17. Foreign Devils on the Silk Road The title of an unputdownable 1980 classic by Peter Hopkirk comes to mind even as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation are preparing to hold back-to-back summit meetings at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on September 17. Foreign Devils on the Silk […]
War and Peace in Afghanistan
Humanitarian Assistance To Afghanistan
War-torn Afghanistan is facing severe challenges. The abrupt evacuation of the US troops, and instant surrender of the Afghan National Army, have not given time for the Taliban to plan for governance. The irony is that while leaving Afghanistan, the US has frozen all assets and damaged the infrastructure of […]
Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XVI)
16. Biden’s Taliban blues The best part of the visit by the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Patrushev to New Delhi (September 7-8) was that the two countries may embark upon a voyage of discovery of each other at a phase in their relationship when […]
Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XV)
15. Enter regional states The Taliban hoisted their black and white flag on the presidential palace in Kabul on September 11, which happens to be the twentieth anniversary of the Al-Qaeda’s attack on New York and Washington, DC. The symbolism is too obvious to be missed. Although the Taliban had […]
Afghan Protests: Foreign-Financed Color Revolution Or Genuine Grievances?
Regardless of whether one sympathizes with those protesters’ causes or not, it should be acknowledged that these disturbances could greatly destabilize Afghanistan at one of its most sensitive moments in modern history amid its historic political transition back to de facto Taliban rule following the West’s withdrawal last month after […]
Taliban Get A Government!
The regional states will be shell-shocked by the brazen way Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government that is guaranteed to preserve Rawalpindi’s control over the levers of power in Kabul. There are several things to be noted about […]
Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XIV)
14. The fall of Panjshir Panjshir has fallen to the Taliban with a bang — and a whimper. The bang is because a 40-year old legend lies shattered, the legend of the invincibility of Panjshir Valley. And the whimper is because the short-lived ‘resistance’ had a tame ending. A BBC […]
Weaponised Refugees And Hybrid Attacks
Refugees and asylum seekers provide rich pickings for demagogues and political opportunists. The Australian approach politicises their plight by arguing that they are illegitimate depending on the way they arrive, namely, by boat. The twentieth anniversary of the MV Tampa’s attempt to dock at Christmas Island with over 400 such […]
Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XIII)
13. Panjshir revolt becomes footnote At the daily foreign ministry briefing in Beijing on Friday, Russian correspondent of Sputnik asked spokesperson Ambassador Wang Wenbin how China viewed the Taliban decision to attack Panjshir and how this will affect the Afghan situation. Ambassador Wang replied that “it is China’s sincere hope […]
Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XII)
12. To recognise, or not to recognise, that’s the question At the weekly briefing in Moscow on Thursday by the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Russia will consider recognising Afghanistan’s new authorities once an inclusive government is formed in the country. To quote Zakharova, “We call for the […]
Chinese-Russian Cooperation Is The Key To Afghan Peace
These major countries have pivotal roles to play through the Extended Troika, the SCO, the non-Western alternative financial institutions that they participate in, bilaterally with Afghanistan, and jointly with one another and that war-torn country. China and Russia can help Afghanistan politically, in terms of security, and financially. Chinese President […]
Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XI)
11. US slips out of Kabul but is vengeful The back-to-back press briefings on August 30 by General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr, commander, US Central Command and Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, on Afghanistan conveys the picture of a superpower badly bruised and embittered but remaining vengeful. This is bad […]
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