The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31st has brought Iran and Israel, and the larger Middle East, to the brink of all-out conflict. Non only that, it has also escalated the great power rivalry, which was already simmering over the situation of Ukraine. For the first time, Ukrainian forces have…
Context After a long and arduous negotiations, the US reached an agreement with the Afghan Taliban in 2020, which came to be known as Doha Accords. While the treaty was agreed on during the Trump administration, it was the Biden administration that abruptly decided to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan in 2021. In the aftermath…
ContextOn May 13, India signed a 10-year agreement to develop and operate Iran’s strategic Chahbahar Port, committing $120 million, along with an additional $250 million loan credit facility for related projects. This landmark deal between Iran and India has unsettled the US and threatened China and Pakistan by India’s full-scale presence next to the Gwadar…
Israel’s latest ground offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, has triggered international frustration over its military strategy towards ‘total victory’ over Hamas, resulting in a significant loss of diplomatic support and growing isolation. With close allies pressuring Israel to change its course, its steadfast defiance carries the growing risk of economic and security…
Context Voting began on April 19th in India and the results will be announced in the first week of June. With over 986 million eligible voters, elections in India have been described as the largest democratic exercise in the world. However, despite all the fanfare, the results of the Indian balloting seem all but a…
Context As the new government settles down in Pakistan, in addition to the economy, one of the key questions is how it will handle the relations with its neighbors and extremism. Pakistan’s ties with India have always been tense, now Iran and Afghanistan have been added to the list. However, while the border with India…
Context As Israel continues its military campaign and air bombardments on the Gaza Strip and retaliates against Palestinians for the October 7 Hamas ambush, fears are mounting the conflict was widening to include Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and beyond. According to media reports, to date close to 26,000 Palestinians have been killed and 65,000 wounded. For…
Context Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Afghan Taliban character has been evolving and so are ties with Pakistan. The widely held apprehension that US exit will make Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) bolder is coming to fruition – as the number of TTP linked extremist attacks continue to rise in Pakistan with Baloch…
Context In the previous articles, we have been examining the various dimensions of Arab-Israeli rapprochement that got underway as a consequence of the Abraham Accords, signed during the Trump administration in 2020. As a result, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco officially recognized Israel. Progressively alarmed by the growing Chinese involvement in the region, demonstrated by…
ContextWhen laying out the master plan for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China must have grappled with two strategic considerations. One, what would a potential future conflict with US, or more generally with the West, mean for its security and economic interests. Second, how it would secure the energy needs if the strategic sea pathways,…
