Women’s protests against the Taliban’s Islamist gender terror are fading. Since mid-September, demonstrations in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other cities have all but disappeared. It is as if the Taliban never really left Afghan women alone during the last 20 years. Silencing Urban Voices Initially, women braved the streets to demand their right to work, […]
Return of Taliban’s Gender Terror Complete in Afghanistan Read More »
The Taliban’s Pakistan-assisted military takeover of Afghanistan has triggered a severe refugee crisis, exposing fragile regional security dynamics and posing complex challenges for international policy. The crisis is not only humanitarian but also geopolitical, with neighbouring states closing their borders and signalling an unwillingness to assume the burden of displaced populations. Scale of Displacement The
Pakistan Triggers Serious Refugee Crisis Read More »
Have the Taliban truly “returned” after two decades? In terms of power, yes—but only by force. The reality is that they never left Afghanistan. For twenty years, despite US-NATO presence and a non-Taliban administration, the group regrouped, refined its strategies, embraced technology, and propagated its rigid interpretation of Islam, all with the steadfast support of
Prospects for Women in Afghanistan Read More »
The fall of the Ashraf Ghani government, collapsing like a house of cards, paved the way for the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan. With their return has come a new wave of rigid, orthodox rules—once again targeting women most severely. Reports of harassment and brutalities against women multiplied as the Taliban advanced across the country,
Afghan Women Challenge Taliban Read More »
The Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan last month, have rushed to form a ‘caretaker’ government. Three weeks after storming into Kabul, the movement has awarded the most important positions to religious hardliners and foot soldiers—choices facilitated by the careful midwifing of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Hand in the Power Balance Pakistan’s influence is unmistakable. Field commanders,
Hardliners Dominate in New Afghan Government Read More »
Faced with a crumbling economy, a hostile population, and geopolitical isolation, the Taliban’s divided leadership may lead Afghanistan towards another civil war. More than three weeks after the fall of Kabul, the Taliban has finally announced an all-male Pashtun government comprised mainly of senior Taliban figures. While the news is scarcely surprising, the announcement came
The Taliban’s house of cards Read More »
“Any state that fails to act to end Pakistan’s invasion & prevent further Taliban brutality are betraying the women & girls of Afghanistan & making a complete mockery of their commitment to women’s rights,” tweeted Christopher (Chris) Alexander, Canada’s first envoy to Kabul. His warning captures the growing sense of betrayal felt by Afghans—especially women—at
No Place for Women in Taliban’s Afghanistan Read More »
After twenty years of being wilfully misled by Pakistan, the Western world—led by the United States—still refuses to confront the reality that it has been deceived over Afghanistan. Even now, as the Taliban sweeps across the country, capturing nearly fourteen provincial capitals and forcing the surrender of the Kunduz-based Army Corps, Washington and its allies
Taliban: Pakistan’s First and Only Choice Read More »
The world has been left in shock and sorrow for the people of Afghanistan, who have once again fallen to the Taliban. A two-decade struggle for democracy and freedom has ended in humiliation for those who championed it. Human rights defenders, political leaders, and ordinary citizens fought valiantly against the Taliban’s resurgence, yet they were
Pakistan is to Blame for the Taliban’s Return Read More »
Blasphemy cases in Pakistan tell a disturbing story about human relationships, where individuals and communities often manipulate the country’s laws to settle personal disputes with members of minority groups. The blasphemy laws, which carry punishments as severe as life imprisonment or the death penalty, have become tools for arbitrary detention, intimidation, and violence. They have
Pakistan: Religious Minorities at Risk Read More »
The founding father of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned a country, though based on Islam, to be pluralistic in its ethos accepting believers of other religions such as Christians, Hindus, Parsis and Sikhs. Undeniably, the white patch in the Pakistani flag symbolizes the nation’s religious minority communities. 1 Jinnah, on the occasion of his
Christians in Pakistan: Victims of Hatred Read More »
Most political analysts opine that abrogation of Article 370 & 35A of the Constitution of India was merely a BJP election manifesto promise, which it ultimately fulfilled in furtherance of its Hindutva agenda, which otherwise was not desired by the people of former state of Jammu & Kashmir. Things are however complicated. While most of
Kashmir: The Road Ahead Read More »
