Global Security Advisor
More Global Security Studies
US-Pakistan Relations And Afghanistan Under Biden
Context
As Biden administration formulates its Pakistan policy, and reviews the Afghan peace deal reached in February last year - a debate is raging in...
Biden’s Middle East Policy, China-Iran Ties, and CPEC
Guest Analyst Muhammad Siraj ul Huda Khan assisted in researching and developing this article.
Context
PoliTact periodically invites leading regional and global experts to understand the...
Promise And Premonition; Historical Context Of The US-Pakistan Relations And Emerging China Factor
A Ten-Year Assessment of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009
By Waleed Hashmi
Background
Many observers describe U.S-Pakistan affairs as torturous, mercurial, and enigmatic. Some...
Global Socio-Political And Economic Change; The Battle For Alternative Systems
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It’s no secret that the technology and communication revolution has produced manifold socio-political consequences. While there have been many advantages, these advancements are also...
‘America First’ And Future Of Globalization
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The election of Donald Trump in 2017, and unveiling of the ‘America First’ Doctrine, signified a marked departure from the political, economic, and security...
Imran-Trump Meeting; US-Pakistan Relations, Afghan Peace, and Kashmir
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The three-day visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the US was a significant ice breaking moment for the otherwise downward spiraling US-Pakistan ties....
The Evolving Power Shift; Multilateral Organization, Conflicts And Role of SCO
By Arif Ansar
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As the alliances associated with the global balance of power remain in the heightened state of flux, the organizations through which these...
Prospects for Afghan Peace and Restoration of Global Balance of Power
ContextAs the direct peace talks between the US and Afghan Taliban move along – the sixth round of talks started in Doha on May...
Examining Saudi-Iran Tensions And Its Impact On South Asia, China
By Arif Ansar
Context
In an endeavor to decipher the emerging geopolitical realities, PoliTact occasionally partners with leading thought centers to understand the multi faceted tangents...
Afghan Peace Process And Kashmir
Does The Road To Peace In Afghanistan Originate In Kashmir?
By Arif Ansar
Context
The conflict in Afghanistan has been continuing for the last 30 years or...
Jerusalem Declaration And The Future Of US Islamic World Ties
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For many President Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem came as a surprise. However, the changes in the...
Global Power Rebalancing And Societal Political Realignment In the Islamic World
Arif Ansar
Context
As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enters a new phase of political changes, questions are being raised about what it means for the...
The Third American-Afghan War And Transformation Of Perception On Afghan Taliban
By Arif Ansar and Dr Claude Rakisits
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For all intents and purposes US is entering the third stage of its military engagement in Afghanistan. The...
Global Power Tussles, War Against Extremism, And What It Means For Core, Peripheral Islamic...
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Increasingly the media sources whose job is to keep the audiences updated on current affairs, are producing material with little perspective. Moreover, the centers...
Trump’s Approach To The War Against Extremism
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As Donald Trump settles down in his role as the new president, a considerable amount of discussion is focused on how he is likely...
The Relevance Of Japanese Amau Doctrine To Modern Day Mega Trade Pacts
How Weak Countries Carrying Economic Significance Become Playground For Foreign Interests
Originally published on June 9, 2009 and being republished with additions. Another modification was...
The Transforming Threats And Alliances In The War Against Terror
Arif Ansar
As the global campaign against extremism progresses along, there is a need to understand the evolving dynamics of this fight that got initiated...
The Future of US-Saudi Ties
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By Dr Peter Harris
U.S.-Saudi relations are under intense scrutiny. Officials in Riyadh chafe at U.S. reluctance to engineer the overthrow of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad....
A 5-Point Agenda For The Western Balkans
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By Abdullah Khurram
The Balkan states have come a long way since the Yugoslav wars and the ethnic cleansing of the 90s. The region has...
Emerging Scenarios: Can IS Jeopardize Afghan Reconciliation, Pakistan-India Ties?
Context
By Shreyas Deshmukh
In August 2014 Ahrur-ul-Hind, a faction Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), became the first terrorist organization to join hands with the Islamic State (IS)...
Saudi Arabia: External And Internal Threats Looming
Context
By Dr Claude Rakisits
The royal rulers of Saudi Arabia must feel somewhat nervous of late. Seen from Riyadh, externally, the neighbourhood is not looking...
A Successful Strategy To Defeat Islamic State, Non State Actors
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By Arif Ansar and Claude Rakisits
What a difference two years can make. At the last NATO summit meeting in Chicago the world looked pretty...
Pakistan May Need A National Government, Power Sharing
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The story of the election outcome in Afghanistan has been followed by somewhat similar circumstances in Pakistan, albeit in slow motion. Afghanistan is presently...
US Middle East Policy; Dealing With Iran And Non-State Actors
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The American Middle East policy stands at a crucial juncture. The dramatic turn of events in Iraq, overthrow of democratically elected government in Egypt,...
US, Chinese Visions Compete In South Asia
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After more than a decade of status quo in the geopolitical environment of South Asia, the region is now entering a phase of tremendous...
The Growing Challenge Of Deciphering The News Media
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With the availability of numerous on-line news sites and global information sources, deciphering a given situation, or affairs of a particular part of the...
The Importance of Vantage Point; The South Asian Adjacency
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One rarely pays attention to where the terminology of Middle East, Near East, and Far East come from. To understand their history, helps to...
Why Pakistan Needs To Manage Its National Strategic Narrative
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In the era of information age and media wars, nations and governments have to manage the strategic discourse around major themes. It is critical...
The Future Of Central-South Asian Silk Road And Kashgar-Gawadar Economic Corridor
Context
Talking with the Taliban is proving to be quite a task. For many the difficult part was about deciding on either a military approach...
