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The 1000 Electricity Transmission and Trade Project for Central Asia and South Asia (CASA), or CASA-1000, project is a groundbreaking initiative in terms of cooperation in the fields of energy. It is believed that the project will set new levels of economic and regional cooperation in this region that is abundant in natural resources to produce huge amounts of electricity. …

‘Even though human life may be the most precious thing on earth, we always behave as if there were something of higher value than human life.’ These words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a renowned French aristocrat, struck my mind when I saw the heart-wrenching images of brutally-murdered Gaza children. In today’s world, where abuse or misuse of an animal may …

HISTORICAL OPPORTUNITY OR CONTEMPORARY OPPORTUNISM? The recent crisis that is threatening Iraq in the form of ISIS has brought to the fore the issue of the probable independence of Kurdistan as the newest state in the world. While the Kurds see the present crisis as a historical opportunity to consolidate their much-desired sovereign state on the plea that Iraq as …

Discussion about water in South Asia, in particular the shared rivers of the region, is vociferous, antagonistic and increasingly associated with national security. Renewable water resources in the region have fallen dramatically on a per capita basis since the 1960s. India hit the ‘water stress’ mark around a decade ago, Pakistan slightly earlier. Groundwater is fast depleting in India, Pakistan …

The pace and rapidity with which the fragile state-building process in Iraq has imploded is almost unbelievable. Observers around the world are stunned by the speed and scope of the assaults on every major city in the upper Tigris River Valley ‘ including Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city ‘ by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). The group has been marching …

The EU citizens, in recent elections to the European Parliament (EP), sent a strong and clear message to the European leaders to take a lesson from their low turnout and their choices to move to the extreme sides of the political spectrum. The EP election results reflected political and social trends of recent years in the EU. Although the general …

The current chaos in Iraq is largely attributed to the ill-conceived US invasion of Iraq, the dismantling of the Ba’athist state apparatus and the hasty withdrawal of American troops. But, Iraq was not ready enough to assume control of its own security situation when the US decided to withdraw forces in December 2011. The wisdom of that decision will long …

“I must say that OMG can be a very good choice for females because it offers a scheduled job.” Former Chief Instructor Common Training Programme (CTP); DG Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) Pakistan Jahangir’s World Times (JWT): How do you see the importance of Office Management Group (OMG) in Pakistan’s bureaucratic structure? Aamir Hasan (AH): I think OMG is a key …

The leadership turnover in China has taken place in a shifting political situation. There have been increased calls for more political accountability and multi-candidate elections, broader media freedom and financial reform. We need to watch this closely. The behaviour of Chinese leadership for change will determine whether China will continue its phenomenal ‘rise’ or will it be hampered by the …

In an editorial last month (July 05, 2014), The New York Times lamented ‘India’s role in the nuclear race’ in South Asia and questioned the double standards being applied in a country-specific preferential treatment to it by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a 48-member body established in 1974 after India’s first nuclear test to ensure that civilian trade in nuclear …