Sabena Siddiqi

In the aftermath of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s unveiling of the unprecedented Vision 2030 reforms, a sense of renaissance seems to exist in Saudi Arabia. Diversifying the oil economy along new routes for rapid progress, it is definitely the brainchild of the young Prince; however, he modestly insists he is only "one of 20 million people. I am nothing without them." Nevertheless, such a holistic package for economic, cultural and societal reform has not been seen before in recent Saudi history. Opening up Saudi Arabia to the world, the Prince announced his country would become "moderate" and "open" and that he would "eradicate" radical Islamist ideology. "We are returning to what we were before -- a country of moderate Islam open to all religions and to the world," he told an audience of world luminaries attending a major investment conference in the country. Announcing a futuristic new city named "NEOM," 33...

In a significant new development, China has proposed initiating an economic corridor with Myanmar to advance bilateral trade links, creating a central intersection for the Belt and Road Initiative between Southeast Asia and China. Addressing the media while on a recent visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced, "China and Myanmar have great potential for cooperation as they are highly complementary in economy. To further enhance China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, China has proposed building the China-Myanmar economic corridor." Starting from Yunnan in southwestern China, the corridor would proceed south to Mandalay in Myanmar, eastward to Yangon and then westward to the Kyaukpyu special economic zone. This would boost connectivity and facilitate development throughout Myanmar. Three branches of this network would operate along with a proposed $1.5 billion oil pipeline through the Bay of Bengal. Deepening economic co...

Usually, movies are for entertainment, providing escape from a monotonous routine, and causing a clash of cultures is rare. Yet in India today, the Bollywood movie Padmavati has created a rift and split the masses into two camps.  Amid unprecedented debate and extreme threats, India has seen real-time rioting for most of this year. Named after a mythical Rajput queen whose existence cannot be proven historically, references only being found in poetry around the year 1540, the controversy has served to expose the vulnerability of society to movies and the poignant effect they have on the masses.  At times such as these, movies can become larger than life and create new imaginary battlegrounds. It all began when the hard-line faction, Rajput Karni Sena, accused famous movie maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali of having insulted the legendary Hindu Rajput queen's memory by depicting her as a heroine with an historic Muslim king.  Soon, its members were vandalizing...

Leaving behind decades-old social rules, Saudi Arabia is at a turning point for the first time since 1979 when conservative laws and norms were initially enforced. Nowadays, families in Saudi Arabia look forward to going to the movies as the first of planned 2,000 cinemas is due to open in March. As described in the Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman's Vision 2030, things are moving ahead. Discussing the significance of these steps, the Saudi Culture Minister Awwad Alawwad  explained, "This is a watershed in the development of the cultural economy in the kingdom. Opening cinemas will act as a catalyst for economic growth and diversification. "By developing the broader cultural sector, we will create new employment and training opportunities, as well as enriching the kingdom's entertainment options." Diversifying the Saudi economy had also become a necessity, keeping in mind the plunge in global oil prices since 2014. With "Vision 2030," Saudi Ar...

Venturing to replace the U.S. dollar with the Chinese yuan for bilateral trade between Pakistan and China, the State Bank of Pakistan recently announced that all arrangements for the change-over were already in place.  Having considered the Chinese proposal to use the renminbi for some time, a comprehensive bank policy was prepared whereby public and private enterprises in both countries can carry out financial activities in CNY.  According to the official notification, "As per current foreign exchange regulations, the Chinese Yuan (CNY) is an approved foreign currency […] on a par with other international currencies such as the USD, Euro and JPY." Considering the ongoing massive Chinese infrastructure project in Pakistan, the new facility would "yield long-term benefits for both the countries," the announcement added. From now on, Pakistan's imports from China can be paid for in yuan rather than dollars. Not only that, Chinese companies investing in p...

After more than two decades, Washington wants to splurge on a flag-waving, chest-thumping military parade this year.  Usually held on a more moderate scale on occasions such as the Fourth of July, Veterans Day and Memorial Day, the last grand parade was a "victory celebration" over the first Gulf War in 1991. Nearly 200,000 spectators watched 8,000 troops march past along with Navy and Marine bands performing loudly, and jets and helicopters flying overhead.  Ever since assuming office, President Trump has wished to revive traditions like the parade as a symbolic statement of "America First." Having a grand parade was mulled over even at the time of the Trump inaugural ceremony, but displaying military equipment on the occasion was considered somewhat incongruous by the organizing committee. At that time, domestic critics worried it might send out an excessively "authoritarian" message instead of being simply a tribute to the military, so the plan ...

In the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed in 2015, Iran was described as a  “nuclear threshold state”  that could be cleared to continue its nuclear program after remaining under observation for some years. Devising the preliminary framework to pursue this objective, various world powers – the US, the UK, Russia, France, China, Germany and the European Union – had negotiated with Iran for two years to achieve this breakthrough. After defining a roadmap between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran’s nuclear program seemed to be in safe hands. Not satisfied with the mechanism, however, the US withdrew from the JCPOA in May last year as it wished to “ make a new and lasting deal ,” in the words of President Donald Trump. Notwithstanding IAEA assertions that Iran was complying and implementing its nuclear-related commitments, the US wanted to negotiate a new deal and announced sanctions against Iran. Plausibly, restricting the forma...