
Latest Articles about South Asia

Briefs
Myanmar Faces Arakan Army Attacks in Rakhine State Since intelligence agencies began observing ties between certain, albeit possibly peripheral, Rakhine [Arakan] militant groups and Islamic State (IS), jihadism has often been the focus of analyses on the Rakhine state insurgency in Myanmar (theweek.in, November 21,... MORE

Islamist Radicals From Afghanistan Now Fighting for Tajikistan Against Kyrgyzstan
One of the greatest nightmares for the countries of Central Asia; outside powers, such as Russia, China and the United States, who are worried about regional stability; and even for Kabul itself, which fears regional blowback, is that radicals from Afghanistan will cross into the... MORE

Vostok 2022: Has Russia Learned From Setbacks in Ukraine?
On September 1, the Vostok-2022 military exercises began in Russia’s Far East. Beyond Russian units, the exercises also included military forces from China, India, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, among others. The exercises were divided into three main stages (Function.mil.ru, September 6). The first stage involved... MORE

The PLA’s Military Diplomacy in Advance of the 20th Party Congress (Part One)
Introduction As the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Chinese Communist Party (CCP) approaches its 20th Party Congress, which begins on October 16, General Secretary Xi Jinping is set to continue his run as core leader (People’s Daily, August 31). Throughout his tenure, Xi, who is... MORE

The Russia-India-China Trilateral After Ukraine: Will Beijing Take the Lead?
Introduction At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in late July, which included China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, People’s Republic of China (PRC) State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi exhorted member states to uphold the “Shanghai Spirit” (上海精神,... MORE

ISKP Challenges Indian Interests in Afghanistan by Attacking Sikh Worshippers in Kabul
On June 18, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed an attack which targeted a Sikh Gurdwara in Karta-e-Parwan area of Kabul (Dawn, June 18). While ISKP stated there were 50 Sikh and Taliban casualties, two people were reported killed. The operation lasted for... MORE

A Post-Mortem Analysis of ISKP Senior Military Commander Saad Emirati
Saad Emirati was a senior founding military commander of the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) who died in 2016 after leading the ISKP war against the Afghan Taliban, the U.S army, and Afghan armed forces in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. However, little was known... MORE

Suhail Shaheen: The Perilous Promises of the Afghan Taliban’s Most Prominent International Voice
Muhammad Suhail Shaheen is the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban’s political office in Doha, Qatar and the Afghan Taliban’s representative-designate to the United Nations. He was also a member of the Taliban’s 21-member negotiation team in Doha when it was negotiating with the U.S. These... MORE

Abdul Rehman Makki: the Leader of Pakistani Militant Group Jamat-ud-Dawa
Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki is the leader of the Pakistani-based militant group, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). The 74-year-old Makki is a U.S-designated terrorist and, under its Rewards for Justice program, the U.S has announced a reward of up to $2 million for information on Makki (Reward for Justice,... MORE

Uzbekistan Grapples With the Specter of Anti-Western Tropes in SCO
On July 28–29, Tashkent hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers. This was the final rehearsal before the SCO summit scheduled to take place later this year in Uzbekistan’s historic city of Samarkand on September 15–16. The foreign ministers of all member... MORE