Syed Qamar Afzal Rizvi

For the readers of international relations, it remains the stark fact that is not only the UN peacekeeping mission where Pakistan has been keeping an epoch- making record but also in the domain of international peace diplomacy, Pakistan has set a historical record as a peace mediator. Recently, Dr Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary […]

The current visit of the Russian FM Sergey Lavrov to Pakistan (April 6-7) ushers in remaking Pakistan-Russia strategic relationship based on mutual understanding on the issues of regional security, counterterrorism and the Afghan peace process. Russia now most likely accepts Pakistan defense and energy needs as legitimate in the interest of the balance of power […]

Emphatically, India’s expanded nuclear program via US-India nuclear deal –endorsed by the Bush-Obama administration in 2005-2009–represents grave challenges to environmental law for two prime reasons. First, it shows that western support for India’s civilian nuclear program, despite the exclusion of nuclear energy for safety and security does not yield timely emissions reduction benefits because of […]

Undeniably there is an organic connection between strategic peacebuilding and the Bajwa doctrine. The Bajwa Doctrine–which consists of a three-pronged strategy that focuses on securing national security, regional peace and bilateralism– seeks total peace on the western borders while it also broadens the scope of peace with our eastern borders if India seriously acknowledges the […]

India’s acquisition of missile technology (transferred to it by the Western countries) and other high-profile defence equipment is well beyond her legitimate defence requirements. It poses a valid and active threat to Pakistan’s security. To counterpoise India’s cold start doctrine and to prevent the Indian nuclear threat/foreign aggression, Islamabad has adopted an astute security trajectory […]

And China largely reciprocated, thereby criticizing America’s response to the public health crisis and the cascade of social, economic, and political problems that flowed from it. The U.S. rejoined the climate accord on day one of Biden’s presidency but the administration remains mum on whether it would rejoin the TPP-11. Washington was also left out of […]

The downward spiral in US–China relations during the Trump era prompted many to assert that the United States and China were entering a ‘new Cold War’. Actually, this framing was the result of the Trump administration’s confrontational stance on China. Yet it appears that the Biden administration’s approach on China could be pragmatically accommodating. U.S. […]

As for the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and its allies view in Iran’s policies – in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon or Yemen – the ambitions of a would-be hegemon; they see the Islamic Republic as a growing threat whose regional aspirations need curbing lest it encircles them with its partners and proxies. Tehran for its part sees […]

Given the impact of the crosscurrents of the Gulf-India security alliance, it seems a veritable truth that such security cooperation– born out of unnatural bonds –undergoes a faltering status. The recent visit by the Indian Army chief to Saudi Arabia (in December, 2020) has marked not only a major step in the countries’ military dialogue […]

There can be no denying the fact that a world free from nuclear weapons would be free from many problems. The current move by the UN to enforce the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22 is a positive initiative, albeit only ideally. The very objective of nuclear disarmament seems far […]