Five US troops were killed in a helicopter crash and two American soldiers died in a green-on-blue attack on March 11, making it the deadliest day for the United States in Afghanistan this year so far. Last year, attacks by Afghan troops or police took at least 31 US lives. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel left Afghanistan at dawn the same day, after he described events in the country as complicated. "We are still in a war," he said. Hagel also snubbed Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who had accused the US of "collusion with the Taliban" and also told US troops to leave the Maidan Wardak province, next to Kabul, by March 10 following angry protests by villagers. Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, during his recent interaction with journalists and writers, had already cautioned that with an insecure fated-to-exit Karzai becoming increasingly unpredictable, Washington and other NATO countries needed deft diplomacy to preempt mischief. The war of words that erupted in Kabul between the increasingly confrontational "lame-duck" president Karzai and the US-NATO military, as well as the cancellation of their joint press conference, underscored the intensity of another phase of conflict that stares at Afghanistan. In a readjustment of policy, the US military announced over the weekend it had stopped publishing monthly data on drone strikes because it made them "disproportionately focused". Missile attacks are made in only 3 percent of unmanned aerial vehicle sorties, according to CNN. Incumbents in Kabul and Washington appear to be at daggers drawn - both driven by their own objectives and deadlines, but discernible from almost every press dispatch out of Kabul, the progress on the Pakistan-US front offers reasons for comfort, if not rejoice. We are on the same page as far as reconciliation is concerned. The Doha process is on track, fully backed by Pakistan, while the US itself appears totally reconcilable with the inevitability of Islamabad's support in...

In a country where the military establishment has called the shots for most of its existence, an unusual focus on the army, particularly during times of crisis, makes sense. Whether it is the general elections, the fight against terrorism, or Pakistan's role in Afghanistan, the focus falls on the occupants of the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. That prompted Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani to speak to three dozen journalists, columnists and talk show hosts on February 28 about the recent multi-party conferences on talking to the Taliban, the situation in Afghanistan, and the coming general elections. And if the bits and pieces of the interaction that appeared in the press were any guide, he explained his position on major issues from a strictly constitutional point of view, often quoting the Article 245. This article stipulates that the army, when called upon, will come in aid of civil power. "The army comes in to help only if requested but cannot and should not assume civilian power. That is where the problem starts," Kayani told the journalists. Subsequent background discussions with critical stakeholders also corroborated some of the points Gen Kayani raised in his interaction with journalists. On the domestic front the GHQ feels that Article 245 clearly defines its role and unless asked by the government, the army will not assume any responsibility for and during the elections. Mere deployment of 200,000 soldiers across the country hardly means anything for an electoral process that the army as an institution does not control, Kayani reportedly told the journalists. Gen Kayani has occupied extremely critical offices in the last one decade or so - from director general Military Operations to ISI chief, to his current position for almost six years now. Since taking over from General Musharraf in November 2007, Kayani has often embedded his discussion in the Article 245, insisting he won't do anything beyond it. That is probably why he opted to express...

In a country where the military establishment has called the shots for most of its existence, an unusual focus on the army, particularly during times of crisis, makes sense. Whether it is the general elections, the fight against terrorism, or Pakistan's role in Afghanistan, the focus falls on the occupants of the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. That prompted Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani to speak to three dozen journalists, columnists and talk show hosts on February 28 about the recent multi-party conferences on talking to the Taliban, the situation in Afghanistan, and the coming general elections. And if the bits and pieces of the interaction that appeared in the press were any guide, he explained his position on major issues from a strictly constitutional point of view, often quoting the Article 245. This article stipulates that the army, when called upon, will come in aid of civil power. "The army comes in to help only if requested but cannot and should not assume civilian power. That is where the problem starts," Kayani told the journalists. Subsequent background discussions with critical stakeholders also corroborated some of the points Gen Kayani raised in his interaction with journalists. On the domestic front the GHQ feels that Article 245 clearly defines its role and unless asked by the government, the army will not assume any responsibility for and during the elections. Mere deployment of 200,000 soldiers across the country hardly means anything for an electoral process that the army as an institution does not control, Kayani reportedly told the journalists. Gen Kayani has occupied extremely critical offices in the last one decade or so - from director general Military Operations to ISI chief, to his current position for almost six years now. Since taking over from General Musharraf in November 2007, Kayani has often embedded his discussion in the Article 245, insisting he won't do anything beyond it. That is probably why he opted to express...