Revolt in the Foreign Officeon 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 spokespersonon 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 enigmaon 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 […]
Prime Minister Imran Khan: A relentless fighteron April 7, 2020Humanity is going through an unprecedented public health crisis stemming from COVID-19 pandemic that has the potential to change the course of history. From the Far East to the West, the pandemic has had an adverse impact on healthcare, economic and social aspects of the global community. While most countries have enforced mandatory lockdowns and […]
Hyderabad Fund Case Debacle — The 35 Million Pounds Coverup?on March 8, 2020When Pakistan lost the Hyderabad Fund’s court case against India and the Nizam of Hyderabad’s heirs in October 2019, it may have been an unexpected shock for many, but in reality, it was the culmination of a series of blunders, mishandlings and sheer acts of incompetence. Reportedly, a confidential probe has been underway ever since, […]
Tackling Karachi’s crime rateon February 27, 2020Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi has witnessed remarkable improvement on the global crime ranking in the past six years. According to Numbeo, a leading crowd-sourced database collection site, the city’s ranking went down from the 6th most dangerous city in the world in 2014 to all the way down to 93rd by 2020. Not only this, […]
The Kejriwal waveon February 24, 2020Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) astounding victory by clinching 62 of 70 seats in Delhi’s state assembly has proven that routing out hatred is a piece of cake if performance and merit are taken into account rather than rhetoric and shallow point scoring. Delhi’s voters aren’t only smart but are well aware of the communal politics […]
Optimising Pakistan’s diplomatic resourceson February 11, 2020Pakistan’s complex foreign policy interests and aspirations are intertwined with its geographical proximity to several middle powers as well as aspiring superpower states with whom its relations are defined by strategic interests, or conflicts, to a large extent. Yet some of its regional ties are also based on commonalities of perceptions and mutual respect which […]