How AI is Reworking Global Defense The sounds of war used to be crashing metal and loud engines. Now, there’s a cool sound on the battlefield: the hum of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is not just making things better; it is completely changing how the defense industry works. This means countries need to rethink their…
Tax collection has always been an indispensable pillar in the architecture of a functioning state. Since the earliest formations of organized governance, levying taxes has been a standard practice to ensure the sustenance of administrative machinery, provision of public services, and the defense of the realm. No society, however prosperous or modest, can remain viable…
“War is the great auditor of institutions”. Correlli Barnett Every armed conflict brings new dynamics to bilateral relations between the belligerents and has an impact on domestic politics. Each party’s role also has an impact on regional and international relations. In April-May 2025, India and Pakistan were engaged in another limited conflict that was quickly…
Introduction: The Visible Geography Behind Invisible Wars “Satellites may spy from the heavens, and malware may cripple nations silently, but tank battalions still roll on roads, and oil still flows through chokepoints.” This statement has never been more relevant than during the Iran–Israel conflict of 2025. On June 13, Israel launched a surprise offensive targeting…
The economic corridors concept is not new rather it is the upgradation of the historical ancient Silk Road concept that consisted of a vast network of trade routes connecting the global East and West, thus primarily facilitating the exchange of trade goods and culture between China and Europe. As per the historical maps it was…
Let’s face it – the human brain is like the Wi-Fi signal of your local café: brilliant when it works, but prone to dropping out right when you need it most. Especially when faced with complex problems – the kind that come with multiple layers, conflicting information, and a vague sense of operating in the…
A US mediated, yet still fragile ceasefire halted twelve days of armed conflict between Iran and Israel which was initiated for reasons not very clearly known. Israel stated it wanted to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb but it desired to change the regime in Iran and wished Iran to bend down on its…
ISLAMABAD, June 4, 2025 – A high-level seminar titled “Water Crisis and the Indus Water Treaty” was held at the COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad, jointly organized by OIC-COMSTECH, Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR), the Hisaar Foundation and the Panjwani Hisaar Water Institute. The seminar convened a distinguished gathering of diplomats, environmental experts, academics, and policy…
Shortly after the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Jordan in May 2003, I visited Israel. I made no secret of it. Over the years, I have had an active exchange of opinion with Col. David Yarkony of Israel, and it was at his invitation that I decided to make the trip. I am very glad…
When the global pandemic hit, followed by one of the worst floods in Pakistan’s history, the microfinance sector stood at a crossroad. Many institutions, already vulnerable from years of incremental shocks, found themselves spiraling. Banks that once served as lifelines for the underserved began to fall beneath the weight of non-performing loans, liquidity crises, and…
