https://www.scmp.com/rss/323148/feed Tom Hussain is an Islamabad-based journalist who has spent his 35-year career covering South Asia and the Middle East. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Tom Hussain Tom Hussain As Islamabad prepares to host a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran, Pakistani mediators are seeking ways to extricate the Gulf monarchies from the conflict, according to a well-placed diplomatic source. While the success of those efforts depends largely on the outcome of talks that US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday could resume by the end of the week, Pakistan’s mediation has produced a second confidence-building phone call in a week between the Iranian and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350175/pakistan-seeks-shield-gulf-states-us-iran-talks-set-resume?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350175/pakistan-seeks-shield-gulf-states-us-iran-talks-set-resume?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:00:04 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan’s deployment of an air force contingent at a base on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf coast, coming as it mediated talks between Iran and the US, could force Tehran to reconsider its strategy of attacking critical energy infrastructure in the kingdom, analysts say. While purely defensive in nature, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) task force posed a poignant question to Tehran: if hostilities resumed, would it be prepared to risk shooting down warplanes belonging to the peacemaking country it clearly... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349932/what-pakistani-jets-saudi-arabia-mean-gulf-security-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349932/what-pakistani-jets-saudi-arabia-mean-gulf-security-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:22:22 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Days before Pakistan had helped to secure a ceasefire in the Iran war this week, the United Arab Emirates was seeking repayment of a US$3.5 billion deposit from Islamabad’s central bank. The withdrawal, brushed off as a “routine financial transaction” by Pakistan’s foreign ministry, equated to roughly 21 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange reserves. It was accompanied by a wave of criticism on Emirati social media directed at Islamabad. “When our security is directly threatened, we hear... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349673/uae-pulls-us35-billion-pakistan-after-iran-war-mediation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349673/uae-pulls-us35-billion-pakistan-after-iran-war-mediation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 04:00:11 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The Gulf’s six Arab monarchies, battered by Iranian drones and missiles because of a war they never wanted, are watching with trepidation to see what Pakistan-hosted US-Iran negotiations will yield for their collective future. After China and Russia vetoed the Gulf Cooperation Council’s bid to attain UN Security Council approval for “defensive” measures to force open the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, analysts say the GCC states have little sway over what is about to transpire in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349655/us-iran-talks-leave-gulf-states-edge-about-price-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3349655/us-iran-talks-leave-gulf-states-edge-about-price-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:00:18 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The United Arab Emirates has begun retaliating against Iran’s incessant air strikes on its industrial infrastructure by squeezing the economic lifeline it has long extended to the sanctions-bound Islamic Republic. Rather than taking sweeping measures that would signal an escalation beyond its purely defensive posture, the UAE this week quietly banned most Iranians from entering the country or transiting its airports. The UAE is home to more than half a million Iranians, many of whom are... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348996/uae-squeezes-iranian-economic-lifeline-retaliation-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348996/uae-squeezes-iranian-economic-lifeline-retaliation-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 07:00:09 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan is hoping that its role in building a diplomatic off-ramp from the US-Israel war on Iran will enable it to become a key actor in the Middle East after the conflict ends, analysts say. If Islamabad can deliver without being sucked into the maelstrom, it can capitalise on its position as peacemaker by signing defence deals with Gulf monarchies and attracting investment from them to strengthen its weak economy. This will help finance Pakistan’s military expansion for its envisioned new... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348621/pakistan-eyes-gulf-investment-defence-deals-return-playing-peacemaker-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348621/pakistan-eyes-gulf-investment-defence-deals-return-playing-peacemaker-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:21:16 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Planning to update your wardrobe this summer? Industry insiders have some advice: do it soon. By the time autumn collections hit the racks, the aftershocks of war on Iran may have quietly picked your pocket. Clothing manufacturers and industry analysts are warning consumers to budget for price increases of 10 to 15 per cent as South Asia’s US$50 billion garment export industry reels from a cascade of war-driven shocks. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has choked natural gas supplies to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348195/war-iran-about-make-clothes-more-expensive-heres-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348195/war-iran-about-make-clothes-more-expensive-heres-why?