Extremism in Pakistan is a complex and persistent challenge, deeply rooted in historical, socio-political, and religious factors. Over the past four years, the country has witnessed a sharp increase in various forms of extremism, including religious militancy, an ethnonationalist insurgency in Balochistan, and faith-based violence. Communal and sectarian attacks, targeted killings, and the persecution of … Read more
1. Introduction In the heartland of Taliban’s Afghanistan, discord over how to run the country plagues the theocratic regime. The so-called Islamic Emirate is highly secretive and its internal affairs are largely hidden from the prying eyes of the world. However, the present political landscape in Kabul reveals a semblance to the ousted Ashraf Ghani … Read more
Pakistan and Afghanistan are two inter-connected neighboring countries. For centuries, the people of the two countries have remained tied together through bonds of common culture, ethnicity, religion, history and geography. The 2,600-kilometer-long Pakistan-Afghanistan border traverses through an area with around 50 million Pashtuns[1] living on both sides. The towns of Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu and erstwhile … Read more
1. Introduction and historical background[1] India has remained a key factor in Pakistan’s Afghan policy. Bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have always been more or less uneasy since the former’s independence in 1947, which many attribute to Indian influence in Afghanistan from early on. Since the signing of Friendship Treaty on January 4, 1950, … Read more
Over the past couple of decades, bilateral relations between China and Afghanistan have evolved from being minimalistic to becoming considerably deepened. This has happened primarily due to China’s growing economic as well as linked security interests in Afghanistan and the wider region. China-Afghanistan ties have mainly played out in the domains of trade and development, … Read more
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The Afghans love Pakistan’s national poet Iqbal so much so that one may confuse him for an Afghan due to his Persian poetry that celebrates the majesty of Afghanistan’s mountains, character of its people and nobility of its heroes. In his eulogy of Ahmad Shah Abdali, Iqbal calls Afghanistan “the heart of Asia”, a term … Read more
Afghanistan has endured more than four decades of protracted conflict that entailed foreign invasions, civil wars, and sprees of terrorist violence. There is yet no clue of a certain and secure future for its nearly 40 million inhabitants. The fall of Kabul and departure of former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani were significant happenings of the … Read more
1. Introduction and background Following the Taliban’s capture of the Afghan capital last year, thousands were seen rushing to the Kabul airport in an effort to to flee out of the country. While in the beginning many were evacuated directly to countries in the West, later some were flown out to Qatar and then onwards. … Read more
Introduction For Pakistan, the perils of a militant regime in Kabul have become unmistakably clear as the country has witnessed a mindboggling 51% increase in the number of terrorist attacks in a single year since the Taliban takeover. On 10 August 2022, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif stated in the National Assembly that anti-Taliban sentiments were … Read more