
Latest Articles about South Asia

Al-Qaeda-Aligned Central Asian Militants in Syria Separate from Islamic State-Aligned IMU in Afghanistan
On April 25, 2015, a coalition of rebel forces led by al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), and including the Uyghur-led Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) and Uzbek-led Imam Bukhari Jamaat (IBJ) and Katibat Tawhid wal Jihad, defeated the Syrian army in a battle at the strategic... MORE

Chinese Submarines in Sri Lanka Unnerve India: Next Stop Pakistan?
The sighting of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean has unnerved India. A People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Song-class conventional submarine along with Changxing Dao, a Type 925 submarine support ship, docked at the Chinese-run Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) in Sri Lanka last September... MORE

The Taliban and Islamic State Haunt Tajikistan
The specter of a spill-over of violence from Afghanistan continues to haunt Tajikistan. According to the narrative being put forward by the Russian and Tajikistani governments, the Taliban is strengthening its position in northern Afghanistan and its forces are on the verge of invading Tajikistan.... MORE

China and Sri Lanka: In Choppy Waters
Sino–Sri Lankan relations are in a state of flux. Bilateral relations, which had surged significantly during the rule of Sri Lanka’s former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005–2015), are strained today. In January, Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala Sirisena suspended the $1.4 billion Colombo Port City (CPC)... MORE

Uzbekistan Could Seek Foreign Assistance Against Islamic State
The increasing presence of Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan has raised fears in neighboring Uzbekistan. It is no longer a question of whether IS has a presence in Afghanistan, only its scope and intentions. Addressing a joint session of the United States Congress, on... MORE

Afghanistan’s Ethnic Turkmens: Enemies or Allies for Ashgabat?
The relationship between Afghanistan’s Turkmen diaspora and Turkmenistan has always been complicated as well as under-researched. However, the latest developments along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border helps to shed some light on the situation in this strategically important territory. Within those Afghan provinces that border Turkmenistan, the... MORE

‘Wilayat Khurasan’: Islamic State Consolidates Position in AfPak Region
Amid a series of government denials from Pakistan and Afghanistan regarding the presence of the Islamic State militant group in these countries and its ongoing outreach activities there, its expansion was corroborated by none other than the Islamic State’s spokesperson, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, on January... MORE

Russian and Uzbek Soldiers Reportedly Now in Turkmenistan to Counter Afghan Threat
In a measure of just how frightened Ashgabat is of the possibility that Afghan radical forces will invade Turkmenistan, it has reportedly allowed Russian and now Uzbekistani military personnel to provide help in fortifying its border and has appealed to the United States for military... MORE

Islamabad’s Umme Hassan: Female Mobilizer and Jihadist Inspirer at the Red Mosque
In a video statement on November 24, 2014, burka clad students of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid-affiliated (Red Mosque) female seminary, Jamia-e-Hafsa, pledged allegiance to Islamic State amir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It was shocking, as the all-girls madrassa had long been known for supporting al-Qaeda and the... MORE

The Maritime Silk Road and the PLA: Part One
The past decade has seen a considerable amount of speculation concerning China’s military intentions in the Indian Ocean (and overseas generally), revolving in large part around the “String of Pearls” concept (namely, a possible network of future Chinese naval and military installations stretching across the... MORE