Iran-Afghanistan Water Conflict Needs A Permanent Solution

The transboundary water dispute between Iran and Afghanistan is historical. Both neighbouring countries have been dealing with the water-sharing dispute somewhat without progressing towards a permanent solution. The problem is centred around the Helmand River, which starts from the Hindu Kush Mountains near Kabul and streams into Iran's Hamoon wetlands in Sistan and Balochistan province (southeast of Iran). This river was defined as the territory of Iran. Until 1857, Herat was part of Iran, and only after Iran and Britain signed the Paris Treaty of 1857 did Iran abandon its claim.

AHMAD REZA TAHERI

CSIS: "Information Pollution and What It Means for Arms Control"

January 31, 2024
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Over the past decade, Russia has stepped up its disinformation campaigns to erode trust in arms control across the nuclear, chemical, and biological domains. The new era of rapidly disseminated disinformation poses significant challenges to U.S. national security and, more specifically, to arms control verification and compliance. In this polluted information environment, offense is king.

'India Out' vs 'Boycott Maldives': Tourism as an Instrument of Power

No one would have wildly imagined that a few stunning pictures of a coastal island could trigger cascading diplomatic short-fuse between two asymmetrical neighbouring countries. The truth is that both governments and social media of India and Maldives have been engaged in a severe tug of words and diplomatic row respectively for whose coastlines are better after the Indian Prime Minister visited the Indian archipelago Lakshadweep and shared a series of scenic pictures on January 4. Was it a calculated strategic move by India to expose the months-old pro-China government in Maldives?

AVILASH ROUL

Navigating the Cyber-Biosecurity Landscape: A National Security Imperative for India

December 21, 2023

The ever-evolving landscape of national security threats has expanded to encompass traditional geopolitical and military risks and challenges arising from the cyber and biological domains termed cyber-biosecurity. This hybrid concept of cyber-biosecurity emerges as an innovative fusion, encapsulating the rapidly converging disciplines of cybersecurity and biosecurity.

Hosting the Climate COP in 2028: Prospects for India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi

After hosting a successful G20 Summit, India is more than willing to host a climate summit meeting in 2028. On the second day (December 1) of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28) meeting to the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Prime Minister Modi, during his speech in the high-level segment, offered to host COP 33 in India. What has prompted the PM to offer to host such a significant environmental summit in 2028?

AVILASH ROUL

TM: New Hizb ut-Tahirir Networks Uncovered in Southern India

December 16, 2023

The transnational Islamist political movement Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) has increased its India-centric propaganda. HT is often described as a non-violent extremist group seeking to unite the global Muslim community under one Islamic caliphate. The arrests of several HT operatives from Central and South Indian states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, confirmed HT’s shadowy presence in the country. HT is attempting to revive the group’s past pro-Islamic state and anti-India discourses through its preaching campaigns.

ANIMESH ROUL

MLM: "Tahawwur Hussain Rana: Nearer to Extradition to India and a Revival of the Mumbai Attacks Investigation"

December 08, 2023

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian businessman originally from Pakistan, was convicted in a US court in 2011. Rana was charged with providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistan and for conspiring to attack the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten’s offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus. This followed their publishing of controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed in 2005. In 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in a US prison. [1] Rana, however, was acquitted of a third charge, which had alleged his involvement in the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

ANIMESH ROUL

Securing Our World: Countering Chemical Terrorism in the Age of New Technologies

On November 27, 2023, the Twenty-Eighth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CSP-28) opened in The Hague, Netherlands. This five-day meeting discusses various aspects associated with implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which has been in effect since April 29 1997. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is responsible for fulfilling the Convention’s mandate.

AJEY LELE