The Union minister for information and broadcasting, Mr. Vasant Sathe, has given the lamest possible excuse for accepting the resignations of the members of the press commission. He has said that while he appreciates the work the commission has done, he proposes to set up another with wider terms of … Read More
It is not particularly difficult to “reconcile” President Zia-ul-Haq’s statement that he will not concede bases to the United States with reports from Washington that the White House has drawn up plans for establishing American military presence in Pakistan. If to begin with, the proposal is to fly in US … Read More
In his state of the Union message on Thursday, President Carter has finally enunciated his long-term policy to meet the alleged Soviet challenge in the Gulf region. Beyond the measures he had announced in the wake of the Russian takeover in Afghanistan – cancellation of contracts for the supply of … Read More
Ever since the Indian representative read out the unhappily worded statement in the UN General Assembly on January 11, Mrs. Gandhi has been at pains to dissipate the impression that she endorses the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan and that she is going to tilt towards Moscow. Such a clarification … Read More
Mrs. Gandhi has not revealed her hand on the question of the dissolution of vidhan sabhas in non-Congress-(I)-ruled states. Perhaps she has not yet made up her mind. This would be understandable if only because the issue is extremely complicated. Meanwhile several Congress (I) members have spoken on the issue. … Read More
Behind the apparently sharp US response to the Soviet takeover in Afghanistan lies the search for a coherent and viable policy which can help it cope with the rapidly growing Soviet military power in a turbulent world with special emphasis on the oil-rich Gulf region. Such a policy does not … Read More
Elsewhere in this issue we carry an interview President Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan has given to American correspondents. It invites attention as much for its brazenness as for its glaring contradictions. The general has called the reported 400 million dollar US aid offer “peanuts”, as if he is not aware that … Read More
Strange, indeed, are the ways of US policy-makers. Iran is a case in point. Economic sanctions against it would not have made much sense even before the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. These would not have secured the release of the American hostages. If anything, they would have further inflamed … Read More
The new government in Kabul has accused the United States of “interference” in its internal affairs. The charge is untenable right now, though it could become valid in course of time if Pakistan continues to back the Afghan insurgents and if America supports Islamabad in this effort, as it appears … Read More
