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By Dr Zawwar Hussain As 2026 begins, renewed turbulence around Venezuela has reopened a familiar and deeply instructive chapter in global politics. Once again, a powerful state appears convinced that pressure, isolation and the threat of intervention can bend a nation to its will. History suggests otherwise. When power is exercised to secure political or economic interests without regard for popular consent, it may achieve short-term tactical success, but it rarely earns a lasting verdict of legitimacy. The removal, capture or humiliation of leaders is often celebrated as triumph. Yet history’s judgment is slower and more exacting, delivered not by…

By Asghar Ali Mubarak Each year, January 5 returns not merely as a date on the calendar but as a quiet indictment of the international system’s failure to honor its own word. For the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Right to Self-Determination Day is not a symbolic ritual. It is a reminder of a promise made under the authority of the United Nations in 1949 and left unfulfilled for more than seven decades. Across the Line of Control and within the global Kashmiri diaspora, the day is marked with a single, unyielding demand: the right to decide their political future…

At the start of 2026, Iran finds itself navigating an exceptionally fragile landscape, where internal fissures and external pressures intersect with potentially destabilizing consequences. The nation, which has long positioned itself as a pivotal actor in the Middle East, is now contending with challenges that strike at the very heart of its governance, revealing vulnerabilities that few outside observers fully appreciate. Analysts and diplomatic sources in Tehran and abroad remain divided over the nation’s trajectory, reflecting the uncertainty of a state under strain and the complexity of the forces shaping its immediate future. Recent events have made clear that the…

By Uzma Ehtasham Foreign Office has issued an unusually blunt rebuttal to recent remarks by India’s external affairs minister, framing them not as routine diplomatic sparring but as part of a familiar pattern of deflection. According to Islamabad, New Delhi’s invocation of “bad neighbors” is less a reflection on regional realities than an attempt to obscure its own conduct, both at home and beyond its borders. It is a charge that goes to the heart of a wider and increasingly uncomfortable debate about India’s role as a regional power and the gap between its democratic self-image and the realities unfolding…

By Sajjad Shah KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah paid heartfelt tribute to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, describing him as a visionary and people-centric leader who reshaped Pakistan’s political, constitutional, and defence landscape. Speaking at a ceremony at the Peoples Secretariat organized by District East PPP, the chief minister recalled Bhutto’s early commitment to the country, noting a student-era letter to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in which he pledged his life for Pakistan. Murad Ali Shah also honored the sacrifices of Bhutto’s family, including Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Shaheed Mir Murtaza Bhutto, and Shaheed Shahnawaz Bhutto, who embraced…

By Asghar Ali Mubarak Water has always been the lifeblood of Pakistan. For a country whose economy and sustenance are deeply intertwined with agriculture, the rivers that flow from the valleys of Kashmir are far more than geographical features; they are the arteries upon which millions of livelihoods depend. Yet, in recent years, these lifelines have increasingly become instruments of contention, as India’s construction of dams and hydroelectric projects on rivers feeding Pakistan has been framed by Islamabad as an existential threat. The rhetoric is stark but deliberate: any attempt to impede Pakistan’s water supply is considered a “declaration of…

By Dr Abdul Samad The recent abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has cast a long shadow over Latin America, reviving anxieties about the United States’ willingness to intervene militarily in the hemisphere. In an extraordinary and sharply worded statement, US President Donald Trump warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to remain vigilant, citing the flow of narcotics from Colombia into American territory. The warning, delivered publicly to reporters, was unusual not only for its directness but also for the implicit threat it carried: a reminder that US influence, backed by military might, continues to loom over the region. President Petro…

By Uzma Ehtasham Pakistan’s warnings of strong retaliation against attacks traced to Afghan soil underscore the precarious security environment in South Asia. The country has consistently stressed that any breach of its territorial integrity will be met with decisive action, reflecting the enduring challenges it faces along its western frontier. For Islamabad, the threat is not hypothetical; the region remains a complex web of militant networks, porous borders, and historical disputes that together form a volatile security landscape. Each incident carries the potential to escalate tensions, not only between Pakistan and Afghanistan but across the wider neighborhood, including India and…

The question that lingers in the minds of policymakers, analysts, and ordinary citizens alike is deceptively simple: has the world truly split into two distinct blocs? The recent trajectory of international affairs suggests that the answer may well be affirmative. The United States, increasingly assertive and seemingly unchallenged by a handful of Western allies and Israel, is asserting a vision of global order rooted in military power and economic dominance. Opposite this, China presents an alternative, projecting a model of governance and international engagement grounded in economic partnership, infrastructure development, and what it frames as social welfare. It is a…