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Columnists
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Bloggers
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Opinion | The Saudi-Pakistan Defence Pact Is Not About Them, But Someone Else
This defence pact - if it does indeed exist or is to be rolled out in its entirety - is aimed at different actors in Asia: West Asia, India, China and even Russia , even while the US rakes in the money.
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Opinion | The Logic Of Pakistan Bombing Its Own People And Getting Away With It
This is a heady mix of superpowers and regional bosses. And the Pashtuns are caught literally and metaphorically in the middle. Don't expect anyone to pull up the Pakistanis for their cruel and random bombing.
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Opinion | The Inside Story Of Why Both US And China Want A Piece Of Pakistan
American interest in Pakistan seems to have strongly revived Chinese efforts to enter Pakistan, whether through CPEC or without it. For Pakistan, this means happily reaping the largesse of both powers, for as long as it can.
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Opinion | No, This Is Not About Ganging Up Against The US
At Tianjin, what was evident with India was an ambidextrous policy of engaging with friend and foe alike, using the one to balance out the other. That's all very well. But it just scratches the surface.
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Opinion | India To Kabul To Pak: The Plot Behind Chinese Foreign Minister's Many Tours
This is China stepping into the breach created by Trump's shenanigans. It seems to be viewing the problem through the lens of South Asia as a whole, rather than letting Washington use its divide-and-rule strategy.
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Opinion | A US Bailout? A 'Coup'? What Are Asim Munir's Nuclear Threats Really About?
On the Pakistan Field Marshal's great American audition in Tampa.
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Opinion | So, Does Pakistan Really Have Those Oil 'Riches'?
For some years now, Pakistan has been talking about such finds, with most notably Imran Khan announcing this in early 2019. But no one knows where this oil really is.
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Opinion | Lunch, Now A State Award: What's With The Growing Pakistan-US Lovefest?
After years of being ignored publicly by recent American administrations, the turnaround in established policy is baffling. What gives?
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Opinion | Trump, India, Pahalgam: When Terrorists Are Easier To Deal With Than Tariffs
What's behind US's newfound intent to declare the TRF as a terrorist organisation, especially given how a number of western 'analysts' had demanded proof of its involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack?
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Opinion | How Are Pak Terrorists Moving Money? Hints From An FATF Report
A recent FATF flags, for the first time, state-sponsored terrorism, though it admits it has not yet developed a typology for this.
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Opinion | The Strange Reasons Behind Asim Munir's Anti-India Tirades
Glory dissipates fast during peacetime. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is finding that out the hard way. Munir, too, has his own embarrassment to deal with.
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Opinion | There's Something 26/11 Mumbai Attack Can Tell Us About Trump-Munir Lunch
Now, as India threatens that 'Operation Sindoor' is far from over, US troops on its soil are a nice bit of insurance for Pakistan against Indian fury. But that also means more terrorism, not less.
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Opinion | The IMF-Shaped Irony In Pakistan's Massive Defence Budget Hike
The Pakistani defence budget retains its opacity. Neither the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nor the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been able to persuade Pakistan to be a little more transparent to its own people.
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Opinion | Europe To Africa, Why Pakistan's Terror Exports Aren't India's Problem Alone
Instead of trying to throttle back on terrorism post-Operation Sindoor, the Pakistanis, in their victory mindset, have empowered them even more.
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Opinion | Protests, Pakistan, And A Yunus-Army Showdown: Why Bangladesh Is On Edge
An embattled Gen Zaman has much to contend with, courtesy a mischievous 'Chief Advisor' who seems to be trying to ingratiate himself with multiple countries - including China - to extend his stay in office.
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Opinion | After Op Sindoor, A Curious Threat By 'Al Qaeda India'
The so-called Al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (AQIS) declared in English and Urdu that all Muslims were obliged to launch a 'holy war' in India.
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Opinion | India-Pakistan Showdown Has Exposed A New Reality: 'DIY' Wars
We are operating in a wholly new environment, in a world that is riven by bloody wars and where even allies are divided. Friends may have changed to enemies, though not vice versa.
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Opinion | Heft? History? What Pak's Real Motive Behind Pahalgam Attack Could Be
The attack may be similar to what happened in Israel, but the histories are entirely different. And so, logically, the reactions should be.
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Opinion | As Tahawwur Rana Talks, Pakistan Had Better Lend An Ear
One can hardly say that "the eagle has landed" in the manner of spy thrillers. Intel coding for movement to India of a despised terrorist would be more like, "the carrion crow has been shackled".
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Opinion | Indian Drugs, Pak Terrorism, China: Inside The Latest US Intel Report
The latest DNI report points to the expectation of a more violent world, where the threat arises from cooperation between 'adversaries' like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, and possibly others.
