Mujahid said among those arrested was a Tajikistan national, who had been planning to carry out a suicide bombing. Islamic Emirate special forces have arrested key members of an insurgent group responsible for a number of attacks including the one on foreign tourists in Bamiyan province in May this year. IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement on Monday […]

An army with a state In her seminal piece titled “Pakistan-from hybrid-democracy to hybrid-martial law” published in the 2019 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistan born and UK based leading expert on the Pakistan armed forces made some very pertinent and precise observations of how the all-powerful Pakistan army was continuing its subtle subversion […]

In the latest issue of its Urdu-language magazine “Taliban,” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) eulogizes slain fighters, argues that it is ahead of the Pakistani military in building narratives in the eyes of Pakistani audiences, frames Pakistani military leaders as those who monopolize resources and obstruct the establishment of Islam, and says that the TTP should not be viewed as a terrorist […]

Iran’s decision to construct a 300 km concrete wall with barbed wire along its border with Afghanistan is a significant geopolitical development. The $3 billion project, intended to curb cross-border terrorism, smuggling, and illegal immigration, particularly in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, highlights the escalating security challenges in the region. Iran’s border fortification is part of a […]

On September 25, 2024, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands announced that they had formally taken steps to call on Afghanistan to cease its violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This is the first and key step before officially filing proceedings with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), […]

In a devastating and violent incident, a roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of foreign diplomats travelling through Pakistan’s scenic Swat Valley. Resultantly, what should have been a symbol of Pakistan’s expanding diplomatic connections, transpired into a tragic reminder of the menace of terrorism. This terror attack was a premeditated move by forces averse to Pakistan’s prosperity and improved diplomatic […]

And America’s Efforts to Promote Democracy Are Failing For decades, the United States has promoted democracy around the globe. But amid mounting U.S.-Chinese competition, a question has arisen: is Beijing attempting to export its authoritarian political system in a similar way? No, says Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “We do not seek to ‘export’ a China model,” he told an assembly […]

On September 19, 2024, two Pakistani soldiers were killed while another soldier sustained injuries at the Ghulam Khan Border terminal in the North Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), when Afghan border guards opened fire at them. Two Afghan border guards were also critically injured in the firing. According to Pakistani officials, the incident occurred at a time when the […]

Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, recently declared he will defeat the Taliban “no matter the odds.” For Massoud to mount a military threat to the Taliban, he would need the cooperation of the Central Asian republics, Iran or Pakistan (among others) to do the job. However, Afghanistan’s neighbors have no interest in another civil […]

Punjab: Narco-terrorist Trap On September 18, 2024, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Punjab Police recovered 10 kilograms of heroin in two different operations conducted in Kamaske and Manj villages in the Amritsar District of Punjab. The accused were linked to Pakistan-based smugglers and drones had been used to smuggle drugs from Pakistan. On September 16, 2024, two packets […]