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.
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.
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.
On November 6, 1947, one of South Asia’s earliest genocides unfolded in Jammu, where hundreds of thousands of Muslims were massacred or forced to flee. Yet, unlike other global tragedies, this atrocity remains buried in silence. The Jammu Genocide not only reshaped the region’s demography but laid the foundation for India’s ongoing campaign of identity erasure in Kashmir. From demographic engineering to cultural censorship, the spirit of Kashmiriyat continues to face systematic annihilation.
India’s Net Zero 2070 target reflects a delicate balance between development equity and climate urgency. While progress in renewables, green finance, and adaptation is visible, the absence of clear interim milestones risks turning ambition into delay. The real challenge lies in translating a distant horizon into measurable, near-term climate action before 2030.
The Tehreek-e-Hijrat of 1920 saw thousands of Indian Muslims migrate to Afghanistan, only to be turned away when Kabul could no longer cope. A century later, Afghan officials criticise Pakistan’s refugee policies while ignoring their own historical refusal to host Muslim migrants. The parallel reveals not just irony, but the enduring challenge of compassion, capacity, and collective responsibility.
Following the October 2025 border clashes, the Taliban have shifted their battlefield online, using propaganda, selective history, and digital disinformation to paint Pakistan as the aggressor. Through controlled media releases, colonial-era references, and victimhood narratives, Kabul seeks to manipulate regional perception and deflect blame for its own failures.
“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.”
The deepening India-Afghanistan engagement marks a new strategic era in South Asia. Beneath the façade of humanitarian cooperation lies a calculated effort to constrict Pakistan’s strategic space, from intelligence leverage and soft power projection to potential encirclement on both eastern and western fronts. Drawing from the insights of Iqbal and Khushhal Khan Khattak, this analysis argues that Pakistan must reclaim its strategic selfhood, strengthen regional diplomacy, and transform its western border from a vulnerability into a vision of regional connectivity and stability.
Pakistan’s Doctrine of Verifiable Peace represents a major shift from fraternal idealism to strategic realism in South Asia’s volatile security landscape. Rooted in classical realist thought, the doctrine emphasizes verification over trust, deterrence over sentiment, and conditional diplomacy over blind faith. Confronting the twin challenges of cross-border militancy and Indian-backed proxy networks in Afghanistan, Islamabad now seeks peace that is enforceable, monitored, and verifiable, anchoring regional stability on responsibility, not rhetoric.