Pakistan’s new prime minister, Imran Khan, announced, on September 5, the formation of a Cabinet Committee on Energy to address Pakistan’s growing energy demands (Dawn, September 5). Although Khan looks to distance himself from his predecessor, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, one policy he will likely continue... MORE

Pakistan’s recent national and provincial assemblies’ elections saw a significant number of candidates from religious extremist and terrorist outfits campaign. None of them won seats to Pakistan’s National Assembly and only two managed to win seats to the Sindh provincial assembly. On the surface, the... MORE

Introduction The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) was one of the world’s more obscure jihadist groups until it emerged as a key player in the Syrian civil war in 2013. When the then Afghanistan-and-Pakistan-based TIP first began releasing videos in 2008—the year the TIP and corresponding... MORE

News of the death of Mullah Fazalullah, the most wanted man in Pakistan and Emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan brought a sigh of relief to many in Pakistan (The Hindu, June 15). Up until his death, the notorious... MORE

During an official visit to Iran in May, Tariq Shah Bahrami, Afghanistan's defense minister, received assurances that Tehran was fully committed to helping Kabul fight terrorism. It was a welcome guarantee, coming as Afghan forces faced a fresh onslaught from the Taliban, which typically mounts... MORE

Tajikistan’s Armed Forces began a four-day joint training exercise, on July 17, with forces from Russia’s 201st military base, located on the territory of this Central Asian republic. Notably, the exercise, for the first time, took place along the Afghan border in Tajikistan’s mountainous eastern... MORE

Mullah Fazlullah, the notorious Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emir, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in June, along with four of his commanders, in the Marawar district of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan (Tolo News, June 15). With Fazlullah gone, the group will likely change... MORE

Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the firebrand founder of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its charity front Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD), remains free in Pakistan. Legendary for his anti-Western and anti-India rhetoric, Saeed is known for his longstanding obsession and support for the Kashmir militant movement.... MORE

A failed bomb plot that appeared to target the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as he visited a pilgrimage site in Bihar, India, has been blamed on the militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and an emerging Indian offshoot. On January 19, a low... MORE

China’s changing political landscape and the recent accession of India to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) marks the beginning of a new chapter for one of China’s first self-founded multilateral groupings. First established in June 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the... MORE