Turkish local elections – 2019 on April 13, 2019The Turkish local elections of 2019 were held on 31 March 2019 throughout the 81 provinces of Turkey. A total of 30 metropolitan and 1,351 district municipal mayors, alongside 1,251 provincial and 20,500 municipal councilors were elected, in addition to numerous local non-partisan positions such as neighbourhood wardens (muhtars) and elderly people’s councils. Turkey holds […]
Light at the end of Pakistan’s economic tunnel on April 5, 2019The PTI government has been in power for nearly eight months and so far, the economic indicators are bleak. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation rose in March to its highest since November 2013, adding to economic headwinds besetting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. Inflation rose to 9.41 per cent year-on-year, up from 8.21 per cent in […]
Pompeo’s pomposity on March 30, 2019The relationship between the US and Pakistan has been strained but in the near past, with Pakistan’s efforts in getting the Afghan Taliban to have direct negotiations with the US bearing fruition, one would expect the US to respect Pakistan. The showdown with India concluding in Pakistan’s favour in the last week of February, once […]
New Zealand massacre and humanity on March 23, 2019The cold-blooded massacre of 50 Muslims while engaged in Friday prayers in two Christchurch mosques needs to be condemned but the manner in which the people of New Zealand have responded, must be lauded. About 50,000 Muslims call New Zealand home, a small minority in a population of nearly five million. From India and Indonesia […]
Pulwama incident & Indian elections on March 16, 2019Four weeks after the Pulwama incident, India’s failed surgical strike at Balakot and its losing two fighter aircraft to the Pakistan Air Force, there appears to be no letup in Indian rhetoric. The cat is now out of the bag as India has announced its 17th Lok Sabha elections in April and May 2019. The […]
Sushma Swaraj’s maiden appearance at OIC on March 9, 2019History was created when Sushma Swaraj was invited as the guest of honour at the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) moot of the OIC at Abu Dhabi on 28thFebruary 2019. Pakistan had strongly objected to the presence of the Indian External Affairs Minister since the Indian security forces are carrying out genocide of the hapless […]
India’s preemptive non-military air strike on March 2, 2019Twelve Mirage-2000 Indian Air Force (IAF) intruded into Pakistani air space in a pre-dawn adventure on February 26, 2019. India claimed that it was a preemptive non-military air strike in which the IAF targeted and destroyed alleged Jaish-e-Muhammad (JEM) training camps supposedly killing 350 terrorists. The reality is that the intrusion did take place, but […]
Saudi Crown Prince-Pakistan’s Ambassador to KSA on February 23, 2019Prince Mohammad bin Salman, on his maiden visit to Islamabad, paid the ultimate compliment to his hosts, when he declared that he should be considered as ‘Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.’ The camaraderie was evident from the moment the Royal Dreamliner Boeing 787 carrying the Crown Prince entered Pakistani airspace and was […]
The spy who came in from the cold on February 16, 2019The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1963 Cold War spy novel by the British author John le Carré. It portrays Western espionage methods as morally inconsistent with Western democracy and values. The novel received critical acclaim at the time of its publication and became an international best-seller; it was selected as […]
2019-spate of separatism in India on February 8, 2019Indian Republic Day January 26, 2019 was observed as “Black Day” by the residents of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Pakistani flags were hoisted on roof tops by the Kashmiris. On February 3, 2019, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited IOK, but the entire Valley was in a state of lockdown. On February 5, 2019, […]