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Ishtiaq Ahmad

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Arab News Pakistan

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At 79, What Is Right With Pakistan And Wrong With India

At 79, What Is Right With Pakistan And Wrong With India

Pakistan celebrates its 79th Independence Day in circumstances few could have anticipated only a few years ago. A country widely associated with...

yesterday 30

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Meanwhile, India's Settler-Colonial Project In Disputed Kashmir Rolls On

Meanwhile, India's Settler-Colonial Project In Disputed Kashmir Rolls On

The seventh anniversary of India's abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A passed this week with remarkably little attention in Pakistan's...

06.08.2026 30

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The War That Exposed The Double Standards Of The Progressive Left

The Iran conflict has done more than reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics: It has exposed deeper contradictions in contemporary political discourse and...

30.07.2026 40

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Bodies in Pakistan. Souls In Tehran

When Houthi missiles once again targeted Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Pakistan reacted with unusual clarity and resolve. Prime Minister Shehbaz...

18.07.2026 40

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Bodies In Pakistan, Souls In Tehran: When Revolutionary Loyalty Collides With National Interest

When Houthi missiles once again targeted Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Pakistan reacted with unusual clarity and resolve. Prime Minister Shehbaz...

18.07.2026 30

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Iran's Last Card: Will The Houthis Draw Saudi Arabia And Pakistan In?

Saudi Arabia's strike on Sana'a International Airport, followed by Houthi missile attacks on two Saudi airports, has opened a dangerous new...

14.07.2026 40

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Trump’s Long Game: How The IRGC Is Losing The Middle East

The latest American strikes against Iran following the IRGC’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have once again raised fears...

09.07.2026 40

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan Finds Its Place: From The Indus Valley Civilisation To A West Asian Middle Power

The recent controversy over the Indus Waters Treaty has triggered a debate far larger than water. What began as a dispute over river rights quickly...

07.07.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The Time Has Come To Raise The Cost For Afghanistan's Taliban

The attack on the Sindh Rangers facility in Karachi is a warning Pakistan cannot afford to dismiss. Security forces prevented what could have been a...

29.06.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

After The War: The Battle For The New Middle East

Wars may end with a ceasefire, but strategic contests rarely do. They simply move from the battlefield to diplomacy, political influence, and the...

26.06.2026 70

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan Has Done Iran A Great Favour. Is Tehran Ready To Return It?

President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Pakistan was remarkable not only for the warmth of the welcome he received but also for what it revealed...

24.06.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

How Pakistan Pulled Off The Impossible—And Why Its Diplomatic Role Is Far From Over

As diplomats prepare for the formal signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, an increasingly familiar debate has emerged over who deserves...

17.06.2026 40

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Hijacking Kashmir: How The JAAC Protests Serve India's Settler-Colonial Project

The current agitation by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the Kashmir...

13.06.2026 60

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The Strait, The Strikes And Tehran's Shrinking Options

Iran may have miscalculated again. The attack on an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz appears to have been intended as a reminder...

10.06.2026 40

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The Spoilers’ Last Stand: Lebanon And The Race To Seal Trump’s Iran Deal

Just when a US-Iran agreement appeared within reach, the Middle East witnessed another dangerous round of escalation. Iran fired multiple missile...

08.06.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan's Red Lines For Taliban: Terror And India

The latest visit of Chinese Special Representative Yue Xiaoyong to Islamabad and Kabul has once again highlighted the central challenge confronting...

03.06.2026 70

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

After Beijing Compact: The Long Road Ahead For Enduring China-Pakistan Relations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has concluded a critical visit to China at a time of exceptional regional uncertainty. The visit coincided with the 75th...

30.05.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The Framework Accord Is Only the Beginning: The Hard Part Starts Now

For the first time since the Iran–US/Israel war began, both Washington and Tehran are officially signalling movement towards a memorandum of...

25.05.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Who Will Tell The Emiratis They Are Digging Their Own Grave?

The UAE today faces an acute dilemma. It is increasingly drifting away from the very Gulf geography where its roots, prosperity and long-term security...

18.05.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

No Escape From Geography: The UAE’s Dangerous Drift Away From The Gulf

The UAE today faces perhaps the most dangerous strategic dilemma in its modern history. Not because Iran has suddenly become hostile. Tehran has...

