Executive Summary: On May 23, an Afghan Taliban delegation traveled to Tehran to meet with the emir of Qatar and the head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. In an effort to downplay bad press as it continues to seek diplomatic recognition, Hamas appears to... MORE

Executive Summary: Abdul Hamid Khorasani is an opportunistic Taliban military commander from Afghanistan’s Panjshir Province. An ethnic Tajik popular in his home province, Khorasani had previously voiced opposition to the Pashtu-dominated Taliban. Protected by his association with the Haqqani network, Khorasani has been able to... MORE

Executive Summary: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or “Pakistani Taliban,” likely are responsible for a suicide attack that killed five Chinese engineers in Pakistan’s north on March 26. China may use the incident to push Afghanistan to disavow the TTP, but such a maneuver would force... MORE

Executive Summary The current wave of Baloch insurgency has grown increasingly sophisticated in its attacks over the last few years, adopting new tactics and targeting a wider array of high-value targets. As the Pakistani state is beset by a fresh wave of violence from the... MORE

Executive Summary Mullah Noorullah Noori has recently questioned the validity of the Durand Line, the internationally recognized border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, raising tensions between Kabul and Islamabad. Noori is currently Minister for Borders and Tribal Affairs in the Taliban government in Afghanistan, and served... MORE

Executive Summary: The Central Asian states are becoming more concerned with the surge in drugs being trafficked from Afghanistan since the Taliban retook power in 2021. The Taliban has banned poppy cultivation, but drug enforcement agencies in Central Asia claim that drug production continues in... MORE

Executive Summary The Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan's (TJP) assaults on high-profile military targets reflect a similar attack pattern to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP), providing additional evidence to the argument that the former is intended to be a front group for the latter. This has contributed to a... MORE

Executive Summary The militant landscape of Pakistan is becoming more complex due to the emergence of several new, small, and highly capable militant groups. They are largely connected to two umbrella organizations, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Hafiz Gul Bahadur (HGB). While HGB includes many... MORE

Executive Summary: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan are facing severe water shortages, which Kabul plans to counter with the Qosh Tepa canal, which will likely exacerbate water issues in Central Asia. Uzbekistan’s and Turkmenistan’s economies largely rely on agriculture, and the canal project would detrimentally affect... MORE

Executive Summary Continued attacks from the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) out of Afghan territory have strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad over Afghanistan's continued sheltering of the Islamist group. Tit-for-tat escalation and intensifying rhetoric between the two countries could possibly lead to war in the future.... MORE