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The Future of Afghan Quagmire
Is the Internal or external Dynamics more Important?
Context
After numerous promising starts and hard stops, Afghan peace process is once again making progress. The initiation...
Pulwama Attack And The Indian Strategic Calculus Against Pakistan – From Cold Start To...
By Arif Ansar
Context
While the Pakistan-India tensions are known to flare
up occasionally, the present one over the February 14 Pulwama incident has calmed
down for the...
Understanding Trump’s America First Doctrine And Its Implications
Arif Ansar
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Analysts and scholars from a variety of origins and backgrounds have described the present state of global affairs as going through a transition....
The Impact Of Trump’s Victory On US-Australia Alliance, Pivot To Asia
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Donald Trump’s decision to nominate the CEO of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson, for the position of Secretary of State will have surprised Australians probably as...
Trump’s Pivot To Russia And US Foreign Policy
By Arif Ansar and Dr Claude Rakisits
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As President-elect Donald Trump puts together his cabinet that will shape the new American outlook, international actors are...
Germany Becomes The Bastion Of Liberal Values But Challenges Remain For Recent Migrants
Germany has long been receiving migrants from different countries. However, the past few years, the crisis with migrants from the Middle East and Africa has intensified. People...
Uri Attack, Afghan Reconciliation, CPEC, and US Pakistan Relations
POLITACT and NEXT TV co-hosted a special TV program to analyze the perceptions and perspectives surrounding the US-Pakistan relations on September 28, 2016, especially...
The Emerging Geopolitics The Suicide Bombing in Peshawar -The Revenge Attacks Begins
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Retaliation was expected from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for or a number of reasons, the most important being the death of Baitullah Mehsud; thus...
APEC and ASEAN – Competing or Complimentary Organizations
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APEC and ASEAN are the two main bodies facilitating cooperation between nations of the Asia Pacific region. This article seeks to stipulate the main...
The Japanese Amau Doctrine
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How weak countries carrying economic significance become playground for foreign interests
June 9, 2009
The Amau Doctrine is the Japanese equivalent of America’s Monroe Doctrine (1823),...
The Asymmetry in the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry
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By Justin McCauley
As the power contest between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran intensifies, an important factor is Iran’s...
The Future Of Asymmetric Warfare In Middle East
By Justin McCauley
As the power contest between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran intensifies, an important factor is Iran’s...
America’s Middle East Policy; Mitigating Iran, Saudi Arabia Tensions
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By Dr Claude Rakisits
Washington’s management of its wobbly and contested Middle East policy has just become whole lot more difficult and complicated with the...
What To Make Of The Xi–Obama Washington Summit?
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By Dr Claude Rakisits
This was never going to be an easy meeting between the leaders of one of the oldest democracies and the world’s...
The War Against ISIS That No One In US Wants To Hear About
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Dr Claude Rakisits
As Australia prepares to expand its air war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to Syria in response to...
Understanding The Threat Posed By Islamic State To South Asia
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Arif Ansar
Mixed reviews have emerged on the threat posed by IS to South Asia. One of the arguments postulates that the group will not...
What Does Iraq Represent; Ground Reality And Public Narrative
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More and more the ground reality is at odd with the narrative that is presented publicly to explain it. There are several reasons for...
Campaign Against Terror; The Confrontation Between State, Non-State Actors
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As the concentration of Pakistan and the world was focused on the Karachi airport attack, alarming questions were raised once again. Some of these...
Managing The Rise Of China; Future Crisis Management
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While the international relations usually move at a steady pace, but from time to time game changing events push a rethink in global affairs....
The Significance Of Afghan Elections, Voter Turnout, And Future Challenges
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Media discussion on Urdu VOA Radio program ‘In the News’ hosted by Asad Hassan.
The debate assesses the significance of elections in Afghanistan, voter turnout,...
The European Crisis Over Ukraine, Crimea And NATO, China
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The debate has continued over what more NATO and European Union can do to punish Russia for taking over Crimea and to stop it...
What To Make Of The Taliban Ceasefire In Pakistan?
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A media discussion on VOA Dewa Radio’s Pashto program Washington2Khyber hosted by Rahman Bunairee. The debate evaluates various angles of the month long ceasefire...
Karzai’s Strategic Intent And Bilateral Security Agreement
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The situation of Afghanistan is entering another turning point. After years of debate on the bilateral security agreement between the US and Afghanistan, its...
