MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#49: 20 DECEMBER 2023 Women’s Rights in Afghanistan under Taliban 2.0: Strategies for a Sustainable Change EKAMPREET KAUR, RATNADEEP CHAKRABORTY & SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA Abstract The capture of power by the Taliban in August 2021 unveiled a regime of regressive policies, grievously impacting the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Despite attempts […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#64: 10 MARCH 2023 Taliban Incapacity and the growing threat of Islamic State-Khorasan Province SHANTHIE MARIET DSOUZA & BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT In the past two years, the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province in Afghanistan has increased its cadre strength from 3000 to 6000. Taking advantage of the ungoverned spaces and the Taliban’s inability to […]
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 POLICY BRIEF#45: 31 DECEMBER 2022 Limits of Pakistan’s Afghanistan Policy SHANTHIE MARIET D’SOUZA ABSTRACT The Afghan Taliban are seemingly breaking free from their former sponsors. They have refused to accept the Durand Line as the international border with Pakistan and have failed to force the TTP to give up its violent attacks in Pakistan. […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#43: 30 NOVEMBER 2022 The Rise of Islamic State’s Khorasan Province BIBHU PRASAD ROUTRAY ABSTRACT The Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISKP) is on an ascent in Afghanistan. Its violent attacks targeting both the Taliban members and the civilians belonging to the minority communities have continued, despite ‘measures’ taken by the Islamic Emirate. Not […]
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 POLICY BRIEF#41: 23 AUGUST 2022 India’s Leap of Faith in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan SHANTHIE MARIET DSOUZA ABSTRACT Within a year of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, India’s policy towards the country has shifted from detachment to reluctant engagement. However, the June 2022 decision to reopen its embassy in Kabul has been fueled mostly by hope, […]
MANTRAYA POLICY BRIEF#40: 03 AUGUST 2022 Need and Vision for a Mine and ERW-free Afghanistan SHANTHIE MARIET DSOUZA ABSTRACT Afghanistan remains most heavily contaminated by landmines as well as explosive remnants of war, the related casualties of which can be counted in their thousands. The country needs sustained international attention and clear benchmarks on demining. […]
MANTRAYA OCCASIONAL PAPER #09: 29 JULY 2022 Use of Air Power: The Missing Link in anti-Taliban Operations in Afghanistan Shanthie Mariet D’Souza Abstract In July 2021, the ministry of defense of the now deposed civilian Afghan government posted on social media photographs of seven brand new helicopters arriving in Kabul from the United States (U.S.). A […]
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 […]