Authorities in northwestern Pakistan said Monday that a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden vehicle into a military compound, followed by several armed insurgents storming it, resulting in the death of at least three soldiers and injuries to 12 others.
The Pakistani military is distinguished as the only armed force in the world that embraces “Jihad” as its motto, making it a unique entity that governs a nation rather than being merely a part of a country’s defense system. Since its establishment in 1947, Pakistan has strategically employed proxy forces to not only destabilize the region but also to exert influence on a global scale. One of its initial uses of proxy forces involved sending Pashtun tribe members to engage Indian forces in Kashmir, sparking the first conflict between India and Pakistan. These Pashtun tribesmen were subsequently utilized as proxies in various operations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday morning for the 24th annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group created by Beijing and Moscow to manage their shared – and competing – geopolitical interests in Central Asia.
Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership has decided to launch a new multi-faceted nationwide counterterrorism campaign amid the country’s deteriorating security situation.
A high-powered meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave the go ahead for operation “Azm-e-Istehkam,” or Resolve for Stability, to “combat the menaces of extremism and terrorism in a comprehensive and decisive manner,” said a statement issued by the prime minister’s office.
On 26 August 2021, shortly after the Taliban conquered Kabul, Abdur Rahman Logari detonated his suicide vest near the Abbey Gate in the city’s airport, killing 170 men, women and children who were trying to flee the country. Two days later, a US drone strike killed an entire Afghan family in the mistaken belief that the target was Logari. Joe Biden would later describe the Abbey Gate attack — Isis’s most successful operation in Afghanistan — as “the hardest of the hard days” of his presidency. Harder days, however, were soon to come.
Falling birthrates in East Asia are causing concerns over whether the region’s military forces will be able to maintain their troop levels in future. As a result, China, Japan, and South Korea are changing their recruitment standards even though they have invested heavily in programmes to boost birthrates. However, some experts believe that advancements in technology will help offset the impact of declining populations.
Although there are potential security and economic benefits for Moscow to be gained from closer ties to Afghanistan, they will be difficult to achieve.
Ahead of this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum—which has been attended by a Taliban delegation since 2022—the Kremlin handed a PR victory to the rulers of Afghanistan. The Russian foreign and justice ministries submitted a formal proposal to President Vladimir Putin to remove the Taliban from Russia’s list of designated terrorist organizations. The Taliban has been on that list since 2003, along with groups like al-Qaeda, for backing separatists in the North Caucasus back then.
In the latest issue of pamphlets released by al Qaeda’s central as-Sahab media entitled “This is Gaza: A War of Existence, Not a War of Borders,” Sayf al-Adl, believed to be al Qaeda’s current overall emir, calls on supporters around the world to migrate to Afghanistan.
Overview
Executive Summary:
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is a U.S.-designated terrorist group and al-Qaeda’s newest affiliate. Founded in September 2014, the group has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks in the region, including the September 6, 2014, attempted seizure of a Pakistan navy frigate in a naval dockyard in Karachi, Pakistan. The group has also claimed responsibility for the murders of secular activists, writers, professors, and doctors in Bangladesh. AQIS reportedly operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
Pakistan-Afghan relations are complicated and multidimensional, due to historical grievances, geopolitical realities, and volatile security concerns. Adding to the complication is India’s growing participation in Afghanistan, which Pakistan sees as a geopolitical manoeuvre to weaken its regional power. This article examines the complexities of Pakistan-Afghan relations, focusing on India’s consistent engagement in Afghanistan with the repercussions for Pakistan.