Donald Trump’s return to the White House is a historic first given to understand the psyche and conventions of American politics. The fact that the impulsive, firebrand and X-obsessed leader stood his ground and continued to campaign on an agenda that irked the powerful US security establishment, and was at odds with many of the…
Raheela Baqai Group Director of Business Development, Pathfinder Group Asalam-o-Alikum, good morning, a warm welcome to Amaanibagh (Residence of the Sehgal Family). This house is a gift of love from a grandfather to a granddaughter. No other child can have a legacy to follow what has been left to Amaani by her grandfather, none other…
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a significant escalatory event during the Vietnam War that involved two separate confrontations between the United States and North Vietnam in August 1964. First on August 2 – when the USS Maddox, a U.S. Navy destroyer, was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats while conducting an intelligence patrol in…
SoulSpirit has the qualities of light, and body has the qualities of clay. Neither spirit nor body is fire, since fire combines the qualities of light and clay.[1] Hence, in order to complete our picture of the human being who came into existence when spirit was blown into clay, we need something fiery, something that…
The stability-instability paradox is a concept in “strategic stability.” It implies that stability at the strategic level will induce instability at the sub-strategic and vice versa. The acquisition of nuclear weapons can create stability at the strategic or macro-level and instability at the sub-strategic or micro-level. There is a paradoxical incentive for two nuclear-armed states…
From a very young age, we grasp the concept of seasons – spring, summer, autumn, and winter – along with basic weather phenomena like rain, clouds, storms, and earthquakes. It is with time we learn the deeper complexities of weather and its environmental impacts. We learn about how the months transition into seasons and how…
Pakistan is grappling with the devastating consequences of climate change, from unprecedented smog levels in Lahore to catastrophic floods that displace millions. While smog, with its record-breaking Air Quality Index (AQI) of 1,600 in Lahore has sparked a public health crisis, the gendered impacts of climate change become starkly apparent in flood-hit regions. Women bear…
In Jan 2005, almost 20 years ago, my first book “Pakistan’s Defence and Nuclear Doctrine” was published, launched by Mohammad Ijaz ul Haq (then Federal Minister for Religious Affairs) and Major General (Retd) Rahat Latif. The compilation during that period was the need of the times in order to boost our morale since the US…
“There is nothing further here for a warrior. We drive bargains …… old men’s work. Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and…
Trump had criticized NATO even in his first term, and the prospect of him getting re-elected is making the European allies worried. Trump has consistently questioned NATO’s relevance, criticized member countries for not meeting defense spending commitments, and pushed for a more transactional approach to alliances. This strategy could lead to several significant outcomes in…
