2020

The Decline of Arab World Leaders Who Could Not Lead Dr Mahboob A. Khawaja Arab nations have struggled out from under the heel of European colonization to find themselves to find themselves yoked to the interests of Western nations, and the United States in particular. They have the curse of desirable resources, particularly oil, and much of the leadership has …

The Power of Siberia Deepening China-Russia Partnership Magazine Desk December 2nd was a notable day in the strategic relationship between Beijing and Moscow, which saw the first shipments of Russian natural gas to China via the much-awaited Power of Siberia pipeline.  The $55 billion project is Russia’s most significant energy undertaking since the collapse of the Soviet Union, part of …

Nato at 70 The moment of crisis has arrived Magazine Desk It was meant to be a celebration of the 70th anniversary of NATO. But the mood at a gathering of the alliance’s leaders this week in London was anything but celebratory. There was no disguising the fact that NATO is in deep — even existential — trouble. Nothing illustrated …

 Motivations for South Asian Nuclearisation Shafqat Javed The twentieth century witnessed an exponential growth in war technology. The century witnessed the machine-gun, main battle tank and armoured fighting vehicles, the aircraft, and the nuclear weapon. These weapons added a cataclysmic dimension to that war when they were dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nuclear weapons not only injured …

Israel-Palestine Peace Process Unconditional US support for Israel impedes the way Dr M. Usmani On November 18, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a major shift in US policy, reporting that Washington now no longer considers civilian settlements by Israelis in the occupied West Bank to be in breach of international law. Pompeo’s statement, in effect, reverses a 1978 …

India’s Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 A Hindu Rashtra in the making? Abdul Rasool Syed Passage of the contentious bill titled “Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019” (CAB) by the Indian parliament has sparked violent protests throughout India. The bill as well as the intention behind has attracted scathing stricture from the people from all walks of life. It has, undoubtedly, shaken the …

COP 25 Long but barely fruitful Aftab Hussain Wahla COP or Conference of Parties is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is responsible for monitoring and reviewing its effective implementation, including institutional and administrative arrangements. The body is represented by 197 parties—countries and territories—and aims at curbing greenhouse gases (GHGs) to limit …

Babri Masjid Case and the International Law Kamran Adil Introduction The direction of global events is more towards power and interest-based decision making than towards rule-based system that was installed in the post-Second World War era. The direction is expressing itself in many manifestations. In the context of Pakistan-India relationship, after India’s executive toyed with the legal order of the …

The Scourge of Corruption Shamshad Ahmad Corruption is today an endemic problem of our times, afflicting all societies and countries regardless of the levels of their social and economic development or the type of their political system. It has become a global challenge with far-reaching social and economic consequences warranting comprehensive remedial strategies both at national and global levels not …

The Future of SMEs Tax policy needed to encourage banks to enhance loan portfolio Bilal Hassan The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector is considered the backbone of any economy due to its role in accelerating economic growth, creation of jobs and taming inflation. SME sector is of utmost significance for lower-middle income countries like Pakistan. It is responsible for …