No easy off-ramps are available to resolve the power struggle between Pakistan’s ruling coalition and opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Imran Khan. In March, security forces and Khan supporters violently clashed over government attempts to force him to appear in court. The power struggle constrains Pakistani leaders from tackling the country’s worsening economic difficulties, prompting many Pakistanis to move […]

In the West, the existence of a “deep state” remains a contentious issue. Many activists and political outcasts have referred to it, even targeted it, while mainstream media outlets have rushed to condemn the concept as a conspiracy theory. Even so, many in Britain, for example, still refer to the “Establishment”. And the late US President John F. Kennedy famously […]

If nuclear war does break out between India and Pakistan, they will only have themselves to blame. Since the early 1970s they have been walking along the unmarked path that leads to nuclear holocaust and enough people both within and without have told them how to turn back. Even today if Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Narendra Modi […]

Emboldened by the victory of its ideological counterparts in Afghanistan, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has resurged in a deadly fashion. In January, the banned group carried out its deadliest attack on a mosque in Peshawar since the Army Public School (APS) attack in 2014. TTP, an ally of the Afghan Taliban, takes its inspiration of imposing Sharia Law in Pakistan’s tribal […]

Terrorist attacks in Pakistan peaked in 2013, averaging just under four attacks a day, with nearly 2700 total fatalities. The latest trends suggest that 2023 may be worse, with almost 200 terror-related incidents and at least 340 fatalities by March. Is Pakistan reliving the scary spectre of 2013? It may be — the last quarter of 2022 set the tone […]

These days triumphalism and despair are the contrasting moods in New Delhi and Islamabad. There is no denying that India has acquired much global power and influence in recent decades. Today, India presents an optimistic vision of the future, a bankable, stable, and responsible player in the world order. The timing of India’s rise is just right. The western powers […]

After the US invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 attack and the fall of the Taliban government in Kabul, Pakistan provided a valuable assistance in the US-led war on terror to the US, including air access and ground routes for NATO supplies, and worked as a Non-NATO ally. While in exchange, the US has helped Pakistan with economic and military support […]

Protection of a nation’s sovereignty, people, and resources from external and internal threats that can jeopardize its stability and well-being is the most critical strategic interest for any state and its survival. Prioritizing national security as the topmost strategic concern is even more critical for states like Pakistan that have historical baggage of border disputes, wars, and unresolved geopolitical issues […]

A Pakistani intelligence official was killed and seven of his team members were injured in an encounter with militants in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, the country’s military said. The region has seen a resurgence of Islamist militant attacks since late last year, including a deadly bombing of a mosque in the city of Peshawar that killed over 100 people, mostly […]

A Pakistani court on Tuesday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan a weeklong bail in two new cases in which he faces terrorism charges, officials said. The ruling gave the embattled ousted premier and now popular opposition leader another brief reprieve from arrest. Since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April, the 70-year-old former cricket player turned […]