Lieutenant General Hadi Khalid was the Afghan Deputy Minister of the Interior for Security from May 2006 to June 2008.  He lost his post after a dispute with the Karzai administration last year but remains one of Afghanistan's leading thinkers on regional ethno-political dynamics and... MORE

Lieutenant General Abdul Hadi Khalid was the Afghan First Deputy Minister of the Interior for Security from May 2006 to late June 2008.  Specializing in counter-narcotics, border policing and internal security, he announced the largest drug seizure in history (The Scotsman, June 12, 2008; Daily... MORE

The search for a "safe haven" in the strategic planning of the Salafi-Jihadi movement is a central issue in the intended establishment of the "Islamic State." The safe haven offers a set of strategic advantages, such as security, training camps, a certain degree of centralization... MORE

In less than one year, China and India will celebrate six decades of bilateral relations capped by festivities in their respective country. This period, however, has been marked by a border war in 1962 that precipitated a long phase of antagonism and hostility between the... MORE

A German-ordered, U.S.-executed air strike, which killed scores of Afghan villagers on September 4, has caused a political uproar in Germany in the run-up to the September 27 parliamentary elections. The two governing parties are engaged in competitive damage-control. The event underscores the limitations and... MORE

After seven months in exile in Turkey, General Rashid Dostum, the paramount leader of Afghanistan’s Uzbek and Turkmen communities, was given permission by the Karzai government to return to the country. Thousands of his supporters, including many beating drums and chanting “Long live General Dostum!”... MORE

The Sri Lankan government’s delay in resettling nearly 300,000 internally displaced ethnic Tamils and failure to address the Tamils’ core grievances have led to concerns that these issues might lead to a reversal in the strategic gains made since May’s military defeat and decapitation of... MORE

Officials in Afghanistan see the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mahsud as a great victory for his opponents and say his death may result in the breakup of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) organization. The loss of the TTP leader comes as Pakistani jet fighters... MORE

Pakistani security forces have not yet established their writ in parts of the volatile Khyber tribal agency. Despite a drawn out military operation dubbed Sirat-e-Mustaqeem (Straight Path), the wary Islamist militants are still at large. Some call it a friendly game of hide-and-seek, others call... MORE

Officials in Helmand say that the military’s U.S.-led Operation Khanjar (Dagger) is completely different from previous operations. Mohammad Davoud Ahmadi, spokesperson for the Helmand governor, says that this time they have launched the biggest operation ever against the insurgents in Helmand province. “This time we... MORE