The Taliban officially declared the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in a tweet with a photo of the country’s logo, August 19, 2021 4. The ‘X’ Factor in Kabul The Chinese commentaries vehemently reject the western claims of democratic transformation in Afghanistan. A conversation on Tuesday between the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan — 3
Top Taliban leader from the Haqqani Network called on former Afghan President Hamid Karzai with a delegation to discuss the formation of an inclusive government, Kabul, August 18, 2021 3. The Return of the Native There is immense curiosity about the Taliban’s first moves following the dramatic return to Kabul after two decades. The big question …
Reflections on the Events in Afghanistan – 2
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (second from Left) in talks with the visiting composite delegation of senior Afghan politicians of erstwhile Northern Alliance, Islamabad, Aug 16, 2021 2. The green shoots of politics are reappearing The explosion of life is unstoppable. The first buds are edging their roots from the dirt no sooner than Ashraf …
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Reflections on Events in Afghanistan
The Taliban fighters posing for family photo and relaxing in the Presidential Palace, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug 15, 2021 1. Collapse of the Afghan Army Social media reported that at the Kabul residence of the Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib who post-haste fled to Tajikistan on Saturday with President Ashraf Ghani, three Toyota Landcruiser SUVs …
Russia, China circle the wagons. Iran is in it.
10000 troops from PLA’s Western Theatre Command and Russia’s Eastern Military District wrapped up Zapad/Interaction-2021 exercises in Ningxia region, east of Xinjiang, August 13, 2021 The Tehran Times reported on Wednesday that Moscow has conveyed to Tehran that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has reached a consensus on Iran’s admission as a full member of the …
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Taliban neutralises the Afghan warlords
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visited the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif besieged by the Taliban, August 11, 2021 The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Wednesday had an air of high drama — the C-in-C visiting the frontline — even as the Taliban’s relentless onslaught is bringing it close …
Russia-Israel ties are like matryoshka dolls
Traditional Matryoshka nesting dolls in a Moscow store It does not take much effort to plant a rumour in West Asia. There is no other region where, perhaps, rumours are the lifeblood of politics and politics is the stuff of rumours. A rumoured crisis in the Russia-Israel relationship is making waves lately. It all began …
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Don’t waste the opportunity at UN SC
India’s thirty-day tenure through August as the president of the UN Security Council has got mired in needless controversy. The issue is about the “emergency meeting” regarding Afghanistan that India convened on Friday. According to Pakistan, it had made a “a formal request” for participation in the meeting but India turned it down. Prima facie, …
Spectre of Syria haunts Afghanistan
Fencing of Durand Line is almost complete. Pakistani troops guarding the border with Afghanistan in Khyber The Moscow daily Vedomosti with links to the establishment has reported that Russia will give “limited military support” to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the event of attacks from Afghanistan, including weapons supplies, air support and deployment of special forces, but …
A new dawn breaks in Tehran
On Thursday, Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi takes the oath of office in a ceremony in the Majlis in Tehran. This will be a defining moment in the Islamic Republic’s political history, since in many ways, the country is at the crossroads. The Islamic system continues to enjoy a broad social base but erosion is …