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The killing of Osama bin Laden is undoubtedly a military defeat for al Qaeda but on the ideological front, there is still some way to go before it can be said with surety that the global terrorist movement has been put to rest.

The realm of space is “fluid, contested and driven by politics.”

What is required is a complete transformation of the system including steps like appointing of a Chief of Defence Staff as a single point military advisor, establishment of joint theatre headquarters, and actual integration of the military into the Ministry of Defence.

Waziristan last month ostensibly to hunt down al Qaida and Talibanelements has been a visible failure which could dramatically alterthe already existing fault lines in the force divided betweenloyalty to Musharraf, nation and religion.South Waziristan is one of the seven areas -Khyber, Kurram,Orakzai, Mohmand, Bajaur, North and South Waziristan - which wereclubbed together as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)by the British who wanted

There are conflicting reports about Pakistan army's decision to launch a military offensive against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and other terrorist strongholds in North Waziristan.

This brief examines the expanding China-Pakistan strategic alliance in the domain of grey-zone warfare, defined as the space between neither full-scale war nor peace. The analysis draws on 4th-century BCE statesman, Kautilya’s concept of Tushnim Yuddha (silent war) to contextualise the grey-zone approach within an indigenous framework. It examines how Pakistan utilises state-backed proxies, information warfare, and other tools of grey-zone warf

Pakistan's PPP-led government failed to end the domination of the military over the government, much less bring the military machine, particularly the army, under the government's control. A huge percentage of the country's budget is allocated to the military.

n July 2018, Pakistanis voted in what was the third consecutive transfer of power from one civilian government to another in the country’s 71-year history. The elections may be called a success in that winners had been declared. However, the months leading up to the elections demonstrated the power of the military, and its ability to influence election outcomes and control sections of the media. As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan see

In well-functioning democracies where those who lose elections live to fight another day, the forthcoming general elections in Pakistan is a battle for survival for many of the main political players in the country. To begin with, the brazen intervention by the military establishment in the political process has left the polls little credibility. In many ways, the elections will set the future trajectory of politics in Pakistan. While the deck se

Since 1991, India has pursued a policy of engaging Pakistan, regardless of what the latter has thrown at us - bombs, terror assaults, fedayeen. Maybe the time has come to change course ? not by reaching out to the military or taking recourse to tit-for-tat covert war. But by encouraging the peaceful breakup of Pakistan.

Ethnic divisions will deepen in Pakistan along with popular sentiments against the military in the near future, says renowned area specialist Dr Selig Harrison. "In 10 years, there will be a different landscape in Pakistan," he said addressing the faculty members of Observer Research Foundation here on February 6.

It is possible that, unable to control the various jihadis in their country or control events in Afghanistan, Pakistan's military rulers will first try to blame India for all its troubles and then launch a diversionary jihadi attack to provoke a reaction from the Indians and bring the whole world into play.

In September 2025, Saudi Arabia signed a comprehensive defence pact with Pakistan not long after an Israeli missile attack on Qatar. While driven by broader geopolitical shifts, this was not an isolated gesture of goodwill. Since 2024, Saudi Arabia has concluded 34 bilateral agreements with Pakistan, amounting to over US$2.8 billion in commitments across various sectors. This renewed financial engagement marks a steady recovery from the setback i

During the recent crisis in Yemen, between the Houthis and the nine-nation military coalition led by the Saudis, a joint sitting of Pakistan's Parliament voted against joining the Saudi-led coalition.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani's Independence Day address at Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, attracted widespread comments, mostly positive. In fact, Gen Kayani's speech eclipsed the standard presidential address on the occasion in the media.

People have voted against the military’s political favourites but General Munir still gets to cook up the next coalition government

In contemporary conflicts, information warfare (IW) has shifted from a supporting role to the forefront, shaping perceptions, manipulating strategic narratives, and distorting democratic discourse. Since India’s Balakot airstrikes of February 2019—in retaliation for the Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 46 paramilitary personnel—Pakistan has institutionalised IW as an element of its statecraft, targeting India. This

The Pakistani military might now try to focus on India so as to resurrect its diminishing credentials, especially as General Qamar Javed Bajwa will be under pressure. He will have to prove his worth by making sure the regional security environment deteriorates.

Battlefield conditions and operational realities will decide terms of Russia-Ukraine peace settlement

The Peshawar attack offers the Pakistan leadership a corner to turn around - it only needs to first define who is a terrorist? But is the military and civilian leadership of Pakistan capable, and willing, to take on the terrorist groups, especially TTP? The rhetoric and actions on the part of the leadership raise serious doubts about the will.

As the world today looks up to India as a net security provider, Delhi needs to recast its peacekeeping strategy by modernising its decision-making structures, expanding domestic defence capabilities, and strengthening its military diplomacy.

In contrast to India's hesitant response to the humanitarian emergency following the MH370 disappearance, China's military operations have demonstrated Beijing's impressive maritime capabilities and the strong political will to use them.

