Kabir Taneja

Afghan common ground in India-Russia relations

With India and Russia having a common interest in Afghanistan’s stability, the ensuing big power competition, which is pushing Moscow into a tight Chinese economic embrace, is increasingly turning out to be a challenge.

After Gaza, backsliding of counter-terrorism narrative

Counter-terror narratives are backsliding, and this trend needs to be arrested as a compromise with a section of these groups becomes an acceptable way out.

Working with Tehran on the Red Sea crisis

Regional security in West Asia stands at a precarious intersection.

Kokernag attack points to fluid terror geography

The geography of terror groups is fluid. Kokernag to Kandahar is in the throes of security being provided by actors who were part of the crisis to begin with

Has Wagner spelt the end of private armies?

The future of the Wagner Group, a private mercenary conglomerate linked to Russian foreign policy, is uncertain, raising questions about its global footprint.

Countering terrorism should find space in all multilateral debates

In an era of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the US-China competition, increasing geopolitical crevasses offer newer, safer spaces for militant organisations often seen as valuable tools in coercive geopolitics

India brings the world’s focus back on terrorism

As a nation impacted heavily by terrorism, India has done well to continue to bring the world back to focus on the issue that was receding from global headlines.

Why the UN must evolve to fight modern-day terror

The threat of terrorism itself has been fast evolving and far surpasses some of the fundamental challenges that the UN, UN Security Council, agencies and members are continuing to try and navigate

After Zawahiri, what lies next for al-Qaeda

The top job for now will possibly go to someone already blessed by Zawahiri, but the future al-Qaeda could be much more Afghanistan-Pakistan centric as the group looks towards a new era of ideological and operational leadership

Three events that illustrate India’s Taliban outreach

For the ambit of this article, three major events conducted by New Delhi illustrate the kind of outreach India has conducted with the Taliban, and their outcomes:

The arrival of strategic autonomy in the Gulf

With the US no longer playing the role of security guarantor to Gulf states, they are diversifying their foreign relations through partnerships involving China and Russia, thereby acquiring greater autonomy.

The risks and dangers of foreign fighters taking up arms to fight in Ukraine

This sudden acceptance of the concept of foreign fighters by some Western States and analysts reeks of opportunism and double standards.

The fractured diplomacy of countering terrorism

What are the gains that diplomacy on counter-terrorism, resolutions of the UN Security Council and other such multilateral instruments bring to the table?

What the Taliban–IS rivalry means for S Asia

The Taliban is in an odd position, an insurgency orchestrating a counterinsurgency for its survival. And South Asia is now the playground for this volatile experiment

The US-Taliban deal on Afghanistan is not a ‘model’

The US-Taliban deal must be subjected to consistent academic scrutiny as an agreement that was designed for a safe exit passage from a theatre of war for the US, not stability for Afghanistan or the Afghan people

Afghanistan’s anarchic jihadist landscape

Despite the Taliban being a predominant part of the Afghan jihadist landscape, it is imperative to remember that more than 20 terror groups have thrived in Afghanistan

China sees both an opportunity and a threat in Afghanistan

China, like others, will also be wary of any potential expanded role in Afghanistan. While many analysts have highlighted that the vacuum left behind by the US is ripe for the Chinese to fill, that is easier said than done

As crude drones change the nature of terror, India needs to prepare better

The fact that drones made from scrap and duct-tape carrying improvised explosive devices are able to damage conventional aircraft on ground, worth millions of dollars, brought forward a new set of challenges for defence policymakers

Pakistan’s balancing act between the US and the Taliban will affect India

Over the past few weeks, more than the composition of the US military presence, its geographic location outside the borders of Afghanistan has become a focal point of debate

The Taliban is at its strongest since 2001. This needs a clear US response

With the May 1 deadline for an expected US military withdrawal from Afghanistan a little less than a month away, multiple avenues of diplomacy have been launched as the administration of President Joe Biden in Washington DC navigates the future of the US involvement in the 20-year-long war in the country

How India is weakening its case on terrorism

Trivialising India’s posture on terrorism in the international community can undo years of steady gains, for the short-term and myopic benefits of political support, ideological upmanship and electoral victories in the country’s never-ending election cycles.

Tracing the roots of an American brand of extremism

Trump’s ambivalence towards such groups have emboldened them and with these groups now being increasingly cornered as social media platforms banned Trump and his ecosystem, the threat of Right-wing extremism may assume a different form but will persist.

Decoding India’s latest diplomatic push in the West Asian theatre | Opinion

While successfully balancing relations between Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia power blocks, New Delhi’s affinity for this Gulf outreach is rooted in geopolitical and geo-economic realities

Al Qaeda is battered, but don’t rejoice yet

It may return if more structural concerns in counter-terror thinking and policies are not addressed over time

In Pakistan-Saudi clash, India has an opportunity

West Asia is staring at an economic crisis. India has to be prepared | Opinion

Eight million Indians work in the region and send over $50 billion in remittances. This will change

The Taliban has trumped the US in Afghanistan | Analysis

The deal will be packaged as a historic triumph of Islamist groups and jihadist outfits for decades to come.

Opinion| What Soleimani’s death means for Iran, West Asia and the world

With his killing, the US has entered an area of unknowns. Iran cannot be underestimated

The significance of Baghdadi’s end | Analysis

Militarily down, the IS remains ideologically alive. Counter-terrorism must adapt to its techniques

Erdogan wants the world stage, from the Kurds to Kashmir

For him, Turkey is the Islamic power awaiting its due, and while it does not have the oil dollars backing its fragile economy, it is still working hard to create its own narratives and influence zones across the region