Distribution sector in Pakistan is undergoing a significant policy shift, as the government pursues a multi-phase privatization plan for distribution companies (DISCOs). However, longstanding structural issues including inefficient cost recoveries and regulatory limitations continue to undermine these reforms. This paper draws from data from NEPRA, international case studies and insights from discussions with experts. It contends that some foundational reforms are necessary prerequisites to successful privatization of DISCOs. These reforms include tariff restructuring, strengthening regulatory capacity and corporatization. It also explores alternative models, including performance-based management contracts and commercialization strategies as a viable way forward to address persistent operational inefficiencies without immediate asset transfer. It underscores that in the absence of such reforms, privatization risks replicating past mistakes rather than resolving them.

This integrated set of policy briefs was developed in the wake of the critical inflection point in Pakistan’s security and strategic environment, Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. Each brief addresses a specific dimension of Pakistan’s evolving posture, collectively shaping a roadmap for national strategy, deterrence, stability, and regional engagement in the post-conflict phase.

In the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) apparently shares more foundational grounds with Iran than with Israel, prompting a comprehensive reassessment of the GCC relations with Tehran. Employing the prisoner’s dilemma framework, the paper explores how hardline Gulf states could shift from a punitive stance toward Iran to a collaborative approach, encouraging cooperation over confrontation. The war in Gaza presents an ongoing dilemma to the governing regimes in the GCC trying to uphold both their domestic political stability vis-a-vis regional solidarity toward Palestine, and their international alliances. Ultimately, the GCC is urged to adopt a more measured and pragmatic approach toward Iran, considering potential pathways for cooperation, while carefully reconsidering the implications of normalization with Israel on broader Arab security concerns. The paper explores the prisoner’s dilemma as the theoretical basis for the cooperative paradigm and then investigates GCC and Iran dynamics in the wake of the Gaza War, highlighting the proximities between both sides, on which the GCC can capitalize. The paper, then, examines the GCC relations with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, underscoring the threats that the GCC needs to recognize.

India, given its geographic size, population, economic aspirations, and claims about democratic and secular values, has consistently positioned itself as a regional hegemon. This image is reinforced through assertive regional policies and global diplomatic posturing. However, its recurring tendency to attribute blame to Pakistan for its domestic instabilities, particularly ‘terrorist’ events, often without any corroborating evidence, raises doubts whether this is a calculated strategic policy or a reactive event-based posture. Multiple analyses of the incidents that India blamed Pakistan for, suggest that they were instrumentalized to implicate Pakistan thereby serving broader political and strategic objectives. This paper explores the history and use of such false flag acts designed to implicate Pakistan to contextualize India’s tendency of attributing blame to the former. It examines whether Pahalgam incident of April 22, 2025, and India’s response to it, reflect genuine security concerns, or a broader political or diplomatic agenda. It draws on case studies, media analyses, and international responses, to evaluate the implications of this and other such events for regional and global stability. It also explores how such incidents help India deflect scrutiny over human rights abuses in the IIOJ&K and the denial of civil liberties to minorities, revealing a method in its madness.

This paper examines President Donald Trump’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) funding demand of 5 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a strategic business initiative rather than a genuine security policy objective. By identifying the disparity between Trump’s business leadership approach and conventional political methodologies, the paper elucidates how his unconventional psychological profile influences his policy decisions. The paper indicates that while the United States (US) nominally contributes 5 percent of its GDP to defense, only a portion directly supports NATO operations, with the remainder financing global force projection. Conversely, European nations’ defense industries remain underdeveloped following post-cold war reductions, resulting in dependency on US suppliers. The paper concludes that Trump’s demand strategically advances American business interests, as the European nations currently allocate approximately 63 percent of their military procurement budgets to US defense contractors, yielding a substantial return on minimal US investment in NATO’s actual operational costs.

This paper reviews the life and contributions of the late scholar Khurshid Ahmad, particularly his service for the cause of Islam and Islamic paradigm of life. He was not only a prominent Pakistani figure and global thought leader, but also a staunch ambassador of Islamic thought, Pakistan and the Muslim Ummah, earning him widespread respect, even from across ideological and political divides. His writings and initiatives, which explain the distinction between Islamic economics, socialism, and capitalism, helped shape modern Islamic economic theory. The article is composed of two parts: the first part explores his diverse contributions; the second part looks at his life trajectory.

The United States (US) under its Indo-Pacific policy explicitly aims to counter China’s political, economic and military maneuvers. China’s territorial claims compelled the US to revisit its Indo-Pacific policy and posture. In 2022, under former President Joe Biden, the US introduced its Indo-Pacific strategy that underscores the free, open and prosperous vision of the region. Viewing from the lens of Neo-Realism, the strategy hinted towards building alliances with partners, promoting transparent democratic values and norms in the region, mitigating any aggressive threat to the region and finally securing the US’ interests. Increased military spending, forming new partnerships and alliances—QUAD, AUKUS ANZUS—developing economic and technological infrastructures in the region are all part of the strategies which the US state department had issued in the IPS-2022. Similarly, its National Defense Strategy (NDS) implicitly mentions all those measures which are to be taken by the US to ensure stability in the region. The reelection of President Trump in the office in 2025 is anticipated to have significant impacts on the established international norms and values but the containment of China remains a core objective of the US. While on the other hand, in response to the IPS 2022, China has increased its defense spending, expanded regional economic projects, challenged US narratives and positions at the UNSC, and imposed reciprocal tariffs to maintain its influence. This paper aims to address the political, economic and military implications of the US Indo-Pacific policy for China including regional alliances, trade and investments, arms race, maritime security, tariffs and duties. It also re-evaluates IPS 2022 under Trump 2.0 administration and analyzes the US and China’s military capabilities deployed in the region.