April 2016

Only a few years back, it was like a dream to have a prestigious institution like the Higher Education Commission (previously the Universities Grants Commission) in Pakistan. When we take a retrospective look at the status of higher education in the country, we find that the benefits brought by the HEC for Pakistani students are numerous — though it still …

Even before Plato conceived the philosopher-king, people yearned for clever, dispassionate and principled government. When the usual run of rulers proves cowardly, indecisive or discredited, turning to the wisdom and expertise of a technocrat is particularly tempting. History suggests that technocrats do best when blitzing the mess made by incompetent and squabbling politicians. Technocracy was once a communist idea: with …

1. Economic Relations The United States is Pakistan’s largest bilateral trading partner. In FY 2015 (July 2014 – June 2015), Pakistan’s total exports were estimated at $24.59 billion and imports at $41.43 billion. During this period, an amount of $18.72 billion was remitted to Pakistan by the overseas Pakistanis working in various countries and among them 14.4% were only from …

Introduction On 29th February 2016, with the assent of the Governor Punjab, the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill turned into an act of the provincial legislature. The debate, as frequently happens in Pakistan, initiated after the law was passed. The views were expressed in binary terms: in black and white, good and bad, noble and evil, and ‘progressive’ …

On February 26, Iran held two elections: one for its parliament (Majles-e Shoraye Eslami) and the other for the Assembly of Experts (Majles-e Khobragan Rahbari). The former is Iran’s legislative body, and the latter is the part of government that monitors the Supreme Leader and selects his replacement if he dies, becomes incapacitated or is removed. Since the 1979 Revolution, …

It was almost certain that the stage was set for face-to-face talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government within the framework of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group, which consists of US, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Positive signals to that effect had been received by the concerned quarters in Pakistan and by the governments of the other members of the QCG. …

The South China Sea, a popular trading route that holds a mother lode of natural oil and gas reserves, has been a source of escalating tensions in Southeast Asia for decades. In recent years, China and some of its neighbours have ramped up their activities to stake a claim in the area, going as far as building new islands and …

With the rapid melting of ice, the Arctic region is increasingly becoming a more accessible zone for commercial fishing, freshwater, minerals, coal, iron, copper, oil, gas, and shipping — the reason why it is catching the world powers’ attention. Arctic states — Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Russia, Norway and the US — are in a rush to exploit the opportunities …

When Arab streets exploded with fury, from Tunis to Sanaa, pan-Arabism seemed, then, like a nominal notion. Neither did the so-called ‘Jasmine Revolution’ use slogans that affirmed its Arab identity, nor did angry Egyptian youth raise the banner proclaiming Arab unity atop the high buildings adjacent to Tahrir Square. Oddly, the Arabism of the ‘Arab Spring’ was almost as if …

After nearly five months of brutal fighting and two weeks of a scrappy ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on March 13, suddenly announced that “the main part” of Russia’s forces currently in Syria will pull out from the country, claiming that their objectives had largely been met and it was time to focus on peace talks. Assuming that this is …