Comment & Briefs

Considering the impending financial crunch due to the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainty about allocations in the coming years, it is unlikely that the MoD will be able to launch many new procurement programmes under the new DPP any time soon.

Draft DPP 2020 needs to cut out obfuscation, repetitions, and bring out core issues for the consideration of the decision-makers in a concise and clear manner.

The lack of international cooperation and trust deficit to tackle the COVID-19 crisis is stark. The pandemic of fear may deepen an ongoing shift towards increased anarchy reflected in ‘everyone for himself’ and could further energise the process of weakening international institutions and agreements.

While it is unlikely that the Iranian regime will be able to weather the COVID-19 crisis without the support of the international community, its efforts at seeking international support largely remain a work in progress.

As the COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the key priorities for the GCC countries are to contain the spread of the pandemic, maintain the flow of trade across their borders and preserve their economies from adverse impacts.

China is too important for Pakistan’s power elite, given that their stakes are tied firmly to the success of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects. Similarly, China would also need dependable and loyal allies like Pakistan willing to support and disseminate the emerging Chinese narrative on COVID-19.

The political divisions and economic challenges facing the country have complicated the government’s response to the pandemic, putting the population at risk and threatening to undermine the popularity of President Erdogan.

The large scale social and economic disruption caused by COVID-19 has brought to our attention the socio-economic plight of urban migrant workers and the need for a more effective information dissemination.

The present crisis is as much of a challenge as an opportunity to infuse financial realism in defence planning and bring about concomitant reforms in the quickest possible timeframe.

Syria’s fragile health care system on account of the continuing conflict hinders the country’s effort to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.