Author: HeraldStar

Islamabad, December 9, 2025:Mr. Qaiser Nawab, Chairman of the Belt and Road Initiative for Sustainable Development (BRISD), attended the Qatar National Day Reception held at the Sheesh Mahal, Serena Hotel, Islamabad, on the gracious invitation of H.E. Ali Bin Mubarak Al-Khater, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Pakistan. The prestigious ceremony was graced by the Prime Minister of Pakistan as the Chief Guest, reflecting the strong and time-tested bonds of friendship between Pakistan and Qatar. The event commemorated the foundation of the State of Qatar by its founder, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, celebrating Qatar’s remarkable journey of…

By Agil Alesger New realities have emerged in the South Caucasus, and the Doha Forum has turned into a platform where these realities are visually demonstrated in both political and diplomatic dimensions. The harsh rhetoric of the wartime period is gradually giving way to an agenda of peace, communication and geo‑economic cooperation. At the centre of this new phase stand Azerbaijan’s initiative, political will and diplomatic activism.The joint interview given for the first time in Doha to “Euronews” by Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, and…

By Mishal Noor IN the grand theatre of geopolitics, the curtain rarely falls abruptly; usually, the lights dim slowly, the actors mutter their final lines, and the scene transitions imperceptibly. Yet, on the evening of December 4, the release of the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) felt less like a transition and more like the snapping of a tether. For decades, the global order has been predicated on a specific, unwavering assumption: that the United States considers the security of Europe and the maintenance of a liberal international order as synonymous with its own survival. The 33-page document…

By Qaiser Nawab For nearly three decades following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the international system was defined by a singular, overwhelming reality: American unipolarity. It was a period described by Western scholars as the “End of History,” a moment where liberal democracy and free-market capitalism were presumed to be the final destination of human political evolution. Yet, history has a way of returning with a vengeance. As we navigate the turbulent waters of the mid-2020s, the “unipolar moment” has undeniably passed, replaced by a complex, fractious, and nascent multipolar order. This transition is not merely a theoretical proposition…

By Hadia Khan There is a grim, unwritten rule in our criminal justice system: if a murder happens on the street, it is a crime against the State; if it happens in the kitchen, it is a “family dispute.” For decades, the concept of the “private sphere”—the sanctity of the chadar aur char dewari—has been weaponized. It was intended to protect the privacy of the home, but today, it serves a far more sinister purpose. It has become a jurisdictional iron curtain behind which the brutalization of women is not only permitted but protected from state scrutiny. As a law…

By Qaiser Nawab USD stablecoins have grown into a $250 billion ecosystem. Hailed as a competitive alternative to the traditional banking system, optimists predict their usage could surpass legacy payment volumes in less than a decade, driven by advantages such as transactions settled in seconds, freedom from intermediary fees and friction, and around-the-clock transparency. Beyond promoting innovation and securing a lead in digital finance, as well as catering to family interests tied to the crypto sector, Donald Trump’s administration—through the GENIUS Act passed in July—seeks to tackle two major challenges looming over the U.S. economy: to boost demand for U.S.…

By Qaiser Nawab The increasing concentration of digital wealth and technological capability in a few global centers poses a fundamental challenge to balanced global development. As advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) become central to economic growth and governance, the digital divide risks solidifying into an insurmountable barrier for billions. In response to this global stratification, China is actively channeling its significant technological and infrastructural capacity to promote what it terms technological equality, both within its own vast geography and, crucially, across the developing world. This effort extends beyond traditional aid, positioning technology as a key driver of shared global…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD The narrative surrounding China’s economy has long been defined by sheer scale. For decades, the nation was synonymous with mass manufacturing and an endlessly expanding consumer base, a market so vast that its very size eclipsed nuanced analysis. Today, however, a profound and structurally significant transformation is underway. As its per capita GDP has decisively crossed the US$13,000 mark, China is rapidly writing a new chapter for its market—one driven not merely by quantity, but by quality. This shift, underpinned by state policy and embodied in the changing habits of the world’s largest middle class,…

Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for November 10th to 21st, 2025, in Belém, Brazil, set in the symbolic heart of the Amazon, marks a moment of reckoning mandated by the Paris Agreement itself. 2025 is the critical deadline for nations to submit a new, more ambitious round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), extending their climate commitments to 2035. The context leading into Belém is stark. The Global Stocktake (GST), concluded at COP28, confirmed unequivocally that the world is woefully off-track from the goal of limiting…

By Qaiser Nawab, Chairman BRISD The China International Import Expo (CIIE), held annually in Shanghai, has cemented its position not merely as a trade fair, but as a critical mechanism for observing the trajectory of the global economy and, specifically, the evolving nature of the Chinese market. Now in its eighth iteration, the CIIE stands as a physical manifestation of Beijing’s commitment to “high-level opening-up,” pivoting the national economic narrative from solely being the “world’s factory” to becoming the “world’s consumer.” The sheer scale of the event—this year featuring 155 countries, regions, and international organizations, alongside 4,108 overseas enterprises occupying…