Pakistan needs a unified discourse to counter extremism on May 18, 2018When Maleeha Lodhi — Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations — was recently stressing on the global need for developing preventative measures to curb extremism, her own country was going through a shock attack — based on religious extremism — on a serving minister. On Sunday, May 6, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal narrowly […]
Need for better Australia-Pakistan ties on April 26, 2018‘CHOGM chance to push India as counter to China in the Pacific’, was the headline of an opinion piece published in The Australian — one of the most read newspapers in Australia — on 18 April 2018. This headline suggested the duality of the current policy shift within Australia, which is warming up to New […]
The jirga, Track-II, and Af-Pak peace on April 11, 2018Pakistani Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, visited Afghanistan on April 6 for a day-long visit at a time when the bilateral relations between both countries are tense. Officials on both sides hope that this visit, aimed at strengthening bilateral political, economic, security and counter-terrorism cooperation would go a long way in restoring trust between the […]
How pragmatic is our eastward outlook? on December 21, 2017When Pakistan’s PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi spoke at the Prime Minister’s meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Sochi earlier this month, he rightly pointed out that the regional bloc could play a major role in regional connectivity, trade, peace and development. The summit, in a changing geopolitical environment, hinted towards shifting regional and […]
Russia’s ‘partial’ withdrawal from Syria on December 15, 2017Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the partial withdrawal of his forces from Syria after almost two years of operations against terrorists in the country. Putin made this announcement in a surprise visit to Syria at the Khmeimim Air Base on Monday. Putin announced that Syrian and Russian army operations had succeeded in defeating and […]
South Asian paradigm shift demands caution on November 12, 2017The South Asian region — and the Af-Pak region in specific — is witnessing a major paradigm shift under US president Donald Trump. While his predecessor, Barack Obama, was quite subtle and kept major policy cards close to his chest, Trump, staying true to his persona, has remained rather vocal and explicit. Not only has […]
Needed policy to counter extremism on September 26, 2017 Counter-terror and military operations have remained a major part of Pakistan’s security policy since 2004. Yet, even with such a heavy-handed focus on security, Pakistan still lacks a comprehensive policy on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE); with only a generic National Action Plan (with 20 broad points) as the only referred document on such matters. […]
Of polarised politics and media on August 9, 2017I still remember the time when, before Imran Khan’s famous Lahore jalsa and his meteoric rise that truly propelled him into the political stratosphere back in 2013, very few of my generation were interested in Pakistani politics. Yet Imran Khan changed all that. For he gave us hope. Hope that, finally, our two-party system was […]
Pakistans Mulazimat culture and political realities on July 19, 2017The Supreme Court’s Panama case hearing and its consequent formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) invited mixed responses in Pakistan. Where both the ruling and opposition parties were seen sharing sweets and celebrating the decision as their victory, few – including the opposition parties – expected that the same JIT would submit such a […]
On Cricket, Politics and Kashmir on June 27, 2017Like any die hard cricket fan, either home or abroad, I was glued to my laptop screen at 4 in the morning in Australia when Pakistan created history and won its third major ICC trophy at Oval in England against arch-rivals India. I don’t think I have missed many Pakistani cricket matches – be it […]