South Asia Archives - Page 6 of 82

Playing the Victim: How the Taliban Endorse and Amplify Online Propaganda Against Pakistan

SAT Commentary November 3, 2025

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 Terrorist Ecosystem

SAT Editorial Desk November 3, 2025

“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 Indo-Afghan Arc: Rewriting Pakistan’s Strategic Geography

Sultan Mehmood Hali November 2, 2025

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: Realism in the Face of Proxy Politics

Farwa Imtiaz November 2, 2025

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.

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

SAT Editorial Desk November 2, 2025

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.

As Bihar votes, Modi’s militarised politics faces its toughest test yet—will voters reject war rhetoric for real issues like jobs and poverty?

Bihar Should Reject Modi’s War Politics

Zahra Niazi November 1, 2025

Bihar’s election is shaping up as a test of Modi’s war-driven politics. With rising discontent over unemployment and poor governance, voters may choose to look past jingoism and focus on the real issues that shape their daily lives.

When Insurgents Rule: The Taliban’s Crisis of Governance

SAT Editorial Desk October 30, 2025

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.

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

Legitimacy, Agency, and the Illusion of Mediation

SAT Editorial Desk October 26, 2025

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.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a historic defence pact, building joint deterrence and reshaping security across the Gulf and South Asia.

Saudi–Pakistan Defence Deal: The Geopolitical Significance

Syeda Tahreem Bukhari October 25, 2025

In a shifting multipolar world, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have formalized a landmark mutual defence pact marking a new era in regional security. The agreement reflects Riyadh’s strategic pivot from dependence on the U.S. towards trusted partners like Pakistan, an established military power in the Islamic world. Beyond reaffirming deep-rooted bilateral ties, the pact reshapes South Asia–Gulf dynamics, deters Indian aggression, and signals a broader trend of regional cooperation amid evolving geopolitical threats.

Afghan Taliban and Cross Border Terrorism in Pakistan

SAT Commentary October 20, 2025

Pakistan is witnessing a sharp rise in terrorist attacks linked to the Afghan Taliban’s support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). A new study reveals that Afghan nationals now dominate TTP infiltration groups, exposing Kabul’s complicity in cross-border militancy. As violence escalates, Islamabad must balance border control, diplomacy, and de-radicalisation to counter

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