Book Review- The Accidental Prime Minister

The book is a informative read for the people who have just came out of their teens and missed the Prime Time news for cramming their notes or solving the equations. For people who have been actively following the current whereabouts will feel that Sanjaya Baru is stating the obvious. The book provides few insights in the functioning of highest offices in India. The author provides few pages of good information about the Indian Foreign Policy and 123 Nuclear deal but if you are reading this for understanding the topic of polity and IFP, the effort to result ratio is not satisfactory.
Despite claiming at multiple places that he is not a bureaucrat, the author sounds self righteous and self praising at many pages. Maybe he was least elitist of the lot!
The thought lanes appear narrow and the reader suffers by reading the same rhetoric again and again. Manmohan Singh is painted as a man who shied away from the active leadership when he had an opportunity to do so. But we never fully understand why, despite him being an introvert and shy.

But I would like people in their late teens and early 20’s to read it as it will make your current appetite to listen Prime Time News more fun and insightful. You will be able to see why Karat is so important in the Left Equation; why Manmohan didn’t do much to prevent the scams which took place right under his nose; why the opposition halts the Parliament proceedings; How does parties play with the word secular to meet their ends; what are the political backchannels government uses and Are Media houses really independent?

Small States, Big Problems

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/small-states-big-problems/article5774395.ece

The first State Reorganization Committee was constituted in 1953 and the reorganization of states was mainly done on the linguistic basis. The economic base for state reorganization came up in 2000 with the formation of states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

So, have these states fared well in growth front?

The answer is affirmative on the basis of the indicators we currently use to gauge growth of an area. Uttarakhand has averaged 9.31% growth annually, Jharkhand 8.45%, and Chhattisgarh 7.35%. These three regions were so called Bimaru zones before their bifurcation. With greater autonomy to the available resources in the region, the government of these states has more funds to invest as was available earlier for these zones.  The actual growth has not been able to percolate to intended beneficiaries because major part of the available funds is being used to appease voters by giving away gifts instead of robust policies. The political instability as in case of Jharkhand has added to the problem.

Also this has led to increase in the opportunities available for personal gain by leaders of these regions. The resources are being mined indiscriminately and the industry zones are being allotted without proper rehabilitation of locals. The states are being administered as crony capitalist companies with the single agenda of monetary profit. Thus despite the growth as visible in numbers, the inclusiveness is missing. This is hurting the people who fought for creation of these states. The discontent with inclusive growth and backwardness has helped Maoist activity to thrive and grow. 12 districts out of 18 in Jharkhand suffer from Maoist movement. Chhattisgarh is also very much affected by Maoist activity.

Notable terms in the article are PESA and Salwa Judum.

(From Frontline) Most of the tribes in India are collectively identified under Article 342 (1&2) of the Constitution as Scheduled Tribes, which provided them overarching immunity to the extent of granting them the right to self-determination as guaranteed under Article 244 (Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas) of Part X: The Scheduled and Tribal Areas. The Indian Constitution protects tribal interests through the Fifth and Sixth Schedules.

While the Sixth Schedule, applicable in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, gives tribal people freedom to exercise legislative and executive powers through an autonomous regional council and an autonomous district council, the Fifth Schedule, applicable in all the other identified tribal regions, guarantees tribal autonomy and tribal rights over land through a Tribal Advisory Council in each State.

With centralism in governance coming in for increasing criticism, the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1992 passed the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, which empowered panchayats and municipalities with a vision of local self-governance. The Fifth Schedule areas, because of the constitutional immunity against overarching laws, did not fall in its domain legally. While village-level democracy became a real prospect in other areas, the Fifth Schedule areas remained bereft of that privilege. It was for this reason that PESA was enacted under the Fifth Schedule, which extended panchayat rule to the tribal areas. The fundamental spirit of PESA is that it does not delegate powers but devolves them to the village-level gram sabhas, paving the way for participatory democracy.

(From Wiki) Salwa Judum (meaning "Peace March" or "Purification Hunt" in Gondi language) was a right-wing to far-right civilian militia mobilised and deployed as part of anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the region. The militia consisting of local tribal youth received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government. In 2011, it was ruled illegal by Supreme Court..

