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Palwasha Khan l
Iran and America have recently been at odds with no hope for de-escalation. Iranian authorities aiming to target global oil supply transiting through its Hormuz vantage and American decision makers eyeing on reinitiating a Jimmy Carter-like response to Iranian aggression, it seems the Gulf region is about to embark on a venture into coercive diplomatic tactics with...
The scenario agreed on behind the curtains through months of confidential exchanges, often one-on-one, between the Russian and Turkish leaders regarding north-eastern Syria is entering a critical phase of implementation on the ground with the agreement between the Kurds and the Assad regime.
We have a complex scenario where on the one hand the Turkish army and the Syrian opposition...
TIC Analysis l
The Strait of Hormuz
In past two months, a series of maritime frays have occurred and become the source of concerns for world. On June 13, two oil tanker were attacked which were travelling in the Gulf of Oman. Tankers were belonged to Norway and Japan. US immediately accused Iran of patronizing the attacks whereas Iran strongly denied....
TIC Analysis l
The next meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is scheduled to be held in Paris from Oct 12 to 15 and Pakistan has already prepared its compliance report, which will be presented by Minister for Economic Affairs Division Hammad Azhar. The Pakistani delegation is scheduled to leave for France on Oct 13 as Pakistan’s case...
Oriental Review l
France’s future emperor never saw China, but he was wise enough to understand its immense latent strength and future importance. Two centuries after making this prediction, China has proved the Corsican correct.
Last week, China feted the 70th anniversary of the Communist takeover of the mainland. It was a gala demonstration of the nation’s military and social power....
Andrew Korybko |
Russian-Iranian relations were unexpectedly shaken Friday afternoon following reports that the IRGC arrested Russian anti-government journalist Yulia Yuzik on suspicion of spying for “Israel” during her latest trip to the Islamic Republic, but the international dimension of this scandal quickly subsided after Moscow put pressure on Tehran to secure her release, which the Iranian Ambassador to Russia promised would...
TIC Analysis l
Dynamics of Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabia has decided to join the international alliance for the safety and protection of maritime navigation known as the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), its Ministry of Defence announced on 18 September. It said the alliance's aim is to protect merchant ships of participating countries as they pass through maritime corridors and...
TIC Focus l
A high-level Congressional delegation of the United States flew into the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) capital on Sunday to see the ground situation and gauge public sentiment following the Aug 5 Indian actions in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The US Senators said they shared human rights concerns and would continue to urge India to lift the...
TIC Analysis l
Prime Minister Imran Khan who returned after a 10-day visit to Saudi Arabia and the United States on Sunday reaffirmed that Pakistan will continue supporting the just struggle of the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) till they achieve their freedom goal. He asked the people to remember that Pakistan is standing with Kashmir. “Whether the world...
Farid A Malik |
Raja Farooq Haider, the Prime Minister (PM) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) delivered a very emotional speech at the recently concluded Senate’s Kashmir Conference. Before him two great kashmiri leaders (Sardar Ibrahim Khan and K. H. Khurshid) echoed similar views. Kashmiris have to lead the liberation movement, Pakistan has to be in a support role,...
Andrew Korybko |
PM Modi: The 'New Hitler' ?
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's (PMIK) speech at the UN General Assembly last week was one for the history books and heralded the country's rapid ascent as a globally significant actor. The South Asian leader touched upon the four main topics of climate change, anti-corruption, Islamophobia, and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Indian-Occupied Kashmir...
TIC Analysis l
Pakistan stands vindicated at the 74th session of UNGA after an exuberating speech by Prime Minister Imran Khan in New York. The highlight of his more than 45-minute-long speech was intense criticism of India for its annexation of occupied Kashmir and the continued restrictions imposed in the region. Pakistan’s Prime Minister remained critical of PM Modi’s inhumane...
