Author: HeraldStar

By Hadia Safeer Choudhry For many cardiac patients, risk does not end with surgery. It follows them home after discharge, when follow-up can be delayed and warning signs may be missed.That gap is global. Pakistan, for example, has fewer than one physician per 1,000 people, while Sub-Saharan Africa averaged about 0.2 in 2022, according to World Bank data. Chinese hospitals, universities and technology firms are testing whether AI ECG models, specialist disease agents and smartphone follow-up tools can extend heart care beyond the ward. What China is building At Fuwai Hospital, China’s National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and one of…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD The US Bureau of Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 4.2 per cent in the year to May, the fastest annual pace since April 2023 and the third straight month of acceleration. Energy costs rose roughly 23 per cent over the year, with gasoline up more than 40 per cent and heating oil climbing faster still. The trigger was the war with Iran, which has disrupted supply and restored a familiar risk premium to global crude. Strip out food and energy, and the core measure rose a far gentler 2.9 per cent. There is a…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD Sunday morning began like most mornings in Quetta — with people moving through the city, attending to ordinary life. A shuttle train was carrying Pakistani security personnel and their family members from the cantonment area toward the Jaffar Express connection near Chaman Phatak. Among those on board were not just soldiers and officers fulfilling their duty to the nation, but the wives and children who share in the quiet sacrifices of military life. The bomb that tore through that train spared none of them. The death toll has crossed thirty, with more than a hundred…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD In a village 91 kilometers from downtown Beijing, a once-forgotten hamlet surrounded by over 30,000 acres of peach blossoms is reinventing itself. Cafés, glasshouse lounges, book bars, farmers’ markets, and pet-themed playgrounds now line the village lanes. Beside what was once little more than a drainage ditch, a retro-style coffee house is opening soon. “In summer, it becomes a waterway; in winter, it turns into a light-show venue. This single site now generates over RMB 500,000 (about $70,000) annually for the village,” Li Na, a person in charge, told China Economic Net. Just three years…

Qaiser Nawab, Chairman of Belt and Road Initiative for Sustainable Development, addressed an academic webinar organized by the Department of International Relations at Fatima Jinnah Women University titled: “75 Years of Pakistan-China Friendship: Connectivity, Cooperation, and Shared Futures” The webinar commemorated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China and brought together scholars, students, researchers, and members of academia to discuss regional connectivity, sustainability, cooperation, and shared development pathways. During his keynote remarks, Qaiser Nawab highlighted the historic and strategic partnership between Pakistan and China, emphasizing the importance of sustainable development, environmental cooperation, and people-to-people connectivity under the…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD In the complex landscape of 21st-century geopolitics, few relationships carry more weight than that between China and the United States. After years of tariffs, technology controls, and mounting strategic distrust, the recent Beijing summit between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump has introduced a measured and forward-looking concept: the building of a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability. This approach does not ignore the deep differences or pretend that the relationship can rewind to earlier decades of easy engagement. Instead, it seeks to establish a more resilient framework — one where competition is bounded,…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD The recent summit in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump has yielded tangible early results in the economic and trade domain, offering a glimpse of how the world’s two largest economies might navigate their complex relationship. While deep structural differences remain and the relationship cannot revert to the asymmetries of earlier decades, these outcomes suggest both sides are investing in practical mechanisms to manage tensions and expand mutual benefits. For countries like Pakistan, which value strong partnerships with both powers, such stabilisation brings a measure of relief and opportunity in…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD The recent summit in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald J. Trump marks a significant moment in bilateral ties. After years of turbulence, tariffs, and strategic mistrust, the two leaders engaged in extended discussions that produced a shared vision: building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability. This framework does not pretend that the past can be restored. It acknowledges a changed world where both powers pursue their core interests while seeking to manage differences and expand cooperation. For countries like Pakistan, which maintain strong partnerships with both Washington and Beijing,…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD The era when the United States could treat China primarily as a junior partner in the global economy, or when Beijing viewed Washington as an unquestioned source of technology and markets, has clearly ended. What began as a relationship of convenience has matured into one of strategic competition, marked by tariffs, technology restrictions, and competing visions of international order. Yet this shift, while irreversible, does not have to lead to confrontation or permanent hostility. A more stable, if more guarded, coexistence is possible—if both sides recognise the limits of their leverage and the costs of…

By Wania Tahir In the evolving security landscape of East Asia, Japan’s accelerating military modernisation deserves measured international attention. While framed as a necessary response to regional challenges, the speed and scope of this transformation — actively supported by the United States — warrant careful scrutiny. Washington’s strategic embrace of a more assertive Japan risks overlooking historical sensitivities that continue to shape regional perceptions. Prudent calibration, rather than unchecked encouragement, would better serve long-term stability in the Indo-Pacific. Japan’s post-war identity was deliberately anchored in pacifism. Article 9 of its 1947 Constitution, shaped under American occupation, explicitly renounces war as…