For most of its just over 30 years of independence, Turkmenistan has been left out of discussions on Central Asia as well as both north-south and east-west transportation routes linking the region to the rest of the world. Over the last two years, however, the situation has changed dramatically as Ashgabat has opened up and assumed a more active role […]

The decline of the United States’ influence in Eurasia and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have thrust the smaller nations of Central Asia into the global spotlight. Central Asia has faced seismic geopolitical shifts over the past few years. Major global crises—the deterioration of U.S. relations with China and ensuing trade restrictions, the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, and Russia’s […]

Despite promising change, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev increasingly appears to be embracing the role of an authoritarian, patriarchal leader. In response to civil unrest in 2022, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev launched both a violent crackdown and a program of reform. But little has actually changed in Kazakhstan. As Tokayev has succeeded in consolidating his grip on power, he appears unafraid of […]

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 […]

Abstract: The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) ‘anti-radical’ policies have resulted in the trampling of the rights of the Uyghur people. There are suggestions for what the world should do, such as holding the PRC accountable through diplomatic pressure, sanctions, and independent probes.

Hollow Promises Beijing and Islamabad proudly refer to modernisation of Gwadar port in Balochistan as the “crown jewel” of the ambitious $ 62 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC] project that would bring about a quantum improvement in the quality of life of locals. However, instead of this happening, living conditions of Gwadar residents have paradoxically gone from bad to […]

On 30 June 2024 Abu Rusydan, a former leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and veteran of the Afghan conflict, announced the official dissolution of the militant group. Contemplating this development, one question looms large — is this the definitive end of JI, or is it a strategic deception with far-reaching implications? Once the most feared terrorist organisation in Southeast Asia, […]

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. […]

Saragarhi is a small village in the Kohat border district, on the Samana Range in the North-West Frontier Province of British India, which is now part of Pakistan. The Battle of Saragarhi, which took place on September 12, 1897, was a significant last-stand engagement between the British Indian Empire and Afghan tribesmen in the buildup to the Tirah Campaign. Tirah, […]

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 […]