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 […]

Emboldened by the victory of its ideological counterparts in Afghanistan, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has resurged in a deadly fashion. In January, the banned group carried out its deadliest attack on a mosque in Peshawar since the Army Public School (APS) attack in 2014. TTP, an ally of the Afghan Taliban, takes its inspiration of imposing Sharia Law in Pakistan’s tribal […]

Terrorist attacks in Pakistan peaked in 2013, averaging just under four attacks a day, with nearly 2700 total fatalities. The latest trends suggest that 2023 may be worse, with almost 200 terror-related incidents and at least 340 fatalities by March. Is Pakistan reliving the scary spectre of 2013? It may be — the last quarter of 2022 set the tone […]

These days triumphalism and despair are the contrasting moods in New Delhi and Islamabad. There is no denying that India has acquired much global power and influence in recent decades. Today, India presents an optimistic vision of the future, a bankable, stable, and responsible player in the world order. The timing of India’s rise is just right. The western powers […]

After the US invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 attack and the fall of the Taliban government in Kabul, Pakistan provided a valuable assistance in the US-led war on terror to the US, including air access and ground routes for NATO supplies, and worked as a Non-NATO ally. While in exchange, the US has helped Pakistan with economic and military support […]