Donald Trump’s flip-flop on Afghanistan has hardly come as a surprise. Contrary to his previous opposition to America’s costly involvement in foreign wars, the enigmatic US president has announced his plans to shore up his country’s military presence in Afghanistan. With the Taliban ratcheting-up their offensive against the beleaguered government in Kabul and the transnational cataclysmic organisation – the IS …

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has accused Pakistan of giving “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror”. His new Afghan strategy will “change the approach in how to deal with Pakistan”. He warned no partnership with Pakistan could survive its “harbouring of militants and terrorists who target US service members and officials”. Trump added “it is time for Pakistan to …

When minors commit a crime, should they be punished like adults? Should minors be punished lightly or not at all for children under the age of 10, regardless of the severity of the crimes committed? John Stuart Mill extended the applicability of his doctrine only to humans with mature faculties. Expecting the same maturity and behaviour standards from children as …

Realism’s theoretical dominance in International Relations (IR), especially its focus on the power of superpowers and its state-centric view of international society, has been challenged by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the global transformations characterising the post-Cold War era. One of those transformations is the way in which “states neither great nor small” are gaining increased recognition amid …

“Verily, you are one Ummah. I am your Lord, worship me.” (21: 92 Al-Quran) Unity has become a critical issue for the Muslim world today. Unity precedes, and for right reasons, all needs and priorities of the Muslim nation. There is undeniably greater need for unity in the backdrop of divisive forces at work like narrow sectarian gains, ethnic discriminations …

Acid rain – rainwater containing sulphuric acid, nitric acid and compounds of ammonia. These pollutants have been pumped into the atmosphere by manufacturing industry and vehicle emissions. Aftershocks – smaller earthquakes that occur in the same general area during the days to years following a larger event. Amenity value – used for recreational and leisure activities. Asylum – to claim …

The generals publicly supported their intervention in Afghanistan, but in private they worried they were trapped. After 16 years, they feared they had produced “a recipe for endless war,” according to an American ambassador who met with them. But the generals, the ambassador said, “felt there was no alternative, no realistic alternative” than to continue fighting a doomed mission. Those …

Despite the judicious planning by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, one very potent factor that has inhibited economic growth remains largely undealt with-climate change. As the earth heats up it adversely affects our agriculture which till today has remained the greatest contributor to our economy.  Global warming isn’t just increasing our temperatures, it is also affecting the time and quantity …

Against the will of the nine nuclear weapon states that boycotted the United Nations negotiations, 122 countries voted to adopt, on 7 July, the text of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Treaty, which is an internationally legally-binding document that would ban the signatories from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, possessing, transferring, stockpiling, hosting or using nuclear weapons, …