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By S.M. Inam An influential American journal rarely devotes sustained attention to south Asian water politics, let alone takes a position that aligns so clearly with Pakistan’s long-standing concerns. That is what makes the National Interest’s intervention on the Indus Waters Treaty both striking and consequential. Its warning that India’s actions could trigger a humanitarian crisis across south Asia forces an uncomfortable issue into the international spotlight: water, once a shared necessity governed by law, is being recast as a weapon of state policy. For more than six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty has survived wars, crises and diplomatic breakdowns…

By Uzma Ehtasham US president Donald Trump’s announcement of what he calls the second phase of his Gaza peace plan arrives wrapped in the familiar language of grandeur and self-congratulation. Yet before examining the details of this latest initiative, an awkward and unavoidable question demands an answer: what happened to the first phase? The ceasefire that Trump proudly claimed as a diplomatic achievement three months ago has never truly materialized. Instead, Gaza has remained under fire, with Israeli airstrikes continuing and Palestinian civilians paying the price. In this context, talk of a second phase feels less like progress and more…

By Allahwasayo Khan Phulpoto Human beings are the only creatures born with a sovereign will, capable of imagining a future and striving to achieve it. To protect this inherent freedom, legal systems place strict limits on the detention of individuals until guilt is proven. Detention, in its legal sense, is an official form of custody intended to be temporary, used only when the administration of justice makes it unavoidable. The law forbids the shackling of an individual’s will before conviction. When the state exercises this power against children, detention takes a different form. Juvenile detention, unlike adult incarceration, was conceived…

By Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal In childhood, if we stepped out of the house for an errand and failed to return at the appointed hour, the entire household would sink into a quiet unease. Mothers would pace, fathers would cast repeated glances toward the gate, and when we finally returned—dusty and carefree—we were met with a barrage of questions that felt little short of a formal interrogation. Irritation often overcame us in those moments, only for a grandmother’s gentle yet resolute voice to remind us that one day we would understand it all ourselves. Time, as it invariably does, proved her…

India’s former intelligence chief A S Dulat has delivered an unusually candid verdict on the state of Indian-administered Kashmir, and it is one that cuts through the official calm New Delhi likes to project. His remarks do not describe a region in turmoil or on the brink of rebellion. Instead, they sketch something quieter and perhaps more troubling: a political vacuum marked by inertia, silence and a slow erosion of hope. Kashmir, in Dulat’s telling, is not exploding. It is stagnating. Life goes on, but without direction or promise. For many Kashmiris, politics has ceased to be a space of…

By Sudhir Ahmed Afridi Across Pakistan and beyond, an uncomfortable reality has begun to emerge: many young and less-educated voters, particularly those newly eligible at 18, often struggle to exercise their vote with discernment. This observation is neither uniquely Pakistani nor new. Globally, the legal voting age is often set at 18, justified on the basis that if someone is considered mature enough to work, serve in the armed forces, or pay taxes, they are also capable of choosing their representatives. In some quarters, youth is even romanticized as a source of greater wisdom than age, the argument being that…

By Atiq Raja Human beings are drawn to labels. We have an almost instinctive need to define, to categorise, and to simplify the complexity of life into easily digestible boxes. We call someone a saint or a sinner, a hero or a villain, as though a single chapter could capture the entirety of a life. It is comforting to think in binaries, to believe that people are entirely good or irredeemably bad, that history can neatly separate the righteous from the corrupt. Yet the weight of history, philosophy, and lived experience repeatedly tells a different story: every saint has a…

By Syed Shamim Akhtar India’s retreat from Iran’s Chabahar port under the shadow of American sanctions has exposed the delicate balancing act that defines the country’s foreign policy in a region of competing ambitions and alliances. Once hailed as a strategic masterstroke, the port project now stands as a cautionary tale about the limits of influence when global pressures collide with regional aspirations. Reports from Indian media suggest that New Delhi has transferred the $120 million it had committed to Chabahar before US sanctions took full effect, effectively handing operational control to Tehran. The transfer appears to mark India’s quiet…

By Uzma Ehtasham Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has underscored Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to its relationship with China, describing it as a strategic partnership resilient under any circumstance. During a meeting with Sun Haiyan, China’s vice minister for international affairs of the Communist Party, he praised Beijing’s support across sectors, particularly in defence, and emphasized the timely and effective implementation of the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In a gesture of continued diplomatic warmth, he extended an invitation to President Xi Jinping for a visit to Pakistan later this year. Vice Minister Sun reciprocated, reaffirming China’s determination to…

In a dramatic twist that underscored the fragile calculus of power in the Middle East, President Donald Trump reportedly halted preparations for a major US strike on Iran at the last moment, according to American media reports. The decision, which came amid mounting tensions and widespread fears of a military confrontation, highlights the complex interplay of military capability, diplomatic pressure, and domestic politics that continues to define Washington’s approach to Tehran. By the morning of Wednesday, 14 January, both Washington and key capitals across the Middle East were bracing for what many feared could be a decisive US air operation…