ways to bring prosperity for the people of J & K.  In my opinion, those who are against finding alternatives are not true friends and citizens of India.

As far as the likelihood of Pakistan becoming a colony of China is concerned, this writer has no doubt that it is a matter of time when this becomes officially a reality.  Pakistan has no friends in the world.  China is the only big brother it has who again is not doing any favor to Pakistan by extending their economic arm to keep Pakistan floating, but instead they are pursuing their long term objectives to expand their territorial ambition.  As we know, to a greater extent, they have achieved this objective by lending enormous amount of money to Sri Lankla, Tajikstan and other countries.  They find financially vulnerable countries, lend them money at a higher interest rate to develop their infrastructure.  When they cann't pay that loan back, Chinese occupy their territory on a long term lease basis.  Pakistan is their next target.  China has realized that they cann't militarily attack other countries to flex their tentacles to achieve their territorial ambition, rather the government has made a decision to use their economic muscles to occupy others' territories wherever possible.  

Coming back to the scenario of Pakistan, CPEC was and is a trap for Pakistan to achieve Chinese long term objective.  Pakistan has taken a loan at a higher interest rate and now with the dwindling economic situation, it cann't repay the loan.  Hence, they have become a victim of Chinese game.  According to the press reports and economic experts, Pakistan needs around $35 Billion dollars to be able to pay the impending dues and be able to float.  Because Pakistan has only around $10 Billion left in the exchequer to take care of imports and other needs which is good enough for couple of months.  Then what?

Predicated on the diplomatic and political scenario in the USA, it appears that IMF will not lend them any money because there is an understanding here that Pakistan will use that money to pay off Chinese debt of CPEC.  Then the question is, where else Pakistan can go with a begging bowl to get a doze of survival?  For the in-coming government of Imran Khan, it is going to be a very crucial dilemma.  He will be a genius if he is able to find a solution of this conundrum.  The quick solution could be to some extent, if and if at all, the IMF decides to bail them out, Pakistan should be ready to scratch the on going CPEC project to satisfy the pressure from the US government on the IMF.  IMF can ask for many more contingencies before it lends any dollar to Pakistan.  It is a very precarious economic situation for Pakistan and they do not hold any trump card at all.

Here goes Mr. Owaisi again with his vitriolic and polarizing statement exciting Muslim community to vote only for Muslim candidates. He says that in India Muslim community has been forced to stay quiet when he is the most outspoken MP in the Indian Parliament. He speaks loudly, brazenly and openly without any muzzle on his mouth. Instead of working with the central and local governments to initiate some steps to uplift the Muslim community, he is always exciting his community to go anti-national. He is the best enemy of his community, most opportunist and self-centered person. I just hope the other moderate Muslim leaders work against him in the next election and choose some moderate candidate to represent them because with Mr. Owaissi in the Parliament, Muslim community will not be represented in a true sense.

The situation in Kashmir is a prolonged political headache.  It cann't be rooted out with dialogues because to conduct fruitful dialogues one needs two sincere and honest parties or sincere broker bringing those two parties involved together.  That scenario does not exist.  What you have is only one sincere and honest party- BJP- at the center which wants to bring everlasting peace in the region.  BJP wants to bring economic development which will create jobs for the locals and keep them busy.  Instead of destroying public and private properties, they will be busy with the livelihood.  However, BJP is facing a constitutional stumbling block which is an Article 370 in the constitution. This article prohibits investment inflow in the region from other parts of the country.  Changing governments or bringing Central or Governor's rule in Kashmir is not the solution.  The only solution to solve this riddle is uplifting the economic condition of the region.  The pressure is on the central government to find ways as to how get rid of an Article 370 from the Constitution.  If there is a serious and sincere desire on the part of politicians to achieve this objective, they have to set aside all the politics and personal grudges and delete an Article 370.  Everything else will follow.

What Ms. Mufti is recommending a very naive solution to this on going Kashmir problem.  I fail to understand the rationale behind this suggestion.  The crux of this on going problem is not what India should do, rather it is what Pakistan should not do which is out-flow of terrorists penetrating into the Indian territory. Secondly, what Ms. Mufti's government should do is to work with the central government and help repeal an Article 370 from the Constitution which will attract outside investment to build manufacturing plants and also assist in the real estate industry.  The increase flow of investment will create lot of jobs to occupy the youngsters.  The indulgence in their occupation will leave them no time to demonstrate in the streets and destroy public and private property. Ms. Mufti, as they say, every problem has a solution.  What is needed is a strong will, national interest and avoidance of party politics.  ARE WE READY FOR THAT?