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain A month after the US and Israel launched the war with Iran, nothing seems to be going according to President Donald Trump’s plan for a conflict lasting four to six weeks. Despite the assassinations of most of the Islamic Republic’s political and military leaders, the regime shows no signs of collapse. Similarly, wave after wave of US and Israeli air strikes may have degraded Iran’s ballistic missile and drone capabilities, but they still look set to remain a potent threat to the region for the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348239/trumps-iran-gamble-falters-war-drags-amid-concerns-long-term-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348239/trumps-iran-gamble-falters-war-drags-amid-concerns-long-term-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 07:05:28 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Three weeks into the Iran war, tit-for-tat escalations on multiple fronts have dragged the Middle East to the brink of the region-wide conflict that its governments have repeatedly warned about – and tried to avert – since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Israel has launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in recent days, after Hezbollah entered the conflict in response to the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iraq has been turned into a shooting range, as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347363/iran-war-nears-3-front-tipping-point-gulf-energy-hubs-burn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347363/iran-war-nears-3-front-tipping-point-gulf-energy-hubs-burn?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 04:30:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain A US intelligence assessment warning of a potential threat from Pakistan’s prospective intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) has been challenged by nuclear non-proliferation experts, who say Islamabad’s defence programme is focused on regional deterrence rather than targeting the American “homeland”. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the US Senate on Wednesday that Pakistan – along with China, Iran, North Korea and Russia – has been “researching and developing an array... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347231/pakistan-building-icbms-non-proliferation-experts-dispute-us-warning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347231/pakistan-building-icbms-non-proliferation-experts-dispute-us-warning?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 02:24:24 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Since the Iran war began late last month, it has threatened shipping across the Middle East’s two most important maritime chokepoints – the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb – through which much of Asia’s energy imports and manufactured exports flow. For Gulf states and their major trading partners in Asia, the conflict is forcing a hard question: what, if anything, can protect supply chains if US security guarantees can no longer be taken for granted? Analysts say the usual answers –... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346627/iran-war-exposes-fragility-gulf-asia-supply-chains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346627/iran-war-exposes-fragility-gulf-asia-supply-chains?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 06:00:16 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain How does a missile strike on a Qatari gas plant end up raising the price of rice in Bangladesh? The answer is fertiliser, an unglamorous commodity that nevertheless sustains much of what the world eats. Qatar burns natural gas to produce ammonia. Ammonia is converted into urea. Urea goes into the ground and out of the ground comes grain. Disrupt the first step, as Iran did when it struck QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility on March 1, and the consequences travel along... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346201/war-iran-threatens-asias-food-supply-fertiliser-prices-surge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3346201/war-iran-threatens-asias-food-supply-fertiliser-prices-surge?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain What began as a US-Israeli assault on Iran is rapidly evolving into a conflict with the potential to spread far beyond the Middle East. Iranian missiles and drones have already struck or reached Turkey and Azerbaijan, while European powers are rushing additional warships, fighter jets and air defences to the eastern Mediterranean and Gulf to contain the fallout. Analysts warn the longer the war continues, the greater the risk that long-simmering regional fault lines – from Kurdish militancy to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345689/how-far-could-war-iran-spread-beyond-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345689/how-far-could-war-iran-spread-beyond-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:00:09 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Iran’s nuclear-armed neighbour Pakistan has invoked its mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia in response to Tehran’s missile and drone attacks on the kingdom, in what analysts have described as a key test of Islamabad’s emerging role in the Middle East’s security architecture. A gently worded warning to the Islamic Republic, delivered by Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, has established Islamabad as a go-between to manage the escalation. Briefing the Senate on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345466/pakistan-aims-walk-tightrope-between-saudi-arabia-and-iran-war-flares-region?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345466/pakistan-aims-walk-tightrope-between-saudi-arabia-and-iran-war-flares-region?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:22:39 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Since Iran came under US and Israeli attack on Saturday, its retaliatory missile and drone barrages have struck Saudi oil refineries, the world’s largest LNG plant in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates’ trade and transit infrastructure. Now the Gulf is signalling it has had enough of just absorbing the hits. None of the six Arab monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council wanted this war, analysts say. They had spent months trying to mediate a way out of the confrontation, warning of precisely... