Latest Articles about South Asia
China or the SCO: Who will supervise Afghanistan?
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit at Astana on June 15, 2011 signalled Asia’s regional security order is slowly shifting as Afghanistan appears to be angling to become a new observer member in this decade-old Central Asian body (Ria Novosti, May 16). The Sino-Afghan relationship... MORE
Haqqani Network Growing Stronger at the Expense of the Tehrik-e-Taliban
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) seems to be slowly disintegrating as various commanders try to pull it in different directions. A clear indication of this process came when the TTP Commander in the Kurram Agency, Fazal Saeed Haqqani, announced that his group had seceded from the... MORE
Mumbai Outraged Once Again: India Blinks, Blames Homegrown Terror
Executive Summary:In the weeks following the July 13 bomb explosions in Mumbai, responsibility for the attacks has yet to be determined. Investigative agencies have not yet pinpointed a suspect nor has any terrorist group claimed the blasts as its own doing, perhaps in order to... MORE
The Man Who Knew Bin Laden: A Biographical Sketch of Hassan Ghul
There is not much known about Hassan Ghul, the alleged conduit whose information led to the killing of former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. The mysterious Hassan Ghul was an important al-Qaeda facilitator, financier and messenger of Pakistani descent with Saudi residency. Ghul... MORE
Fazal Saeed Haqqani: A New Player on the Jihadi Scene in Pakistan’s FATA
The split in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the eve of a military operation in the Kurram agency is a victory for the Pakistan army. In a surprising move, Fazal Saeed Haqqani, a relatively lesser known TTP commander in Kurram Agency, announced on June 27... MORE
Militants Striking Both Sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border to Disrupt Security Cooperation
Eleven cross-border incursions over the last four months in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region have taken place despite several army operations in Pakistan and the NATO presence across the border in Afghanistan, demonstrating the continued strength of militants in the border region. The incursions, allegedly carried... MORE
From Islamic Emirate to Nationalist Insurgency: Reckoning with Afghanistan’s Taliban Irreconcilables
Though the concept of Afghan and Western reconciliation with the Mullah Mohammad Omar-led Taliban has gained much momentum, the consequences of some kind of ad hoc settlement between the Islamists and the government of President Hamid Karzai have not been clearly defined. Opposition is growing... MORE
Pakistan’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa Steps Up Campaign of Anti-American Rhetoric
Despite the Pakistan government’s proscription, the Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has stepped up its overt anti-Indian and anti-Western rhetoric, holding mass protest rallies across Pakistan as its leaders continue to give provocative speeches in various public forums to fuel Jihadi sentiments and threaten Indian and... MORE
Al-Qaeda Uses Pakistani Intelligence Course to Train International Operatives
Possibly recognizing that intelligence breakdowns played a major role in the elimination of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders, the al-Qaeda’s Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) recently released a training tool entitled “The Security and Intelligence Course.” Many jihadi internet forums posted the course’s... MORE
India Boosts Its Presence in Kyrgyzstan
New Delhi’s presence has suddenly expanded in Kyrgyzstan following Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony visit to Bishkek on July 4-5 to meet with his Kyrgyz counterpart, Abibilla Kudayberdiyev, to discuss bilateral cooperation on security issues. It was agreed that by the end of July, Indian... MORE