Poppy cultivation, heroin production, terrorist attacks and territory controlled by the Taliban are now at or near record highs. President Ashraf Ghani said recently that Afghanistan’s military — and the government itself — would be in danger of imminent collapse, perhaps within days, if U.S. assistance stops. Read Here – Politico
With the United States-North Korean Summit taking place earlier this month, the world is faced with the prospect of a newly-opening North Korea. In this shift, Delhi’s diplomacy can be seen as an effort to play the role of a mediator. It would be a step towards having a say in North Korea’s economic and political […]
India’s external and strategic environment is looking like a train-wreck and it isn’t just to do with the American humiliation of “postponing” the vaunted “two-plus-two” dialogue for the third time. The picture today has no resemblance to what we saw until about a year earlier. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was then hopping from one […]
As a liberal democracy, built on the freedom of citizens, who are ruled by the leadership of their own choosing, it is in India’s interest that the US prevails in this ‘clash’ of civilisations. A sustained but uneasy peace with China still only means living in the shadow of powerful, undemocratic autocrats. That is a […]
Every Indian government has taken a step forward to reach out to its Pakistan counterpart, only to be pushed back by a terror strike. The Pakistan civilian government desires peace but lacks control over its own army, hence chances of success remain bleak. Read Here – ORF
The Pakistan navy is likely to soon place nuclear-tipped cruise missiles on up to three of its five French-built diesel-electric submarines. It has also reached a deal with China to buy eight more diesel-electric attack submarines that can be equipped with nuclear weapons. These are scheduled for delivery in 2028. Even more disturbing, Pakistani military […]
Pakistan has tried not to take sides between Iran and Saudi Arabia and even attempted to mediate between the two. But not taking sides may not be an option for long and for the moment, the Saudis seem to have an upper hand. Not only did Nawaz Sharif meet members of the Saudi royal family […]
India has taken over a strategically important port in Iran, giving it a potential bulwark against China’s growing influence in the region and access to Afghanistan and Europe that bypasses Pakistan. India signed the lease on Saturday for Chabahar port in eastern Iran about 90km west of the Pakistani port of Gwadar, which is being developed […]
India and Oman signed a key pact that extends dry docking and other facilities to Indian naval ships in the strategically located Gulf country. It can be seen as a move that bolsters India’s strategy to counter Beijing in the Indian Ocean region where it is increasingly making inroads. The two countries have also agreed […]
The most ominous threats in 2018 — nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula and a spiralling confrontation pitting the United States and its allies against Iran — could both be aggravated by Trump’s actions, inactions, and idiosyncrasies. U.S. demands (in the North Korean case, denuclearisation; in Iran’s, unilateral renegotiation of the nuclear deal or Tehran’s […]
looking beyond borders 