Solvency or stability?
As Pakistan begins a new year today, its ability to lift its future prospects lies largely in solving a tough riddle. The past year has mostly witnessed the current government…
Highs and lows of 2024
The Gregorian calendar is not the most ideal litmus test of progress. However, it does provide a meaningful scale to analyse the highs and lows of a state’s journey. As…
Happy New Year?
This, they say traditionally, is the turn-of-the-year season to be jolly. But even a cursory glance at the afflictions that ail Pakistan will lead inevitably and logically to the conclusion…
A legacy of struggle
Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary (which falls today) will be marked this year amidst another moment of political uncertainty in Pakistan. A few days before her assassination, Shaheed BB…
Struggling against terrorism
IT has been a decade since the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, which killed some 150 students and staff in December 2014. It was the darkest moment in Pakistan’s…
Year of unmet challenges
2024 saw intensifying political tensions and turmoil in Pakistan, which sharpened polarisation in the country and made political stability elusive. The year was marked by democratic regression and increasing autocratisation as the…
Punitive governance
The Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index 2023 downgraded an 11 places back-pedalling Pakistan from a hybrid to an authoritarian regime. The report stated that unsurprisingly elections with opposition forces subject…
Trump and Pakistan: new, old, same?
Trump is back, marking a historic moment not only for the United States but also for its global partnerships. His return to the White House comes after a tumultuous political…
What do the experts say?
As the year nears its end, Islamabad’s leading institutions host their annual dialogues, bringing together top-tier experts to analyse critical global and regional developments. This year, experts described the evolving…
Slicing Syria
AS I write this, Syrian rebels are in control of half of the ancient and strategically vital city of Aleppo. In a rapid three-day advance that saw government forces melt…
