The 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan was more than the end of a long war, it was a poorly executed exit that triggered the rapid collapse of the Afghan state. The fall of Kabul, the Abbey Gate attack, and the return of militant groups exposed serious gaps in planning and coordination.
Recent reporting underscores Afghanistan’s transformation into a strategic hub for transnational jihadist networks. Far from being a localized security problem, the Afghan landscape now functions as an ideological, logistical, and digital anchor linking extremist affiliates across Africa, Southeast Asia, and beyond, signaling the collapse of regional containment and the rise of a globalized threat architecture.
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.
Afghanistan’s recent shift away from Pakistani pharmaceutical imports toward Indian suppliers marks a dangerous transformation of healthcare into a tool of geopolitical signaling. Framed as regulatory reform, this pivot reflects a broader biopolitical strategy in which access to medicine is subordinated to diplomatic recalibration, with profound ethical and humanitarian consequences for an already vulnerable population.
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.
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.
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.
False claims of a Pakistani troop deployment to Gaza, amplified by disinformation networks, were firmly rejected by the Foreign Office, reaffirming that Pakistan’s military operates only under UN mandates and constitutional limits.
Sharif Osman Hadi’s death has become the symbolic burial of the 1971 Consensus that long structured India–Bangladesh relations. For a generation with no lived memory of the Liberation War, Hadi embodies a Second Independence, reframing 1971 as the start of Indian dominance rather than true sovereignty. His killing has accelerated Bangladesh’s rupture with India and exposed a deep strategic crisis across South Asia.
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.