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345259/gulf-states-take-fight-iran-missiles-target-oil-gas-and-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345259/gulf-states-take-fight-iran-missiles-target-oil-gas-and-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 07:47:50 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the latest US-Israeli strikes on the country has triggered not only a leadership vacuum but also a high-stakes test of whether the Islamic Republic’s system can endure without the man who dominated it for nearly four decades. Analysts said the immediate signs point less to collapse than to hardening continuity, at least for now, as security institutions close ranks, the battlefield expands and signs of internal rupture remain... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345033/will-iran-collapse-without-khamenei-or-can-its-regime-endure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345033/will-iran-collapse-without-khamenei-or-can-its-regime-endure?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 11:35:53 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are locked in a widening tit-for-tat confrontation that neither side seems willing to defuse, analysts said, warning the exchanges risked settling into a prolonged conflict along one of Asia’s most volatile borders. Islamabad has vowed to keep striking military targets inside Afghanistan until the Taliban takes action against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups Pakistan says operate from Afghan soil. Pakistani warplanes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344965/pakistan-taliban-showdown-risks-becoming-protracted-war-attrition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344965/pakistan-taliban-showdown-risks-becoming-protracted-war-attrition?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:00:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Central Asia has long been someone else’s crossroads. Squeezed between an overbearing Russia to the north and an increasingly unstable Iran to the west, the region’s landlocked ex-Soviet republics have settled on a different solution: send railways south, through Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, all the way to the Arabian Sea. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – Central Asia’s two largest economies – have in recent months struck preliminary multilateral agreements for the construction of two... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344798/central-asias-plan-bypass-russia-and-iran-railways-through-afghanistan-and-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344798/central-asias-plan-bypass-russia-and-iran-railways-through-afghanistan-and-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain US President Donald Trump declared the war in Gaza “over” at his inaugural “Board of Peace” meeting on Thursday, even as regional analysts warned that Israeli military operations could resume within weeks. At the gathering in Washington, attended by senior officials from more than 20 countries, promises of reconstruction and a “bright future” for Gaza were coupled with blunt US warnings that the alternative to disarmament would be a return to war. Outside the meeting, Israeli officials... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344087/trump-says-gaza-war-over-analysts-warn-fighting-could-resume-within-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344087/trump-says-gaza-war-over-analysts-warn-fighting-could-resume-within-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:33:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain After US and Iranian negotiators agreed on Tuesday to a set of “guiding principles” at their nuclear talks in Geneva mediated by Oman, Tehran went further – framing any eventual deal as a commercial proposition, not just a security arrangement. Iran is pitching access to its vast energy and mineral reserves as what it has called a “trillion-dollar opportunity” for American firms. In doing so, analysts say Tehran is speaking the language of a US president known for his deal-making... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343872/iran-tempts-trump-trillion-dollar-nuclear-deal-pitch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343872/iran-tempts-trump-trillion-dollar-nuclear-deal-pitch?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 04:37:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The United Arab Emirates is rapidly eclipsing Hong Kong and emerging as a credible rival to Singapore as Asia’s most dynamic trading hub, thanks to an ambitious post-pandemic campaign of economic diplomacy. Defying global headwinds from war and instability across its own region, the UAE’s non-oil trade almost doubled between 2021 and 2025 to reach 3.8 trillion dirhams (US$1.03 trillion), Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum announced on January 31. That surge – powered by an aggressive... