Urbanisation or Mushrooming Slums on July 27, 2021Human civilisation has been changing the Earthsince forever with no heed to its detrimental impacts. Urbanisation, deforestation and dam construction alter water cycles and wind patterns; occasionally triggering droughts, even creating deserts. Since Pakistan’s population growing by over two per cent every year, many Pakistanis are flocking to big cities and towns, way faster than […]
Forecasting the Afghan Scenario on July 13, 2021Joe Biden has long been a critic of the war in Afghanistan and his decision to withdraw should not be a surprise. The Afghan war was initiated two decades ago not to rebuild a distant nation, but to prevent terror attacks like the one on September 11, 2001. The longest war in the US’s history […]
Great-Power Competition and Pakistan on July 6, 2021Great-power competition has been a recurrent theme in history since its emergence in the late 4th millennium BC. The current prevailing competition involves an ongoing push-pull among the US, China and Russia for global strength and dominance. It is far more convoluted than a military or economic problem. Despite growing apprehensions about an armed conflict […]
What Pakistan needs to do in Afghanistan on June 23, 2021Taliban will be taking over Afghanistan in a couple of months. On the 20th anniversary of World Trade Centres, all US forces will be out of Afghanistan. September 11, 2001 was the day that changed America and the world forever once again. But the million dollar question is, why has US decided to leave the […]
Flashpoint — South China Sea on June 16, 2021The South China Sea is a crucial link in the ‘global commons’ connecting the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Europe. Right now it is the most contested piece of sea in the world. Under the Law of the Sea Convention, all states have a right to 200 nautical mile ‘exclusive economic zone’ […]
Fearing the US exit from Afghanistan? on June 4, 2021Afghanistan is famously known as the graveyard of empires, and it probably still holds true. As Robert Gates, erstwhile US Secretary of Defence and Director CIA writes in his book Duty: “For all our good intentions, the American experiences inAfghanistan have not been markedly different from that of the foreigners who preceded us like Great […]
A realistic approach on May 27, 2021The shocking level of the recent wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence echoes that a final resolution to the Middle East crisis is vital for the world peace. It is crucial not just to break this cycle of destruction and injustice, but also to deny further proliferation of religious extremism in the region. Let me say explicitly […]
US exit from Afghanistan-costly victory for Pakistan? on May 10, 2021Allow me to recollect memories of March 1980 as a young infantry officer located at Nawa Pass, Bajur Agency on borders with Afghanistan. The erstwhile USSR MI24 gunship helicopters would frequently cross over Durand Line uninterrupted while chasing Afghan refugees’ columns crossing over to Pakistan. The columns would consist of women, children, old aged men […]
Kashmir and Palestine: a tale of two subjugations on April 21, 2021There are several comparisons between Kashmir dispute and Palestine crisis; both date back to 1947-48; civilian casualties are very high as a result of vicious occupations; despite repression and oppression Kashmiris and Palestinians stand tall and they refuse to bow; and UNSC has passed numerous resolutions acknowledging the right to self-determination of Kashmiris and a […]
Pakistan, China, India and evolving regional order on March 21, 2021Three powers – China, India, and Pakistan – hold the keys to the future of south Asia. As the West withdraws from Afghanistan and US influence in the region declines, this triangular strategic relationship will become more complicated unless China and India – the two major powers – can define the parameters of a new […]