OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Apr 20, 2020

Afghanistan: COVID-19 exposes weaknesses in health infrastructure

In the midst of growing political instability, emerging complexities in the peace process, and significant aid cuts, the coronavirus outbreak is intensifying the struggle on all fronts in Afghanistan.

| Shubhangi Pandey

Afghanistan: Foreign fighters complicate peace prospects

Neighbourhood | US Foreign Policy | Terrorism

Aug 06, 2020

Afghanistan: Foreign fighters complicate peace prospects

The presence of foreign fighters in Afghanistan presents a serious challenge in securing counterterrorism gains of the past, while ensuring that the Taliban delivers on the promise of ensuring non-use of Afghan soil to plan attacks against the US or its allies.

| Shubhangi Pandey

Afghanistan: Gearing up for presidential polls

Neighbourhood

Oct 18, 2013

Afghanistan: Gearing up for presidential polls

The registration process for the Afghan presidential elections came to a close last week. As many as 27 candidates have filed nomination and the vetting process, by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC),

May 20, 2020

Afghanistan: Increasing violence and the future of peace process

Even with the knowledge that Afghanistan has suffered terrorist violence for almost two decades now, the brutal attacks on the maternity ward and the funeral in the holy month of Ramadan, have unleashed a wave of horror and disgust that is unlikely to die down anytime soon.

| Shubhangi Pandey

Afghanistan: India-Pakistan rivalry reignited

Neighbourhood

Aug 19, 2013

Afghanistan: India-Pakistan rivalry reignited

The Indian Consulate in Jalalabad was the target of a suicide attack on August 3. The attack, though did not harm the consulate or any Indian personnel, resulted in the death of 9 bystanders.

Afghanistan: Insurgency on the rise amidst international troop-drawdown

Neighbourhood

Oct 31, 2014

Afghanistan: Insurgency on the rise amidst international troop-drawdown

New Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fulfilled his promise of signing the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the U.S. and Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the NATO within 24 hours of taking office.

Afghanistan: Iran, the Taliban and the US drawdown

Neighbourhood

May 08, 2015

Afghanistan: Iran, the Taliban and the US drawdown

Much has already been written about both the drawdown of US troops from the region, and the recent Iranian nuclear deal and the possible impact it could have on Iran-US relations.

Afghanistan: ISI crony on attack-mode as Taliban readies for political role

Neighbourhood

Sep 16, 2011

Afghanistan: ISI crony on attack-mode as Taliban readies for political role

A decade after the 'Twin Towers' came crashing down in New York, the US has given its blessings for the Taliban to open its political office in the distant West Asian State of Qatar.

Afghanistan: Karzai's regional initiative

Neighbourhood

Dec 20, 2013

Afghanistan: Karzai's regional initiative

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is desperately seeking external support in order to secure the nation's future. The impending December 2014 deadline for the drawdown of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the consequent reduction of western military and developmental

Afghanistan: Mullah Omar's death and the peace talks

Neighbourhood

Aug 11, 2015

Afghanistan: Mullah Omar's death and the peace talks

The confirmations about the death of Mullah Omar, who is said to have died in 2013, may not have taken many by surprise. His absence from the public domain for years led to various theories about his possible whereabouts.

Afghanistan: Neutrality dreams unrealistic

Neighbourhood

Jul 29, 2011

Afghanistan: Neutrality dreams unrealistic

Though there is a need for a neutral Afghanistan, the prevailing geopolitics of South Asia and the domestic politics of Afghanistan make the 'Congress of Vienna' model and a neutral Afghanistan too utopian a dream to be achieved anytime soon.

Afghanistan: Pakistan obstructing peace talks?

Neighbourhood

Feb 21, 2014

Afghanistan: Pakistan obstructing peace talks?

The killing of a former Taliban minister, Mullah Abdul Raqeeb, has raised questions about the involvement of the Pakistan establishment in the peace process and a possible rift within the ranks of the militant movement.

Afghanistan: Perpetual playground for great-power contestation

Neighbourhood

Jul 09, 2020

Afghanistan: Perpetual playground for great-power contestation

| Shubhangi Pandey

Afghanistan: Prospects for increased engagement with China

Neighbourhood

Jul 10, 2015

Afghanistan: Prospects for increased engagement with China

As the US pulls out its troops from Afghanistan, all eyes are set on the potential role China can play in the region. China has shown signs of stepping up its engagement with Afghanistan since the formation of the new government in Kabul in September 2014.

