On October 29, 2025, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed concern over the inclusion of several Baloch activists on Pakistan’s terrorist Watchlist under Section 11-EE of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997. In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Lawlor observed that “that more human rights defenders in #Balochistan, including Sabiha Baloch, Shalee […]

US President Donald Trump has said he expects to strike a deal when he meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea amid a monthslong trade war with Beijing. “We’re going to be, I hope, making a deal. I think we’re going to have a deal. I think it will be a good deal for both,” Trump said on […]

Whether we are talking about the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the Al-Tanf base in Syria or the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, they all share one undeniable quality: immense strategic importance in shaping today’s world order. Not long ago, US President Donald Trump publicly announced that it was time for the United States to take Bagram back. […]

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said Thursday that Pakistan had carried out two drone strikes on Kabul the previous day, just before the two neighbors announced a ceasefire following days of fighting that killed dozens in both countries and injured hundreds more. The truce Wednesday brought at least a temporary halt to the deadliest clashes between the neighbors since 2021, when the […]

Escalation comes after Pakistani airstrike in Kabul, with Taliban launching reprisals against military posts Intense clashes erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Saturday night, after an attack by the Afghan Taliban on Pakistani military posts led to a heavy exchange of fire and reportedly left dozens of soldiers dead. According to officials, Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani army posts […]

As Kabul resists action against the Pakistan Taliban in wake of Quetta suicide bomb, Islamabad is left to weigh military strikes and expulsions. When Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived at the military hospital in Bannu in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on September 13, his stoic expression gave way to unmistakable anger. At least 19 soldiers had died […]

Taliban and Pakistan will reconvene in Istanbul on November 6 for a principal-level meeting to finalize implementation mechanisms for a ceasefire agreement, according to a joint statement released by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the statement, the announcement follows six days of negotiations from October 25 to 30, facilitated by Türkiye and Qatar, aimed at reinforcing the […]

The Taliban’s envoy in Pakistan said on Friday that nearly 10,000 Afghan nationals are currently being held in prisons and detention centers across the country, amid a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants and weeks-long border closures that have left thousands stranded. Sardar Ahmad Shakib said in a statement that the closures of key border crossings — including Torkham and Chaman […]

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, says that Islamabad cannot resolve its security issues with Afghanistan through threats. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the veteran politician stated that if Pakistan is unwilling to compromise on its own sovereignty, it must also respect Afghanistan’s national sovereignty. He added, “The two brotherly Islamic countries should build good relations […]

TLP: Domesticated monster On October 24, the Federal Interior Ministry notified the ban on the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), declaring that the Federal Government had “reasonable grounds” to believe the religio-political party was connected to terrorism. The notification stated: The federal government has reasonable grounds to believe that TLP is connected with and concerned in terrorism. In exercise of the powers […]