Chinese Balloon: Off-Target Spy Mission

An analysis of Maulana Sultan’s assassination exposing how ISKP and TTP use coordinated denials, delayed claims, and Afghan sanctuaries to manage terror narratives.

Narrative Management and the ISKP–TTP Ecosystem

SAT Commentary January 11, 2026

The assassination of Maulana Sultan reveals how ISKP and TTP deploy narrative coordination, delayed claims, and interchangeable branding to obscure accountability and sustain regional instability from Afghan soil.

Pakistan’s shift from arms importer to defense exporter reveals how indigenous military industry has become central to sovereignty in a fragmented global order.

Pakistan’s Defense Industrial Breakout

SAT Editorial Desk January 11, 2026

As the liberal international order fragments, Pakistan has executed a decisive shift from defense dependency to indigenous production. Through exports, combat validation, and joint industrialization, Islamabad is redefining sovereignty as an industrial and diplomatic asset.

A critical reassessment of Afghan repatriation from Pakistan, weighing human rights advocacy against state sovereignty, security, and legal realities.

Rethinking Afghan Repatriation from Pakistan

SAT Commentary January 10, 2026

Amnesty International’s call to halt Afghan repatriation overlooks the limits of long-term hospitality. For Pakistan, the issue is less about abandoning rights than reasserting sovereign immigration control amid shifting realities in Afghanistan.

Analysis of Iran’s 2025–26 crisis, examining economic stress, political legitimacy, security pressures, and potential domestic and regional trajectories.

Iran’s Current Crisis: Structural Pressures and Political Trajectories

SAT Editorial Desk January 10, 2026

Iran’s 2025–26 unrest reflects simultaneous pressure on economic stability, political legitimacy, and state coercive capacity, marking a critical juncture for the Islamic Republic.

Andy Halus’s interview signals a shift in US–Pakistan relations toward minerals, education, and soft power, marking a post-security partnership in 2026.

The New Architecture of US–Pakistan Relations

SAT Commentary January 9, 2026

Andy Halus’s interview signals a strategic shift in US–Pakistan relations from security-centric ties to a multidimensional partnership centered on minerals, education, and soft power. Projects like Reko Diq now stand as the key test of this new architecture.

South Asia Times