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The oil deal could be a fundamental test for the future of Afghanistan-China cooperation

There can be no peace unless the Taliban and Afghan security forces de-escalate

It is President Barak Obama's political requirement to have a calm Middle East so that he can keep a steady gaze on Afghanistan, the country on which the NATO Summit in Chicago must focus in May in ways that it is useful for his re election in November.

While President Barack Obama is pursuing his two-pronged approach in Afghanistan that involves talking to the Taliban and handling over the security to the Afghan National Army (ANA).

The recent attack on the British Council in Kabul by the Taliban shows that, apart from military tactics, there is an urgent requirement in the West to reconsider the political objectives in Afghanistan.

As an emerging power in the current multipolar global order, India can use the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to protect, promote, and project its geostrategic and geoeconomic interests. The SCO is also a platform for India to reaffirm its commitment to revive and deepen its centuries-old civilisational, spiritual, and cultural ties with other member countries. This paper explores India's priorities at the SCO, chiefly connectivity, coun

The normalisation of extremist groups staking control of major States has had no clear policy response from most countries.

The unguarded optimism about reconciliation with the Taliban may seem misplaced, but the proponents of the concept are increasing in number. The success of a negotiated peace deal with the Taliban, however, will hinge on the sustainability of the power-sharing arrangement that emerges as a result of conciliatory talks. Whether the Afghan government, or the international community will be able to devise an effective peace-building strategy in the

Conflict resolution and political problem-solving in other countries are not traits that Chinese diplomats excel at. It remains to be seen how China walks this tightrope in Afghanistan, which remains a fractured crucible of contradictory ethnic and political interests

Discussions between the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) also saw a general agreement that the Taliban victory in Afghanistan will lead to a civil war with disastrous consequences for Pakistan

As Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani arrives in India on Saturday for the Heart of Asia (HoA) ministerial conference in Amritsar, India's Afghan policy is becoming more robust.

Even a flawed Afghan government will be better than the Taliban rule, but the US appears to accept any deal in a hurry to get its "boots on the ground" out of Afghanistan.

In some ways, the real war began after 2009, as the US forces drew down from Iraq. The result was a carrots and sticks approach; the swelling to over 60,000 US troops in Afghanistan (with another 30,000 committed during the “surge”) coupled with greater economic assistance to Pakistan

The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate.

India’s aspirations of becoming a superpower must first begin with establishing itself as a strong regional power.

In the past few weeks, Afghanistan has received a stream of important visitors from western capitals that are in a position to preside over its destiny ¿ U.S. National Security Council Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, British Secretary of State for Defence John Reid, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Since the toppling of the Taliban government in 2001, India and Afghanistan have witnessed a significant strengthening of their bilateral ties. As Afghanistan's stability is important for India's own, New Delhi has readily supported the growth of democracy in its neighbour, battered as it is by many years of conflict and instability. This paper maps out the nature of India's relationship with Afghanistan, focusing on the two nations' economic, po

The international community's increased enthusiasm about leaving Afghanistan could have an adverse impact on the human rights situation in the country, according to human rights researcher Ms Heather Barr.

India has a range of interests to protect in Afghanistan. For far too long New Delhi’s reliance on Washington’s role as a security provider has been its major vulnerability.

A retreat from Afghanistan now would mean accepting the Chinese game of restricting our role to our national frontiers. The 21st Century belongs to Asia and we are an important part of that new Asia. Let us not choose a destiny that casts us aside.

India should put its Eurasian ambitions on hold for a while and focus on its immediate neighbourhood.

There is a certain - surprising - amount of unease ahead of the visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to New Delhi. Why analysts and policymakers in India alike are worried, that their country could lose out on the latest developments in Afghanistan? The main reason seems that with the change of government in Kabul last year, a new sound keeps emanating from the Afghan capital.

India should invest more and invest it where it matters in Afghanistan to strengthen its presence and influence in a country which is struggling valiantly to initiate a process of nation-building against extreme odds.

Proximity changes the priorities for India in a conflict on the doorstep.

New Delhi should become more proactively involved in the peace process and not shy away from drawing its own red-lines

As the security situation in Afghanistan deteriorates, what are the stakes for New Delhi?

PM Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Kabul and India's initiative to develop long-term strategic partnership will redefine India's relations with Afghanistan by giving it leverage in Kabul that it has not enjoyed in the past.

US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad’s visit, a mere formality, should act as a wake up call for Delhi.

Instead, on Sunday, US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad left Qatar, where the US-Taliban talks were being held, the September 1 deadline having been crossed without any final agreement.

Despite being knocked off its feet by the collapse of the Ghani government of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, New Delhi has quickly re-established its presence in the new Taliban-led Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 changed the strategic dynamics in the region. For India, the new regime and its attendant risks—especially the threat of terrorism—quickly put it in an unenviable position. This brief assesses India’s policy towards Afghanistan since August 2021. It will cover how India has articulated its Afghan policy, domestically and in multilateral organisations, and its incremental

Iran's standoff with neighbouring and Western nations does pose a problem for India which has to balance its relations with Iran against its interest in deepening relations with the US. Collaborating with US initiatives in Afghanistan that exclude Iran might persuade the latter to remove the preferential treatment given to India at Chabahar.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's vision of making borders with Pakistan irrelevant seems to have made a measured beginning on the ground.

Delhi and Tehran must now sit down with the new government in Kabul to negotiate trilateral trade and transit agreements that will ensure an early realisation of all economic and strategic benefits that the Chabahar project promises.