Pakistan

""In truth, the strike itself does not represent a radical new policy. India conducted local cross-border raids through the 1990s and 2000s, usually as reprisals for particular attacks. But this high-altitude, tit-for-tat war on the Line of Control, which divides Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir, was largely unknown to the Indian public, who grew frustrated at their government's apparent inaction. India's decision to go public in dramatic fashion is therefore a break with the past." "

Kashmir: Why is India's Modi going on the offensive?

‘Tell the World Community Where the Terrorists Are’: Afghanistan and India Draw Closer Together in Tackling Pakistan

Shashank Joshi

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is turning to India for help after giving up hopes for Pakistan’s cooperation in containing the insurgency inside his country. India is reciprocating, but there are limits to what New Delhi can do.

"As well as reverberating across the border, Mr Modi’s tough talk is intended for a domestic audience, as New Delhi tries to deflect blame for the current crisis in Kashmir, where at least 66 people have been killed, thousands injured, and most of the population confined to their homes under a strict curfew since early July. “If you can point to Pakistan as the fundamental cause of the problem, you are exculpating yourself,” said Shashank Joshi, a senior fellow at London’s Royal United Services Institute. "

From optimism to enmity in Modi’s outreach to Pakistan

The Call of the Valleys: Violence Returns to India’s Jammu and Kashmir State

Shashank Joshi

India’s Jammu and Kashmir state is no stranger to violence. But the latest bout of bloodshed and arrests is different, for it is generated by grievances from a younger and seemingly leaderless local protest movement.

China–Pakistan: With Great Investment Comes Some Responsibility

Raffaello Pantucci

China has invested millions into Pakistani infrastructure, but will internal political conflict in Pakistan prove to be the bane of the CPEC’s existence?

The Taliban upholds the status quo with their choice of Emir

Four days after Mullah Mansour was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province, the Taliban have named their new Emir as Maulvi Haibatullah Akhundzada. The swift appointment of Haibatullah, a religious scholar who was one of Mansour’s two deputies, reflects the Taliban’s recognition of the need to protect the movement from further fragmentation. Although a conservative choice,...