Backbone of the nation bears load

Talat Shabbir

Talat Shabbir is the director of the China-Pakistan Study Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, where he oversees research and advocacy in all facets of relations between the two countries.

As a think tank, the institute works to promote bilateral relations and focuses on advocacy and in pursuing the right narrative for the public.

Shabbir is also the chief editor of the quarterly magazine PIVOT, which was launched by the study center in January 2019. Its aim is to provide regular updates and analysis of the relationship between the two neighbors as well as promote mutual understanding at the people's level.

Born in 1970, he holds a PhD in international relations from Quaid-i-Azam University. Having served the army for decades, he joined the faculty of the Institute of Strategic Studies Research and Analysis at Pakistan's National Defence University between 2014 and 2016 and was a visiting scholar at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University in the United States.

His new book, Creating Shared Futures, Pakistan-China: A Journey of Trust and Friendship, was published in March.