MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#68: 20 JULY 2023 Pakistan’s deepening woes in Balochistan SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA & BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY Abstract Pakistan is facing an uphill task in Balochistan. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is expanding its influence into the restive province and trying to make common cause with the Baloch insurgents against the Pakistani state and China. Islamabad’s […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#62: 05 JANUARY 2023 The TTP and the Pakistani State: How Not to Fight an Insurgency BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT After calling off its months-long ceasefire with the Pakistani state in November 2022, the TTP has launched an unprecedented wave of country-wide violence. The bulk of the violence, however, is concentrated in the settled […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#61: 26 OCTOBER 2022 Emerging Faultlines within the Taliban: Implications for Afghanistan & Pakistan SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA & BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT The continuing closure of girls’ schools in Afghanistan, in spite of the promises made by the Taliban, is one of the many issues which have brought deep factionalism among the former insurgents. […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#60: 11 OCTOBER 2022 State of Play: Lashkar-e-Taiba in Kashmir BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT Terrorist violence in Jammu & Kashmir is decreasing. And yet, terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) continue their attempt to reverse the gains made by the security forces. Backing from the state sponsors in Pakistan, geopolitical changes in Afghanistan and […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#58: 05 MAY 2022 Baloch Insurgency: Pakistan’s Moment of Reckoning Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract Baloch insurgency is on a resurgence and its widened targets include CPEC projects as well as Chinese nationals in Pakistan. The Pakistani security establishment is under pressure from Beijing to respond decisively to the killing of three Chinese nationals on […]
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 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 SPECIAL REPORT#16: 11 APRIL 2019 Patron-Client Relationship: Pakistani Deep State and the Jaish-e-Mohammad Bibhu Prasad Routray Abstract In the complex jihadi landscape of South Asia, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) , since its origin in 2000, has served as an instrument of Pakistani military’s policy vis-à-vis India and Afghanistan. The deep state within Pakistan nurtured it in […]
MANTRAYA OCCASIONAL PAPER #07: 14 MARCH 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organization and South Asia: Balancing Act – Divya Godbole – Abstract The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) welcomed India and Pakistan into its cohort in 2017, a move that not only revamped the organization, but made it relevant in the South Asian context. This unveils the scenario of […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#34: 26 FEBRUARY 2019 Pulwama Attack: The ‘game of chicken’ in India-Pakistan relations Bibhu Prasad Routray – Abstract Kashmir yet again captured media attention with the suicide attack by a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant on the security forces on 14 February that killed 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force. On 26 February, New […]