Brig (R) Asif Haroon Raja
Expanding Terrorism: Pakistan’s Counter-Terror Response and the Afghan Conundrum
Asif Haroon Raja In the wake of the steadily intensifying cross-border terrorism orchestrated by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan…
Hanging Between Peace and War
Asif Haroon Raja Iran: Most Sanctioned Country Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran has lived under the shadow of…
April 26, 2026
West Asia's Fragile Ceasefire Hangs by a Thread Asif Haroon Raja Trump had imposed a war on Iran on February…
April 25, 2026
Ceasefire Extension, Hormuz Tensions, and the Emerging Strategic Deadlock Asif Haroon Raja Background Full-scale war broke out on February 28,…
West Asia’s Fragile Diplomacy, Controlled Escalation to Peace
Asif Haroon Raja Current Strategic Landscape Tensions between the United States and Iran have once again approached a critical inflection…
Pakistan in the Global Spotlight: From Strategic Constraint to Diplomatic Centrality
Pakistan has, once again, stepped into the global spotlight—this time not as a peripheral actor, but as a pivotal intermediary…
Fragile Diplomacy and Strategic Coercion: The Unfinished US–Iran Dialogue in Islamabad
Asif Haroon Raja The atmosphere in both Pakistan and Iran was initially one of cautious optimism when Pakistan successfully brokered…
US–Iran Fragile Pause: A Ceasefire on the Brink
Asif Haroon Raja The confrontation between the United States and Iran entered a critical phase in early April, when Donald…
Reflections on the War Against Iran and Pakistan’s Diplomatic Coup
By Asif Haroon Raja After the 12-day war in June, in which the United States and Israel failed to achieve…
Afghanistan at the Crossroads: Proxy War, Strategic Ingratitude, and Pakistan’s Red Lines
By Asif Haroon Raja A Perplexing Question Afghanistan shares borders with six countries—yet why is “jihad” declared obligatory only against…
Balochistan Conundrum: Between Geopolitics and Internal Fault Lines
By Asif Haroon Raja Strategic Importance of Balochistan Balochistan occupies a pivotal geographic position, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, and sitting…
War at an Impasse: Escalation, Strategic Fatigue, and the Narrow Path to Peace
Washington’s early assumptions of a swift and decisive victory—through air dominance, shock-and-awe tactics, and the triggering of internal dissent within…
Iran’s Unyielding Resistance, Expanding War Dynamics and Pakistan’s Diplomatic Masterstroke
By Asif Haroon Raja The ongoing war has entered an extremely dangerous phase. A review of the events of the…
The Re-Alignment of the Middle East After the Iran War
The architects of the war operated on flawed assumptions. It was believed that a politically, economically, and militarily strained Iran…
Shifting Global Fault Lines and Trump’s Strategic Predicament
By Asif Haroon Raja Anti-war protests have spread across all 50 states of the United States, reflecting deep public unease…