Kuala Lumpur Summit: of choices and compulsions on January 10, 2020Prime Minister Imran khan’s last-minute decision to skip the Kuala Lumpur summit held last month in Malaysia was a glaring reminder of Pakistan’s foreign policy limitations and compulsions. While there are varying views on the merits and demerits of this decision, there is a general consensus among political analysts and diplomatic experts that the handling […]
Sceptical optimism on January 6, 2016For a country to dissuade an adversary from undertaking an action that the former considers undesirable, it has to first communicate to the adversary that the cost of any action might out-weigh the benefits. This communication must be backed by the capability to inflict that cost and the credibility or the political will to undertake […]
The crisis revisited on October 1, 2015The recent cancellation of the National Security Advisor (NSA)-level talks between India and Pakistan is yet another reminder and indication of the fragile nature of relations between the two nuclear rivals. This on-again-off-again sort of relationship and failure to discuss core issues are contrary to the idea of crisis stability, an essential prerequisite for a […]
Shift required in prevalent security environment on June 3, 2015Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to the US was largely overshadowed by media leaks and speculations as to what may mark the agenda of the meeting between the two leaders. The media frenzy started with an interesting proposition published in The Washington Post a week before the actual meeting, suggesting a probable discussion […]