Portents of trouble ahead
The war of words and hostile rhetoric between the government and the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) continues unabated. If anything, the daily diet of such rhetoric is stoking the…
PM Khan’s 2021 risks and 2022 prospects
Exactly one year ago, I had identified five risks that Prime Minister Imran Khan faced in 2021. Risk 1: A weak and imbalanced economic recovery. Risk 2: System-wide division and…
The ‘peace’ mantra
Pakistan’s leaders, civilian and military, have been piping the ‘peace in Afghanistan’ tune for some time now, and certainly since the US signed an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw…
Change of guards
The Inter-service Intelligence Agency (ISI) is the premier agency of Pakistan operationally responsible for gathering, processing and analysing strategic information relevant for national security from around the world. It was…
‘Aid-to-Afghanistan Consortium’?
Afghanistan is facing a severe economic downturn that could throw many millions into poverty and hunger, may generate a massive wave of refugees from the war-torn country and indeed set…
Blaming Pakistan is no solution
There has never been a dull moment in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations during the past seven decades. Not only bilaterally but since its independence, Pakistan had to grapple with many external pressures…
Prosperous region
Twenty years ago, the tragic attacks of 9/11 resulted in changing the world's dynamics. However, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the Taliban, are once again rulers of Afghanistan…
Pakistan’s true role in Afghanistan
In less than two weeks, the situation in Afghanistan has changed dramatically. Many people have been taken by surprise by the swiftness of the fall of the Islamic Republic of…
Pakistan’s viable Afghan policy
It is no surprise that Pakistan's two top security officials are in the US to meet with their counterparts to discuss future cooperation in Afghanistan. The current state of Pakistan-India…
The other strategic threat
AS the news cycle shifts to the situation in Afghanistan and the dwindling prospects of a negotiated settlement, the political wheel of fortune in Pakistan appears fading into the background.…