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343514/uae-surpassing-hong-kong-challenging-singapore-global-trade-crown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343514/uae-surpassing-hong-kong-challenging-singapore-global-trade-crown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 06:00:22 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The United States and Iran may be inching towards a renewed nuclear accord, following intensive behind-the-scenes diplomacy by Gulf monarchies and Turkey aimed at averting a new regional war. With US President Donald Trump indicating a clear preference for negotiation over confrontation, Washington appears to have quietly abandoned earlier talk of regime change in Tehran and efforts to assist Iranians caught in last month’s bloody protests. “If the Iranian people want to overthrow the regime,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343257/us-iran-eye-tentative-nuclear-talks-regional-diplomacy-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343257/us-iran-eye-tentative-nuclear-talks-regional-diplomacy-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 04:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Fears are mounting of worsening violence across Pakistan’s mineral-rich Balochistan province following a string of armed attacks in recent days that have left hundreds dead, as Islamabad’s security forces struggle to deal with insurgents who continue to exploit local grievances. Pakistan has ruled out talks with the insurgents who seized control of security installations and administrative centres in more than a dozen urban areas during a lightning coordinated operation on Saturday. A total of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342424/violence-balochistan-rages-pakistan-rules-out-talks-insurgents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342424/violence-balochistan-rages-pakistan-rules-out-talks-insurgents?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 04:01:41 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Almost a decade after launching the Vision 2030 programme to diversify its oil-dependent economy, Saudi Arabia is redirecting its spending away from attention-grabbing futuristic urban projects into sectors that hold more promise to deliver results. Since last year, the programme has undergone a review following a US$8 billion writedown at the end of 2024. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has scaled down glitzy projects significantly, such as the US$500 billion 170km (105 mile) long... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3341914/saudi-arabia-set-redraw-economic-road-map-megaprojects-scale-down?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3341914/saudi-arabia-set-redraw-economic-road-map-megaprojects-scale-down?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 08:00:15 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain With the recent arrival of a US Navy aircraft carrier task force in the Middle East near Iran, President Donald Trump is set to have all the military assets in place needed to launch a war against Tehran by the end of this week. While a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough is still on Washington’s cards, Trump may soon have to pick one of the plans drawn up by the Pentagon to meet his desired outcomes – none of which have been made public. Washington has maintained diplomatic backchannels open... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341529/us-naval-strike-force-sails-near-iran-trump-faces-no-easy-levers-against-tehran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341529/us-naval-strike-force-sails-near-iran-trump-faces-no-easy-levers-against-tehran?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 08:03:52 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The arrival of 2026 has brought anything but peace to the Middle East, caught in the gravitational pull of rival ambitions and with the uneasy sense that the next war may already be under way. From Gaza to Syria, conflict hotspots are flaring as the region finds itself at the epicentre of a global order in flux. The result is a landscape in which rivalries are multiplying, former partners are pitted against each other and more violence appears inevitable, analysts say. “While it is still early... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341039/saudi-uae-rift-risks-tearing-middle-east-apart-anything-can-happen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341039/saudi-uae-rift-risks-tearing-middle-east-apart-anything-can-happen?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jan 2026 08:00:16 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain As tensions between the United States and Iran threaten to plunge the Middle East into chaos again, regional military powers Turkey and Pakistan have revealed they are planning a tripartite defence partnership with Saudi Arabia. Thursday’s disclosure comes as Iran’s neighbours await clarity on US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on the Islamic Republic’s trading partners earlier in the week – a measure which threatens to disrupt supply chains across the region. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340136/turkey-pakistan-saudi-arabia-plan-defence-pact-us-iran-row-threatens-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340136/turkey-pakistan-saudi-arabia-plan-defence-pact-us-iran-row-threatens-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 07:27:31 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan is increasingly confident of making billion-dollar arms sales, headlined by the JF-17 fighters its co-produces with China, as up to six Muslim-majority countries look to upgrade their air forces amid growing geopolitical turbulence and civil wars. A preliminary deal worth US$4 billion was struck last month with the Libyan National Army for an unspecified number of JF-17s and other training aircraft manufactured by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Reuters reported, citing Aamir Masood, an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3339961/pakistans-arms-deals-cleared-take-jf-17-orders-soar-muslim-countries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3339961/pakistans-arms-deals-cleared-take-jf-17-orders-soar-muslim-countries?