642 results found
Counter-terror narratives are backsliding, and this trend needs to be arrested as a compromise with a section of these groups becomes an acceptable way out.
There is no question that Pakistan's Afghan strategy is evolving. If the Taliban seemed inflexible about negotiations in the past, Pakistan is promising to make it more reasonable. Many in the West and China are ready to accept, at least for now, Pakistan's claim that a new and moderate Taliban is at hand.
Cut this any which way you like, the US still holds all the aces and can influence different outcomes in AfPak region depending on how it defines its interests.
It would be unwise to expect that Trump’s tweet represents a major policy shift. That Pakistan has been playing the US on the issue of support to the Taliban is no secret. If anything, Trump’s remarks are a manifestation of American frustration in getting Pakistan to behave.
It may return if more structural concerns in counter-terror thinking and policies are not addressed over time
The Central Asian Republics (CARs) have, in recent years, implemented multifaceted foreign policies to achieve strategic autonomy and limit China’s influence and Russia's traditional sway. But domestic uprisings in the CARs, the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan, and now the Russia-Ukraine conflict have given China new opportunities to strengthen its presence in Central Asia. This brief investigates China's increased engagement with the CARs
New Delhi’s engagement after America’s exit must build on its resonating vision of a stable and plural Afghanistan
The attack in Quetta should be understood as an attack on the stability and future of Pakistan's economic dream project.
The 'old boys' network has given Asim Umar an extensive reach among the jihadi groups active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He can tap into the Taliban network with as much ease as he could work with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Legitimising Taliban is a global risk
This special report was written before the 2020 United States presidential elections. Under the incoming Biden administration, the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is likely to be more gradual and “responsible”, despite the President-elect being in favour of American troops exiting the war-weary country soon. In retrospect, Donald Trump’s insistence on pulling out all US troops from Afghanistan by Christmas 2020 was not misguided, si
The US has chosen to install a terror group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and as a departing gift, offered them an estimated $212 million worth of military aircraft, vehicles and ammunition.
An era of Taliban rule, followed by the 18-year-long war between the United States and the Taliban, has left Afghanistan in massive disorder: the country’s infrastructure is dilapidated, the quality of life is poor, and basic amenities such as healthcare are absent. While the post-Taliban Government of Afghanistan has tried to rebuild the healthcare system, it remains largely dependent on foreign aid. Over the years, India has tried to help reb
From two ends of the Pacific, our nations have a shared interest in contributing to the rise and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. Yet new threats stand in the way of achieving this potential
China and Russia both seek closer ties with the Taliban in Kabul, even as they have refrained from fully recognising the regime. This brief explores China’s and Russia’s converging interests in Afghanistan, and argues that their primary concern is a shared existential threat of terrorism from Afghanistan. Beijing and Moscow regard Afghanistan as a potential source of trans-regional instability, and they are adopting a pragmatic approa
There can be no peace unless the Taliban and Afghan security forces de-escalate
Civil wars are drawn-out conflicts, often lasting up to a decade or even longer before a political settlement is reached. Pakistan's military campaign against Pashtun militants, variously allied to the Afghan Taliban, the al-Qaeda, and often fighting for localised interests has stretched into its 12th year.
While President Barack Obama is pursuing his two-pronged approach in Afghanistan that involves talking to the Taliban and handling over the security to the Afghan National Army (ANA).
Young Suryanarayana is a life that has been cut in its prime. He was the vic- tim of a bigoted doctrine taught in Pakistan for nearly three decades; for the Taliban are only another manifestation of the Islamist drive of General Zia-ul-Haq. The Indian died in a terrorist act after his abduc- tors demanded that all 2,500 Indians in Afghanistan vacate immediately. It was an absurd demand and no government would ever have agreed to it.
If the Pakistan-TTP talks succeed Pakistan may actually metamorphose from a hybrid theocracy to a complete theocracy, as Ayesha Siddiqa argues, because the Taliban, good or bad, want implementation of the Sharia. Thus all would depend on how far Pakistan's military and civilian leadership want to go to accommodate Taliban demands or prefer to wage war against TTP.
The recent attack on the British Council in Kabul by the Taliban shows that, apart from military tactics, there is an urgent requirement in the West to reconsider the political objectives in Afghanistan.
As Pakistan struggles to prod the Taliban to act on militant groups, its dual policy of supporting extremist groups has come back to haunt it
New Delhi’s top-most priority should be to ensure timely, non-discriminatory relief distribution
Conflict resolution and political problem-solving in other countries are not traits that Chinese diplomats excel at. It remains to be seen how China walks this tightrope in Afghanistan, which remains a fractured crucible of contradictory ethnic and political interests
The Taliban, ably helped by Pakistan, the US’s frontline ally in its global war on terror, has badly dented the notion of US invincibility. Despite President Joe Biden’s efforts in recent months to reassure allies that “America is back”, there is a wariness about both US commitment and its competence.
Donald Trump’s engagement with the Kashmir issue has a lot to do with his need to secure Pakistan’s backing for his Afghanistan policy.
Discussions between the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) also saw a general agreement that the Taliban victory in Afghanistan will lead to a civil war with disastrous consequences for Pakistan
This is the biggest protest campaign in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban regime. This is bloody, widespread and countrywide.This also shows that they are fed up with the United States and they just needed a spark to vent their feelings.
The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate.
Since the toppling of the Taliban government in 2001, India and Afghanistan have witnessed a significant strengthening of their bilateral ties. As Afghanistan's stability is important for India's own, New Delhi has readily supported the growth of democracy in its neighbour, battered as it is by many years of conflict and instability. This paper maps out the nature of India's relationship with Afghanistan, focusing on the two nations' economic, po
India has a range of interests to protect in Afghanistan. For far too long New Delhi’s reliance on Washington’s role as a security provider has been its major vulnerability.
Long sidelined by Islamabad, Moscow, and Beijing, New Delhi is finally taking a seat at the table.
Proximity changes the priorities for India in a conflict on the doorstep.
New Delhi should become more proactively involved in the peace process and not shy away from drawing its own red-lines
New Delhi requires partners both outside and inside Afghanistan to protect its presence and interests in the war-torn country.
Instead, on Sunday, US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad left Qatar, where the US-Taliban talks were being held, the September 1 deadline having been crossed without any final agreement.
Despite being knocked off its feet by the collapse of the Ghani government of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, New Delhi has quickly re-established its presence in the new Taliban-led Afghanistan.
In the last year, ISKP, through its violent attacks, has attempted to create instability in Afghanistan and beyond to trigger propaganda for its jihadi goals.
