Executive Encroachment and the Erosion of Police Autonomy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
On September 12, 2026, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government tabled contentious amendments to the KP Police Act during a provincial cabinet meeting. This legislative push aims to systematically shift administrative and operational authority from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) directly to the Chief Minister. If enacted by the Provincial Assembly, the bill will grant the […]
Bangladesh Is Rewriting Strategic Autonomy in South Asia
How do smaller South Asian states pursue strategic autonomy? Bangladesh’s foreign-policy choices answer this question well. Rather than balancing primarily between India and China, Dhaka chooses to build overlapping relationships with multiple regional and extra-regional powers. Its recent defense and diplomatic moves, closer engagement with China, renewed ties with Pakistan and Turkey, and possible participation […]
Pakistan UAE Strategic Partnership Anchors Regional Stability
Pakistan-UAE ties are not built on convenience. They rest on shared faith, cultural affinity and more than five decades of trust between leaderships and peoples alike. Pakistan was among the first nations to recognize the UAE after its founding in 1971, and what began as diplomatic recognition has grown into deep political, economic, defence, security, […]
Why Climate Displacement Must Become a Regional Policy Priority in South Asia
For millions across South Asia, displacement is no longer an exceptional consequence of disaster. It is becoming part of everyday life. Floods, cyclones, landslides, droughts, river erosion and increasingly dangerous heat are repeatedly pushing people away from homes and livelihoods. Yet the region still largely treats disaster displacement as a temporary humanitarian problem rather than […]
Ratle Hydroelectric Design Threatens Indus Waters Transparency
The 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project on the River Chenab stands as a critical flashpoint in transboundary water governance. Located in Kishtwar, the project features a 133-meter-high concrete gravity dam, diversion tunnels, and an underground powerhouse equipped with four 205 MW turbine units alongside a 30 MW auxiliary unit. Key structural specifications of the plant […]
Eiffel Tower Episode Exposes Hindutva Gender Exclusion in Europe
A serious controversy in Paris has exposed the growing transnational reach of Hindutva-linked religious conservatism within European secular spaces. During a visit by a delegation from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha to the Eiffel Tower, female municipal staff were sidelined and replaced by male colleagues to accommodate the group’s strict gender segregation demands. This […]
The Story PTM Sold
The suffering of people in Pakistan’s former tribal areas is undeniable. Terrorism destroyed families, livelihoods and communities. Counterterrorism operations displaced people. Unexploded munitions and IEDs continued to threaten lives. Homes, schools and businesses were damaged. An entire generation grew up surrounded by violence. But suffering does not interpret itself. Someone tells society what it means, […]
9/11 Anniversary: The World Moved On, but South Asia’s War Didn’t End
Today marks twenty-five years since the attacks on New York and Washington. For Americans, September 11 is mostly a day of memory. For South Asia, it has been something closer to a quarter century of consequence, because the response to that morning fell hardest on this region, not on the one that was attacked. Afghanistan […]
9/11: the Changing Geopolitics of Afghanistan
9/11: the Changing Geopolitics of Afghanistan SAT X Space Share 11 September 2026 Speakers: Dr. Shabana Fayyaz (Chairperson, Defence & Strategic Studies, QAU) Hassan Khan (Prominent Journalist, Political Analyst & Group Editor, Khyber News) 8:00pm PKT Friday South Asia Times Inquiries: info@southasiatimes.org Host: Muniba Abdul Khaliq Bhatti Background and Context: Twenty-five years after the terrorist […]