The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) originated with an inter-governmental agreement between Russia, Iran, India and Azerbaijan. A total of 13 countries (including Pakistan) have since ratified the agreement. The corridor would eventually stretch from Northern Europe all the way to Southeast Asia. Being stalled for many years, INSTC found renewed impetus in January 2016…
The world is changing, a new continent has come up in front of our eyes: Eurasia. Continents being defined as “main continuous expanses of land”, one wonders why Europe and Asia being very much a continuous land mass has throughout the centuries been perceived as two separate continents. One major reason may be that from…
Constituting all of North Asia, Siberia is an extensive geographical region vast and sparsely populated, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of Russia since the latter half of the 16th century, after the Russians conquered lands east of the Ural Mountains. Covering…
The historical Silk Road was a network of land trade routes connecting Asia and Europe; from the 2nd century BC to 18th century AD. It was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions. Other than the crusades, this is an early example of peaceful globalization. Thereafter it fell into disuse…
Dear Readers, Pakistan’s leading atomic scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan (popularly known as AQ Khan) passed away in Islamabad at age 85, on Sunday October 10 after a protracted illness. Widely regarded as the founder of gas-centrifuge enrichment technology for Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent program, he is hailed as an icon, a national hero for transforming…
The history of the Silk Road networks and other trade connections is closely tied to the rise and fall of Eurasian empires, among them imperial China, the Mongol Empire of Changez Khan, Persian, the Mughal Empire and Ottoman Empires. Well established empires guaranteed that roads and bridges used for trade were kept in a good…
If Bangladesh’s problems were confined to over-population and natural disasters that retard economic growth, it would be bad enough, but the problem is that Bangladesh has the world’s only predator nation, India, at its doorstep. Other nations do try and impose hegemony, India occupies territory by force of arms. Instead of helping to alleviate the miseries…
Dear Readers, The Taliban victory in Afghanistan unleashed anger at U.S. President Joe Biden, his critics accusing his administration of, among other things, leaving a regional vacuum in Central Asia that China and Russia will rush to fill. The U.S. along Western nations, and of course, India (His Master’s Voice) shut down their Embassies in Kabul after the…
When looking at the map there are mainly three North-South connecting routes that would come to mind. The first is the route coming from China/Tibet through Nepal and India reaching down to the western ports of Bangladesh at the Bay of Bengal, Mongla or the forthcoming port of Payra. Parts of this connection are already…
The idea of an economic zone is certainly what one could call a long shot. Mostly it is dependent upon India. If India choses to allow the construction of three or even four North-South Road and rail corridors emanating from China and passing through the Himalayas and then through North-east India (Seven Sisters), to the…
