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There is no question that Pakistan's Afghan strategy is evolving. If the Taliban seemed inflexible about negotiations in the past, Pakistan is promising to make it more reasonable. Many in the West and China are ready to accept, at least for now, Pakistan's claim that a new and moderate Taliban is at hand.

After the court sentencing of former Maldives President Nasheed, India has expressed 'deep concern over the developments' and said that it was watching the situation. Yet, it may not be the best of time for Nasheed?s supporters in Maldives and sympathisers in India.

With much of the international fury directed at Russian President Putin for supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine, the suspects in shooting down the Malaysian airliner, Narendra Modi may soon find that there are costs associated with India's "privileged" partnership with Russia.

What impact the capture of Saddam Hussein by the US troops on the night of December 13,2003, would have on the ground situation in Iraq? Would it lead to a petering out of the resistance movement and the acts of terrorism against the coalition troops, their Iraqi collaborators and foreign organisations? Would it weaken the Iraqi opposition to the occupation of Iraq by the US and allied troops? Would it mark the beginning of the return of normalcy

Cut this any which way you like, the US still holds all the aces and can influence different outcomes in AfPak region depending on how it defines its interests.

In the domain of water cooperation between India and Pakistan, maybe it is important to look at actors beyond the Ministry of Water Resources. Greater cooperation between the farming communities could be one more logical step towards building a substantial peace constituency in Pakistan.

It would be unwise to expect that Trump’s tweet represents a major policy shift. That Pakistan has been playing the US on the issue of support to the Taliban is no secret. If anything, Trump’s remarks are a manifestation of American frustration in getting Pakistan to behave.

China has been cracking down on US companies for a while and the pressure has intensified after revelations that many of them have collaborated with the NSA to spy on the Internet. Google is virtually persona non grata in China now, as are Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Indian Navy requires at least 30 submarines to fulfil its commitments. But the Navy currently has only 13 subs - that too fairly old diesel electric conventional submarines . Shockingly, only half of them are operational at any given time.

ndia was facing a massive balance of payment crisis when the Observer Research Foundation released a document, ‘Agenda for Economic Reform’, on 1 July 1991. The Agenda outlined the reasons for the crisis and recommended a broad strategy to enable the country to overcome it. As India marks 30 years since the start of widespread reforms that opened up the economy, ORF revisits the recommendations outlined in the document.

The successful Agni V test adds to the incremental steps that India has been taking to enhance its strategic deterrent capabilities. This has been marked earlier this year by the commencement of the sea trials of the Arihant, nuclear propelled ballistic missile firing submarine.

From Agra to air-link, it has been one long U-turn for the Pakistani leadership of President Pervez Musharaff. Today, he readily agrees to address peripheral issues affecting relations with India, and has even ¿unilaterally¿ announced the restoration of over-flights for Indian craft. Going a step further, he has mooted the conferment of Nishan-e-Pakistan, the nation¿s highest civilian title on Prime Minister Vajpayee, if and when the latter ma

India and Bangladesh relations got a major boost following the signing of two agreements, an extradition treaty and a liberalised visa agreement between the two neighbouring countries.

A lot will depend on how the TNA and the NPC proceed during the upcoming fishers' talks in Colombo. For any fishers-negotiated solution to be effective, it has to have the cooperation of the Tamil Nadu and Northern Province Governments across the Palk Straits.

India-US defence ties are driven not only by business and commercial interests, but by the logic of geopolitics. Sustained bipartisan support in favour of burgeoning India-US ties is necessary.

The Observer Research Foundation’s first Tech Huddle was held on 23 November 2023 and focused on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in India, highlighting the rapid growth and adoption of AI as well as the complexities associated with developing regulatory frameworks for it. AI governance is in its infancy, both globally and in India, and grapples with issues such as the explainability of AI systems as well as the embedded biases, s

Today, machines reflect regressive, patriarchal ideas that have proven to be harmful to society. If this continues, technology may no longer usher us into a post-gender world.

The new foreign trade policy (2015-20) announced by the Commerce Minister recently is aimed at doubling India's exports from $465.9 billion in 2013-14 to $900 billion in 2020. However, for this, India has to gain the reputation of producing good quality, zero-defect products which can compete in international markets. To achieve this goal, much needs to be done.

The government should immediately stop this aviation pricing strategy if it wants to remain being seen as serious about raising investor confidence. One wonders, if the move by Air India has the prior approval and blessing from the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Delhi, a Union Territory that is home to India’s capital, New Delhi, is among the world’s urban agglomerations with the most toxic air. The magnitude of air pollution is massive. It causes devastating impacts on people’s health, the city’s environment, and economic well-being. Despite overwhelming evidence of the severity of air pollution and its consequences, however, India’s policy measures remain weak. This paper identifies the most

India and the US face a growing anti-access challenge. By working together to mitigate A2/AD threats, both the countries may come to a better mutual understanding on major security issues in Asia.

