Courtesy: Haroon Sabawoon
The Taliban’s rapid advance towards Kabul shows clear signs of learning from previous failures. The chances of a revival of the old Northern Alliance are minimal. Regional powers are left with the option of maintaining diplomatic contact with the Taliban whilst not taking any assurances on trust.
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The Taliban should have been reintegrated into Afghan society several years ago. It is now probably too late to persuade them to accept anything less than a dominant role in Kabul. However, Turkey, Pakistan and the United States may have one last chance to pressure the antagonists into a negotiated settlement, perhaps along the following lines.
Courtesy: Tim Willasey-Wilsey
U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden has an ancestral connect with India, as does his vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris, both tracing it back to Chennai, then Madras. During the 19th century, brothers Christopher and William Biden worked for the East India company, taking the rather arduous ship route between London and India. While William died at an early age, Christopher went on to Captain several ships during his service and eventually settled down to a prosperous life in Madras.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Pakistan’s recent claims on Junagadh is a response to its frustration that the big powers and Islamic world have failed to respond to India’s unilateral action in revoking Article 370 and incorporating Ladakh and Kashmir under New Delhi’s federal control. But the continuing claim is only damaging to Pakistan’s cause.
Courtesy: Welcome Collection/Capt.C. Moss
A pandemic tests governments' performance against four policy dilemmas; from preventing panic and economic collapse to calibrating the severity of response and controlling the narrative. The writer harks back to the agonies of the Bombay plague of 1896 and the dilemmas left unresolved
Courtesy: Shutterstock
The signing of an agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban on February 29 may result in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which is contingent upon the Taliban’s adherence to certain conditions. The end of the West’s 19-year-long Afghan campaign – if Pakistan does not turn spoiler – is of vital interest to India
Courtesy: pakchina.pk
Gwadar has lain in relative obscurity since 1958 when Oman sold it to Pakistan. It was only 50 years later that the Chinese ‘rediscovered’ it. Pakistan and China have much to learn from the British experience of this strategic asset
Courtesy: Wikimedia
As the United States considers its policy options towards North Korea it must understand that Pyongyang has been thinking about military conflict for decades. It too will have military plans and they could pose major challenges for the U.S. This is why China and South Korea–and U.S. regional experts too–prefer the diplomatic route
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
A Pakistani committee has recommended to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that Gilgit-Baltistan should be declared the country’s fifth province. For 70 years Pakistan has avoided integrating its occupied parts of Kashmir for fear of damaging its legal position. That calculation may now have changed
Courtesy: Flickr/ResoluteSupportMedia
The Russians have concluded that the Afghan Taliban offer a better shield against the Islamic State than the old Northern Alliance. A negotiated settlement in Afghanistan could be achieved if Washington and New Delhi join Moscow, Beijing, Islamabad and Tehran in a joint effort.
