Introduction On June 10, the Foreign Office in Islamabad received a diplomatic communication from the Pakistani ambassador in Beijing (The News, June 13). China assured Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced former PM Imran Khan in April, that it is eager to work with... MORE

Islamic State (IS) propaganda in videos, photos, and editorials since June has increasingly focused on Africa, particularly Nigeria and Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP). However, its publications have also regularly referred to Mozambique, Congo, and the Sahel. Although it appears that through propaganda and... MORE

When the ethnic Baluch separatist insurgent group, Baluch Liberation Army (BLA), claimed responsibility for a female suicide attack by Shari Baloch in the southern port city of Karachi on April 26, it asserted that the attack was against projects launched by Beijing and Islamabad in... MORE

On June 18, Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) militants attacked a Sikh place of worship, or gurdwara, in Kabul, killing two people, although Islamic State (IS) touted a much higher casualty total (The Hindu, June 19). IS formally claimed the operation through its Amaq... MORE

ISWAP's Kuje Prison Break Points to Expansion of Operations Throughout Nigeria Jacob Zenn In one of the most dramatic, and surprising, attacks in the history of the now 13-years long jihadist insurgency in Nigeria, on July 6, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) raided... MORE

The April 27 female suicide attack by Shari Baloch targeting Karachi University’s Confucius Institute underscored a turning point in the operational tactics of the Baluch insurgents from hit-and-run guerrilla operations to suicide attacks. The suicide attack was preceded by near-simultaneous gun-and-suicide assaults on the paramilitary... MORE

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is facilitating ongoing negotiations between Pakistan and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the “Pakistani Taliban,” to forge a peace deal between the two parties (Twitter/@Zabehulah_M33, May 18). The Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, made it clear there was significant progress... MORE

On May 7, days after Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi claimed terrorism was on the brink of eradication in Sinai, Islamic State in Sinai Province (ISSP) carried out the largest terrorist attack in Egypt since July 2020 (Masrawy, April 26). ISSP militants killed eleven Egyptian... MORE

Taliban Outreach to India and China Indicates New Diplomatic Phase In the Taliban’s continued quest to gain international legitimacy and abandon its reputation for “terrorism,” it has been increasingly establishing and improving diplomatic relations with regional neighbors, China and India. The earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s... MORE

As a reaction to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden abandoned their long tradition of military non-alignment to seek security through membership in NATO. Both countries submitted their membership applications to NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on May 18, 2022. While the overwhelming majority... MORE