
Latest Articles about South Asia

India’s Intelligence Services Struggle with War on Terrorism
A diffuse but highly networked group of terrorists, driven by a dangerous cocktail of extremist ideology and a simmering sense of anguish and revenge, currently pose a serious threat to India's economic and social structure. The militants exploit gaping holes in India’s counter-terrorism architecture and... MORE

Omar bin Laden: Osama’s Flower-Child Son or al-Qaeda Disinformation Agent?
In recent months, 26-year-old Omar bin Laden—Osama bin Laden’s eldest son—has made headlines around the world for marrying a 51-year old British grandmother and sounding like a refugee from 1960s-era San Francisco, urging his father to give peace a chance. With his long braided hair,... MORE

Baitullah Mehsud: Scapegoat or Perpetrator in Benazir Bhutto’s Assassination?
Baitullah Mehsud, chief of Pakistan’s Tehrek-e-Taliban (Movement of the Taliban), was declared a “proclaimed offender” on March 1 with a warrant of arrest issued for him by an anti-terrorist court in Rawalpindi for allegedly masterminding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in that city on December... MORE
Musharraf and Pakistan’s Military Try to Restore Security amidst Rising Anti-U.S. Sentiment
The old saying that “things can always get worse” has never been truer than for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and his former colleagues in the country’s military. Faced with rampant terrorism, growing domestic instability, an increasingly hated U.S. ally and a NATO force in Afghanistan... MORE
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