News: On March 5, 2015, Pakistani Senator proudly announced that for the first time in Pakistan, the two-day ‘Think Tanks Forum of the Islamic Countries' would be held on March 7-8, in Islamabad, under the joint auspices of Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), the Turkish Asian Centre for Strategic Studies (TASAM), the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German think tank, and Pakistan's Senate Committee on Defence. Senator Mushahid Hussain is the Chairman…

News: Istanbul MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who came together with HDP members and Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan, announced that Abdullah Öcalan calls the PKK on the issue of deciding the lay down of armed struggle to join the extraordinary meeting in the months of spring. And Akdoğan stated, "we regard this announcement as important." (Source: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/28328151.asp) Comment: On Monday the 28th of February, government officials and HDP delegation made…

News: The Chief Minister of West Bengal, India, Mamata Banerjee has visited Bangladesh on February 19, 2015 on a three-day courtesy trip at the invitation of the Government of Bangladesh to strengthen bilateral relations between Bangladesh and West Bengal. At a press briefing the day before, Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed their hope to settle the long pending Teesta River water sharing pact and ratification of the land boundary…

Horse-Trading Democracy The PML-N and PTI have been shuttling between the Pakistani opposition parties, since the arrival of former President Zardari on 26 February. This shuttling is to get their consensus on the proposed 22nd Amendment that would force party members to vote for their party candidates and for the ballot to be done in an open manner rather than the secret ballot that has characterized past senate elections. The…