The Three Shocks and the Unmaking of the Global Energy Map
For decades, the world’s energy security rested on a comfortable assumption: that oil and gas would keep flowing through a handful of narrow waterways and a few large refineries, and that no one would dare to interrupt them. In 2026, that assumption has been broken from three directions at once. The damage is more than […]
A Conflict That Few People Pay Much Attention To
Rebel groups in Ethiopia have once again launched attacks on Ethiopian government forces. Few people are interested in the war in this African country, even though it affects other states. Rivalries among the region’s larger players are playing out there. If the conflict intensifies, it could affect other countries as well and trigger a larger […]
Women Empowerment: Pakistan’s Biggest Trade Deal Waiting at Home
Every morning in Pakistan, millions of women make an economic calculation before the formal economy begins. Is transport viable? Is childcare available? Will the wage cover the cost of working? When the answer is no, Pakistan loses income, productivity, skills, tax revenue, and growth. Indeed, Pakistan’s female labor force participation is not a side issue […]
The Struggle Between Religious Authority and its Violent Counterfeit.
Violence becomes harder to defeat when it arrives wrapped in the vocabulary of faith. In Pakistan, militant organizations do not rely on weapons alone; they seek moral permission. Terms such as jihad, shahada and takfir are lifted from centuries of juristic debate, stripped of conditions and institutional authority, and repackaged as slogans that can turn […]
Pakistan Strategic Red Lines and the Houthi Threat
The Middle East security environment faces unprecedented disruption as non-state armed actors project advanced military power far beyond their immediate borders. The Houthi movement has rapidly evolved from a localized Zaydi revivalist group into a heavily armed actor threatening state sovereignty and international commerce. This systemic transformation presents a severe challenge to regional security and […]
Federalism Should be a Living, Evolving Arrangement
Federalism rests on a simple bargain: a country divides sovereignty between a national government and constituent units, each with powers the other cannot casually revoke. The bargain works when the units are balanced enough that none can dominate the rest, and when each is small enough to govern responsively. Pakistan’s four-province structure fails both tests, […]
Pakistan Shift from Strategic Restraint to Sovereign Self-Defence
The worsening security environment along the Durand Line reflects a fundamental collapse of diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Kabul. Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, Pakistan extended significant diplomatic and economic goodwill by keeping its Kabul mission operational and facilitating international evacuations. Islamabad actively championed unfreezing $9 billion in Afghan foreign assets across international and […]
Has US accepted China as superpower?
Sometimes the symbolism surrounding a summit says as much as the substance of the talks. The arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington last week was one such moment. When Xi’s aircraft landed at Joint Base Andrews, a red carpet was rolled out. President Donald Trump himself went to the tarmac to receive his […]
The Diaspora Pakistan Hasn’t Called on Yet
The chairman of Overseas Pakistanis Foundation boarded a series of flights earlier this year to Germany, South Korea, and Japan. During that trip, his responsibility was to listen directly to diaspora communities and address their concerns. It’s a minor but significant observation. Despite having over 9 million citizens across 115 countries, a single official travels […]