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#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 OCCASIONAL PAPER #06: 12 MARCH 2018 Pakistan-based militant groups & Prospects of their integration: A Structural Analysis – Muhammad Amir Rana – Abstract Different militant streams operating in Pakistan are characterized respectively by conventional jihadist groups – established to safeguard the state’s strategic interests in the region; independent militant groups – formed by the militants who grew […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#22: 20 FEBRUARY 2018 Afghanistan: Battle of narratives, power contestations, & cycles of violence Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract The sudden surge in violence and gory blood bath in January 2018 brought about renewed international media attention to Afghanistan. The growing number of attacks indicates a deteriorating security situation, deepening political crisis […]