The case discussed in this article is whether the formation of Telangana lead to growth and prosperity in the region. The political situation is critical as explained in article and the growth of the region depends on how the political situation develops. Himachal Pradesh has been a good example of a small state developing with inclusive parameter over time, it would be interesting to see if the states formed in 2000, and recently formed Telangana could emulate this success.

We won't be writing article on

Chauvinism and patriotism not the same

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/chauvinism-and-patriotism-not-the-same/article5777844.ece

and

Arvind Kejriwal’s right fight

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/arvind-kejriwals-right-fight/article5770846.ece

As most of the required facts to understand these articles are known and given in the article

A BJP - Muslim entente cordiale?

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-bjpmuslim-entente-cordiale/article5767480.ece

Formation of BJP was on the side line split in Janata party which was the first party to rule India other than congress. BJP has its roots in the Bhartiya Jana Sangh founded in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Formation of BJS was for countering the secularist congress policies. He split from congress after the 1950 Delhi Pact between Nehru and Pakistani counterpart LiaqatAli khan. This pact was for the minority community to create atmosphere of communal peace and resolve issues between the two countries and equal citizenship for minorities. Dr. Mukherjee was of the view that solely Pakistan was responsible for millions of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan.

After consulting Gowalkar of RSS he founded BJS. It was considered as political arm of RSS and of Hindu Nationalism. It was vehemently against the appeasement of Muslims. BJS’s core issues were Uniform civil code concerning both the communities, banning of cow slaughter and ending of special status to state of Jammu and Kashmir. However he died in the jails of Kashmir.

BJP was formed in 1980, led by Vajpayee on the ideology of hard line Hindutva and Hindu fundamentalism. In 1984 L K Adwani became president of party and BJP became political voice of Ram Janam Bhoomi movement which led to demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. Later in 2002, Godhra incident caused death of thousands and displacement of lacs, mostly Muslims. These riots brought the beginning of ghettoization of Muslim community, Increase in ghetto living has also shown a strengthening of social stereotyping due to lack of cross-cultural interaction, and reduction in economic and educational opportunities at large.

Right from the beginning BJP and its parent party BJS were against Muslim community. The Muslims were often scrutinized and suspected of being either Pakistani supporters or Pakistanis themselves. Such treatment led to a deep rooted terror in the members of the community, who were still unsure of their fate. Right from the beginning, they were alienated from joining main stream society. Most of the people in this community lived together confined in small places. Be it education, jobs, govt offices, police everywhere the atmosphere is anti-Muslim. After every terrorist attack, many people are taken into custody for interrogation just based on their religion. Muslims have been loyal to secular parties merely out of their fear of Hindu nationalists.

For the generations to come, this inequality between the communities will flourish as political parties are using them in their favour to get votes and majority in the parliament. In 2004 NDA govt lost due to the so called secular parties coming together against the communal party. In all this politics, the ultimate loser turned out to be the ‘common Muslim ‘ whose social, political and economic  development is of foremost concern and had been put literally at stake for electoral gains. Take any criteria and Muslim population comes at bottom of almost everyone. Sachar committee report that came out in 2006 shows:

·         Illiteracy of community is much below the national average. 25%of children in the age group of 6-14 have never attended schools

·         The access to Muslim parents to govt school is limited

·         Participation of Muslims in non oraganised working sector is large e.g. bidi workers tailors and other mechanics.

·         Availability of bank loans to community is far less.

·         The presence of Muslims has been found to be only 3% in the IAS, 1.8% in the IFS and 4% in the IPS.

·         Muslim community has a representation of only 4.5% in Indian Railways while 98.7% of them are positioned at lower levels. Representation of Muslims is very low in the Universities and in Banks. Their share in police constables is only 6%, in health 4.4%, in transport 6.5%.

Through this report one can easily understand the condition of Muslims in our society. There is long gulf between the two communities and it needs to be taken care of for effective inclusive development of the nation.

Decoding Hamid Karzai

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/decoding-hamid-karzai/article5761465.ece

Karzai is a politician at heart and one needs to understand his apprehensions and opportunistic nature before we raise our brows on his decision to not sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). Karzai can’t run for next presidential elections due to limited terms provision. Next elections are on 5^th April and there are 11 eligible contenders with Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani as the front-runners.

