Covering Policy Issues from South Asia
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Bangladesh: How safe is the current Awami League government?0
- Blog
- February 9, 2019
Why hold a free and fair election which you risk losing, when you can rig it to ensure certain victory, and get away with it? This was clearly in the mind of the Awami League in Bangladesh which three weeks ago won 293 of the 300 parliamentary seats in what must be the country’s most
The Unpredictable Rise of China0
- Blog
- February 9, 2019
Americans Misunderstand China’s Ambitions for ‘Renewal’ – The Atlantic Xi Jinping seeks national rejuvenation, but his nation’s mounting power masks increased instability. Feb 3, 2019 Daniel Blumenthal Director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute Since the end of the Cold War, Beijing has viewed Washington as its chief geopolitical rival, yet official Washington
Fate of Maldives-China FTA uncertain as Male loosens ties with Beijing0
- Blog
- February 9, 2019
by Editor February 8, 2019 By P.K.Balachandran/South Asian Monitor The Maldives-China Free Trade Agreement (MCFTA) which was signed amidst great controversy on December 8, 2017, is today in limbo as the new Maldivian government headed by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is looking into all deals, including the MCFTA, entered into by the previous regime headed by strongman Abdulla
Rajapaksa urges revival of war-time Troika to manage India-Lanka relations0
- Blog
- February 9, 2019
by EditorFebruary 9, 2019 Colombo, February 9 (newsin.asia): Mahinda Rajapaksa, Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan parliament and a former Sri Lankan President, has strongly urged the governments of India and Sri Lanka to revive the “Troika” system which managed relations between the two countries during the crucial final phase of the war against
Afghanistan: the tensions inside the Taliban over recent US peace talks0
- Blog
- February 6, 2019
Michael Semple, Queen’s University Belfast 6 February 2019 When members of the Taliban’s Political Commission in Doha sat down with US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on January 21, talks were expected to last only a couple of days. Instead, the two sides talked for six days. By the end of the week, many Afghans hoped there might even
Pakistan Fights to Save the Adorable and Endangered Pangolin0
- Blog
- February 6, 2019
By Haniya Javed 6 February 2019 The WWF has found at least 239 shops in six different cities of Pakistan that were involved in the sale of pangolin body parts, while local websites list the sale of baby pangolins for 80,000 Pakistani rupees ($570). SourceShutterstock Why you should care Pangolin numbers have gone down by
Commentary
Iran: Hawkish Trump0
- Commentary
- September 16, 2018
Mr. Trump has gathered the hawkish cohort of advisors led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the national security adviser, John R. Bolton to smoothen the internal resistance in his administration on the face of unreasonable policies. One of them appears in the form of US withdrawal from Iran Nuclear deal. Joint Comprehensive Plan
United States: Peace Broker or War Monger?0
- Commentary, Issue 27 – Winter 2019
- September 16, 2018
by Shabbir Kazmi 16 September 2018 On Friday, 14th September 2018 I was among the audience who were invited by Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi to a talk led by Dr. Moeed Yusuf, Associate Vice President, Asia Centre, United States Institute of Peace. The other two worthy speakers were former Defence
China struggles with Belt and Road pushback0
- Commentary
- September 16, 2018
By James M. Dorsey 15 September 2018 China, in an implicit recognition that at least some of its Belt and Road-related projects risk trapping target countries in debt or fail to meet their needs, has conceded that adjustments may be necessary. “It’s normal and understandable that development focus can change at
Wobbling China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) hides more than it reveals0
- Commentary
- September 15, 2018
Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra 15 September 2018 Through the mega ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI), Beijing has moved massive capital in the shape of loans to many countries for infrastructural and interconnectivity projects with the apparent objective of reviving Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road cutting across Asian, European and African continents and CPEC is
India: The Man in a blue scarf – Chandrasekhar Azad’s NSA revoked0
- Commentary, Issue 27 – Winter 2019
- September 14, 2018
Suhail Mohammed 14 September 2018 Chandrasekhar, also known as Ravan,30 was arrested in June 2017 in connection with the May 5 clashes in which one person was killed, and 16 others were injured at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to revoke through
India: Three legal precedents that may impact arrested activists’ case0
- Commentary
- September 14, 2018
N Sathiya Moorthy 14 September 2018 N Sathiya Moorthy goes back in time to dig up three cases that may not have any citation in legal text-books or lawyers’ ready-reckoners quoted before courts but which may still have a bearing on the current case against the arrested activists. Independent of the final outcome of the
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Featured
Indian Politics: — Modi Returns!
by Nilofar Suhrawardy 25 May 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s stunning victory in Indian parliamentary elections marking return of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister have raised apprehensions of it spelling danger signals for Indian secularism as well as democracy. Undeniably, Modi’s term, from 2014 to present, has been marked by saffronization of certain institutions
Unforgettable Zia, As I Knew Him
By R Chowdhury 23 May 2019 Following my escape from Pakistan Army in 1971, I was posted to Z Force of Colonel Ziaur Rahman in the eastern theater of the Bangladesh liberation war. The nearly 20-day journey took me from Lahore to Khem Karan to Rajoke to Ferozepur to Delhi to Kolkata to Agartala and