On June 18, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed an attack which targeted a Sikh Gurdwara in Karta-e-Parwan area of Kabul (Dawn, June 18). While ISKP stated there were 50 Sikh and Taliban casualties, two people were reported killed. The operation lasted for... MORE

Saad Emirati was a senior founding military commander of the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) who died in 2016 after leading the ISKP war against the Afghan Taliban, the U.S army, and Afghan armed forces in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. However, little was known... MORE

Muhammad Suhail Shaheen is the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban’s political office in Doha, Qatar and the Afghan Taliban’s representative-designate to the United Nations. He was also a member of the Taliban’s 21-member negotiation team in Doha when it was negotiating with the U.S. These... MORE

In conjunction with the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)’s push to broaden its appeal to speakers of Central Asian languages, an extensive and seemingly growing network of Tajik pro-Islamic State (IS) hubs has emerged using Telegram, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other online platforms to... MORE

Since its seizure of power in August 2021, the Taliban has repeatedly asserted that it accomplished something the Ashraf Ghani administration could never do: provide nationwide security and eliminate regional transnational terror threats, the latter a topic of profound interest to Afghanistan’s neighbors, including China,... MORE

Following the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma’s remarks denigrating the Prophet Muhammad, several Muslim countries in Asia registered strong protests against India (The Hindu, June 6). The Indian Muslim community also protested in several cities, resulting in a tense communal environment... MORE

On June 18, Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) militants attacked a Sikh place of worship, or gurdwara, in Kabul, killing two people, although Islamic State (IS) touted a much higher casualty total (The Hindu, June 19). IS formally claimed the operation through its Amaq... MORE

As the Ukraine war has entered its fifth month, and two decades after Iran, Russia and India signed the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in 2002, Dariush Jamali, head of the Iranian-Russian Port of Solyanka in Astrakhan Oblast, announced that the first transit shipment from... MORE

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is facilitating ongoing negotiations between Pakistan and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the “Pakistani Taliban,” to forge a peace deal between the two parties (Twitter/@Zabehulah_M33, May 18). The Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, made it clear there was significant progress... MORE

Taliban Outreach to India and China Indicates New Diplomatic Phase In the Taliban’s continued quest to gain international legitimacy and abandon its reputation for “terrorism,” it has been increasingly establishing and improving diplomatic relations with regional neighbors, China and India. The earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s... MORE