On March 22, 2024, Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) killed approximately 137 people in Moscow, Russia, in one of the worst terror attacks Russia has ever experienced. As Russians seek answers, Afghanistan watchers are also on high alert, carefully watching and analyzing what this attack says about ISKP capabilities and reach. South Asia Program’s Nonresident Fellow Dr. Amira Jadoon explains the wide implications of such an attack in a brief Q&A.  What does ISKP’s Moscow attack tell us about the terrorism landscape in Afghanistan? The Moscow attack clearly demonstrates ..read more

In February 2024, India bagged two achievements in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR): the commissioning of INS Jatayu, an Indian Naval base on Lakshadweep Island, and the inauguration of security establishments on Agalega Island, Mauritius. These two developments come amidst ongoing diplomatic tensions with the Maldives and broader competition with China in the IOR.  Despite providing India with significant security and economic benefits, these two recent developments also have implications for the delicate geopolitical balance of the IOR. While the IOR has historically been characterized as ..read more

Water in South Asia has always had a complicated history, right from early civilizations to the present day, where rivers are divided by political boundaries. South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world, despite its abundant resources, shared tumultuous past, and shared risks. In pursuing economic security, river basins have primarily been used for agriculture and energy, but are seldom seen as cohesive units that also require safeguarding. The looming threat of climate change exacerbates existing tensions between riparian countries, presenting new challenges to achievi ..read more

This year marks a watershed moment for democracy, as over half of the global population gears up to vote. India anticipates over 970 million eligible voters for its 2024 general election, which will be held this summer. However, India’s diaspora adds another dimension beyond its vast domestic electorate, comprising approximately 32 million individuals who cannot vote from abroad due to in-person voting requirements. This group includes 13 million Non-Residential Indians (NRIs), who are Indian citizens residing overseas for employment or education, and can vote in Indian elections only if they ..read more


زبان نہ صرف ذریعۂ ابلاغ کا  کام دیتی ہے بلکہ سامعین پر ایک اہم  سائکو لینگوسٹیک (زبان دانی سے متعلقہ نفسیاتی )اثر بھی ڈالتی ہے۔  الفاظ کا مخصوص انتخاب کسی بھی امر کی اہمیت کو زیادہ یا کم کرسکتا ہے  اور غیر محسوس انداز میں اس امر کے تناظر کی تشکیل کر سکتا ہے۔
جنوبی ایشیا کے اسٹریٹیجک اسلحے کی اسم بندی ایک انوکھی  صورتحال   پیش کرتی ہے۔
 زیادہ تر غیر جنوبی ایشیائی جوہری ریاستیں اپنے بیشتر اسلحہ جاتی نظامات (ویپن سسٹمز)  کو تکنیکی خصوصیات  کی بنیاد پر  حرفی ہندسی کوڈز   ..read more

Early in 2023, monsoon rains hit hard in Nepal’s Koshi Province. The cascading nature of the flood damaged hydropower infrastructure and took the lives of several hydropower workers. The increasing frequency and intensity of climate hazards, including heatwaves, droughts, floods, landslides, windstorms, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, make Nepal particularly vulnerable to climate change. Coupled with its diverse geography spanning from mountains to plains, interactions between these hazards result in compounding impacts on lives, livelihoods, assets, critical infrastructure, and ecosystems ..read more

The much-awaited completion of the Shahpur Kandi dam on February 25, 2024, at the border of Indian Punjab and Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has once again brought water to the center of India-Pakistan relations. Permitted under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)’s water sharing framework, the Shahpur Kandi dam will allow India to effectively use the hydropower and irrigation resources provided by its eastern rivers, i.e., the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. The Shapur Kandi dam took three decades to build due to a dispute between Punjab and J&K and cost roughly USD $398,000. Th ..read more

On a three-day visit of a U.S. delegation to Bangladesh last month, both refugees and climate change featured high on the diplomatic agenda. Delegates acknowledged Bangladesh as the world’s seventh most climate-vulnerable country, with Washington pledging support to help Bangladesh tackle climate change. They also discussed the Rohingya refugee crisis. However, while refugees and climate change merit separate discussions, there is a growing need to think of the two as dual challenges, particularly when they impact multiple states.   In 2022, 7.1 million Bangladeshis were forcibly dis ..read more

March 9, 2024, marked two years since an Indian BrahMos cruise missile misfired, accidentally landing in Pakistan’s Mian Channu city. While global attention at the time concentrated on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing nuclear risks, the incident in the subcontinent was unprecedented as it was the first time a cruise missile of one nuclear-armed state landed in another.  India’s only operational cruise missile is the supersonic BrahMos, which has land and air variants, while the subsonic Nirbhay remains in development. On the other hand, Pakistan operates supersonic and subsoni ..read more

On March 11, 2024, India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) announced the successful test of a land-based nuclear missile equipped with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. The missile test, named Mission Divyastra, launched from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island in the Indian state of Odisha, positioning India among the select nations possessing MIRV capability. This exclusive club includes the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France. Notably, Pakistan conducted its maiden MIRV test in January 2017, employing t ..read more