Pakistan

Is Pakistan Imploding? Can US and China Afford to Let It Fail?

Pakistan is not collapsing overnight—it is imploding in slow motion.

Despite economic bankruptcy, insurgencies, political repression and institutional decay, Islamabad continues to attract extraordinary support from Washington, Beijing and Gulf capitals.

Why?

Because Pakistan has mastered the art of remaining strategically indispensable even while becoming economically unsustainable.

Pakistan presents one of the greatest strategic paradoxes of modern geopolitics. A state battling insurgencies, mounting debt, shrinking democratic space and deep economic distress continues to command disproportionate global attention. This article analyses why the United States, China and Gulf states continue investing in Pakistan's survival, why these interventions cannot reform its structural weaknesses, and what India's long-term strategic response should be.

This analysis explains why the world's major powers keep rescuing Pakistan, why those rescues cannot solve its structural problems, and what lessons India must draw from Pakistan's paradox.

Pakistan Paradox, An Imperfect Partition : A Nuclear State at War with its Neighbours, its Periphery and Itself

Seventy-nine years after Partition, Pakistan remains trapped in a cycle of geopolitical confrontation, domestic instability and economic dependence. While headlines focus on Taliban attacks, unrest in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, Baloch insurgency or repeated IMF bailouts, these are symptoms rather than causes.

This article argues that Pakistan's enduring instability originates in the hurried colonial partition of 1947, compounded by decades of military dominance, proxy warfare and great-power patronage. It analyses the evolution of Pakistan's security doctrine, its changing relationship with the Taliban, internal fault lines, Cold War legacies and the country's strategic relevance in an emerging multipolar world.

Rather than viewing these crises separately, this article presents them as interconnected outcomes of a state whose foundational contradictions remain unresolved.

Balancing the Eurasian Giant: India’s Strategic Role in Strengthening SCO Military & Security Cooperation

Bridging the Divide in a Multipolar World

“India has good relations with Western countries and is uniquely placed to act as a bridge between SCO and the West” — Major General Dr. S B Asthana

As global governance institutions experience a profound drop in credibility, the geopolitical center of gravity is shifting rapidly toward localized regional alternatives. Covering over 42% of the global population and nearly one-third of the world’s GDP, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) stands as a massive Eurasian bloc navigating the dangerous currents of "Cold War 2.0". Yet, can an organization containing four nuclear-armed powers, deep internal political rivalries, and structural decision-making vulnerabilities truly evolve into a cohesive security alliance?

How can a bloc divided by ideological friction and historical rivalries achieve genuine military and security cohesion? In this insightful analysis, Major General Dr. S B Asthana explores the structural hurdles of the SCO and outlines India's strategic vision for a secure, technologically integrated, and stable Eurasian future. This chapter, titled “Strengthening Military and Security Cooperation in the SCO: An Indian Perspective,” is featured in the seminal volume Reimagining Regionalism: Geopolitical Shifts and Strategic Realignments in Central Asia and the Global South.

Xi, Trump, Kim and the New Nuclear Normal

"North Korea is no longer merely a nuclear challenge. It risks becoming the precedent."
North Korea has evolved from an isolated security concern into a central player in twenty-first century geopolitics.

As strategic competition between the United States, China and Russia intensifies, Pyongyang has leveraged nuclear deterrence, geopolitical balancing and economic adaptation to transform itself from a sanctioned outlier into a consequential actor within an emerging multipolar order.

This article examines why Donald Trump adopted a comparatively restrained approach towards Kim Jong Un, how Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have reshaped North Korea's strategic environment, whether the country's economy is more resilient than commonly perceived, and why the Korean precedent may encourage future nuclear ambitions in Iran, Japan and South Korea.

Most importantly, it explores whether the international community has quietly shifted from preventing nuclear proliferation to merely managing it.

An Indian Army officer operating and launching a tactical military drone in the field, illustrating Maj Gen Asthana's analysis on India's requirement for 2 lakh drones monthly on AsthanaWrites.

From Prediction to Urgency: Why India Needs 2 Lakh Drones Every Month

From tactical prediction to operational urgency—why a 2-lakh monthly drone capability is non-negotiable for India's national security.

comprehensive image on why america loses wars

WHY AMERICA LOSES WARS:

The United States possesses the most formidable military machine in history, yet since 1945 it has repeatedly failed to convert battlefield dominance into durable political success. From Vietnam and Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya and now Iran, America has demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to start wars, destroy regimes and win tactical battles—but a remarkable inability to achieve sustainable strategic outcomes. This paper examines the recurring strategic failures that have transformed military victories into political setbacks.

Trending now

India at a Strategic Crossroads: Why Strategic Autonomy Matters More Than Ever
Balancing the Eurasian Giant: India’s Strategic Role in Strengthening SCO Military & Security Cooperation
Pakistan Paradox, An Imperfect Partition : A Nuclear State at War with its Neighbours, its Periphery and Itself
Cartographic Warfare: China’s Silent Offensive to Redraw Borders Without Fighting