Suicide bombers and gunmen penetrated a military base in northwestern Pakistan last week, killing eight soldiers. It was just the latest in a string of deadly attacks to hit the South Asian country, where militant violence has surged in recent years. But what was significant about the July 15 attack in the city of Bannu was the group that claimed […]

The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is Pakistan’s main intelligence agency, established in 1947. Initially a small military unit, it has grown into a powerful organization, often seen as more influential than the country’s government. Over the years, the military’s control over politics has allowed the ISI to operate almost like a separate state. Today, the ISI not only gathers intelligence, but […]

Afghanistan’s Taliban claimed Tuesday that their crackdown on illegal drug production in the country has helped address a major global challenge but expressed frustration at the ongoing lack of international support in response. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told a national labor conference in Kabul that his country used to be the world’s largest opium-poppy producer. It was detrimental […]

The appearance of Indian-made ammunition in Ukraine has caused a heated discussion in the expert community, creating a ground for speculations regarding India’s political course. A number of expert assessments boil down to the fact that India made a mistake by trusting the importing countries, which did not miss the opportunity to supply Indian ammunition to Ukraine. Some experts believe […]

For most of the three decades since gaining independence in 1991, Turkmenistan has been left out of discussions on Central Asia and the role of both north-south and east-west transportation routes linking the region to the rest of the world. Ashgabat seldom released much data about itself or allowed others to collect it. Analysts and commentators writing on Central Asia […]

Russia’s use of the Caspian Sea for military purposes and its reduction of water flow from the Volga are damaging the sea’s already fragile ecosystem. In early July, fish began dying en masse off Azerbaijan’s coast, sparking speculation that Russia’s increasingly frequent cruise missile strikes against Ukraine, launched from its Caspian Flotilla, could be to blame. The deaths coincided with […]

Every two years the US, its allies, and like-minded nations assemble their military forces in Hawaii for Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the world’s largest maritime exercise. With 29 countries from Asia, the Pacific and beyond, RIMPAC’s host, Commander, US Pacific Fleet, describes the war games as five weeks of cooperation and coordination with the goal of peace and […]

Fazl-ur-Rahman also stated that during the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the Afghan governments manipulated people into believing that Pakistan was Afghanistan’s enemy. He said now, the Islamic Emirate, is trying to overturn this mindset through the school curriculum. Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman, the leader of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam political party, has said that Islamabad blames Kabul for its security failures. Fazl stated […]

The relationship between the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban (TTA) is a major threat to the stability of the region. The impact of terror activities from Afghan territories to the neighboring countries especially Pakistan has become a worrying issue. The TTP is a highly organized militant group that conducts systematic terror attacks to spread terror and insecurity in […]

The deadly terrorist attack on Bannu Cantonment, which claimed the lives of eight security personnel, has once again highlighted the persistent threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, responsible for the attack, along with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), continues to operate from Afghan soil, posing a significant danger to Pakistan and regional stability. The Afghan Taliban’s support […]