Wrong people paying for economic failure
Azhar Rashid Khan Summary: Pakistan’s repeated IMF reliance has stabilised short-term crises but deepened structural dependency. Regulators’ failure to contain “socially sticky inflation” means profiteers escape accountability while the public shoulders both inflation and higher taxes. There is no denying that the IMF has helped Pakistan avoid financial collapse more than once. Its stabilisation programmes […]
SECURITY AT A GLANCE (16–30.10.25)
DOMESTIC BALOCHISTAN GILGIT–BALTISTAN (GB) ISLAMABAD KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA (KP) PUNJAB SINDH DEFENCE AND SECURITY PAKISTAN – AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT / DIALOGUES Comments and Analysis: Analysts and diplomats observed that the collapse of talks underscores deep mistrust and heightens regional instability, though mediators Qatar and Turkey remain hopeful. Two analytical pieces — “Canons to Right of Them, Canons […]
Pakistan-Afghanistan: Uneasy Regional Partners
Muhammad Atta Ullah Khan It is a well known fact that peace and security in our region have remained hostage to the volatile situation in Afghanistan for the last four decades. Even after the exit of NATO forces and the establishment of Taliban rule, there has been no significant change in the situation as far […]
The Bleeding Frontier: Why Peace in Balochistan Requires Justice, Not Just Force
Azhar Rashid Khan PSP The story of Balochistan today is one of parallel suffering — of people caught between insurgent violence and an unending cycle of state operations, and of security personnel paying the ultimate price for a conflict that force alone cannot resolve. Each headline about militants “neutralised” in Awaran or Kech is swiftly […]
Is TLP a Terrorist Group or a Political Party?
Khurram A Khan A leading English newspaper recently published an article of a security analyst wherein the author makes a case against Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), equating TLP with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). While TTP is a conglomerate of militant outfits, TLP is a religio-political movement. TLP has often been characterised as a violent sectarian organization of […]
Cannons to right of them, Cannons to left of them
Lt.Gen. Asad Durrani ® Afghans ruled over the Subcontinent for hundreds of years. Dr Mahmood Ghazi, a historian and a federal minister in Musharraf era, used to tell us that often when in trouble, the Muslims of the undivided India sought help from Kabul. In both our major wars against the arch-rival, 1965 and 71, […]
SECURITY AT A GLANCE (1–15 October 2025)
Domestic AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR (AJK) A government delegation reached an agreement with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Muzaffarabad to end unrest in AJK, addressing key demands including FIRs under anti-terror laws, victim compensation, and institutional reforms. A Monitoring and Implementation Committee will oversee execution and rationalize elite privileges. The deal, following deadly […]
Sour Pakistan–Afghanistan Relations: Between Forays and Fragile Engagement
Dr. Naveed Elahi Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated sharply, with clashes erupting at multiple points along the border. Pakistan has responded with restraint yet firmness. The hostilities began as the Afghan Taliban government launched attacks while its Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, was visiting India, where he criticized Pakistan from Indian soil. Afghanistan […]
Exhausting Non-Options
Lt.Gen Asad Durrani (r)