Both Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani have agreed to sign the BSA. Under BSA some American forces will stay back after US forces withdrawal by end of 2014 and guess who won’t like it – Taliban. Karzai has nothing to gain by signing the BSA or by supporting the US action, but he has a lot to gain in denying them. Taliban has already applauded Karzai’s decision to not sign the BSA. Karzai can be picturing himself as playing a lead role in bridging the communication gap between the upcoming government in Afghanistan and Taliban. So, gaining the appreciation from Taliban for his efforts can increase his political mileage. So, is Karzai crazy?

No, he is a shrewd politician trying to secure his and his country’s future and decrease the dependence of Afghanistan on US and western aids and military. But his recent move to release 65 detainees may have been more than required efforts to please Taliban. According to reports, he has been negotiating with Taliban without informing the western counterparts. If things go well for Karzai, he may be remembered in Afghan history for bringing the Taliban and Kabul Government together.

No Benefits for Beneficiaries

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/no-benefits-for-beneficiaries/article5753965.ece

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is responsible for implementing the Aadhaar scheme. It is a unique identification project. ‘Nandan M Nilekani’ is the chairman of the Unique Identification Database Authority of India under the aegis of the Planning Commission. The first phase of today’s UID was initiated by NDA regime in 1999 after the report of Kargil Review Committee in 2000. It decided to compulsory enroll every citizen of India in ‘National population Register’ (NPR). To implement this, individual privacy in Citizenship Act 1955 was diluted. So the basic groundwork for today’s UID was cleared in 2003.

UID gives a 12-digit National Identification Number, UID Number is designed to enable government agencies to deliver retail public services securely based on biometric data (fingerprint, iris scan and face photo), along with demographic data (name, age, gender, address, parent/ spouse name, mobile phone number) of a person. UID Number also works as a bank account number or one can link UID number to any existing bank account. This is designed to help spread low cost, ubiquitous, branchless banking services in rural areas - called micro-ATM, as part of the Financial Inclusion initiative by GoI. The aim of UID is not only to expand its social security system but to aim and keep benefits restricted to the targeted section, to provide subsidies to people who really require it. It is a larger effect to replace the existing PDS system. Aadhaar has advantage over other biometric solutions as it allows inter-operability among banks and business correspondent. It also allows uniformity of biometric data across country, single biometric service across all govt schemes and eliminates the need of doing separate biometric enrolment for different schemes.

Govt of India have included many benefit system into Aadhaar-enabled payment systems (AEPS) developed by NPCL. The AEPS will now allow customers to avail of banking facilities through banking correspondents (BC) across banks. The objective of AEPS is to empower a bank customer to use Aadhaar to access his/her Aadhaar-enabled bank account and perform basic banking transactions that are intra-bank or interbank in nature through a business correspondent. Presently, there are ten core promoter banks (State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank and HSBC). It would enable banks to route the Aadhaar-initiated interbank transactions through a central switching and clearing agency. It would facilitate disbursements of government entitlements like NREGA, social security pension, handicapped old age pension, etc., of any central or state government bodies, using Aadhaar and authentication there of as supported by UIDAI.

The pilot project was launched in Jharkhand state in association with three banks - Bank of India, Union Bank of India and ICICI Bank. And in the town of kotkasim in Alwar district of Rajasthan there was a saving of 79% in subsidies. These pilot projects faced lots of problems the main reason of this saving was considered to be the collapse of kerosene distribution system. It is argued that in case if DBT system replaces PDS system there will be chaos and disruption of flow of food will occur as rural markets are not that developed. Also there is concern for special group of people as aged population, single women and for those who are incapable of going to banks to take their benefits. However to use these micro-ATM through BC there are also issues of connectivity to central grid of information, proper penetration of UID based bank accounts and also these people are left at the mercy of business correspondent.

