In May 2025, the Afghan Taliban once again declared that participation in armed jihad beyond Afghanistan’s borders is not obligatory and, more significantly, that any such participation would constitute a violation of leadership directives. Delivered by Sheikh Saeed Ullah Saeed, a senior official of the Taliban’s Reform Commission, the announcement was widely portrayed as a […]
The Taliban’s Selective Jihad Read More »
The Durand Line remains one of the most debated and politically exploited borders in South and Central Asia, yet it is also one of the most legally established international boundaries in the region. Stretching approximately 1,600 miles, or 2,600 kilometres, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Durand Line begins at the Iranian border in the west
Not an Imaginary Line: How Law, History, and Politics Shaped Pakistan’s Western Border Read More »
For more than four decades, Afghanistan has stood at the centre of some of the most brutal cycles of violence, impunity and systematic human rights abuses recorded in modern history. From foreign invasions to internecine conflict, from extremist insurgencies to state-sponsored violations, the Afghan people have carried the unbearable weight of these tragedies largely alone.
Afghan Taliban Dark Legacy Under the World’s Watchful Eye Read More »
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is seeking to extend its operational footprint beyond its traditional strongholds in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, increasingly targeting Punjab the country’s most populous province and Karachi, the largest metropolitan center in Sindh. While the group remains significantly constrained compared to its northwestern bases, its expansion demonstrates both strategic ambition and an adaptive operational
Can Pakistan Stay Ahead of the TTP’s Expanding Networks? Read More »
The resurgence of terrorism in Balochistan under the banner of the so-called Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) underscores one of Pakistan’s most complex internal security challenges. At the centre of this violent network stands Bashir Zeb, also known as Bashir Zaib a man who has come to personify the militant brand of separatism that has brought
The False Liberation of Bashir Zeb: How the BLA Turned Terrorist? Read More »
In the complex tapestry of militancy that has plagued the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier for decades, few figures have loomed as persistently as Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Once a name confined to the rugged valleys of North Waziristan, Bahadur has now re-emerged as a pivotal actor in the region’s terror resurgence an old warlord revitalized by the chaos
What Makes Hafiz Gul Bahadur the Most Dangerous Man Across the Durand Line? Read More »
From a security standpoint, the case for an American return to Bagram is unmistakable. Since the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021, militant networks have re-emerged and reorganized across the country. Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership, long scattered across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions, resurfaced in Kabul culminating in the 2022 drone strike that killed Ayman
How Reviving Bagram Could Rebalance the War on Terror? Read More »
When Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, few nations felt the tremors more directly than Pakistan. For Islamabad, the Taliban’s resurgence was not merely a shift in Afghanistan’s political landscape it was the return of a force with deep ideological, cultural, and historical ties to its own frontier regions. Yet, amid global finger-pointing
Standing Firm on the Frontier: Pakistan’s Resolve Amid Afghan Turmoil Read More »
Fresh clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have plunged bilateral relations to a new low, as Pakistan’s decisive military response to cross-border aggression has not only repelled multiple attacks but also reasserted its control along key border sectors. The confrontation began three days ago after reports emerged of alleged Pakistani air operations near Kabul, which Afghan
For decades, Pakistan’s Army has been accused of being a “force for hire,” dispatched to faraway deserts for the right price, subcontracting security in exchange for aid and favors. But such labels miss the deeper truth. When the Muslim world has faced existential crises from the burning streets of Amman in 1970, to the missile-scarred
Pakistan’s Army Muslim World’s Relentless Shield? Read More »