I am not surprised to see what is happening in UK.  Predicated on a religious faith, one can easily conclude that Christianity is taking a deep dive whereas Islamization (not Muslims) is flourishing all over the world.  It is due to multifaceted reasons, for example, their indoctrination about anti-family planning, regular and disciplined frequency to visit mosques, philosophy of converting non-Muslims and, of course, reinforced it by ingrained element of jihadism.  All these factors are leading to the spread of Islamization all over the world.

As far as UK is concerned, it is the liberal policy of the government which is helpful in bringing Islamization to the forefront.  Muslims have realized (worldwide) how to exploit the liberal tenets of democratic constitution.  So, one should not blame the Muslims if they are building more mosques in the UK, one should rather blame the liberal society which allows the Muslims to achieve this long term objective.  I believe, unless some magic happens, the time is in favor of Muslims.  They can wait as long as it takes to accomplish their long term objective which is to establish Sharia Law worldwide.  White people do not have the backbone to face Muslim onslaught on a worldwide basis.  Hence, the decline of the former.  In UK, the Mayor of London is a Muslim who is very supportive of Muslim community and religion, and when he was visiting Chicago about a year ago, he openly addressed the Muslim community that they do not have to assimilate themselves into the non-Muslim community.  He even confronted the Queen of London on a few issues.  So, to make long story short, my opinion is that the time is not too far when UK along with other countries like Belgium, France and Holland etc. will be facing open Islamization - unless as I said above some magic happens.

This is definitely a step in the right direction.  Unfortunately, it does not create a vehicle to eradicate or at least minimize this societal menace from the society precisely with reason that this will be applicable only in the event of someone raping a minor and not an adult female member of the society.  I wonder if the government does not care about the whole female sect of a country.  Also, not knowing the details yet of this new legislation, this legislation ought not to consist of any ambiguities.  Once the charge is proven, the rapist should be hanged by televising the punishment.  I will go a step further, rapist's asset, if any, should be auctioned and the proceed should be given to the victim or her family.  Secondly, the compliance of this legislation, when approved by the Parliament, should have no partiality.  The rapist irrespective of his affiliation to any society, party and religion should not be treated above the law.

I think one reason, among others, is that this nation is interested in propping up skirmishes here and there by floating pieces of misinformation to test their new missiles and defense equipment.  Predicated on the press reports, the latest attack in Syria by the USA provided an opportunity to test its new missiles coated with the stealth material which was proven to be very effective.  They want to make sure that in the event of a real war, they can rely on their defense armament.  I do not think this country is really interested in winning war, even though it is the ultimate aim of getting involved into any major war, because the continuation of war mongering attitude among different sect of people helps this nation more in the long run.  Needless to say, this nation has so much fire power, it can destroy the earth many a times, but that is not the aim.  They rather see division and ill will among nations which helps this nation economically and militarily.  Also, it helps this nation to maintain its hegemonic status in the world.  What the writer of this article basically is doing is proving the fact that in all wars, USA's participation was required, and that requirement helped this country maintained its super power status till to date.

Mr. Bajwa's statement is full of misleading comments.  He says Pakistan is committed to eradicate terrorism, but lot of leaders of militant groups move around with full liberty in Pakistan.  Some have been even proven guilt against them.  Pakistan does not arrest them.  He said Pakistan is willing to discuss Kashmir issue, but will not stop assisting and abetting Kashmiris in Kashmir.  He also said that Pakistan is ready to face any consequences because his defense forces are ready to face any eventuality, when he knows it is not true.He also said that dialogue is needed to prevail peace in the region, but his people do not hesitate to call India 'an enemy'.  Under these circumstances, how can one expect to exchange a meaningful dialogue?

The Middle East issue is such a tangled enigma which is beyond repair.  So many different formidable factors - different in culture, religion, social and linguistic- are the stumbling block to find a permanent solution to this on-going problem.  The writer of the enclosed article has provided live and factual examples of failures whenever this country tried to either change the regime or find a peaceful solution to the problem, whether it is Vietnam, Korea or the turmoil in the Middle East.  I do not think any country irrespective of its fire power can find a permanent solution in the Middle East.  Staying there is just like standing in the swamp.  More you jump around in the swamp, the deeper you go into it and eventually you drown yourself - militarily and economically.  One wonders if it is worth the risk.  However, from a political angle, USA cann't afford to get out exclusively from the Middle East drama because it will provide a strong foothold to Russia and Iran.  As I said above, it is a riddle which is not easy to untangle.  As far as latest gas usage in Syria is concerned, there are many reports about who actually did it.  Is it Assad, the UK Government or the anti-Assad forces to keep USA involved in this issue.  The Jury is still out and we will see what finally happens.

