Hard or competent state? By Maleeha Lodhi
THERE are several aspects to the debate that has been going on in the media about a ‘hard state’. Why, …
Read MoreWill US attack Iran? By Touqir Hussain
IRAN is at its weakest moment externally since the Iran-Iraq war. Israel’s aggression in Lebanon and Gaza has critically wounded …
Read MoreA hard state? By Shahab Usto
THE recent in-camera civil-military huddle at Parliament House once again unfolded three conceptual cleavages that have rent apart the polity. One, the …
Read MoreFrom hard to harder By Sakib Sherani
‘There is no use of running on the wrong road’ — Turkish proverb ELITE misrule in Pakistan has scarred the …
Read MoreLosing the plot By Khurram Husain
YOU can tell when a government in Pakistan has lost the plot when they turn to the bureaucrats for ideas …
Read MoreFirst line of defence By Maleeha Lodhi
IF foreign policy is the country’s first line of defence it is disconcerting how successive governments have left the foreign …
Read MoreNeighbourly cooperation By Muhammad Amir Rana
PAKISTAN is an active member of the UN, with a track record of supporting the peaceful resolution of conflicts worldwide. …
Read MoreCoercive approach won’t work By Asif Durrani
IMAGINE Afghanistan and Pakistan becoming enemies, each seeking to undermine the other. However, history shows that the two nations share …
Read MoreWhere’s the water? By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
ON March 27, a report in this newspaper quoted an unnamed official of the irrigation bureaucracy as saying: “There is …
Read MoreNew world order By Ali Tauqeer Sheikh
THE Trump administration has attacked the liberal world order, built on multilateral alliances like Nato, the EU and Bretton Woods …
Read MoreA predator state By Zahid Hussain
PAKISTAN appears to fit the definition of a ‘predator state’ which, according to economist James K. Galbraith, is “a political …
Read MoreHard state, soft state By Ashraf Jehangir Qazi
Recently, the army chief addressed parliament after the Jaffar Express train attack in Balochistan. He said Pakistan had to become a “hard state” to …
Read MoreFrozen relations By Maleeha Lodhi
TWO recent developments have reinforced the fraught relationship between Pakistan and India, which makes the prospect bleak for any thaw …
Read MorePolitical audit of Afghan policy By Rafiullah Kakar
THE latest clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces are yet another sign of the deepening rift between the two neighbours. Just …
Read MoreTime to come out of denial By Asif Durrani
THE question arises: why are the Afghan Taliban critical of the arrest of IS-K terrorist Sharifullah, alias Jafar, if they have …
Read MoreThreats, coercion & pushback By Maleeha Lodhi
IN the opening weeks of his second term, President Donald Trump has used threats, intimidation and coercion against both America’s …
Read MoreMaking Britain great again? By Syed Mohammad Ali
The international development sector is in a state of shock. After the new American administration’s decision to freeze all development …
Read MoreThe CPD forum By Luay Shabaneh
PAKISTAN is a member of the 58th UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) session to be held next month. …
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