Down the Line: SAT Editorial Hub

A sharp examination of how the Taliban evolved into a rentier insurgency, financing their rule through smuggling networks, geopolitical manipulation, and strategic pivots from Pakistan to India, revealing the economic logic behind their survival.

The Rentier Insurgency

SAT Editorial Desk November 20, 2025

The Taliban’s recent outreach to India marks more than a diplomatic shift—it exposes the economic engine that has driven their power for three decades. From exploiting the Afghan Transit Trade in the 1990s to monetising ties with al-Qaeda and now courting New Delhi, the Taliban have mastered the art of rentier insurgency. Their survival has never depended on developing Afghanistan’s economy, but on extracting revenue from regional rivalries and geopolitical anxieties. As Pakistan clamps down on smuggling routes that once bankrolled the movement, the Taliban have turned to India in search of their next patron.

A Temporary Equilibrium: India–Taliban Engagement and the Limits of Transactional Diplomacy

SAT Editorial Desk November 19, 2025

The visit of Afghanistan’s commerce minister to New Delhi signals a cautious thaw in India–Taliban ties, driven by mutual short-term imperatives. Yet four decades of path dependence, ideological hostility, and the AQIS–Taliban nexus render the détente fragile—more a tactical pause than a strategic reset.

The Tragedy of the Boat: Awami League’s Rise and Fall

SAT Editorial Desk November 19, 2025

The rise and fall of the Awami League is a story of nationalism turned inward, power hardened into authoritarianism, and a political movement ultimately consumed by the very forces it once harnessed. From its separatist origins in the 1960s to the iron-fisted rule of Sheikh Hasina, the party’s arc ends with an extraordinary reversal: the International Crimes Tribunal sentencing Hasina to death in absentia. The party that delivered independence now stands condemned, morally, legally, and historically, under the weight of its own contradictions and its fateful overreliance on India.

Narrative by Design: Al Jazeera’s Editorial Tilt on the Pakistan–TTP Conflict

SAT Editorial Desk November 17, 2025

Al Jazeera’s reputation for alternative journalism contrasts sharply with its recent reporting on Pakistan’s conflict with the TTP and tensions with the Afghan Taliban. A close review shows consistent editorial choices that soften the Taliban’s image, reframe terrorist violence as resistance, and cast Pakistan’s counter-terrorism actions as aggression—ultimately reshaping the narrative in Kabul’s favour.

The War on Knowledge: History, Ideology, and Strategic Goals of TTP Attacks on Educational Institutions

SAT Editorial Desk November 15, 2025

The TTP’s war on education is a deliberate campaign to reshape society by destroying schools, suppressing knowledge, and undermining state authority. Rooted in ideology, coercion, and strategy, these attacks target Pakistan’s future by dismantling its most vital institutions of learning.

The Re-Emergence of Terror: Afghanistan as a Global Terrorist Hub

SAT Editorial Desk November 11, 2025

The Taliban’s return to power has revived Afghanistan’s role as a global Terrorist hub. Despite pledges under the 2020 Doha Agreement, the regime continues to shelter and enable groups such as Al-Qaeda, TTP, and ETIM, creating a volatile nexus of terrorism that threatens regional stability and global security. As internal conflicts deepen and governance collapses, Afghanistan’s transformation into an ideological sanctuary ensures a cycle of chaos and suffering that primarily victimizes its own people.

Instability as Strategy: How India Benefits from the Afghan-Pakistan Breakdown

SAT Editorial Desk November 9, 2025

The escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-led regime have reignited South Asia’s most volatile frontier. As cross-border attacks intensify and the Taliban refuses to dismantle the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamabad faces mounting security and sovereignty challenges. Yet, amid this chaos, India emerges as the silent beneficiary, leveraging regional instability to weaken Pakistan strategically while maintaining its image as a victim of terrorism. This calculated exploitation threatens to entrench South Asia in a new cycle of proxy conflict.

The Istanbul dialogue between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban collapsed over the TTP issue, exposing the limits of regional diplomacy and mediation.

The Istanbul Dialogue: How the Taliban’s Intransigence Doomed Diplomacy

SAT Editorial Desk November 7, 2025

The highly anticipated Istanbul dialogue, facilitated by Turkey and Qatar, has ended in deadlock. The Taliban’s refusal to act against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and their introduction of provocative counter-demands have effectively derailed the diplomatic process, underscoring the ideological rigidity driving Kabul’s foreign policy.

Centralized Power and the Core–Periphery Divide in Afghanistan

SAT Editorial Desk November 7, 2025

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s return in 2021 brought rapid consolidation of power, but also the revival of a historical flaw. By concentrating authority in the hands of southern Pashtun elites, the Taliban have recreated the core–periphery divide that has destabilized every Afghan regime since the 19th century. This hyper-centralization, rooted in ethnic exclusivity and Kandahar dominance, risks a repeat of past collapses as non-Pashtun regions turn toward functional autonomy.

Broken Promises: The Taliban’s Betrayal of Global Commitments

SAT Editorial Desk November 6, 2025

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.

South Asia Times

Down The Line