Mr. Mekki El Mograbi, Media Consultant and Head, International Relations, Sudan Centre for Thinktanks and Strategic Studies, Khartoum, Sudan, visited ICPS on 28 March 2023 and interacted with the scholars.

Russia’s intensified strikes on Odessa highlight its bid to neutralise Ukraine’s maritime lifeline and assert dominance in the Black Sea. Rooted in historical claims and NATO security fears, Moscow’s campaign threatens Ukraine’s economy, global food security, and regional stability, while exposing the limits of international institutions.
This Issue Brief analyses the structural limitations of the Gulf security framework in light of Israel’s unprecedented attack in Doha on 9 September, targeting Palestinian Hamas leadership. While the attack marked a dangerous escalation of Tel Aviv’s regional adventurism, it also exposed the enduring structural weaknesses of the Gulf’s security architecture which has been defined by entrenched dependency on the United States.
This issue brief explores whether Pakistan can evolve from a traditional “security contractor” into West Asia’s net security stabiliser. The September 17, 2025, Saudi-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement marks a pivotal moment, formalising decades of military cooperation between the two countries. Historically, Pakistan has trained Gulf forces, guarded monarchies, and provided military personnel, often in transactional arrangements....
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Terrorism, Trust, and India-Pakistan Relations: Peace Remain Elusive
Afroz Khan
Pakistan's state-sponsored terrorism has pushed India toward aggressive, kinetic retaliation, weakening Islamabad's nuclear deterrence and making genuine bilateral rapprochement impossible without visible, credible actions against extremist networks.
Divided Commands and Fragmented Lenses: Reconciling American Regional Policy with Indian Interests
Imran Khurshid
US regional strategy operates through fragmented command structures that elevate India and Pakistan in different theatres, producing enduring contradictions. These structural inconsistencies continue to shape—and often complicate—India’s security calculus in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
The Deep Freeze: The Stalled Path to India-Pakistan Reconciliation
Zainab Akhter
Diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan have collapsed into a deep freeze. With official dialogue suspended and military tensions rising, both nations are likely to rely on backchannels solely to manage crises.
Between Ambition and Reality: The Paradox of Pakistan’s Shuttle Diplomacy
Nazir Ahmad Mir
Pakistan is attempting to broker a ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran to protect its own economic stability, which relies heavily on Gulf oil and remittances.