The One Belt One Road Ini­tia­tive is a global game-changer, a unique opportunity for nations to share in a trillion-dollar programme that offers a win-win formula for all. That’s the conclusion of Professor Feng Da Hsuan, director of Global Affairs at the University of Macau, in his recent lecture on how OBOR will create a ‘Super-continent’ that could spark a …

QUESTION: what’s the best way to ensure that an issue gets state attention? Answer: make it a matter of national security. So here goes. The world last week focused on a Russian tanker floating through the Arctic without an icebreaker, the latest sign of the rapid pace of climate change. Unfortunately, Pakistanis have problems to worry about closer to home. …

The US President and more so the US Secretary of State, have left the door open for a re-calibrated US-Pakistan relationship. The long awaited US policy for Afghanistan and South Asia was announced in a clearly articulated and carefully delivered speech by President Trump. There was no ambiguity and no glossing over difficult and sensitive issues. The President’s message was …

US President Donald Trump bestowed upon India an eclectic range of responsibilities in Afghanistan by declaring it an ally and calling Pakistan a delinquent rather than an ally. Trump appreciated India’s contribution in bringing stability to Afghanistan but urged it to help the United States more with that country, especially in the area of economic assistance and development. Trump’s new …

FORMER interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had directed the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) to prepare an anti-extremism narrative. His successor Ahsan Iqbal, during his maiden visit to the authority’s headquarters recently, tasked the authority with developing a coordinated strategy in consultation with the provinces to implement the National Action Plan (NAP). These are not the only tasks the …

The stage is set for a confrontation of sorts between the two erstwhile allies — the US and Pakistan As expected, Pakistan has rejected allegations by the US about the existence of safe havens for terrorists on its soil. It has reiterated its resolve not to allow terrorists to use Pakistan’s territory for launching attacks against any country. Besides, it …

Historical biases and realpolitik lie at the root of the seemingly unmanageable Middle East conflict The cauldron of civilization where the Sumerians invented numbers, calendars and provided base for the Babylonian empire wherein they introduced a coded Hammurabi law to settle the affairs of state and built the hanging gardens of Babylon, has plunged into an abyss of lawlessness and …

The US has stepped up its criticism over Pakistan’s perceived non-cooperation in delivering Afghanistan. Pakistanis lost no time in shredding to pieces Washington’s one-sided narrative and warnings. Pakistan would do well not to lose sight of the larger picture and draw appropriate inferences from the much heralded review of America’s strategy in Afghanistan. The bottom line of all that has …

This is the last piece in the series on education spending. The earlier pieces analysed the budget estimates 2017-18 and budget and revised estimates 2016-17 for all the provinces, the federal government and all of the federal territories. It is now time to put things together and present an overall picture of education spending in Pakistan. In the 2017-18 budgets, …

Nutrition remains one of the least-talked-about sectors in Pakistan, even though it has the most debilitating impact on poverty and the quality of life. The nutrition debate has been submerged in a medically-crafted discourse of health and a set of somatic pathologies with clinical significance for treatment. This reminds us of Michel Foucault’s cogitations about madness. According to Foucault, madness …