The first-ever direct Iranian attack on Israel has brought the conflict between the two countries “out of the shadows and into the light”.
Investigators have uncovered evidence linking last month’s deadly attack on the Karakoram Highway to the same Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan cell that killed nine Chinese nationals in a 2021 bombing on the same road.
Using Afghanistan as a homebase, Isis cells have hit targets in Russia, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey this year. Baloch separatists have also stepped up their attacks on Chinese interests in South Asia.
Isis-C is the “main perpetrator” and received “some help” from Isis-K with the latter present in Moscow before the attack, analysts say.
Monday’s operation targeted the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant faction, which claimed responsibility for the attack on a military outpost that left seven soldiers dead.
With ceasefire talks stalled, fears are growing that events will ‘spiral out of control’ in Gaza, where deaths from malnutrition and dehydration are adding to the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel’s months-long bombardment.
People in north Gaza have resorted to eating animal fodder and wild food, amid reports of children dying from malnutrition and dehydration at two hospitals.
A weak coalition led by ex-PM Shehbaz Sharif and the military’s preferred parties is also what the country’s establishment wished for.
Imran Khan’s PTI party won the most seats but its biggest rivals – the PML-N party of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari’s PPP – have won enough seats between them to form a government.
Some politicians have called for the polls to be postponed, but the Election Commission of Pakistan says Thursday’s vote will go on.
Consensus among poll watchers is that no single party will win a majority in Pakistan’s National Assembly on February 8, which is expected to further empower its military-led establishment and do little to politically stabilise the country.
Observers say Islamabad is ‘signalling’ to Narendra Modi’s administration ahead of India’s elections later this year. New Delhi carried out cross-border strikes on Pakistani militants before its last polls in 2019.
The two countries have a “joint interest in combating the menace” of Baloch militants waging war against both sides, a Pakistani official says.
China has key economic interests in Pakistan and may ‘look dimly on attacks’ in the Balochistan province by Iran.
The course of events will affect Washington’s credibility as a stabilising force in the Middle East as it comes under pressure from allies and adversaries, analysts say.
PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif needs seats in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to become Pakistan’s PM for an unprecedented fourth time. But Imran Khan’s PTI won’t make it easy – nor will voter apathy.
The deal to buy fifth-generation FC-31 Gyrfalcon jets reflects Pakistan and China’s ‘joint strategy and synergy to neutralise the threat emanating from India’, analysts say.
With Modi on course for a third term, Jokowi lining up a new political dynasty and the opposition hamstrung in both Pakistan and Bangladesh, illiberal democracy looks likely to be the biggest winner of this year’s polls.
Israel’s relentless Gaza offensive has prompted a slew of attacks by Iran-backed militias that are straining regional diplomatic efforts to contain the conflict. The result could be ‘a huge mess’ for all involved, analysts say.
As Saudi Arabia draws closer to a peace deal with Yemen’s Houthi fighters, ‘escalatory actions’ could trigger another conflict in the Middle East that does not serve Saudi or US interests, analysts say.
The coup directly preceded Qatar’s spectacular shift to liquefied natural gas, powering its ascent to heavyweight status on the diplomatic world stage.
The US has imposed a visa ban against anyone “undermining security” in the West Bank including “extremist Israeli settlers”.
The event will coincide with the completion of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s US$1.25 trillion programme to ‘transform’ Saudi Arabia into a modern powerhouse.
The truce will give parties a chance to build trust, but it will not last long given Israel’s determination to eradicate Hamas, analysts say.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is taking ‘minimum’ military actions against Israel to show its support for other militant groups.
More than a month into the conflict, Arab and Muslim states have not sought to build a diplomatic consensus on bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza.
Attempts to stifle anti-Israel dissent are creating a polarised environment along racial, religious and generational lines, analysts warn.
Work on the project, which aims to seamlessly link India and Europe, will be ‘paused’ due to inflamed public opinion in Arab countries and Israel.
Brokering a ceasefire appears all but impossible amid the escalating violence, as fears grow of a massive humanitarian crisis – and Israel vows to wipe the Palestinian militant group ‘off the face of the Earth’.
The Israel-Gaza war is set to put the region on a knife-edge with risks of escalation involving Iran, its Lebanon-based ally Hezbollah and even others.