UIDAI was established in February 2009, and owns and operates the Unique Identification Number database. It has been established under the Planning Commission. It provides a unique identification number to all persons resident in India, but not identity cards. UID enrolment was started without any approval from the legislative. However attorney general came out with statement that executive powers are independent from legislative and there is nothing in law that opposes the functioning of UIDAI under executive authorization. The UIDAI bill 2010 was tabled in parliament to make UIDAI into a statutory body but it was criticized by a parliamentary standing committee on finance (SCOF) headed by Yashwant Sinha. Report submitted by SCOF stated that UIDAI compromises with the security and confidentiality of information of UID holders and has major national security issues. Also there is no any law that protects the national data, in absence of such data protection law it would be difficult to deal with the issues like access and misuse of data, surveillance, profiling, linking and matching of a database and security confidentiality of the data. Report cites examples of a similar failed experiment of UK govt and states that lessons are to be learnt from these developed countries about cost to program, technological problems and risk of safety of citizen.

Former justice K. S. Puttaswamy went to court against the linking of benefits to UID scheme. The way the government has gone about implementing this project is odd and illegal. After the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance rejection of the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, government did not attempt to modify the Bill and bring it back for parliamentary approval. It is not constitutional to simply proceed using an executive order to implement a scheme that has been rejected. Main problems to this bill are:

·       It does not have Parliament’s approval.

·       It violates our right to privacy, we are required provide biometric information, iris and fingerprints, and there is no system to ensure that all this data will be safe and not misused.

·       Another concern is that it is easy for anyone to get an Aadhaar number. The enrolment centres are run by private operators so anyone can walk in and get one, even undocumented immigrants can get one and that’s a clear security threat.

Supreme Court sent notice to govt on legality of DBT and Aadhaar, arguing that it was unconstitutional and contradicts with right to privacy. SC in its verdict said that Aadhaar cards are voluntary and no person should be discriminated if she/he does not have an Aadhaar number.

Caught Between Russia and the EU

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/caught-between-russia-and-the-eu/article5757614.ece

Nov. 21, 2013 — President Viktor Yanukovych’s government announces it is abandoning an agreement to strengthen ties with the European Union and is instead seeking closer cooperation with Moscow. Protesters take to the streets. The protest wave has been termed EuroMaidan.

Nov. 30 — Images of protesters bloodied by police truncheons spread quickly and galvanise public support for the demonstrations.

Dec. 1 — A protest attracts around 300,000 people on Kiev’s Independence Square, known as the Maidan, the largest since the 2004 Orange Revolution. Activists seize Kiev City Hall. Kiev is capital of Ukraine

Dec. 17 — Russian President Vladimir Putin announces Moscow will buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian government bonds and cut the price Ukrainians pay for Russian natural gas.

Jan. 22, 2014 — Three protesters die during a confrontation between police and demonstrators manning barricades.

Jan. 28 — In concessions to the opposition, the prime minister resigns and parliament repeals harsh anti- protest laws that set off the violence.

Feb. 16 — Opposition activists end their occupation of Kiev City Hall in exchange for the release of all 234 jailed protesters.

Feb. 18 — Protesters attack police lines and set fires outside parliament after it stalls on a constitutional reform to limit presidential powers. Riot police respond to the violence by trying to push protesters off Independence Square. Scores die and hundreds are injured.

Feb. 20 — Hours after a truce is announced, violence resumes, with government snipers shooting protesters from the roofs. Most of the 82 deaths occur on this day.

Feb. 21 — Under a European-mediated plan, protest leaders and Mr. Yanukovych agree to form a new government and hold an early election. Parliament slashes his powers and votes to free his rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, from prison. Mr. Yanukovych flees Kiev after protesters take control.

During this Period Russia cancels to buy the bonds and also the concession given on prices of Natural Gas

Ukaraine seeks 35 bollion dollars from IMF

USA offer 1 billion dollar as immediate aid

Feb. 22 — Parliament votes to remove Mr. Yanukovych and hold new elections. Ms. Tymoshenko is freed and addresses tens of thousands on the Maidan.

Feb. 23 — Ukraine’s parliament assigns presidential powers to its new speaker, Oleksandr Turchinov, an ally of Ms. Tymoshenko. The new authorities ask the West for loans to avoid an imminent default. Pro-Russia protesters start rallying against the new authorities in Crimea, where Russia has a major naval base.

