Posts From Zaki Khalid
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi confirmed that neither he nor Prime Minister Imran Khan would participate in the 2019 Kuala Lumpur Summit (KL Summit). The event is underway from 18-21 December involving several Muslim countries as participating nations including Iran, Qatar, Turkey and Indonesia. While Pakistan cites ‘neutrality‘ as a pretext for pulling out of the summit at the last moment, reports suggest otherwise. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister
During a briefing before the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunciation in August, the Director of FIA’s National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes (FIA-NR3C) lamented about the absence of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) through which cyber crime investigators could access data in the US. Social media and Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms hosted in the US such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram are very popular in Pakistan,
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s landmark victory in the recent Sri Lankan Presidential elections have sparked mixed reactions in the region. While Pakistan considers it an opportunity to further boost Pak-Lankan ties, India may have reasons to be concerned; this, despite a felicitation message and invitation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gotabaya joined Sri Lanka Army in 1971 and was commissioned into the Corps of Signals. He completed basic
An emerging disinformation analysis forum called EU Disinfo Lab recently published a damning report which uncovers a network of 265 fake online media fronts used for coordinated influence operations to serve Indian interests. Detection of Indian-sponsored and anti-Pakistan content networks took place since early October, when investigations revealed that a so-called website for the “European Parliament” (EPToday) was in fact managed by Indian stakeholders linked to the Srivastava Group. In
On 4th November, Rear Admiral Faisal Rasul Lodhi took charge as Commander Coast (COMCOAST) from Vice Admiral Muhammad Fayyaz Gilani. The ceremony was held at PNS Qasim, Karachi. The officer was commissioned in Operations Branch of Pakistan Navy in 1986. He is a graduate of Royal College of Defence Studies (UK), National Defence University (Pakistan) and Naval Staff College (Philippines). He has a Masters Degree in National Security & War
Reports sourced from chatter on Twitter reveal that India’s nuclear power infrastructure is being targeted by as-yet unknown cyber intruders. It is now known that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu was a victim of cyber intrusion. On 28th October, a handle associated with the network security community brought the matter to light by tagging Brian Bartholomew, a prominent researcher at Kaspersky Lab. https://t.co/aBVxrJKIao Interesting potential DTRACK
A news brief by India TV on 17th October reported that Lt Gen Taranjit Singh has been appointed the new Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) i.e. “DCIDS (Ops)” at Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters (HQ IDS). Short History of HQ IDS HQ IDS, established in November 2001, is equivalent to its Pakistani counterpart, the Joint Staff Headquarters (JSHQ). The head of HQ IDS is Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee
Recently, the Federal Cabinet led by Prime Minister Imran Khan approved Pakistan’s pioneering e-Commerce Policy Framework. The document comes after a hiatus of three years due to various systemic delays and perhaps because of a tumultous and uncertain political environment. The transmission of commercial data through virtual payment gateways, national authentication protocols and certification standards is essential so that data of industries, SMEs and consumers can be shielded from malicious
Veteran diplomat Ambassador Munir Akram has been appointed Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in place of Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi. The move follows Prime Minister Imran Khan’s successful address at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. The timing of Ambassador Akram’s appointment has surprised many in Pakistan itself, let alone the world at large. From the optics, the Pakistani delegation seemed pretty satisfied in New York, with
Dr Moeed Wasim Yusuf, a renowned scholar of South Asian strategic stability and security studies, has been appointed pioneer Chairperson of the Strategic Policy Planning Cell (SPPC) under the National Security Division (NSD) for a period of two years through an Establishment Division notification issued on 25th September. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Boston University, US. The PTI government of PM Imran Khan began the process to
