Comment & Briefs

In a positive movement, ISAF’s peace enforcement operation over time will have to shift to peacekeeping. Thinking through the idea of UN-SAARC hybrid peacekeeping mission now could help catalyse the peace process eventually.

To resolve the challenge posed by the NPT criteria, the best solution would be to amend the NPT and accommodate India as a nuclear weapon state.

North Korea is unlikely to abandon its nuclear weapon development programme which has deterrence value especially considering that it does not trust China to come to its rescue in case of a threat to its security.

The summit ended with the hope of increased cooperation in East Asia, bolstered popular support for Sino-Japanese friendship, and set out a strategy for maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity.

While the GSAT-8 has been successfully launched, the future of the GSLV programme continues to be under a cloud after the twin failures in 2010.

Both India and Pakistan must immediately review their security practices for the protection of vital and vulnerable national assets, which in Pakistan’s case must also include nuclear weapons.

The battle of numbers and figures between supporters and opponents of nuclear energy has not only been a major obstacle to a better debate about the pros and cons of nuclear energy, but it has also prevented the development of better contingency plans after Chernobyl.

The Summit was part of Russia’s ongoing initiatives to play a greater role in stabilising the region before the expected withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

The urban presence and activities of Naxalites of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) [CPI (Maoist], or Maoists, in short, is fast picking pace. On May 13, police arrested 10 Maoists in Pune, though they actually belonged to West Bengal. Nine of them were working as casual labourers while their leader was using the cover of a labour contractor. Four pistols and Naxalite literature running into 300 pages were recovered from their possession.

Because an FTA would raise issues like market access, elimination of tariffs, quantitative restrictions etc., negotiations are likely to drag on for several rounds