Pakistan has been mired in political turmoil ever since it gained independence. Pakistan is a federal Islamic democratic country governed by a parliamentary form of government. Islam is its official religion. In 1956, the country’s first constitution was ratified, marking a watershed moment in the country’s political development. However, it was a major setback for the nation’s constitutional development when […]

Japan and India’s national interests call for elevating a free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) as the bedrock for global peace, prosperity and a rules-based order. They should use their prerogative as hosts at the upcoming G7 and G20 Summits to cement a FOIP as the fulcrum of a free and open world. Over the last half of the 20th century, […]

Late night on May 12, the official spokesperson of the Pakistan military, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, came on Geo TV to dispel rumours about resignations and dismissals of officers of the Pakistan Army. Since the events of May 9—the large scale violence that broke out after the arrest of Imran Khan, much of it targeted against the Pakistan Army […]

The Northwestern Indian Ocean (NWIO), the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea are distinct maritime spaces, each one with its peculiar ecosystem, political dynamics, and underlying threats. However, due to their geographical proximity and commonality of actors influencing their geopolitical destiny, these bodies of water are closely interdependent and interconnected. Deteriorating security conditions and fast-evolving political developments in one regularly […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping also apparently persuaded Lula to support the use of China’s yuan to replace the dollar as the global standard currency…. China also might want Brazil to grant permission to purchase additional farmland. China already owns more than 200,000 hectares of Brazilian land. The Brazilian leader’s fifth visit to China on April 14 was a stark contrast […]

India Foundation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore have seen a lot of curiosity about the Indian Ocean Conference which started in Dhaka. The conference is mainly organized with the coastal countries of the Indian Ocean, but it will discuss various important issues in the changing global context. It should […]

The first eleven days of May 2023 have, in many ways, been a defining period of Indian history! Plenty has happened in a rapid-fire stream of events. Ironically, each one of them are indicators of how crimes and the criminalisation of society has become the ‘new norm’; these include, the May Day rallies with a focus on the four labour […]

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s six-day visit to Washington from 26 April–1 May was highly symbolic for bilateral relations and potentially consequential for what the US-ROK relationship would mean in the Indo-Pacific in the next decade. Politically, the visit marked a high with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the United States (US)-ROK alliance. The Biden-Yoon meeting also marked […]

On Thursday, The Soufan Center hosted a virtual discussion on the security, political, and human rights dimensions of the current situation in Afghanistan. Moderated by TSC’s Colin P. Clarke, the conversation featured Arian Sharifi, Amira Jadoon, and Ioannis Koskinas, with an introduction by our Executive Director Naureen Chowdhury Fink.

China delivered two Type 054A/P frigates to Pakistan on Wednesday, indicating that all four warships of this class have been commissioned into the Pakistan Navy. The program is a mark of the enduring China-Pakistan friendship and the high-level defense cooperation between the two countries. The vessels are expected to serve Pakistan’s seaward defense as well as safeguard regional peace and […]