Themes Archives - Page 5 of 29

The Manufacturing of a False Equivalence

SAT Editorial Desk December 24, 2025

As scrutiny mounts over the Taliban’s tolerance of TTP sanctuaries, Kabul has attempted to deflect blame by alleging that ISIS-K operates from Pakistan. This false equivalence ignores the historical origins of ISIS-K in eastern Afghanistan, its sustained campaign of violence against Pakistan, and verified intelligence showing that the group’s operational depth remains rooted inside Afghan territory.

The Taliban Regime and the 2025 Global CFT Framework

SAT Editorial Desk December 23, 2025

Despite consolidating internal control and boosting revenues, the Taliban remain structurally incompatible with the 2025 global Counter-Terrorism Financing regime, as sanctions, militant linkages, and gender persecution block financial reintegration.

How Afghan Networks Sustain Terrorism in Pakistan

SAT Commentary December 22, 2025

The December 2025 Boya suicide attack underscores the transnational nature of militancy confronting Pakistan. The identification of an Afghan national from Kabul as the attacker, and the public veneration he received there, reveals how recruitment pipelines, ideological legitimation, and porous borders continue to sustain insurgency in North Waziristan, placing growing strain on Pakistan–Taliban relations.

Majoritarian Politics and the Erosion of Minority Dignity in India: The Bihar Hijab Incident

Nimra Khalil December 22, 2025

The forcible removal of a Muslim woman doctor’s hijab by Bihar’s Chief Minister was not an isolated lapse of conduct but a revealing moment in India’s evolving political culture. It underscored how majoritarian ideology increasingly normalizes the public humiliation of minorities, particularly Muslim women, and weakens constitutional guarantees of equality, religious freedom, and personal dignity.

Herat tragedy claims 30 lives, exposing Afghanistan’s governance failures, unsafe migration, and escalating humanitarian crisis.

Herat Border Tragedy: The Deadly Consequences of Afghanistan’s Governance Failures

SAT Commentary December 20, 2025

The Herat border tragedy, is a stark illustration of the human cost of Afghanistan’s governance failures. With limited economic opportunities, widespread poverty, and insufficient social support, families are forced to undertake life-threatening journeys across freezing mountains. The incident underscores the urgent need for the Afghan government to provide stable livelihoods, establish safe migration routes, and strengthen healthcare and social services, as humanitarian risks continue to escalate across the country.

Afghanistan’s Taliban uses pharmaceutical policy to assert autonomy, decouple from Pakistan, and expand strategic ties with India.

Afghan Taliban’s Biopolitics

SAT Commentary December 18, 2025

The Taliban’s health diplomacy is reshaping Afghanistan’s geopolitical landscape. By phasing out Pakistani pharmaceuticals and inviting Indian partnerships, Kabul securitizes its healthcare infrastructure as a tool of strategic realignment. The shift highlights the intersection of sovereignty, economic statecraft, and regional influence, with Afghan patients bearing the immediate consequences.

The Taliban’s madrassa expansion indoctrinates Afghan youth, undermining education and fueling regional instability through global jihadist ideology.

The Growing Taliban Madrassa System: An Ideological Weapon Threatening Regional Stability

SAT Commentary December 17, 2025

The Taliban’s rapid madrassa expansion is transforming Afghanistan’s education system into a tool for extremist indoctrination, fostering a new generation aligned with global jihadist ideology and threatening regional stability.

How APS Redefined Pakistan’s Strategic Culture

SAT Editorial Desk December 16, 2025

APS was the moment Pakistan’s long-standing ambiguity on militancy collapsed. The murder of schoolchildren forced an organic securitization of terrorism, enabling extraordinary measures and a redefinition of the militant as an existential, illegitimate enemy.

Before and After Panjshir: How Anti-Taliban Forces Are Adapting to a Long Insurgency

SAT Editorial Desk December 15, 2025

December 2025 marked a turning point in Afghanistan’s post-2021 resistance. Coordinated, intelligence-driven attacks across Kunduz and Badakhshan signaled that anti-Taliban forces have moved beyond symbolic defiance into a sustained campaign of urban-centric insurgency. Deprived of territory, external patrons, and conventional warfare options, groups like the NRF and AFF are adapting through mobility, information warfare, and selective strikes, pointing toward a long war defined by endurance rather than frontlines.

The Internationalization of Domestic Security Events

SAT Editorial Desk December 14, 2025

The Bondi Beach attack illustrates a recurring global pattern: domestic crimes targeting Jewish communities are swiftly absorbed into transnational security frameworks. This acceleration often precedes verified attribution, reshaping diplomatic postures and weaponizing narratives at moments of heightened geopolitical contestation.

South Asia Times

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