(By Khalid Masood) On the night of 10 to 11 July 2025, the N70 highway in Balochistan’s Zhob district became the site of a chilling act of violence. Armed militants intercepted two Lahore-bound passenger buses, checked passengers’ computerized national identity cards (CNICs), and singled out nine individuals of Punjabi origin. These victims were abducted and…
(Ayesha Mohsin) In Saadat Hasan Manto’s 1951 short story Yazid, a Pakistani villager laments India’s ability to choke the rivers flowing into Pakistan, a fear that resonates chillingly in 2025. On 22 April 2025, the Pahalgam attack in Indian Occupied Kashmir, which claimed 26 civilian lives, prompted India to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT),…
(By Khalid Masood) In the rugged terrain of Kashmir on 11 May 2025, a Bayraktar TB2 drone, cruising at 18,000 feet, pinpointed four Indian Bofors howitzers targeting Pakistani positions. Within minutes, laser-guided MAM-L munitions delivered surgical strikes, neutralising the threat. Simultaneously, a Wing Loong II, orbiting at 30,000 feet, streamed real-time imagery to the Air…
(By Khalid Masood) On 7 July 2025, during his address to the graduating officers of the National Security and War Course at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), delivered a clear and resolute message. He noted that India’s inability to achieve its stated military…
(By Khalid Masood) In an era where regional conflicts can rapidly escalate into global crises, the 2025 Iran-Israel conflict stands out as a stark reminder of modern warfare’s evolving nature. The brief but intense clash—marked by missile barrages, drone strikes, and covert operations—has fundamentally reshaped strategic thinking within military and diplomatic circles. Triggered by escalating…
(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,…
(Tahir Masood) On 4 July 2025, former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in an interview with Al Jazeera, ignited a firestorm by suggesting that Pakistan might consider extraditing individuals like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India as a “goodwill gesture” to foster “comprehensive dialogue.” This reckless proposition, cloaked in diplomatic rhetoric, is not…
(By Khalid Masood) In the aftermath of the May 2025 Indo-Pakistani clashes, sparked by the 22 April Pahalgam attack, the Indian government, military high command, and media orchestrated a concerted campaign to deny significant military losses, particularly among Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots and assets like the Rafale jets and S-400 air defence systems. The…
(By Ayesha Mohsin) In June 2025, the inaugural China-Pakistan-Bangladesh trilateral meeting in Kunming marked a pivotal moment for Pakistan’s resurgence as a key player in South Asia. Following closely on the heels of the May 2025 China-Pakistan-Afghanistan trilateral in Beijing, where the expansion of the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan was agreed…
(By Khalid Masood) In June 2025, at the NATO summit in The Hague, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the procurement of 12 x F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, capable of carrying B61-12 nuclear bombs, marking a significant strengthening of the UK’s nuclear posture. This move, supporting 20,000 UK jobs, underscores the F-35A’s role in…
