National economy suffers from five perennial ills: deficit; debt; black economy; lack of capacity for capital growth and negative effects of population expansion. Budget 2014-15 makes an attempt to mitigate all five, though in varying degrees. Government presented the budget amid rising…
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Mr Abdul Basit was summoned to Islamabad to evaluate the impact of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to India. Mr Basit had spent a lot of effort in preparing a favourable environment for the summit. However,…
The Nawaz-Rouhani summit was long overdue; preceding high profile visits between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had caused unease in Iran despite Pakistan’s assurances that it wishes for a balanced relationship with both countries. The Iran-Pakistan summit was on hold for the last…
As Narendra Modi’s rise to prime ministerial slot is appearing increasingly certain, hawkish lobby in India is working in top gear and overtime to come out with all sorts of jingoistic ideas related to foreign policy—especially its Pakistan and China content. India's…
President Obama’s April 2014 visit to Asian counties has reinforced the concerns about America letting China rise peacefully. During this visit Obama reassured Washington’s allies ‘in the face of threats to stability from North Korea and an increasingly assertive China’. He conveyed…
April 5 elections were not the first elections in Afghanistan, but they may turn as the most important political event in contemporary Afghan history. With the contours of Afghanistan’s political transition becoming clearer, activity has picked-up momentum for post elections’ political settlement.…
Like Pakistan’s elections in 2013, high voter turnout is also the feature of ongoing elections in India and Afghanistan. It will be interesting to see how these heavily mandated governments perform in the field of regional stability. Both these countries constitute Pakistan’s…
Last week saw some interesting developments: acts of high profile militancy and terrorism were disowned and condemned by the TTP in very strong words indicating a change of mindset; fierce infighting within the TTP cadres indicated its eroding integrity as a single…
Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats and rain, thus underscoring their enormous hope from the elections. As NATO/ISAF continue to draw-down, country's new leader will find an altered landscape as the country's wobbly security forces struggle to face down a ferocious insurgency…
It is refreshing that the recent lunatic orders, which apparently came from the Bangladesh Cricket Board but had the blessing of the highest political office of the country, have been revoked. Edict was aimed at banning the domestic fans from carrying the…