SAT Editorial Desk - South Asia Times

Broken Promises: The Taliban’s Betrayal of Global Commitments

Down The Line

Broken Promises: The Taliban’s Betrayal of Global Commitments

Nearly three years after seizing power, the Taliban’s systematic violation of their international commitments under the 2020 Doha Accord has transformed Afghanistan into a sanctuary for terrorism, entrenched an autocratic regime, and institutionalized gender apartheid. Beyond moral failure, this deceit poses a grave threat to regional stability, international counterterrorism efforts, and the credibility of global diplomacy. Holding the regime accountable is now a strategic necessity, not a choice.

SAT Editorial Desk

Down The Line

The Terrorist Ecosystem

“The critical evidence was not that he was in Afghanistan, but where. Al-Zawahiri was not hiding…He was living comfortably in a safe house…This location, teeming with Taliban security, implies high-level protection, not an intelligence failure.”

SAT Editorial Desk

Zabihullah Mujahid’s Rhetoric and the Reality of Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations

Commentary

Zabihullah Mujahid’s Rhetoric and the Reality of Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations

Recent statements by Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid attempt to shift blame for strained Pakistan-Afghanistan ties onto Islamabad. Yet the real source of tension lies in Kabul’s refusal to dismantle terror networks like the TTP and BLA operating freely from Afghan soil—a failure that continues to endanger regional peace and Pakistan’s security.

SAT Editorial Desk

When Insurgents Rule: The Taliban’s Crisis of Governance

Down The Line

When Insurgents Rule: The Taliban’s Crisis of Governance

The Taliban’s confrontation with Pakistan reveals a deeper failure at the heart of their rule: an insurgent movement incapable of governing the state it conquered. Bound by rigid ideology and fractured by internal rivalries, the Taliban have turned their military victory into a political and economic collapse, exposing the limits of ruling through insurgent logic.

SAT Editorial Desk

Inside the Istanbul Talks: How Taliban Factionalism Killed a Peace Deal

Down The Line

Inside the Istanbul Talks: How Taliban Factionalism Killed a Peace Deal

The collapse of the Turkiye-hosted talks to address the TTP threat was not a diplomatic failure but a calculated act of sabotage from within the Taliban regime. Deep factional divides—between Kandahar, Kabul, and Khost blocs—turned mediation into chaos, as Kabul’s power players sought to use the TTP issue as leverage for U.S. re-engagement and financial relief. The episode exposed a regime too fractured and self-interested to act against terrorism or uphold sovereignty.

SAT Editorial Desk

Pakistan’s rejection of a Taliban proposal to include the TTP in Turkey talks reaffirmed its sovereignty and refusal to legitimize terrorism.

South Asia

Legitimacy, Agency, and the Illusion of Mediation

The recent talks in Turkey, attended by Afghan representatives, exposed the delicate politics of legitimacy and agency in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. By rejecting the Taliban’s proposal to include the TTP, Pakistan safeguarded its sovereignty and avoided legitimizing a militant group as a political actor, preserving its authority and strategic narrative.

SAT Editorial Desk

Can war against terror be won without political consensus?

Editorial Picks

Can war against terror be won without political consensus?

For over two decades, Pakistan has battled the scourge of terrorism. Yet, despite military successes, the absence of political consensus continues to jeopardize lasting peace. As divisions deepen and populist narratives gain ground, the question remains: can Pakistan truly defeat terror without unity at the top?

SAT Editorial Desk

The Long War: The Historical and Ideological Roots of the Pakistan–Taliban Showdown

Down The Line

The Long War: The Historical and Ideological Roots of the Pakistan–Taliban Showdown

A tenuous ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has halted hostilities for now, but the calm conceals deeper fissures rooted in history, ideology, and regional rivalries. As cross-border tensions resurface, the decades-old dispute over the Border, the Taliban’s harboring of TTP militants, and India’s quiet re-entry into Kabul are reshaping South Asia’s most volatile frontier.

SAT Editorial Desk

The Infodemic: Can South Asian Democracies Survive the Age of Disinformation?

Down The Line

The Infodemic: Can South Asian Democracies Survive the Age of Disinformation?

From India to Sri Lanka, disinformation has become a weapon of mass manipulation, fueling mob violence, deepening polarization, and corroding democratic institutions. As truth becomes contested, South Asia’s future stability hinges on digital literacy, civic resilience, and responsible governance.

SAT Editorial Desk

Pakistan confronts a new security dilemma as the Afghan Taliban provides sanctuary to the TTP while building diplomatic ties with its adversary, India.

Down The Line

The Instrumentality of Asymmetry: Taliban Hedging and Pakistan’s Compounded Security Dilemma

The security architecture of South and Central Asia is undergoing a significant realignment, the implications of which are crystallizing along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. To view the Afghan Taliban’s engagement with India and the TTP’s escalation of attacks as disconnected is to miss the emergence of a complex geopolitical dynamic. This signals a fundamental recalibration of regional relationships, forcing Pakistan to confront a renewed and more intricate security dilemma.

SAT Editorial Desk