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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
A recent threat assessment by Norwegian security agencies has drawn attention to Pakistan’s exploitation of dual-use technology, exposing the country as one of the greatest threats to international security. Norway thus joins a growing list of states that have raised alarm over Pakistan’s persistent practice of bypassing international safeguards to acquire sensitive nuclear technology, ostensibly
Dual Use Technology Imports Aiding Pakistan’s Covert Nuclear Programme Read More »
The American counter-terrorism establishment has been jolted by a sobering realisation: its most persistent terrorist threat is not foreign, but domestic. Contrary to conventional wisdom, “a large majority of jihadist terrorists in the United States have been American citizens or legal residents”. This conclusion comes from New America, a think tank providing one of the
The Autopsy of Jihadism in the United States Read More »
The failure of the Saudi-led coalition, coupled with the UN’s habitual ineptitude, has plunged Yemen into another quagmire, with the US and UK blindly following Saudi Arabia. What was suppose to be a short intervention to restore a supposedly legitimate government against a radical islamist Iranian proxy has quickly turned into a five year civil
Yemen: A Strategy of Defeat Read More »