Ms. Mehbooba's thought process is on the right track to minimize rape threats to minors.  But it does not solve the rape threat from its roots.  The female victim is traumatized the same way irrespective of her age bracket.  Yes, the adult has a better understanding of what had happened to her and is able to cope with that situation with more perseverance  and responsibility than a minor victim.  But the  mental torture which stays with that victim is a life long issue she has to face.  One cann't remove that stigma.  Hence, this writer feels that Ms. Mehbooba ought to make this law including all rapes irrespective of female victims' age, and once the rape is proven, the rapists should be put behind bar for a long time without bail.  And, in the event of female rape victim dies, the rapist should be hanged too. Also, rapist's assets should be auctioned and money handed over the victim family. I wish this law becomes a national legislation to help female community in India.

The latest statement of Mr. Abdullah referring to India ought to return portion of Kashmir acquired in the battle of 1965 to Pakistan and Kashmiris are not slaves of India leaves an impression that though he is living in India, but has a very soft heart for Pakistan when it comes to solving a long standing Kashmir problem. He also suggests that LoC should be converted to Line of Peace. But he is forgetting one thing and that is that the civilian government in Pakistan has no say in this matter, and the military of Pakistan wants to keep this issue alive because it is a source of its sustenance. The hotter the Kashmir border, the urgent need for Pakistan to have a strong military. This is the key. Pakistan does not love Kashmir, it is a political and just a prestigious issue for them to stay alive militarily. Because of their failed foreign policy and lack of financial resources, they could not keep East Pakistan as part of Pakistan, Balochistan is on the verge of separation, Karachi is burning, KPP is beyond their control, then how can one expect them to expand their territorial objective. There are only three ways to live with this Kashmir problem- one being the present status quo- keep fighting, second being accept LoC as an international border and live peacefully on their own respect side of the border and the third being a full scale attack and the winner takes it all. There is no other way to handle this issue. Mr. Abdullah is making provocative statements most of the times. I am wondering when three generations of his own family were sitting on the throne, why did they not work with the central government to solve this issue. Why did they not try to revoke an Article 370 from the Constitution which is the main stumbling block to achieve any liveable solution. It is easy to criticize while sitting outside the camp, but very difficult to exert efforts to find a tenable solution. Mr. Abdullah should talk to the central government, his own party and Ms. Mehbooba's party and delete an Article 370 from the Constitution and move forward.

The writer has explained a very factual situation while comparing China with America.  The difference is because of America's bad, short-sighted and lenient foreign policies.  If you go back may be five decades, China was suffering from all kinds of sanctions imposed by the USA.  China was a country full of drug addicts, and no one dared to buy any Chinese products due to inferior quality. Today's China is the making of this country's one-sided policies which brought China from being a backward country to the fore front of one of the global economic powers.

This economic prosperity has brought lot of construction in China.  Unfortunately, the occupancy rate in those skyscrapers is very low even though lot of people are being brought from the rural to the urban areas.  That may not play a constructive role, the moment Chinese economy goes south which means a real estate meltdown.  Mostly, Chinese economy is 'exported' oriented.

True, China cann't expand its own territory due to geographical location, as the writer pointed out wisely.  However, China, by using its economic power, flexing its tentacles in other countries - Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Burma, Uganda, Afghanistan and Africa etc.- by way of developing their ports and other infrastructure.  China provides loans to all those countries at a higher rate with the provision that if a country cannot pay back, then China will own that land on a lease basis for a long term.  Hence, that enables China to achieve its territorial expansionist objective.

Other than that, there is no comparison between China and America.  They have two separate set of governments - totalitarian vs. democracy; controlled regime vs. liberty and freedom; one language medium(English) vs. two main languages- Cantonese and Mandarin ( one does not understand the other) etc.

The key element of this article is the security issue.  America has been on the forefront of all nations due to its heavy investment in the area of "R & D"  Even though for the last 3-4 decades, America has lost most of its manufacturing base, it still remained a super power because of investment in the "R & D" area.

I hope Trump stays in the WH for full two terms and bring back its lost heavy manufacturing base.

