Security is the most essential component in the survival of a state. For ensuring its survival, a state acquires power; therefore, power is an instrument for the security of state. Power can be hard military power or soft power; the diplomacy, an instrument of foreign policy. In the global politics of a nation, its foreign policy determines its goals, actions …

The making and implementation of foreign and security policies in a parliamentary democratic system is the prerogative of the executive. There is a complex process in the executive for policymaking involving institutional and organisational networks, campaigning by the advocates of different perspectives and mutual accommodation. In Pakistan, foreign and security policies are made jointly by civilian and military authorities with …

In any country, even in well-established democracies, the legal framework and administrative processes for elections need to be seen as organic, requiring regular review and modification. This is important not only to ensure compliance with international standards and obligations but it also reflects a broader political need to engage in continuous efforts to sustain confidence in the efficacy of the …

Although they have made progress, South Asian countries have struggled to make the most of the opportunity urbanization provides them to transform their economies to join the ranks of richer nations in both prosperity and livability, says a World Bank report entitled Leveraging Urbanization in South Asia: Managing Spatial Transformation for Prosperity and Livability. Difficulty in dealing with the pressures …

Russia’s interest in warming up its relations with Pakistan has increased in recent years. The two countries are cosying up at a time that is of critical importance in the region as well as the whole world. This is of pivotal importance especially in the context that the world order is changing, though slowly. This resurgence of Pak-Russia cordiality has …

Bihar, the Indian state where Buddha attained enlightenment, where the civilization’s greatest empires sprang from, and which saw the world’s first residential university, delivered a sharp blow to the ruling BJP. The election loss in the heartland state came after a period of intense debate over tolerance and India’s national identity. The fear and intimidation that has permeated India is …

The question that has been arising since the outbreak of the current flare-up in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is still looking for an answer. With the brutal Israeli response to Palestinian demonstrations in occupied Jerusalem and elsewhere in the area, people keep asking: Is it the third intifada (uprising), will it be a long sustainable one? The bloody events brought …

Once again, the United States has delayed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan — prolonging the United States’ longest war. Despite an earlier promise to remove US troops from the war-torn country, President Barack Obama announced on October 15 that he will keep military combat troops there at least through the end of his administration in 2016. And in …

Pakistan’s best-known historian, Ayesha Jalal, is back with a new book: “The Struggle For Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics.” This book essentially synthesises much of Jalal’s earlier work that by all accounts is rich and comprehensive. In short, the new book presents an overview of Pakistan’s progression as a national security state, a lop-sided federation to its current …

Kashmir issue has been the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy since 1947. The region is the source of rivers flowing into Pakistan and Pakistanis have strong apprehensions that if Kashmir remains under Indian occupation, their country will be strangulated as there will be no availability of sufficient water to support Pakistan’s agricultural sector, the backbone of country’s economy. Since the …