Feb. 24 — Ukraine’s interim government draws up a warrant for Mr. Yanukovych’s arrest. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev derides the new leaders in Kiev as “Kalashnikov-toting people in black masks.”

Feb. 26 — Leaders of Ukraine’s protest movement propose legislator Arseniy Yatsenyuk as prime minister. In Moscow, Mr. Putin orders major military exercises just across the border.

Status of Ukraine before February 21, 2014- The Autonomous Republic of Crimea was an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine and is governed by the Constitution of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.

Simferopol is the capital of Crimea. After abolition of law of languages on 23rd Feb, which abolished all minority languages including Russian there were clashes in Simferopol between Pro-Russia and Pro Ukraine members.

(Sevastopol port of Crimea Peninsula was under Russian control due to an earlier agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Thus there was a presence of Black Sea Fleet of Russia in Crimea Peninsula. )

Feb. 27 — Masked gunmen seize regional parliament and government buildings in Crimea. Ukraine’s government, with strong backing from the West, pledges to prevent a national breakup. Mr. Yanukovych is granted refuge in Russia.

Feb. 28 — Ukraine says Russian troops have taken up positions around strategic locations on the Crimean peninsula. Ukraine’s parliament adopts a resolution demanding that Russia halt steps it says are aimed against Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Mr. Turchynov says he has put armed forces on full readiness because of the threat of “potential aggression.”

March 1 — Russian troops take over Crimea without firing a shot. The Kiev government and its Western supporters are powerless to react. U.S. President Barack Obama calls Mr. Putin to demand the troops’ withdrawal.

March 2 — Ukraine appeals for international help, fearing a wider Russian invasion. Supporters on both sides take to the streets of Ukrainian cities and of Moscow. The U.S. says it believes Russia has more than 6,000 troops in Crimea. The Group of Seven suspends preparations for June’s G8 summit in Russia.

March 3 — Pro-Russian troops control a ferry terminal on the easternmost tip of Crimea, adding to fears that Moscow is planning to bring in even more troops.

Sergey Aksyonov  is elected as Prime Minister of  emergency session of Crimea Parliament. Ukraine Government calls this move illegal.

March 6 - MPs of the Crimean Parliament asked the Russian Government for the region to become a subject of the Russian Federation with a referendum on the issue set for the Crimean region for March 16th. The Ukrainian central government, EU and US disputed the legitimacy of the request and referendum

The major questions which rise are:
Is joining EU a good move economically for Ukraine, or the ramifications of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement be a trouble for Ukraine as indicated by ex-President Yanukovych.

Was the Euromaidan orchestrated with western assistance, as Ukraine joining EU could of great importance to EU geo-politically.

 Answers to above questions will come forward with time as events unroll.  

Most of the article is  pasted from <http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/key-events-in-ukraines-political-crisis/article5746681.ece?homepage=true> 

Pakistan's Terror Conundrum

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/pakistans-terror-conundrum/article5750648.ece

Pakistan officially known as ‘Islamic republic of Pakistan’ is sixth most populous country in the world and second in Muslim population. After the partition, from Aug 15, 1947 to March 23, 1956 Pakistan was a dominion in commonwealth of nation under two monarchs (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth III). Pakistan became an Islamist and parliamentary republic in 1956 but this was stalled by military coup led by General Ayub Khan. He was succeeded by next General Yahya Khan. Country held its first democratic election in 1970 but due to conflict with East Pakistan, Yahya Khan refused to hand over power. But after defeat in war of 1971, with secession of East Pakistan as independent state of Bangladesh, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and hence civilian rule was established for a short period before the coup by General Zia-Ul-Haq followed in 1977.

