News has broken that the American company Exxon Mobil has discovered vast oil reserves beneath the soil of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. According to Exxon Mobil’s experts, the reserves appear to be larger than Kuwait’s which if fully confirmed would make Pakistan one of the top ten oil producing nations on earth. For a country looking to revitalise …
Continue reading Pakistan Must Make the Most of Newly Discovered Oil Reserves
The “Naya Pakistan” (New Pakistan) of Prime Minister-elect Imran Khan should build upon the foreign policy rebalancing of the previous administrations and apply to join the Russian-led Eurasian Development Bank. Pakistan is on the cusp of such major changes following last month’s elections that many have begun speaking about a “Naya Pakistan” (New Pakistan) under …
Continue reading “Naya Pakistan” Should Apply to Join the Eurasian Development Bank
A Different Demography The UAE-Saudi-led economic and diplomatic boycott of Qatar complicates the Gulf state’s preparations to host the 2022 World Cup, but in no way has the event been derailed. The importation of construction materials needed to build eight stadiums, lay dozens of miles of rail work and erect a brand new city may …
Continue reading Trouble in Sport Paradise: Can Qatar Overcome the Diplomatic Crisis?
US designs in Syria were made crystal clear by US Army General Joseph Votel – head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) – during a July 19th press briefing. General Votel would state unequivocally when asked what the “arrangement” was regarding Syria, that: Our mission is very, very clear: It is focusing on the defeat of …
Remember this? And this: However debatable such an approach may be, there is no denial that this proverbial G(t), that is geopolitical potential is quantifiable and here is an interesting piece of analysis by former Indian diplomat M. K. Bhadrakumar, who in his piece US-Russia-China triangle in flux, againcomes to some interesting conclusions and provides some valuable insights. …
Continue reading A Russian-American Alliance vs China Is an Absurd Proposition
NATO believes that the Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance. The summit that was held July 11-12 specifically expressed support for the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Balkan countries. Macedonia was officially invited to join the alliance. On the eve of the summit, Deputy Secretary General of NATO Rose Gottemoeller stressed that NATO supported the process …
Continue reading NATO to Set Up Its First Air Base in Western Balkans
Years ago, I had a friendly discussion with Ariel Sharon. I told him: “I am first of all an Israeli. After that I am a Jew.” He responded heatedly: “I am first of all a Jew, and only after that an Israeli!” That may look like an abstract debate. But in reality, this is the …
Western policymakers brazenly advocate that to be taken seriously, nations must emulate the Western democratic tradition. But peel back the veneer of these so-called democracies, and there lurks something sinister and rotten. Just about 2,500 years ago, democracy took its first breath in that fertile hotbed of philosophical thought known as Athens, one of the …
US counternarcotics policy in Afghanistan not only failed to reduce the notorious opium production, but also contributed to increased poppy cultivation due to Washington’s funding of irrigation projects, a new report said. The US spent some $8.62 billion on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan in 2002-2017, a report from Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), …
Continue reading US Money to Support Afghan Irrigation ‘Helped’ Poppy Cultivation
