2017

I used to read op-eds and articles from three dailies besides regularly  consulting the JWT magazine. Jahangir World Times(JWT): First of all, please tell us about your educational background? Seerat Asghar Qureshi (SAQ): I got my early education from Strathmore School Larkana and I remained a topper throughout my school days. Then, I did my graduation in Business Administration from …

Persistent Questions What binds the nations to each other in their bilateral, multilateral and international relations? Is it the legality, or some other factor? If it is legality, what is the source of it? Is it the international law? If yes, where is it to be found? What is its source? These questions, more often than not, recur continually. Another …

“Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried.” — Sir Winston Churchill Democracy is one of the ultimate ideals that modern civilizations strive to create, or preserve. As a system of governance, democracy is supposed to allow extensive representation and inclusiveness of as many people and views as possible to feed into the …

Starting the debate on government of the educated, by the educated “Democracy is a certain form of government in which Men are counted but not weighed.” — Allama Iqbal It is natural to think that the wise ought to rule. This thinking was behind the idea of “Philosopher King” propounded by Plato in his “The Republic”. Plato argues that kings …

Pakistan was thought of having abandoned its pro-Taliban policy in Afghanistan after becoming an ally in the US-led war on terror that was started in the wake of 9/11 incident. However, the unfolding of events during the recent years suggests that the country still has links with the Taliban despite being relentlessly subjected to scathing criticism by the US and …

“How can low- and middle-income societies improve the conditions of their people?” This question keeps continuously resonating around the world. There has been a growing strand of literature for answering problems of development in a new light. It emphasizes that in order to address the problem of development, we need to understand better the structure of economies and polities and …

Even in the absence of official confirmation from New Delhi, the speculation that India is considering a move from its no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons is most worrying. Such a potential move poses a serious threat to the entire region. The suggestion from some hawkish quarters in India that a change in posture will deter countries supporting violent non-state actors …

On 6th April, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) issued its Asian Development Outlook 2017. The report predicts that the developing Asia will continue to perform well this year even as recovery in the major industrial economies remained weak. It further predicted that the region’s economy will expand by 5.7 percent in 2017 and 2018. “Growth is picking up in 30 …

Iran has announced the final list of candidates for its presidential race, with moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani likely to face a strong challenge from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi

Since its inauguration, Afghanistan’s National Unity Government (NUG) has been facing a daunting challenge of terrorism that every now and then hits the country. Every time an attack takes place, calls for holding peace talks with Taliban are made by Afghan civil society and the parliamentarians. Although Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries and international community had promised to broker the talks and …