Pakistan

The militant Islamic State group's local branch claimed responsibility for an attack on this Chinese-owned hotel in Kabul in December.
Asia Insight

China risks militants' wrath in Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond

Beijing reduces Islamabad presence as myriad groups find Asian giant a useful target

21 February 2023
A jail in Karachi: Many vulnerable Afghan refugees, including women and children, await deportation after being arrested by Pakistani police. (Photo by Jamaima Afridi)
Afghanistan turmoil

Afghan women, children in Pakistan jails spotlight refugee policy

Experts see Islamabad-Kabul tensions behind stricter approach

18 February 2023
The departures area at Islamabad International Airport: The dire state of Pakistan's economy and growing concerns about security are pushing citizens to the exit.
Economy

Pakistan brain drain accelerates in latest threat to ailing economy

Experts warn of talent erosion after nearly 1m workers left in 2022

16 February 2023
Pakistan briefly sought to ban Wikipedia before intervention from the top. Activists say the move is part of a larger pattern of trying to control the internet. (Source photos by AP and Yuki Kohara)
Politics

Pakistan bans, then unblocks, Wikipedia amid digital freedom fight

Government's internet policy could have profound economic effects: experts

7 February 2023
Soldiers and rescue workers survey the damage after a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Terrorism

Deadly Peshawar mosque attack clouds Pakistan election timeline

Leaders ask for unity against terrorism after suicide bombing kills at least 100

1 February 2023
Taliban soldiers stand guard in Mes Aynak valley, around 40 km from Kabul, where China is eyeing massive copper reserves.
Terrorism

China's mining ambitions in Afghanistan haunted by militants

ISIS-K steps up threats and attacks as Beijing eyes oil and copper

26 January 2023
Motorists wait at a gas station in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Jan. 24, the day after a countrywide power outage.
Economy

Pakistan faces oil drought warnings as forex woes plague industry

Official indirectly links recent major blackout to conservation measures

25 January 2023
Tight supply, accompanied by increased demand as China reopens, could cause a global shortage of cotton.
Commodities

Cotton market faces price hike risk on Pakistan supply woes

Possible export limits in India and drought in U.S. compound worries

25 January 2023
Men reach out for subsidized flour in Karachi on Jan. 10: Pakistan's situation has only worsened.
Opinion

Pakistan will need yet more rescues unless it embraces reform

Lenders should insist that government reduce spending on elites and military

19 January 2023
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a news conference in Lahore on Nov. 4, 2022.
Politics

Pakistan elections seen imminent after assembly dissolutions

Polls only way out of political crisis as ex-PM Khan strikes back against Sharif

17 January 2023
The economic crisis in Pakistan likely prompted army chief Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir to directly ask wealthy Saudi Arabia and the UAE for new monetary assistance. (Nikkei montage/AP)
International relations

Pakistan army chief assumes loan diplomacy role amid forex crisis

Munir's Saudi Arabia, UAE trips likely timed to avert Islamabad debt default

11 January 2023
An unregistered Afghan refugee near the Torkham border crossing in Pakistan: Women have compelling reasons to flee a regime that is stripping away their rights but face an uncertain future in crisis-hit Pakistan. (Photo by Jamaima Afridi)
Asia Insight

Afghan women fleeing to Pakistan trade precarious life for another

U.N. seeks 'durable solutions' in 2023 as Islamabad's crises cloud outlook

10 January 2023
Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das speaks at an IMF event on Jan. 6, in this screenshot captured from the IMF's livestream.
Economy

RBI chief's South Asia prescriptions: productivity, energy security

At IMF event, Shaktikanta Das lists priorities for stable growth in troubled region

6 January 2023
Pakistani soldiers guard a road leading to Bannu on Dec. 20 where TTP militants took hostages at a counterterrorism center.
Terrorism

Pakistan hints at strikes in Afghanistan amid twin Taliban threats

Experts warn of worsening cross-border ties, say U.S. support essential

6 January 2023
The leader of a rights movement in Pakistan's port town of Gwadar argues residents are not benefiting from China-backed development.
Belt and Road

Pakistan's Belt and Road hub Gwadar hit by protest clampdown

Tensions risk damaging town's prospects as Chinese investment destination

2 January 2023
A selection of Nikkei Asia's most memorable magazine covers from 2022. 
The Big Story

Chips, churches and China: The best of the Big Story 2022

A look back at some of Nikkei Asia's most memorable cover stories of the year

28 December 2022
Rescue workers and police officers gather at the site of a suicide car bombing in Islamabad on Dec. 23. 
Terrorism

Suicide bombing in Islamabad kills 2 suspects and policeman

Attack comes two days after a Pakistani military operation killed 25 TTP militants

24 December 2022
A trader counts dollars at a currency exchange booth in Peshawar, Pakistan in September 2021. Insiders say unauthorized dealers are siphoning dollars from legal channels.
Economy

Pakistan's dollar profiteers prosper as banks, businesses suffer

Greenbacks smuggled in orange crates to Afghan border in pursuit of fat margins

23 December 2022
Security officers guard a road leading to a counterterrorism center in Bannu, Pakistan that was seized by Taliban militants.
Opinion

Pakistan will need more than force to quash its Taliban threat

Authorities must work with local residents to squeeze out militants

23 December 2022
Chinese workers arrive in Gwadar, Pakistan, in 2017. A local protest leader has warned Chinese nationals to leave as he pressures the Pakistani government to meet his demands.
International relations

Gwadar protest leader warns Chinese to leave key Belt and Road port

Pakistani government faces increasingly confrontational local rights movement

22 December 2022
A man injured by shells fired by Afghan forces receives treatment at a hospital in Chaman, Pakistan, on Dec. 15.
International relations

Pakistan-Afghanistan ties fray as Taliban forces shell civilians

Experts see Islamabad maintaining restraint despite multiple deaths near border

17 December 2022
U.S.-based think tank ITIF has linked a 1-unit rise on a data restrictiveness index to a 0.5% drop in annual trade for five markets in Asia. (Source photos by Rie Ishii and Reuters)
Technology

Data curbs from Vietnam to Indonesia to hit trade by up to 9%: study

Asia learned 'all the wrong lessons' of China tech crackdown, think tank says

12 December 2022
A crude oil tanker is anchored at a terminal near the Russian port of Nakhodka on Dec. 4. Pakistan is poised to import oil from Russia by sea.
International relations

Pakistan to buy discounted Russian oil to ease economic pains

Experts downplay worries over irking U.S., Islamabad faces long wait for LNG

9 December 2022
Pakistani security officials inspect a damaged truck at the site of suicide bombing on the outskirts of Quetta on Nov. 30.
International relations

U.S. signals support for Pakistan against resurgent terror threats

'Full set of tools' to fight Taliban group, al-Qaida branch hiding in Afghanistan

7 December 2022
Stream article image
Women's Wealth

From Pakistan to the Philippines, women break open closed industries

Female pioneers make their mark as combat pilots, cricketers and chip technologists

7 December 2022