suryanshi pandey

Important: Irony just died: Pakistan is appointed vice chair of United Nations Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee.. and chair of Taliban Sanctions Committee. What does this say about UN commitment to root out terror or frankly about our foreign policy clout in global fora ? Must bring Pakistan back on FATF grey list as part of diplomatic overdrive. Else it’s a case of lots of talk, little action 😡

The CNN story leaves me with more questions than answers. What was the 'alarming intel'? Was it Pakistan's nuclear sabre-rattling? The report says there was 'high probability for dramatic escalation'. If I put the CNN and NYT stories together, India inflicted heavy damages on Pakistan's bases and defence systems. India's strike at the Nur Khan base in Rawalpindi clearly rattled the Pakistani generals. And they retaliated by launching strikes against India. See India carried out high-impact strikes-- in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Chaklala, etc (all in Punjab). And Pakistan decided to escalate by launching drone strikes, prompting Indian responses. But it was after the Nur Khan attack that they launched a major attack on India. This is where the Americans started getting involved. (I am told the Saudis were also in touch with both sides). CNN says Vance called Modi in the afternoon of May 9. There were also local reports in Pakistani media that Shehbaz Sharif had called meeting of the National Command Authority, the small group that makes decisions about nuclear weapons. My question is if Pakistan actually threated to use nuclear weapons, what the the Americans immediately did was to dial up the Indian PM and ask for a ceasefire? Is this how you deal with countries that threaten to use nuclear bombs? (Certainly this was not the world's response at least when Putin said he had all options on the table to defend Russia.) The CNN report also says Vance outlined to Modi a potential off-ramp. What was the off-ramp? We don't know.

Probably the most insightful story you’ve read on the crisis.. Orders for Pahalgam satellite images from US firm peaked two months before attack Soumya Pillai @soumya_pillai with #ThePrintExclusive theprint.in/defence/pahalgam…