“Today, our democracy is hanging by a thread,” said Khan in his first public address since his release, describing those who had gone after him as a “mafia”. His speech was not aired on television. (The Guardian)
America’s former ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted, “Perhaps disaster can be averted, but only if 2 things happen. Army Chief Munir needs to resign, and elections must be posted for a specific date. Without the first, the second is unlikely. Without these steps Pakistan’s economic, political and security crisis will only worsen.” (The […]
The recent floods in Pakistan have not only wreaked havoc but the scale of the disaster has surpassed the previous floods of 2010 and the earthquake in 2004. Just over a third of the country is under water and more than 33m people are displaced. [CNN] The death toll has already crossed the 1000 mark […]
Recently, Narendra Modi’s government found itself in trouble after some of its members made disparaging remarks against the Messenger of Allah (saw). In a bid to extricate himself from the growing fury in the Muslim world, Modi swiftly moved to suspend the guilty BJP officials but this did little to stymie the criticism against his […]
Recently, the leadership of the Pakistani Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz faction (PML-N) met in Lahore for renewed cooperation – the political capital of the country. The meeting suggests that Khan’s government faces a stern test ahead of the general election in October 2023, and Khan’s adversaries and allies alike will be jostling […]
Khan’s new bill seeks to make the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) autonomous and has drawn widespread condemnation. The former finance minister, Miftah Ismail described the bill as converting the SBP into the “bank of IMF”. [aninews] Ismail also declared that the new measures would make the SBP more powerful than the parliament as “there […]
The horrific abuse of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes at the hands of his father and stepmother has lifted the lid on Britain’s child abuse problem. Arthur was physically assaulted, poisoned and dehumanised over a number of months during lockdown. By the time he died, with more than 130 injuries on his body, experts said his condition […]
A few days ago, adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin told the media that matters with the IMF will be concluded over the revival of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). He also said that a formal announcement will be made soon. [Source: Dawn]
On September 24, 2021 the leaders of the informal alliance Quad declared, “Together, we recommit to promoting the free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.” [1] The leaders did not name China as the main target of their statement, but it was very […]
Commenting on America’s abrupt exit from Afghanistan, Tony Blair, the former UK Prime Minister, had harsh words for the West. He said, “The pressure of short-term political imperatives is giving both allies and opponents of liberal open societies the belief that our time is over”. [1] Blair is not alone in his criticism of America […]
The United States wants Pakistan to keep its borders with Afghanistan open for Afghan refugees. A senior State Department official while briefing journalists on the new US refugee admission programme for Afghan nationals said, “So, in a place like Pakistan, it’ll be important that their borders remain open.” [Dawn]
A few weeks ago, Imran Khan made a bold declaration and rejected American use of Pakistani bases to conduct security operation in Afghanistan. He said, “We simply cannot afford this. We have already paid too heavy a price.” He also highlighted “if the US, with the most powerful military machine in history, couldn’t win the […]
A lot has been written about the decline of the West over the years but the topic has not been taken too seriously and in some cases even dismissed by eminent Western scholars like Robert Kagan in his book, “The world America made”. [1] However, the present Covid-19 crisis has added renewed impetus to the […]
Recently, The New York Times reported that CIA was scrambling to “maintain its intelligence-gathering, war-fighting and counterterrorism operations” in Afghanistan. [nytimes] The paper mentioned that the US was looking to use a military base in Pakistan, which it has used for drone operations until 2011.
A few weeks ago, Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan at the Islamabad Security Dialogue: Together for Ideas 2021 emphasized the need for a new security paradigm known as the comprehensive security framework. He said, “People think that if we only strengthen the armed and the security forces, it would be sufficient for national security. National […]
On February 24th 2021, Pakistan and India agreed to end violations of LoC based on the truce reached between the two countries in 2003. The statement read the two sides “agreed to address each other’s core issues/concerns, which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence.” [voanews]
On 1st February 2021, the world was caught by surprise, as Burma’s military leadership detained State Counselor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other prominent personalities of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Additionally, the military junta announced a state of emergency that would last for […]
A central pillar of IMF’s bailout package is the devaluation of the rupee, which is intended to increase exports in return for foreign exchange. As usual, the economic models employed by the IMF seem not to have accounted for a global currency war and this is likely to derail IMF’s effort to plug Pakistan’s eternal […]
In the space of two weeks, Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has gone from surrendering nuclear weapons to using them against India. On July 3 2019, Khan said that nuclear war was not an option and Pakistan would surrender its nuclear weapons provided India did the same. [1] A couple of weeks later, Khan responding […]
Pakistan announced plans on Wednesday to punish India for unilaterally wiping out the autonomy of Kashmir by ending bilateral trade, downgrading diplomatic ties and expelling India’s high commissioner to the country. [1] Is the world looking at a new confrontation between the two most powerful adversaries of the subcontinent? Comment: Despite all the fiery rhetoric […]
Last week, The Guardian Newspaper revealed the UK and Saudi Arabia had a clandestine deal in place, which involved selection to UN’s coveted Human Rights Council. In 2013, Britain conducted secret vote-trading deals with Saudi Arabia to ensure both states were elected to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), according to leaked diplomatic cables. The […]
On September 4, 2015, Europe’s foreign ministers failed to settle their differences over how to deal with the continent’s escalating refugee crisis, despite attempts by Germany, France and Italy to promote a common approach. “If the last three to four weeks taught us anything, it is that we won’t overcome this crisis if we keep […]
On July 10 2015, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in the Russian city of Ufa, India and Pakistan were formally inducted and given full membership. The SCO, which also includes the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, is widely viewed as a platform for Moscow and Beijing to project influence in […]
