Dr Zia Ul Haque Shamsi

Two things should not have happened in April and May 2025. On April 22, the unfortunate incident of Pahalgam should not have happened because it was a high-security zone and a famous tourist resort in the conflict-ridden area. Secondly, India should have attacked Pakistan on May 7, on its counterforce and countervalue targets so deep […]

History is replete with the stories of great leaders who have led their nations to higher heights and fulfilled their dreams of doing so. At the same time, there is no dearth of examples of leaders who have led their nations astray and fled the country when the chips were down. In modern times, the […]

Usually, the states attain, maintain, and sustain power to ensure peace and prosperity for their people; however, the great powers do that to impose their will on the relatively smaller and weaker states. That is the dark side of the most popular and practised international relations theory, realism. Notwithstanding its widespread appeal and practice, realism […]

The title suggests that something unexpected has occurred or is happening in the international scene, which was not foreseen or anticipated by the major stakeholders. Perhaps, yes. In my opinion, the solid support that China is giving to Russia in its war on Ukraine was not expected by the Western powers. Therefore, the US-led NATO […]

In Part I of this title, ‘New MAD in South Asia’, published by Daily Times on June 30, 2025, I argued that the ‘Cold War dictum that the nuclear states do not go to war with each other due to the presence of undefendable nuclear weapons held its ground after the establishment of MAD, the […]

While February 2019 may have only shattered India’s confidence in its multi-billion-dollar war machines, May 2025 has totally shattered its dream of becoming a regional hegemon. Moreover, the four-day war between India and Pakistan in May 2025 has proved how vulnerable the two nuclear neighbours are to each other’s military strategies and targeting philosophies, thus […]

My article titled “Are We Already in World War-2.5?” was published in Daily Times, Pakistan, on October 31, 2022. In that article, I argued that the world is already experiencing a form of global conflict, termed “World War-2.5”, infested with numerous ongoing wars and conflicts across various regions. I included the prolonged wars in Afghanistan, […]

My article titled “Are We Already in World War-2.5?” was published in Daily Times, Pakistan, on October 31, 2022. In that article, I argued that the world is already experiencing a form of global conflict, termed “World War-2.5”, infested with numerous ongoing wars and conflicts across various regions. I included the prolonged wars in Afghanistan, […]

In Part I of the same title, published in the Daily Times, Pakistan, on June 2, 2025, I argued that India is far from becoming a regional powerhouse, despite having claimed the title for over a decade. India has been successful on one account only: it has successfully sold its narrative to Western capitals that […]

For some time, India had relegated Pakistan to a mediocre state, which did not warrant much attention, and instead concentrated more on its preparations to counter China’s rise. India was able to sell the challenge to China due to its proactive diplomacy and the influence of its diaspora. There is little doubt that the Indian […]