Dear Readers, As the sun set for the last time in 2017, we stepped into the new year with renewed hope of better things to come. While the challenges and opportunities of the new year will prove to be historically momentous, we must take some time to ponder where we stand today. 2017 was an…
AbstractThe hostile relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are a high security threat for the sovereignty of Pakistan which forced Pakistan to fortify 2240km international border with Afghanistan. The portrayed bone of contention between these two countries is the Durand Line decided by the then ruling Amir Abdur Rahman and Sir Mortimer Durand (British India) in…
The Nawaz Sharif episode shows that pervasive corruption has not only acquired respectability in a perverse manner in Pakistan but left to the National Assembly (NA), may even acquire legality. Political instability, poverty, unequal structure of society, unemployment, lack of accountability, weak political institutions, absence of rule of law, etc., are contributory factors causing an…
Transparency International’s (TI) 2017 report ‘People and Corruption: Asia Pacific” voices concerns across the globe about growing inequality, poverty and exclusion of the most vulnerable. As a diverse and rapidly developing region, “it is essential that the countries in the Asia-Pacific region achieve sustainable and equitable development – this can only be done by ensuring…
In Jan 2005, almost 13 years ago, my first book published under the title “Pakistan’s defence and nuclear doctrine” was launched by Mohammad Ijaz ul Haq (then federal minister for religious affairs) and Major General (Retd) Rahat Latif. The compilation of such book during that critical period was considered to be the need of time…
The Magna Carta, or the “Charter of Liberties”, limiting the King’s power and strengthening the rights of nobles was signed by King John at Runnymede near London on June 15, 1215. Brokered by the Archbishop of Canterbury and meant to rein in rebellious barons, without any sincere intent John was simply playing for time to…
A Muslim majority state was envisaged by its founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to ensure conducive conditions for the Muslims of British-India for socio-economic, cultural and religious development. Pakistan geographically being situated at the fringes of former British-India, many of the features inherited from the British and the lack of basic infrastructure made its beginning…
While President Trump was touring part of Asia, his wish to entice India and Pakistan “to talk” echoed once again in the mainstream media; this has been his well-articulated electoral promise as well. The Trump administration hopes that better relations between India and Pakistan would allow it to focus on Afghanistan. A fresh, behind the…
As a sovereign state, Pakistan cannot sustain itself politically and militarily without long-term economic stability. Despite having a significant geo-economic location and potential natural resources the country is plagued by severe economic crises – an increasing debt, a fiscal deficit, burdensome public corporations and low taxation. If the government continues to disregard the brewing economic…
The Syrian conflict is in its seventh year due to which more than 465,000 Syrians have been killed in the fighting while more than a million have been injured. Over 12 million Syrians, half the country’s prewar population, have been displaced from their native lands and homes. US and Russia Joint StatementRecently, the US and…
