Archives

Pakistan Post Bled Rs222 Billion During the Tenure of JUIF Minister Asad Mahmood

A federal audit of the Ministry of Communications for 2022–23 finds unapproved bank accounts, hiring beyond sanctioned limits and millions paid to private couriers, at an institution already raising prices to stay afloat. Most of the money sits in cases the public has not been shown. ISLAMABAD, October 20, 2026 — For years, Pakistan’s governments […]

Demystifying the Missing Persons Narrative

The complex issue of missing persons has frequently been weaponized by inimical domestic and foreign actors to launch coordinated narrative warfare against Pakistan. External lobbies and anti-state elements deliberately frame enforced disappearances as a systematic state policy designed to undermine Islamabad’s international standing and diplomatic credibility. However, empirical evidence, international precedents, and verifiable institutional data […]

The Self-Reliance Paradox Behind India’s War Ambitions

General Dhiraj Seth’s address at the NDTV Defence Summit had two big claims. The first was that victory is defined in terms of territory taken, secured and defended by soldiers. The second one was that in a prolonged war, self-reliance is the determining factor. He also acknowledged that the capability clock is less fast than […]

The Middle East at a Breaking Point: Can Diplomacy Avert a Crisis with Global Consequences?

In an international environment increasingly shaped by geopolitical rivalry and regional insecurity, diplomacy is not merely the art of managing crises; it is the ability to preserve channels of communication, reconcile competing interests and create opportunities for a more stable political order. Pakistan’s engagement with Iran, amid escalating tensions across West Asia, illustrates the continuing […]

How Successfully has Diplomacy Adapted to the Digital Age?

Diplomacy remains one of the primary tools states use to implement their foreign policy goals. While diplomacy has historically been a contested concept with varying definitions, its practice has expanded across multiple sectors and actors. Although the core reason for conducting diplomacy remains largely unchanged, the methods have evolved over time. Thus, Digital diplomacy has […]

The Age of Alliances Is Giving Way to the Age of Alignment

For much of the modern era, international politics was understood through alliances: enduring security commitments, identifiable blocs and relatively clear lines of division. That picture was never complete. Even during the Cold War, states sought room for maneuver. Yet it remains less adequate to a world in which the same country can cooperate with one […]

The Weapons that Stayed

A policeman guarding a remote checkpoint in Pakistan should not have to pay for the collapse of an army in Afghanistan. Yet rifles and night vision equipment supplied to defend the former Afghan republic have become part of the threat he faces. Foreign soldiers went home. Weapons supplied during their mission continue to circulate, making […]

Terror & governance

EFFECTIVE governance is the best antidote to terrorism. The state’s counterterrorism response has to showcase its best governance practices, including kinetic and non-kinetic means. Terrorism is like a disease that proliferates when it gets a propitious environment. Public frustrations, lack of livelihood, lax policing, and an administrative vacuum serve as the perfect palette for the […]

How Have US Leftover Weapons In Afghanistan Enabled Terrorism In Pakistan?

The United States withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending two decades of occupation. But the weapons they supplied to Afghanistan are still shaping the security environment of the region. An estimated $7.1 billion worth of military equipment and weapons remained in Afghanistan when the American-backed republic collapsed, and the Taliban took control of Kabul. […]