Singapore, July 3 -- During a wide-ranging discussion with journalists at the National Press Foundation's International Reporting Fellowship, a scathing assessment of Pakistan was delivered, characterising the nation as a state "teetering on the brink of failure".

The critique was offered by Bilahari Kausikan, the Chairman of the Middle East Institute, an autonomous institute of the National University of Singapore, who served as Permanent Secretary of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2013.

Speaking on the topic, "On Keeping Perspective in Volatile Geopolitical Times", the longtime diplomat dismantled the image of Pakistan as a stable international actor, exposing the profound internal instability, radicalisation, an...