The Times of Central Asia: The United States and its allies may be uneasy about the Taliban’s return to power, given their extremist history, continued repression, and the collapse of decades-long Western efforts in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the Taliban is strengthening ties with the Global South—particularly Central Asia—in search of investment for railway infrastructure. For landlocked
Ariana: Former U.S. special envoy for Afghan peace talks, Zalmay Khalilzad, has issued a stark warning about China’s accelerating efforts to dominate Central Asia’s vast mineral wealth. He urged Washington—specifically the Trump administration—to act swiftly before Beijing consolidates its hold over the region’s critical resources. Khalilzad emphasized that countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
Ariana: In an interview with the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Kokov emphasized that despite the cessation of large-scale military operations, “instability that threatens neighboring countries” still persists in Afghanistan. “There is particular concern over the plans of supporters of the international terrorist organization ISIS, who are active in the region and aim to export terrorism
Euronews: Afghanistan is rapidly constructing the Qosh Tepa Canal, a waterway meant to help irrigate more than 500,000 hectares of its arid northern regions, for which it will redirect 20–30% of the Amu Darya River flow. Besides Afghanistan, the Amu Darya flows through Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, with the last two countries being downstream. The
Michael Hughes: Islamabad appears to be laying the groundwork for regional partnerships to strangle Afghanistan from all sides as tensions escalate with the Taliban over cross-border attacks resulting in decade-high deaths of Pakistani troops. However, although Pakistan has found a willing ally in Tajikistan, it will be harder to secure cooperation from other actors in
Khaama: The Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) warned that the risk of terrorism spreading in Central Asia remains persistent. Imangali Tasmagambetov emphasized that the CSTO continues to monitor the challenges and threats emanating from Afghanistan. On Thursday, November 7, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported that Tasmagambetov, referring to Afghanistan, stated that
Ariana: The United States and its allies are making pretexts for resuming their military presence in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Speaking at the Second Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security in Minsk, Lavrov said that the US and its allies are trying to destablize the situation in Afghanistan. Earlier, Lavrov had said
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan’s trade with Pakistan has plummeted since the rise of the Taliban 2.0 regime, driven by political rows and security issues, and to compensate Kabul is hoping to enhance commerce with Iran, India, and neighbors across Central Asia. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have resulted in closure of trade routes and stiff tariffs
Afghanistan International: Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, expressed concern regarding the problems in exporting Afghan traders’ products and threatened Pakistan that it will close the Central Asian route for Pakistani goods. Stanikzai said at a meeting in Logar province on Wednesday that they face problems at the borders when Afghanistan’s crops come to
James Durso: Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, recently declared he will defeat the Taliban “no matter the odds.” For Massoud to mount a military threat to the Taliban, he would need the cooperation of the Central Asian republics, Iran or Pakistan (among others) to do the job. However, Afghanistan’s