National Dialogue Forum

In this episode of Geopolitical Gupshup, Imran Khan @OtherImranKhan and Sheharyar Khan @khansheharyar unpack the CBS News allegations that Pakistan allowed Iran to park military aircraft on its airfields despite Islamabad’s mediator role in the U.S.-Iran conflict. They examine Pakistan’s official rebuttal, the strategic logic of crisis diplomacy, and whether the report reflects deliberate disinformation aimed at undermining ongoing regional de-escalation efforts. Watch the full episode on the link below and don't forget to share and subscribe: youtu.be/x6U8DPEn8uw?si…

We are delighted to welcome Jumaina Siddiqui (@jumainasiddiqui) as a Senior Fellow at the National Dialogue Forum (NDF). Jumaina is an accomplished international development and security professional with more than two decades of experience advancing democracy, governance, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention across South Asia and beyond. Over the course of her distinguished career, she has worked with leading think tanks, development organizations, and nonprofits to strengthen institutions, promote inclusive governance, and support resilient societies. Most recently, Jumaina directed the Global Security and International Affairs Program at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, where she oversaw initiatives on nuclear security, climate-security, and humanitarian access. Prior to this, at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), she led impactful research and field programs on governance and conflict prevention, significantly expanding the Pakistan portfolio into a major multi-year initiative in partnership with local and international stakeholders. She currently serves as Vice Chair for the U.S.-Bangladesh NextGen Policy Fellowship and Institute, advising on strategic planning, governance, and programmatic priorities. Jumaina brings a wealth of expertise in policy research, strategic engagement, partnership development, and peacebuilding. Her experience and insights will greatly contribute to NDF’s mission of advancing inclusive dialogue, research, & evidence-based policymaking. Please join us in congratulating and warmly welcoming Jumaina Siddiqui to the NDF family. @khansheharyar @OtherImranKhan

Senior Fellow NDF Imran Khan (@OtherImranKhan) was invited to Air University to give a lecture on “Pakistan’s Geopolitical Rise: Challenges and Opportunities” Imran spoke to students from across the Faculty of Social Sciences on “ Pakistan’s Geopolitical Rise: Opportunities and Challenges”. Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Professor Dr Wasima Shehzad, Chair Department of Humanities and Education Dr Sadaf Zamir Ahmed and Assistant Professor Aziz Kakar among others attended the event and shared their views. Students from across Air University engaged in a robust debate and question and answer session

The National Dialogue Forum honours Liaqat Khan Shaheed, a brave citizen who sacrificed his life while courageously confronting a suspected suicide bomber near the Khushal Garh area in Attock’s Jand Tehsil. Liaqat prevented what could have been a major terrorist attack and saving countless innocent lives. In recognition of his extraordinary bravery and selfless sacrifice, the President of Pakistan approved the Sitara-e-Shujaat for Liaqat Khan Shaheed (@PresOfPakistan) His courage reminds us that true heroism often comes from ordinary citizens who rise in extraordinary moments. Pakistan will remember his sacrifice. #LiaqatKhanShaheed #SitaraEShujaat #Pakistan #NationalHero #NDF

Senior Fellow NDF Imran Khan (@OtherImranKhan) had a productive meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson, Ambassador Tahir Andrabi, on the sidelines of a think tank event. @TahirAndrabi @ForeignOfficePk @fsaisbpk

In this episode, @OtherImranKhan & @khansheharyar examine Iran’s strategic outreach to Oman/Russia. The discussion breaks down Oman’s historic role as a neutral "backchannel" mediator and Russia’s growing influence in Middle Eastern diplomacy, exploring how Iran aims to counterbalance Western pressure and reshape the regional security architecture. Click on the link below and don't forget to subscribe: youtu.be/3DZLE-Poriw

In this episode of Geopolitical GupShup, @OtherImranKhan & @khansheharyar analyze the strategic implications of the UAE’s potential exit from OPEC. They explore how this shift could redefine regional energy dynamics, impact global oil prices, and signal a broader change in the UAE’s independent economic foreign policy. check the latest episode on the link below: youtu.be/MqdSOEsQRlg

Senior Fellow NDF Imran Khan gave a talk at the SI @sanoberInsti -FES (@FES_PAK) conference on Pakistan and new world disorder. Imran spoke on the session titled: Pakistan and Global Geopolitics.

