South East Asia

Pakistan’s 76th Independence Day, on Aug. 14, was marked by an undercurrent of challenges. The 16-month rule of the 13-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government concluded, making way for a new technocratic caretaker administration tasked with overseeing upcoming general elections. However, this power transition is not as straightforward as it seems. The appointment of the new caretaker government has created uncertainty, raising doubts about whether Pakistan will smoothly transition to another democratic government or if the caretaker setup will exceed its constitutional mandate.

The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is considered a threat to Afghan Taliban and their governance in Afghanistan. ISKP is an affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) that primarily operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Its presence and activities posed several challenges to Afghan Taliban. The Afghan Taliban and ISKP have different ideological and strategic goals. While the Taliban seeks to establish an Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan and has primarily focused on Afghanistan, ISKP aims to establish a global caliphate and has a more expansionist agenda. This ideological difference led to conflicts and competition for influence in the region.

Afghanistan remains in the grip of multiple crises, with its humanitarian situation worsening by the day. A recent report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reveals the alarming scale of the crisis, with over 70 percent of the Afghan population—approximately 29.2 million people—in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

There has been a noticeable rift between the Tekhrek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic Emirate Afghanistan (IEA) for quite some time, and the causes are not political but ideological.

The IEA has fought against external interference, whereas the TTP, influenced by al-Qaeda, adheres to Takfiri ideology and pursues expansionist objectives. This fundamental ideological difference has resulted in the TTP and Islamic State of Khurasan Province (ISKP) being perceived as natural allies, as they share an identical point of view. However, it should be noted that both factions’ activities have only contributed to increased bloodshed and instability in the region.

The American filmmaker Woody Allen said, ““Eighty percent of success is showing up.” If he is correct, America is not succeeding in Central Asia.

But the rulers of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and China, Xi Jinping, leave nothing to chance: Xj has visited every one of the republics and has been to Kazakhstan four times and Uzbekistan three times; Putin has visited Kazakhstan twenty-seven times (the countries share a 7,644-kilometre border), and has been to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at least a dozen times each.

In early 2023, India surpassed China as the most populous country in the world with the latter having 850,000 fewer people by the end of 2022—marking the country’s first population decline since famine struck from 1959 to 1961. While this reduction may seem modest considering China’s 1.4 billion population currently, an ongoing decline is anticipated, with UN projections suggesting that China’s population could dwindle to below 800 million by 2100.

In a move that has reverberated across the international stage, China released a new map on August 29, 2023, following the BRICS meeting held in South Africa. This seemingly innocuous act of cartography has far-reaching geopolitical implications, as it asserts China’s territorial claims over several disputed areas, unsettling not only its neighbors but also the delicate balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region.

Recently, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) made headlines with a propaganda video that seems aimed at discrediting Pakistan and its law enforcement agencies (LEAs). The video suggests that Pakistan and its LEAs are unable to eliminate TTP hideouts, bases, and strongholds.