WHAT will the world look like about a decade from now? Given that geopolitics, geo-economics, and technologies are evolving rapidly, the future is uncertain. However, there are trends that give us a clue regarding the direction of global geopolitics. Today, we are transitioning from a world order to disorder: major power rivalries are intensifying, global […]

FOR over six months, Israel has been on a killing spree in Gaza, bombing residential buildings, hospitals, mosques, even refugee camps. The overwhelming majority of casualties are civilians, mostly women and minors. Adding to Israel’s crimes against humanity are the restrictions on the Gazans’ access to humanitarian assistance, including food and medicine supplies, and the […]

AS India navigates a critical phase in its ideological journey under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its ambitious Hindutva-driven agenda raises questions about its future direction and impact on regional geopolitics. For Pakistan, tensions with India have simmered for decades, and pose a pivotal question regarding how to engage with its eastern neighbour. Modi is riding […]

AFTER withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, the US appears to have downsized its relations with Pakistan. President Joe Biden did not make any contact with Pakistan’s leadership for the first three years of his presidency. It is only in March this year that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received an unsigned letter from […]

THE Islamophobic rhetoric being employed by Narendra Modi for this election campaign has become shrill. Pakistan has nearly always been an electoral issue in India. However, this time, it is Indian Muslims who are bearing the brunt of the Indian prime minister’s hate speech. Speaking in Rajasthan last month, he called Muslims “infiltrators” and said they […]

SUCCESSIVE governments, both elected and military, have failed to provide good governance to Pakistan. A perfect storm created by chronic political instability, inconsistent economic policies, weak institutions, pervasive corruption, and lack of accountability has hit our country. Add to that the gross mismanagement of scarce resources, the accumulation of unsustainable debt, and pathetic public service […]

FIFTY years ago, in May 1974, India detonated its first nuclear device, calling it Operation Smiling Buddha. While the world remained largely silent, Pakistan’s foreign minister declared Pakistan would “never submit to nuclear blackmail” or “accept Indian hegemony over the subcontinent”. Earlier, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had expressed the resolve that if India ever built a […]

NOTHING seems to make Israel stop its murderous spree and war crimes in Gaza. Besides killing and injuring thousands, Israeli military operations have impeded humanitarian access, pushing Gaza to the brink of famine. On May 20, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor applied for warrants to arrest senior members of the Israeli and Hamas leadership. […]

THAT Modi would win his third term was never in doubt. However, contrary to expectations, he did not achieve the landslide he was hoping for. Why has ‘Modi ki guarantee’ (a boastful commitment to people’s welfare) not delivered the two-thirds majority to which he aspired? Several reasons are being cited: high unemployment rates, rising inflation, […]

PRIME MINISTER Shehbaz Sharif recently visited China to further stren­gthen the ‘Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’. Besides a three-hour meeting with President Xi Jinping and another one with Premier Li Qiang, dozens of MoUs and agreements were signed. A joint statement described the bilateral relationship “as unshakable as a mountain”, “solid as a rock”, and […]