Part V Note: Written on 29th March 2026. To be read in conjunction with Global Order 1 to 4 ‘The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts’ Bertrand Russell. More than a month has gone by as we stand…
The Desperate Search For Peace Part IV This article was written on 26th March 2026. To be read in conjunction with Global Order 1, 2 and 3. The conflict in the Gulf has not turned out as the US would want or Israel had hoped. The consequences of their mindless war have begun to take…
“I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world.” Arab Bedouin proverb The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has put Gulf countries in a bind. U.S. and its regional ally Israel started the war without any consultation with the Gulf countries and Iran is…
The art of negotiation during conflict is often romanticised as a moment of breakthrough – a dramatic handshake, a sudden concession, a historic document signed under the flash of cameras. In reality, diplomacy is rarely so cinematic. It is slow, iterative, and frequently frustrating. The recently failed negotiations between the United States and Iran in…
Bombings/IEDsAt least seven Policemen, including station house officer (SHO), were killed while five constables sustained injuries when unidentified terrorists targeted Police patrolling vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED) along the Shahdikhel-Mastikhel road in the Bettani subdivision of Lakki Marwat District on March 13. Dawn MiscellaneousOn March 17, five terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation…
A Strategic Pathway for Pakistan’s Economic and Defence Transformation Abstract A single missile arcs across the night sky and slams into the Strait of Hormuz. In an instant, the world’s lifeline ruptures. Tankers burn, oil chokes, drinking water vanishes, shelves empty, and markets convulse. By dawn, oil prices have doubled, then tripled. Fuel pumps sputter…
From A Fragile Truce to Regional and Equitable Reckoning The protracted marathon in Islamabad did not produce a grand bargain. It did not need to. AbstractBeyond the Ceasefire takes us on a journey through the historic yet fragile truce brokered by Pakistan between Washington and Tehran, a dialogue unseen for 47 years. But this isn’t…
“No Complications” Greenfield Port With Courtesy and thanks to “The Nation” Opening NarrativeThe April 2026 disruption of the Strait of Hormuz (and the implied threat to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait) has opened a rare 5–10 year window for Pakistan to strive for a permanent share of regional transshipment. Pakistani ports have already responded: Karachi handled a…
Having lived and worked in the UAE for more than a decade, it was heart-wrenching for me to see my second home come under a reign of fire. The once business capitals of the Middle East are in a shambles, as corporates, investors and tourists are keeping their fingers crossed. Likewise, the death and destruction…
The current turbulent times have made international relations increasingly unpredictable. They are increasingly influenced by conflict, coercion, and the decline of the norms that once governed state behavior. The escalating confrontation between the United States and Iran has brought into sharp focus the reality that the so-called rules-based international order is under severe strain, if…
