Escalating threats from Islamist militants are casting doubt on the future of big-money Chinese mining projects in Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas (CAPEIC) signed a 25-year oil extraction deal with the Afghan Taliban authorities for the Amu River oil field in northwestern Afghanistan. The company is expected to invest $150 million in the first year […]

The Dangers of a Broad Decoupling For all the talk of how we have entered a new global era, the last year bears a striking resemblance to 2008. That year, Russia invaded its neighbor, Georgia. Tensions with Iran and North Korea were perennially high. And the world faced severe global economic challenges. One notable difference, however, is the state of […]

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the country does not intend to carry out military operations inside Afghanistan. “We’re not interested in launching a cross-border operation, nor would we want to advocate for more military intervention after what we’ve already seen was the longest war,” Zardari told Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum […]

The “Anglo-Saxons” maintain contact with the armed opposition in Afghanistan and secretly sponsor Daesh, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Friday. “What’s worse is that apart from maintaining contact with the armed opposition in Afghanistan, the Anglo-Saxons secretly sponsor Islamic State (Daesh) members who are set not only against stability in our partner countries in Central […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said on Saturday it is ready to form a special unit to safeguard the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project. In a statement, the office of deputy prime minister for economic affairs, noted that TAPI as a significant regional economic project was initiated during the first rule of the IEA, but the American “occupation” of […]

The Chinese economy had yet another extraordinary year in 2022. After strong growth of 4.8 per cent in Q1, the economy grew by only 0.4 per cent in Q2. This was due largely to lockdowns under the zero-COVID policy. The economy showed signs of recovery in Q3 with growth reaching 3.9 per cent, but economic activity indicators in manufacturing and […]

Continuation of political uncertainty in the country, following the Punjab and KP government dissolution, kept the market under pressure during the week ended on January 20, 2023. The KSE-100 index lost 1,915.5 points or 4.8% to end Friday’s trading session at 38,408.0 points. Volumes dried, with daily volumes averaging 143.2 million shares as compared to 183.3 million shares in the […]

Tehreek Taliban Pakistan graduated Afghanistan’s first cohort of Manba-ul-Uloom students. There were 31 graduates in the initial group, with 17 specialising in advanced religious studies. The Manba-ul-Uloom was inaugurated in Kunar, Afghanistan, in May 2022. Tehreek Ul Madaras, an organisation of the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan, was in charge of the institution. Tehreek Taliban Pakistan’s education ministry currently has 6000 students […]

There has been a series of bad news in China at a time when the nation is gearing up to usher in the Year of the Rabbit, which signifies luck, fortune, and progress. First, there was the chaotic U-turn over COVID-19 restrictions that led to a surge in cases and deaths. Second, China’s economy grew by merely 3 percent, well […]

Iran’s new ambassador to Afghanistan Hasson Kazemi Qomi started work officially on Saturday, replacing Bahador Aminian. Qomi was previously the president of Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan but was appointed to the position in mid-December 2022. However, he formally took over the reins of the embassy on Saturday. Qomi recently proposed the formation of a joint committee with the Afghan […]