Check out my latest blog post as ForeignPolicy.com’s AfPakChannel.  Here’s the bottom line: “The Kayani extension provides a short-term ceasefire between the PPP and the army, but it will also likely produce re-alignments among its fractious power brokers. And another head-on clash between any two of them is not far from reality.”

My latest blog post, a ForeignPolicy.com, is available here. An excerpt is below: “Next week, senior U.S. and Pakistani officials will meet in Washington for the first ever strategic dialogue between the two countries. The Pakistani delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, but make no mistake: at least when it comes [...]

On Monday, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani briefed foreign correspondents in Rawalpindi and was unusually candid.   In the briefing, Kayani articulated his Afghanistan doctrine.  Pakistan, he said, seeks a friendly government, stability, and ”strategic depth” in Afghanistan.  He also added that Pakistan does not seek a Talibanized Afghanistan and offered to train the [...]

My latest external publication is an article on ForeignPolicy.com that discusses the plight of President Asif Ali Zardari. An excerpt is at the end of this post. I have been blogging less frequently in the past two months, but you can catch me regularly on the John Batchelor Show, Saturdays at 9:30PM EST (770AM-NY, WABCradio.com, [...]

The kidnapping of a young American soldier by the Jalaluddin/Sirajuddin Haqqani network puts Pakistan’s military-intelligence establishment in a difficult position, especially if the soldier is being held in North Waziristan.  Rawalpindi could face the choice of having to permit a U.S. ground incursion into Pakistan’s tribal areas or conducting a raid against the Haqqani network [...]

Barack Hussein Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States today, marking the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of a new era in American politics.  Among those hopeful for change appears to be Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani.     For the second time this month, Gen. Kayani [...]

On Monday, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani visited Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. It was his second publicized visit to the line of control since assuming leadership of Pakistan’s army. KAYANI: A “NATIONAL CONSENSUS” ON KASHMIR Both visits occurred after controversial statements from President Asif Ali Zardari regarding the Kashmir conflict.  On [...]

GEO News is currently covering three independence celebrations in Pakistan:the Army’s in Kakul, and the prime minister and president’s in Islamabad (held separately). Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani gave his first truly public address.  He said: “I would like to reiterate that Pakistan desires to co-exist in peace with its neighbors and [...]

In an address to army officers at the General Headquarters (GHQ), Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani said, “Every nation has the right to secure its national interests.” He also emphasized on the importance of national consensus to adequately address the nation’s security threats, describing it as being of the “utmost importance.” He added [...]