General Zia-Ul-Haq used Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 to help his martial law regime survive. Due to its geopolitical position it became the center for US to counter the communist movement. US, Saudi Arabia and other western countries tried to stop the communist movement further to middle-East. Islamabad government received generous financial and diplomatic backing. Pakistan’s secret agency trained thousands of mujahideen, provided them with arms, money and tactical support. Even after withdrawal of Soviet forces general kept supporting these mujahideen to gain his control and oust Najibullah, who was supported by Soviet Union, (Najibullah was President of Afghanistan from 1987 to 1992 till mujahedeen took control of Afghanistan)

As a result of fighting between mujahideen and Soviet forces and later due to civil war in Afghanistan large number of afghan refugee crossed border among them were religious fanatics who started preaching Pakistani youth with military training in religious schools (Madrassas). The recent form of Taliban is product of these religious madrassas. In generic term Taliban is derived from term ‘Talib’ which means one who seeks knowledge. Taliban is not a distinct organization but an alliance of different groups which have common goal but different agendas. Taliban is product of dark alliance between CIA and ISI as a tool to quell soviet troops out of Afghanistan territory, a mixture of different groups including Extremists, Criminals and smugglers.These groups of people find place in the regions of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). FATA is considered as home to most notorious terrorist leaders of the world. In 2001, the Pakistan Army entered for the first time in the region.

 In late 2007 there was a battle fought between Pakistani military forces and Taliban led forces over control of Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Despite victory of military forces Taliban militants slowly re-entered Swat and started engaging security forces in battles that lasted throughout 2008. By early February 2009, the Taliban had managed to regain control of most of Swat and at least 80 percent of the district was under their control. In Feb 2009 Pakistani government announced ceasefire accepting there main demand of Sharia law but under govt. supervision.

Many of the Taliban gangs operating in the North-West Frontier Province and the tribal areas of Pakistan gathered under one umbrella, i.e.; Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In December 2007 about 13 groups united under the leadership of ‘Baitullah Mehsud’ to form the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. It is led by Maulana Fazlullah. Among the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan's stated objectives are resistance against the Pakistani state, enforcement of their interpretation of sharia and a plan to unite against NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

There was process of ‘Talibanization’ in tribal areas, which was gradual and they were successful in establishing parallel justice and administrative systems. Their agenda was to enforce their system not only in FATA or NWFP but all over the country. To achieve their aim they successfully completed several terrorist activities and tried to disrupt Pakistan’s judicial and legislative system. However Pakistan seems to be committed to become a modern Islamic secular state, as envisaged by the founder of the country ‘Quaid-e-Azam’ Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In Jan’13 TTP offered ceasefire to govt. but was rejected because of immediate attack on airbase in Peshawar airport and murder of a leader of ANP party and hostage taking of 22 Pakistani soldier. With US announcing withdrawal of its forces it became very important for Pakistani Govt. to speed up peace talks with TTP as after the withdrawal things might get out of their hand. During the peace processes drone attacks in North Waziristan allegedly killed TTP leader ‘Hakimullah Mehsud’ and thus halting the process. A month later in Dec Afghan president ‘Hamid Karzai’ met Pakistan PM ‘Nawaz Sharif’ in Kabul to attempt peace talk with afghan Taliban and Afghan government. According to Pakistan’s narrative it has been sidelined by the US in the reconciliation process with the Afghan Taliban and accuses US of violating Pakistan’s sovereignty through the continued drone attacks in the Tribal Areas (FATA). However US assured of no more Drone attacks during govt’s planned peace talk period with TTP.

Recently in Jan’14 Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif named four-member commission to initiate peace talks with TTP but his main point for talks were no more terrorist attack. Recently TTP has announced a month’s ceasefire and gave 15 points draft for peace talks with govt. These are:

• Stop drone attacks

• Introduce Sharia law in courts

• Introduce Islamic system of education in both public and private educational institutions

• Free Pakistani and foreign Taliban captured in jails

• Restoration and remuneration for damage to property during drone attacks

• Hand over control of tribal areas to local forces

• Withdrawal of army from tribal areas and close down check posts

• All criminal allegations held against the Taliban to be dropped

• Prisoners from both sides to be released

• Equal rights for all, poor and rich

• Families of drone attack victims to be offered jobs

• End interest based banking system

• Stop supporting the US on the war on terror

• Replace the democratic system of governance with Islamic system

• Break all relations with the US

As far as India is concerned a peaceful neighborhood is always preferred. The success and failure of the talk process will not only impact Pakistan’s future but also the security and stability of entire region. The best possible thing to do for India would be to ensure its counter-terrorist action at maximum level.