Kashmir’s Unfinished Story: From Insurgency to the Present Day
Every year during the month of August, Kashmir appears to revisit its past. This is certainly the case for this year as well, with the approaching anniversary of the 2019 revocation of Article 370 on August 5 prompting political parties in the region to prepare themselves yet again for another show of strength and the […]
Resistance Operations Intensify Across Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s resistance landscape may be entering a more active phase. Over the past few days, separate attacks claimed by the Afghanistan United Front (AUF), National Resistance Front (NRF) and Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) have been reported across Kandahar, Herat, Faryab and Nangarhar. The geography is significant. These incidents are not concentrated in one isolated area; […]
Rukhsar Ahmed Case: Britain Wants Cooperation, Just Not Reciprocity
The Rukhsar Ahmed case has exposed an uncomfortable question in Pakistan-UK relations: how much legal cooperation can one country reasonably expect from the other when there is no comprehensive extradition treaty between them. Britain is asking Pakistan to facilitate the return of Pakistani national facing serious allegations in the UK. Pakistan, however, has its own […]
Pakistan’s Textile Industry Must Own Its Compliance Story
Pakistan’s textile and garment industry stands at the centre of the country’s economic identity. It contributes approximately 8.5 per cent of GDP, supports millions of direct and indirect livelihoods and generates more than 60 per cent of national export earnings. Clothing, hosiery, denim, home textiles and athletic wear produced in Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore and Sialkot […]
Two Years Into Recovery, Sri Lanka’s Debt Path Holds, Barely
Two years into Sri Lanka’s most acute economic recovery effort in decades, the headline numbers point in a broadly positive direction, even as recent shocks have exposed how fragile that recovery remains. The country’s debt restructuring, launched after its 2022 sovereign default, is now close to completion. According to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance, by […]
The Slow Death of Afghan Journalism Under Five Years of Taliban Rule
When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Afghanistan possessed one of the more developed media landscapes to have emerged in the region over the preceding two decades. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recorded roughly 12,000 working journalists and more than 500 active media outlets at the time of the takeover. Five years on, that […]
Fake News, Anti-Pakistan Propaganda by Taliban Regime
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence announced on 9 August that its 201st Khalid bin Walid Corps had seized 74 light and heavy weapons in the eastern zone, claiming that they had been “smuggled from Pakistan” for the purpose of carrying out “subversive activities.” The seized items reportedly included machine guns, Kalashnikovs, M16 rifles, mortars, RPGs, and […]
Between Scrutiny & Slander
This seems to be an uncomfortable summer for Pakistan. Forced labour and weak enforcement were raised as concerns in the EU’s GSP+ monitoring report. Labour Behind the Label, a UK group, published Silenced, based on 255 interviews with workers in eight factories that make products for brands such as Levi’s, H&M and Gap. It cited […]
Indigenous Peoples: Celebrating Diversity but Struggling for Human Rights
Every year, on the 9th of August, the international community observes the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Established officially by the United Nations, this annual observance serves as a powerful and vital reminder that Indigenous groups are absolutely indispensable partners in our modern world. Their contributions are remarkably diverse, playing a critical role […]