Executive Summary: Moscow is looking to South Asia as a source of new immigrants to compensate for the demographic decline of the Russian population and declining numbers of migrant workers from Central Asia. Such a policy faces enormous obstacles given both the negative attitudes of... MORE

Executive Summary: The PRC’s claims over Bhutanese territory have expanded over the years, including recent large-scale construction in disputed valleys, which contradicts the 1998 agreement to maintain the status quo, challenging Bhutanese sovereignty and raising strategic concerns for India. The PRC is pushing to resolve... MORE

Executive Summary Following a week of hostility after tit-for-tat missile and air strikes, Iran and Pakistan have deescalated tensions and normalized relations, though Jaish al-Adl—the proximate cause for the recent crisis—remains an active threat to regional stability. Jaish al-Adl is an anti-Shia Islamist militant group... MORE

Executive Summary The official reactions of key militant factions based in Pakistan and Afghanistan to the “al-Aqsa Storm” attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 reflected an interesting array of agendas and priorities. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) issued an immediate response... MORE

Executive Summary: Iran has granted Armenia access to its Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports to facilitate Yerevan’s trade access to India. The proposed east-west transit route will serve as a supplemental component of the International North-South Transport Corridor in facilitating greater regional trade. Armenia has... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakhstan recently removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations, signifying a shift in Central Asia’s engagement with Kabul. The Central Asian states, particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have expanded their cooperation with the Taliban on trade, transit, and energy matters. Astana... MORE

Executive Summary Pakistan's army chief visited the United States in December to "reset" strained relations and potentially secure American aid in the hopes of ameliorating Pakistan's ongoing economic crisis and rising militant threat. Since the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, there has been a 65... MORE

Executive Summary The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militant group in Pakistan opposes Chinese investment projects in Balochistan province, viewing China as complicit in Pakistani government oppression of their people. The BLA has carried out multiple attacks against Chinese nationals and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) installations... MORE

Immediately after the fall of Mosul in June 2014 and the subsequent declaration of a “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State (IS) reached out to Islamist terrorist networks, cultivated contacts, and developed franchises in South Asia and Afghanistan. IS’s caliph, Abubakar al-Baghdadi, demanded all... MORE

The transnational Islamist political movement Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) has increased its India-centric propaganda. HT is often described as a non-violent extremist group seeking to unite the global Muslim community under one Islamic caliphate. The arrests of several HT operatives from Central and South Indian states,... MORE