Andrew Korybko |
All Great Powers, including most recently even Russia and India, are increasingly expanding their influence in Africa as they seek to take part in the continent’s expected growth across this century, and CPEC provides the perfect opportunity for Pakistan to pivot there too so long as the country’s decision makers are aware of its many opportunities and...
Andrew Korybko |
S-400: The Game Changer
India’s successful launch of the Agni 5 ICBM was a strategic game-changer though not necessarily in the way that its leaders and their American allies may have expected, as it could instead pave the way for more robust Russian-Pakistani military relations that ultimately enable Islamabad to deploy an anti-air bubble over its territory in...
Oriental Review l
Economic Crisis
Famous German philosopher Karl Marx referring to the cycles of history once said: “History repeats itself first as tragedy, second as farce”. In the contemporary discourse, 1970s and 1980s marked themselves as the important decades of the recent history for various reasons. First, the prolonged war in Vietnam ended that brought United States and China closer. Second, the...
M K Bhadrakumar l
The frank remarks to the media this week by Iranian ambassador to India Ali Chegeni on the dismal state of his country’s relations with India betray frustration and despondency that the Modi government succumbed to US pressure and relegated the Iran ties to the back burner without batting an eyelid.
Tehran is pitching hard for reviving the relationship with...
Sabah Aslam l
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is much more than just a development deal between two states; it is to a large extent a mega-project which encompasses many foyers of economy, trade and politics as well as strategy between two highly important states within Asia. It incorporates developing a network of roads, pipelines, and railways which connects Balochistan province in...
TIC Analysis l
Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against any emotional attempt from the people to cross the Line of Control (LoC) from Pakistan into India held Kashmir, saying on Wednesday any such attempt would, in fact, affect the struggle of the people in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The Prime Minister declared any bid to “wage jihad in Kashmir” would be...
Amb. Munir Akram l
Let's explain hybrid warfare. For over 60 years, nuclear weapons have deterred a major conflict between nuclear-armed states, and, because of the global revulsion against the use of nuclear weapons, the nuclear powers have been also unable to realise offensive objectives through nuclear coercion, even against non-nuclear weapon states. Thus, most conflicts are in the form...
M K Bhadrakumar l
The geopolitical fault-lines of the drone attack on the Saudi Aramco plants on Saturday are surfacing. These are early days but three broad trends have appeared. One, Saudi investigators have begun pointing finger at Iran, which is certain to exacerbate regional tensions. Two, the all-important US response to the event is unfolding on multiple templates, each...
Sabah Aslam l
New equations of the world order are being drawn and global orientations have been changing. It is time for Pakistan to step-up its diplomatic ties to extract the maximum for itself. In the past few years, growing alliance between Kremlin and Islamabad is getting a lot of limelight. Irritant for Pakistan’s enmities, this alliance grew from military...
TIC Analysis l
Saudi Arabia's crown prince has told US President Donald Trump the kingdom was "willing and able" to respond to the latest attacks claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels on its oil facilities, state media reported. "The kingdom is willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ( MBS) told...
Dr. Najam Abbas l
The Persian Gulf has emerged as a major point of contention between different powers specifically the USA and Iran. Relations began to deteriorate since the Trump Administration pulled out of the Iran Nuclear deal in May 2018. The ensuing period has seen a rise in hostilities in the form of sanctions, drone attacks, sabotage of tankers...
Oriental Review l
After 18 years of war in Afghanistan– America’s longest – US and Taliban negotiators are said to be close to an agreement that may see the withdrawal of many of the 14,000 US soldiers in that remote nation.
That’s the official version. President Donald Trump keeps changing his mind about the number of US troops to be withdrawn....
Andrew Korybko |
India’s zero-sum plans of using its reinvigorated strategic partnership with Russia to “balance” China in the region of “Greater South Asia” are at risk of being ruined if Iran goes through with its recently announced interest in building a CPEC-parallel LNG pipeline to China (E-CPEC+, with the “E” standing for “energy”) and receives Moscow’s world-class support in constructing this...
