BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW AND AMERICAN NUCLEAR POLICY: A CRITICAL OVERVIEW

The US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) has been an important document detailing the US administration's policy preferences since its first issuance in 1994. Biden administration released its NPR in October 2022, which identifies nuclear rivals and focus areas examining the role of nuclear weapons in overall US strategy. Using the historical research method and open-source information, the paper provides an overview of the US strategic calculus on nuclear weapons since 1945, focusing on post-Cold War developments and how its nuclear policy and strategy evolved. The paper argues that despite advocating for nuclear disarmament, US presidents stayed within lip service and kept enhancing the US nuclear stockpile. It also highlights that President Trump’s decisions adversely affected US nuclear weapons policy and global security and that President Biden’s NPR would follow the route rather than fulfil his campaign promises. The paper has three parts: the first deals with US nuclear policy during the Cold War; the second looks at the policy during the post-Cold War era from President Bush Senior to President Biden. The third and final part critically analyses the overall nuclear policy challenges faced by the Biden Administration and how it might address them.   Bibliography Entry Zeb, Rizwan. 2023. "Biden Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review and American Nuclear Policy: A Critical Overview" Margalla Papers 27 (1): 53-66

Analysing the Impact of Good Governance on Socio-Economic Development: A Case Study of Pakistan

The concept of “good governance” has emerged as vital driving force in the past few decades to positively shape economic growth and sustainable socio-economic development across the globe in general and developing countries in particular. However, Pakistan’s turbulent political landscape and deeply entrenched systemic corruption in the recent decades have utterly harmed the good governance at large, resulting in socio-economic developmental woes and increased sufferings of the people. This paper focuses on analysing the influences of good governance on the socio-economic development in Pakistan in the light of World Bank good governance indicator and also probe the impact of prevalent perceived corruption in the country in accordance with observation taken by Transparency International, UNDP, and other renowned State Institutions. The paper has emphasized on the last two decades to ascertain the contributory factors by using the appropriate qualitative / quantitative and statistical techniques that debilitated good governance in Pakistan and caused continual political instability, pessimism, and recurring political crises and undermined socio-economic development in the country. Based on the ascertained findings, the paper has identified impediments to existing governance situation and prevalence of corrupt practices and has proposed workable suggestions/ recommendations to assist policy makers, development planners, intellectuals, politicians, and succeeding governments in Pakistan to take corresponding structural or policy reforms to address the said hurdles

TREADING TURBULENT WATERS: PAKISTAN’S READINESS TO THE LOOMING THREAT OF MARITIME TERRORISM

Houthis’ recent attacks on Merchant ships in the Red Sea have renewed focus on maritime terrorism. These attacks have pushed the global power centres to think seriously about this intensifying threat to international maritime trade and movement. South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan, have already faced the issue of marine terrorism, yet it has remained primarily a neglected field of enquiry, particularly in Pakistan. This paper aims to fill this void in the literature by critically analysing the threat of Maritime terrorism to Pakistan and how prepared it is to counter this problem. This paper attempts to dissect the threats that exist in the Arabian Sea and how maritime terrorism has the potential to push Pakistan and India into a new conflict, which may have grave consequences for the global community. The paper starts with an overview of maritime terrorism and how it has evolved over time and with technological advancements. This follows an analysis of marine terrorism incidents in India and Pakistan and how Pakistan has built up its organisational structure to cover the threats posed by it. It contends that Pakistan has a ready organisational structure; it requires improved inter-departmental coordination and more importantly, constitutional cover. In the end, the paper provides policy recommendations at the organisational, national and regional levels to address the issue of maritime terrorism.   Bibliography Entry Shahid, Mubashar Hassan and Rizwan Zeb. 2024. "Treading Turbulent Waters: Pakistan’s Readiness to the Looming Threat of Maritime Terrorism." Margalla Papers 28 (1): 211-225

Optimizing Conservation of Nili Ravi Buffaloes in Southern Region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Phenotypic, Morphometric, and Productive Traits

In Pakistan, Nili Ravi buffalo is highly valued breed due to its high milk yield. Native to Punjab province, the breed is now extensively distributed throughout the country. To assess and optimize the conservation strategies for Nili Ravi buffaloes in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by evaluating their phenotypic, morphometric, productive, and reproductive characteristics. Buffaloes were maintained at Livestock Research and Development Station in Paharpur, Dera Ismail Khan from 2010-2023, under breed conservation program. A sum of 298 records Nili Ravi buffaloes were used for the investigation. The research examined physical attributes such as coat color, horn morphology, and other qualitative characteristics. In addition to body weight, body length, withers height, chest circumference, and hip breadth, morphometric measurements were recorded. Mean body weight of Nili Ravi buffaloes was recorded was 677 + 213 Kg, produced 1387.12 + 32.87 liters milk during their lactation period of 292.87 + 32.40 days that was substantially impacted by year (p \u3c 0.05) and calving season. Calving interval was 480.18 + 22.09 days, whereas parity year and calving season bear considerable (p \u3c 0.05) impact on their characteristic. Dry period was 181.2 + 18.01 days. This research aided in the development of conservation and enhancement strategies for Nili Ravi buffalo in the region. Nili Ravi buffaloes in the region have excellent milk yield but the study disclosed morphometric variations within the breed, demonstrating the need for targeted breeding and management practices

