The Gulf’s Conflicts and Their Cost to Pakistan
Throughout the long and often turbulent history of the Gulf, the states of that vital region have repeatedly been plunged into the furnace of war, with consequences that…
The Public Purview
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From Hormuz to Bab el-Mandeb: The Global Energy Crisis and Pakistan’s Diplomatic Test
The escalating crisis in the Middle East has now moved far beyond a regional conflict. Severe disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,…
The Grammar of Silence
By: Tahzeeba Bukhari A hand went up in the seventh row, then stopped halfway. The girl glanced first at her teacher, then at the…
Truth Above Noise
At a time when information travels across the globe in seconds, the greatest challenge facing modern societies is no longer obtaining news but determining…
LET’S DRAW THE LINES — WITH A PENCIL, NOT A DAGGER: PAKISTAN MUST NOT BLEED
■Lines can be changed. Boundaries can be redrawn. Administrative units can evolve. But Pakistan must not bleed.■ Perhaps I have been looking at the…
BORN WITH A DEBT
Every Pakistani citizen now carries a debt of roughly Rs325,000. A newborn carries it. A labourer carries it. A pensioner carries it. Even the…
Strategic Imperatives: Dismantling the Structural Foundations of Resurgent Militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The recrudescence of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has once again thrust the region into a precarious security dilemma, laying bare the persistent vulnerabilities within…
RUSSIA: THE BALLOT BOX, THE BELL-MAN AND THE HANDS BEHIND THE CURTAIN
The Eyrie was unusually quiet that evening. Beyond my west window, the Margalla Hills were slowly disappearing into dusk. Foxy, my mustard-coloured Volkswagen, rested…
Facing Balochistan’s Challenges
Lasting peace in Balochistan cannot be achieved through optimism alone. It requires a clear understanding of the province’s complex security, political and socioeconomic realities.…
The Journey of Knowledge or Continuous Torment: An Elegy on the Decline of the University of Gujrat!
By: Tahzeeba Bukhari In the semi-darkness of early dawn, when a thick veil rests upon the wide yet neat paths of Gujrat, thousands of…
When the Cup Cracks, the University Follows
In Japan there is an art called kintsugi. When a fine ceramic bowl shatters, no one throws it away. Instead, the fragments are rejoined…
A Diplomatic Test: Can Pakistan Become a Bridge for Peace?
By Ruqayya Naeem The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly is taking place at a particularly sensitive moment for the Middle East,…
Beyond the Bailout
Pakistan’s economic managers can point to a number of encouraging indicators. Inflationary pressures have eased compared to previous peaks, fiscal discipline has strengthened, and…
CUT OFF AND TRAPPED: WHEN A STATE GOES TOO FAR
There is something deeply painful about watching a country turn its own roads into barriers against its own people. A bridge that once carried…
Custodians or Owners: Inside Pakistan’s Data Protection Vacuum
By Falak Naz Batool In this digital era, most people in Pakistan remain unaware that their names, credentials, phone numbers, and fingerprints are not…
AI: A threat or opportunity for Pakistan
We live in an era of technology where the AI race has become a global race. In Pakistan, we often hear that AI will…
Border Security Imperative
Pakistan’s western frontier continues to pose one of the most serious security challenges confronting the state. The persistence of terrorist violence, coupled with the…