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Moscow’s Selective Clean Chit to Kabul Endangers Regional Peace

At the opening of the eighth Moscow Format consultations on Afghanistan on 5 October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov offered a positive assessment of the Taliban-led administration. He said it had brought the country’s territory under control and was governing it with considerable success, and he acknowledged its efforts against Daesh, other extremist groups and […]

Ignoring the TTP Leaves the Moscow Format’s Counterterrorism Hollow

On 5 October, at the latest round of regional consultations on Afghanistan, the Taliban authorities in Kabul heard what they have long wanted to hear that they have brought their territory under control and are governing it with real success, terrorism included. For a government most of the world still declines to recognize, such praise […]

One Flag, Many Fronts: Mapping Afghanistan’s Multiplying Resistance

Four years after sweeping into Kabul, the Afghan Taliban is no longer confronting scattered, containable pockets of opposition. It is facing a resistance landscape that has grown more geographically dispersed, more organisationally diverse, and more operationally capable, and the regime’s own governance choices are the primary driver of that expansion. From Fragmentation to a Multi-Front […]

When Cheap Drones Challenge Expensive States

For decades, the dynamics of violence in Pakistan’s North-West rested on an obvious asymmetry. The state had aircraft, artillery, satellite surveillance and successive layers of intelligence networks, while the militants used concealment, ambush and the suicide vests.  Over the hills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, this asymmetry has now delicately turned upside down, not through a new […]

Fighting Terror in the Court

Pakistan has spent more than two decades fighting terrorism, but arresting suspects has never been the only challenge. The real test is whether the state can investigate them, produce admissible evidence, protect those involved in the case and secure convictions through the courts. The cost of terrorism has been enormous. According to the National Counter […]

Fragmented Monopoly Shatters as Internal Resistance Envelops Afghanistan

The rapid expansion and geographical diversification of armed resistance across Afghanistan mark a decisive collapse of the Taliban’s monopolistic governance model. During August and September 2026 alone, insurgent formations executed 119 attacks across 26 provinces, inflicting over 250 fatalities on regime forces. This widespread tactical surge demonstrates that domestic opposition has evolved from localized skirmishes […]

Dismantling Disinformation Surrounding Pakistan Saudi Defence Cooperation

A malicious campaign orchestrated by digital pseudo-experts is attempting to distort Pakistan’s principled strategic relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These bad-faith actors falsely allege that Pakistani defence cooperation with Riyadh amidst escalating regional tensions somehow equates to serving Israeli strategic interests. This deliberate mischaracterization weaponizes public sentiment regarding Palestine to undermine vital national […]

ICC Arrest Warrants Expose Systematic Persecution in Afghanistan

The International Criminal Court’s unsealing of arrest warrants against top Taliban leaders exposes the deeply systemic scale of gender-based persecution in Afghanistan. Unsealed on October 5, 2026, the judicial warrants explicitly target Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Education Minister Habibullah Agha, and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim. This landmark development […]

From Missing to Exploited: Bridging the Gaps in Child Safeguarding

When a child goes missing, a family loses much more than a son or daughter. It loses its sense of security, peace of mind and confidence in the future. We have all seen desperate parents carrying photographs of their missing children, moving from one place to another in search of them. They file a General […]