Iranian Deal And Transformation Of Middle East
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The process of transformation in the Middle East appears to be speeding up. If the western powers do reach an accord with Iran, it...
The Mysterious Killings Of Hakimullah Mehsud And Nasiruddin Haqqani
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The circumstances that doomed the TTP maestro in a drone strike on November 1st, and Haqqani Network’s top leader Nasiruddin Haqqani in an ambush...
Nawaz Sharif’s US Mission And Death Of Hakimullah Mehsud
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While Nawaz Sharif was still in the US and had not even met President Obama, some prominent analysts declared the visit a success. It...
Nawaz Sharif’s Visit; US-Pakistan Relations And China
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Nawaz Sharif’s team would have been relieved at the timely resolution of the fiscal impasse in US, allowing his visit to take place in...
Are The Reasons For US Gov’t Shutdown Political Or Ideological?
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The government shutdown continues in the US and worries are growing about the looming debt-ceiling deadline, and if the US will default. The media...
Deciphering Obama’s UN Speech; Non-State Actors, State Sovereignty, And Future Of UN
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President Obama delivered an overarching speech at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly session on September 24. The focus of the speech...
US-Russia Agreement On Syria, Talks With TTP And Nawaz Sharif’s Visit To Turkey
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Media discussion on VOA Urdu Radio Program ‘In The News.’ The debate revolves around the search for political solution in Syria and the recent...
South Asian Media Reacts Strongly To The Syrian Crisis
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By Jehangir Khattak
As President Barack Obama weighs his options on Syria in the face of significant international opposition to his plans to punish President...
The New American Approach And The Russian Proposal On Syria
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Media discussion on VOA Urdu Radio Program ‘Round Table.’ The discussion revolves around President Obama’s speech on Tuesday, September 11, and the Russian proposal...
Striking Syria; Misalignment of Policy Goals, Strategy And Tactics
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In the aftermath of the chemical weapons attack, the American decision to punish Syria has already morphed in to something larger and a mismanaged...
Assessing Karzai’s Trip To Pakistan
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By Daud Khattak
If President Hamid Karzai, after his two-day Islamabad trip, headed back to Kabul with a hope, his host and interlocutor Nawaz Sharif...
What’s Behind Pakistan-India Border Tensions?
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Since Nawaz Sharif came to power, he has consistently talked about improving ties with India and Pakistan’s other neighbors. However, the otherwise calm situation...
Western Interests, Egyptian Army, Islamists And The Region
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Egypt has been garnering a lot of attention of late and even Syria has taken a back seat. Most of the focus is on...
Pushing For Peace In The Islamic World
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The events of the Islamic world seem to have come full circle. Major western powers are now talking about negotiating peace as it relates...
Wikileaks, Snowden, And Free Flow of Information
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Since the first leaks of Wikileaks, the disclosure of classified information, from one source or the other, has become a norm. The founder of...
The Dilemma Of Afghan Representation And Reconciliation
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As the reality of the Taliban Doha office settles, there is a sense of shock in some quarters. Nowhere is this sentiment more prevalent...
The Security, Economic Calculus Of Pakistan’s New Government
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Wars used to be different in the past. Declaration of war involved a state of emergency and the conduct of business was obviously not...
Sino, Indian Role In Afghanistan; Implications For Pakistan
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The new Chinese Premier Li Kegiang made his first official visit to India and Pakistan last week. The trip was watched closely around the...
Emerging Middle East; Arab Spring, Extremism, And Proxy Wars
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The conflict in Afghanistan is unique in many respects but there is one obvious peculiarity. The coalition there is truly global in nature. The...
Obama’s Trip to Israel And Turkish Apology
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President Obama’s trip to the Middle East came at an interesting juncture. Netanyahu just appointed a new cabinet and Obama himself started his second...
The Shape Of US-Turkey Ties, Europe, And SCO
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While US-Turkish relations are usually quite unblemished, recent events have caused them to score a little. One of the incidents responsible for this was...
Pakistan’s Strategic Environment And Its Threat Perception
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By Brigadier (Rtd.) Imran Malik
The strategic environment in Pakistan is evolving at a frenetic pace. There are multiple scenarios that could unfold. Is Pakistan...
Afghan Reconciliation, War On Terror And Future Politics of Pakistan
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With the carnage of Quetta and Swat in perspective, a question to ponder over is: at a time when the US is withdrawing from...
The Future Of US War On Terror: National Versus Fiscal Security
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The eleventh hour for the US may have finally arrived in the form of the fiscal cliff. In the aftermath of the elections, the...
