April 2026

Conflict in the Neighborhood

National AI Policy 2025 - A Critical Dissection

US - Israel War on Iran

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel initiated "Operation Epic Fury," a massive, coordinated military campaign against Iran. The campaign has targeted military, nuclear, and leadership sites across Iran, resulting in the martyrdom of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – the most influential figure remaining from the Islamic Republic's founding generation. His demise marks a turning point not only for the region but also for the whole world, as it will have serious implications for global energy security, the economy and many other areas of life.

The Zeigarnik Effect

Have you ever noticed that an unfinished business or incomplete activity holds a privileged place in memory? Are you haunted by unfulfilled goals? Do you recall what you haven't achieved more than what you have? This subtle mental tug, or more rightly an itch of the unfinished, is the Zeigarnik Effect, a fascinating psychological phenomenon that explains why incomplete tasks tend to occupy your mind more persistently than the ones you have completed.

The Architecture of US Global Dominance

US global supremacy is not a historical accident but the result of a deliberate, decades-long strategy that masterfully interlinks finance, energy, military might and maritime control. At the heart of this architecture is the US dollar, functioning less as a simple currency and more as the indispensable operating system of the international order. Now, under President Trump, an updated version of the Monroe Doctrine, which equated economic power with national security, has come into play. Although the Trump administration's National Security Strategy 2025 describes it as the “Trump corollary”, Trump himself has referred to it as the “Donroe Doctrine”.

Should Pakistan Embrace - Blockchain Technology

Pakistan's Contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Missions

Pakistan's Population Crisis

Pakistan entered 2026 as the world's fifth most populous country. However, this population boom is taking a heavy toll on already scarce national resources. To top it all, we, as a nation, have been desensitized to the issue of overpopulation, even though it is the mother of all issues. The government and the public tend to resort to conventional and myopic solutions to manage the population. But, to control unbridled population growth, a holistic approach is pressingly needed.

Higher Education in the Age of AI We Need to Act Strategically and Decisively

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant concept — it's here, reshaping industries, careers and the way we learn. The disruption has already begun and the pace of change is exponential, not linear. In the coming years, machines will replicate many cognitive tasks, but they may not replicate what makes us uniquely human: imagination, emotional intelligence, compassion and moral reasoning. As such, universities must evolve beyond centres of knowledge transfer into 'labs of humanity', where students explore what it means to be human in an age of machines. This demands a renewed emphasis on creativity, critical thinking, ethical inquiry and emotional resilience. These are skills that machines cannot replicate but are essential for leading and thriving in an AI-driven world.

The US National Defense Strategy

The US Department of War (DoW) recently published its 2026 National Defence Strategy, which signals arguably the single greatest shift in American defense priorities since the end of World War II. It articulates a significantly smaller role for the United States in global affairs and downplays the threat posed by traditional adversaries such as China and Russia. Calling for a “decent peace” in the Indo-Pacific and “strategic stability” with China, the policy is a departure from Washington's decades-old posture of viewing China as the primary global threat.

Hexagon of Alliances

In late February this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a new geopolitical idea to form a new regional bloc to collectively stand against what he called “radical” adversaries. The proposed “Hexagon of Alliances” — six alliances with various permutations but with Israel at their center – would include India, Greece and Cyprus, along with other unnamed Arab, African and Asian states.

Countries Connected to More Than One Ocean

Two Pillars of National Power

It is an indisputable fact that the real power of a nation is hinged on a strong relationship between higher education and research. In the present-day world, the strength of a state is not measured only on the basis of its military might or the abundance of natural resources it possesses. It is determined by a nation's position in knowledge production, scientific research and technological innovation.

How the US Became the Middle East’s Decisive Power

Post-Khamenei Order

Water Under Siege

In October last year, the Afghan Taliban leadership decided unilaterally to construct dams on the Kunar and Kabul rivers, raising serious concerns in Pakistan.  This announcement came just weeks after India's unilateral and illegal suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, raising alarm bells in Islamabad. These moves signal a deeply troubling phase in Pakistan's water security, as the country's economy depends on the agriculture sector, whose very survival depends on water. Pakistan has long sought a water-sharing framework with Kabul; none has materialized. Kabul's announcement to “begin construction as soon as possible” asserts sovereign right but intensifies Pakistan's water insecurity. To counter this growing challenge, Pakistan should adopt a strategy that emphasises regional hydro cooperation by securing predictable downstream flows, limiting India's geopolitical encroachment, strengthening its international standing as a responsible riparian, and transforming the Kabul River from a security liability into a platform for regional stability and shared prosperity.

