The wilderness years of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad), after its initial inception during the 2004 Asian tsunami, are over. The latest summit in Tokyo reaffirmed its mission as a ‘force for good’ while promising a broad array of Indo-Pacific cyber security, maritime awareness, pandemic recovery, space, climate change and infrastructure initiatives. At the recent IISS Shangri-La Dialogue held […]

The realist school of thought wisely said that man is selfish by nature. There are no permanent friends and foes in international relations. One cannot any country for long in international relations. Talks are the ultimate solution for any conflict. The Taliban are a reality now in Afghanistan. They are the ruling elite in the country. No country can negate […]

Afghanistan’s Taliban wants to work with neighboring countries to develop regional infrastructure projects, such as railways and electricity, but isn’t sure what is the clear U.S. position, as Washington has shifted its attention to Ukraine. Regional projects will need the U.S. to ease sanctions to help the region continue the economic recovery from the COVID pandemic and the disruption caused […]

In April, the Taliban announced a blanket ban on drug production and use in Afghanistan. There are a number of potential reasons for the move, which would cause considerable financial pain to many of the group’s core constituencies, as well as to the Taliban itself. But the timing of the announcement suggests that the ban will not go into effect […]

Indian forces in Kashmir killed two militants on Wednesday, one them suspected of gunning down a bank manager this month, police said, part of a stepped-up counter-insurgency effort that has triggered an exodus from the Muslim-majority region. India has been fighting an Islamist separatist insurgency in Kashmir since the late 1980s. Muslim Pakistan also claims the region over which the […]

The Department of Homeland Security and State Department announced on Tuesday that they would expand the number of terrorism-related exemptions to allow Afghan evacuees who worked with and supported the U.S. government to qualify for protection and immigration benefits. Why it matters: Existing exemptions from terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG) include providing material support under duress and voluntary medical care to […]

Why Indo-Pacific Power Hinges on Taiwan Of all the intractable issues that could spark a hot war between the United States and China, Taiwan is at the very top of the list. And the potential geopolitical consequences of such a war would be profound. Taiwan—“an unsinkable aircraft carrier and submarine tender,” as U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur once described it—has […]

The question of recognizing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government is not on Moscow’s current agenda, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. “It is not on the current agenda. We have said this many times. It is useless to make any forecasts,” Peskov said. This comes after Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier this […]

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said during a visit to Sanglakh Valley in Jalriz district of Maidan Wardak on Thursday that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) does not harbor ill will to any country in the world. Addressing residents of Jalriz district, Muttaqi said: “The previous governments of Afghanistan did not have good bilateral relations with the countries […]

Deputy Interior Minister for Security, Mullah Abdulhaq Akhundzada, who is currently in the north of the country to assess the security situation, said Thursday that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) forces will be incorporated into the country’s three branches of security – the police, military and intelligence. Akhundzad said the forces will be included in the country’s security forces […]