Pakistan and China friendship, described by the leadership of both countries as higher than mountains, deeper than the oceans, and of late, sweeter than honey, is a unique case in the international system we live in, yet the relationship is based on sound geostrategic and realist calculations. An important contributing factor in the further strengthening and diversification of the relation would be how effectively both countries improve their economic relations. While this article argues that there are no chances of any problems emerging for this relationship, Islamabad needs to invest a lot more in understanding the Chinese mindset and the compulsions and limitations of the relationship. However, four issues will be important in shaping up the changing outlook of Pakistan-China relations: terrorism, security of Chinese personnel engaged in different projects in Pakistan, people to people contact and India. Resumen:Pakistán y China mantienen una gran relación, descrita por los líderes de los Estados como más alta que las montañas, más profunda que los océanos, más dulce que la miel así como única en sistema internacional en el que vivimos, aunque la relación está basada en la estrategia y en cálculos realistas. Un importante factor de mejora de esta relación ha sido sin duda lo efectivas que se han mostrado las relaciones económicas. Mientras que este artículo argumenta que no existen importantes problemas en la relación, Islamabad tiene que invertir más en la comprensión de la mentalidad china así como las obligaciones y las limitaciones de la relación. Sin embargo existen cuatro aspectos que tienden a configurar el desarrollo de la relación China-Pakistán: terrorismo, seguridad del personal chino implicados en diferentes proyectos en Pakistán, los contactos entre sociedades civiles y las relaciones con la India.

As the American withdrawal is approaching, the future stability of Afghanistan and its effects on the region are increasingly being debated. The predominant view is that due to the mishandling of the situation by the Americans, post 2014 Afghanistan would be unstable and the whole region especially Pakistan will face the consequences of this failure. A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s interest as it will ensure that no more drugs, extremism and refugees pour into the country. Islamabad is of the view that like in 1989, the Americans would once again be leaving Afghanistan without finishing what they have started. This coupled with the increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan brings back the historical fear, which has been the driving force behind its Afghan policy since 1947, of being sandwiched between two hostile neighbours. This article flags five points: first, Islamabad has legitimate security concerns in Afghanistan; second, historically, Pakistan’s security concerns regarding India are a major factor in deciding Pakistan’s position in and about Afghanistan; third, Pakistan supported the Taliban government in Kabul due to its geostrategic and security concerns; fourth, there can be no solution of the Afghanistan problem without Islamabad on board; fifth, the solution to the Afghan problem lies not only in Afghanistan but also around it, in the region; therefore, a regional approach is a must.

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The paper endeavors to make sense of the role of Punjab Police as a counter-terrorism force and in counter-terrorism in Pakistan. The paper critically examines the claim that as per law, Police holds the legal mandate for conducting counter terrorism. The objectives of the study are: to understand the existing structural and legal role of Punjab Police in countering terrorism and to work out policy recommendations for the improvements of the efficiency of Punjab Police. The hypotheses that was worked out for this study was: the structural and legal reforms of police may improve the efficiency of police in counter terrorism. Key research questions addressed were: what is the role of Police in countering terrorism? what kind of reforms are required for efficient Policing? And how effective reforms can be introduced to counter terrorism? In-depth interviews were conducted to seek answer to these questions. At the end, using Kurt Lewin’s three steps Organizational change model, the paper argued that Punjab police needs structural reforms before it can become a more efficient force capable of conducting counter terrorism activities. Keywords: Punjab Police, Counter terrorism, Kurt Lewin organizational change model, Pakistan