Time is Life

High Seas Treaty Enters into Force

The world's first legally binding agreement to protect marine life in international waters has taken effect, meaning it is now binding international law for the countries and parties that have ratified it. The treaty creates the first framework for establishing Marine Protected Areas on the high seas, which make up about two-thirds of the world's ocean. Currently, only around 1% of these international waters are protected. Now, ratifying countries must begin working together on ocean science and technology as well as helping developing nations to build capacity to participate in ocean governance.

The US - Iran War

Lithium

Our phones, laptops, tablets, digital cameras and many other devices are powered by lithium-ion batteries. But along with these devices, perhaps the most monumental development that lithium has powered is the boom in electric vehicles (EVs). Since the global demand for lithium is forecast to reach 2.5-3.1 mmt by 2030, countries from Australia to China and South America are rushing to tap their resources.

Criticism or Attack ? - Pakistan's Fractured Public Sphere

World in Focus (Feb-Mar'26) - NATIONAL

Western Hegemony and a Rising Asia

According to the latest forecasts from the international firm Goldman Sachs, the world economic order is on the verge of a historic and unprecedented transformation; a shift in which the ancient continent of Asia will become the main center of growth and the driving engine of the global economy, challenging the traditional Western economic powers.

End of the New Start

The New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, has expired. With the expiry of this treaty, the US and Russia have entered an unfamiliar territory, with no binding caps, no verified limits and rising uncertainty over how the world's two largest nuclear powers will manage their arsenals in the years ahead. The demise of the treaty is likely to bring about a definitive and alarming end to nuclear restraint between the two powers and even accelerate the global nuclear arms race.

Digital Invoicing

In 2005, Pakistan adopted digital invoicing initiative to curb sales tax evasion and tax fraud so as to bridge the sales tax gap. In this write-up, the author, therefore, discusses significance of digital invoicing (e-invoicing) and rules for its implementation in Pakistan. Impact of digital invoicing on sales tax revenue on account of detecting and curbing evasion and fraud has also been highlighted.

Rare Earths, Great Power Politics

... and Pakistan's Opening in a Contested Supply Chain

CSS Preparation and Time Management

Being efficacious is a fundamental human need. For CSS aspirants, this is a highly coveted trait, as they have to cover a vast syllabus and sift through countless pages of books, magazines, research papers, notes and other sources. To many, this looks quite hectic, burdensome and a real hard nut. To crack this hard nut, a commonly endorsed strategy is summarized by a popular quote by Mark Twain, who said: “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the bigger one first.”

Learning from China

India Canada Uranium Deal

GK Tidbits

Pakistan Explores Tokenization

The Government of Pakistan is planning to tokenize up to $2 billion of domestic government debt in an initial phase, as Islamabad explores digital financial instruments to broaden investor participation and modernize public debt markets. “Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, has also planned to tokenize some portion of its domestic debt worth $2 billion in the first phase, primarily tapping retail investors,” the finance ministry said in a statement, quoting adviser to the finance minister Khurram Schehzad. In the following write-up, we will know about Tokenization and its impacts.

Global South Awakening

Beyond Ceremonial Leadership

In a bid to improve the standard of education in Punjab, and in Pakistan at large, the Punjab Higher Education Commission recently announced that it has finalized Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Vice Chancellors, marking a significant step towards enhancing leadership, governance, and academic excellence across universities. As per the PHEC announcement, “A committee of distinguished academic leaders worked extensively to align these KPIs with global best practices and local needs. Once approved, these KPIs will strengthen governance, accountability, and the quality of education across Punjab's universities.”

US Wars

US - India Trade Deal

Quick on the heels of the conclusion of India's long-drawn-out trade negotiations with the EU, the US and India have announced a trade deal that will open up the latter's market of over 1.4 billion people to American products. The interim trade agreement immediately removes the punitive 25% tariff on Indian goods, envisages reduction of US reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18% and commits India to tariff cuts on US industrial and agricultural products, alongside a $500 billion purchase commitment from the US over the next five years. The marks a significant shift in the global trade landscape, with implications that extend well beyond the two countries.

Young Women Entrepreneurs

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of talk about the non-feasibility of investing in women entrepreneurs, as it was perceived that entrepreneurship is only a hobby for women; they are not serious about scaling and they don't have the grit or capability to move the needle and make these businesses viable and successful. However, the perception is changing now. Many ambitious women are now becoming entrepreneurs as both a pathway to financial independence and a means to make a difference.