New Gaza Crisis, More Arab Revolts
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It was the impotence displayed by the autocratic regimes of Middle East to the Gaza crisis of 2008-09 that provided some stimulus to the...
The Future Of American Power Projection
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Now that the buzz about the US elections is over, the focus is immediately shifting to the direction of its foreign policy during Obama’s...
Hajj, Arab Revolt And Mullah Omar
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At the occasion of Eid ul Adha this year, two important sermons were delivered. One of them was from the Mufti-e-Azam Sheikh Abdul Aziz...
Emerging Tensions In Relations of Global Powers; Implications For Pakistan, India
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Since the Non Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran, analysts have been weighing its significance. One can understand why there is confusion; in times of...
Education And Militancy In The Frontier Region Of Pakistan
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By: Farooq Yousaf
Since its inception, the state of education in Pakistan has presented a grim picture. With the onset of militancy and extremist narrative,...
The NAM Summit And War Of Perceptions
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The five-day Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit was held from August 26-31 in Tehran, hosted by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran assumed the 3-year presidency of...
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Insaf And Waziristan
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The decision of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) to lead a march next month to the notorious Waziristan area is generating quite a buzz. Especially, after...
Deciphering The Saudi Call For An Emergency OIC Summit
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Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal made a surprising and alarming announcement last week. He declared that King Abdullah has called for an emergency...
The Dynamics Of American Politics And Coming Elections
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This being an election year in the US, international actors are attempting to anticipate what the outcome will mean for issues and policies that...
Understanding the Institutional Tussles In Middle East, Pakistan
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Islamic states of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia were mostly arbitrarily and hastily crafted as the World War ended. Now as...
The Crisis In Pakistan-US Relations: Analysis of Recent Events
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By Dr. Sohail Mahmood, Chairman Department of Politics and International Relations, International Islamic University, Islamabad
On November 26, 2012 in a brazen incident NATO attacked the Salala post...
Media, Cyber Wars And Change
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The media debacle that unfolded during the last couple of weeks is not unique to Pakistan; it has already rocked the West. Rupert Murdoch...
US-India Strategic Dialogue – Why Is India Reluctant?
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Soon after President Obama came to office, an exhaustive review of the US Afghan policy was initiated. The policy that evolved represented continuity and...
From Chicago To Shangri La And Beijing
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The 12th meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held from June 6 to...
The Spying Healer – Dr. Shakeel Afridi
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By Mohammad Zahid Wahla
The fact that Dr. Shakeel Afridi was working as an informant for the US Government is pretty clear given the outspoken...
Can US-Turkey Drone Deal Be A Model For Pakistan?
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The Turkish President Abdullah Gul met President Obama on the sidelines of the Chicago Summit to discuss the supply of American drones. The US...
The Price For A Passage To Afghanistan
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Most of the debate on evaluating the resolution of NATO Afghan supply lines in Pakistan has been confined to matters related to the US...
The Security Dilemma of UAE, GCC
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In the last two months or so, UAE has witnessed some puzzling and unprecedented activities indicating early signs of trouble. For example, after Egypt,...
Trouble Brewing in Horn of Africa, Northern Africa
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Trouble continues to brew in Northern Africa and the Horn of Africa, with fighting escalating in the Yemen, Sudan and South Sudan and Al...
India’s Military Preparedness And Risks To Its Homeland Security
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The military preparedness of India and its defense spending have lately been getting a lot of media attention. Obviously, military readiness is connected with...
International Regimes And The Use Of Human Rights As A Soft Power Weapon
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The principle of Human Rights is a core component of the modern political system. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was born out of...
Cameron, Obama Meeting And The Future Of UK-US Ties
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British Prime Minister David Cameron spent three days in the US, meeting with President Barack Obama and various other officials. The visit comes hot...
The Future of Iran Strategy As Obama, Netanyahu Meet
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Iran was the central theme of a meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 5, 2012. The...
Court Martial Trial of Brigadier Ali Khan And Radicalization Of Pakistan Army
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The court martial proceedings presently underway in Pakistan against Brigadier Ali Khan, exemplify the strains with in its Army, as the nation carries out...
The India, China Vying For Influence In Maldives
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Trouble in the Maldives is always going to be of interest to two nations in particular: India and China. With the recent political unrest...
China’s Vice President Xi Jinping Visits US
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China’s Vice President Xi Jinping concludes a four-day visit to Washington Saturday, after spending time with President Barack Obama and other top US officials....
