The world this week | Afghanistan-Pakistan relations break down, India’s Nyoma air base, and Trump’s U-turn on migration policy

What is Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan?

The TTP emerged as an umbrella coalition of around 40 jihadist militant groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan in 2007.

TTP’s objectives: To overthrow the Pakistani government and establish an Islamic State based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Key figures in TTP:

1. Baitullah Mehsud, founder

2. Hakimullah Mehsud, leader from 2009-2023

3. Maulana Fazlullah, aka Mullah Radio, who is the current leader. Before he became the chief of TTP, Fazlullah was most known for ordering the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai in 2012.

Links with Afghan Taliban: Like the Afghan Taliban, the TTP is also dominated by Pashtuns and envisions the unification of the ethnic group spread across Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the TTP.

How Pakistan-Afghanistan talks collapsed: According to Mullah Rahmatullah Najib, the Deputy Director of Intelligence of Afghanistan, Pakistan had three main demands from Afghanistan – prevention of anti-security incidents in Pakistan, relocation of groups opposing the Pakistani government to Afghanistan, and issuance of a fatwa by the Islamic Emirate declaring the war against the Pakistani government as illegitimate.

Eliminating ISIS hideouts in Pakistan and refraining from violating Afghanistan’s airspace were among the main demands of Afghanistan.

Negotiations between Afghanistan and Pakistan took place in three rounds, with the last round held on November 7 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Russian troops closing in on Pokrovsk

Russian troops are closing in on the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, making it the most significant territorial gain for Moscow in 2025. Russia launched the offensive to seize Pokrovsk in July 2024, but for more than a year, the Ukrainians had managed to hold the invading army off.

Where is Pokrovsk?

Located in the Donetsk Oblast region of eastern Ukraine, Pokrovsk had a population of around 60,000 before the war.

Why does Russia want Pokrovsk?

Pokrovsk is a vital Ukrainian stronghold and logistical hub in the Donbas region. Pokrovsk is the gateway to Donetsk, and its capture would enable Russia to push further north toward Ukraine’s remaining major cities in the region, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. The capture of Pokrovsk has been the primary objective for Russia’s 2025 offensive and could turn out to be its most significant territorial achievement in nearly two years.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month said that Russian troops outnumbered Ukrainian forces eight-to-one in their offensive to capture Pokrovsk.

Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russia was concentrating about 1,50,000 troops on a drive to capture Pokrovsk.

India’s Nyoma air base near China border becomes operational

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday, November 12, inaugurated a new military airbase in Nyoma, southeastern Ladakh. The inaugural landing was performed by Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, who landed the C-130J special operations aircraft at the Mudh-Nyoma air force station in Ladakh.

Located at an altitude of 4,200 metres, the Nyoma air base is one of the highest airfields in the world, and the temperatures there can drop to -40 degree Celsius in winter.

Nyoma air base infrastructure: The Nyoma air base is equipped with a new 2.7 to 3-kilometre “rigid pavement” runway, capable of handling fighter jets like the Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI, as well as heavy transport aircraft such as the C-17 Globemaster III. It also includes a new Air Traffic Control complex, hangars, and supporting infrastructure.

Strategic importance: Nyoma air base is located in Ladakh, around 35 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The location makes Nyoma air base a key asset for the IAF, especially to mobilise troops and supplies to forward areas in eastern Ladakh, including Pangong Tso, Demchok, and Depsang.

Trump realises US needs immigrant workers, foreign students

If there is one thing that defines Donald Trump’s presidency, it is ‘America First’. Be it jobs, trade, or foreign policy, Trump has always put America first. One of the ways Trump enforced his policy was by making immigration to the US, be it for jobs or for studies, difficult. Trump particularly targeted the H-1B visa for foreign workers and the F-1 visa for international students by making the process to get them difficult and expensive. Trump justified it, saying it would encourage companies to hire more Americans, and more American students would get admitted to colleges and universities.

But Trump seems to be having second thoughts on visa restrictions. In a recent interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, Trump defended the H-1B visa program, arguing that the US needs to bring in foreign talent for some specialised jobs, arguing that the US lacked talented people in some key sectors.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent topped it up by calling the policy change a “knowledge transfer”. According to Bessent, skilled foreign workers will be allowed to come to the United States to train Americans for high-skilled jobs, after which they will be expected to “go back home”.

Similarly, on foreign students, Trump said, they were good for business and a vital source of income for many struggling American colleges and universities.

US visa in numbers: The annual cap for new H-1B visas is 85,000, including 65,000 regular visas and an additional 20,000 visas for beneficiaries with a US master’s degree or higher.

In 2024, Indians were allotted 2,83,397 H-1B visas, including new and renewals, among others, which is 71 per cent of all the approvals. Chinese nationals came second, with 46,680 H-1B visas approved, accounting for 11.7 per cent of all visas.

In September, the White House imposed a $1,00,000 one-time fee on H1-B visas.

In 2024, the US issued around 4,01,000 F-1 student visas.

According to the US Embassy, in 2024, India became the top sender of international students for the first time since 2008, with more than 3,31,000 students overall studying in the United States.

Between October 2024 and March 2025, a total of 14,697 F-1 visas were issued to Indian students. Another 9,906 F-1 visas were issued to Indian students between March and May 2025.

Bangladesh braces for more protests

Bangladesh had a tense week with reports of sporadic violence and protests over the upcoming International Crimes Tribunal verdict against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and disagreement over the interim government’s July National Charter for constitutional, electoral, and administrative reforms.

Sheikh Hasina on trial: The International Crimes Tribunal will deliver its verdict against former PM Sheikh Hasina over her government’s deadly crackdown on the student-led protests that rocked Bangladesh in 2024.  

Charges against Sheikh Hasina: She is accused of crimes against humanity, including mass murder, abduction, torture, incitement, conspiracy, and the use of lethal weapons against unarmed protesters. Hasina, who is being tried in absentia after she fled to India in August 2024, has denied all charges, calling them politically motivated. Hasina’s Awami League party has called for a nationwide shutdown from November 14-17 to protest against the trial.

July National Charter: The July National Charter, which was signed on October 17 by the National Consensus Commission and 25 political parties, outlines the proposed constitutional, electoral, and administrative reforms for Bangladesh, following the protests that ousted the Hasina-led government last year.

In a televised address, the interim government’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said a referendum would be conducted alongside the planned national elections in February next year to seek public approval for the charter.

Discontent over July National Charter: Many critics have pointed out that the charter is not inclusive and did not fulfil the promises made after the protests. Experts also pointed out that the current Bangladesh Constitution does not provide for a referendum or plebiscite, and Article 93 explicitly states that no ordinance can be issued “for altering or repealing any provision of this Constitution.” 

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