Iran has gambled and it has lost. Tehran’s decision to fly-in drones backed with precision-guided missiles deep into Pakistan’s side of restive Balochistan was a fiasco. It was a perfect misadventure, and uncalled for. It was, at least, not expected from a prudent and wise leadership like the one in Iran after the 1979 Islamic…
I often eulogize and wish to refer to the phrase, ‘Stairway to Heaven’ to the beauty and bounties of Kashmir. The phrase incidentally is also part of a couplet of British singer Robert Plant’s song. That is how one can mesmerize God’s territory on Earth, as it is referred to! But when it turns to…
Pakistan has never invested so much time and resources on any of its neighbours, but Afghanistan. Pakistan lived for decades in an existential threat but was forthcoming for its western neighbour. It ruined its social fabric with Kalashnikov, drugs and terrorism, but stood fast with the plight of Afghans and continued to host more than…
The 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan, a renowned cine-screen actor too, was vatic as he once pronounced, “…this generation may be the one that will face Armageddon.” Though not to this day, the October 7, 2023, adventure (read misadventure) of Hamas has brought the world close to a literal showdown. Armageddon is…
Revered Italian philosopher of the Renaissance era, Niccolo Machiavelli, had once observed that, “One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.” Indeed, it sounds so true even today in an era of alliances and interdependence. The G20 summit in New Delhi simply turned a new leaf in multilateralism, as strict protocols…
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is setting the agenda of 2024 United States’ presidential polls. The acumen and wisdom he possesses is guiding him to build a modern and progressive state in one of the most volatile regions of the world. And that demands perpetual peace. Quite aware of that desire and necessity,…
Zhao Lijian, the then Deputy Head of Mission Embassy of China in Islamabad, who is currently a spokesperson of Foreign Ministry of China, to a question from one of my colleague, Raza Khan who is Chief Correspondent for PTV World, as to why we (Pakistan) cannot see China-speed on CPEC projects?, humbly replied, “How can…
Ambassador (Retd) Asif Ali Durrani has been a career diplomat for more than three decades, and served as Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE and Iran. He was also posted to India, Afghanistan, United Kingdom and Pakistan Mission to the United Nations in New York. Prior to joining the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1986,…
From Shimla to Goa, Pakistan’s bilateralism with India has come a long way. It has nosedived and hit rock bottom in essence. With bad blood and mistrust ruling the roost, it is difficult to imagine any statesmanship role from either of the ruling dispensations. As Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari air-dashed to the southwestern coast of…
Pakistan’s western border has not been serene for almost four decades now. It has been a theatre of revulsion and an immediate threat to Pakistan’s security and sovereignty. This is so despite a friendly perception being nursed with the landlocked state, and a swirl of unending tales reminding the nation that Afghanistan comes with strategic…
