Terror can radically change the wave of life. It prevents people from living a normal life. Anything that is divorced from reason is not doable, thus unreasonable policies should be avoided by India & Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan have to abandon policies that don’t stand to reason. We belong to a school that distinguishes itself from others with the belief in democracy.” These were the remarks made by Mr. Vinod Sharma, Political Editor, Hindustan Times while speaking at the Roundtable Forum organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) on “Indo-Pak Relations: Moving Beyond Acrimony and Suspicion”. Underpinning the need for respecting Institutional democracy, Mr. Sharma said that there were certain issues that had to be left to the state institutions rather. Health, education, environment are the issues which may be the direct responsibility of all including media and parliament. “Any prime minister's commitment to his country cannot be questioned. But the political leaders have to take risks to create and expand the constituency of peace. In politics, you have to take risks in order to break out of the gridlock of clichés and acrimony.” Said Mr. Vinod while adding that the civility of dialogue was absolutely essential for continuing talks. The civilly in dialogue - post Pathankot incident - shown by both governments is unprecedented. While Pathankot remains a huge challenge, but it can become an opportunity for mutually reassuring respective commitment on terrorism which is a common enemy. There is a firm resolve on our side to do anything that might help in investigation and taking case to its logical conclusion. He said that both Modi and Sharif must meet and if they had a degree of comfort with each other, they could take the process forward. We must stop demonizing each other’s national heroes. There should be an institutional mechanism for a regular discourse among historians. Purpose should be to get past the acrimonious past. We...

The United States has made little or no progress in explaining how and why it orders lethal drone strikes, even as America’s reliance on the unmanned aircraft soars worldwide, a report found Tuesday. According to a study by the Stimson Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan think tank, President Barack Obama’s administration has failed to provide basic transparency into the drone program that has become a keystone in America’s counterterrorism efforts. “In terms of the justification for the program and all the legal basis – that still remains out of reach of the American public,” study author Rachel Stohl told AFP. Her paper gives American school-style grades in a “report card” to the US government, rating how it has improved its drone accountability since the Stimson Center wrote a damning report on the matter in June 2014. The report card gave the Obama administration an “F” — or a failing grade — in three areas: a lack of progress on releasing information on targeted drone strikes, developing better accountability mechanisms and explaining the US lethal drone program’s legal basis. A seemingly ever-expanding global war against extremist groups means the United States relies heavily on drones to monitor hostile lands and launch missiles at suspected extremists. Obama has drastically expanded the drone program during his tenure, but his administration provides scant information on strikes. Critics say many drone strikes kill civilians, and the aircraft alienate and radicalize local populations on the ground. Since June 2014, the United States has reportedly carried out lethal drone strikes in Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, as well as against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria. The Stimson Center said at least a dozen countries now host US drone bases, including Ethiopia, the Seychelles and Yemen. “The targeted killing program has been the most precise and effective application of firepower in the history of armed conflict,” said Michael...

by Imtiaz Gul This is bigotry and confusion at its best: “Valentine’s Day has no connection with our culture and it should be avoided … we must maintain our religious and national identity.” This was the president of Pakistan, who also informed his audience on the death anniversary of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar that “there is a need to formulate the educational curriculum of Pakistan according to the requirements of the modern age and ideology of the country”. Such a subjective and paradoxical statement by President Mamnoon — a top businessman and former graduate of one of the best business schools — was nothing less than a grim reminder of the hypocrisy that currently rules Pakistan. It was subjective because what is wrong with celebrating an occasion, regardless of whether it is Western or Eastern? It was paradoxical because the majority of affluent Pakistanis live largely in the Western tradition. Deception, fraud, maltreatment of servants and snobbery are all but a few hallmarks of our “Eastern” culture. Honestly, I learnt my manners of greeting people, showing deference to those walking ahead of you or behind you, considering others’ rights, all after arriving in Germany as a 24-year-old. Nearly every day was a bitter reminder of the bigotry and insensitivity that I had grown up with in a Muslim society. The president’s revealing statement on Valentine’s Day also runs contrary to the spirit of respect for diversity, tolerance and deference to other beliefs and traditions. He may hold his brief on other cultures as an individual, but he forgot that he represents a multicultural, multiethnic society that is also guided by the Constitution of Pakistan. The president and those who think like him need to be reminded that even if they abhor Western culture, they are supposed to follow the Constitution in its letter and spirit to ensure and protect equal rights to all citizens. They also need to be reminded, for instance, that Article 20 guarantees “freedom to profess...