Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, in his Eid al-Adha sermon, delivered Saturday in Kandahar, from which only an audio recording was released, warned that disunity, disobedience and internal power struggles could bring down the Taliban’s rule. According to the 45-minute audio posted by the Taliban’s chief spokesman, Akhundzada cautioned that the Taliban rule would face collapse if its members failed […]

The Pakistan Navy (PN) has long sought to project an image of maritime relevance, but a sober assessment of its operational reach, logistical infrastructure, and strategic doctrine reveals a force confined to coastal waters, incapable of sustained power projection beyond the Arabian Sea. While India’s navy ascends as a blue-water power with global ambitions, Pakistan’s maritime capabilities remain tethered to […]

The guns have fallen silent along the Line of Control (LoC) between Pakistani- and Indian-administered Kashmir. A fragile ceasefire is in place, but this calm is unlikely to last. Pakistan has a long history of breaking ceasefires and provoking conflict. India’s recent military operation, Operation Sindoor, forced a temporary de-escalation and pushed Pakistan onto the defensive. Yet this tactical success […]

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones have revolutionised the way wars are being fought. Over just a few years, the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation has changed the nature of conventional warfare. In 2020, the US used the MQ-9 Reaper weaponised drone with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles to carry out a targeted decapitation operation for the assassination of Qassem […]

In a rare failure of military modernisation, the newly built 5,000-ton-class destroyer by North Korea was damaged at a launch event on 21 May 2025 at the north-eastern port of Chongjin. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the warship became unbalanced and was punctured in its bottom sections after a transport cradle on the stern section slid […]

In a striking new development, the Government of Pakistan has issued an official notification directing all federal departments to refer to Baloch insurgent groups as “Fitna al-Hindustan” — a term that translates to “the mischief of India.” The circular, dated 31 May 2025 and issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior, instructs all government agencies and security institutions to use this […]

A new framework for resolving state-to-state disputes may be viewed by China as means of further extending its influence in the Global South—but some observers say the newly minted International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) is more show than substance. China was joined by 32 other founding members on May 30 for the launch ceremony, where Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi […]

Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have arrested Rahim Sekandar, a prominent supporter of the group on social media. His detention reportedly followed criticism of a Taliban official’s remarks opposing the participation of Taliban fighters in clashes between militants and Pakistani security forces. According to Taliban sources in Kabul on Tuesday, the group’s Reform Committee arrested Sekandar after he […]

In contemplating an attack on Taiwan, China’s leader would need to ensure there is no significant damage to the economy, nor large-scale social unrest and, above all, no resultant threat to the party’s rule That the world is going through turbulent times is not in doubt. Rising geo-political risks have increased the cost to national security and development. As the […]

On May 7, 2025, between 1:05 and 1:30 a.m. (IST), airstrikes carried out by the Indian Air Force hit nine locations inside Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). It was codenamed Operation Sindoor. Significantly, this is the first time since 1971 that India struck across the international boundary (IB) or the settled and accepted border between India and Pakistan. The […]