India is exploring the possibility of reopening its embassy in Afghanistan, but without high-level diplomatic representation, an Indian newspaper reported on Tuesday. A team of Indian security officials visited Kabul in February to assess the situation, the Indian Express reported. The paper said that the embassy will likely function only with personnel for liaison purposes that may extend to consular […]

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is prepared to ensure the security of its borders amid growing insecurity in Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to a joint statement by the CSTO leaders that was adopted at the organization’s summit in Moscow on Monday and posted on the Kremlin’s website. “The situation in Afghanistan and on other external frontiers of the CSTO […]

Organization procedures for the commission tasked with getting Afghan politicians and former government officials living abroad to return home have been approved by the leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the commission is expected to start work soon. It was decided at a recent meeting that the commission’s operational procedures will be announced at a special ceremony in […]

Long characterised by ‘stability’ and excessive concentration of power, Malaysia’s politics have become fluid and unpredictable. With elite compacts and agreements hammered out behind closed doors, the country now has public plot twists worthy of a Netflix series. Until 2018, Malaysia was ruled by Barisan Nasional (BN), a multi-ethnic coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). That year, […]

As part of his trip to the US to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit held in Washington, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had also a bilateral meeting with the US President Joe Biden on 12 May during which both leaders discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern. The summit marked 45 years of […]

Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been subjected to jibes and invectives from political opponents, armchair pundits and the media, both mainstream and social. But political realties being what they are, the 73 year-old sixth time Prime Minister is more likely to survive in office than be hounded out of it. In fact, he is expected to get […]

Some segments of the Afghan society are looking at Pakistan with suspicion, says a former ambassador. Syed Abrar Hussain, speaking at an event in Islamabad, urged the neighbours to take effective steps to overcome their trust deficit. The ex-ambassador to Afghanistan asked the governments and peoples of both countries to realise that gaps were detrimental to them. With multiple socio-cultural […]

A summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) started in New Delhi on Monday. Delegates from China, Pakistan and Russia are attending the event, which would continue until May 19, said a media report ANI reported the agenda for the SCO summit included the formation of a broad-based government in Afghanistan and humanitarian crisis there. In November […]

Pakistani officials said Sunday militant attacks in the country’s northwest had killed at least eight people, including security force members, children and members of the minority Sikh group. The deadliest attack occurred in North Waziristan, a volatile district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing three soldiers and three children, according to a military statement. It said the children were aged between […]

Tashkent will host a high-level international conference on Afghanistan at the end of July, Uzbekistan’s interim Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Norov announced. Norov said the key focus would be on security, political stability and the socio-economic development of the region. “As for Afghanistan, unfortunately, we are seeing a decrease in the attention of the international community to the situation […]