Aerospace

Golden Dome: Capabilities and Constraints

In an era of novel threats, a layered defensive shield is once again at the centre of US strategy. The announcement of the Golden Dome by President Trump shortly after assuming office has given rise to new expectations, questions, and concerns regarding the project.
The capability is envisioned as a comprehensive missile shield for the continental United States (CONUS) against ballistic missiles, hypersonic vehicles, cruise missiles, and UAVs. Conceived as a multi-tiered system, it aims to integrate existing missile defences with new space-based platforms. The layered system, combining land, sea and space-based sensors

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Security

Trump’s Coercive Diplomacy: America’s Harder Turn

President Donald Trump renamed the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of War in September 2025. Then, just a month later, he threatened at least three countries with war. Trump’s economic war was waged on most states, in the form of tariffs, from the day he assumed office, but the threats and signalling toward an armed confrontation have been growing more frequent and explicit.

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Security

Do India- Bangladesh Relations Signal a New Strategic Front?

Amidst transforming regional security dynamics, India reinforced its eastern flank by establishing three fully operational military stations at strategic points around the ‘Siliguri Corridor’ near the India-Bangladesh border. The new bases include the Lachit Borphukan Military Station near Dhubri in Assam along with two forward bases at Chopra in West Bengal and Kishanganj in Bihar. Indian Army also reviews a fourth station in Mizoram as part of extended defence arc around the Siliguri corridor. Amidst deteriorating ties with Bangladesh, India’s fortification of its eastern

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National Security

The Bonsai Capital

There was a time when, during the extension Margalla Road in Islamabad had bend to go around old trees. However, the city that was once known for its ability to conserve greenery and blooms every season is now under the spell of massive tree-massacre and bonsai plantations. The year 2025 brought along hailstorms and cloud bursts for the calm and scenic city of Islamabad. These extreme weather events are nature’s way of manifesting its discontent towards the disruptive practices of tree-slaughter and dwarfed cultivation in the region. The phenomenon indicates governance inadequacies, and nature is not the only one discontent with it.

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Security

Where is the Russia-Ukraine War Headed?

Since President Trump assumed office in his second term, a lot has been said about peaceful culmination of the Russia-Ukraine war. The President himself claimed that the end of the war is imminent. Though conditions for negotiated ceasefire gradually coalesce, the frontline remains entrenched in stalemate as Professor John Mearsheimer puts it ‘the conflict will be settled on the battlefield, period, end of the story.’
As of late 2025, the U.S. led high-level discussions to end Russia-Ukraine conflicts have intensified. Most notable are Alaska summit, talks in Berlin and recently Miami Peace Talks where officials have met to discuss the Ukraine Peace Plan, NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine, territorial issues

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Emerging technologies

The High Cost of Low-Cost Warfare

‘If we don’t figure out a way to fight far more cheaply, we won’t be able to afford to win a single battle.’ This warning from Peter W. Singer, an American strategist, reflects a reality that the arithmetic of warfare has inverted. The economic equation of conflict has changed so rapidly that a USD 500 drone can now target billion-dollar assets of state-of-the-art militaries. Meanwhile, the cost of counter-drone technology has risen to an absurd level. This cost curve has become a greatest vulnerability and a critical weakness for major powers. Consequently, states are indulging in a race not just to build cheaper and expendable drones but also affordable

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Security

Do Iran’s Missiles Matter More Than Its Nuclear Potential?

Iran’s missile arsenal is the newly identified threat to Israel and US forces in the region. In the days leading up to 29 December’s meeting between Netanyahu and President Trump, there was considerable speculation that Iran would be the primary item on the meeting’s agenda, and this ultimately proved to be the case. According to the reports, Prime Minister Netanyahu briefed President Trump about the necessity and urgency of attacking Iran again. However, this time the primary threat is not its nuclear programme, but rather Iran’s growing ballistic missile stockpiles.

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Economy

Has India’s Prosperity Narrative Long Rested on Overstated Numbers?

From the congested slums of Mumbai to the neglected neighbourhoods of Delhi, where the poor struggle to survive each day, the widely-documented ground realities in India have long reflected the country’s weak social and human development conditions. Its ranking of 130ᵗʰ on the Human Development Index (HDI) further speaks of these realities. Against this backdrop, the government has relied heavily on headline GDP figures to project a narrative of prosperity, but growing evidence suggests that this part of the narrative, too, may have been based on overstated numbers

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Security

Internal Contradictions in U.S. National Security Strategy 2025

National Security Strategy (NSS) of United States, released by President Trump, intends to reform the miscalculations of past leaders and improve decades of Washington’s reach. Trump administration, as per the document, promises respect for sovereignty, restraint and renunciation of protracted global involvement. However, upon closer examination, the 33-pager document is full of internal inconsistencies. In contradiction to NSS, which vows to pull back from taking global responsibilities and adopts the policy of non-intervention, the U.S. pressurises other states through economic, military and political coercion.

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Emerging technologies

Why Afghan Trade Can’t Bypass Pakistan

A year ago, the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce Industry (SCCI) and Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce Industry (PAJCCI) reached a Memorandum of Understanding to boost trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, only to end in doldrums in 2025. Due to the recent geopolitical tensions between the two states, the Taliban’s minister of commerce declared a trade boycott against Pakistan. While the move is compelled by the geopolitical rift, it is a miscalculated decision given the region’s geographical reality

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