ISI-CIA Cooperation Continues As Military Ties Suffer: Ambassador Munter
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While addressing the Harvard Kennedy School on Feb 13, US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter stated that despite the recent tensions, ISI and CIA...
Deciphering The Position Of India, Pakistan On Syria
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The current turmoil in Syria is creating many divisions within the international community. Pakistan and India recently voted for a UN resolution against the...
The Iranian Factor In India’s Ties With US And Israel
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Iran and India are at an interesting point in their relationship. The US sanctions against Iranian oil imports has forced countries to take sides,...
Obama’s State of the Union Address
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Tuesday, 24 January 2012 saw US President Barack Obama delivered his third State of The Union address to Congress. While the overall theme was...
The Status Of US-Pakistan Ties
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The state of US-Pakistan relations fluctuates regularly to such an extent that it is difficult to determine where it may stand on a given...
General Kiyani’s Visit To China And Civil Military Tensions In Pakistan
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Tensions between the civilian and military establishments in Pakistan are rising apace as the fallout from the “Memogate” scandal and the NATO Mohmand attack...
US Sanctions On Iran Oil Exports – Reactions And Implications
On the last night of 2011, US signed some of the toughest sanctions to date in a bid to coerce Iran into abandoning its...
Kim Jong Il’s Death: What Now For North Korea?
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On December 17, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack while aboard a train, according to the official statement released...
Regional Implications: Fall Of The Kandaharian Beast (RQ-170 Sentinel) In Iran
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Iran claims to have brought down a state-of-the-art US surveillance drone near its border with Afghanistan. RQ-170 Sentinel, also known as the Beast of...
The Memogate, Ambassador Husain Haqqani And Afghan Reconciliation
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On the surface, Memogate came as much a surprise to the government of Pakistan as that of the US. However, the shift in US...
Afghan Conflict – Misalignment of Threat Perception and the Future
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Before all international actors can work harmoniously against the threat of terrorism, it's essential they share the same perception of the threat. Perceptions are...
The Death Of Saudi Crown Prince And The Emerging Regional Security Architecture After US...
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On Saturday, October 22nd Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz died while in New York undergoing medical treatment, reportedly for colon cancer. The death has...
Hillary Clinton’s Visit To Pakistan, Future of Afghanistan And US-Pakistan Relations
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US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton headed a powerful delegation to Pakistan for a two-day visit. The trip to Islamabad was preceded by a...
The Season Of Revolts And The Future Of Nation-State
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The Arab Spring is now well underway and appears to have spread to other continents as well. Early signs of a European Spring are...
The Future Of European Union
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The EU came into being at a time in history when liberal political theory -- of cooperation between states being not only possible but...
The Status Of US AfPak Strategy: Who Has The Initiative? Part 1
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To understand the current predicament the US-Pakistan relations is in, the evolution of US AfPak strategy since President Obama took office needs to be...
Haqqani Network, The Future Of Afghan Conflict And US-Pakistan Relations
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The role of the controversial Haqqani network has come to the forefront in the latest round of tension to hit US-Pakistan relations. Reports coming...
Pakistan And The Eurasia Trade and Energy Corridor
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Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari travelled to China’s restive Xinjiang province on August 30th for a regional tour as well as for the China-Eurasia...
The Return Of Nationalism
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In the aftermath of World War II countries across Europe, but especially in Western Europe began to search for ways of preventing the recurrence...
The Arrest of Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai and the Role of European and American...
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The FBI recently detained an American citizen, Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, who heads the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council (KAC). Fai has been blamed by...
The Role of Pakistan’s Politician and Military and Elimination of Osama Bin Laden
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In the aftermath of Osama’s elimination, the statements emanating from US are referring to protecting democracy in Pakistan while also praising the sacrifices of...
Interpreting the State of US Pakistan Relations and Political Reconciliation in Afghanistan
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In the aftermath of Raymond Davis incident, US-Pakistan relations continue to trek along a bumpy road. Last week, the head of Pakistan’s Inter Services...
The Impact of Middle East Situation On Pakistan-Iran Relations and Afghanistan
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In the backdrop of growing unrest in Arab world, especially in Bahrain and Yemen, growing number of officials from the Gulf countries are visiting...
Perspectives of Key Stakeholders on GCC’s Intervention in Bahrain
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The Gulf Cooperation Council forces from Saudi Arabia and the UAE moved into Bahrain on March 14 to assist the country deal with the...
