Author: Saifullah

There is a particular kind of truth that only gets spoken when the speaker has stopped caring about diplomatic niceties. Donald Trump’s remark at the G7 in France that Afghanistan is “kissing our ass” was not a gaffe. It was a window into something the Taliban has spent five years desperately trying to conceal: that international isolation is slowly strangling a regime that projected itself to the world as the force that humbled a superpower. The immediate context was the $7 billion in military equipment left behind during the 2021 withdrawal. Trump called the Biden-era exit a “horrible retreat,” contrasted…

When historians look back at this moment, they may well mark it as the day Pakistan graduated from regional actor to global diplomatic player. The signing of the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” between the United States and Iran — with Pakistan as mediator — is not just a ceasefire document. It is a statement about where Islamabad now stands on the world stage. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif electronically signed the MoU alongside US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, formalising a framework that both Washington and Tehran had resisted for years. The agreement came into force immediately…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a telephone conversation on Tuesday, focusing on the regional situation in the Middle East, civilian protection, and ongoing diplomatic efforts to restore stability. According to Al Jazeera, Araghchi briefed Lavrov on the details of a recently signed memorandum of understanding and developments related to a draft agreement between Iran and the United States. The two ministers exchanged views on regional security and emphasized the role of diplomacy in resolving conflicts and addressing humanitarian concerns. Both sides stressed the urgent need to protect civilians amid escalating regional tensions. The…

South Asia is once again entering a phase where old disputes are no longer confined to history books or diplomatic statements. They are being reshaped into modern instruments of pressure, perception, and strategic signaling. At the center of this evolving reality lie three interconnected fault lines: water security, Kashmir, and the expanding dimensions of hybrid conflict. Water in South Asia is no longer just an environmental or resource issue. It has increasingly become a strategic variable in interstate relations, especially between India and Pakistan. Any disruption, perception of restriction, or unilateral maneuvering related to shared river systems is instantly absorbed…

For decades, Pakistan’s national debates about freedom have been driven either by political rhetoric or international rankings. One side insists the country is moving toward greater openness, the other argues civic space is shrinking under institutional pressure. Between those competing narratives, ordinary Pakistanis have rarely been asked a simple question: what does freedom actually feel like in their daily lives? The newly released State of Freedom Report: Pakistan 2026 attempts to answer that question for the first time in the country’s 78-year history. Produced by MISHAL Pakistan and presented at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, the report is more…

Five years into one of the most documented human rights catastrophes of the modern era, the international community has mastered one skill above all others: the art of the strongly worded statement. Summits have been held. Resolutions have been passed. Diplomats have expressed “deep concern” in carefully measured language from comfortable conference rooms in Geneva, New York, and Brussels. And in Afghanistan, across all 34 provinces, women and girls have continued to be systematically erased from public life with a precision that only an ideologically committed state apparatus can maintain. But here is what the headlines have consistently failed to…

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…