Daily Current Affairs

By: STEPHEN J. HADLEY and MOEED YUSUF The Trump administration’s Afghanistan policy review provides an opportunity to confront a central truth: No strategy, even with more troops, will succeed without reducing Pakistan’s support for the Afghan Taliban and the affiliated Haqqani network that is responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against the United States and its partners in Afghanistan. …

By: Ismail Khan EVEN before the process leading to Fata reforms could take off, it was beset by two problems: the Panama Papers leaks and formidable opposition from one of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s closest allies, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman. And if there were some doubts, the first indication came with the turbaned Maulana warning to …

By: SUNG-YOON LEE With its first successful test on Sunday of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, North Korea stands on the verge of becoming a complete and verifiable nuclear power that poses a direct threat to the United States. This latest act of defiance came just days after the swearing-in of Moon Jae-in as president of South Korea and hours before …

By: Mazhar Abbas One of the reasons why we have not been able to ‘produce leaders’ is lack of democracy and democratic process within political parties. Even dynasty-based parties are now finding it difficult to carry on their style of politics. Three major reasons remain main hurdle in building democratic institutions including political parties. They are: (1) interference of the …

By: Katrina vanden Heuvel President Trump hasn’t decided whether to sign off on his generals’ request for more troops for Afghanistan. Ironically, this would be one instance in which Trump — and the country — would benefit from repudiating President Barack Obama’s example. Instead of yet another troop surge in America’s longest war, now heading toward its 16thbirthday, Trump should …

By: Niaz A Shah It was a sensible move on Pakistan’s part to argue the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) simply because it has an arguably winnable case. Pakistan needs to adopt a two-pronged strategy even if provisional measures are indicated by the ICJ. Provisional measures do not touch on merits of the case, …

By: Dr Raza Khan Since the emergence of the modern state after the Westphalia peace treaty, developed states have been pursuing foreign policies in a way that it brings maximum benefits to their population. States have been designing foreign policies to maximise benefits and minimise losses. Against this backdrop assessing Pakistan’s foreign policy, in a nutshell, hasn’t been a great …

By: NATHANIEL POPPER As the hackers behind the global ransomware attack demand payment in Bitcoin, here is a look at the basics behind the electronic currency. Why are hackers using Bitcoin? The digital currency Bitcoin has emerged as a favorite tool for hackers demanding a ransom for a simple reason: You can start accepting Bitcoin anywhere in the world without …

By: Roger Cohen PARIS — In the end the French election turned on the most unlikely of subjects: Europe. Yes, the ugly European duckling of 2016 politics — rejected by Britain, mocked by President Trump — ushered Emmanuel Macron into the Élysée Palace as France’s youngest president. Macron, throughout his campaign, was strong in his support of the European Union …

By: Atta-ur-Rahman During the last two years, I have travelled to Austria, Italy and France to explore the possibility of establishing top class engineering and technology universities in Pakistan. These journeys were to convince the leading varsities in these countries to form consortia of their best universities which could then set up top class educational institutions in Pakistan. We spend …