While the United States is expected to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan well before its September 11 deadline, the countries bordering the violence-plagued nation are enhancing their capacity to combat a potential new wave of terrorism. The chaos emanating from Afghanistan poses a large security... MORE

On July 8, a high-ranking Taliban delegation came to Moscow and held talks with Zamir Kabulov, a former ambassador to Kabul, the Kremlin’s special envoy on Afghanistan and a department chief in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Apparently, the Taliban representatives hoped to meet Russian... MORE

With the ongoing withdrawal of the United States’ military forces and the consequent weakening of the Afghan government, the Taliban now controls much of the territory of Afghanistan and most of its northern borders, posing a threat to its three immediate northern neighbors (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan... MORE

On June 22, soldiers backed by armored vehicles clashed with fighters of the recently-formed People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. This was the first time that the PDF has engaged the Tatmadaw, as the Myanmar military is known, in a major... MORE

On May 5, four Pakistani soldiers were killed and six injured on the Pakistani-Afghan border in the Baluchistan region when militants opened fire from Afghan territory, where Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) still enjoys safe haven (Dawn, May 5) The TTP, led by Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud,... MORE

Introduction China’s building of ambitious hydropower and water diversion projects, and increasing focus on the Himalayan ecosystem as a critical developmental resource, has increased tensions with its regional neighbors, particularly India. The Chinese state contractor PowerChina in November 2020 announced plans for a 60-gigawatt dam... MORE

The first Urdu-language magazine of Islamic State’s Pakistan Province (IS-P) called Yalghar (Invasion) was published at the end of April 2021 on social media accounts that regularly disseminate IS-P propaganda materials. The magazine is IS-P’s first indigenous propaganda product. IS-P propaganda materials have otherwise not... MORE

Saad Hussain Rizvi is the emir, or chairman, of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a right-wing politico-religious party, which Pakistani authorities banned in April under the country's anti-terrorism laws. In November 2020, Saad Rizvi succeeded his father Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi in the post. Khadim Rizvi was... MORE

Introduction Around midnight on March 18, an Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) helicopter was shot down in the Behsud district of Afghanistan’s central Maidan Wardak province. Nine military personnel, including the pilot, were killed in the attack. The Afghan Ministry of Defense blamed... MORE

In August 2020, eight important Pakistani jihadist groups opposed to Islamabad joined the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Among them was an influential group led by Commander Umar Khalid Khurasani, a.k.a. Abdul Wali Mohmand. The TTP chief, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, declared that... MORE