18.05.2026 60

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

From Russia With Love: Time For Pakistan’s Strategic Reset With Moscow

Pakistan’s rise as an increasingly important diplomatic actor during the Iran–US crisis has created a rare strategic opening that Islamabad must...

15.05.2026 60

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

American Dime, Persian Mosaic—And A Fleet Of Mosquitoes In The Hormuz Blues

There are wars that fit neatly into textbooks. Then there is this one. A conflict where aircraft carriers escort oil tankers while economists track...

11.05.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Hostage Campus: The Unmaking Of Quaid-I-Azam University

Quaid-i-Azam University is once again in crisis. With midterm examinations scheduled this week, the administration has issued a firm notification:...

04.05.2026 60

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Now We Have It, Now We Don’t: Iran’s Second Chance In Islamabad

Friday’s separate telephone conversations between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Foreign...

24.04.2026 60

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Iran’s Fatal Miscalculation: Why Diplomacy Is Tehran’s Only Option

The Strait of Hormuz was meant to be Iran’s leverage. It has instead begun to work against Iran. What started as a pressure tactic to raise the...

23.04.2026 60

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan’s Moment: Why Trump Should Seal the Historic Iran Deal In Islamabad

As the saying goes, “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” Yet even as the final differences in the Iran deal continue to be worked out...

18.04.2026 70

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Inside The Islamabad Talks: Pakistan Between Washington And Tehran

As U.S. and Iranian delegations begin the first round of direct talks mediated by Pakistan in Islamabad, the process opens under visible strain. The...

11.04.2026 70

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The War Turned In The Final Hours. Pakistan Had Already Built The Channel

At 8:00 pm Eastern Time on April 8, the United States was prepared to escalate. President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Iran—reopen the Strait of...

08.04.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The UAE Wants Its Money Back, But We Are Still Brothers

Pakistani leaders prepared a full ceremonial welcome for Mohammed bin Zayed on 26 December last year—JF-17 escort, 21-gun salute at Nur Khan...

06.04.2026 80

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Between Escalation And Brinkmanship, Islamabad Holds The Diplomatic Line

One month into the Iran war, as military escalation widens across theatres, Islamabad has emerged as an unlikely but central node of diplomacy. Four...

30.03.2026 80

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan Is In The Room, India Is on Television

As the US–Israel war on Iran enters a critical phase, Pakistan is being named in the exchanges taking place between Washington and Tehran. Iranian...

26.03.2026 250

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

How Pakistan’s Smart Diplomacy Made It A Key Broker In The Iran War

An Axios report on Monday indicated that Pakistan, alongside Türkiye and Egypt, has been relaying messages between Washington and Tehran and may host...

24.03.2026 100

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan’s Defence Of Saudi Arabia Moves Closer To Action As Iran War Escalates

The Iran war has entered a phase where Pakistan’s defence alignment with Saudi Arabia is no longer a distant policy posture but increasingly subject...

20.03.2026 100

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The Messiahs We Imagined, The Monsters We Created

Imran Khan is in prison, and we are fighting the Afghan Taliban. These are facts. A third reality may also be taking shape in the wake of Pakistan’s...

10.03.2026 80

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Escalation Without Strategy: The Iranian Regime’s Blunder In The Gulf

03.03.2026 100

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

The Time Has Come To Stand Up To Afghanistan’s Taliban Menace

Overnight, the Pakistan–Afghanistan standoff edged closer to open conflict. Following Sunday’s strikes on TTP targets, Taliban forces launched...

27.02.2026 80

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

As The Board Of Peace Gets To Work, Pakistan Holds The Line On Palestine

The first meeting of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington marked a shift from ceasefire diplomacy to the far more difficult...

20.02.2026 200

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan’s Rare Earth Opportunity Hinges On Security, Stability And Reform

Last week, US Deputy Assistant Secretary John Mark Pommersheim was in Islamabad discussing expanded cooperation in energy and critical minerals and...

16.02.2026 100

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Trump’s China Reset And The Strategic Space It Opens For Pakistan

27.01.2026 40

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Pakistan Joins Trump’s Board Of Peace: Balancing Opportunity And Risk

22.01.2026 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Despite Rising Diplomatic Clout, Pakistan Must Tread Carefully In MENA Conflicts

24.12.2025 70

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

How China And Pakistan Are Rebuilding Momentum Through CPEC 2.0

27.10.2025 60

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Gilgit-Baltistan’s Tax Protests: A Crisis Of Trade, Trust, And Representation

20.09.2025 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad