THE seeds of mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan were sown even before independence in 1947. By 1946, it had become clear that British India would be partitioned. The Afghan government saw an opportunity to revise the Durand Line of 1893 and lay claim to several territories that were to become part of Pakistan. When a […]

OF late, there has been a rapid growth of think tanks in Pakistan. These organisations carry out policy-related research and are a platform for dialogue to facilitate informed decision-making. The growing community of think tanks in Pakistan is linked to the larger global research community. According to the Global Go To Think Tank Report 2020, […]

BOARDING schools have long been an integral feature of the educational landsc­ape worldwide. These schools provide education and boarding facilities for children aged six to 11 years or 13 to 18 years. Many parents prefer boarding schools for the hi­­g­h­­-quality education through dedicated tea­ching staff, smaller class sizes, individualised attention, and strong academic results. These […]

A POPULAR view by academics and politicians alike is that Hamas’s recent action of Oct 7 not only instigated Israel to exact the biggest ever death toll of Palestinians, even more than the Intifadas, but also undermined the peace process. However, this act did not take place in a vacuum. It was an act of […]

THE year 1947 witnessed the emergence of two disputes — Palestine and Kashmir. Both remain unresolved. At the heart of both disputes is the unfulfilled right of two peoples to self-determination. Both are protracted cases of resistance to foreign occupation. And in the genesis of both conflicts, the underlying common factor is the British geopolitics […]

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 […]