Pakistan’s National Security Policy: What Can Be Done?
Context
More than a decade in to the war against terror, Pakistan’s confusion persists. It has been unable to define if the enemy is internal or external,...
The Stumbling Blocks Toward Afghan Reconciliation
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Another round of trilateral meetings between Afghanistan, Pakistan and US have started. After the latest get together in Brussels last Wednesday, John Kerry commented,...
The Correlation Between Pakistan’s Threat Perception And Regional Economics
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As the US withdrawal from Afghanistan slated for late 2014 approaches, the politics of South and Central Asia is entering a particularly peculiar stage....
Pakistan’s Other Foreign Policy Challenge; Managing Ties Between Iran, Gulf States
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With Pakistan’s ties with India somewhat stabilized and Afghan reconciliation making positive headway, it can be safely assumed that US-Pakistan relations are also on...
Pakistan-India Ties: Enthusiasm Versus Reality
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After the initial hype, Pakistan-India ties appear to be settling down for the usual. To solve the Afghan quagmire, it was contended that Pakistan...
Pakistan’s Strategy After Malala Incident
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There is hardly a country under so much global scrutiny as Pakistan. What its citizens think, how they act, where they travel, are all...
The Perceptions Of Ethnic Cleansing In Pakistan
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Ethnic and sectarian strife is spreading in Pakistan. Hindus are migrating to India; Shias are being targeted with impunity; Pashtuns are suffering immeasurably and...
Saving Patience In US-Pakistan Ties
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Now that the Chicago conference is in the background and with the NATO supply lines still suspended, the question is what’s next in the...
The Symbolism Behind PM Erdogan’s Visit To Pakistan
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Tit-for-tat events have started to unfold in Pak-US relations, and if they are allowed to escalate unchecked, both nations will end up on the...
US-Afghanistan Strategic Deal And Future Prospects
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If there was any doubt that US and Afghanistan would not be able to reach a strategic deal, that notion was dispelled this week....
Geopolitics Of Energy Resources; What Can South Asia Learn From Europe
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The terms ‘fracking’ and ‘shale gas’ have become quite popular in the last ten years or so. Shale gas and techniques such as fracking...
The Future Of AfPak Beyond 2014
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With the date of US withdrawal from Afghanistan approaching, the focus of Pakistan, as well as that of other stakeholders, has shifted towards envisioning...
To Talk Or To Fight In Afghanistan
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In the aftermath of Obama and Netanyahu meeting in Washington, the tensions over Iran have receded a little, and the focus is shifting back...
The Roots of Civil-Military Tensions In Pakistan
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In the last few days, a number of scenarios are being discussed in the media that could play out in Pakistan, as a result...
The Resurgence Of Moderate Islamists
According to recent media reports, prominent Pakistani Taliban commanders have held meetings with Al-Qaeda leaders and Afghan Taliban. The first one was held on...
Impact Of The Afghan Endgame On The Direction Of Pakistan’s Politics
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While some analysts see no link between the Mohmand incident and the Memogate affair, it would be unwise to think so. This line of...
After Mohmand Attack – The Direction Of US Pakistan Relations
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As the US and Pakistan continue to bluff and posture to influence each other’s position over Afghanistan, one is hard pressed to think where...
The Drone War: Iran And The Beast of Kandahar – RQ 170 Sentinel
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During the last few weeks, Pakistan’s media has been focused on the events related to Memogate, the aftermath of the NATO Mohmand attack, Bonn...
The Evolution In The Threat Perceptions Of Middle East And South Asia Since 9/11
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The end of Cold War meant a significant shift in the threat perceptions of not only the two principals, but also pretty much every...
Senior Leadership Changes In Pakistan And US-Pakistan Relations
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The resignation of Ambassador Husain Haqqani has come at a crucial juncture of the Afghan War, as the political approach begins to gain momentum....
Pakistan’s ‘Look East’ Policy And India’s ‘Most Favored Nation’ Status
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As discussed previously, the geopolitical situation of the Middle East, especially the impact of Arab Spring and how Israel and western powers deals with...
The Interplay Of US, Pakistan and Afghan Election Cycles and Reconciliation in Afghanistan
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As the search for endgame in Afghanistan picks steam, the election cycle of Pakistan is also picking pace, just as it is in US....
The Geopolitics of Middle East Will Determine The Direction Of AfPak
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The major transformation underway in the Middle East has wide ranging global implications, including those for the adjacent regions. A critical inquiry from Pakistan’s...
Managing Unrest – Leading From The Edge of Chaos
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The theory of balance of power maintains that as long as there is stability of power between various international actors, the conduct of international...
Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Arab Spring, Afghanistan and NATO
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The importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is on the rise, especially as it is the only major international organization which the US...
The Geopolitics Of South Asia After US Osama Operation In Pakistan
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In the aftermath of the US Operation Geronimo that took out Osama Bin Laden, PoliTact has been monitoring the dynamics of China-US relations closely,...
US-China Summit – The Status of the Global Balance of Power
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President Hu Jinato's visit to the US is significant as it relates to the shifting global balance of power in South Asia, the Middle...
Ensuring Long-Term Security of the Homeland
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There have been a series of recent incidents involving the US Muslim community which point to a troubling pattern. These include:
Up to 20 young...
Understanding Jinnah’s Position on World War I and II Lessons to be learned
Context
Looking to the past helps to determine where one was, gives context to the complex and uncertain present, and explains proximity to the future....
Foreign Influences and Lack of Credible Political Leadership
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Implications of the Internal Struggles of Pakistan for its Foreign Policy
Summary
The power struggles within Pakistan's domestic politics directly affects the foreign policy of the...