Gunboat hypocrisy
EVEN as Donald Trump crisscrosses the globe, bringing his purported peacemaking skills to parts he didn’t even know were at war, his administration has openly been preparing for militarised regime change in Venezuela. There…
The drugs facade
At first, the US display of force off the coast of Venezuela appeared to be an exercise in political theatre: an attempt by President Trump to project his “tough on…
A judicial history of the SJC
On October 18, 2025, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of Pakistan issued a press release mentioning some complaints but without specifying which judges’ cases had been dismissed and which remained…
Our bulletproof insecurities
What is the state of security – or insecurity, if you like – of the citizens of Pakistan? And what does it mean for the high officials of the administration…
Covert crimes
The term “covert action” is a peculiarly American invention; it does not appear in the lexicon of other intelligence services. Nor does the term appear in the National Security Act…
Why is right-wing populism surging?
Have you ever tried to critically analyse how the global economy structurally functions or which underlying factors influence the world's socioeconomic ecosystem? Edward Bernays, a renowned author and propagandist, states…
The rare earth cold warHassan Baig
It’s quite interesting to see global politics taking such unpredictable turns. It was US President Trump who first started the tariff war, now attracting the world’s attention and apparently giving…
Caring for Karachi
A long time ago, I fancied myself as a chronicler of Karachi, pretending to be able to interpret the experience of living in this chaotic and forever-evolving place. In my…
US govt shutdown means hard times for civil servants
A civil servant for 20-plus years, Mark has been through US government shutdowns before: Congress deadlocks on spending and many federal workers are temporarily forced into unpaid leave. But the…
Trump calls climate change a con; science braces for more
President Donald Trump’s decision to downplay or outright delete issues and data tied to climate change is raising fears of a wider push to quash debate with dire consequences on…