When news broke of the death of Hamid Gul, former head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Afghans celebrated in the streets. Gul had been instrumental in ensuring that no government in Kabul succeeded after the 1980s Afghan War and in nurturing the Taliban movement that plunged the country into perpetual conflict. Despite cultural and religious
Pakistan’s Support of the Taliban Enrages Kabul Read More »
A new axis of terror is taking shape in the Af–Pak theatre, forged through the convergence of interests between Pakistan, China and Turkey, with the Taliban eager to cooperate. The pretence is over; there is no longer any smoke screen. Pakistan has abandoned any illusion of being a reliable ally of the West, even though
Afghanistan–Pakistan: A New Axis of Terror Read More »
George Bernard Shaw once remarked: “Beware of false information, it is more dangerous than ignorance.” This observation is particularly apt in today’s hyper-digital world, where what we see online and what we perceive are often two sides of a coin. Verified accounts, hundreds of retweets and large followings have become the benchmarks of authenticity, yet
The USCIRF Chronicle: Provocation Against India? Read More »
A glaring loophole remains in Pakistan’s attempts to curb terrorist financing under international pressure, a gap that could place the country on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist. It is still unclear whether the omission in small savings schemes has been left deliberately to benefit terrorist groups—many of which enjoy state patronage—enabling them to
Gaping Hole in Pakistan’s FATF Compliance Read More »
Following the latest outbreak of clashes between Hamas—the Palestinian quasi-state terrorist organisation—and Israel, a ceasefire was agreed that few believe will endure. For Hamas, this truce is merely a tactical pause in its violent campaign against Israel. Israel, too, does not expect it to last—not out of unwillingness, but because it knows Hamas will inevitably
The Dangerous Game between Hamas and Pakistan Read More »
In a startling revelation on his YouTube channel, Sedat Peker, 49, a drug lord originally from Turkey but now living in exile in Dubai, exposed the well entrenched nexus between Turkish politicians and the mafia, both within and outside the country. His YouTube channel has so far released eight videos accusing the country’s former and
Turkish Polity and the Mafia – Hands in Glove? Read More »
Pakistan’s image as a sponsor of terrorism returned to sharp focus when France solemnly recalled the killing of 11 French nationals in Karachi on 8 May 2002. These citizens, employed on a French-Pakistani submarine project, were murdered in a bombing carried out by terrorists linked to a nexus of Pakistani generals, politicians, and middlemen angered
Pakistan’s Terror Haunts France Read More »
There are many aspects that characterize global politics today – from suffering a pandemic allegedly generated by a deadly virus that artificially emerged in a lab, an ambitious military rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region to grab natural resources and convert atolls into military bases, to expansionist policies leading to hotly contested territorial disputes, illegal supply
Dynamics of the QUAD Read More »
Remaining on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for another year may be the least of Pakistan’s concerns. What poses a greater challenge is the FATF’s insistence that Pakistan investigate and prosecute leaders of UN-designated terrorist groups living on its soil—an expectation that directly clashes with Islamabad’s aspirations to shape the
Will Pakistan Act Against Terrorist Leaders? Read More »
For all Pakistan’s frenetic diplomatic efforts and loud expressions of outrage over the conflict between Hamas and Israel, the fragile ceasefire was secured not by Islamabad’s bluster but through Egypt’s quiet diplomacy and mediation. While Cairo played a constructive role behind the scenes, Pakistan indulged in diplomatic showmanship—indeed, one-upmanship—aimed largely at domestic audiences and imagined
Pakistan’s Paroxysm over Palestine Read More »
Pakistan’s abject failure to curb the extremist political party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), from openly challenging state authority—terrorising citizens and unleashing a wave of violence and arson for over a week—ought to set alarm bells ringing in countries seeking friendship with Islamabad, not least Israel. For Israel, any attempt to establish diplomatic relations with a state
Israel Must Abandon Ties with Pakistan Read More »
Since few months now, there is peace across the LOC as the guns have fallen silent from both sides of the divide. It is reprieve time for those unfortunate ones who live within a radius of few kilometres from LOC on both the sides as they no longer need fear for their lives and properties.
India and Pakistan Invoke 2003 Ceasefire Agreement Read More »
After suffering humiliating defeats in the Middle East, the Islamic State has turned to Africa to reestablish its power and prove that it nonetheless has prevailed. At this stage, the group remains a mere shadow of the threat it once cast, but the Mozambique government’s petty corruption and ineptitude may present the greatest opportunity for
The Islamic State’s golden opportunity in Mozambique Read More »