Since 2015, China has been undertaking a thorough restructuring of its military, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. This has involved significant changes in the operational structure of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), with the modernisation and optimisation of the military to bring about better jointness and overall efficiency. This paper examines the PLA reforms as they pertain to training and jointness in the Tibet Autonomous R

प्रादेशिक विवादांबाबत शी जिनपिंगयांचा दृष्टिकोन अत्यंत सावध असतो परंतु हा भ्रम आहे, हे ते आपल्या कार्यातून अंशतः स्पष्ट करतात.

प्रादेशिक विवादांबाबत शी जिनपिंग यांचा दृष्टिकोन अत्यंत सावध असतो परंतु हा भ्रम आहे, हे ते आपल्या कार्यातून अंशतः स्पष्ट करतात.

The divergent and cautious responses to the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor pose a new challenge for Indian diplomacy

There needs to be a technology acquisition drive to military modernisation plans.

India has embraced an assertive strategy of escalation dominance to impose steep costs on future Pakistan-backed terrorism.

Hybrid warfare is an emerging global challenge, with military and non-military elements. This has given rise to the need to develop national capabilities to combat amorphous adversaries by utilising intelligence, information, cyber, electronic, conventional, and unconventional warfare techniques. This paper discusses the nuances of hybrid warfare, explores the hybrid warfare capabilities of India’s key adversaries (Pakistan and China),

As Indo-Pak relations hit rock bottom, the civil-military standoff in Pakistan has flared into the open. Could there be a link between the two?

Given Donald Trump’s personality, maintaining good relations with him plays a crucial role. Addressing PM Modi as a friend, Trump also described him as a “tough negotiator”

Biden hosted the Quad Leaders’ Summit, emphasizing Indo-Pacific security and cooperation, but faced criticism for vague military strategies and unclear outcomes.

Governments chose the G2G route to avoid the perceived malpractices of an open competition, this route raises issues around possibility of malpractice in the commercial advantages to single vendors and the elimination of competition. Several revelations have emerged from the controversy over the Rafale order.

Now thanks partly to Paul's bid for the Republican nomination, Libertarianism has become popular in American politics again. Tens of millions of Americans today are fiscally conservative, socially tolerant and sceptical of American military intervention abroad.

The ISIS has suffered very heavy casualties while defending Raqqa and their military and financial assets stand heavily degraded.

For more than a decade now, the Armed Forces, especially the senior hierarchy, finds itself besieged by all manners of unprecedented challenges, both from within the establishment and outside. There is critical shortage of weapoins, ammunition and manpower. The blame for this should be shared by political and military leadership.

Efforts toward a peaceful reconciliation with the Taliban have failed and Afghanistan and the United States remain engaged in a bitter war against the insurgent group. The US has shown willingness and capability to go after Taliban leaders on Pakistani soil, upsetting its relations with Islamabad and ending Pakistan's game of plausible deniability. Under its new leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban continue their onslaught against the

The demand for cash that all political parties have to contest elections has been the fountainhead that has created a bureaucratic, military and defence decision-making structure which ensures that we keep running at the same place when it comes to creating a vibrant military industry complex in the country.

Aggressive red teaming would help discover gaps and vulnerabilities before India’s adversaries do. Against this backdrop, these seven questions are critical for the post-Op Sindoor strategic environment

he return of the Taliban had been in the making for a decade. Convinced that they have come to power through military means, the Taliban do not feel the need to form an inclusive government. Unlike other neighbouring countries, India had been hesitant in exploring engagement with the Taliban and ended up withdrawing from the country. However, it has legitimate interest in the stability of Afghanistan and enjoys goodwill among all communities.

The government has been successful in maintaining harmony with the military and preventing it from reacting violently in the aftermath of Bangladesh Rifle's mutiny.

Pessimism towards a foreseeable settlement of the India-China border dispute is not unfounded. At the political level, there is a "trust deficit" which impedes cooperation. Despite the existence of multi-tiered mechanisms to facilitate resolution, there has hardly been any progress on the issue in recent years. This paper identifies the obstacles and explores how a peaceful settlement of the India-China border dispute could be arrived at in the f

The Donors conference this week attended by 60 Foreign Ministers and other leaders, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon was, among other things, a demonstration by NATO and US led forces that they have the military muscle to host such a meet in Kabul.

In Jammu and Kashmir, AFSPA has enabled us to create conditions wherein we could hold free and fair elections and allow the state to be run by its elected representatives. And what if such military operations had not been possible or successful?

Although both India and Egypt are distracted by domestic political concerns, establishing a strong institutional links between the two military establishments will benefit both countries.

With the rise of China as an economic and military superpower, the significance of Myanmar in the geo-politics of the region has assumed new dimensions. India therefore cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the country where till recently Chinese influence was allowed to grow unchallenged.

Since August 2021 when the US withdrew from Afghanistan, ceasefire violations at the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LoC) and killings of minorities in J&K have been reported. Indeed, the fall of Kabul to the Taliban has bolstered the anti-India establishment and the terrorist groups in Pakistan—putting the February 2021 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan under stress. India's conventional military response of the type of the 'S

By all accounts, the meeting between Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf and the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New York appears to have gone off quite well.