by sqshareef | Apr 21, 2021 | News International Pakistan
The last twelve months have seen unprecedented assaults on American democracy, starting with a sitting president claiming the only way he could lose was if there was major rigging of the presidential election. Throughout the months leading up to the November 2020...
by sqshareef | Apr 20, 2021 | News International Pakistan
Last week, Iran and China signed a massive economic pact. Under this agreement, China will invest $400 billion in several sectors in Iran over the next 25 years. In exchange Iran will provide oil to China on favorable terms. This brings to fruition the approach...
by sqshareef | Apr 20, 2021 | News International Pakistan
Last week, the US Congress approved the $1.9 trillion American Relief Plan (ARP) proposed by President Biden to pull the country out of the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic. It includes funds for low-income individuals, and for vaccinations, as well as for...
by sqshareef | Mar 14, 2021 | News International Pakistan, Uncategorized
Americans often fret at the never-ending US entanglements in the Middle East. The region is considered “beyond repair”, with little regard to the US role in the dysfunction. There appear to be several seemingly disconnected episodes in the Middle East that keep...
by sqshareef | Mar 14, 2021 | News International Pakistan
Very soon after taking office in 2009, President Obama appointed Richard Holbrooke as special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. This ‘Af-Pak’ setup showed a lack of understanding of how Pakistan-India tensions factor into any resolution of the Afghanistan crisis. US...
by sqshareef | Mar 14, 2021 | News International Pakistan
Most of the key foreign policy posts in the Biden administration have now been filled. A conversation has started in Pakistan as to how best to manage this important relationship to the advantage of Pakistan. Many are talking about how much ‘leverage’ Pakistan has...
by sqshareef | Jan 31, 2021 | News International Pakistan
At noon on January 20 the presidency of Donald Trump will have come to an end and this one-term, twice-impeached president will be gone. From the day he launched his campaign in 2015, it was clear he was going to be an unconventional president, the likes of which the...
by sqshareef | Jan 17, 2021 | News International Pakistan
Throughout its history and certainly in modern times, the US has been through many crises – including some resulting in significant violence and unrest; from the civil rights and anti-war protests of the 60s and 70s to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974....
by sqshareef | Jan 17, 2021 | News International Pakistan
Every time a US presidential election approaches, a discussion begins in the Pakistani-American community. Which of the two candidates will be good for Pakistan? What exactly is meant by ‘good for Pakistan’ isn’t always clear. Why would any US president be...
by sqshareef | Jan 3, 2021 | News International Pakistan
On December 14, the US Electoral College cast their votes. As expected, Joe Biden received 306 votes against Donald Trump’s 232. While this is not news, Trump’s obstinate refusal to accept the voters’ verdict had created much angst. Given Trump’s...
by sqshareef | Jan 3, 2021 | News International Pakistan
In recent months there has been an improvement in relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh. A couple of months ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan called Bangladesh Prime Minister Mrs Sheikh Hasina, and more recently the Pakistani ambassador in Dhaka also called on the...
by sqshareef | Dec 11, 2020 | News International Pakistan
“The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” With these words on January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Trump had come from a...
