Assessing America’s descent into chaos on January 13, 2021During my official trip to Washington DC in November 2020, I witnessed a lot of uncertainty on the outcome of America’s most divisive presidential elections in living memory. Though President-elect Joe Biden won by a significant margin eventually after days of nail-biting suspense, a rude awakening was yet to be ascertained in light of how […]
Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to the cause of Kashmiris: Ambassador Munir Akram on December 1, 2020In an exclusive interview conducted in a webinar-style for Daily Times, I had the opportunity to speak with Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador Munir Akram in which several matters came into discussion, including the longstanding dispute of Indian occupied-Jammu & Kashmir (IoJ&K), India’s involvement in terrorist activities across Pakistan, the role […]
A divided America on November 6, 2020As I write this piece from the suburbs of Washington, DC, America is going through a tumultuous period which could change the course of its history. With a razor-thin lead achieved by former vice president Joe Biden, the elections are far from over since counting is still underway. At the same time, President Donald Trump […]
Uncertainty shrouds America’s elections on November 4, 2020Voting in polling stations has officially commenced for US Presidential Elections 2020 across all 50 states whose outcome remains uncertain at the time of filing this report. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are set to battle hard to clinch swing states that are vital for a substantial outcome. Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Texas […]
America set for its biggest political showdown on November 3, 2020This week the United States is headed for its biggest political showdown in modern history with an election whose outcome shall determine the West’s leading state’s course of direction. While national polls suggest that the Democrats are leading the Republicans, one can’t entirely rely on them given several factors such as margin of error, tilt […]
Revolt in the Foreign Office on September 30, 2020Some months ago, the former spokesperson of the Foreign Office ‘dismissed’ multiple reports of favouritism and sifarish-based diplomatic postings which almost led to an insurgency in the institution. Yet the official claim of ‘laid down criteria encompassing seniority, stability, regional expertise, diversity of experience, past performance, previous posting patterns and output in the current position […]
Is Islamabad’s Kashmir diplomacy post-August 2019 effective? on September 17, 2020The status of Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has garnered much debate over the past one year since the Narendra Modi-led right-wing regime abrogated Articles 35A and 370 of the Indian Constitution which granted special autonomy and exclusive rights to Kashmiris residing in the decades-long disputed region. Legally called the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, […]
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri appointed Foreign Office’s new spokesperson on August 6, 2020The Foreign Office has appointed veteran diplomat Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri as its new spokesperson, as per a notification issued on Wednesday evening. He shall replace Aisha Farooqui who was serving on the post since December 2019. Chaudhri is a career diplomat who joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP) cadre in 1993 with almost three […]
New lows for the Foreign Office? on June 22, 2020In the good old days when merit reigned supreme in the Foreign Office, Pakistani envoys to the most important diplomatic stations such as Washington DC, London and UN-New York City used to be exceptionally accomplished and polished diplomats such as Sheheryar Khan, Riaz Khokar, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Humayun Khan, Iqbal Akhund and Inam ul Haq, […]
America’s enigma on June 4, 2020Who would’ve thought that George Floyd’s racially motivated killing at the hands of the now-arrested former police officer Derek Chauvin and his three accomplices in Minneapolis over a week ago would bring the United States to a standstill? Never has such widespread civil unrest been witnessed stretching from the East to West Coast as far […]