
Latest Articles about South Asia

Al-Qaeda’s South Asian Branch Gravitating Toward Kashmir
Almost six years after al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent’s (AQIS) formation as the regional subsidiary of the infamous transnational jihadist group, the organization is reportedly shifting its violent campaign to Kashmir and India. On March 21, in one of its key Urdu language magazines, AQIS claimed... MORE

Mind the Trap: What Basing Rights in Djibouti and Sri Lanka Reveal About the Limitations of Debt as a Tool of Chinese Military Expansion
Introduction On November 24, 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told reporters during his first interview as president that he hoped to renegotiate the terms of the deal that gave a Chinese firm a 99-year lease over the Hambantota Port (Strategic News International, November 24,... MORE

Escape from Pakistan: TTP Spokesperson Ehsan ullah Ehsan Fled from Custody
In February 2017, Pakistani security and law enforcement authorities managed to get Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Ehsan ullah Ehsan to defect to Pakistani authorities. Or, at least, government officials proclaimed that he had surrendered to authorities and was cooperating with them (News International, February 10).... MORE

The Past as Precedent: Is the Taliban’s Military Chief Sirajuddin Haqqani Ready for Peace?
On February 29, the United States and the Taliban signed the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” in Doha, Qatar. The agreement paves the way for a pullout of American troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban has pledged to disallow groups like al-Qaeda from using Afghan... MORE

China’s Deepening Diplomatic and Economic Engagement in Afghanistan
Introduction On February 29, U.S. and Taliban representatives signed the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” in Doha, Qatar, which laid out a framework for ending the 18-year old conflict in Afghanistan (U.S. State Department, February 29). Despite skepticism in many quarters regarding the viability... MORE

Potential for al-Qaeda-Islamic State Cooperation in Afghanistan
Frequent speculation has recently been posited that Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda affiliates could eventually coalesce again, or at the least, begin cooperating at a more notable level than was seen at the height of the conflict in Syria. The death of IS Caliph Abu... MORE

Fugitive Bangladeshi Ideologue Tamim al-Adnani Spearheading Virtual Jihadist Campaign
In August 2013, a Bangladeshi court in Barguna district jailed several members of the extremist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), including its spiritual leader Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani, for subversive activities in the country. These ABT members were accused of widespread violence and targeted killings during... MORE

Islamic State-Inspired Knife Attack Exposes the Vulnerability of the Maldives
The image of the Maldives as a tropical paradise received a significant jolt on February 4, when three foreign nationals—two Chinese and one Australian—were stabbed and injured by Islamist militants near the Hulhumale Redbull Park Futsal Ground in the country's North Male Atoll. The incident... MORE

Sino-Indian Cooperation on Counter-Terrorism: Not Truly “Hand-in-Hand” At All
Introduction On December 7, 2019, infantry units of the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) commenced the “Hand-in-Hand 2019” combined military exercise at Umroi in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya. The fortnight-long exercise ran through December 20, and focused on counter-terrorism... MORE

Mukaram Khan: Hizb ul-Ahrar – The New Security Challenge in Pakistan
On November 14, 2019, 14 people were injured when a bomb exploded in Lahore. The attack was later claimed by Hizb ul-Ahrar (HuA), a relatively new terrorist group in Pakistan (Dawn, November 30, 2019). The group was founded as a splinter group of Jamaat ul-Ahrar... MORE