The South Asia Channel

List of The South Asia Channel articles

Abdul_Sattar_Edhi
Abdul_Sattar_Edhi

Pakistan Has Lost Its ‘Angel of Mercy’

Abdul Sattar Edhi was his country’s greatest living hero. Here’s hoping that his legacy persists in the hands of a new generation of humanitarians.

Afghan former Taliban fighters are photographed holding weapons before they hand them over as part of a government peace and reconciliation process at a ceremony in Jalalabad on February 8, 2015. Over twenty former Taliban fighters from Achin district of Nangarhar province handed over weapons as part of a peace reconciliation program. AFP PHOTO / Noorullah Shirzada        (Photo credit should read Noorullah Shirzada/AFP/Getty Images)
Afghan former Taliban fighters are photographed holding weapons before they hand them over as part of a government peace and reconciliation process at a ceremony in Jalalabad on February 8, 2015. Over twenty former Taliban fighters from Achin district of Nangarhar province handed over weapons as part of a peace reconciliation program. AFP PHOTO / Noorullah Shirzada (Photo credit should read Noorullah Shirzada/AFP/Getty Images)

Ethnic Minorities Are Fueling the Taliban’s Expansion in Afghanistan

The Taliban is gaining dangerous leverage by recruiting Tajiks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks.

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466096596

In India, Prison for the Poor, Bollywood Justice for the Elite

The subcontinent's commitment to rule of law is stuck in a bygone era.

Indian naval sailors on a rubber inflatable boat pass naval warships at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on April 20, 2015.  AFP PHOTO/ Indranil MUKHERJEE        (Photo credit should read INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian naval sailors on a rubber inflatable boat pass naval warships at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on April 20, 2015. AFP PHOTO/ Indranil MUKHERJEE (Photo credit should read INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images)

India Sees a New Regional Role for Its Navy

New Delhi still has a ways to go before it can live up to its regional aspirations.

NEW DELHI, INDIA - APRIL 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives, read joint statement after their delegation level meeting at Hyderabad House on April 11, 2016 in New Delhi, India. President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who has embarked a two-day visit to New Delhi, is expected to sign a counter-terror pact with India. Maldives recently arrested 40 of its nationals, who were reportedly fighting alongside the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. (Photo by Mohd Zakir/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
NEW DELHI, INDIA - APRIL 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives, read joint statement after their delegation level meeting at Hyderabad House on April 11, 2016 in New Delhi, India. President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who has embarked a two-day visit to New Delhi, is expected to sign a counter-terror pact with India. Maldives recently arrested 40 of its nationals, who were reportedly fighting alongside the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. (Photo by Mohd Zakir/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

The Maldives Takes Its Place in Indian Ocean Geopolitics

The archipelago has proven capable of using to its advantage regional competition between India and China.

Activists of Jamaat-e-Islami party take part in an anti-government rally in Lahore on April 24, 2016, following the Panama Papers tax scandal . 
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on April 22 pledged to resign if a probe related to the Panama Papers tax scandal found his family had committed any wrongdoing. / AFP / ARIF ALI        (Photo credit should read ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images)
Activists of Jamaat-e-Islami party take part in an anti-government rally in Lahore on April 24, 2016, following the Panama Papers tax scandal . Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on April 22 pledged to resign if a probe related to the Panama Papers tax scandal found his family had committed any wrongdoing. / AFP / ARIF ALI (Photo credit should read ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images)
A Pakistani health worker administers polio drops to a child at a school during a polio vaccination campaign in Peshawar on September 14, 2015. Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic but years of efforts to stamp it out have been badly hit by reluctance from parents, opposition from militants and attacks on immunisation teams. AFP PHOTO / A MAJEED        (Photo credit should read A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)
A Pakistani health worker administers polio drops to a child at a school during a polio vaccination campaign in Peshawar on September 14, 2015. Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic but years of efforts to stamp it out have been badly hit by reluctance from parents, opposition from militants and attacks on immunisation teams. AFP PHOTO / A MAJEED (Photo credit should read A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistan’s Quiet Revolution Against Polio

While the country's path to eradication hasn’t been easy, there is now reason for optimism.

US President Barack Obama speaks during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism at the US State Department February 19, 2015 in Washington, DC. Obama reiterated his call for the world to stand up to violent extremism Thursday, saying jihadists peddle a the lie that there is a clash of civilizations. "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie," he told a three-day conference on combatting extremism. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI        (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama speaks during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism at the US State Department February 19, 2015 in Washington, DC. Obama reiterated his call for the world to stand up to violent extremism Thursday, saying jihadists peddle a the lie that there is a clash of civilizations. "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie," he told a three-day conference on combatting extremism. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Challenge

With the world's attention turned elsewhere, Pakistan has persisted in its efforts to counter violent extremism.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung following an agreement signing in New Delhi on October 28, 2014. Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has sought India's support to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea, local media reported October 28, in a bid to shore up regional alliances as relations have soured with Asian giant China. AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH SINGH        (Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung following an agreement signing in New Delhi on October 28, 2014. Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has sought India's support to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea, local media reported October 28, in a bid to shore up regional alliances as relations have soured with Asian giant China. AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH SINGH (Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)

India Acts East

Washington’s pivot to Asia gets all the attention, but India’s pivot east will redefine regional politics.

gettyimages-518016464
gettyimages-518016464

Is Pakistan Safe for Christians?

Fear is a daily reality for Pakistani Christians. From public persecution to targeted terror attacks, Christianity and those who practice it continue to be under threat.

AFGHANISTAN, KABUL- JULY 06 :  Afghan women hold posters of 27 year-old Farkhunda who was beaten to death by a mob after being falsely accused of burning a Quran, during a protest held by the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan at the site of the attack in Kabul, Monday, July 6, 2015. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN, KABUL- JULY 06 : Afghan women hold posters of 27 year-old Farkhunda who was beaten to death by a mob after being falsely accused of burning a Quran, during a protest held by the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan at the site of the attack in Kabul, Monday, July 6, 2015. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

For Afghan Women, One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

As the West packs up and heads home, women in Afghanistan are struggling for rights.

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Are America and Europe Aligned on China?

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The war in Ukraine has propelled the United States and Europe closer on a variety of foreign-policy issues. But do Washington and Brussels agree on how to deal with Beijing’s growing clout...Show more

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Inside the U.S.-China Tech War

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Over the last few years, the United States has moved to limit China’s technological rise. U.S.-led sanctions have imposed unprecedented limits on Beijing’s access to advanced computing c...Show more

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden is hosting a Quad Leaders Summit later today with Prime Minister Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. (Photo by Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden is hosting a Quad Leaders Summit later today with Prime Minister Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. (Photo by Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)

Is America Making a Bad Bet on India?

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For decades, the U.S. foreign-policy establishment has made the assumption that India could serve as a partner as the United States jostles with China for power in the Indo-Pacific region. B...Show more

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