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 04:52:11 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Washington’s Middle East allies are bracing for what they fear could be “catastrophic” consequences if the United States moves militarily against Iran – a possibility US President Donald Trump again dangled this week by promising Iranian protesters that “help is on its way”. Despite Trump’s vow of support, analysts warn that even a sustained US air campaign would be unlikely to unseat Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime. The US president’s rhetoric has followed a now-familiar arc, echoing his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339819/trump-vs-iran-gulf-allies-fear-us-help-may-unleash-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339819/trump-vs-iran-gulf-allies-fear-us-help-may-unleash-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jan 2026 04:11:09 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Expectations of change at the top of Iran’s Islamic Republic are growing as nationwide protests over surging living costs unite an unusually broad swathe of society – from pro-regime merchants and the conservative rural poor to the cosmopolitan urban middle class – for the first time since the 1979 revolution. Fuelled by the rial’s dramatic collapse following Iran’s 12-day conflict with Israel and the United States in June, the unrest has become a lightning rod for public anger at corruption,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339404/protest-fury-pushes-iran-edge-social-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339404/protest-fury-pushes-iran-edge-social-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jan 2026 05:30:10 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Washington’s allies in the Middle East and beyond are facing the prospects of joining rival blocs in alignment with the different visions of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates following a rare clash between the two countries over war-torn Yemen. The Saudi bombing of an arms shipment reportedly provided by the UAE to separatists in southern Yemen last week has exposed the two Arab heavyweights’ divergent foreign policy approaches in the strategically important Red Sea and Horn of Africa,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339089/us-allies-saudi-arabia-uae-risk-split-middle-east-over-competing-visions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339089/us-allies-saudi-arabia-uae-risk-split-middle-east-over-competing-visions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Israel is cashing in on soaring international demand for combat-proven air defence systems, as analysts say the billions of dollars' worth of weapon sales will significantly expand the country’s influence beyond the Middle East. The weapon exports to Europe, Asia and Africa are helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration overcome its diplomatic isolation over the Gaza war by making the Jewish-majority state a key long-term security partner for its customers. “Exporting air defence... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337726/israels-rising-air-defence-sales-become-its-most-potent-foreign-policy-weapon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337726/israels-rising-air-defence-sales-become-its-most-potent-foreign-policy-weapon?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2025 05:30:07 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Divisive rhetoric and AI-driven misinformation are undermining international cooperation in the wake of the deadly Bondi Beach attack, a leading counterterrorism expert has warned. Adam Hadley, the founder and executive director of Tech Against Terrorism, an advisory organisation supported by the United Nations, said a “dangerous convergence” of interests between hostile states and terrorist groups like Islamic State was being fuelled by populist agendas and commercial interests, with artificial... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337192/how-bondi-beach-attack-became-flashpoint-global-disinformation-and-ai-driven-hate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337192/how-bondi-beach-attack-became-flashpoint-global-disinformation-and-ai-driven-hate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 07:30:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The United States and Pakistan are reviving defence and minerals cooperation in a bid to reset their uneasy ties, marking a policy shift that has stirred anxiety in India even as Washington seeks to reassure New Delhi. Washington has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades for Pakistan’s ageing F-16 fighter jets and opened the door to more than US$1 billion in financing for US companies involved in critical minerals projects in the South Asian nation. These moves mark the most... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336526/india-wary-us-backs-pakistan-f-16-upgrades-and-mineral-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336526/india-wary-us-backs-pakistan-f-16-upgrades-and-mineral-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 03:00:11 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain A year after the curtain fell on the Assad regime’s five-decade reign of terror, Syria is emerging as a rare beacon of renewal in a conflict-weary region. President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadi filled with revolutionary zeal to rebuild his home after 14 years of civil war, has successfully consolidated power and won broad international recognition. Over the past 12 months, Syria has “transformed from a global pariah to a fully fledged, integral component of the international community”,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336269/syrias-year-epic-transformation-earns-it-trumps-protection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336269/syrias-year-epic-transformation-earns-it-trumps-protection?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 08:00:19 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Lebanon is bracing for intensified Israeli attacks in the new year, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration set a December 31 deadline for Hezbollah to disarm, following its assassination of the group’s military commander. Rather than heralding another land invasion like a year ago, however, analysts say the military ultimatum issued by Defence Minister Israel Katz last week aims to further diminish the role of Hezbollah – and its creator Iran – in Lebanon’s national... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334841/israel-sets-deadline-hezbollah-disarmament-can-lebanon-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334841/israel-sets-deadline-hezbollah-disarmament-can-lebanon-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:31:07 +0000 Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal In Pakistan, a nation where power often seems to serve itself above all else, the latest constitutional overhaul has been received with a weary sense of resignation. Pushed through parliament on November 13 with barely a murmur of opposition, the 27th amendment to the country’s 1973 constitution made two major changes: splitting the Supreme Court into separate appellate and constitutional benches, and upgrading the army chief of staff to overall commander of Pakistan’s armed forces. Viewed in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334562/schrodingers-pakistan-young-feel-sidelined-their-own-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334562/schrodingers-pakistan-young-feel-sidelined-their-own-state?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 08:00:21 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain A ceasefire between Afghanistan’s Taliban regime and Pakistan, agreed after intense clashes last month, is hanging by a diplomatic thread, following a wave of suicide bombings in Pakistan and disputed claims that it retaliated with cross-border drone strikes on Tuesday. With both countries vowing vengeance, analysts say regional states acting as mediators – Qatar and Turkey, and Iran and Russia – have only a narrow window of opportunity to prevent another round of hostilities. Otherwise,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334306/can-mediators-stop-afghan-pakistani-war-cat-and-mouse-game-enters-retaliatory-phase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334306/can-mediators-stop-afghan-pakistani-war-cat-and-mouse-game-enters-retaliatory-phase?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 05:30:09 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The US is poised to supply Saudi Arabia with its most advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets, a move that analysts say reflects a new era of Middle East policy in which countering Chinese influence is fast becoming as important for Washington as maintaining Israeli military superiority. It would make Saudi Arabia only the second country in the region, after Israel, to operate the fifth-generation jet. US President Donald Trump announced the decision following a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s visiting... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333936/china-factor-behind-trumps-sale-f-35s-saudi-arabia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333936/china-factor-behind-trumps-sale-f-35s-saudi-arabia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 09:30:13 +0000 Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal Tensions are again mounting in South Asia after suspected terrorist attacks in Pakistan and India triggered a furious exchange of accusations, including claims of proxy warfare conducted through Afghanistan. Analysts are cautiously optimistic that renewed conflict can be averted, following deadly clashes between Pakistan and India in May and skirmishes between Pakistani forces and the Afghan Taliban in October. The hope is that restraint and international diplomatic pressure may yet stave off... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332728/india-pakistan-conflict-risks-surge-amid-terror-attacks-afghan-proxy-war-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332728/india-pakistan-conflict-risks-surge-amid-terror-attacks-afghan-proxy-war-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Nov 2025 08:00:13 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Kazakhstan’s decision to join the US-brokered Abraham Accords marks a symbolic victory for Israel, but analysts say the larger motivation for Astana is “currying favour” with Washington and deepening US engagement in minerals-rich Central Asia. The accords, a series of agreements normalising relations between Israel and several Muslim-majority states, date back to 2020. But Kazakhstan and Israel established diplomatic ties in 1992. Still, by formally linking itself to the landmark accords,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332182/why-did-kazakhstan-join-abraham-accords-if-israel-wasnt-reason?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332182/why-did-kazakhstan-join-abraham-accords-if-israel-wasnt-reason?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 08:30:16 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Turkey is closing out 2025 as a pivotal Middle Eastern power broker, its influence resurgent amid shifting alliances that have pushed Ankara to the centre of diplomacy spanning from Syria to Gaza. Twelve months ago, few could have predicted the speed – and irony – with which the tides would turn in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s favour. Just five years after the US imposed sanctions on Turkey for its military campaign against Kurdish separatists in Syria, Washington is now throwing its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331982/middle-easts-diplomatic-drama-turkey-takes-centre-stage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331982/middle-easts-diplomatic-drama-turkey-takes-centre-stage?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 08:00:18 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain US President Donald Trump’s claim that Pakistan has resumed underground nuclear testing – alongside China, Russia and North Korea – has been met with scepticism by arms control experts and denials from the countries named, raising concerns about the credibility and consequences of Washington’s nuclear posture. Pakistan, which has not conducted a nuclear explosion since 1998, issued a firm rebuttal, with a senior security official telling CBS News the country “was not the first to carry out... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331533/trumps-nuclear-test-claims-about-pakistan-spark-credibility-proliferation-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331533/trumps-nuclear-test-claims-about-pakistan-spark-credibility-proliferation-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 04:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal In the predawn hours of a recent October morning, more than 10,000 riot police and paramilitary troops swept through the streets of a small city on the outskirts of Lahore, seeking to end a cycle of violence and capitulation that had dictated the tempo of Pakistan’s democracy for years. Their target? Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline Islamist movement that repeatedly paralysed major cities with its deadly protests, forced ministers into humiliating retreats and wielded the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331105/blasphemy-politics-why-pakistan-finally-declared-tlp-terrorist-organisation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331105/blasphemy-politics-why-pakistan-finally-declared-tlp-terrorist-organisation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Nov 2025 08:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Hopes for peace and reconstruction in Gaza have suffered a deadly blow after US envoys unveiled a plan that analysts say will split the territory in two and set the stage for the prolonged, if not permanent, Israeli occupation of more than half the Strip. With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making any further military withdrawal conditional upon the disarmament of a recalcitrant Hamas, the future of the proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF) meant to take control of peaceful... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330270/us-plan-split-gaza-threatens-peace-reconstruction-hopes-little-way-forward?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330270/us-plan-split-gaza-threatens-peace-reconstruction-hopes-little-way-forward?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 13:09:35 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Far from being a historic deal to end war in the Middle East as claimed by US President Donald Trump, the Gaza peace declaration has only established a bloc of regional countries that will work with Washington for now to stabilise the region, observers say. Composed of Egypt, Arab monarchies led by Saudi Arabia, and Nato member Turkey, this “Axis of Stabilisation” in the making will continue to diplomatically engage Iran and its “Axis of Resistance” allies, including Hamas, to reduce the risk of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3329191/without-palestinian-statehood-trumps-gaza-peace-plan-just-mirage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3329191/without-palestinian-statehood-trumps-gaza-peace-plan-just-mirage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:30:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan has vowed to respond to future terrorist attacks launched from Afghanistan with overwhelming military force after deadly cross-border clashes over the weekend, with the conflict setting the stage for prolonged hostilities between Islamabad and the Taliban regime. Analysts say the fighting, sparked by retaliatory Pakistani air strikes against insurgents in Kabul and the eastern Afghan province of Paktika on Thursday, is unlikely to break into an all-out war, but a diplomatic solution... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328926/pakistan-vows-no-compromise-against-taliban-patience-wears-thin-after-deadly-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328926/pakistan-vows-no-compromise-against-taliban-patience-wears-thin-after-deadly-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 08:30:17 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain The US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza has halted two years of bloodshed, but analysts warn it will only hold if President Donald Trump, his administration and key Middle Eastern mediators remain deeply invested in preventing the conflict from reigniting. Neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Hamas readily agreed to the truce. Rather, observers say they were compelled to comply by Trump and the coordinated efforts of Qatar, Egypt and Turkey. “They are invested in the ceasefire and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328597/war-over-will-fragile-gaza-ceasefire-hold-amid-deep-divisions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328597/war-over-will-fragile-gaza-ceasefire-hold-amid-deep-divisions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 14:35:29 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain A proposal by US President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza is already under fire, just days after its release, over last-minute changes pushed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that critics say could undermine Arab-Islamic support and derail the path to peace. Analysts say the “principles for peace” deal, unveiled on Monday, risks alienating the very Arab and Muslim nations the pact depends on – by allowing Israeli forces to occupy most of Gaza indefinitely unless Palestinian... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327517/will-trumps-gaza-peace-plan-work-netanyahus-changes-spark-arab-islamic-unease?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327517/will-trumps-gaza-peace-plan-work-netanyahus-changes-spark-arab-islamic-unease?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:30:37 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain After two years of warfare with Hamas that the United Nations says has brought genocide and famine to Gaza, Israel finds itself more isolated than ever, as it remains intransigent in pursuing its goal of defeating the militant group and rejecting rising global support for Palestinian statehood. Many of its Western allies, including Australia, Britain, Canada and France, have recognised – albeit conditionally – the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority as the government of a non-existent... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327045/us-backing-israels-rising-global-isolation-over-gaza-not-game-changer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327045/us-backing-israels-rising-global-isolation-over-gaza-not-game-changer?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2025 08:00:15 +0000