Thanks, Bhatiaji, this was a very good and informative article

I think, finally, the Saudi government under Prince Salman has started making decisions which are worthy to be noticed.  These decision whether they are in the field of education, culture, religion, entertainment, economy etc., all are for the well being of its subjects.  They are needed in the 21st century to be able to compete on a global basis.  Yes, Saudis have lots of oil reserves, but how long they will last.  What happens when the oil wells go dry.  How would Saudis survive?  What Saudis need is a good educational curriculum, good universities pursuing high educational system teaching students science, math, different global languages, engineering and architecture etc. so that Saudis can compete with the global talents also.  I am glad that Prince Salman has realized that 7th century Muslim ideology is obsolete and it needs to be replaced with the new thinking and new ideology to survive.  It is always prudent to change with the changing times.  Saudi government should also attract more manufacturing in Saudi Arabia, instead of just buying material from other countries.  The bigger, multi-faceted and expanded manufacturing base a country has, the better off that country is.

When I came to this country in 1970, The US Steel was the largest steel manufacturing company in the world.  Then due to lenient and ill-advised policies in this country in the 80s, slowly and slowly manufacturing base started deteriorating and shifted to overseas.  I believe, for any country, a strong manufacturing base is must for its prosperity and security.  This country imports lot of steel from China who is subsidizing its steel industry and dump steel in the United States at a very competitive price.  We have kind of become complacent about the supply of steel from China.  God forbids if there is a war between China and the US, this supply will disappear which means, the US can run into a scenario of shortage of steel to manufacture defense armaments - fighter jets, tanks, missiles etc.  So, from country's security standpoint, self-sufficiency in steel and aluminum manufacturing is must.  Needless to say, these tariffs will create jobs too - more jobs means higher GDP, higher revenue for the exchequer and higher standard of living for the people living here.

China has finally realized that its CPEC project could be in danger without having good relations with the Balochs.  Hence, it is trying to mend fences to save its $60 Billion investment.  As the article states good relations between these two parties is a win-win situation for both.  However, this is an appropriate opportunity for the Balochs to take advantage of it.  Balochs should not cave in and play this card to their advantage.  And that trump card is to ask Chinese government to help Balochs to get independence from Pakistan's illegal government in Balochistan.  I would go a step further.  Balochs should threaten China that in the event of status quo, CPEC will not be successful because Balochs will not tolerate the existence of this project in their territory without the approval of Balochs.  There will be constant pressure and even militant activities to make sure China and Pakistan do not take any advantage of this project.

Mr. Owaisi is right in condemning and branding all Indian Muslims as 'Pakistanis'. He is also right in suggesting that Government of India should pass a legislation with a punishment to a person who asserts this slogan. However, that legislation ought to cover also all those who believe, state and demonstrate pro-Pakistani slogans, unfurling Pakistani flag and orchestrate anti-India statements. As far as 'triple talaq' is concerned, I think government of India has taken a right step to uplift Muslim wowen's miserable married life dilemma. Muslim women are happy and that is very important. There should not be any place under the Indian Constitution for any 'Personal Muslim Law'. I will go further, Muslim man should not be allowed to remarry unless he first divorces his first wife - no more 4 wives. Politicians should think about the country first and not to appease the Muslim population by allowing them to marry upto 4 times. This is just creating a voting bank philosophy which needs to be stopped.

For whatever reason, the United States withheld funds for the Palestine government and that shortage has been taken care of by bunch of European countries.  It proves couple of points.  One being that the United States may not have any help available to solve the Middle East issue between Israel and the Palestine regardless how serious these two countries (USA and Israel) may be to wok on this old lingering issue.Secondly, like many other Muslim countries, Palestine government does not mind going door to door with a begging bowl to survive instead of creating jobs locally to employ people, bring industry to Palestine, educate the masses so that they become productive citizens.  I wonder how long they can survive on external help.  I think by not becoming self-dependent, Palestine government is weakening its position in the world forum.

This Mullah, Kasami, is still living in the 6th century environment. From his comment about women watching men's sport sounds like he has only one track mind which is full of filth and evil design. How does he know that when women watch men's sports they only look at men's thighs and not enjoying the sport itself. Can he read women's mind? I wonder what is his own character? Even Saudi Arabia which was supporting all this nonsensical ideology is changing. The current prince has realized that people should and have to change with the changing time. Those who do not stay behind time. These Mullahs want to see that this 6th century Muslim ideology does not go away so that they can maintain their own prestige and importance in the Muslim society. But they are forgetting that the Muslim women have awakened from the dark days and now they feel capable of decrying all nonsensical Mullahs' decrees. India has done a good job with the enunciation that triple talak slogan is dead in the woods. What a relief for the Muslim women? I think Muslim women in India should initiate an action nationwide to get rid of old fashioned Mullahs like Karami.

