Calmer 2021? Think again! on December 28, 2020To say that 2020 has been a brutal year maybe the understatement of the century! The havoc has been all too visible to everyone. As far as policy responses go – they have been weighed, and they have been measured and they have been found wanting! Will the turmoil continue? It will! Consider. One – […]
To normalise or not to normalise? on December 11, 2020The Middle East is awash with whispers and speculations! After the UAE-Israel deal, Bahrain and Sudan have followed suit. Next in line maybe Morocco and Oman. The grapevine also has it that not only the Saudis gave tacit approval of the UAE-Israel deal but also that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) recently met […]
Welcome back America – Warning, foreign policy challenges ahead! on November 25, 2020A fiercely divided vote, one party not conceding the election to the other, baseless assertion of wide voter fraud, firings of key governmental personnel, military commanders stepping into the fray. The reader would be forgiven to think that is a political set piece from a developing country but it is not. These are the happenings […]
Welcome Back America – Warning, foreign policy challenges ahead! on November 24, 2020A fiercely divided vote, one party not conceding the election to the other, baseless assertion of wide voter fraud, firings of key governmental personnel, military commanders stepping into the fray. The reader would be forgiven to think that is a political set piece from a developing country but it is not. These are the happenings […]
Doctrine, policy, and strategy US Presidential Elections – policy change towards Pakistan? on October 29, 2020Deep polarisation is a phrase that is used loosely nowadays but if anything can describe the current status of politics in the US, it would be this! Trump’s four years in office have been nothing but turbulent. During this time, a country that was once looked upon as the leader of the free world is […]
Doctrine, Policy, and Strategy: Combating sexual assault in the land of the pure! on September 28, 2020Pakistan has been plagued with child abuse, rape and sexual assault cases for years and yet nothing much of substance has been done to curtail this social degeneration! The recent episode being the rape of a woman driving late at night with her three children from Lahore to Gujranwala. Her car ran out of fuel […]
Doctrine, policy, and strategy UAE, Israel deal — national interests trump all? on September 10, 2020“An incomparably exciting moment”; “game-changer”; “deal of the century”; “historic”; “betrayal” – there is no shortage of labels for the recently announced UAE – Israeli deal! As far as caution goes, it has been thrown to the wind; i.e. this pact will fully normalise relationships between the two countries. While there may be many reasons […]
Doctrine, policy, and strategy: COVID-19 – litmus test for policy of agility? on August 5, 2020Empty shelves in supermarkets, fights over basic commodities such as toilet rolls, absence of rudimentary hygiene products like antibacterial soaps and hand sanitisers, hoarding of non-perishable food items, unavailability of dairy produce and mile long queues to enter shops. These are not clips from a post-apocalyptic Hollywood flick! But some harrowing scenes witnessed at the […]
Doctrine, policy, and strategy: pilot licensing fiasco – a failure of policy! on July 15, 2020Imagine this: flying at a cruising altitude of 38000 feet, going through dinner, anticipating a pleasant journey ahead and still having a niggling thought in the back of your head saying, “I wonder if the pilot is qualified to fly this plane”! From now, this is what will happen to any passenger travelling in an […]
Doctrine, Policy, And Strategy: In search of national identity — are we all now Ertugruls? on June 22, 2020Dirili?: Ertu?rul, the Turkish drama revolving around the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, has become hugely popular – especially in Pakistan. Although it was already gaining traction internationally but since Imran Khan – the Pakistani Prime Minister – mentioned it as recommended viewing, its graph has skyrocketed! Historically very little is known […]