Category: Uncategorized

  • Afghanistan: Collapse of a Government or a Grand Strategy

    Syed Sharfuddin Executive Summary This essays argues that the major reason for the fall of Afghanistan was Taliban fighters’ surprisingly quick move into Afghan provinces and the capital Kabul in August 2021 in a matter of weeks rather than months. It cannot be doubted that the Taliban had prepared for this move in advance, making […]

  • Why Israel Lost this Round in the Arab Israeli Conflict

    Syed Sharfuddin* The present conflict in the Middle East involving the Zionist State of Israel on the one side and the Palestine Administration of Mahmud Abbas and Hamas on the other side, is about to end with a UN approved ceasefire, with the Palestinians emerging as deeply wounded but victorious in this round. The responsibility […]

  • From Israel’s right to exist to Palestine’s right to statehood

    Syed Sharfuddin* The ten-day exchange of rocket firing between Israel and Gaza came to an end in the late hours of 20 May 2021 after intense diplomatic pressure was applied by the international community, as well as by Israel’s friends to reach a ceasefire, but the mess it created both politically and on the ground […]

  • TLP protests and the power of state

    Syed Sharfuddin The past few days in the politics of Pakistan have been reminiscent of the sunset days of the PML-N era when suddenly a small interest group best classified as a non state actor held the government on tenterhooks leaving it undecided whether to use coercive means to end the widespread public protests or […]

  • Rich Man Poor Man: A True Story.

    Syed Sharfuddin In a colony of the poor there was a house whose inhabitants had a great fight one day. Their family members had bruises, broken arms and limbs and suffered damage to property as a result of the fight. The neighbours did not know what happened. Everyone thought it was a crazy family, always […]

  • The Vaccine Debate

    Syed Sharfuddin We live in interesting times. In our youth it was just the fear of smallpox, polio, BCG, malaria, meningitis and whooping cough that reluctantly made us visit the doctor. Then came the attack from a whole family of RNA viruses comprising flavi or dengue virus, yellow fever virus, zika virus, alpha coronaviruses, beta […]

  • A Memorable US Presidential Election: A Commonwealth Perspective

    By Syed Sharfuddin, The Commonwealth does not observe elections in non-member countries. Where it does, the observation is subject to receiving an official invitation from the concerned government and the Commonwealth Secretary-General certifying that the observation will add value to the democratic practice and processes in the electing country. Democracies with strong electoral systems have […]

  • The UN General Assembly Session after Covid

    By Syed Sharfuddin* For the first time in post world war history, the UN General Assembly is holding a virtual plenary session at the GA Chamber at its headquarters by the FDR Ave in Manhattan, New York. This year world leaders are delivering their country statements through video link from their home countries. As we […]

  • Hagia Sofia: Changing Hands of History

    By Syed Sharfuddin* In ancient times monarchs and emperors relied on the display of sheer power and its outward symbols such as land, property, buildings and cattle to command servitude and obedience from their subjects. In traditional societies foreign expeditions were a legitimate means of acquiring additional revenue and resources to pay for security and […]

  • One teleVision, Three Countries

    Syed Sharfuddin* Last September in the margins of the UN General Assembly Session in New York the President of Turkey and Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Malaysia met and agreed to launch a joint TV channel to counter the rising trend of Islamophobia in the US and Europe by bringing the rich heritage of Islam […]

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