Zubair Mumtaz

The Taliban’s Shadow Support for Baloch Insurgency

The Taliban's covert backing of the Baloch insurgency fuels instability in Pakistan. With safe havens in Afghanistan, BLA and TTP escalate attacks, pushing Pakistan into deeper security turmoil.

Europe’s Far-Right Revival: Unpacking the Surge

The far-right is gaining increasing power across Europe, with several countries now having right-politico parties in government or as major political forces including France...

Another Crescent: Iran’s Brewing Influence in the Sahel Region

Iran's influence in the Sahel region is a complex and multifaceted issue that will continue to evolve in the coming years. Iran's influence in...

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The New Power Centers of Sports Diplomacy: Cities, Capital, and Code

If power in sport now lives in city halls, boardrooms, and algorithms—not stadiums—how will the U.S. wield cities, capital, and code as it hosts the world’s biggest events over the next decade?

Four Years On, Ukraine’s War Still Refuses to End

Four years on, Ukraine’s war drags across 1,200 km, cities in ruins and millions displaced. Russia entrenched, Kyiv defiant, the West divided—how long can a war of attrition outlast political will before exhaustion decides the peace?

How Timor-Leste Uses Tourism to Cement Its ASEAN Role

After joining ASEAN in 2025, Timor-Leste is leveraging sustainable, high-value tourism to boost soft power, diversify beyond oil, and cement its regional role—positioning itself as Southeast Asia’s next authentic frontier, not its next mass market.

How Far is Cuba From a Total Collapse?

How close is Cuba to collapse? Energy strangulation, fading allies, and Trump’s oil squeeze after Venezuela’s shift have left Havana isolated and rationing. For the first time in decades, the regime’s survival feels uncertain.

The Maghreb’s New Architecture: Beyond the Myth of the Algerian Pillar

Madrid 2026 wasn’t diplomacy—it was redesign. Washington moves past Algeria’s veto politics, backs Morocco’s autonomy plan, and seeds a Tunis-Rabat axis built on energy sovereignty, phosphates, and geo-economic integration. The Maghreb’s balance is shifting.