... offensive, and a civil war – or something approaching it – is likely. In this conflict, the Taliban is likely to expand the swath of Afghan territory that it controls.
Combined with a reduction in U.S. drone strikes against militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, this would allow militants a “safer-haven” to regroup and grow stronger. Peace overtures and Taliban-friendly attitudes from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government in Islamabad and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf government in Khyber ...
... ensure a balanced policy in South Asia, Russia is likely to seek to strengthen economic cooperation with Pakistan in part by helping build gas pipelines from Iran and Turkmenistan. The construction of the IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) and TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipelines can is unlikely to come to pass before the end of the forecast period or even later. Russia will probably participate in the CASA-1000 project to transfer the extra electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and ...
... in Ainak to the south of Kabul looks as an exception. Generally, China is more interested in Pakistan as a partner and ally that provides strategic depth against India. In its Asian politics, Islamabad, in its turn, heavily relies on Beijing. In 2011 Pakistan reportedly asked China to “take upon” the U.S. role in Afghanistan as well as sought major increases in Chinese aid and support to allow Pakistan to reduce its dependence on US aid. Pakistan also has made a point in 2011 describing China as an “all weather” friend compared to the U.S., which it sees as ...
... than eight meters long with the takeoff weight of up to one ton capable of carrying various types of armament including missiles.
It enabled the US to employ large UAVs to deliver pinpoint attacks across the territory of foreign countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. A non-existent risk of operator seizure in case of the UAV crash makes the drone an ideal instrument in operations conducted with the violation of other’s sovereignty. Tactically, the UAVs are well-suited for the destruction of individual ...
