Study Kit

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 …

By: ZAHID HUSSAIN CHINA recently hosted 29 heads of state and government at the Belt and Road Forum, reinforcing the country’s claim to leadership of an emerging geopolitical and economic world order. The summit conference that also attracted representatives of more than 40 other countries and multilateral financial agencies was the clearest expression yet of China breaking out of its …

By: Madiha Afzal PAKISTAN wants its Afghan refugees to go home. The repatriation numbers are staggering: more than 600,000 Afghan refugees are said to have returned home from Pakistan in 2016, to a country still under attack by the Afghan Taliban. In April alone, at least 140 soldiers and military officers died in an assault on an Afghan military base, …

By: JANE PERLEZ and YUFAN HUANG VANG VIENG, Laos — Along the jungle-covered mountains of Laos, squads of Chinese engineers are drilling hundreds of tunnels and bridges to support a 260-mile railway, a $6 billion project that will eventually connect eight Asian countries. Chinese money is building power plants in Pakistan to address chronic electricity shortages, part of an expected …

By: Zahid Gishkori Pakistan’s stance ISLAMABAD: Legal team of Pakistan on Monday told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it had no jurisdiction to review the proceedings in Pakistan and could not hand over the spy to India. “We told the court (ICJ) that India was trying to create a smoke screen. We told the court that India was …