
Latest Articles about South Asia
China’s Diplomatic Moves Amidst the India-Pakistan Conflict
Introduction On March 13th, diplomatic representatives of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) placed a hold on a draft resolution under consideration at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)—a resolution intended to designate Maulana Masood Azhar as a global terrorist (Business Today (India), March 14,... MORE
Peace Talks with Afghan Taliban and its Implications for Pakistan
Negotiations leading toward a peaceful solution for a longstanding politically violent conflict is generally the desire of neighboring nations. In the recent past, several terrorist campaigns have ended after rounds of talks resulting in peaceful solutions in countries such as Algeria, Ireland, Colombia, Peru and... MORE
Post-Mortem Analysis: The Assassination of Taliban Godfather Sami ul Haq
Among jihadist circles in Pakistan, few ideologues managed to attract such widespread respect and charisma as Maulana Sami ul Haq. His credentials include Islamist jihadist writings, fatwas against Western forces, teaching and running his own grand madrasah, active participation in politics, running his own Islamist... MORE
The Maldives Faces Dual Challenge of Terrorist Returnees and Extremist Hate Campaigns
The Maldives, the smallest nation in South Asia, has witnessed it all in the last several years amid periodic political instabilty: Islamic radicalization, forced disappearances, foreign fighters, and crackdowns on free speech. At present, the archipelago nation is grappling with several new challenges—the problem of... MORE
Indian Airstrikes: Weakening Terrorists or Winning Votes?
On February 26, Indian Air Force (IAF) jets struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) training camp at Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Less than two weeks earlier, a JeM suicide bomber targeted an Indian paramilitary convoy in the Pulwama district of the Indian state of Jammu... MORE
The Elusive Uyghur Insurgent Commander Haunting China in Afghanistan—Haji Furqan
Uyghur Islamist extremists propagating a separatist jihad against the Chinese state have concerned the Chinese government since long before recent reports of mass internment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far west of China (South China Morning Post, February 26; Permanent... MORE
Evading Scrutiny, Spreading Mayhem: How Jaish-e-Muhammad Chief Maulana Masood Azhar is Crafting Chaos in Kashmir
Maulana Masood Azhar, the founding leader of Jaish-e-Muhammad (Army of Muhammad—JeM), a Pakistan-based terrorist group blamed for violence against India over the past two decades—including the latest vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) targeting a security convoy. On February 14,... MORE
Mohammad Fazl: Military Commander-turned-Taliban-Negotiator
In October 2018, the Taliban announced that Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Norullah Noori, and Mohammad Nabi would be among its representatives at upcoming talks with the United States. The five, who were imprisoned at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo,... MORE
Rivalries and Relics: Examining China’s Buddhist Public Diplomacy
In October 2018, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) hosted over 1,000 Buddhist scholars and representatives from 55 countries and regions at the Fifth World Buddhist Forum (WBF) in Putian, in China’s southeastern Fujian Province (Xinhua, October 28 2018). First held in 2006, and since... MORE