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As new geopolitical and geo-economic realities emerge in the Indo-Pacific, India is now a critical node in the emerging network of variable geometries in the region. There are important opportunities in the evolving dynamic for New Delhi, as new alliances are crafted and new goals enunciated.

Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August last year and since then, serious security concerns have arisen for India. There is the spectre of terrorist groups in neighbouring countries gaining strength; there is also the threat of Indians travelling to Afghanistan to either live as civilians desiring a home under “Islamic rule”, or else fight alongside terrorist groups. Indeed, other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh are reporting that

In the 1990s, Taliban fighters aggravated the situation in Kashmir. Will they do it again? It depends on the extent of ISI control

Like the proverbial phoenix of Greek mythology that rose from its ashes, the Taliban is resurrecting in Afghanistan. The good news is that the ¿rising Taliban¿, on the one hand, is supposed to be moderate, and on the other hand, seems to have severed its links with Al Qaeda. The bad news is that it is still the Taliban.

New possibilities on regional cooperation are emerging, which India should not hesitate to explore

The United Nations (UN) has recently been plagued by several crises—the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taliban’s return in Afghanistan, and the Ukraine war—that have tested its ability to deliver on humanity’s projects of peace and security, sustainable development, human rights, and humanitarian response. Indeed, its actions and inactions in the Ukraine war have triggered an existential dilemma. India must use this moment of creative destruction

The verdict delivered in July by an international tribunal on the South China Sea case in The Hague is a stunning defeat for China. The Tribunal has upended the maritime claims of a number of nations in the South China Sea, but China is most affected, as its claims were also most extensive. As China had already rejected the verdict even before it was pronounced, the world sits at a juncture of two possible paths — China could become more assert

Ever since I returned from Kabul, I am frequently asked by friends: when are the Americans leaving? When I say, "I don't know", I am dismissed like someone who has wasted his time in Afghanistan and returned without finding an answer to a universal query.

The United States is on its way out and this does not ensure peace for the people of Afghanistan

Politicians and diplomats usually move on when an infinitely sad event eventually settles in the private domain. But that should not happen in the case of the tragic death of Maniappan Raman Kutty near Kandahar in Afghanistan last week at the hands of the Taliban.

Will Trump succeed where previous US presidents have failed?

Washington and New Delhi must overcome some key differences for the group to succeed.

Afghanistan has eroded US power and credibility. A transactional America will now encounter transactional friends

Coinciding with the third anniversary of the start of the US military strikes in Afghanistan on October 7,2004,code-named Op. Enduring Freedom, terrorist elements, suspected to be from Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF), have carried out four co-ordinated terrorist strikes involving explosives on October 7 and 8,2004.

Terrorism, water and Afghanistan form facets of the wide range of issues which allow possible collaboration between India and Pakistan. These include trade and commerce, energy sharing, increased transport, communication links and simplified visa procedures.

Situated in the northwest part of Pakistan, along the Afghanistan border, the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas or FATA is one of the most dangerous places in the world and has been the home-base for jihad and terrorism in South Asia. Governed by colonial era laws, and damaged by militancy and military operations, FATA residents remain second-class citizens, treated differently from the rest of Pakistan. This paper looks at the government’s

India and the United States (US) are realigning their respective foreign policies to prioritise stronger ties in counterterrorism cooperation. However, challenges arise from differing national security perspectives, particularly regarding regional threats posed by entities like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following massive terrorist attacks, this collaboration has intensified, encompassing various activities that include intelligence sharing and jo

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s bold peace offer to the Taliban has aroused hopes of peace in the country torn by war for many years now. In a sweeping proposal made at the Kabul Process conference in February, President Ghani offered a ceasefire, the removal of sanctions, release of prisoners, the recognition of the Taliban as a political party, the conduct of fresh elections, and a review of the constitution. He repeated his offer in Mar

Láffaire Snowden, the Moscow CIA station chief's name being published by Russia; tit-for-tat lists of alleged human rights violators released by the two countries; Syria, Iran, Ballistic Missile Defence, nuclear arms reductions—these are the issues concerning US-Russia relations that have dominated the headlines in the last few weeks. It would appear that the Cold War is upon us again! However, seen from another perspective, there are some sig

The US needs Pakistan to withdraw from Afghanistan and Pakistan needs all the money it can get. Pakistan also dreads that if the US leaves without helping Pakistan get what it wants from the Indians now, which is a concession on Kashmir, they will never have another chance.

The tripartite meeting between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US representatives on August 2 took place against the backdrop of souring relationships, killing of Osama bin Laden and President Barak Obama's 2014 withdrawal plan.

Most analysts agree that a dangerous mix of demand, supply and currency is responsible for Punjab’s drug menace. Punjab is both a transit point and a market for the drugs smuggled from the so-called Golden Crescent that is Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. While the heroin produced in Afghanistan is smuggled through the 553-km-long, porous India-Pakistan border, the opium, poppy husk, charas and hashish, among other drugs, come from the neighbour

The latest White House assessment of the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan submitted to the US Congress has questioned Pakistan's commitment towards degrading and defeating terrorist groups like al Qaeda and Taliban.

A new Syria, where a military and polity are being rebuilt, has renewed security concerns for China

Indian counter-terror thinking needs strengthening from the ground up without care of international levers, FATF, and other multilateral security mechanisms

The US cannot be seen to be losing the war in a re-election year, and so the US withdrawal needs repackaging as a peace process for Afghanistan. The problem is that nobody really knows what the Taliban wants and reconciling an emirate — and Shariat-based system with the existing constitution — is not easy.

Europe has to come to grips with the fact that not even the USA is strong enough to create a new order anywhere in the world, neither in Afghanistan nor in the Middle East. Instead, anything that will increase the conflict without an achievable goal will play into the hands of the IS.

India has underscored the need for improving connectivity with Kabul for trade and transit potential.

If it wants to be a source of regional stability, it must act like one.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to form a joint commission to collaborate their efforts to reach a political solution to the Taliban insurgency. This was announced during the visit of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to the Afghanistan capital of Kabul over the weekend.

China has recently rolled out several measures that cracked down on businesses with an aim to redistribute wealth and reduce inequality. Many are likening this to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s.

US President Barack Obama is trying to reconcile the irreconcilables - the requirements of his domestic audience and the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. It will take a while before we know whether he has fallen between stools.

The Observer Research Foundation first conceptualised the foreign policy survey last year to build on the existing strand of polling research in India. In December 2020, the poll sampled 2,037 Indians aged 18-35 from 14 cities

Zalmay Khalilzad has a tall task ahead of him in talking to the Taliban.

इंडो-पॅसिफिकवरून, अमेरिका-चीनमध्ये तणाव वाढतोय. त्यामुळे अफगाणिस्तानातील घडामोडींच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर भारताने सावध राहायला हवे.

पाकिस्तानाच्या आशीर्वादाने भारतात दहशतवाद वाढवू शकतील, अशा संघटनांना अफगाणिस्तानात थारा मिळू नये, यासाठी प्रयत्न करण्यात भारताचे हित आहे.

११ सप्टेंबर २०२१ रोजी अफगाणिस्तानातून अमेरिकेच्या सर्व सैन्य तुकड्या माघारी येतील, अशी घोषणा राष्ट्राध्यक्ष जो बायडन यांनी केली आहे.

अफगाणिस्तानच्या पुनर्बांधणीमधून अमेरिका बाहेर पडली तरीही, स्थिर अफगाणिस्तानाचे उद्दिष्ट साध्य करण्यासाठी, भारताने प्रयत्न करणे आवश्यक आहे.