Sushant Sareen

The next government in Delhi must be open to the idea of grabbing a good deal if one is on offer. But there is no reason for India to go overboard in trying to seal a deal. In other words, if Pakistan desires parity with India, it should not expect ‘magnanimity’ from India, and if it expects ‘magnanimity’, then it should not insist on parity.

• Published: January 30, 2014
• IDSA Comments

A lot has being made of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif taking his time to select the next army chief and signalling civilian supremacy by picking the number three in the seniority list. Whether Gen Raheel Sharif will remain subservient to civilian authority because ‘Pakistan has changed’ and ‘democracy is here to stay’ remains to be seen.

• Published: December 03, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The double-speak of Nawaz Sharif has led many in India to doubt his sincerity on improving relations. Questions are also being raised on whether Sharif is still living in the 1990s when he followed a twin track approach of talks and trade proceeding in parallel with terrorism, something which India finds unacceptable today.

• Published: October 24, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The New York meeting between the two prime ministers has resulted in some new grounds being broken. Importantly the red lines and ground rules have been drawn thanks to some plain speak by the Indian leaders.

• Published: October 03, 2013
• IDSA Comments

Recent events has exposed the absence of any sort of strategic clarity at the political level and sheer lack of options at the diplomatic level on how India should deal with Pakistan.

• Published: August 14, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The DI Khan jail-break was waiting to happen under the current PTI-led dispensation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Ever since this government has come to power, there is complete confusion on the new policy on terrorism.

• Published: August 02, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The new government to be led by Nawaz Sharif will have to tread a very difficult path to manage, if not solve, the monumental problems that confront the Pakistani state and society.

• Published: May 13, 2013
• IDSA Comments

With an expected fractured poll results, Pakistan is further heading towards uncertainty. The question is not so much as to who forms the next government but more importantly on how it functions. Chances are that the May 11 elections could well end up making Pakistan further ungovernable.

• Published: May 09, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The Pakistanis are playing a high-stakes gamble, one in which they think the odds are stacked in their favour in a way that while they stand to gain a lot even if things don’t quite work in the way they imagine they won’t end up losing too much.

• Published: March 12, 2013
• IDSA Comments

It is precisely Zardari’s ability to do the unthinkable that has consistently confounded both his detractors and admirers and given him the aura of great cunning and cleverness.

• Published: October 25, 2012
• IDSA Comments