Articles in Courtesy: South Asia Monitor
Pakistan revives Controversial Military Courts: A Substitute for Judicial...
By: Mahendra Ved | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 14 Jan , 2017
In a U-turn that is as remarkably swift as it is inexplicable, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership on January 9, 2017 decided to “hold consultations” on continuing with the military...
India should not be Sucked into an Arms Race
By: Dr Manpreet Sethi | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 12 Jan , 2017
India closed 2016 with the successful test of its long-range ballistic missile, the 5,000-km-range Agni V. The country heralded the New Year with the test of Agni IV, a ballistic missile with a...
IS-Khorasan in Afghanistan: The new menace on the extremist block
By: Chayanika Saxena | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 02 Jan , 2017
Facing challenges on many fronts, Afghanistan is battling various anti-state forces at once. Caught in spiralling insecurity, the conflict-ridden nation now faces the latest anti-state element to...
China-Nepal Relations: The new Normal may be Troubling for India
By: Anuradha Rai | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 30 Dec , 2016
Beginning a new level of bilateral military engagement, Nepal will hold its first ever joint military exercise with China on February 10, 2017 named Pratikar-1 that will be on training Nepali...
Emerging Russia-Pakistan Strategic Ties may become India's Newest Bugbear
By: Dr Bawa Singh | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 25 Dec , 2016
Realist theorists like Hans Morgenthau hold that in international relations, there are no permanent friends or foes but always national interests. It will remain very interesting to see the...
CPEC: Pakistan's newest Holy Cow could also become its Millstone
By: Shabir Choudhry | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 19 Dec , 2016
Pakistan faces many serious problems — and among them is the status and invulnerability of holy cows, and people who are above Pakistani laws. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not a...
Pakistan Navy's New Task Force has Serious Implications for Region
By: Mahendra Ved | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 14 Dec , 2016
The establishment of Pakistan Navy’s special ‘Task Force-88’ (TF-88) on December 13, 2016, exclusively for maritime security of Gwadar port, is the next logical step that China and Pakistan have...
Great Game in Afghanistan: Pak Terror, Russian Roulette and Chinese Checkers
By: Lt Gen Prakash Katoch | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 08 Dec , 2016
The recently concluded Sixth Ministerial ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference at Amritsar, attended by some 30 countries and international and regional organisations, emerged as a platform for stronger...
Border Tension Leaves India-Pakistan Trade in Crisis
By: Amitava Mukherjee | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 05 Dec , 2016
Increased tension along the Line of Control (LOC), particularly in the wake of reported Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack at Uri and Indian surgical strike in response, has left its mark on...
Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar: Opportunity or Exercise in Futility?
By: Lt Gen Prakash Katoch | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 28 Nov , 2016
The SAARC summit scheduled in Islamabad in November 2016 was shunned by all SAARC countries forcing Pakistan to sheepishly ‘postpone’ the meet but blame India for ‘influencing’ other member...
China's Af-Pak Gameplans: Signals to incoming US Administration?
By: Lt Gen Prakash Katoch | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 23 Nov , 2016
China’s President Xi Jinping is seeking an early meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump. In his congratulatory message to Trump, Xi mentioned China’s keenness to move forward on a ‘new...
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar: A New Sinister Factor in the Afghan Imbroglio
By: Amitava Mukherjee | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 18 Nov , 2016
The peace agreement between the Ashraf Ghani government of Afghanistan and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar may further obfuscate the already confused Afghan scenario. There are reasons behind the suspicion...
India May gain a lot from the Trump Presidency
By: Brig Anil Gupta | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 15 Nov , 2016
The almost two-year-long process to elect the 45th President of the United States (POTUS) came to a dramatic end on 9/11. September 11 2001(popularly known as 9/11) is synonymous with the date...
India Needs to Project itself as a Responsible and Muscular Power
By: Dr Sudhanshu Tripathi | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 11 Nov , 2016
Though foreign policy of any country happens to be a well-planned, consistent, predetermined and calculated statement of its goals and objectives and their priorities and also about the...
Trade vs Terror: Time for China to Choose
By: Sanjay Kumar Kar | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 07 Nov , 2016
India-China relations have been severely impacted by China’s open support for Pakistan on many fronts. One of the important areas where China seems to be least worried is cross-border terrorism...
Xi Visit to Bangladesh: Why Dhaka sees Beijing and Delhi ties through...
By: Dr Sreeradha Datta | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 02 Nov , 2016
Arriving at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka is always a happy moment for me. It was no different earlier this month when I went as a participant at the South Asia Economic...
China-Pakistan Corridor against India's Strategic Interests
By: Jai Kumar Verma | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 30 Oct , 2016
The much touted $46 billion, 3,000-km-long China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) links Gwadar port in the troubled state of Balochistan to China’s restive autonomous region of Xinjiang. The...
India should not Gloat over a Moderate Tactical Success
By: Lt Gen Kamal Davar (Retd) | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 26 Oct , 2016
The last three weeks may not have been historically momentous, as some in the establishment would like us to believe, but certainly India has been in the news, both within and globally, and more...
Can BBIN Work as Antidote to Failures of SAARC?
By: Amitava Mukherjee | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 22 Oct , 2016
As Pakistan is now aiming for a greater South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with China and the Central Asian states in its fold, the importance of the emerging...
Does SAARC have a Future?
By: NS Venkatraman | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 19 Oct , 2016
The recent cancellation of the 19th summit of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that was scheduled to take place in Islamabad on November 15-16 has led to serious doubts as...