Drone Attack in North Waziristan Sparks Another Controversy
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The US-Pakistan relations continue to be in hot waters. Only a day after Raymond Davis left Pakistan, a controversy is emerging over a drone...
Commander of Saudi Arabia’s Land Forces Meets Pakistan Army Chief
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According to media reports Commander of Royal Saudi Land Forces Lieutenant General Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah Al-Murshid visited General Headquarters (GHQ) and met Pakistan’s...
Pakistan Army Comments on Drone Attacks and Post Raymond US-Pakistan Relations
In the aftermath of the Raymond Davis incident, the signs showing the nature of the evolving US-Pakistan relations are beginning to emerge. In this...
The Connection Between Improving Pakistan-India Ties and Staggering US-Pakistan Relations
While US-Pakistan Relations remain tense, there are signs indicating Pakistan-India relations are improving. Pakistan and India announced the resumption of dialogue on February 10th,...
Perceptions Around the Assassination of Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minority Affairs
P
akistan’s Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, a Roman Catholic, was gunned down in Islamabad on March 2, 2011. This is a second...
Altaf Hussain’s Call to Pakistan Army and Political Change in Pakistan
The outspoken leader of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has once again called for the army to take on the helms of the approaching...
The Case of Raymond Davis And US-Pakistan Relations – The Evolution Of Political And...
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The case of Raymond Davis is shrouded by complexity, no matter which angle one pursues. The incident has not only impacted the US-Pakistan relations...
Egypt – The Day After, Social Media Assisted Revolutions
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Under mounting public unrest, President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11th. International relations experts are unanimous that Middle East is going through...
The Status of Change in Egypt and Muslim Brotherhood
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After Tunisia, the protest in Egypt appears to be spreading and gaining momentum. However, Egypt is not Tunisia and stakes for American and Israeli...
The Tunisian Revolution, Wikileaks, and Social Media
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According to media reports, the Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has fled the country under mounting public unrest. He reportedly has arrived...
President Zardari’s Visit To The US – The Status of Afghan War
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Soon after meeting Vice President Joe Biden, President Zardari is heading to US to take part in the memorial services honoring Richard Holbrooke. This...
The Concerns Over Advancing Chinese Military Capabilities
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As Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Pakistan and US Secretary of Defense continues his three-day visit to China, the Chinese have recently disclosed...
The Politics and Future of Tax Reforms in Pakistan
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The Governor of Punjab province Salman Taseer was assassinated today in a posh Kohsar Market of Islamabad. According to media reports he was coming out...
The Passing Away of Richard Holbrooke and the Direction of Pakistan’s Politics
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The passing away of Special Representative Richard Holbrooke would be strongly felt in Pakistan and US. The government's attempt to introduce IMF mandated Reformed...
Gaza Crisis: Implications for the World
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As the Gaza Conflict unfolds, it gives rise to alarming levels of discrepancy in global perceptions and perspectives surrounding this crisis. This can not...
Pak-Afghan Border and Asymmetric Warfare – Hot Pursuit, Boots on the Ground, and Drone...
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The controversial tactics of unmanned drones, hot pursuit, and boots on the ground have continued to bedevil the relations of US, Pakistan and Afghanistan....
The New Parliamentary Republic Of Kyrgyzstan – US and Russian Reactions
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June 27, 2010 saw the overwhelming majority of Kyrgyz voters approve the new constitution, transforming Kyrgyzstan to a parliamentary republic. The news was received...
The Suicide Attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar – A Lesson in...
As the Afghan war spreads deeper into Pakistan and its tribal areas, violence in the country's urban areas has increased. Those who view these...
MUMBAI ATTACK – Existential Threat to Pakistan
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In the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai Attacks, former two-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and members of the other major political parties of Pakistan,...
The Politics of the Drone Attacks in Pakistan – Its Domestic, Regional and Global...
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The drone attacks by the United States in the tribal areas (FATA) have become increasingly controversial in Pakistan. The U.S. argues that these attacks...
The Changing Balance of Shiite and Sunni Influence in the Middle East and its...
Context
Most conflicts arise from differences of perspectives as to how to view the world, which spring from historical contexts and interests, which in turn...
The Gaza Crisis and Its Implications for the World
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Background
Although still unfolding, the Gaza crisis will create a credibility crisis on all Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) fronts across the globe and will...
Mumbai Attack and the Aftermath
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As Pakistan tries to secure mediation and resolution of the Kashmir issue, India is exerting every effort to link the Kashmir Jihadis with AQ...