August 5 marked the fourth occasion in the last four years that the leaders of the Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan convened, this time in Tehran, to chart the future of their trilateral cooperation. The meeting, dubbed the “Persian summit,” led to a... MORE

“Jihad is in my blood. It runs through my arteries and veins. If you take jihad out of me, I will become as soulless as anybody. I inherited jihad from my father. My father led [tribal] mujahideen into Kashmir on the call of the Kashmiri... MORE

Afghanistan’s President, Hamid Karzai, gave a speech on August 7 at the Civil Services Institute in Kabul in which he discussed his government’s reliance on foreign consultants and the role of private security firms. He proposed cuts to the former, and in the case of... MORE

The Bajaur Tribal Agency in northwest Pakistan continues to be a hotbed of militancy despite being officially declared a “conflict free zone” by the Pakistan Army.  Bajaur Agency has been under Taliban control since May 2007. The Pakistani military launched its first anti-Taliban operation in... MORE

The ongoing debate in China over whether or not to formalize logistical support agreements for Chinese naval forces in the Indian Ocean is a natural outgrowth of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) expanding presence in the region. As China continues to maintain a task... MORE

When Chinese officials consider their international economic interests, Afghanistan and Central Asia (sometimes referred to as “Greater Central Asia”) naturally come to mind. These countries possess an abundant supply of untapped natural resources, and they offer potential export markets as well as investment opportunities for... MORE

China appears to be zealously guarding its maritime footprint in the Bay of Bengal through politico-economic and strategic initiatives. Two high level visits in June by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh and Premier Wen Jiabao to Burma (Myanmar) signal the urgency with which... MORE

Two commanders of the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) were arrested in the Pakistani port of Karachi on June 11, charged with plotting suicide attacks in the city of 18 million people. Only days later, four militants attacked a Karachi court house with firearms and grenades to successfully... MORE

Figured at number three in Forbes’s most wanted fugitive list in 2010—and ranked at number 50 in Forbes’ list of “The World's Most Powerful People” in 2009—Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar remains the most notorious underworld leader who has spread a robust crime network across the Middle... MORE

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi recently gave an interview to the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in which he discussed the Taliban’s relations with al-Qaeda, the sources of opium production in Afghanistan, and the impact of the arrest of the second man in the Taliban leadership,... MORE