Archives

Why Has the Global Promise of Malala Day Left Millions of Girls Behind?

July 12 marks Malala Day, a global moment established by the United Nations to honor the courage of Malala Yousafzai, who stood defiantly against the dark forces of violent extremism in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. When a masked gunman boarded her school bus in 2012, aiming to silence her voice, the act backfired spectacularly. Instead of […]

Afghan Passports for Global Terrorists? It’s Taliban’s Policy Choice

For years, the international community has debated how to categorize the regime ruling Afghanistan. Is it a rogue government that needs engagement? A pariah state that needs isolation? A transitional authority still finding its footing? These framings all share a hidden assumption: that the Taliban, whatever its faults, is a self-contained Afghan entity governing Afghan […]

A Shared DNA? Afghan Minister’s Comment Reveals Taliban-India Collusion

Taliban Agriculture Minister Ataullah Omari recently landed in New Delhi and dropped a statement that shows the deepening strategic ties between the two regimes. He declared that Afghanistan and India share “the same DNA”. This was not a sentimental nod to ancient history. It was a calculated proclamation of a new, dark reality between two […]

Maria Shahbaz Case and the Exploitation of Religion for Political Agendas

In recent months, certain vested lobbies in Europe have seized upon the case of Maria Shahbaz, a Christian girl who voluntarily converted to Islam and contracted marriage with a Muslim boy, to advance their political agendas. Resolutions and debates have been pressed in the European Parliament based on incorrect facts and deliberate misrepresentations. Maria Shehbaz, […]

New Book Exposes the Reality of the Taliban

There is a comforting fiction that has survived four years of Taliban rule in Kabul, that whatever else the Taliban are, they are at least Afghan. Saifullah Khalid’s book, built on more than three decades of direct observation stretching back to the anti-Soviet jihad, makes a considerably more uncomfortable argument: that this distinction has collapsed, […]

Iran Calls Out Indian Media’s Hostility Against Khamanei’s Funeral

When US and Israel began their war on Iran, the world watched to see how regional powers would position themselves. Iran had complex relationships with its neighbors and regional countries, but one of its few positive ties were with India. Their cooperation on Chabahar and years of mutual diplomatic outreach gave rise to Tehran’s expectation […]

IRS, University of World Civiliations Boost Momentum for Pakistan-Russia Ties

On July 9, 2026, the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), Islamabad, and the University of World Civilizations (UWCM), Moscow, successfully convened the second event in the ongoing Pakistan-Russia Webinar Series. Titled “Pakistan-Russia: Strengthening Trade, Education & Energy Collaboration,” the high-level dialogue brought together ministers, diplomats, business leaders, and academics to shift the focus of the […]

Rupert Lowe’s Threats Against Pakistan Expose a British Legal Failure

Rupert Lowe’s response to Pakistan’s conditions for repatriating a convicted offender was not a policy position; it was a threat list. End all Pakistani visas, cut foreign aid, tax remittances, and build what he called a deportation NATO to pressure Islamabad into compliance. The rhetoric is loud. The logic underneath it does not hold up. […]

Offshore balancing: a blueprint for Pak-US ties

A strategic compact between Pakistan and the US is a real possibility, and it needs to be viewed through the lens of American security and geopolitical interests at a time when multilateralism and international law are in retreat. Washington’s stake in the stability of South Asia — particularly Pakistan and its volatile neighbour, Afghanistan — […]