ALTHOUGH the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan represent two contrasting shades of religiously inspired violent extremism in Pakistan, they share at least one characteristic: both soft and coercive measures have failed to work against…
“MY admiration and respect for you are going up at the same rate as your progress towards a decision to grant military aid to Pakistan,” Saadat Hasan Manto wrote in…
WHILE the ceasefire agreement might have brought down hostilities and the borders reopened after the weeklong fierce fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the situation remains extremely volatile. The Afghan Taliban leaders continue…
For over four decades, Pakistan and Afghanistan have shared a troubled border marked by conflict, displacement and unfulfilled promises. In recent months, this fragile frontier has once again become tense.…
INDIA’S pact last week for upgraded ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers has been seen mostly as an act of befriending the enemy of the enemy, an implied reference to the…
SINCE the Afghan Taliban’s accession to power, Pakistan’s approach to Afghanistan has largely been one of patience, quiet diplomacy and cautious optimism, sometimes interrupted by defensive military counter strikes. The…
THE Afghan Taliban regime is living under an illusion. Visiting India, its interim foreign minister recently stated that Afghanistan had defeated the British, the Soviets and the Americans. No, they…
The Kabul River Basin has emerged as the new front in the hydro-political chessboard where India’s growing involvement in Afghanistan’s water infrastructure threatens not only Pakistan’s water security but also…
What will be achieved in Istanbul, and with what intention will Kabul move? Pakistan’s intentions are now out in the open: right behind dialogue and diplomacy, the kinetic will be…
For Pakistan, the ceasefire along the Afghan border feels less like a breakthrough and more like the end of an illusion. The pause in fighting came at Afghanistan’s request, yet…
