(By Khalid Masood) In a world of shifting alliances and persistent regional challenges, Pakistan emerges as a proactive force for change in South Asia. With a population exceeding 240 million, strategic location bridging Central and South Asia, and a legacy of resilience, Pakistan is not content to let outdated structures define its future. Islamabad is…
(By Khalid Masood) Introduction On 3 September 2025, Beijing’s Tiananmen Square transformed into a stage of unparalleled military grandeur, as China hosted what has been hailed as the largest military parade in its history to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. Under a clear autumn sky, President Xi Jinping stood…
(By Ayesha Mahnoor) In a world increasingly fractured by Western unilateralism, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, held in Tianjin, China, from 31 August to 1 September, emerged as a defining moment in global geopolitics. As a Pakistani expert in diplomacy and statecraft, I view this summit not merely as a regional gathering but…
(Reviewed by Khalid Masood) Pravin Sawhney’s The Last War is a meticulously researched and sobering exploration of the shifting paradigms of modern warfare, spotlighting the urgent strategic challenges India faces in its evolving conflict with China. Published by Aleph Book Company, this 424-page work combines deep expertise in defence technology with incisive geopolitical analysis to provide a…
(By Khalid Masood) Introduction In the evolving landscape of modern warfare, fifth-generation stealth fighter jets represent the pinnacle of air combat technology, blending low observability, advanced avionics, and multirole capabilities. For instance, the U.S. F-35 Lightning II, Russia’s Su-57 Felon, and China’s J-35 (also known as FC-31) dominate discussions as India and Pakistan seek to…
(By Khalid Masood) On 25 July 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi descended on the Maldives, brandishing a $565-million credit line and launching free trade talks to seize control of this strategic Indian Ocean archipelago. Cloaked in celebrations for the Maldives’ 60th independence anniversary, Modi’s Maldives gambit spreads over two-day visit. It exposes India’s ruthless…
(By Quratulain Khalid) On 19 July 2025, Chinese Premier Li Qiang launched the world’s largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River, known as the Brahmaputra in India, a $168 billion megaproject that redefines South Asia’s geopolitical order. This colossal initiative, dwarfing the Three Gorges Dam, strengthens China’s control over vital water resources while bolstering…
(Mohsin Tanveer) The Dalai Lama succession dispute exposes India’s blatant hypocrisy, preaching Tibetan self-determination while crushing Kashmiri, Sikh, and eastern state aspirations. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, a global symbol of peace exiled in India since 1959, declared in July 2025 that his successor would be chosen in a free country, defying China’s authoritarian…
(Quratulain Khalid) I. Introduction In July 2025, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Tianjin marked the first such high-level trip since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, a deadly skirmish that plunged India-China relations into a deep freeze. Against a backdrop of border…
(By Ayesha Mohsin) In a seismic shift in South Asian geopolitics, China and Pakistan are spearheading an audacious initiative to replace the dormant South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with a new regional bloc that pointedly excludes India. Advanced discussions, highlighted by a trilateral meeting in Kunming, China, on 19 June 2025, involving Pakistan,…
