Study Kit

By Parvez Iftikhar ISLAMABAD: Information and communications technology (ICT) development in Pakistan has certainly received a healthy boost in 2016. This year broadband penetration rate increased from 3% to 15% and mobile broadband services are now available across 200 cities in the country. IT investments in Pakistan have also increased to $5.1 billion and the sector has been generating jobs with …

By Aadil Nakhoda KARACHI: Total exports from Pakistan have declined by more than 12% between 2013 and 2015. This decline is disconcerting, particularly as lower oil prices since 2014 were expected to improve the trade deficit. The expected outlook, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan, for 2016 does not look promising. Total exports were reported at $18 billion between …

Irfan Husain JUDGING from the rhetoric emanating from Tel Aviv, Israel is about to unleash Armageddon on all the 14 members of the UN Security Council that supported the recent resolution condemning the Zionist state for its settlement policy. It has stopped its aid programme to Senegal, and told New Zealand that its vote was tantamount to a “declaration of …

Umair Javed A PROCESS, dragged out for two years, is nearing conclusion as Punjab becomes the fourth and final province to instal elected local governments at the district and sub-district levels. Elections for mayor and chairperson slots held in December provide ample confirmation of the PML-N’s dominant position in the province: Lahore plus all 10 municipal corporations will have PML-N …

BY S Sadia Kazmi  Revisiting the Facts The recurring debate about nuclear security held at various international circuits claims to primarily create awareness through reviewing current security efforts, providing guidance and cultivating nuclear security culture. A “noble” cause indeed! However mostly the very framing of the ideals and the general tone of the outcomes of such meetings seem to be …

Russia, China and Pakistan have conducted a series of meetings on Afghanistan, though only details from the last one have been made available. Reportedly, one key suggestion to have come out is that Taliban figures be removed from the UN sanctions list as a means of enabling a talks-conducive environment in Afghanistan and countering the threat from Islamic State which …

BY Sultan M Hali Implications for the region India tested its Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its final operational configuration from Wheeler Island off Odisha on December 26, 2016, paving the way for its eventual induction into the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) after user-trials, reported Times of India (TOI).

BY Mehr Ispahani Looking back at the War on Terror This article was co-authored by Mehr Ispahani and Saima Ghazanfar The War on Terror had a major impact on Pakistan after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Pakistan Armed Forces had to face the threat of the al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who fled from Afghanistan and started targeting the state buildings, …

Joby Warrick THE militant Islamic State group starts the new year with a drastically depleted bank account, counterterrorism officials say, following months of intensified efforts to deprive the militants of oil profits and other revenue used to finance military operations and terrorists attacks abroad. Coalition aircraft in the past 15 months have destroyed more than 1,200 tanker trucks — including …

Ishrat Husain IN a country where negativity and cynicism reign supreme, critics and detractors of all kinds are revered, and emotional outbursts and fabricated stories dominate the air waves and social media, it is difficult to present a dispassionate analysis of national issues.