https://www.scmp.com/rss/523009/feed The latest news and top stories on Abdul Basit, a Senior Associate Fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), where he also heads the South Asia desk at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR). en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan is hoping that its role in building a diplomatic off-ramp from the US-Israel war on Iran will enable it to become a key actor in the Middle East after the conflict ends, analysts say. If Islamabad can deliver without being sucked into the maelstrom, it can capitalise on its position as peacemaker by signing defence deals with Gulf monarchies and attracting investment from them to strengthen its weak economy. This will help finance Pakistan’s military expansion for its envisioned new... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348621/pakistan-eyes-gulf-investment-defence-deals-return-playing-peacemaker-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348621/pakistan-eyes-gulf-investment-defence-deals-return-playing-peacemaker-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:21:16 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are locked in a widening tit-for-tat confrontation that neither side seems willing to defuse, analysts said, warning the exchanges risked settling into a prolonged conflict along one of Asia’s most volatile borders. Islamabad has vowed to keep striking military targets inside Afghanistan until the Taliban takes action against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups Pakistan says operate from Afghan soil. Pakistani warplanes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344965/pakistan-taliban-showdown-risks-becoming-protracted-war-attrition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344965/pakistan-taliban-showdown-risks-becoming-protracted-war-attrition?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:00:08 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Fears are mounting of worsening violence across Pakistan’s mineral-rich Balochistan province following a string of armed attacks in recent days that have left hundreds dead, as Islamabad’s security forces struggle to deal with insurgents who continue to exploit local grievances. Pakistan has ruled out talks with the insurgents who seized control of security installations and administrative centres in more than a dozen urban areas during a lightning coordinated operation on Saturday. A total of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342424/violence-balochistan-rages-pakistan-rules-out-talks-insurgents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342424/violence-balochistan-rages-pakistan-rules-out-talks-insurgents?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 04:01:41 +0000 Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal Tom Hussain,Sarmad Iqbal In the predawn hours of a recent October morning, more than 10,000 riot police and paramilitary troops swept through the streets of a small city on the outskirts of Lahore, seeking to end a cycle of violence and capitulation that had dictated the tempo of Pakistan’s democracy for years. Their target? Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline Islamist movement that repeatedly paralysed major cities with its deadly protests, forced ministers into humiliating retreats and wielded the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331105/blasphemy-politics-why-pakistan-finally-declared-tlp-terrorist-organisation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331105/blasphemy-politics-why-pakistan-finally-declared-tlp-terrorist-organisation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Nov 2025 08:00:14 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Pakistan has vowed to respond to future terrorist attacks launched from Afghanistan with overwhelming military force after deadly cross-border clashes over the weekend, with the conflict setting the stage for prolonged hostilities between Islamabad and the Taliban regime. Analysts say the fighting, sparked by retaliatory Pakistani air strikes against insurgents in Kabul and the eastern Afghan province of Paktika on Thursday, is unlikely to break into an all-out war, but a diplomatic solution... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328926/pakistan-vows-no-compromise-against-taliban-patience-wears-thin-after-deadly-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328926/pakistan-vows-no-compromise-against-taliban-patience-wears-thin-after-deadly-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 08:30:17 +0000 Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen The meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao last month was the first time that cabinet ministers from Pakistan and India had been in the same room since a deadly conflict in early May. The defence ministers from the two neighbours were in China under the umbrella of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional political, security and economic group. This week it was the turn of SCO foreign ministers, who met in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin. It, too, was a rare... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318723/can-china-backed-sco-convince-india-and-pakistan-resolve-their-differences?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318723/can-china-backed-sco-convince-india-and-pakistan-resolve-their-differences?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:00:10 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju India’s failure to rally international backing for its claims that Pakistan was behind a recent deadly militant attack in Kashmir has exposed the limits of its diplomatic influence. The setback has raised questions about India’s ability to mobilise multilateral platforms in its favour, despite being a prominent member of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the US-backed Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), according to analysts. At the SCO meeting in Qingdao on June 25,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317231/indias-global-clout-doubt-after-failing-sway-sco-quad-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317231/indias-global-clout-doubt-after-failing-sway-sco-quad-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 10:00:16 +0000