Asia
Pakistan’s spy chief calls on Tajik President aimed rising tensions with Taliban
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon met with the Director General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Service (ISI) Muhammad Asim Malik, where both sides discussed regional and bilateral issues.
Both sides discussed the current state and prospects of political relations between Tajikistan and Pakistan, according to the press service of the head of the Republic of Tajikistan.
They also emphasized taking practical action in the direction of ensuring regional peace, stability and security, as well as ways to resolve other pressing issues of bilateral cooperation.
Emomali Rahmon, expressing satisfaction with the fruitful process of political relations between the parties, highly praised the level of mutual trust between the two states.
They stressed the need to further strengthen cooperation in the areas of combating terrorism, extremism, radicalism, drug trafficking, transnational crime and other issues of mutual interest.
The meeting between Rahmon and Malik in Dushanbe takes place while tensions between the Afghan Taliban and Islamabad have intensified over the issue of Pakistani Taliban (TTP).
From another point of view, this meeting is highly diplomatic and important because Tajikistan is the only neighboring country of Afghanistan that does not have very warm and favorable relations with the Taliban, and on the contrary, it hosts members of the National Resistance Front, one of the opposing groups of the Taliban.
Therefore, the meeting of the head of ISI with the highest official of Tajikistan can be a warning for the Taliban – a new military-political front may be forming with the support of two neighboring countries of Afghanistan against the Taliban rule based in Kabul.
Is there any other military front on the wing to deal with the Taliban government in Kabul.
This military-political front, unlike the Taliban, which is a mono-ethnic movement, is formed from all the ethnic groups in Afghanistan and has the full support of Pakistan and Tajikistan, it can pose a very serious challenge to the Taliban. But are all the conditions and facilities ready for the formation of such a front? We will try to answer this question below.
The political opponents of the Taliban are in a very chaotic and scattered situation, and after more than three years have passed since this group came to power, they have not yet been able to overcome their differences and create a large and coherent military-political front against the Kabul-based government.
However, at the local and limited level, efforts have been made in both military and political directions, and in some places, these efforts have caused trouble for the Taliban. Among them, scattered and limited military attacks of the National Resistance Front and the Freedom Front have to some extent challenged the Taliban’s claim of providing security throughout the country.
This group has repeatedly denied the existence of any resistance against itself and has even claimed that ISIS does not have a physical presence in Afghanistan. But ISIS has shown how false and baseless the Taliban’s claim is every time by carrying out deadly suicide attacks. Azadi Front and National Resistance Front also assassinate Taliban members every now and then in cities, which again exposes the lie of maintaining security by the Taliban.
Major global and regional players are preferring to interact with the Taliban rather than standing opposite
Of course, these attacks are not convincing for anyone, even the leaders of the two fronts, and the Taliban mostly do not take them seriously, because they have not been able to target large and decisive targets.
At the global and regional level, the situation is not as good as the Taliban opponents want. Major countries, as well as the majority of Afghanistan’s neighbors, prefer to interact with the Taliban rather than stand by those who, most of them, once took their test in Afghanistan’s political field and got a failing grade.
However, the primitive performance and political stubbornness that the Taliban have displayed in the past three years have caused the world to act cautiously in dealing with them. No country in the world has yet come forward to recognize the regime based in Kabul. Even regional allies of the Taliban see the expediency in informal interaction with this group rather than accepting the high risk of recognizing it and this is a source of encouragement for Taliban opponents.
In such a situation, if Pakistan and Tajikistan agree on opening a new front against the Taliban, it can increase the political weight of scattered movements against the Taliban. If the opposition has a significant brilliance in the military field, it is not even unlikely that more countries will join the military-political front desired by the Taliban opposition.
We must admit that Pakistan plays a very important and decisive role in the chronic and wide-ranging crisis in Afghanistan. Historical experience tells us that when governments based in Kabul fail to establish good relations with Pakistan, sooner or later they are doomed to collapse.
