International organizations, humanitarian advocates, and policymakers have raised concerns about the misuse of foreign aid in Afghanistan. These concerns have intensified since the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021. The financial assistance that was provided by foreign agencies and groups under the U.N. is being redirected towardContinue Reading
On February 5, India’s national capital Delhi will vote in state assembly elections. The contest is a triangular one between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the main challenger and India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. While the AAP is determined to win a thirdContinue Reading
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to New Delhi on January 23-26 — he was the chief guest at India’s 76th Republic Day parade on January 26 — saw the two sides agree to deepen cooperation in maritime and cyber security, defense manufacturing, and supply chain development. In addition to signingContinue Reading
India’s growth momentum seems to be losing steam. After registering 8.2 percent growth in 2023-24, the Indian economy grew by 5.4 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year (July-September 2024). This was the slowest growth in six quarters, almost 3 percentage points slower than the corresponding periodContinue Reading
With the unprecedented wave of executive orders signed in the first week of his second administration, U.S. President Donald Trump dealt a devastating blow to an already embattled group of American allies: Afghans. Among the executive orders signed on the day of Trump’s inauguration was an immediate and total freezeContinue Reading
Geography has never been kind to Pakistan. The country inherited a nine times larger adversarial state in India following the Indian Subcontinent’s partition in 1947. Likewise, geographical incongruity between Pakistan’s western and eastern wings (now Bangladesh) was among the factors that resulted in the latter’s separation in 1971. Similarly, theContinue Reading
On December 25, China approved the construction of a mega hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet. The dam is to be constructed at the Great Bend, just before the river enters the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. China has said that the “measures have been takenContinue Reading
Tulip Siddiq, a British-Bangladeshi member of the British Parliament for the Labor Party and formerly a senior anti-corruption minister in Keir Starmer’s government, recently resigned from her ministerial position amid intense scrutiny and public pressure. The niece of Bangladesh’s former authoritarian Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Siddiq faced widespread media scrutinyContinue Reading
The recent reports that Sri Lanka has decided to revoke a 20-year power purchase agreement with India’s Adani Group has prompted considerable debate, highlighting the challenges that the nation’s leaders face in attempting to balance economic imperatives, relations with regional powers, and domestic accountability. The debate around the Adani projectsContinue Reading
China is drawing inspiration and ideas from Japan’s highly successful soft power strategy in Sri Lanka. Historically, Japan has played a pivotal role as an economic and trade partner for Sri Lanka. By the 1980s, Japan had become Sri Lanka’s largest aid donor, maintaining this position until 2007. During thisContinue Reading
