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By S.M. Inam There are moments when political dissent crosses a line, shedding the garb of legitimate opposition and revealing itself as something far more damaging: a wilful assault on the national interest. The recent intervention by Qasim Khan, son of the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, belongs squarely in that category. By demanding that the European Union revoke Pakistan’s GSP Plus status, and by choosing to do so alongside a representative of a Baloch separatist group, Khan has not only ventured into profoundly irresponsible territory but has also laid bare a troubling willingness to weaponise Pakistan’s economic vulnerabilities…

By Atiq Raja There is a quiet restlessness that visits most of us at some point, usually in the small hours or during the lull of a Sunday afternoon. It is the sense that we are moving, but not necessarily towards anything. That we are busy, but not always meaningfully so. In these moments, we tend to reach for grand diagnoses: a new job, a different city, a sharper routine. However, the more elusive, and perhaps more honest, answer lies closer to home. It lies in the relationship between two forces that dwell within every human heart: passion and purpose.…

By Amir Muhammad Khan There is a particular sorrow in watching a nation forget the terms of its own birth. Not the forgetting of dates or names—those are safely preserved in textbooks and the occasional newspaper column—but the deeper forgetting, the one that allows a people to celebrate a monument while ignoring the blueprint it represents. Every March 23, Pakistan pauses to mark the anniversary of the Lahore Resolution of 1940. Banners are raised, speeches are delivered, a holiday is declared. And then, with the rituals complete, the nation returns to its familiar occupations: its divisions, its distractions, its comfortable…

By Uzma Ehtasham The faint but distinct contours of a diplomatic breakthrough are taking shape in the Middle East, and it is Pakistan that has stepped forward to offer its capital as the stage for a potential meeting between the United States and Iran. On Friday, the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, made clear what had been the subject of intense back-channel speculation: Pakistan stands ready to host meaningful, conditional talks between the two adversaries, and considers it an honor to do so. In a message posted to X, Sharif expressed Pakistan’s full support for efforts to bring an end to…

There is a certain irony that settles over the diplomatic quarters of Islamabad these days. It is the irony of the pariah suddenly finding himself indispensable; the irony of the nation long dismissed as a chaotic frontier state proving to be the only address capable of hosting a dialogue that could determine the fate of a region. As Pakistan prepares to facilitate talks between the United States and Iran this Friday, the architecture of power in West Asia is being quietly redrawn. It is a slow, painstaking process, one that relies less on the bluster of press releases and more…

In the swirling currents of global diplomacy, where alliances shift like desert sands, Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely beacon of mediation. The announcement that Islamabad will host high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran marks a seismic realignment in South Asia’s power dynamics. What began as a tentative overture has blossomed into a full-fledged diplomatic coup, positioning Pakistan not as a peripheral player, but as a pivotal hub for peace negotiations between two longstanding adversaries. This is no small feat for a nation long painted by its rivals as unstable or unreliable. Instead, it catapults Pakistan into the…

By Atiq Raja In our hyper-connected age, where algorithms dictate our scrolls and deadlines devour our days, it’s all too easy to wake up one morning and wonder: how did I end up here? The alarm blares, the commute swallows hours, emails avalanche, and by bedtime, we’re spent—reacting, surviving, drifting. Yet amid this frenzy, a simple practice beckons: living with intentionality. It’s not some lofty philosophy for monks or millionaires; it’s the art of pausing to ask, “Is this the life I truly want?” and then choosing accordingly. In a world that spins us like tops, intentionality is the quiet…

By Zahid Karani In the shadow of the towering Pamir mountains, where mistrust has long cast a chill over shared valleys, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are quietly rewriting their story. Not with fanfare or grand treaties, but through the humdrum promise of trade—swapping goods, building factories, linking fates. At a conference in Tashkent this week, hosted by the International Institute for Central Asia, experts like Khurshed Asadov, deputy director of Uzbekistan’s Center for Economic Research and Reforms, sketched a vision that’s as pragmatic as it is tantalizing: bilateral trade could swell by another 30-40% if the neighbors simply prioritize each other’s…

By Asghar Ali Mubarak Pakistan’s bold diplomatic gambit in the shadow of escalating Iran-US tensions offers a rare glimmer of hope amid the rubble of ruptured alliances and missile strikes. As bombs fall and ultimatums fly, Islamabad is positioning itself not as a bystander but as a potential fulcrum for peace, ready to host talks between bitter adversaries if they consent. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has framed this as a point of national pride, underscoring Pakistan’s readiness to facilitate meaningful negotiations for a comprehensive settlement. In a region where diplomacy often feels like a relic, this fast-footed outreach—marked by frantic…