IDR Blog
Pakistan’s Western Frontiers Restive: The Pakhtun Awakening
Pakistan’s Western Frontiers comprising Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunwa Province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), have been restive for decades but recent Pakhtuns widespread protests in Islamabad and in rest of Pakistan has been described by Pakistani columnists as “The Awakening” and the “Pakhtuns Spring”. That this new...
Raksha Mantri to Pursue India’s Defence Cooperation Agenda in SCO
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Annual Defence Ministerial Meeting to be held in Beijing on April 24. This is the first time that an Indian Defence Minister will be attending such a meeting, which will have the participation of SCO’s Secretary-General and Director, Executive...
One more Airport in Tibet: Govern the Borders by First Stabilizing Tibet
Radio Free Asia (RFA) has reported that the Chinese authorities have seized some farmland near Lhatse in Central Tibet to build a new airport. The displaced Tibetan villagers would have been offered far less in compensation than the land is worth. According to a plan announced by officials in the Shigatse prefecture and the regional authorities...
Resetting India–Nepal ties: Oli shows his pragmatism
The visit by Nepalese Prime Minister KPS Oli to Delhi on April 6 continued a tradition going back to 1990, wherein the elected leader of Kathmandu makes India the first destination for an official visit. While this is a reiteration of the resilience of bilateral ties, the three-day Oli visit also marked the beginning of a new reset punctuation...
United States-Russia Military Confrontation 2018 & its Implications for Indian Foreign Policy
United States and Russia are in a state of edgy military confrontation which has all the potential of a flare-up and military showdown. Inherent in this are serious implications for India and its foreign policy would be severely tested. Geopolitically, strange is the emerging reality that the United States has chosen the Middle East for a...