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The issue of radical Islamism remains Russia's fundamental concern in Syria. Having fought two Chechen wars, it would not want another conflict to erupt on its territory. If either the ISIS or the rebels succeed in overthrowing Assad, there is a huge likelihood of expansion of jihadist activity to the Caucasus and southern Russia.

Two years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the debates around whether the group remains intact or has become divided have surfaced once again. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Kabul in August 2021, there were speculations that the country could be going into a civil war or the Taliban would eventually come to a split. This brief analyses the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s resurgence in Kabul and weighs in o

In the midst of the chaotic withdrawal of the US-led forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban swept back to power in Kabul on 15 August 2021. Since then, the Taliban have repeatedly attempted to project a more moderate brand of governance. However, the Taliban leaders have yet to enunciate clear policies on issues such as women’s and girls’ access to education, employment, and political participation. Early indications nonetheless suggest that th

Local militants of Afghanistan joining the Islamic State's (IS) and violent clashes involving "IS jihadists" in different parts of the country suggest a realignment of loyalties of local militants. Kabul and the region must not be complacent.

Regional African blocs should try to find solutions through diplomacy before the coup in Niger causes regional instability and leads to a full-fledged

How big a catch is Abu Faraj al-Libbi, a 40-year-old Libyan married to a Pakistani, fluent in Urdu and Arabic and suffering from lucoderma, whose arrest was announced by the Pakistani authorities at Islamabad on May 4,2005?

In Moscow’s calculus, the Crocus attacks require a thorough investigation to ascertain the actors involved in the attacks, apart from the Islamic St

‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ has made a noisy return, especially after the government’s action on Article 370 and Pakistan’s isolation in the international theatre.

The three synchronised Delhi blasts of October 29,2005, have proved¿¿if further proof was needed¿¿that the motivation and the morale of the pan-Islamic jihadi terrorists belonging to the International Islamic Front (IIF) formed by Osama bin Laden in 1998 continue to remain undamaged, despite the successes scored by our security agencies in neutralising many of their sleeper cells.

With the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, analysts are pondering the kind of organisational form the group would take next. The influence of the so-called Islamic State in South Asia may be minimal, but India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have all had the shadow of ISIS’ global footprint land on their doorstep. This brief sheds light on how the influence of ISIS spread across South Asia, specifically after 2014, when pro-I

GOI would have to develop a new counter-radicalisation programme and state-supervised counselling initiatives to curb lone-wolf terrorism

While the Afghan government has begun the release of Taliban prisoners and the US prepares for a drawdown in troop numbers, the Taliban’s ties to th

There has been considerable spin from Islamabad as well as New Delhi regarding the results of the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister, Mr.Wen Jiabao, to the two countries. The fact that the Chinese have carefully refrained from joining this race for spin and

Pakistan's offensive against terrorists may have come just too late. Because today, violent Islamic extremism has spread across the country, and is not something that can be tackled by the army alone. But the tragedy of the killing of school children could be the opportunity for Pakistan to make that strategic shift away from using violent Islamic extremists against its neighbours.

A faltering Iran nuclear deal emboldens Biden’s woes in West Asia and the United States alike.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces challenges to his power not only from receding American support but also from political rivals like the Sadrists and the al-Iraqiyya bloc, and the rise of Sunni insurgent groups like the Islamic State.

India need not be concerned over the Islamic narrative in the country which, in any case, has produced a remarkable quiescent Muslim community in an era of turmoil in the Islamic world. What the Union Home Ministry needs to worry about are the growing instances of communal violence in the country in the past year.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia is to be complimented for his vision and initiative. The vision that something was seriously amiss within the comity of Muslim nations, and the initiative to call them together in an extraordinary summit of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) to cogitate on the seriousness of the situation and to come forth with meaningful remedies.

