SINCE the dawn of this century, terrorism has been the principal threat to the people of Pakistan. By 2015, Pakistani law-enforcement authorities had succeeded in crushing terrorist forces, through military operations in Swat, South Waziristan and North Waziristan. A National Action Plan was adopted in 2015 to flush out the remaining terrorist holdouts through intel-based […]

HUNDREDS of thousands of undocumented Afghan refugees are returning to their country. In principle, it makes perfect sense. No country allows illegal foreign nationals to stay on its land. Pakistan, too, has that right. Notably, at this stage, only undocumented refugees are being obliged to return home. The caretaker interior minister said in a Senate […]

FOR nearly two years, the subject of geoeconomics has been discussed in Pakistan’s academic and official echelons. In an article published in this paper in December 2021, this writer had discussed the prospects of geoeconomics benefiting Pakistan by leveraging our economic geography to address geostrategic challenges — it being understood that geoeconomics is not a […]

THE Chinese like to call Pakistan an ‘iron brother’. This is a glowing tribute to a neighbour that has stood with them through thick and thin. Pakistanis also hold China in high esteem, as a neighbour that has respected their core concerns and interests. Even when Pakistan was closely aligned with the West, China enjoyed […]

THE world around us is changing at a rapid pace. So is our region South Asia. Global and regional geopolitics are profoundly impacting Pakistan’s relevance to today’s world. Domestic political, economic and societal changes have also affected Pakistan’s global standing. Critically, the country has a serious image problem, which makes the world view it with […]

AT the outset, it is important to recognise that the US has already chosen its strategic partner in South Asia: India. The US requires India’s cooperation in pursuit of its priority national security objective: strategic competition with China and containing the latter’s economic rise. The US might perceive Pakistan to be a hurdle in two […]

THE human journey through millennia has essentially been a battle of ideas. Wars and peace, conquests and defeats, empires rising to glory or falling to the depths of infamy, and evolution in governance and economic systems are all outcomes of that battle. The stronger ideas win, particularly when they have broad ownership in society. Some […]

THREE months into the war in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians, including a large number of children, have been martyred by the Israeli Defence Forces. What is the end goal of Israel for which it has unleashed unprecedented death and destruction? Israel’s stated objective is that it wants to destroy Hamas. This is not credible because […]