Section

Opinion

Commentary, essays, and the editorial voice.

Roadside view near the China–Kazakhstan border at Khorgas, with Chinese commercial signs and street lamps.

Chinese Stratagems: Defining China and Central Asian Region Relations

Arun Anand examines how Chinese investment, infrastructure and security cooperation are reshaping Central Asia — and asks what the region may be trading away as Beijing’s influence deepens.

By Arun Anand · 6 min read · 1h ago

Sansad Bhavan, the Parliament of India in New Delhi, shown in a wide exterior view.

Opinion

India in the New Cold War

Whose side are they on?

Theo A. Mullis · 2d ago · 6 min

Diagram showing Islamabad, Riyadh and Washington linked by Pakistan’s financing needs and strategic bargaining.

Opinion

Pakistan’s Saudi Gamble

When strategic ambition meets economic fragility

Adil Raja · 3d ago · 6 min

Female Afghan students talking outside Kabul Medical University in 2006.

OpinionFeature

Pakistan’s Latest Shame: The Expulsion of Afghan Medical Students and the Moral Bankruptcy of the Generals

Murtaza Shibli examines Pakistan’s expulsion of Afghan medical students as a measure of the country’s treatment of Afghan youth, refugees and the consequences of its Afghanistan policy.

Murtaza Shibli · 4d ago · 7 min

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir in uniform, official portrait

OpinionFeature

The Generals' Economy: Growth, Dependency and the Long Cost of Military Rule in Pakistan

Pakistan's military governments often posted stronger headline growth than elected administrations. But the official record shows that the booms were repeatedly tied to exceptional external inflows, geopolitical patronage, debt restructuring and inherited capacity - while the country's deepest economic weaknesses survived. The larger cost was institutional: a political economy in which military supremacy, whether direct or exercised through civilian governments under tutelage, blurred accountability and shortened the horizon for reform.

Parrhesia Editorial Team · 16d ago · 16 min

Delegates seated at the opening meeting of the 1955 Bandung Conference.

OpinionFeature

The Case Against Third Worldism

An argument for applying one moral standard to Western and non-Western governments, movements and individuals.

Ramsha Afridi · 21d ago · 8 min

Louise Woodward's family seated in the Massachusetts courtroom during the trial

OpinionFeature

Stop Calling Louise Woodward the ‘Killer Nanny’ — The Science Has Moved On. Our Journalism Should Too

With a new drama returning the case to the spotlight, Giovanni Ulleri argues that the language used to frame it must keep pace with contested science and more careful journalism.

Giovanni Ulleri · 22d ago · 11 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

The Silence of the Doctors: Free Imran Khan Now

A commentary arguing that reports of Imran Khan’s image being removed from an APPNA convention poster reflect a wider failure of moral courage as concerns grow over his detention, health and family access.

Dr Salman Ahmad · 67d ago · 2 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

The New Arsenal of Democracy: How Europe’s Rearmament Could Challenge Washington

After Mark Carney’s warning that middle powers can no longer rely on old security assumptions, Europe is rearming at historic speed — and increasingly keeping that defence spending inside Europe.

Theo A. Mullis · 70d ago · 8 min

OpinionParrhesia Exclusive

The 78-Year War: Why Islamabad’s Iron Fist Will Never Break the Baloch Spirit

After a cycle of attacks, crackdowns and broken political promises, this opinion piece argues that lasting peace in Balochistan cannot be built on coercion, resource extraction or the denial of Baloch political identity.

Mehran Marri Baluch · 73d ago · 9 min

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The image is used as a general illustration of the NHS hospital system and is not connected to any individual discussed in this article.

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

The Fiscal and Clinical Pillars: Fact-Checking the Anti-Immigration Narrative Through the NHS Workforce

A data-led examination of how anti-immigration rhetoric often collapses very different forms of migration into a single political narrative, despite the NHS’s deep reliance on overseas-trained and international doctors.

Mariam Elsayeh Ibrahim · 73d ago · 5 min

MONUSCO's Pakistani Female Engagement Team in Uvira and Sange, Democratic Republic of the Congo

OpinionFeature

The Red Suit Rebellion: How a Lone Fan Exposed the Modern Genocide Our Heroes Died Trying to Stop

Dr Yvonne Ridley reveals why the silent scream of a Congolese superfan connects a multi-billion-dollar sports scandal directly to the ultimate sacrifice of Pakistan’s bravest UN peacekeepers.

Dr Yvonne Ridley · 76d ago · 5 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

From Cooperation to Conditionality: Analysing India-Pak clash on Indus Waters Treaty

Once regarded as one of the world’s most durable water-sharing agreements, the Indus Waters Treaty is now at the centre of a growing India-Pakistan dispute shaped by security concerns, political pressure, climate stress and the weaponisation of strategic resources.

Arun Anand · 80d ago · 5 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

Pakistan’s Children of a Lesser God

The killing of seven-year-old Muntaha Zahra has reopened Pakistan’s deepest wound: a child protection crisis sustained by institutional failure, social silence, police impunity, and a justice system that continues to fail the most vulnerable.

Sabine Kayani · 81d ago · 3 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

Leaked Documents Raise Questions About Internal Dissent in Pakistan Army Over AJK Operations

Exclusive Investigation by Parrhesia Whistleblowers Desk

Parrhesia Whistleblowers Desk · 81d ago · 3 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

From Muhammad Bin Qasim to MohenjoDaro: Pakistan's Search for a New Source of Legitimacy

Pakistan’s sudden turn toward the Indus Valley Civilization reflects more than a cultural rediscovery; it signals a deeper search for legitimacy as old ideological narratives lose their power at home and abroad.

Adil Raja · 82d ago · 5 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

The House of Cards in Rawalpindi: Why Pakistan’s Judicial Overreach is an International Own Goal

Pakistan’s judicial overreach in Rawalpindi risks damaging the country’s institutions, international credibility and rule-of-law reputation.

Dr Yvonne Ridley · 82d ago · 6 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

The Zainebiyoun Brigade: From the Shrines of Damascus to the Hills of Kurram

A young Shia militant from Pakistan’s Kurram region arrives in Qom at the invitation of the IRGC, entering a wider transnational network shaped by sectarian violence, regional proxy politics and the militarisation of Shia identity.

Bashir Ahmed · 83d ago · 20 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

America Can Strike Iran, But Can It Defeat It?

The latest confrontation between the United States and Iran has reignited one of the defining geopolitical questions of our era: can overwhelming military power deliver political victory?

Adil Raja · 83d ago · 5 min

OpinionParrhesia Exclusive

Has social media become socially dangerous?

The rising global debate over banning social media for minors.

Ramsha Afridi · 83d ago · 6 min

OpinionParrhesia Exclusive

How Ukraine Turned the Tide

Against a larger Russian army, Ukraine has turned drones, autonomy and battlefield innovation into a new kind of strategic depth — one that is reshaping the war and challenging old assumptions about power.

Theo A. Mullis · 83d ago · 8 min

OpinionParrhesia ExclusiveFeature

The Afghan Reckoning: How Pakistan Lost Its Strategic Depth

Pakistan’s long pursuit of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan has ended in strategic blowback, as a Taliban-led Kabul asserts its own nationalism and turns to Russia, India and China to escape Islamabad’s shadow.

Francesca Marino · 83d ago · 6 min