Category: South East Asia

Pakistan: Twin Viruses Polio And Terrorism – Analysis

On October 27, 2022, unidentified militants killed a paramilitary Levies officer Habib-ur-Rehman, deployed to provide security to an anti-polio team in the Sarki Talari tehsil (revenue unit) of Chaman District in Balochistan. The militants shot Levies Rehman in the head, killing him on the spot. The members of Polio team escaped unhurt. On October 25, 2022, a Policeman guarding a […]

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Pakistan: Principles Of Federalism – OpEd

SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF FEDERATION Amongst many challenges, which Pakistan is facing, adversely affecting, the quality of governance, the problem of federalism and provincial autonomy according to the true spirit of constitution is the most critical one, threatening the stability and integrity of the state. In spite of the bitter experience of the past i.e. separation of […]

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Pakistan’s ‘Neutrals’ Versus ‘Patriot’ Slugfest – OpEd

Unlike his predecessor Lt Gen Faiz Hameedwho revelled in publicity [remember his tea sipping photo in Kabul just days after Taliban had seized power], the current ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum appeared to be a mysterious spymaster belonging to the old-school who preferred to remain in the shadows. At least that’s what everyone thought, because soon after taking charge […]

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Xi’s Gotta Have It: China’s 20th Party Congress Was As Expected, Only More So – Analysis

Alone at the Top (FPRI) — The Party Congress was expected to reaffirm, and perhaps further consolidate, Xi Jinping’s position as the most dominant Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, and to give him an extraordinary third and—physical and political health permitting—term as general secretary. In March of next year, Xi is on track for an unprecedented third term as state […]

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A Decade Of US ‘Pivot To Asia’ – Analysis

The ‘Pivot to Asia’, the strategic rebalance announced by President Barack Obama in 2011 and early 2012, marked a significant shift in US foreign policy priorities from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific. While speaking at the Australian Parliament in November 2011, Obama stated that as a Pacific nation, “the United States will play a larger and long-term role in […]

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Shootout with militants in northwest Pakistan kills 2 troops

A shootout with militants in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday killed two soldiers, authorities said as a counterterrorism task force arrested a suspect involved in the recent killing of a former top judge of the country’s restive southwestern Baluchistan province. According to a military statement, the shootout took place in the Darazinda area, in the district of Dera Ismail Khan in […]

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Afghan Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid Meets With Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh In Turkey, Says: ‘We Are Proud Of You, Your Resistance, Steadfastness, And Efforts; You Have Dealt A Blow To The Israeli Occupation Regime’

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban), met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during a recent visit to Turkey and assured support to the Palestinian resistance against Israel, according to a Dari-language report by an Afghan news agency.[1] The Afghan Taliban delegation led by Zabihullah Mujahid met with Ismail Haniyeh and other […]

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Sino-Indian Relations Touch A New Low – Analysis

Modi’s silence on Xi’s being elected party chief for a third term is but the latest sign of a deteriorating relationship. India-China relations, never really happy, are at a new low now. There were signs of a rapprochement in the first six years of Modi’s Premiership, but the situation deteriorated sharply after the deadly clashes on the border in 2020. […]

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China, Russia And South Africa Perspectives On BRICS Expansion – OpEd

Within the current global geopolitical changes, growing support is fast underway to give enough preparations for Saudi Arabia and possible a few others to join BRICS, an organization made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. China will hand over the chair to South Africa early 2023. China and Russia have been pushing for the expansion of BRICS, […]

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Why Don’t Rich Muslim States Give More Aid To Afghanistan? – Analysis

More than 10 months after the United Nations launched its largest ever single-country appeal to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, less than half of the appeal has been funded, with Muslim governments conspicuously missing on the list of major donors. “Afghanistan is facing a harsh winter,” Tomas Niklasson, European Union special envoy for Afghanistan, warned in a Twitter thread […]

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