Letters from South Asia · 11. März 2026
The war between Iran, Israel, and the US has made Tehran even more isolated from the rest of the world. As military tensions rise, sanctions pressure grows, and instability spreads in the region, an old question in regional politics comes back: where does Pakistan stand?
Islamabad's official stance has been clear but carefully calibrated.
Letters from South Asia · 05. März 2026
Pakistanische Luftschläge gegen Ziele in Afghanistan führten Ende Februar 2026 zu einer Eskalation des Konfliktes zwischen Pakistan und den afghanischen Taliban. SIGA analysiert die Hintergründe um Anschuldigungen, dass afghanische Taliban pakistanischen Dschihadisten Unterschlupf gewähren, den Stand der Kampfhandlungen, und wagt einen Ausblick, der zum Schluss kommt, dass beide Seiten zwar aggressiv vorgehen, jedoch scheinbar nicht in einen grösseren Krieg gezogen werden wollen.
English Blogs · 23. September 2025
This commentary builds on my earlier analysis of the Pakistan–Saudi Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), which explored how the pact has been framed and why it drew comparisons with NATO. That first piece looked at the language of ‘no exceptions, no limits’ and what it signals. Here, the focus shifts to consequences: what Pakistan stands to gain, the risks it may face, and why Saudi Arabia chose this moment to turn a long-standing partnership into a formal defence alliance.
English Blogs · 23. September 2025
On 17 September 2025, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed their Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA). The promise was simple but sweeping: any aggression against one will be treated as aggression against both. For two countries that had long cooperated informally on security matters, the formalisation of this partnership marked a striking shift.
The pact immediately stirred debate. What does it actually mean? How binding is it? Can it change the balance of power in the Gulf and South Asia?