Author: India Writes Network

Can Pakistan take on the Taliban?

- by India Writes Network

The December 16 killings of over 130 school children in Peshawar by terrorists was generally described as the 9/11 moment of Pakistan, a moment in which the Nation is shaken to its core and resolves to strike at the enemy with all its might. Even by the annals of terrorist killings in Pakistan, this was by far the most gruesome and barbaric incident. And it called for the most resolute response.

What then was the response of the Pakistan government? The Prime Minister of Pakistan called for an all-party meeting. The Army Chief flew to Kabul, seeking a meeting with the President of Afghanistan, apparently to seek extradition of Mullah Fazlullah, the head of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that claimed responsibility for the massacre of the children. How would Gen. Raheel Sheriff respond if President Ashraf Ghani demanded the reciprocal handing over of Mullah Omar or Haqqani from the sanctuaries of North Waziristan?

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BJP wins Jharkhand, second largest party in Jammu and Kashmir

- by India Writes Network

The Modi wave seems to have worked again, underlining the surging popularity of India’s prime minister whose development mantra has struck a powerful chord with the electorate. The Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to form the government in Jharkhand, India’s resource-rich eastern state. In Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP looks set to emerge as the second largest government after the PDP, the best performance by the party in the northern state that has been the site of a fierce electoral contest.

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