Defence has received the largest share of funds in Afghanistan’s budget as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government aims to boost forces by a third and build anti-aircraft missile capacity, the army chief told Reuters in a rare interview to foreign media. The defence ambitions of the IEA, which took over in 2021, come in the face of strong […]

In today’s globalization process, the sources of risks have also diversified, necessitating a multi-faceted strategy to manage emerging difficulties. China thinks that a military approach to dealing with South Asian security concerns would further harm the interests of the region’s governments. As a result, the optimal strategy would be to emphasize the cultivation of economic, social, and cultural linkages, which […]

That Hindus and Muslims have co-existed in India for centuries is an indisputable historical fact, but Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah didn’t think so. In 1940, while delivering the All India Muslim League’s presidential address in Lahore, he argued that Hindus and Muslims “belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions” [Emphasis added]. He […]

Background We’re in a kind of cold war. “We’re witnessing a great strategic competition between the US and China, who are not only playing on their own board but on the global one.” Jorge Heine, Professor of International Relations at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, has rightly said, “There’s a growing consensus that we’re facing a Second Cold […]

In April 2022, Pakistan witnessed its first successful no-confidence vote ousting Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan, however, went down swinging and vowed to return to power this year. While his close relationship with the establishment once led his opponents to characterise him as the ‘prime minister selected’, Khan now postures a distinctly anti-establishment message. Amidst an economic crisis and growing […]

Pakistan, being a country in a volatile region, has long been facing security challenges. Its neighbors, India and Afghanistan, have a history of tension with Pakistan, and the presence of various hostile elements within the country adds to the security concerns. To counter these threats, Pakistan has been allocating a reasonable portion of its budget towards defense. However, despite facing […]

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed volatility during the week ended on April 07, 2023 owing to economic uncertainty, further exacerbated by political tension that persisted within the country. However, the market showed some resistance, and moved into positive territory come Wednesday when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) hiked rates by lesser than expectations, by 100bps to 21%, contrary […]

No easy off-ramps are available to resolve the power struggle between Pakistan’s ruling coalition and opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Imran Khan. In March, security forces and Khan supporters violently clashed over government attempts to force him to appear in court. The power struggle constrains Pakistani leaders from tackling the country’s worsening economic difficulties, prompting many Pakistanis to move […]

In the West, the existence of a “deep state” remains a contentious issue. Many activists and political outcasts have referred to it, even targeted it, while mainstream media outlets have rushed to condemn the concept as a conspiracy theory. Even so, many in Britain, for example, still refer to the “Establishment”. And the late US President John F. Kennedy famously […]

If nuclear war does break out between India and Pakistan, they will only have themselves to blame. Since the early 1970s they have been walking along the unmarked path that leads to nuclear holocaust and enough people both within and without have told them how to turn back. Even today if Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Narendra Modi […]