Saman Zulfqar

Negotiations have continued in Vienna, Austria for some days to reach a final agreement between Iran and the world’s powers. It has been reported that the states engaged in negotiations have agreed on a tentative formula for sanctions relief but there are issues that are likely to hinder progress. One major issue is the divergent […]

As anxiety grows about the increasing strength of Islamic State (IS) and its violent attacks against the Afghan army, the extent of its countrywide presence remains difficult to determine. The digital, financial and technological reach of the terrorist group is an important factor. In the past year, some important books have appeared in London discussing […]

Being a neighbour, Pakistan gives paramount importance to its relations with Afghanistan as Pakistan’s peace and stability depend on Afghan peace and stability. Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif after coming to power visited Afghanistan. Similarly, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also visited Pakistan after assuming the office of president while expressing his desire to initiate a […]

Pakistan has been considered among the most potent cricketing nations in the world. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was ranked amongst the best sides along with the West Indies. The 1990s were the prime of Pakistani cricket where it was seen competing for the top crown against the Australians mainly on the strength of […]

Recent tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) have shattered hopes of improving the relationship between India and Pakistan. Many hopes were nurtured of improving bilateral relations after the change of governments in Pakistan and India in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Contrary to expectations, Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has formulated an aggressive […]

Recently, a power sharing agreement was signed between Afghan election candidates after a two-month audit of the election results. According to the power sharing formula, Mr Malik Ashraf Ghani will be the next president while Mr Abdullah Abdullah has been given powers to nominate the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with powers equal to the prime […]

Israeli aggression against Gaza has raised many questions about the relevance of the United Nations (UN) in global politics. Maintaining international peace and security has been one of the primary objectives of the UN and to achieve this objective the UN Security Council (UNSC) has been authorised to take action with respect to threats, breach […]

The change of government in India will have far-reaching global as well as regional implications. It is too early to speculate whether dynastic politics have become irrelevant in the South Asian political culture but it has been somehow challenged due to bad governance and mismanagement of the ruling elite, which has been unable to cope […]

It is becoming a norm in the South Asian political culture to blame regional states for achieving political goals at home or, perhaps, it is easier to blame others to divert attention from pressing domestic issues that subsequently arise due to mismanagement and bad governance. For a long time, Pakistan has been named by Indian […]

Kashmir Solidarity Day was observed on February 5 wherein the people of Pakistan express solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for the right of self-determination. To express solidarity, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed a unanimous resolution reiterating Pakistan’s political, diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people. Rallies were […]