MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#39: 09 JULY 2022 Navigating a Complex Terrain in Afghanistan: Ideological Obduracy of the Taliban 2.0 SHANTHIE MARIET DSOUZA ABSTRACT The Taliban 2.0 today remains strikingly similar to the regime it established in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. Systemic violence against women, minorities and supporters of the deposed government continues to increase across […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#38: 08 APRIL 2022 Re-Reviving TAPI: Hardened Obstacles & Challenges for New Delhi Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract The TAPI project is in the news, yet again. There have been fresh attempts at reviving the project by all involved parties. The long-stalled project also seems to have been boosted by a China-led initiative. However, […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#55: 17 NOVEMBER 2021 Narco Routes: From Afghanistan to Africa Shanthie Mariet D’Souza & Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Afghan, Pakistani, African, and Indian drugs cartels continue to use circuitous sea and air routes of heroin consignments from Afghanistan through Mozambique and Iran, to India, South Africa, Australia, and some of the western countries. Each […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#37: 18 SEPTEMBER 2021 Afghanistan: Future of Global Terrorism Shanthie Mariet D’Souza & Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract The expectation that the new Taliban caretaker government would deliver on its promises of preventing the Afghan soil for terrorist activities elsewhere is unrealistic. While al Qaeda and a host of global terror organisations would exploit […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#45: 20 MAY 2020 Afghanistan’s War on Covid-19: Politics of the Pandemic Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract Afghanistan, in the coming days, is projected to have one of the worst Covid-19 infection rates in the world. As the government attempts to deal with the pandemic with its overstretched health sector, the Taliban seem to […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#20: 12 MAY 2020 Islamic State’s Khorasan Province: A Melting Pot for South Asian Jihadists Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract The arrest of Aslam Farooqi, chief of the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (IS-KP) in the first week of April and the former chief of the group, Zia-ul Haq in May 2020, by the Afghan intelligence […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#44: 17 MARCH 2020 Afghanistan’s Fragile Political Transition: The Rocky Road to Peace Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract In a dramatic turn of events following the conduct of presidential elections in September 2019 and signing of the US-Taliban peace deal on February 29, Afghanistan witnessed two presidential inauguration ceremonies on 9 March. While President […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#39: 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 Peace Making in Afghanistan: Future Pathways Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract The much-awaited peace deal with the Taliban by the U.S. collapsed before its final approval by President Trump. This was hardly surprising given the roadblocks that existed to such deal making. This calls for the rationale behind the now-derailed peace […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#19: 27 AUGUST 2019 Afghan Drug Trail & the Indian Drug Syndicates Bibhu Prasad Routray & Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract Recurrent arrests of Indian drug smugglers and Afghan nationals have brought renewed focus on the increase in smuggling of heroin from Afghanistan into India. The nefarious trade has not only grown in […]
MANTRAYA SPECIAL REPORT#18: 01 AUGUST 2019 The Afghanistan-India Drug Trail Bibhu Prasad Routray & Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract Proximity to the Golden Crescent, steady rise in domestic demand, and the thriving illicit networks’ ability to exploit the ungoverned spaces and porous borders are among the factors that are making India a new destination of […]