The kidnapping—followed by the killing of four Indian Air Force officers soon after, and the executions of Intelligence Bureau personnel—made the triumph of jihadism seem inevitable.
Part of a CIA-trained zero unit, Rahmanullah Lakanwal was evacuated to the US before the fall of Kabul in 2021. But his long journey failed to wash the blood from his mind.
Even as India, Pakistan have seemed on the edge of war, their intelligence services have often sought to find space to de-escalate tensions and reduce risks for the two countries.
Cutting trade ties with Pakistan is easier said than done: the neighbouring country is Afghanistan’s largest single trading partner, taking in 45 per cent of Afghan exports in 2024.
Fourteen million refugees, and 25 million facing acute hunger, should be reason enough for the world to dismantle the dystopia in Sudan — even if the sadism of its rulers is not.
Pakistan massively enhanced the funding for Islamists in Afghanistan, hoping to bury ethnic nationalism. That strategy has now backfired spectacularly.
The test raises a question. Why have Russian nuclear strategists now invested in the Burevestnik, when the US abandoned nuclear ramjet propulsion in 1964?
India will need to recalibrate crude sourcing strategy as US ends waivers for Russian & Iranian oil, energy experts say. But Russian crude will likely remain central to energy basket.
This special edition of Cut The Clutter, straight from the Siliguri corridor, details the strategic importance of the narrow strip of land in West Bengal, and how it’s a vital link connecting the Northeast to the rest of India.
We now live in a world order that will keep shifting. India must use this window. This also means we remain disciplined enough not to be knee-jerked into reacting to what Pakistan sees as its moment in the sun.
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