Taliban regime recognition
History is subject to strange twists and turns. One such is the decision by Russia to recognise the Afghan Taliban regime, the first and only country so far to do…
Political audit of Afghan policy
THE latest clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces are yet another sign of the deepening rift between the two neighbours. Just three years after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul — a moment that…
Foreign policy dilemmas
A NUMBER of foreign policy challenges lie ahead for Pakistan in 2025. They have to be met in an unstable global environment of mounting geopolitical tensions, intense US-China competition, preoccupation of…
Rethinking Afghan policy
THERE is an immediate need for Pakistan to overhaul its Afghanistan policy, since the present one has failed to yield positive results. The Taliban regime in Kabul has not responded…
A lesson from the Taliban
JUST a week before the third anniversary of the Doha Agreement, a high-profile delegation from Pakistan led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif visited Kabul on Feb 22. It was not…
Realignment of security policy
THE state institutions made a mistake by deciding to initiate peace talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The talks were doomed from the start. They allowed the TTP to regain their lost…
Taliban version of Islam
THE Taliban regime in Afghanistan has started enforcing Sharia laws based on their own interpretation of the precepts of Islam. Pakistan is among those Muslim countries that have distanced themselves…
Foreign policy test ahead
WITH general elections expected in autumn, the next government will have to deal with a slew of key foreign policy issues. This at a time when the world is in…
Taliban & liberalism
IT has been 14 months since Afghanistan was handed over to the Taliban by the most fearsome military force the world has ever known, the US army. For most of this time…
Our Afghan policy
“BOTH [the US and Pakistan] are on the same page that there’s no military solution in Afghanistan and we are working hard to bring peace to the country,” said Prime…
