China’s trade with Afghanistan has been growing fast and it may become the second-largest trading nation with Afghanistan in 2023 after Pakistan, a situation that bodes well for the continuation of the CPEC part of the Belt & Road Initiative into Afghanistan, as per Silk Road Briefing (SRB). Silk Road Briefing provides global and regional intelligence to assist and monitor […]

Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said in a statement on Sunday that the Islamic Emirate will proceed with plans to convert former foreign military bases into special economic zones in the country. “It was decided that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should progressively take control of the remaining military bases of the foreign forces […]

The leader of Hizb-e-Islami says that Daesh does not have a significant presence in Afghanistan and that the group carries out its attacks by “buying people who are ignorant and uninformed about Islam”. At a meeting in Kabul, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said that terrorist groups including Daesh do not have a physical footprint in Afghanistan, and the attacks claimed by this […]

A devastating humanitarian and economic crisis has forced millions of Afghans to find new sources of income. A growing number of them have turned to the booming methamphetamine industry to eke out a living and stave off starvation. Among them is Ahmad Wali, who lives in the remote province of Ghor in central Afghanistan. Wali is believed to be among […]

Western Kazakhstan which is the backbone of the Kazakh country’s economy and the basis of the well-being of its population has been and is heavily dependent on Russia in terms of its economy and livelihood opportunities for its inhabitants. Yes, it is also true that the level of economic prosperity not only in that region, but throughout the nation, is […]

The State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Illegally Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are two regions with a shared history, but vastly different realities in terms of development. AJK is a self-governing territory within Pakistan, while IIOJK is a region occupied by India and has been subject to significant political unrest and conflict. In terms of infrastructure, […]

In the aftermath of murderous attacks, most recently a suicide attack in a mosque in Peshawar, one would expect the state to declare total and unremitting war on the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the largest and deadliest militant umbrella organization in Pakistan. The dysfunction of the state, unending political instability, and unprecedented economic crisis encourage the TTP. It is a good […]

The practice of wooing peripheral states is as much a part of today’s budding U.S. rivalry with China as it was during the actual Cold War with the former Soviet Union. Indeed, the PRC has gone to tremendous lengths trying to create a sphere of influence in Washington’s backyard. In 2000, Chinese trade with Latin America sat at $12 billion. […]

The Japanese government officially nominated academic economist Kazuo Ueda as the next central bank governor on February 14. This unexpected decision also makes the direction of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy, which has been under market scrutiny, to be even more difficult to grasp. On the same day, the yen edged higher against the dollar. Most Japanese stock […]

Recently a new wave of deadly acts of terrorism in Afghanistan, and from Afghanistan into Pakistan, has erupted again. To understand its raison d’être in general and the focus of its violence on Pakistan and Afghanistan a critical review of the major political upheaval in Pakistan continuing since about a year now is essential. Critical ReviewIt was in the beginning […]