On Saturday, Kabul witnessed yet another senseless massacre of innocent civilians in a wedding hall suicide bombing that resulted in carnage, and more death and destruction than seen in the city in recent years.

With the abrogation of Kashmir's special status, India, under the leadership of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), has finally taken the plunge. While the party's hardcore ideologues have triumphed, it is a democracy that has taken a back seat.

Last weekend, elections in the merged districts were held peacefully. Sixteen members were elected in a direct vote to the Provincial Assembly from seven districts and the frontier regions attached to the districts of Pakistan’s northwestern province, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.

In the last week of June, Pakistan convened a conference of prominent Afghan leaders in the hill resort of Murree. More than fifty Afghan dignitaries from all walks of life attended and among them was the controversial warlord, Gulbuddin Hikmatyar of Hizb-i-Islami.

On June 27th, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will pay an official visit to Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. This comes against the backdrop of serious accusations made by both countries which threatened to derail bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad. 

Following the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Pakistan's rulers came under tremendous pressure to align their policies with US designs. That meant subjugating Pakistan's national interests to those of Washington’s.

A general election in India, the world’s largest democracy, is now underway. Millions of people are set to choose their representatives in a free and transparent election that should be the envy of most developing countries.