Central Asia

Zabihullah Mujahid

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 […]

Refugees stuck between Poland and Belarus

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 […]

Anti-Taliban rebels

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 […]

Taliban takes control of Kabul

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

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 […]

Taliban’s elite military unit

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 […]

US drone strike

Droning Disasters: A US Strike On Kabul

No more profoundly disturbing statement was needed.  In the dying days of the official US departure from Kabul, a US drone etched its butcher’s legacy with a strike supposedly intended for the blood-lusty terrorist group ISIS-K, an abbreviation of Islamic State in Khorasan Province.  Its members had taken responsibility for […]

Biden meets remains

Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (X)

10. Taliban has a package deal with US. Coast is clear for new government in Kabul. The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed today in an interview with CBS “Face the Nation” the evolving relationship between Washington and the Afghan Taliban. Three things emerge. First, Sullivan disclosed that “over-the-horizon […]

Is The Defeat In Afghanistan Aimed At Embarrassing Russia And China?

Washington is, since September 11, 2001, in the hands of the followers of the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski doctrine. The United States is now behaving like a racketeer. The chaos will continue in Afghanistan for a long time. Russian, Chinese and European companies who wish to do so will be able to mine in Afghanistan, but only if they entrust their security to the US forces. Those who refuse this protection will be eliminated.