Another barbaric heinous attack in Kabul by the militants needs to be condemned by the civilized nations.  It is disgraceful what these non-state actors with the help of Pakistani government do to the innocent civilians.  They have no respect, love and affection for humanity.  Killing one human being is more than many, but these fanatics kill thousands and thousands without any remorse at all.  India has graciously offered its assistance to the Afghan government at this juncture of grief.  Looking from a security standpoint, I am puzzled that the US government has been training the local Afghan forces to protect themselves from these types of attacks for the last 15 years, and still these Afghans are not capable of defending themselves.  I am wondering how long it will take before they stop relying on external forces for self-defense.  I also wonder if it is due to lack of interest in  being trained to defend themselves or is there something wrong with the training modes or is it something religious or may be it is relating to politics?  I do not know the answer, but it is worth probing.

Both parties - Republican and Democrats - are in a handicapped situation.  Republicans do not have the votes required to pass the budget and democrats' hands are tied behind their back by the pressure from the lobbying of activists of illegal aliens.  In order to over this on-going budgetary tug-of-war, Republicans should give assurance to the democrats that all immigration and security issues will be discussed including some type of way for the 'dreamers' to stay in the United States as soon as budget is passed for the full year.  Those dreamers can stay in the United states who have no criminal record against them, know English language, have paid their taxes etc.  This stay is subject to compliance of all these requirements and will be under the radar for let's say 10 years from the date of this notification and approval of a legislation, failing which they will be deported.  As far as security issue is concerned, as the President said, this country will have wall/fence etc. on the southern border fully funded by the legislative authorities along with eliminating lottery system and chain migration.

Pakistani government has banned 72 militant groups in Pakistan and also announced to freeze their assets along with a punishable offence to contribute any financial contribution to their charities.  They may have done it fearing retribution from the US government.  Whatever the triggering factor may be, at least it is a step in the right direction.  However, this announcement sounds incomplete because it does not spell out the punishment if these non-state actors do get involved in their usual nefarious activities which is anti-India slogans, sending their warriors across LoC etc.  Secondly, what about the crimes they have already committed against India?  Would they be punished?  Lastly, is this order permanent to stop any of the terrorist act or is it just a respite to wait for the dust to settle down - USA's pressure?

President Trump has temporarily cut off defense aid to Pakistan because his administration has finally realized a dual face Pakistan has been projected to the USA.  In spite of repeated warnings from this government and the previous US governments, Pakistan has not stopped aiding, abetting and sheltering  non-State militant actors and allowing them to operate from its territory against the US forces and others deployed in Afghanistan.It does not make sense for America to provide this aid to Pakistan which in turn Pakistan uses to have US forces killed in Afghanistan through its proxies of various non-State militant groups.  However, this temporary blockade of aid is only applicable to defense area and not to the civilian sector.  Firstly, even the cut off aid in the defense area is predicated on the behavior of Pakistani government.  It can be lifted if Pakistani government stops aiding, abetting and sheltering the militant groups operating from its territory.  Secondly, to get this aid is not the right of Pakistani government, it is the generosity of the US government to help Pakistan to defray some expenses for the wellness of Pakistan.  Demonstrating in the streets of Pakistan against the cut off of aid with the help of little children, burning flags and implied support of these demonstrations etc. shows ungratefulness, misuse of youths and illiteracy on the part of Pakistan's citizens.  It also shows that Pakistan is used to get freebies from wherever it  can get and may be is not capable of running their country without hand-outs.  Pakistan has been doing it since its birth.  How shameful?  Now, there is a new sheriff in town and Pakistan has to change its tune.  Double-faced dealing will not work.

Pakistan's so-called all-weather friend China is further flexing its tentacles into Pakistan by expanding its territorial ambitions via further development of Gwadar port for deploying its warships. Pakistan has no friends left in the world and, hence, it has no choice but to put all its eggs in one basket - China. This is neither good for Pakistan nor for India. It is bad for Pakistan in the sense that slowly and slowly China is going to occupy Pakistani territory, or should I say a territory of Balochistan occupied by Pakistan. Also, this CPEC investment is a bait which Pakistan has accepted and it will not be possible for Pakistan to repay this high interest rate loan. What it means is that Pakistan eventually has to accept subservience of China. China will dictate Pakistan what to do and what not to do. Chinese culture, language and influence will grow exponentially, and Pakistani Muslims will become second class citizens in their own country. As far as India is concerned, it is not a good news either because by developing gwadar port, China will be able to deploy its war ships closer to the Indian territory and in the event of a war, Indian forces will be more vulnerable to the Chinese attack. The only way to tackle this problem for India is to become more pro-active in helping Balochs to obtain separation from the clutches of Pakistan. Once Balochistan becomes a separate nation again, then Balochs should help India and stop Chinese intrusion and mitigate security concern of India.