On September 27, the Taliban government in Afghanistan disclosed a deal it signed with Russia to import petroleum products and wheat at a discounted rate (Al Jazeera, September 28). The deal came days before Russia agreed to provide petrol to Pakistan on deferred payments and... MORE

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or “Pakistani Taliban”) now has a confirmed presence not only in northwestern Pakistan's Swat district, but also in Dir, Bajaur, and Buner districts. After a military operation in Swat in 2009, the TTP had been expelled from the area, but TTP... MORE

After the fall of the Afghan government in August 2021, Taliban-ruled Afghanistan once again emerged as a safe haven for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the “Pakistani Taliban.” Despite serious complaints from the Pakistani government, the Afghan Taliban have taken few measures to dislodge... MORE

Introduction In mid-July, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and the Pakistan Navy (PN) held the “Sea Guardians-2” exercise in the waters off Shanghai (China Brief, October 4; Pakistan Television, July 12). The joint naval drills focused on neutralizing maritime security threats, particularly those that... MORE

On July 30, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who replaced Osama bin Laden in 2011, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan. U.S. President Joseph R. Biden announced his death on August 1 saying that, “Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader... MORE

Since the August U.S. drone strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Kabul, the Pakistani government’s peace talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or “Pakistani Taliban”) have been suspended. The Afghan Taliban’s Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob further accused Pakistan of allowing the U.S. to... MORE

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s trip to Astana, Kazakhstan, on October 13 to participate in the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) turned out to be quite eventful. While there, Lukashenka held face-to-face meetings with Turkish President Recep... MORE

The peace talks between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistan security establishment are facing an undeclared deadlock since a fruitless tour paid by a top Taliban delegation to Kabul in late July (The Express Tribune, July 27). The Taliban delegation visited under the leadership of... MORE

On September 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, declared Pakistan as one of Moscow’s primary partners in South Asia. As the Russian leader put it,... MORE

Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan region has been experiencing bloodshed and a dramatic surge in attacks by Baluch separatist and nationalist militants seeking separation from Pakistan. There has been a series of well-organized ambushes and suicide attacks on law enforcement agencies and Chinese nationals inside and outside... MORE