https://www.scmp.com/rss/511000/feed Jawad Khalid is a Pakistan-based freelance writer and analyst focusing on the Global South, geopolitics and climate justice. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Jawad Khalid Jawad Khalid In a world edging dangerously close to a wider war, where weeks of escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran have threatened to spiral into a catastrophic regional conflict, Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely but decisive diplomatic actor. Through sustained backchannel engagement and careful balancing of competing alliances, Islamabad helped bring two deeply distrustful adversaries to a temporary ceasefire, hopefully averting what would be one of the most consequential geopolitical... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349772/pakistan-has-worlds-attention-now-it-must-focus-inwards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349772/pakistan-has-worlds-attention-now-it-must-focus-inwards?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Jawad Khalid Jawad Khalid As with any conflict, the war in Iran has driven people to choose sides and adopt partisan positions. This includes the view that, despite the acts of aggression by the US and Israel, the Islamic Republic somehow “deserves” the attacks due to years of regional instability caused by its Axis of Resistance. This is not to suggest that the Iranian regime has always been a victim. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ transgressions through the Quds Force have been well documented. But let’s be... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348165/how-selective-outrage-over-iran-war-exposes-limits-realpolitik?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348165/how-selective-outrage-over-iran-war-exposes-limits-realpolitik?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Jawad Khalid Jawad Khalid The latest exchange of air strikes and border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan has once again pushed the region to the brink, reviving a dread among those who have lived through this cycle before, the continuation of a war that never truly ended. The so-called war on terror has been waged for over two decades, with no end in sight. Since 2001, the war has claimed more than 33,000 civilian and security forces lives in Pakistan and displaced millions internally. Yet a fundamental question... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3345138/pakistans-forever-war-and-politics-exhaustion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3345138/pakistans-forever-war-and-politics-exhaustion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:30:08 +0000 Pakistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to German Watch’s Climate Risk Index. The country has been experiencing an increasing number of heatwaves, droughts and floods. With rapidly melting glaciers and receding groundwater table levels, Pakistan faces grave threats of a water crisis. A recent United Nations report indicated that Pakistan could face acute water shortages by 2050. According to a climate risk country profile by the Asian... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152867/pakistans-climate-change-fight-needs-strong-social-narrative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152867/pakistans-climate-change-fight-needs-strong-social-narrative?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Oct 2021 00:45:10 +0000