AfPak takes on a new meaning with the rise of the Taliban
Recent attacks on Kabul’s international airport by the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate raise multiple questions as well as the spectre of paradigm shifts in...
Taliban victory threatens to be a double-edged sword for Pakistan and China
Pakistani efforts to exploit the Taliban victory in Afghanistan threaten to reinforce ultra-conservative inclinations in Pakistan itself, the world’s second-most populous Muslim majority country,...
Hedging Saudi bets: Iran looms, Israel beckons, and Taliban cause goosebumps
Prince Khalid bin Salman may not have planned it that way but the timing of his visit to Moscow last week and message to...
Putting the Taliban and Mustafa Kemal on par: Mullah Omar and Ataturk would both turn in their grave
Dogu Perincek is celebrating the perceived defeat of US forces in Afghanistan. The staunchly anti-American Turkish politician doesn’t fare well in elections and has...
Afghanistan debacle potentially puts UAE on the spot
Afghanistan is showing the United Arab Emirates the downside of being a haven for deposed leaders and exiled politicians whose wealth is reportedly parked...
Taliban and Al Qaeda: Putting a fox in charge of the chicken coop?
Abu Omar Khorasani was taken from Kabul’s Pul-i-Charkhi prison and unceremoniously shot.
The first and only person to have been executed since the Taliban gained...
Defining change: Who are the Taliban that conquered Afghanistan?
Having taken control, the Taliban want the world to believe that they have become more pragmatic and inclusive in the twenty years since they...
What starts in Afghanistan does not stay in Afghanistan: China, India, and Iran grapple with the fallout
Taliban advances in Afghanistan shift the Central Asian playing field on which China, India and the United States compete with rival infrastructure-driven approaches. At...
Israel tries to bridge gap with Diaspora amid fears of strained relations with the West
Israel’s first post-Netanyahu government is seeking to rebuild fractured relations with the Jewish Diaspora and rebrand the country as a liberal rather than an...
Saudi social and economic change proves to be a delicate balancing act
The World Bank issued a stark warning in its 2018 outlook for the Saudi economy. “The Kingdom likely faces a looming poverty problem,” the...