A very incisive discussion.

In the timely episode with a special guest Dr. Qamar Cheema (@Qamarcheema), Imran Khan and Sheharyar Khan discussion what to expect from the upcoming round of talks in Islamabad, the shifting geopolitical architecture of the Middle East. @OtherImranKhan @khansheharyar Watch the full episode here: youtu.be/1_5hUKtksTA?si… Don't forget to subscribe: @GeopoliticalGupShup" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@GeopoliticalG…

In this episode Sheharyar Khan (@khansheharyar) and Imran Khan (@OtherImranKhan) discuss a hypothesis: whether Pakistan deserves to get the Nobel Peace Prize, what's the history of this award, how the selection committee operates and who in Pakistan deserves to receive it? Watch the full episode here: youtube.com/watch?v=fwYHYC… Don't forget to subscribe: @GeopoliticalGupShup" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@GeopoliticalG…

Reflections: My Homecoming to Islamabad - Part I I had been away from Pakistan for more than a year when I arrived in Islamabad on February 28, just less than a day before US-Iran-Israel War started. The purpose of my trip to Pakistan was primarily to reconnect with my professional community in Islamabad, go to my favorite trails and eat at my usual restaurants. While I was in the US, I missed Pakistan everyday. My homesickness was so severe that it was debilitating me from thinking about future. I was stuck, thinking about my eventful life in Pakistan. I thought a low-key trip to Pakistan would indulge my nostalgia, enable me to relive some of my best memories, give me the emotional closure and help me move on with life back in the US. However, the US-Iran-Israel changed the purpose of my trip immediately. From a purely personal pilgrimage to the friends and community I had until one year ago, it became a purely business trip in the sense that I started having more professional meetings and events than I had expected. Most of my friends who work on foreign policy and defense and security matters were closely following the war, and I also got sucked back into my erstwhile think tank role I had in Islamabad for years with US Institute of Peace, though this time I was doing it for myself without being encumbered by an elaborate institiontal structure. @NDF_Pak provided me very nimble support without the constraints. Even during the early days of the war when Pakistan was not actively positioning itself as the key mediator, it was clear that Islamabad foreign policy scene had changed while I was away. I had come back to a country that was already making big strides in foreign policy, shrewdly walking the tightrope of balancing its relations with different countries in West Asia, including Iran, while further winning respect and affection from both China and the US. However, after it became evident around two weeks ago that Pakistan is playing the role of the leading mediator in the war, the excitement in Islamabad foreign policy community, both Pakistanis and foreign diplomats, has been uncontrollable and unprecedented. Even foreign diplomats haven't seen a Middle Power such as Pakistan diplomatically so buoyant and playing such a key role in war mediation. A lot of diplomats who were until recently looking at Pakistan from the same old and outdated paradigm of a struggling state must be incredulous, even shocked. As a Pakistani who has worked in international organizations for a better part of two decades now, my country's new role on the global stage felt like a personal validation. Pakistan has been an underdog on the global stage for most of my career. A country that was always in the news for the wrong reasons. Pakistan has been dubbed "fragile state", "failing state", "hard country" and so on for a while now, not only in academic literature written by Western journalists but also by practitioners of foreign policy and international organizations. Here was Pakistan rising up to the occassion and saving the world from World War III. As someone who has always believed in the value propostion Pakistan has to offer to the world, even I was a little surprised. Had Pakistan finally gotten its act together? Was Pakistan being proactive this time, exercising its agency as a confident nuclear power state of 250 million people? The excitement about Pakistan's new role has kept me mostly awake all these weeks. It is hard to sleep when you are witnessing history from a ringside seat. In that excitement, after a long time, I am trying to engage with the world and put myself out there. Lately, I had totally withdrawn to myself due to pessimism stemming out of the war and suffering in the world, primarily of the Palestinian people. The best part of my trip has been a podcast called Geopolitical GupShup that my colleague @khansheharyar and I started under the institutional support of @NDF_Pak You can check out our YouTube channel Geopolitical GupShup. In our podcast, which is still in its early and nascent days, Sheharyar and I present our analysis on geopolitical issues in a casual and conversational manner. The other thing I have really enjoyed is to engage with the amazing foreign policy and defense strategy community of Pakistan who primarily work in think tanks and academia. Earlier this week, I had the honor of spekaing at a conference called Pakistan and the World Disorder organized by @sanoberInsti It was so well-curated by think tank's Executive Director @Qamarcheema and Chairman Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhary who is also Pakistan's former foreign secretary. Sanober Institute organized the conference in collaboration with @FES_PAK a German political foundaiton, in Pakistan led by @FKolbitz their very thoughtful country director. FES has gone some amazing work in Pakistan with civil society organizations, academics and students. I have followed their work for decades and it still amazes me how dedicated and thoughtful team they have. FES and their wider community are true friends of Pakistan and Pakistanis. Coming back to the conference, General (R) Zubair Mahmood Hayat, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee gave the inaugural address at the conference, which was followed by the panel I was spekaing in. Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani, the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan chaired my panel which had the most eminent experts from Pakistani academia and think tanks. I spoke about "How the World Views Pakistan's Role in Global Geopolitics", sharing my perspective from the vantage point of someone who has worked on US-Pakistan relations for a while. I gave a bit of an insider account of working on this relationship when it was fraught between August 2021 and until early 2025. I will share the gist of my talk and insights from General Zubair's riveting inaugural keynote later. Will also try to present the summary of other speakers' arguments. For now, I just wanted to share my reflections on my time in Islamabad while the city has been at the centre of global peacemaking. Check out some pictures here.

