Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) warmup sessions are in full swing to achieve maximum output for the upcoming summit in June to overcome the major challenges and for more comprehensive cooperation between the member countries. The SCO comprises eight full members, four observers and six dialogue partners that account for half of the world population, a …
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Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is expected to win another term in office on Wednesday, while the opposition has boycotted the polls as usual and is even more divided than before. Opinion polls say the president, who has been in power since 2003, will get 80 percent of votes in the oil-rich country, located on the …
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The current Pakistan-US diplomatic row is nothing new, especially for those who know the love-hate relationship between the CIA and its Pakistan counterpart, the ISI. As both fight the war against terrorism, simultaneously there is a war going on between the two sides and as they seek to protect vested interests, were pushed eventually towards …
Misconceptions, service provision failure, insecurity and foreign involvement are to blame for Pakistan’s polio crisis. As the number of polio cases reached 74, the inevitable finally happened: The World Health Organization (WHO) imposed a six-month international travel restriction on Pakistanis to prevent the possible spread of the polio virus from Pakistan to other countries. Of the …
Why this latest round of talks with Pakistan’s Taliban is bound to break down – again. After months of arguments, the government has once again offered to hold peace talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the banned group has responded positively. Could this mark the end of the years’-old standoff between the TTP and Pakistan’s Security Forces? The …
Continue reading “Pakistan’s moral dilemma: To talk or not to talk”
Facing a widening crisis at home, Erdogan goes on a charm offensive in Pakistan. The time seemed right to most observers, the place not entirely thought out. Why would the sitting, though troubled, prime minister of a country visit another sitting, but less troubled, premier of another country at a city other than the capital? …
Will the appointment of a new army chief end the era of military meddling in politics? If there is one thing ironic in the appointment of Pakistan’s new army chief, it is the timing of his appointment. The appointment of Raheel Sharif, the highly-decorated, four-star general, as the new chief comes at a time when …
