China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) conceived on the notion of mutual development is a game-changer not only for Pakistan but also for the entire South Asian region. Under the auspices of this project, Gwadar port would become a hub of economic connectivity with the Middle East and North Africa. CPEC could simultaneously address Pakistan’s energy-starved economy and bolster Pakistan’s relations with […]

It may be said without mincing words and unequivocally that the latest decision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif not to increase electricity and gas tariffs and prices of petroleum products has pushed Pakistan further away from reconciliation with International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was required to approve the increases, as a preamble to the commencement of negotiations between IMF and […]

Incontrovertibly Pakistan has been the country that bore the extreme brunt of extremism. Due to its significant geostrategic location, it has been the epicentre of the US war against terrorism in Afghanistan making it more vulnerable to violence spilling over from the neighbouring war-raged country. Apart from the Afghanistan factor, Pakistan remained the earmark of terror attacks for hosting Chinese […]

The contest for control of northern Afghanistan between the Taliban, the Islamic State, and other terrorist groups is a major security concern for the states of Central Asia. Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have relied on the Taliban to prevent non-state actors from operating in northern Afghanistan and launching cross-border […]

According to Forbes.kz, Kazakhstan’s top-three wealthiest amassed an additional $2.5 billion in one year. The Nazarbayev family was prominently featured in this year’s Forbes list of Kazakhstan’s richest people, but the country’s First President himself did not appear in the ranking, showing the limits of the system’s transparency. Nursultan Nazarbayev, who left the presidency in 2019 after three decades in […]

The new government could either take the decision of cutting fuel subsidies or call for fresh elections and leave that tough decision to an interim government. There is a meme on the internet showing three children playing a videogame but only two have their controller cords plugged into the console. The third child, who appears to be the youngest, is […]

Pakistani police arrested a would-be suicide bomber who planned to blow herself up near a convoy of Chinese nationals along the China Pakistan Economic-Corridor (CPEC), a police statement said. Monday’s arrest came two weeks after a woman suicide bomber blew herself up on a university campus in the southern port city of Karachi, killing three Chinese teachers and their Pakistani […]

The Taliban have dissolved Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, and four other government departments, citing a budget crisis. The cuts were announced on Monday, days after the Taliban announced their first annual national budget.

Residents of Eshkamish district of Takhar province have raised concerns about the lack of facilities in the area stating there is a severe shortage of medicine at clinics, and not enough schools and a poor electricity supply. They have in turn called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to establish the facilities so as to provide basic public services. […]

India is exploring the possibility of reopening its embassy in Afghanistan, but without high-level diplomatic representation, an Indian newspaper reported on Tuesday. A team of Indian security officials visited Kabul in February to assess the situation, the Indian Express reported. The paper said that the embassy will likely function only with personnel for liaison purposes that may extend to consular […]