Senior Fellow NDF Imran Khan (@OtherImranKhan) shared his views on Pakistan and the geopolitical disorder.

Deserving students should take advantage of this opportunity. Excellent initiative by @InterloopLtd

Heartbreaking: A BBC Eye investigation exposed how 331 children in Taunsa, Punjab, tested HIV-positive in under a year. Undercover footage from THQ Hospital shows repeated syringe reuse, multi-dose vial contamination, and injections without basic safety even after authorities promised a crackdown. In many cases, only the children were positive not their mothers. Preventable tragedy caused by unsafe medical practices. Nine children have already died. Systemic injection safety failures in Pakistan need urgent fixes. Watch the BBC documentary: "Stolen Lives: Who Gave Our Children HIV?"

📢📣Join us @IRSIslamabad for Report Launch & Policy Dialogue on CPEC 2.0 📝Strengthening Governance & Implementation Strategies for CPEC 2.0 📆Wednesday,15 Apr 2026 ⏰️ 1100 hrs 📌 IRS,Ataturk Ave,F-5/2, IBD @CPEC_Official @CathayPak @ForeignOfficePk @QaiserAOfficial @NDF_Pak

In the fresh episode of Geopolitical GupShup Imran Khan (@OtherImranKhan) and Sheharyar Khan (@khansheharyar) break down the Islamabad peace talks—key sticking points, Pakistan’s evolving role, and the implications of troop deployment in Saudi. What does this mean for the region? Tune in. Watch the fresh episode here: youtu.be/mve8N3YXmXM?si… Don't forget to subscribe: @GeopoliticalGupShup" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@GeopoliticalG…

In this episode @OtherImranKhan and @khansheharyar unpack Pakistan’s emerging role in facilitating the recent ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Watch the full podcast here: youtu.be/iDxFN67lxH0?i=… Don't forget to subscribe here: @GeopoliticalGupShup" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@GeopoliticalG…

In this fresh episode of Geopolitical GupShup Imran Khan (@OtherImranKhan) and Sheharyar Khan (@khansheharyar) unpack Pakistan’s emerging role in facilitating the recent ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. They explore what could have happened had diplomacy failed, potentially pushing the region toward a wider conflict and assess what lies ahead as negotiations move forward, including talks expected to take place in Islamabad. Watch the episode on the link below, and don't forget to like, share and subscribe! youtu.be/iDxFN67lxH0?si…