Managing Iran

Iran is the southwestern neighbor of Pakistan and an Islamic country that has deep cultural, historic and religious roots with Pakistan. This is a fairly large country, about 1.5 times the size of Pakistan with a population of 83 million. Iran is an oil rich country having borders with Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, some of…

Read More

What ails Afghanistan?

At least 90 people were killed and hundreds critically injured on May 31 when an explosives-laden truck ripped through Kabul’s fortified diplomatic quarters. The grisly attack took place in Zanbaq Square in Kabul’s 10th district, close to shops and bustling restaurants as well as government offices and foreign embassies. There was no immediate claim of…

Read More

Who Stands Isolated?

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with the Chinese President on May 13 on the eve of Belt and Road Forum, and interacted formally and informally with over 50 heads of sates and governments including President Trump on the sidelines of US-Arab-Islamic summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also sent his emissary indicating his wish to…

Read More

Russia’s new Great Game in Afghanistan

The Russia’s recent diplomatic overtures towards lingering Afghan peace and its secret rapprochement with the Taliban convincingly indicate that Russia wants to play a new Great Game in Afghanistan, especially against America. In this regard, Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have fully capitalised on the fateful election of Donald Trump as American president to…

Read More

Managing Afghanistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan are close neighbors with predominant Muslim population along with joint historic cultural linkages; however, relations between these two predominant Islamic countries were never pleasant since day one when British sub-continent was dived into two independent states, India and Pakistan. Analyzing demographically, southern and eastern Afghanistan is predominately Pashto-speaking, like the adjacent Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,…

Read More