Pakistan has decided to grant a two month extension to India for the transportation overland of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. In a statement on Sunday, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman said the extension was granted “as a manifestation of their sincere efforts towards addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan”. This comes after India recently requested an extension to transport the […]

Afghanistan’s Passport Directorate said Monday it hopes to reduce overcrowding at its offices and will issue passports from now on that are valid for ten years. In the past, applicants could apply for a passport valid for either five or ten years. According to the directorate, this applies to all passport holders over the age of 15. However, minors, under […]

The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense, Mali Khan, visited families of victims of Pakistani airstrikes in Khost on Monday and said they have strengthened Afghanistan’s borders with more troops, weapons and equipment. The Ministry of Defense says that Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) forces are ready to defend their country against any threat and that there […]

Since I am originally from Pakistan and have been teaching interdisciplinary studies (including political science) at City College of San Francisco, I have been following the developments there with great interest and concern, both from professional and personal points of view. For brevity and clarity, I am itemizing my impressions as follows: From the reports available so far, it seems […]

Six hundred thousand US dollars was seized from a man in Torkham town of Nangarhar province who was trying to smuggle the money to Pakistan. Torkham border commissioner Syed Ghaziullah Hashimi said the man had confessed to his crime and said that he wanted to smuggle the dollars to Pakistan for profit. Hashimi said the case was being investigated and […]

Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said Sunday that “terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan”. In a statement issued by the ministry, Pakistan said: “In the last few days, incidents along Pak-Afghan Border have significantly increased, wherein, Pakistani security forces are being targeted from across the border.” Pakistan did not however mention anything in […]

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Saturday warned Pakistan not to test the patience of Afghans, after Pakistani military carried out airstrikes in Khost and Kunar provinces. IEA’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter that the attacks targeted refugees. “IEA calls on the Pakistani side not to test the patience of Afghans on such issues and not repeat the […]

Newly installed government in Pakistan headed by Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif is facing the daunting task of managing a faltering economy with huge deficits. Shehbaz, 70, the younger brother of former premier Nawaz Sharif, was elected as prime minister on Monday followed by a week-long constitutional crisis after parliament ousted Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote. “Imran Khan has left […]

Sri Lanka, a beautiful island nation in South Asia, is now facing the worst economic crisis in its history. The crisis also brought political and social instability to the country of 22 million people. The external debt crisis and insufficient Foreign Exchange reserve (Forex) have brought Sri Lanka to the brink of economic fallout. The soaring commodity price is affecting […]

Nepal occupies a crucial geostrategic location in South Asia. It is sandwiched between powerful and competing neighbours in India and China, outstripping the Himalayan nation in size, population, economy and military might. Yet it is one of the few countries that has remained independent throughout history. Maintaining that independence is now just that much more challenging. Geopolitical realities necessitate maintaining […]