Munir Akram

Afghan scenarios

AFTER receiving an invitation personally delivered in Kabul by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s special envoy,... Updated 18 Aug, 2013 02:47am

Same old merry-go-round

THE Pakistan-India dialogue will reportedly resume in the near future following a hiatus imposed by India.... Updated 04 Aug, 2013 09:18am

The energy challenge

OVERCOMING Pakistan’s energy crisis has been proclaimed as the highest priority by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s... Updated 21 Jul, 2013 08:37am

Tips to contain militancy

RISING militancy accompanies the spreading turmoil in the Islamic world. The coup in Cairo to oust the Muslim... Published 07 Jul, 2013 03:54am

What keeps Obama awake?

THE actor George Clooney was quoted by the January 2012 issue of Esquire magazine as having asked President Obama:... Published 23 Jun, 2013 09:26am

Bullish on Pakistan

ALTHOUGH the Karachi Stock Exchange has risen over 50pc over the last year, financial analysts have not rushed to... Published 09 Jun, 2013 10:42am

Dangerous deterrence

THE speech made by the chairman of India’s National Security Advisory Board and former foreign secretary, Shyam... Published 26 May, 2013 10:08am

Foreign policy challenges

THE new government emerging from yesterday’s elections will face difficult domestic problems. The external... Published 12 May, 2013 10:41am

Shifting Asian pivot

OVER a year ago, President Obama announced America’s strategic pivot to Asia, away from its century-old ... Published 28 Apr, 2013 09:42am

Blood, pride and hope

MODERN analyses of the comparative strength of states utilise metrics such as population, GDP, military spending and other ‘objective’ criteria. Published 14 Apr, 2013 05:05am

America’s new strategy

AFTER a decade dedicated to the “war on terror” and two long and costly land wars, the US has already shifted strategic gears. It has left Iraq, mission largely unaccomplished Published 31 Mar, 2013 05:05am

Pipeline politics

THE only existing gas pipeline in Pakistan is the Sui gas distribution network that has supplied Pakistani homes, factories and power plants for the past four decades. Published 16 Mar, 2013 11:02pm

A grand bargain?

AFTER a long hiatus, Iran is again sitting across the table from the P5+1 (Germany) in Almaty for talks covering its nuclear programme plus related issues. Published 03 Mar, 2013 12:10am

Sustainable development

THE Rio+20 summit on sustainable development held last June did not attract major headlines in the mainstream media despite its existential implications. Published 17 Feb, 2013 12:10am

Pakistan’s triple front

PAKISTAN is at another inflexion point in its eventful history. It confronts strategic challenges simultaneously on three fronts: internal, western and eastern. Published 03 Feb, 2013 12:10am

Pakistan’s political cliff

“CHAOS Theory” is a course taught at many prestigious universities to analyse and predict developments during crises. Pakistan’s short but turbulent political history provides excellent empirical data for such study. Published 20 Jan, 2013 12:10am

The Monti option

PAKISTAN will hold its next parliamentary and presidential elections this year. Many Pakistanis see this first ever completion of its term by an elected civilian government as cause for celebration. Published 06 Jan, 2013 12:10am

The strategic agenda

THE present flows from the past, and the future will emerge from the present. Published 23 Dec, 2012 12:10am

Muslim conflicts

FROM the desert of the Sahel to the islands of the Pacific, Muslim peoples and states are today afflicted by conflicts and violence of varying dimensions and intensity. Published 08 Dec, 2012 10:04pm

New weapons, new wars

THROUGHOUT history, the emergence of new and more effective weapons has usually led to war or escalated violence. Published 24 Nov, 2012 10:03pm