Michael Kugelman is Asia Program deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. He can be reached on Twitter @michaelkugelman and at michael.kugelman@wilsoncenter.org. He is also a Board Member of South Asia Journal.
March 1, 2019 by Michael Kugelman With both sides now willing to climb higher up the escalation ladder, a future nuclear exchange could become a far less remote prospect. The last few days have been downright scary in South Asia. India and Pakistan, the only two rivals in the world to be both neighbors and nuclear
READ MOREAs New Delhi and Islamabad trade nuclear threats and deadly attacks, a brewing war over shared water resources threatens to turn up the violence. By Michael Kugelman | September 30, 2016 Early on the morning of Sept. 29, according to India’s Defense Ministry and military, Indian forces staged a “surgical strike” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir that
READ MOREThe crisis was predictable. How both sides get out of it isn’t. BY MICHAEL KUGELMAN | FEBRUARY 22, 2019 It has been more than a week since a young militant in the district of Pulwama in the India-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir drove a car packed with 750 pounds of explosives into a convoy of Indian paramilitary
READ MOREFebruary 5, 2019 By Michael Kugelman Wilson Center The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s mammoth and globe-girdling infrastructure and trade corridor project, represents one of those rare watershed developments for international affairs—something so big and consequential that it is impossible to ignore, no matter where in the world one might be sitting. The scale alone is
READ MOREMICHAEL KUGELMANJanuary 02, 201918:41729 Recent days have produced two major developments for Afghanistan. One is a seemingly out-of-the-blue decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw 7,000 American troops from the country in the coming months (though a White House spokesman claimed that a withdrawal order hasn’t been issued just yet). The other is Kabul’s announcement that
READ MOREBy Michael Kugelman January 1, 2019 https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/01/opinions/bangladesh-election-oped-intl/index.html Source: CNNViolence erupts during Bangladesh election 01:34 Michael Kugelman is deputy director and senior associate for South Asia with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelkugelman. The views expressed are his own. (CNN)On December 30, Bangladesh’s government was reelected in
READ MOREMichael Kugelman October 10, 2018 Sunday marked the 17th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan. The conflict has dragged on for so long that, very soon, America’s youngest soldiers could be fighting in a war that began before they were born. Aside from a series of news articles, this 17-year milestone didn’t
READ MOREUnion ministers Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis. PTI Michael Kugelman September 07 2018, 3:52 AM This week, after several false starts, the United States and India finally held their 2+2 Dialogue. The talks breathed some much-needed life into a
READ MOREImran Khan, the presumptive next prime minister of Pakistan, addresses his supporters during a campaign rally in Lahore, Pakistan, July 23, 2018 (AP photo by K.M. Chaudary). Michael Kugelman Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018 Pakistan’s new government, which takes office on Aug. 18, will confront a raft of pressing challenges at home. They include a looming
READ MOREAs an athlete, Khan was universally loved. As a politician, he’s deeply polarizing. By Michael Kugelman | July 31, 2018 Pakistan’s cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) speaks to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during the general election in Islamabad on July 25, 2018. (AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty
READ MOREBloomberg Quint Opinion Michael Kugelman 29 July 2018urned-star politician, will soon be Pakistan’s new prime minister. Given his close ties to the Pakistani army, and given his troubling approach to counterterrorism—Khan has repeatedly criticised his country for targeting Pakistani terrorists with force—one might reasonably expect New Delhi to be concerned. In reality, Khan’s arrival on the scene
READ MOREby Michael Kugelman 23 July 2018 Given Khan’s personality and policy positions, there’s reason to doubt that he is the army’s blue-eyed boy. Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, speaks during an interview at his home on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on July 29, 2017 [File: Reuters/Caren Firouz] MORE ON PAKISTAN
READ MOREMichael Kugelman July 12, 2018 Back on June 27, the White House abruptly postponed a summit, scheduled to take place in Washington on July 6, between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis and their Indian counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman. Pompeo, in a phone call with Swaraj, cited “unavoidable reasons” for
READ MOREMichael Kugelman June 19, 2018 PAKISTAN could be water scarce by 2025. In recent days, this prediction has generated headlines and galvanised social media users across the country. It’s not the first time we’ve heard this estimate. The UN, Pakistan’s Met department and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources have all delivered it in
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