India’s financial aid to the Philippines to fight the Islamic State signals a reworking of its Asean outreach

On the eve of his recent visit to India, in an interview to an Indian newspaper, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia remarked that "India should have an observer status in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference similar to that held by Russia." He added it would be "beneficial" if India's entry was proposed "by a nation like Pakistan."

Many commentators feel that there is new awakening among the Pashtun. The Pashtun Long March and the ten-day sit-in outside the Islamabad Press Club was meant to kindle that awakening.

The real American dilemma is to find allies in Islamabad who reduce and not multiply anti Americanism

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

This sudden acceptance of the concept of foreign fighters by some Western States and analysts reeks of opportunism and double standards.

An attempt is being made to draw Damascus back into mainstream politics; however, the influence of foreign actors over the war-torn country will make

The deal will be packaged as a historic triumph of Islamist groups and jihadist outfits for decades to come.

The question of tackling global terrorism efficiently and proactively is rendered even more complex by other issues.

While India has made efforts domestically — and along with Bangladesh to counter the threat posed by the JMB, in the past — it leaves much to be d

The nexus between technology and terror requires urgent attention if any tangibles are to be drawn from the territorial victories over the Islamic Sta

ISIS provides a single common enemy where foreign interventionists in the conflict will increasingly find themselves elbowing for space.

The current regime views the hijab as a characteristic of the national identity of Iran. Will the current protests bring any change?

2014 by far has been the most chaotic year in international politics, since the end of the Cold War. The Islamic State terrorists in the Middle East threaten to upturn borders settled for close to a century. Europe is in the throes of an unexpected tussle with Moscow. In the South and East China seas, China's aggressiveness is too clear now to be ignored.

The Modi government appears to have abandoned the multi-pronged policy of its predecessor of simultaneously engaging Islamabad and dealing with cross-border terrorism. This government made a surprise beginning with the idea of promoting South Asian unity . But since then it has been fixated on countering terrorism at the cost of everything else, though Pakistani covert activity in India has seen a sharp decline since 2008.

The move paves way for a Turkish ‘invasion’ of northern Syria, which has a smorgasbord of rebels, Islamists, foreign powers, Iran backed rebels, U

India and Pakistan held secretary level talks in Islamabad on the Tulbul Navigation Project/Wullar Barrage, after a hiatus of nearly three years, on May 12-13. The talks on the Wullar barrage-Tulbul navigation project are part of the bilateral dialogue process that was revived only recently, after a gap of over two years.

Turkey, which played a role in raising the stakes in Syria and now lowering it, deserves a close look. A mildly Islamised democratic Turkey ruled by its most charismatic Prime Minister ever, Tayyep Erdogan, was incorporated in the management of what had at one stage acquired the label of Arab Spring.

The upcoming Turkish elections could reconfigure Türkiye’s domestic policy and shape the long-term foreign policy course of this critical middle po

Central Asia is the next favoured destination of radical Islamists and terrorist groups. Several terrorist networks are said to be already active in the region and recent suicide bombings in Uzbekistan in the cities of Tashkent and Bukhara, in March and July, 2004 suggest that al-Qaeda and its allies are looking for safer havens in the wake of the increasing pressure on their networks in the Middle-East and South East Asia from the security force

The world too has dealt with different forms of terror in the past from Black September to Baader Meinhof and Red Army Faction, none is more dangerous an adversary than the Islamic jihadist who goes beyond semantic aberration.

The victory of Taliban in Afghanistan is altering the Islamist jihad landscape, making it more complex as various actors engage in regional and strate

One year into Taliban rule, Afghan women and girls struggle for basic human rights.

This paper bridges the gap in Indian public discourse on the aims of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State) and where it stands today as the most formidable terrorist organisation of the 21st century. It explores ISIS from the perspective of the Middle East, rather than coming from an Indian foreign policy and security point of view, of which there is no dearth in literature. Such an approach is crucial in understanding the terr

The lack of Indian Foreign Fighters is hetero-causal encompassing historic, community based, bureaucratic and government factors.