In-vitro Susceptibility of FMD Virus Serotype A Endemic in KPK, Pakistan

Foot and Mouth Disease virus (FMDV) serotype A is considered to be antigenic ally diverse among various geographical locations leading to diverse patterns of resistance and sensitivity. This phenomenon is posing high risks to global trade. This is the first study to quantify the effects of different physical factors (temperature, pH, UV and gamma irradiation) affecting the infectivity of FMDV serotype A.The infectivity of virus was calculated in term of tissue culture infectivity dose-50 (TCID-50) and plaque forming units (PFU). Virus in suspension (6×106 particles/ml) was treated using Cobalt-60 source in BHK-21 cell line grown in 96 well plates. The virus showed complete inactivation on 3, 5, 9 and 11 pH and 10kGy dose of gamma irradiations.The results revealed that increase in temperature (both moist and dry heat) and UV light as well as increase in time of exposure with same dose of UV irradiations significantly decreased the infectivity of virus (p<0.05). These physical factors are a better alternate for virus inactivation than chemicals, which are toxic for the health and accumulate in the animal products. It is recommended that viral strains should be analyzed for their susceptibility to these physical methods. They could also be combined with thermal inactivation to further improve virus inactivity to obtain virus free products.

Pakistan-China Relations: Where They Go from Here?

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

Analysing the Impact of Good Governance on Socio-Economic Development: A Case Study of Pakistan

The concept of “good governance” has emerged as vital driving force in the past few decades to positively shape economic growth and sustainable socio-economic development across the globe in general and developing countries in particular. However, Pakistan’s turbulent political landscape and deeply entrenched systemic corruption in the recent decades have utterly harmed the good governance at large, resulting in socio-economic developmental woes and increased sufferings of the people. This paper focuses on analysing the influences of good governance on the socio-economic development in Pakistan in the light of World Bank good governance indicator and also probe the impact of prevalent perceived corruption in the country in accordance with observation taken by Transparency International, UNDP, and other renowned State Institutions. The paper has emphasized on the last two decades to ascertain the contributory factors by using the appropriate qualitative / quantitative and statistical techniques that debilitated good governance in Pakistan and caused continual political instability, pessimism, and recurring political crises and undermined socio-economic development in the country. Based on the ascertained findings, the paper has identified impediments to existing governance situation and prevalence of corrupt practices and has proposed workable suggestions/ recommendations to assist policy makers, development planners, intellectuals, politicians, and succeeding governments in Pakistan to take corresponding structural or policy reforms to address the said hurdles

Reassessing Nuclear South Asia

It has been twelve years since the 1998 nuclear tests in India and Pakistan. Sufficient time has passed to draw some conclusions about the meaning, motivations, and implications of those events. This issue begins with an article which sets the stage for the tests, providing a retrospective on the political climate at the time and the steps each country took toward nuclear weapons development. The issue proceeds with topics focusing on nuclear doctrine, security of the weapons themselves, the implications of the U.S.-India nuclear agreement, and the options for a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT). A timeline of events in South Asia up to August 2009 completes the publication.published or submitted for publicationnot peer reviewe

Relationship Between University Students Time Management Skills and Their Academic Performance

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of time management skills on the academic achievement of university students. The study used quantitative research design. The population of the study consisted of all Bachelor level students of public sector universities in Malkand Division. A random sample of 900 Bachelor level students from three universities of Malakand division participated in the study. Data were collected through Time Management Behavior Scale (TMBS) developed by Macan, Shahani, Dipboye and Phillips (1990) consisting of 34 items based on five-point rating scale. The students were also requested to provide their results in the last semester. Data were analyzed by using mean, standard deviation, independent samples t-test, and Pearson’s coefficient correlation. The university students exhibited moderate level of time management skills. No significant difference was found between the perceptions of male and female students. A positive significant moderate relationship was found between the four constructs of TMBS and students academic performance. It was concluded that the students who have good time management skills tends to have higher academic achievement and decreased time management skills could result in decreased outcomes. The study recommended that university students should concentrate on developing their capacities in time management areas through trainings, workshops and seminars to increase their academic achievement