Author: Saifullah

US Vice President JD Vance announced Monday that the text of a landmark agreement to end the war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz will be released publicly this week, even as technical negotiations on the deal’s finer points continue. Speaking to CNBC, Vance said Washington expects the strategically critical maritime route to remain open without any tolls on a long-term basis. “Our expectation is that the Strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long-term,” Vance said, adding that many important details still need to be worked out at the negotiating table. The…

Somewhere in the Sahel this morning, a child woke before sunrise. Not for school, not for breakfast, but for work. The goats needed feeding, the fields needed tending, and the family needed the small income that would come before the heat became unbearable. The child is eight years old. They do not know it is World Day Against Child Labour. They only know that the day has already begun, and survival has its own schedule. In 2015, the world made a promise to end child labour by 2025. That promise has now expired. According to the latest ILO and UNICEF…

US President Donald Trump has claimed that planned American air strikes on Iran were called off because a peace agreement between Washington and Tehran is now close to completion. According to Trump, the deal is nearing finalisation and the time and location for its signing will be “announced shortly.” The statement comes amid weeks of heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, including threats of military action targeting Iranian strategic infrastructure. Earlier, Trump warned that Iran would be hit “very hard” if tensions escalated further, specifically mentioning Kharg Island and other critical oil infrastructure sites as potential targets for…

Yemen’s internationally recognised government has openly backed a Western-led statement condemning Iran and the activities of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), highlighting growing regional concern over Tehran’s expanding influence and destabilising operations. According to reports, Yemen’s foreign ministry welcomed the joint declaration issued by 24 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and several European nations. The statement accused the IRGC of involvement in hostile operations, covert plots, and destabilising activities across Europe, North America, and Australia. The Yemeni government stated that it was among the first nations to suffer from Iran’s interventionist policies, pointing specifically to…

A clear shift is underway in Pakistan’s security posture, one that is no longer defined by reaction alone, but by calibrated and intelligence-driven assertion. The latest briefing from the Foreign Office reflects this transformation in unmistakable terms: the era of passive containment is giving way to active deterrence. Following the recent wave of attacks in North Waziristan and Bannu, Pakistan responded on June 9 with a targeted operation based on credible intelligence inputs. The strikes, according to official confirmation, were directed at cross-border terrorist hideouts and logistical infrastructure used to plan and facilitate attacks inside Pakistani territory. The message embedded…

The recent decision involving the United Nations Security Council has once again highlighted how global counterterrorism decisions are increasingly shaped by geopolitical interests rather than purely security-based criteria. At the center of the controversy was a joint proposal by Pakistan and China to list the Balochistan Liberation Army and its suicide wing, the Majeed Brigade, under the UN 1267 sanctions regime. The proposal was blocked by the United States, United Kingdom, and France, exposing deep divisions within the international counterterrorism framework. Pakistan’s Position and Evidence Pakistan argued that the BLA has evolved into a highly organized terrorist network responsible for…

In 1904, British geographer and strategist Halford Mackinder introduced a theory that would outlive empires, ideologies, and even the century that produced it. Speaking before the Royal Geographical Society, he argued that the struggle for global power would ultimately revolve around geography, not temporary political systems or shifting alliances. At the centre of his theory stood the “Heartland,” a vast landlocked expanse stretching across Eurasia, protected from maritime dominance and rich in strategic depth. For decades, many dismissed Mackinder’s ideas as outdated. The rise of air power, nuclear deterrence, cyberspace, and globalisation supposedly made geography less relevant. The modern world,…

The debate over the ethnic composition of armed forces is not unique to Pakistan. Throughout history, militaries around the world have recruited disproportionately from certain regions, communities, and socio-economic classes due to geography, economic realities, historical traditions, and recruitment patterns. Yet one principle remains constant in every sovereign state: a national military is defined not by the ethnicity of its personnel, but by the state, constitution, and authority it is sworn to defend. In a recently circulated Facebook video, a speaker claiming to be among the founding figures of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) argued that the Pakistan Army should…

Afghanistan’s quest for international recognition remains entangled in a security dilemma it cannot easily escape. While the Taliban administration continues to seek diplomatic engagement and economic relief from the global community, persistent concerns over militant sanctuaries, particularly linked to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), continue to cast a long shadow over Kabul’s ambitions. Recent developments, including international debates in Europe and growing Afghan diaspora activism, have once again brought the issue into focus. The Madrid demonstration, led by Afghan opposition voices, highlighted not only concerns over governance and human rights but also deeper anxieties about regional stability. Among these concerns, allegations of…

Pakistan has reaffirmed its firm opposition to the use of chemical weapons under any circumstances, describing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) as a vital pillar of the international disarmament and non-proliferation framework. Speaking during a United Nations Security Council briefing on the Middle East, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN stressed that the prohibition of chemical weapons remains essential for maintaining global peace and security. He underscored Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to international efforts aimed at preventing the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction. Pakistan expressed strong support for the universal adoption of the Chemical Weapons Convention and…