by: Vinod Sharma Are The Two Nsas Scripting The New India-Pakistan Lexicon Of Peace? They’re talking but not through the media — which they’ve used only to let their actions speak. It’s a relatively new experiment in Indo-Pak relations bedevilled historically by vituperative slugs. Gentle nudges seem to be working for now. The etymology of the new lexicon could be in the growing chemistry — and suggestions of trust — between the two national security advisers. Their off-camera engagements have yielded results — including a terror alert last week to New Delhi from Islamabad. The optimism stems as much from other signals: Pakistan lodging an FIR on the Pathankot attack; its foreign minister saying a phone number the attackers used was traced to Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Bahavalpur base; the information that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in custody. Against this backdrop has come a bigger straw in the wind— the hanging on February 29 of Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando who pumped bullets into West Punjab governor Salman Taseer for seeking reforms in the country’s blasphemy laws. Politically, the execution is a big deal for the Sharif brothers — Nawaz and Shahbaz — given its religious-political implications in their home province. Qadri was deified after the 2011 killing by a rabid assortment of Mullahs and advocates. They feted and garlanded him for taking out the very person he was assigned to safeguard. The hanging and the intelligence alert NSA Ajit Doval received from Pakistani counterpart Naseer Janjua on possible cross-border attacks during Mahashivratri, could be read as a gingerly shift to containing, if not immediately confronting, anti-India groups based in the country’s eastern enclaves in Punjab. A Pakistani official distinguished the push in the east from the army’s Zarb-e-Azb operation on the Af-Pak border in the west. “The task in Punjab isn’t easy as it cannot be performed militarily,” he reasoned. In southern Punjab where groups such as JeM have formidable...

by: Vinod Sharma Are The Two Nsas Scripting The New India-Pakistan Lexicon Of Peace? They’re talking but not through the media — which they’ve used only to let their actions speak. It’s a relatively new experiment in Indo-Pak relations bedevilled historically by vituperative slugs. Gentle nudges seem to be working for now. The etymology of the new lexicon could be in the growing chemistry — and suggestions of trust — between the two national security advisers. Their off-camera engagements have yielded results — including a terror alert last week to New Delhi from Islamabad. The optimism stems as much from other signals: Pakistan lodging an FIR on the Pathankot attack; its foreign minister saying a phone number the attackers used was traced to Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Bahavalpur base; the information that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in custody. Against this backdrop has come a bigger straw in the wind— the hanging on February 29 of Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando who pumped bullets into West Punjab governor Salman Taseer for seeking reforms in the country’s blasphemy laws. Politically, the execution is a big deal for the Sharif brothers — Nawaz and Shahbaz — given its religious-political implications in their home province. Qadri was deified after the 2011 killing by a rabid assortment of Mullahs and advocates. They feted and garlanded him for taking out the very person he was assigned to safeguard. The hanging and the intelligence alert NSA Ajit Doval received from Pakistani counterpart Naseer Janjua on possible cross-border attacks during Mahashivratri, could be read as a gingerly shift to containing, if not immediately confronting, anti-India groups based in the country’s eastern enclaves in Punjab. A Pakistani official distinguished the push in the east from the army’s Zarb-e-Azb operation on the Af-Pak border in the west. “The task in Punjab isn’t easy as it cannot be performed militarily,” he reasoned. In southern Punjab where groups such as JeM have formidable...

by: Vinod Sharma Are The Two Nsas Scripting The New India-Pakistan Lexicon Of Peace? They’re talking but not through the media — which they’ve used only to let their actions speak. It’s a relatively new experiment in Indo-Pak relations bedevilled historically by vituperative slugs. Gentle nudges seem to be working for now. The etymology of the new lexicon could be in the growing chemistry — and suggestions of trust — between the two national security advisers. Their off-camera engagements have yielded results — including a terror alert last week to New Delhi from Islamabad. The optimism stems as much from other signals: Pakistan lodging an FIR on the Pathankot attack; its foreign minister saying a phone number the attackers used was traced to Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Bahavalpur base; the information that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in custody. Against this backdrop has come a bigger straw in the wind— the hanging on February 29 of Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando who pumped bullets into West Punjab governor Salman Taseer for seeking reforms in the country’s blasphemy laws. Politically, the execution is a big deal for the Sharif brothers — Nawaz and Shahbaz — given its religious-political implications in their home province. Qadri was deified after the 2011 killing by a rabid assortment of Mullahs and advocates. They feted and garlanded him for taking out the very person he was assigned to safeguard. The hanging and the intelligence alert NSA Ajit Doval received from Pakistani counterpart Naseer Janjua on possible cross-border attacks during Mahashivratri, could be read as a gingerly shift to containing, if not immediately confronting, anti-India groups based in the country’s eastern enclaves in Punjab. A Pakistani official distinguished the push in the east from the army’s Zarb-e-Azb operation on the Af-Pak border in the west. “The task in Punjab isn’t easy as it cannot be performed militarily,” he reasoned. In southern Punjab where groups such as JeM have formidable...

Every teacher has a broad role modeling duty to inspire the future leaders and responsibility for passing on the sense of citizenry. Australia is one of the most diverse countries on earth and has many minorities from its indigenous people to smaller communities that have arrived over the period of extensive migration that Australia has experienced and has indeed welcomed. While engaging with fundamental issues, there also needs to reflect that every human being is equal regardless of the gender, background, culture, religion. Fundamental human rights are global rights. PACE - a key initiative of the CRSS - is cross cutting, disciplinary and national while engaging in the large global issues of today. These remarks were made by Ms. Margaret Adamson, Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan during the closing ceremony of Pakistan Center of Excellence’s (PACE) first round of collaborative workshops; a five day residential training program from March 5-9, 2016. PACE is a major CVE initiative launched by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) - with the support from the government of Netherlands and in partnership with the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology - to promote democratic values, respect for diversity, fundamental human rights and virtues of tolerance as a measure of ensuring social peace and harmony for peaceful co-existence. It aims to facilitate a socio-political discourse – the Alternate Narrative on democratic rights and responsibilities anchored in the globally accepted and practiced concepts such as Rule of Law, Equal Citizenry, Secular Governance as a primary condition for social cohesion, and Tolerance for, and acceptance of cultural diversity. The resource persons and public intellectuals who interacted with the participating university lecturers and professors from different universities across Pakistan included Dr. A.H. Nayyer, Ms. Afia Salam, Mr. Safiullah Gul, Mr. Piotr Blacerowicz, Mr. Jahangir Khattak, Ms. Gulmina Bilal,...