Rise of the AI Soldiers

Idea of Nation - State is on Death Throes

The nation-state with clearly defined borders is the basic building block of political life. Today, there are around 200 nations globally, organized by ethnicity, ideology, nationalism or religion. But, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, globalization of the world economy has made political borders less important. Global and cultural interaction is, currently, at unprecedented levels and the developments in international trade, communications, air travel and the internet are challenging the pre-eminent position of the nation-state.

India - EU FTA

On Jan. 27, the European Union and India reached a landmark free trade deal that is expected to double the former's exports to India by 2032 and it will, in return, reduce tariffs on 99.5% of goods imported from India. Concluded after about two decades of negotiations, the deal has been described as the “mother of all deals” by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as it which aims to remove trade barriers and open up new export opportunities, creates the world's largest free trade zone, encompassing two billion people and nearly 25% of global gross domestic product.

World in Focus (Feb-Mar'26) - INTERNATIONAL

Science

Demise of the Rules-Based Order

The contemporary global order is undergoing a significant rupture, marked by the erosion of rule-based multilateralism, the rise of great power politics and the fragmentation of international norms, posing serious strategic, economic and societal challenges for states across the globe. The so-called 'rules-based order', which often functioned as an instrument of powerful states against weaker ones, is leading the world towards instability, uncertainty and selective adherence to international law, intensifying the great-power rivalry where the post-World War II concepts of sovereignty and the resolution of disputes through negotiations no longer matter.

Comparative Economic Trajectories of India and Pakistan

At a time when headlines are dominated by higher tariffs and economic nationalism, India and the European Union have finalized a long-delayed free trade agreement – dubbed as the “mother of all deals” – that will cut tariffs on most goods and boost trade. This deal is a major win for Brussels and New Delhi as both seek to open up new markets in the face of US tariffs and Chinese export controls. The pact will eventually link the world's most populous country, with roughly 1.5 billion people, to a market of around 500 million consumers. For global trade flows, that scale alone is transformative. For Pakistan, whose export base is narrow and fragile, the implications are immediate and strategic and raise uncomfortable questions that cannot be postponed.

Hacking of TV Channels

DATA BANK

The Grand Chessboard

Following the brazen January raid that captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and the subsequent US-Israeli strikes that decapitated the Iranian leadership, the traditional map of global trade now stands incinerated. Beneath the usual rhetoric of regime changes, there may be another motive behind such drastic interventions — one that is targeted at Beijing. Although Trump had campaigned for re-election as a "peace president" after saying he preferred a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Iran, this attack is being seen as an attempt to put pressure on China. Are these interventions also part of a broader strategy to constrain China by limiting its access to energy resources? Let’s explore!

The New AXIS of Ideologies

Women's Leadership

... and Political Participation

The Rise & Fall of the Liberal International Order

Is there such a thing as a “liberal international order” anymore? The most succinct and terse answer to this question is: No. And this is not without a reason. Reports from the past few weeks suggest that it was killed off by US President Donald Trump, who joined Israel in an all-out war on the Islamic Republic of Iran without any legal basis or rationale. In pursuit of his America-First agenda, Trump has thrown out the rulebook on trade, international relations, respect for human rights and, as we have seen with the bombing of Iran, the use of lethal force against sovereign states. So, is this the end of the liberal international order, or will other liberal states be able to salvage something from the geopolitical wreckage?

From Thucydides Trap to strategic sequencing

The collapse of the old world order has accelerated into an avalanche. Hence, right here and right now, some new world is taking shape. Transitional periods are always accompanied by a certain kind of turbulence, unrest and upheaval. Changes in our contemporary world are in many respects comparable to the major transitions of human history. Although the origins of this transformation are rooted in new technologies, above all digital ones, in communications, biology, finance, medicine and many other fields, yet it reminds one of the ancient Greek historian Thucydides who, in his famous book “History of the Peloponnesian War,” wrote: “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.” Thucydides not only recorded the events of the Great War between Athens and Sparta but has also illuminated the future, as he himself writes that he composed it “not as an essay to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time.” In the contemporary world, change Athens with China and Sparta with the United States, and the whole picture becomes clear.

International Law amidst a Changing World Order

Revisiting Perpetuated Pak-India Animosity

Riot Management Law - The Police Order (Second Amendment) Act, 2025

The One Who Controls the Sea - Rules the World

Human Capital

The missing link in Pakistan Econimic Transformation

US Withdraws From UN Organizations