After winning the general election earlier this week, Erdogan said, “The national will manifested itself on November 1, 2015, in favour of stability.” Additionally, the President of Turkey criticized the role of the media and demanded that world should respect the new majority of his AKP. He said, “Now a party with some 50% [of […]
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 August 5, 2015, the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia was returning to the bond market with a plan to raise $27bn by the end of 2015. The paper also indicated this was a clear sign of the strain to lower oil prices putting pressure on the finances of the world’s largest oil exporter. […]
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 […]
News: After a resounding no from Greeks to Europe’s bailout programme for the country, the European Union is plunged into its greatest political crisis. As European leaders meet at an emergency summit meeting to discuss the situation, European voices opposed to the stance taken by Greece are hardening. Germany’s Vice-Chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, warned that Greece […]
“The Kurds fight ferociously for Kurdistan. The Shiites have been fighting doggedly for their people. The Sunnis of the Islamic State are killing and dying for their cause. But nobody is willing to fight for Iraq. The problem really is not that Iraq’s army has collapsed. It’s that Iraq has collapsed…Iraq today no longer exists. […]
“I sincerely believe… that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies”– Thomas Jefferson Western banks have a habit of embroiling themselves in scandals that involve large sums of money. Last week the FBI stated six global banks were involved in criminality “on a massive scale”. The banks will pay circa $5.6 billion for rigging […]
“Are Muslims being set up as the New Jews of Europe? It appears so. Muslims are the primary enemies of modern European states, the archetypal “Other,” and the scapegoats for Europe’s social, political, and economic ills…In light of the links between European Jews of the 20th century and European Muslims of the 21st century, we […]
News: Yemen’s government has urged the UN to authorise the deployment of foreign ground forces to drive back Houthi rebels, specifically in Aden and Taiz. The letter, from Yemen’s permanent representative to the UN Khaled Alyemany, implored the UN. “We urge the international community to quickly intervene by land forces to save Yemen, especially Aden […]
As the horrific death toll of civilians mount in Yemen, Saudi Arabia unmoved carries on bombing raids with no end in sight. Yet all indications are that the aerial bombardment of Houthi positions is a dismal failure and calls into question Saudi’s plan for Yemen. Houthi forces have advanced into Yemen’s second largest city Aden, […]
“The strengthening of brotherly ties with the Islamic countries will be a central pillar of our foreign policy.” –General Musharraf 1999 Lately, two decisions have come to characterize all that is wrong with Pakistan’s foreign policy, especially when it comes to relations with the Muslim world. The first is Pakistan’s decision to send troops at […]
News: This week officials from Iran and six other countries, the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, agreed on a framework for ways to contain Iran’s nuclear programme. It provides guidelines for a more lasting agreement, one that must conclude by June 30, 2015. However, the framework sees Iran surrender key pillars of its […]
News:
On March 5, 2015, a Pakistani Senator proudly announced that for the first time in Pakistan, the two-day ‘Think Tanks Forum of the Islamic Countries’ would be held on March 7-8, in Islamabad, under the joint auspices of Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), the Turkish Asian Centre for Strategic Studies (TASAM), the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German think tank, and Pakistan’s Senate Committee on Defence. Senator Mushahid Hussain is the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Think Tanks Forum, which Pakistan is hosting for the first time. The Forum has a 9-member board of eminent persons from different Muslim countries, where Senator Mushahid Hussain will be representing Pakistan, while other represented countries include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Malaysia and Sudan. This time Germany will also be attending. So the question arises, why is Pakistan convening this form on its soil for the very first time and for what purpose?