The Pakistani army manages the terror industry – one of the deadliest industries – and this country has an exceptional and unique position in the country’s politics due to having the longest border – which is very vulnerable and uncontrollable – with Afghanistan. The higher the level of conflict and tension with Islamabad, the greater the vulnerability of Afghanistan, which is never in the country’s favor.
Tajik president’s meeting with the head of Pakistan’s spy agency could be taken as the first step to form a large militarily-political front.
On the other hand, although Tajikistan is a weak country in regional political games and the resistance front and the rest of the armed opposition of the Taliban have not yet achieved significant military achievements in the battlefield with the Taliban after more than three years, Imam Ali Rahman’s meeting with the head of the ISI can be the first step to form a large military-political front.
With this description, the conditions for planning such a front are both favorable and unfavorable. This is because the regime based in Kabul has not yet been recognized and the Taliban’s ultra-reactionary dealings with citizens, especially women, will cause the world to distance itself from them or maintain its relationship at the current level.
But because the actors opposing the Taliban suffer from many weaknesses and confusion and have not succeeded in creating a big challenge for this group, there is a possibility that the opportunities that have arisen will be wasted, and finally countries like Tajikistan and Pakistan will also depend on their security and political interests. Like other countries, take the path of compromise with the Taliban. This means, favorable conditions for the formation of a large military-political front against the Taliban can soon turn into its opposite.
Beijing said it had conducted law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan in response to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to launch talks on maritime boundary delimitation.
According to a statement from the China Coast Guard, a flotilla led by the vessel Daishan carried out law enforcement patrols “in accordance with the law” on Monday.
China Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue said the operation was “a necessary action” in response to Japan and the Philippines “unilaterally announcing the start of negotiations on maritime delimitation in waters east of China’s Taiwan Island.”
“Such an announcement seriously infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty and its maritime rights and interests,” Jiang said.
“We urge Japan and the Philippines to immediately cease all illegal actions that violate China’s sovereignty and rights,” he added.
Jiang also said the coast guard would continue strengthening its control and management of the relevant waters and that China would take concrete measures to “resolutely safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
The United States and most of its allies, including Japan and the Philippines, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state and acknowledge it as part of China. The United Nations has also adopted resolutions reflecting this position. However, Washington continues to provide arms to Taiwan as part of its broader efforts to counter China and encourages its allies to do the same.
Following a summit in Tokyo between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the two countries said in a joint statement issued on Thursday that they had agreed to begin “formal negotiations” to delimit their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves.
Beijing condemned the planned talks as “completely illegal and invalid” and swiftly lodged formal diplomatic protests with both Tokyo and Manila.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday: “The so-called delimitation negotiations are entirely illegal, invalid and void. They will have no impact whatsoever on China’s claims or on China’s exercise of its legitimate rights in the area east of Taiwan Island.”
The latest escalation comes at a time when relations between Beijing and both Tokyo and Manila are already strained. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States, while China remains engaged in separate territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
As US attention and resources have increasingly shifted toward the war involving Iran, and as the White House has made the Western Hemisphere a strategic priority, Japan and the Philippines have stepped up diplomatic engagement in the region commonly referred to as the Indo-Pacific.
That effort has included building closer security and defence ties with other countries, prompting Beijing to accuse them of encouraging bloc confrontation in the region.
Japan and the Philippines do not share a maritime boundary. However, their seabed claims could overlap because both countries seek to extend their legal continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles, equivalent to 370 kilometres or 230 miles.
The overlapping area lies east of Taiwan, southwest of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and north of the Philippines’ Batanes Islands.
Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China’s highest-ranking state-affiliated think tank, said Taiwan’s EEZ and continental shelf are part of the area under discussion.
“These are China’s rights and are not something that the two sides can negotiate among themselves,” Yang said.
