ع
Sections
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Documents & Memoirs
Regions
  • Gulf
  • MENA
  • Europe
  • USA
  • Asia
  • World
More
  • Videos
  • Cartoons
  • World in photos
  • Infographics
  • Profiles
  • Newsletter

LATEST ISSUE

Latest Issue
Magazine Archive
النسخة العربية
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Tag
  • Pakistan

Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al-Saud, Pakistan's army chief General Syed Asim Munir, and Turkey's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in Tehran on 26 October 2026. IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / AFP

Pakistan’s balancing act in a fragmenting world

Staying friends with the Turks, Chinese, Russians, Americans, Europeans, Iranians and Saudis simultaneously is a big ask for Islamabad's diplomats, but somehow they are managing it

Kaswar Klasra 07 November 2026
President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) greeting Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (R), in Tehran on 18 May 2025. Iranian Presidency / AFP

Afghanistan: Iran's strategic depth card in Central Asia

Once nurtured by Pakistan, the Taliban now works closely with Iran, much to the delight of Russia and China

Kamal Alam 28 October 2026
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 5 October 2026. Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

The Mecca Defence Alliance faces its first practical test

Türkiye and Pakistan have stepped up to help Saudi Arabia after it came under attack from the Houthis. The trio's coordination comes at a crucial time

Kaswar Klasra 07 October 2026
Ahmad Shah Massoud smiles during a press interview at his headquarters in Afghanistan, in a photo taken on 28 June 2001.
 AFP

Ahmad Shah Massoud: the man who foresaw 9/11

An Afghan of Tajik heritage, Massoud was the enigmatic warrior who resisted the Soviets, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. So why didn't the US back him?

Kamal Alam 11 September 2026
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posing after signing the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on 7 August, 2026. PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE / AFP

Networked Middle East security

The Iran war exposed the risks of being too closely tied to US military posture, which is why some Gulf states are repositioning themselves not merely as consumers of security but as architects of it

Bilal Saab 27 August 2026
Pakistan's Ambassador Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, attends a United Nations Security Council meeting after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, in New York, on 28 February 2026. REUTERS/Heather Khalifa

Pakistan's UN envoy: there is no military solution to Iran war

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad speaks to Al Majalla about Islamabad's diplomatic role in the talks between the US and Iran, its balancing act between Tehran and Riyadh and the Mecca Pact

Ahmed Maher 21 August 2026
A Pakistani navy sailor mans a weapon aboard a ship amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, at an unidentified location, on 9 March 2026. Reuters

Pakistan’s Red Sea calculus and the end of strategic ambiguity

As Yemen's Houthi militants activate a new maritime front, Islamabad may be compelled to play a more proactive role in regional security

Kaswar Klasra 06 August 2026
Al Majalla

How Pakistan quietly brokered the historic US-Iran deal

Islamabad kept both sides talking even as missiles were being launched. That tenacity looks to have paid dividends in a way that could yet reshape the Middle East's power dynamics.

Kaswar Klasra 18 June 2026
An Indian army soldier stands guard near the Line of Control (LoC) in India's Kashmir region on 19 May 2025. TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP

Are India and Pakistan heading for renewed war?

Since last May's brief yet dangerous military confrontation between two nuclear-armed powers, a tenuous calm has held. But should a new war erupt, the margin of error this time will be far slimmer.

Kaswar Klasra 04 June 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on 25 May 2026. Reuters

How Pakistan became China’s indispensable intermediary

With war closing the Strait of Hormuz, Islamabad has become both broker and bridge, mediating between rivals while keeping Beijing's overland trade routes alive

Shirley Ze Yu 01 June 2026
  •  Load More
  • Popular
  • Editor's Pick
Pep Boatella
Politics

Al-Jawf: the key to defeating the Houthis

05, Nov 2026

The battle for this strategically important and resource-rich province tests the Yemeni army's ability to tilt the military balance in its favour

Al Majalla - London
Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al-Saud, Pakistan's army chief General Syed Asim Munir, and Turkey's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in Tehran on 26 October 2026. IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / AFP
Politics

Pakistan’s balancing act in a fragmenting world

07, Nov 2026

Staying friends with the Turks, Chinese, Russians, Americans, Europeans, Iranians and Saudis simultaneously is a big ask for Islamabad's diplomats, but somehow they are managing it

Kaswar Klasra
Politics

Can the Democrats prevent a new round of war with Iran?

05, Nov 2026

Despite the war's unpopularity, Trump seems determined to press on until he can claim a decisive victory, whether by diplomacy, force, or a combination of the two

Aqeel Abbas
Eduardo Ramon
Profiles

Abdul El-Sayed: the progressive Michigander who beat the pro-Israel lobby

07, Aug 2026

The Egyptian-American epidemiologist became the first Muslim senator in US history, despite $70mn spent to defeat him in the Democratic primary

Tarek Rashed
French author Philippe Djianada looks out from a window at the Drouant restaurant in Paris, following his win of the French Goncourt literary prize for his novel "The Unknown Woman of Quai de Javel," on 3 November 2026. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
Culture & Social Affairs

A novel about a murder in Paris wins the 2026 Goncourt

06, Nov 2026

French novelist Philippe Jaenada's novel 'The Unknown Woman of Quai de Javel' wins big, while the Prix Renaudot goes to François-Henri Désérable for his novel about an unlikely wine expert

Najeeb Mubarak

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter

Get the best of Al Majalla, straight to your inbox.

Your newsletter subscriptions are subject to Al Majalla privacy policy and terms and conditions.

OPINIONS

Is Israel ready for its first non-Ashkenazi prime minister?

Kamal Alam
Kamal Alam

Pakistan’s balancing act in a fragmenting world

Kaswar Klasra
Kaswar Klasra

Americans care about foreign policy. Now Democrats must listen to them.

Howard W. French
Howard W. French

New Black Sea attacks raise threat of global food crisis

Abdel-Rahman Ayas
Abdel-Rahman Ayas
MORE FROM OPINIONS
logo
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Documents & Memoirs
  • Gulf
  • MENA
  • Europe
  • USA
  • Asia
  • World
  • Videos
  • Cartoons
  • World in photos
  • Infographics
  • Profiles
  • About Al Majalla
  • Al Majalla Team
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact us
logo

© Al Majalla Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

0:00:00
0:00:00