AS the new government settles down, it is confronted with a broad spectrum of challenges that demand immediate attention and strategic action. Internally, political instability, economic fragility, and growing security threats have taken a heavy toll. Externally, the fracturing world order, intensifying US-China rivalry, an aggressive neighbour to the east, and a volatile situation to […]

A 10-POINT priority agenda evolved during various conversations convened by the Sanober Institute was laid out in my article, ‘Setting priorities’, last week. However, setting priorities can only be effective if accompanied by an implementable action plan. To that end, there are essentially five sets of actions that the government should consider in order to […]

FOLLOWING Liaquat Ali Khan’s assassination in 1951, Pakistan witnessed a carousel of prime ministers, with six leaders in seven years, each serving an average term of 14 months. The wobbly start not only destabilised governance, but also paved the way for Gen Ayub Khan’s first military coup. The constituent assemblies floundered, and could not agree […]

IN 1992, Bill Clinton ran his campaign for US presidency on three slogans, one of which was ‘It’s the economy, stupid’. In the backdrop of the economic downturn of the early 1990s, Clinton’s focus on economic revival resonated well with his voters, and within three years, economic growth picked up. Ever since, the phrase ‘It’s […]

FIVE years after World War II, French foreign minister Robert Schuman proposed that the coal and steel industries of France and West Germany be placed under a single authority to prevent another war between the two countries. This ‘solidarity in production’ led to a common market in Europe, and eventually morphed into what became the […]

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 […]