Internal security is the source of strength of any country, which directly impacts her foreign relations, economy, political stability, military strength, national morale, and social values. On the contrary, a state that is internally vulnerable runs a high risk of disintegration, and history is replete with such states. Pakistan is presently passing through probably the worst time of her history. It is confronted with numerous internal and external challenges that are impacting on her national security spectrum. Every country needs a strong, viable and sustainable socio-economic variable for growth. Internal security requires harnessing and orchestrating all elements of national power to achieve the desired results and no single instrument can work, therefore political process backed up by effective force structures, supplemented by economic initiatives and cooperation of regional and international players operating in the area is the solution to the current crisis. Based on the contemporary challenges that Pakistan is facing this article examines the dynamics of internal security and associated challenges impacting the national security of Pakistan. This study makes a point that it’s not only the internal faultiness that punctures the systematic approach rather the global and regional political environment that causes perpetual instability. The research is deductive in nature and uses a mixed-method approach to provide remedial strategies.

The growing international concerns and changing dimensions in terms of global strategic interests are introducing the region of South Asia an epicenter of the great games, where the political situation of bordering states like Afghanistan are making the available options less opportunistic for Pakistan to decide where to go and whom to support. Unwillingly or unfortunately after the incident of 9/11, the world politics looked towards Pakistan as a coin of long life without knowing the reservations of its democratic society against the war on terror. Under the leadership of a Democratic President, the United States of America pushed a dictator in Pakistan to legitimize an ambiguous war. It was not very simple for Pakistan to jump into hell but the presence of president Musharraf made it easy for the US to achieve its objectives.  The story is not as smooth and easy-going as it looks because as a result, Pakistan had lost a lot of what we have never thought and invested to vanish. It was a step, which affected Pakistan’s well-articulated and well-managed policy in the region, particularly for India and Afghanistan. Pakistan’s acceptance and support in the US-led war on terror placed a full stop for our future options and opportunities, which eventually opened new avenues for India, a state on the waiting list. India had always believed in the inversely proportional relationship for its progress when it comes to Pakistan and as result, we are suffering a lot. Interestingly and amazingly this is not an end but a new start for progressive Pakistan. In this paper, I will try to throw some light on the future and possible opportunistic ways for Pakistan to regain its progressive pace to become an ‘Asian Tiger’ by avoiding traditional conflictual policy with India. For that, I will emphasize and explore the causes, character, prospectus, and nature of the conflict in South Asia. For a brief look at the pace of the issue, this paper will also focus on the emergence and the effects of the nuclear environment in South Asia and possible prospects for conflict resolution.

In 2018 Pakistan as well as India participated for the first time as a full scale member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that held at Qingdao city of China on June 9-10. Obviously, that provided a brilliant opportunity to show willingness and readiness to contribute to the effectiveness of the SCO. Pakistan’s inclusion into the organization has opened a timely opportunity to bid for regional peace and economic prosperity for its nation. There are multiple arrangements which help Pakistan to come in the streamline as well as allow the Muslim state to support ongoing priority interests of the organization. Due to Pakistan’s membership many changes are expected in the domestic legislation and international commitments generated out of organizational common interest. Moreover, it will have great impact (but positive) on Islamabad’s traditional behavior towards regional and international politics particularly on the front of its foreign policy. This article makes the point that among many opportunities that Pakistan’s inclusion into SCO brings, there are few challenges for the country as well. For example, inclusion of Pakistan in the SCO is not an isolated decision; India was also given the full membership to join the organization as a permanent member. Traditionally, both Pakistan and India have zero tolerance for each other when it comes to their national security dynamics. Other than United Nations and SAARC, SCO is the third organization where both countries will be sitting together, though UN is quite a different one. Likewise, SAARC, if both the countries maintain the same status-quo of bashing each other, the very purpose of SCO will go in vain. Also, this article proposes that Pakistan shall not be allowed to label itself as a negative factor in the SCO. Therefore, this research paper has shed light on Pakistan’s previous inability to benefit from regional organizations while suggesting a way forward for her engagement with the SCO. Believing on the great potential of Pakistan and SCO, this paper has adopted deductive methodology with that of ‘economics defines politics’ as a conceptual framework.

The potential of peace as of now is resting on four pillars of proposed peace deal which include ceasefire, counter-terrorism, troop withdrawal and intra-Afghan negotiations. Appointment of former Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as chief negotiator to lead the peace process on behalf of Afghan Taliban is a sigh of relief. His influence over Taliban’s of Afghanistan being the most respected leader after former Mullah Umer is without any doubt an important endeavor to forestall challenges to lasting peace. This paper makes the point that sustainability of peace process in Afghanistan is vested on the foundations of trust between Taliban and United States, which due to prevailing geo-political conditions is less likely to achieve. The fundamental demand of the Taliban has been withdrawal of the US troops, whereas the Americans have never demanded concrete guarantees from Taliban since they have been called terrorists from the very beginning. The draft of the proposed deal had reflected US demand as denying safe heaven to non-state actors that Taliban themselves would like to ensure. Taking the lead from geopolitical landscape of Afghanistan, this study had undertaken an analysis from the failures of previous peace dialogues to reflect insights on the ongoing peace talk between Taliban and United States. The study is deductive in nature and has applied Regional Complex Security Theory of Barry Buzan with subjective interpretations to delve upon the parameters associated with the complications of Afghan peace process.

This paper is an attempt to analyze the emerging international environment and assess the Foreign Policy of Pakistan to determine what it needs to focus on since the world has entered into new dynamics of international politics. The study makes the point that contestation of international politics had allowed transformation of political actors from one to another and reveals that the political dynamics of Cold War, post-Cold War with that of post 9/11 world order have accommodated the transformation from bipolarity to unipolarity, and onward to multipolarity as the contemporary phase of political order. Answers are surrounded with a question, how and why the above factions of politics undermined geopolitical relevance of Pakistan as leading state in the region while making it a client state to global competition. The appraisal is carried out by analyzing the emerging trends and drivers of the international environment, which is followed by Pakistan’s policies since the end of the cold war, the challenges it faces in the light of the emerging international environment, and suggested policy options. The study is deductive in nature and premises neoliberal ‘complex interdependence’ of Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye (1977) to contest the very philosophical fabric of bipolarity, unipolarity and multipolarity.