Latest Articles about South Asia
RUSSIA, AFGHANISTAN AND THE DRUG TRADE
Alarmed by the rise of opium cultivation in Afghanistan, Russia’s Federal Drug Enforcement Service has opened a permanent office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Federal Drug Enforcement Service Director Alexei Milovanov said of the move, “Russia advances cooperation and interaction with Afghanistan in the war on drug... MORE
The Pakistan Connection to the United Kingdom’s Jihad Network
Recent weeks have seen increasing international interest in the connections between jihadis in the UK and their counterparts in Pakistan. Attention has focused on how such groups and individuals could link up and cooperate to carry out attacks in Europe, South Asia or the United... MORE
Turkish-U.S. Relations on Rocky Ground over Role in Afghanistan
Relations between the United States and Turkey encountered a new obstacle in recent days. The latest disagreement comes, somewhat surprisingly, amid a period of overall warming and increased military and diplomatic cooperation between the two long-time NATO allies. The obstacle comes in the form of... MORE
The Impact of Pashtun Tribal Differences on the Pakistani Taliban
Though members of militant Islamic groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and other jihadis have almost the same anti-United States and pro-al-Qaeda worldview, they are not especially disciplined when it comes to organizational matters. Difficulty in this area explains the existence of so many extremist... MORE
The Emerging Militancy in Pakistan’s Mohmand Agency
The challenge of militancy in Pakistan's tribal region is no longer confined to the North and South Waziristan regions along the Afghan border. After establishing their strongholds in Waziristan, militants have recently made deeper inroads in the erstwhile peaceful Mohmand tribal agency in Pakistan’s Federally... MORE
Pakistan’s Frontier Corps Struggles to Hold Forts against Taliban Attacks
On the night of January 15, the Sararogha Fort manned by Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) fell to Islamic militants in a remote part of the South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan (The News [Islamabad], January 17). It was the first time in the 60-year... MORE
Islamist Militants Target the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, has emerged as a battleground for Islamist militants. In the past three years it has endured more jihadi terrorist attacks than any other Indian state outside of Jammu and Kashmir. The Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI)—an outlawed group with bases... MORE
South Waziri Tribesmen Organize Counterinsurgency Lashkar
Four days after the murder of nine members of a government-sponsored peace committee in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, tribal leaders have vowed to organize a special force of tribesmen to expel foreign militants from the region. The deceased were involved in an attempt... MORE
Insurrection in Iranian Balochistan
Issues of dissent and rebellion amongst Iran’s elaborate patchwork of ethnic and sectarian minority communities are receiving increasing international scrutiny. Many advocacy organizations representing Iranian minorities accuse Tehran of operating a policy of cultural subjugation aimed at erasing identities distinct from Iran’s dominant Persian culture... MORE
Baitullah Mehsud – The Taliban’s New Leader in Pakistan
Baitullah Mehsud, the most feared and dangerous militant commander in Pakistan’s tribal region, has not only become the public face of militancy in the country, but is now also openly posing a serious threat to U.S. efforts to bring stability to neighboring war-torn Afghanistan. Mehsud... MORE