In an interview published on Sunday by Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, before the China Coast Guard announced the patrols, Yang said Beijing would take “historic and unprecedented” countermeasures against Tokyo and Manila.
“Since they are negotiating in a three-party overlapping zone, we can also take further steps to advance our jurisdiction in the waters east of Taiwan,” Yang said.
“If the other side insists on reckless and destructive actions, we will inevitably introduce new countermeasures.”
Yang described the waters east of Taiwan as a vital maritime area for the island’s economic activities.
“If these waters are divided between Japan and the Philippines, that would clearly harm the interests of the people living on Taiwan Island,” he added.
As artificial intelligence reshapes industrial structures in Japan and South Korea, stock market rankings are being redrawn. SoftBank Group has overtaken Toyota Motor to become Japan’s most valuable listed company.
SoftBank shares have surged as the global artificial intelligence rally gathers momentum, lifting the technology conglomerate’s market capitalisation above that of Toyota for the first time in more than two decades.
The shift reflects a broader reordering of Japan’s equity market. Automakers, alongside banks, steelmakers, energy companies and other traditional heavy industries, are losing ground to chipmakers and companies linked to artificial intelligence.
SoftBank shares jumped 14% on Monday, reaching a new record high. The company’s market value climbed to 48 trillion yen, or $301 billion, making it the most valuable company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Toyota had long held the top position, with a market capitalisation of approximately 45 trillion yen. The last time SoftBank surpassed Toyota was in March 2000, at the peak of the dot-com bubble.
SoftBank’s rapid rise has been driven by strong earnings performance and its substantial investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI.
The Japanese company reported net profit of 1.82 trillion yen, or $11.4 billion, for the first three months of 2026, 3.5 times higher than in the same period a year earlier. The group is also increasing its investment in OpenAI, completing a $10 billion investment in April and committing to invest an additional $20 billion later this year. Total investment is expected to reach roughly $65 billion.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI plans to file for an initial public offering and aims to list in the United States as early as September. Some media reports suggest the company could seek to raise $60 billion through the offering, potentially valuing it at more than $1 trillion. Such a transaction could become the largest initial public offering in history.
Investors expect the IPO to significantly boost SoftBank’s investment gains. Those expectations have helped drive the technology group’s share price higher. SoftBank shares have risen about 127% since early April.
The company is also planning to invest up to 14 trillion yen in the construction of data centres in France.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing, where the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and oversaw the signing of multiple cooperation agreements. Xi also awarded Vucic the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China.
The meeting between Xi Jinping and Aleksandar Vucic began with an official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The two leaders then proceeded to formal talks. Xi said China and Serbia had achieved “positive results” since jointly launching the construction of a “China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era” in 2024.
Xi said the partnership had not only benefited the two peoples but had also set an example for international relations.
The Chinese president described relations between China and Serbia as an “iron friendship” based on deep historical ties and mutual trust.
Calling on both sides to strengthen exchanges, deepen practical cooperation and continue supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests, Xi also said the two countries should align their development strategies and advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. In this context, he pointed to transport, energy and infrastructure projects.
Xi also called for expanding cooperation in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green energy and advanced manufacturing.
Aleksandar Vucic congratulated China on the start of implementation of its 15th Five-Year Plan. Vucic also expressed confidence in China’s future development under Xi Jinping’s leadership.
The Serbian president said Belgrade attached great importance to relations with China and firmly supported Beijing on issues concerning China’s core interests.
Vucic thanked Chinese companies for their contributions to Serbia’s economic development and infrastructure construction.
Saying the two countries had made notable progress since establishing their comprehensive strategic partnership, Vucic added that cooperation had expanded across numerous sectors.
The Serbian president also praised China’s role in international affairs, saying Beijing approached smaller countries on the basis of equality and respect and defended international law.
Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements covering politics, trade, science and technology, education, legal affairs and culture.
The two sides also issued joint statements on steadily advancing the construction of a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era and jointly supporting the implementation of four global initiatives.
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