Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Wednesday on the phone and discussed the need for continuous coordination with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to deal with the ongoing humanitarian crisis. “Blinken and Zardari discussed coordination to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, regional stability, commercial and people-to-people ties, and the devastating […]

US President Joe Biden has notified Congress of his intent to rescind the designation of Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally, according to a statement published by the press service of the White House on Wednesday. “In accordance with section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k), I am providing notice of my intent […]

The United States said Wednesday no foreign government is contemplating legitimacy for the new government in Afghanistan. “I think there’s actually a global consensus to include Moscow and Beijing and Iran, that it’s too early to look at recognition,” Donald Lu, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, told VOA in an interview. “Yes, some countries are […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), say they will not hold former Afghan officials accountable for the massive corruption that derailed donor-funded development projects and contributed to the collapse of the former Afghan Republic, VOA reported. “Those who nurtured and enriched themselves during the previous invasion and from the U.S.’s system own their properties and assets and it will remain […]

China’s positioning with regard to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, and it is likely to be a central topic of discussion at the China-European Union Summit scheduled to be held this Friday. But for Beijing, which is seeking to mend fences and shore up ties with countries in South Asia, diplomacy closer to […]

Ukraine’s successes in resisting and even turning back an invasion by a numerically superior Russian force has raised expectations in East Asia that smaller nations in the region could conceivably fend off an attack from a large military like China’s. Taiwan, of course, has long struggled with executing such a defense strategy, but since its strategic considerations are in many […]

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 […]

Strengthening Shariah compliance of Islamic banking industry in line with the best international practices is one of the key pillars of 3rd Strategic Plan for Islamic Banking Industry 2021-25 of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Under the plan, SBP has been adopting Shariah standards of Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) in a systematic and gradual manner. […]

Summary Post-abrogation of Article 370, India successfully ensured that the internal political rearrangement did not attract negative international attention, despite vocal efforts by Pakistan and Turkey. This waning international support has led militant groups to seek renewed legitimacy and support for their activities. The rhetoric of ‘struggle for resistance’ against ‘occupational forces’ is being aired, as opposed to calls for […]

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) provide a service many people take for granted. The GNSS applications people use fall into five major categories: location (determining a position), navigation (getting from one location to another), tracking (monitoring movement of people or objects), mapping (creating maps of the world), and timing (calculating time). Generally, a GNSS has a constellation of at least […]