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Ishtiaq Ahmad

Ishtiaq Ahmad

Arab News Pakistan

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

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...

previous day 20

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

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

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 20

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 30

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 30

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 30

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 40

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 40

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 30

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 50

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 50

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 90

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 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

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

03.03.2026 70

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 40

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 10

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

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

22.01.2026 30

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

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

24.12.2025 50

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

How China And Pakistan Are Rebuilding Momentum Through CPEC 2.0

27.10.2025 30

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad

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

20.09.2025 20

The Friday Times

Ishtiaq Ahmad