Category: South East Asia

Pakistani delegation expected in Kabul Tuesday

Pakistani media have reported that a high-level delegation from Islamabad will travel to Kabul on Tuesday for talks focused on security, trade, and the recent ceasefire agreement with the Taliban. The visit comes after Pakistan and the Taliban signed an immediate ceasefire deal Saturday evening, following Qatar- and Turkey-mediated negotiations in Doha aimed at de-escalating tensions after deadly border clashes. […]

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India restores full diplomatic presence in Afghanistan

India has officially restored its full diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, upgrading its Technical Mission in Kabul to the level of an embassy, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Tuesday. The decision follows recent discussions during the visit of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister to New Delhi, marking a renewed phase in India-Afghanistan relations. The MEA said the move reflects India’s […]

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Taliban defense minister says no global definition of ‘terrorist,’ rejects Pakistan’s terms

Yaqub Mujahid, the Taliban’s defense minister, has rejected Pakistan’s labeling of its opponents as terrorists, following a ceasefire agreement between the two sides. He said there is still no universally accepted definition of the term “terrorist.” “Each country can describe its opposition as terrorism,” Mujahid said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “There is no definitive or internationally agreed-upon definition […]

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Pakistan, Afghanistan Agree To Immediate Cease-Fire During Talks In Doha

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to an immediate truce during talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey in Doha, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced early October 19 on X. “During the negotiations, the two sides agreed to an immediate cease-fire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement. […]

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Beijing’s Minerals Brinkmanship May Backfire

The Communist Party’s anxiety reflects how quickly investor confidence and allied coordination hardened after the announcement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s call for a coordinated response to Beijing’s coercion is long overdue (“Allies United Against China on Rare Earths,” Review & Outlook, Oct. 17). But Xi Jinping’s latest moves suggest something deeper than strategy—a sign of strain. China controls roughly 70% […]

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Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband Seminary Of India Accords Hero’s Welcome To Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi As India Courts The Taliban And Upgrades Embassy

On October 11, 2025, Afghan Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was given a grand reception by the students and teachers of Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband in the town of Deoband, about 180 kilometers from New Delhi. Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband is the largest Islamic seminary in the world after Cairo’s Al-Azhar University and is considered the spiritual fountainhead of the extreme religious teachings […]

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The Miseducation of Xi Jinping: How a Father’s Struggle Revealed the Price of Power

Given the flood of books on China that has poured forth in recent years, one might think the rest of the world would have figured out that provocative country by now. But much of China’s historical evolution continues to defy Western understanding, and many of its leaders remain tantalizing conundrums—few more so than Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the […]

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Infructuous ‘ceasefires’

On October 18, 2025, successive air strikes by Pakistan in Paktika Province killed eight people, including three club cricketers attending a post-match gathering. The incident sparked particular outrage and inflamed public sentiment in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Cricket Board subsequently withdrew from a planned triangular T20 series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A new ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan came into […]

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Taliban defense minister says Durand Line not part of ceasefire deal with Pakistan

The Taliban’s defense minister Yaqub Mujahid said Sunday that the Durand Line, the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, was not addressed in Saturday’s ceasefire agreement signed by both sides in Doha. Speaking at a virtual press conference from the Qatari capital, Mujahid referred to the Durand Line as an “imaginary border” and said the matter “belongs to the nations,” […]

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Guerre des aimants : comment la Chine freine la production d’armement occidentale avec un simple formulaire

Sans aimants, pas de moteur, pas de radar, pas d’avion. Et sans la Chine, pas d’aimants. Environ 90% de la production mondiale d’aimants à terres rares provient de la République populaire. Ils sont présents dans chaque moteur électrique, chaque drone, chaque F-35. Ce qui peut sembler être un détail technique est en réalité la colonne vertébrale de l’armement moderne. Et […]

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