When an ordinary gypsy wanders, they do so to tap sources to sustain them on nature’s booty and bounty. But when it’s a glorified gypsy who goes around under the euphemism of a diplomat trotting the globe, they gather a bag full of reminiscences and memories.
Ambassador Arif Kamal is one such modern-day gypsy. As a career diplomat, he roamed the world, representing his country with élan from Kuwait to Tokyo, Moscow to Ottawa, and Jeddah to Doha, in a career spanning 34 years.
Kamal’s initial thrust into the arcane world of diplomacy was daunting and disappointing for him. He had been recruited into the elite Pakistan Foreign Service under what was former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s brainchild policy of ‘lateral entry’. But when Bhutto was toppled by Gen Ziaul Haq, the Bonaparte took exception to those hired under lateral entry. Kamal bore the brunt of Gen Zia’s culling of Bhutto’s recruits; he was unceremoniously uprooted from his maiden diplomatic ass
LankaWeb – KASHMIR-MOURNING NIGHTS AND WEEPING DAYS
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Deep-rooted prejudice : Pakistan condemns India s restrictions on Eid rituals in occupied Kashmir - World
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The Kashmir conflict
July 19, 2021
Since the 1950s, there hasn’t been any definitive plan of action to resolve the Kashmir issue. In the 1960s, the then ruler, Ayub Khan, decided to ignore China’s advice to intervene and liberate Indian Occupied Kashmir, at the height of the China-India dispute. He chose to listen to the US and the UK with whom the country had defense pacts like the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (Seato), the Central Treaty Organization (Cento), etc. Later, Ziaul Haq preferred to focus on the Afghan proxy war, and during his 11-year-long rule, the Kashmir dispute remained ignored. Pervez Musharraf did the same. It was only during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that the Pakistan government focused on the Kashmir issue with zeal. Other governments have made some efforts to resolve this issue, but they couldn’t pay as much attention as the issue deserved.