Daily Articles

THE alliance that defeated the militant Islamic State group in Mosul was unusual. Fighting alongside the Iraqi army were not only US forces but also Iran-backed militias. A few weeks ago, with IS on the point of defeat, I spoke to a US officer in Baghdad and suggested he might want to praise Tehran for having stood shoulder to shoulder …

In a shattering blow to Pakistan’s higher education sector, the finance ministry has slashed the development budget of all universities of Pakistan by more than 60 percent. The original budget allocated for the higher education sector in 2016-2017 was Rs21.48 billion. But only Rs8.42 billion has been released. The funds were diverted towards other pet transportation schemes and left the …

I was surprised by a conversation I had with a senior official from Islamabad who was visiting Washington to hold discussions with representatives of the Trump administration. I suggested to him that one of the subjects he should take up is the need for America’s continued support for the Paris Climate Accord. “Why should that be of concern to us,” …

Ethnic conflicts have been a key feature since the dawn of the modern nation-state system. Pakistan’s history is also witness to several ethnicity-based conflicts, one of which also led to the dismemberment of the country in 1971. Pakistan is still facing a low-key conflict in the province of Balochistan, which gnaws at the country’s overall development. Therefore, it becomes important …

By: Raza Muhammad Khan In 2016, the UNHCR reported that over 31 million Muslims from seven Islamic countries – 12 million from Syria, 4.7 million from Afghanistan, 4.2 million from Iraq, 2.9 million from Sudan, 2.6 million from Somalia, 2.5 million from Nigeria and 2.1 million from Yemen – had been forcibly displaced due to conflicts or violence in these …

By: Ignacio Artaza THE international community adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 as a new global development agenda, encompassing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development for all. Meeting the goals requires international, national and local commitments, partnerships and innovative thinking. But it also requires money. To achieve the ambitious targets, estimates suggest that $5 to …

By: DR QAISAR RASHID  “Though President Donald Trump has not finalised any policy on Afghanistan, it can be surmised that, in its essential detail, Trump’s prospective policy would be an extension of Obama’s Af-Pak strategy.” Afghanistan is an important component of the US foreign policy. Just four months after winning the election, former US President Barack Obama declared the US …

By: David Rothkopf The world changed this past week in ways that it may take decades to fully appreciate. With the opening of its first overseas military base in Djibouti, China sent an unmistakable message that its role in the world is changing. The implications for the Middle East and Africa are immediate, but the larger message is that China …

By: Shahid Kardar Common sense would suggest that investments under the CPEC banner present an enviable opportunity for our economy to jump onto a significantly higher growth path on a sustainable basis. Is this logic and the envisaged gains valid allowing for the terms and conditions governing these ventures and the capability of Pakistan’s economy to exploit its potential? The …

By: Shahid Javed Burki In 1999, a group representing the world’s largest economies decided to meet regularly to reflect on the issues their economies faced. A decade later, they raised the level of the meetings to the heads of state. Represented in the group are 19 nations and the European Union. The largest group of nations belongs to Asia. It …