


Subscribe to Updates
Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.


- The limits of textile-led economy
- Diplomacy must deliver economic dividends
- Why Keenjhar Lake matters
- Peace in Azad Kashmir must prevail
- A diplomatic opening worth watching
- Rangpur, sovereignty and Indian hypocrisy
- Militancy claims and a disputed image from Kabul
- A fragile pause in a volatile new order
Author: admin
By Tarique Hussain Banbhan The Middle East has long functioned as both a geopolitical fulcrum and an economic shock absorber for much of the developing world. When instability rises there, the effects rarely remain contained within the region itself. Instead, they travel outward along predictable but powerful channels of energy markets, labor migration, trade routes and financial flows. For South Asia, this connection is not abstract. It is structural. It is immediate. In addition, increasingly, it is fragile. At the center of this vulnerability lies energy. South Asian economies, particularly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, remain heavily dependent on imported oil…
The muted tone of this year’s Victory Day parade in Moscow marked more than a logistical adjustment or a temporary scaling back of spectacle. It pointed, instead, to a subtle recalibration in how Russia chooses to stage one of its most politically charged historical narratives: the victory over Nazi Germany in the World War II. For decades, the annual 9 May commemoration has been one of the central pillars of Russian state identity. Known domestically as the Great Patriotic War, the conflict remains embedded not only in national memory but in contemporary political language, where it is frequently invoked as…
By Asghar Ali Mubarak The phrase “Battle of Truth” or “Marka-e-Haq” has entered Pakistan’s official and media vocabulary as a symbolic framing of a recent period of heightened tension and narrative confrontation with India, particularly around events that unfolded in 2025. It is being described in official discourse as a defining episode in the country’s recent defence and information history, not only in military terms but also in the way competing claims, accusations and counter-claims were communicated to domestic and international audiences. At the heart of this framing is an argument that modern conflict is no longer confined to conventional…
By Sudhir Ahmad Afridi When relations between friendly and so-called brotherly countries are discussed in public, restraint is not simply a diplomatic courtesy. It is a necessity shaped by experience, history and the basic mechanics of international relations. In an age when information travels faster than verification, and emotion often outruns evidence, the discipline of caution becomes even more important. Pakistan’s external relationships, particularly with long-standing partners in the Gulf and the wider Muslim world, sit within this delicate space where perception can sometimes matter almost as much as policy. It is understandable that citizens express concern when reports emerge…
By Safia Noor South Asia is facing an increasingly volatile climatological regime, where interannual weather variability is being strongly modulated by interactions between the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies, Himalayan cryosphere dynamics, and anthropogenic climate forcing. The transition from neutral or weak La Niña conditions towards a probable El Niño phase during 2026 raises serious implications for regional precipitation distribution, thermal extremes, hydrology, agricultural productivity, and disaster risk management. ENSO is a coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomenon originating in the equatorial Pacific, characterised by periodic warming (El Niño) or cooling (La Niña) of central and eastern Pacific…
By Pervaiz Mughal ISLAMABAD: A meeting held on the sidelines of the South Asia Federation of Accountants (SAFA) Conference in the region focused on expanding regional economic cooperation, with Pakistan’s leadership emphasizing the need for deeper connectivity and stronger institutional links across South Asia. Ishaq Dar attended the gathering and underlined what he described as the untapped economic potential of the region, saying it could only be realized through sustained collaboration among professional bodies, regulators and economic institutions. He said closer coordination could help stimulate shared growth, encourage innovation and strengthen people-to-people linkages across borders. Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to…
One year after what Pakistan’s military describes as Marka-e-Haq, the anniversary has evolved into far more than a ceremonial remembrance of a military confrontation. It now occupies a deeper place within the country’s political imagination, national security thinking and public consciousness. The statements issued by the armed forces, particularly through the Inter-Services Public Relations and the Pakistan Air Force, were measured in tone but unmistakably deliberate in intent. They sought not simply to commemorate a past operation, but to present a broader narrative about how Pakistan now sees itself in an increasingly unstable and militarized regional environment. The language surrounding…
By Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal For generations of Pakistanis, the memory of September 6, 1965 has existed not merely as a historical date but as an emotional inheritance passed carefully from one age to another. Long before many understood the complexities of geopolitics or the harsh calculations of war, school textbooks introduced them to the dramatic story of a nation confronted by sudden aggression under the darkness of night. In classrooms across the country, children listened as teachers narrated how Pakistan faced an unexpected assault with courage and unity, while the resolute voice of President Ayub Khan echoed through history as…