It may return if more structural concerns in counter-terror thinking and policies are not addressed over time

The al Qaeda video showing its current head Ayman al-Zawahari declaring a renewed bout of jihad in the Indian subcontinent has triggered widespread alarm in the region, especially in India. The alarm over a video may seem exaggerated but there are enough reasons for India to worry.

Remember the Kremlin Watchers of yore during the height of the cold war and their best-sellers on the Evil Empire? And the scary stories on communism they used to disseminate? And how the newspaper columns of those days were filled with their analyses? And the so-called classified documents of the Soviet State and Communist Party to which they managed to have access and which they used liberally in their writings and books?

Sections of the Spanish media, quoting the authorities investigating the Madrid blasts of March 11,2004, have reported that the terrorists, who orchestrated the blasts, had used the mobile telephones as timers for the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) along with copper detonators, different from the aluminium detonators used in the past by the ETA, the Basque terrorist organisation. According to one report, the IEDs had the alarms set for 7-39

There are two epicentres of terrorism today. One is in the AfPak region, a byproduct of the Cold War. Another epicentre which has risen in the recent times is in West Asia, which in some ways represents the first post-Cold War conflict between various competing forces.

Following the ideology of global Jihadism and maintaining links with Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab is emerging as a lethal organisation in Africa, posing a strategic challenge to the United States besides Somalia and its neighbours.

Today the two biggest countries in the world - the US and China - are playing in the world arena on their own terms. Jobs are, indeed, something to be worried about because not only is there a threat of a deflationary spiral in the US but there is also a huge fiscal deficit. This means austerity (decline in demand) and job losses.

The great power contestation of the past one year has been characterised by the economic woes of many countries of the Global South, a global leadership vacuum and the resurrection of hard power aided by technological shifts in warfare

There are only two ways to look at the recent decision of the US administration to arm Pakistan with new weapons. First, as the Bush administration officials have been trying, rather hard, to convince the international community, particularly India, that the weapons they are selling to President Pervez Musharraf¿s Pakistan are meant to fight terrorism.

The tremors from the convulsions wracking the Arab world are being felt in India too, in the amplitude that the Hazare drama is acquiring. This may not be grasped immediately as independent India has an autonomous record of organising non-violent political and social protests

At the end of a French delegation's visit to Pakistan recently, the Pakistan Foreign Office put out its usual statement. It referred to Pakistan as an anchor of peace in the region and said that the leader of the French delegation, former Premier Senator (Francois) Poncet, had commended Pakistan's role in promoting peace and stability.

Even assuming that Gaddafi is gone for good, Libya's future still looks uncertain. If Libya becomes unstable, violent, or a fertile ground for radicals, it will raise questions about the wisdom of the entire enterprise.

Delhi must bite the bullet and make the political case for moving forward boldly with Islamabad and Dhaka. Nothing will demonstrate India's commitment to transforming its relations with its neighbours more than an early visit to Pakistan by the Prime Minister.

At first glance, the July 18 India-US joint statement promises a giant leap forward in bilateral relations and a paradigm shift in the US policy towards India. The agreement undoubtedly is a testimony to the growing trust and meaningful strategic partnership between New Delhi and Washington.

Critical issues like abortion, inflation, & immigration have divided the US into equal halves.

The US needs to have a more practical approach combating the Islamic State, and it needs to collaborate with partner countries to end Islamic radicalism, according to a scholar from the Center for American Progress.

One grieving mother camping outside the ranch where President Bush is on vacation has made her countrymen sit up and introspect about the war the US is waging in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan, mother of army specialist Casey Sheehan who died in the Sadr City section of Baghdad on April 4, 2004, and other family members who too have lost their loved ones, have become the new face of opposition to the war in Iraq.

Describing the US's 'Pivot to Asia' as "rhetoric without reassurance", Chatham House scholar on US foreign policy says it is a great strategy, but it has been badly implemented.

As the Biden administration grapples with the intricate interplay of domestic pressures and international obligations, particularly in the midst of an election year, there is a palpable sense of urgency to confront a myriad of challenges.

India is assured of an ally in the United States on the Kashmir issue; the US — under the tenets of Westphalian sovereignty — has chosen to back India unequivocally. Yet it was not always so. There was a time soon after India’s Independence that the US government, through the State Department, was actively consorting with National Conference leader and Prime Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah to look for ways by which to secure

We will see the rise of a New World Order driven by national interest, reliability of partners, and of course, economic factors. India has to use a “Gated Globalisation” framework to negotiate this change.