Corridor challenge
The $46 billion investment tag being associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor could be transformational. But its ultimate fate will depend on whether Pakistani is able to fulfil its side…
Turkish delight
Recep Tayyip Erdogan should have seen it coming. Perhaps he did, given that opinion polls were reasonably accurate in predicting the result of Sunday’s parliamentary election in Turkey. In which…
Unity against Iran?
US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Switzerland on Sunday to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, to work out details of a prospective deal on Iran's nuclear…
Out through the back door?
The political histories of Pakistan and modern Turkey have had one thing in common: in both countries, the army has repeatedly seized power from civilian governments to ‘save’ the nation…
Antisocial media
“We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world.” This was what an Egyptian said during the early, heady days of the Arab…
Modi’s media apologists
When Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency in 1975, the vast majority of Indian intellectuals and media commentators refused to support her. Most newspapers carried sharply critical comments and truthful accounts…
Let Musharraf go
Pakistan is in the grip of chaos with the dark clouds of anarchy even threatening the country’s existence. At a time when national unity and harmony are of paramount importance,…
The nuclear option
Three years ago, when India was elected to the UN Security Council for the 2011-2012 term after a 19-year gap, the country’s then Permanent Representative, Hardeep Singh Puri, expressed confidence…
Balancing act for Turkey economy in 2014
Turkey faces an economic tight-rope walk in 2014, analysts warn, at risk from global turbulence and under pressure from the markets to cut consumption in a highly-charged election year. The…
‘Kemalists’ see secularist legacy under threat
For decades his picture dominated Turkey, piercing blue eyes staring from hoardings, keeping watch over city streets and army barracks. Schoolyards echoed every morning to his oath: "Happy is he…
