“To fight a protracted war”. This is the literal translation of a four-character Chinese Chengyu idiom. It is thought to have been conceived by Sun Tzu, the great Chinese military strategist. In his era-defining book “The Art of War”, Sun Tzu says that “the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”….
As far as détentes go, this one must be up there with the all-time greats. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been at loggerheads as far as memory can go. The leading Sunni and Shia powers in the region have even been at odds in the recent past as well. Consider. 2011 – During the Arab…
Since the discovery of oil in the second half of the 19th century in the US, the political power of oil has been on ample display. It has been the most critical dimension in shaping international, domestic and social life. Subsequent detection of oil reserves in Russia, Latin America and Middle East meant that the…
Across the world generally and in Pakistan specifically, the rate of polarisation within society can be readily judged by the exit of numerous of one’s friends from respective WhatsApp groups – particularly after a defining event in regular political discourse! Granted that in the Islamic Republic defining moments come and go but the recent bungling…
Circumstances are difficult, the road treacherous and the leadership inept. While this mantra has been mentioned many times in the past, it does bear repeating today. So for the uninitiated, here it is again circumstances are difficult, the road treacherous and the leadership inept! In the first corner of this boxing circus is the Pakistan…
Since the discovery of oil in the second half of the 19th century in the US, the political power of oil has been on ample display. It has been the most critical dimension in shaping international, domestic and social life. Subsequent detection of oil reserves in Russia, Latin America and the Middle East meant that…
Ever increasing terrorism activities, check. A hapless security apparatus, check. Economic meltdown, check. Luckless population at the mercy of wolves, check. Major stakeholders blaming each other, check. Into the abyss, check! “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you”. Nietzsche’s quote…
Impossible Mission Force – to the uninitiated, IMF, can stand for that! Nevertheless, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a crucial cog in the global financial system. Love it or hate it, it is here to stay. Although the IMF and World Bank came about as part of the Bretton Woods accord after World War…
Clint Eastwood has been the most successful actor of his generation, with a lot of accolades to his name. None more so than in the movie Dirty Harry, a phrase that is all the vogue in the vernacular media nowadays for different reasons! In the film – with an empty 44 magnum in his hand,…
Consider these eye-watering statistics: inflation galloping at double digits, steepest rise in interest rates for 33 years, a two-year recession to look forward to, unemployment nearly doubling by 2025, longest downturn since records began! This is not the outlook for a developing, third world nation. It is the economic forecast for one of the developed,…
