Manipur: New dimensions of violence On September 8, 2024, a woman, identified as Nemjakhol Lhungdim (46), was killed when two groups of militants exchanged fire at Thangbuh village near Laimaton in Kangpokpi District. On September 7, 2024, five persons were killed in firing between Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) and United National Liberation Front-Pambei (UNLF-P) at the Tea Estate of Rashidpur […]

On August 29, 2024, the Afghan outlet Daily Shahadat published[1] a sermon of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan and former mujahideen commander, in Dari, questioning a law[2] passed in August by the Taliban government’s Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice requiring that women be completely covered in public, including their faces, and not raise their voices. […]

On 21 August 2024, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) envoy to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) formally presented his credentials to Abu Dhabi. Badruddin Haqqani was appointed as the Taliban’s envoy to the UAE in October 2023 and became the second Taliban diplomat to be formally accepted by a country. In January, the Chinese President accredited its Taliban envoy […]

The TAPI pipeline is a large-scale project that envisions the transportation of natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India. Construction of the Serhetabat-Herat section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project was officially inaugurated on Wednesday in Turkmenistan. Attending a ceremonial opening event in Turkmenistan was Afghanistan’s Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund along with Chairman of […]

Now that the U.S.-led punitive expedition to Afghanistan has ended, regional trade patterns are returning to normal, as in pre-Soviet Union normal, enhanced by China’s Belt and Road Initiative and local efforts, like the Uzbekistan-Pakistan-Afghanistan (UAP) Railway Project. In August, the government of Uzbekistan announced the opening of the Termez International Trade Center, in the border town of Termez, the […]

Afghanistan, long regarded as a battlefield of geopolitical interests and regional conflicts, has taken on a more sinister identity in recent years: a hub for the training and indoctrination of suicide bombers. The rise of extremist ideologies and the influence of militant groups within the country have made Afghanistan a breeding ground for individuals willing to sacrifice their lives for […]

As the Taliban celebrates three years of reign, global powers/regional neighbours are forced to ponder (just like the authors) the regime’s sustained grip to power, which appears to strengthen with every passing year. In these three years, the Supreme Leader (Emir) Haibatullah Akhundzada has strengthened his grip to power, formulating new federal institutions functioning under his decree and implementing policies […]

A clash between Pakistani and Afghan border forces in Zazi Maidan district in Khost provinces was brought to an end after the Ministry of Borders and Tribal Affairs stepped in. Reports indicate two Pakistani security posts were destroyed in the clash, Multiple reports also indicated that at least five Pakistan soldiers, including an officer, and four Afghan border guards had […]

The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan have achieved significant success breaking Afghanistan out of its diplomatic isolation, including recently posting ambassadors to China and the influential Gulf state United Arab Emirates (UAE). Even though a growing number of countries have established ties to the Taliban, the United Nations insists member states withhold formal recognition of the movement as Afghanistan’s rulers until […]

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending in August 2021, created favorable conditions for Russia to reassert itself as a regional hegemon in broader Central Asia. Historically, as great powers retrench from a territory, the resulting void can be filled either by rival powers or by friendly successor states responsive to the retrenching power’s agenda. While the United States has lacked […]