Comment & Briefs

The geo-strategic location of Afghanistan has tempted many dominant powers to intervene but no great power has been able to occupy or attain predominance in the country. The US failed to fulfill its geo-strategic objectives even after two decades of war and peace efforts aimed at either subduing or pacifying insurgency in the country.

US–Pakistan relations have witnessed upheavals in the past; the US’ exit from Afghanistan is the latest in the series of inflection points in their relationship. However, irrespective of the escalatory war of words sometimes, the nature of US–Pakistan relationship of convenience is likely to keep them strategically aligned in the future as well.

The relationship between TTP, or Pakistani Taliban, and Afghan Taliban will continue to be dictated by religious-ideological convergence, ethnic-fraternal linkages and the close camaraderie that emerged while they were fighting together against the foreign ‘occupying’ forces in Afghanistan.

To sustain its historical interest and influence in the UN peacekeeping operations, India should provide technical assistance to the missions while continuing to contribute troops, rather than a complete transformation from being a traditional troop contributor to a technology contributor.

Certain sections of the elite in China seem to be speaking out against the tightening political control under President Xi Jinping. Whether the Chinese Communist Party is failing to elicit loyalty among its own members, and resorting to widespread ideological control to retain its legitimacy is a pertinent question to ponder upon.

Yemeni crisis has been a challenge for Saudi Arabia’s standing and reputation as the leader of the Arab and the Islamic world. It is caught between the resilience of the Houthis to sustain their fight, and the growing cost of war and the allegations of innocents being victims of their air strikes.

With House of Representatives’ four-year term ending in October, and a general election lined up in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party needs a leader who demonstrates statesmanship, political vision, boldness in imagining innovative policy responses, and who enjoys popular support.

India's emphasis on humanitarian crisis, concerns about possible misuse of Afghan territory by fringe elements, and silence on issues like how to deal with Taliban, and the prospect of India's recognition of new regime or lack of it, indicate that India's new Afghanistan policy is still in making.

Neither Russia and China nor the Central Asian countries have a clear strategy on how to handle the rapidly changing canvas in Afghanistan. An ambivalent waiting game tied by slow calibrated response has become the sine qua non strategy for the stakeholders in Afghanistan.

The reported death of Abu Bakr Shekau may herald the imminent end of Boko Haram, but the impact of its heinous atrocities, particularly its use of female suicide bombers, has set a dangerous precedent for other terrorist groups to adopt.