Afghanistan: Qanooni's moment of triumph

International Affairs | Neighbourhood

Jan 21, 2006

Afghanistan: Qanooni's moment of triumph

The 13th century Italian theologian and philosopher, Saint Thomas Aquinas, said that in order for a war to be just, the three things needed would be the "authority of the sovereign," a "just cause," and a "rightful intention." By that moral compass, the war in Afghanistan could probably be on its way to becoming one-third "just."

Afghanistan: Reconciliation process and Indian concerns

Neighbourhood

Jan 11, 2013

Afghanistan: Reconciliation process and Indian concerns

The recent developments in the Afghan reconciliation process have evoked a new sense of optimism regarding a peaceful solution to the conflict in the country. First, there was the release of 26 prisoners, in batches, by Pakistan and then the two-day talks in Paris,

Afghanistan: Rising violence, uncertain peace

International Affairs | Neighbourhood

Mar 23, 2015

Afghanistan: Rising violence, uncertain peace

In Afghanistan, how the unity government strikes an internal balance will in turn determine in long run its ability to carry forth a range of bold policy initiatives through political consensus. It would also to an extent impact morale on the battlefield.

Afghanistan: Security derailing work in the mining sector

Neighbourhood

Nov 18, 2013

Afghanistan: Security derailing work in the mining sector

India's most significant investment project in Afghanistan has been the Hajigak mines in Bamiyan province. A Steel Authority of India Ltd-led consortium of six companies had won the rights to extract iron ore from the mines in 2011.

Afghanistan: Tensions over Iran's refugee policy

Neighbourhood

Mar 15, 2013

Afghanistan: Tensions over Iran's refugee policy

Afghan refugees in Iran are experiencing increasing hostility as State policies become explicitly discriminatory. The recent persecution of these displaced persons has brought this fact to light.

Chandrika Bahadur

Afghanistan: The way out Give guarantees for its neutrality

International Affairs | Neighbourhood

Dec 31, 2009

Afghanistan: The way out Give guarantees for its neutrality

The people of Afghanistan have not forgotten what the Taliban did to them and their country when they ruled Afghanistan with Pakistan's political and military support. The Taliban are not popular in Afghanistan.

Neighbourhood

Jul 19, 2013

Afghanistan: The zero option

The possibility of, and debate about, a 'zero option' for American troop presence, or absence, in Afghanistan post-2014 has surfaced once again. According to The New York Times, the US administration has not ruled out the possibility of a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan come 2014.

Afghanistan: what price tag do we put on strategic security?

Neighbourhood

Feb 05, 2019

Afghanistan: what price tag do we put on strategic security?

India might end up paying a big price for its strategic myopia in Afghanistan.

Sushant Sareen

Afghanistan:'Green on Blue' killings cause of worry for US

Neighbourhood

Sep 07, 2012

Afghanistan:'Green on Blue' killings cause of worry for US

The recent US decision to suspend training of Afghan local police has underlined the growing worries in Washington over the incidents of Afghan soldiers killing American troops in 2012.

Afghanistan’s anarchic jihadist landscape

Neighbourhood

Aug 28, 2021

Afghanistan’s anarchic jihadist landscape

Kabir Taneja

Afghanistan’s Dark Horizon: Taliban Divisions, Global Reactions & the Future

Mar 05, 2025

Afghanistan’s peace process and India’s role

Privacy & Data Protection

Nov 13, 2020

Afghanistan’s peace process and India’s role

The key is to achieve peace within the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan — a system that is defined by its core values related to human rights, women’s rights, democracy, rule of law and political inclusion.

| Rhea Sinha

Africa and COVID19: Impact, Response, and Challenges to Recovery

International Affairs | Healthcare

Sep 28, 2020

Africa and COVID19: Impact, Response, and Challenges to Recovery

The COVID-19 outbreak poses immense challenges to Africa’s resilience. The pandemic’s economic fallout, caused by disruptions in global and regional value chains and a slump in commodity prices, can derail the progress which the continent has recorded in recent years. Despite the bleak forecasts, however, African countries have managed to mount a concerted response to the pandemic. This paper examines the extent of the economic and health imp

Abhishek Mishra

Africa and the International Criminal Court

International Affairs | Great Power Dynamics | Multilateralism

Dec 05, 2013

Africa and the International Criminal Court

In the context of the African Union-International Criminal Court confrontation, the court is no longer about finding justice for the victims as many wrongly assume and believe; rather the process is now about whether an ICC faced with prosecuting cases that don't belong there,