2021

Global Gender Gap Report 2021 and Pakistan We have witnessed an increased presence of women in almost every field of life; from politics to sports; from education to civil services of Pakistan, and so on. Gender quotas in politics and civil services have helped many a women to come to the mainstream. The government has also taken various steps for …

From Tax Exemptions to Tax Credits A Paradigm Shift Tax authorities in Pakistan are struggling to put in place a balanced tax policy for taxation of income, goods and services. Recently, on March 22, 2021, the government has implemented the Tax (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, to secure $500 million tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Through this Ordinance, the …

Diplomacy in the Age of Twitter ‘Media pervasiveness’ as the scholars call it, is an undeniable fact of life. Be it the launch of attacks on Afghanistan, Osama Bin Laden stealth operation in Abottabad or Tahrir Square uprising in Egypt, they are stark reminders of the immense power at the disposal of media to cover real-time actions. The impact of …

Role of Decentralization, Delegation and De-concentration of Powers in PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY Power is distributed among different organs of a state in a manner that no organ may intervene in the exercise of power by the other – a hallmark of modern democracy. The executive is responsible to facilitate and provide amenities of life to the masses and also make …

US-China Strategic Competition under Joe Biden In late 2017, China–US relations shifted dramatically when the Trump administration officially labelled China as a strategic competitor. Many believe strategic competition will continue to define the relationship under the Biden administration. China–US strategic competition under the Trump administration was rather malign. First, it was a competition to undermine rather than outperform the other. …

UNSHACKLING IRAN from Sanctions Iran’s Strategy to Reduce the  Effects of Economic Sanctions Imposed by  Trump Regime In May 2018, President Trump abandoned the landmark Iran Nuclear Deal by saying, “The fact is, this was a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made. It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will. Trump’s supporters …

The Road to Peace in Afghanistan Goes Through Kashmir Pakistan has repeatedly told the world that peace in the region depends upon peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. At a time when international efforts to bring peace to the war-ravaged Afghanistan are in full swing, it has come as a whiff of fresh air that Pakistan and India …

The Middle East and Great Power Politics The Turkish role After Turkey’s failure to join the European Union despite several attempts, Turkey adopted a strategic depth doctrine, by exploiting its geopolitical position in the centre of the three continents to achieve its political, economic and military interests through dispute settlements and by building positive relations with all nations, from Asia …

How to Revive Multilateralism in a Multipolar World Multilateralism is not a magic wand. However, it can mitigate the power differences that exist between states by binding them by common rules. That is why Europe and the vast majority of states worldwide endorse it. Now, multilateral rules do not fall from the sky. They reflect a state of play and …

GREAT POWER Confrontation Russia and China vs. the United States There has been plenty of buzz in the foreign policy world about the possibility of a new Cold War between the US and China. If anything, that 20th century term fails to encapsulate the breadth of the contested issues and the fact that unlike the Soviet Union, the rising Asian …