Read This If You Want to Sound Smart on National Security Q&A with Ryan Evans by Tobin Harshaw (Bloomberg)
Shashi Tharoor blames Chinese diplomacy for enabling terrorist leaders to operate freely.
For years, Pakistani officials and military commanders have denied the existence of terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil, and concurrently claimed that they are taking action against the same non-existent terrorist groups.
Russian special forces are reported to have held a training event for the pro-regime Palestinian militia, Liwa al Quds.
Pakistan PM’s political party welcomes Harakat-ul-Mujahideen emir into ranks
If Pakistan was sincere about tackling terrorists groups and their leaders and operatives, Khalil would be at the top of the target list. Instead, he has been welcomed with open arms into Imran Khan's political party.
Pakistan claims to ‘crack down’ on Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Again.
If the past is any guide, the efforts are merely eyewash to placate Western governments in the wake of major terror attacks emanating from Pakistani soil. Pakistan has claimed it has shut down JuD offices and detained its top leaders in the past, only to allow the offices to reopen and the leaders free months later.
Morning Consult
https://www.meforum.org/57954/south-asian-threat-america
(Bloomberg) India’s election and Pakistan’s economic crisis are coming at a bad time.
Three senior Western diplomats said international reaction leaned toward India, which has long been seen as a victim of Pakistani-sponsored militancy. There was a lack of condemnation over the strikes into Pakistan. India is seen as an increasingly crucial ally to the U.S. and the West because of its economic growth and as a strategic hedge against an assertive China. […]The government in Islamabad has also been recalibrating its political alliances, turning away from the West and leaning toward countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. – Bloomberg
Ahmed Rashid writes: Pakistan should prosecute the perpetrators of the Kashmir attack. And once India forms a new government, the United States, Britain and the United Nations, whose response to the current crisis has been slow, must encourage India to restart dialogue with Mr. Khan. Simultaneously, Islamabad must start dismantling the terrorist groups operating from its soil. Mr. Modi must stop his relentless use of lethal force in Kashmir and end his stubborn refusal to hold talks. A return to back-channel diplomacy is necessary, and the Musharraf-Manmohan peace process needs to be dusted off and looked at again. – New York Times