Leadership: Between Romanticism and Realism

For centuries, what constitutes good leadership has been an intriguing subject. In South Asia, such paradoxes in theories in the context of nation-building are exemplified by the propensity of the general public to transform their enthusiasm into slavish loyalty.
Afghanistan: Amid Politics and Sports

In light of the controversy over the cancellation of a cricket series between Australia and Afghanistan, it is crucial to ask whether sports are truly apolitical or if their non-political nature is only a concession to the world\’s most powerful lobbies.
TTP: “Let’s Disturb China”

Owing to its historical and current ties to regional terrorist groups, TTP is one of China\’s greatest security challenges. However, it is strategically unsustainable unless the Afghan Taliban stop supporting it on the pretext of fulfilling their ethno-religious obligations.
Pakistan and Afghanistan: The Simmering Conflict

Despite the recent escalation in hostilities that the TTP threat has sparked between Pakistan and Afghanistan, there is as yet a little possibility that Pakistan will use kinetic action across the border, and even less likely that Afghanistan would respond equitably even if it did.
Terrorism in Pakistan: The Indian Footprint

Without unanimity among the Pak-Afghan-India trio on what should account for a peaceful vision for the future, the region would continue to suffer, with its people repeatedly sacrificed on the altar of long-standing geopolitical rivalries.
Surrender In Dhaka: The Eastern Front

Soon after the start of the civil war in East Pakistan in March 1971, Indira Gandhi consulted her army chief, Gen. Manekshaw, about a military campaign in East Pakistan. Manekshaw stated that the Indian army was not prepared for an offensive operation in East Pakistan or for the inevitable Pakistani military counterthrust in West Pakistan […]
Myths and Realities: The “Genocide” in East Pakistan

Obviously, the figures of 3 million killed and 2 lakh raped in the “Genocide” in East Pakistan are rumors.
But why was this rumor circulated? Why has the Awami League made it an article of faith? Why does the Indian government propagate this lie incessantly all over the world?
Military Operation, Civil War, and Indian Meddling

The conventional narrative about Operation Searchlight goes like this: The mighty Pakistan Army started smashing the hapless Bengalis, who never stood a chance. This is pure fiction.
The Issue of Disparity between East and West Pakistan

Barely a year after the birth of Pakistan, the issue of inter-wing disparity became a popular talking point among opposition politicians in East Pakistan.
Ayub Khan’s Ouster by the Yahya-Mujib-Bhutto Trio

Bhutto had called Ayub Khan “daddy” at one point in his life, and Ayub had engineered Bhutto’s meteoric rise, but the two fell out in the aftermath of the 1965 war.