The Mysterious Death of General Bipin Rawat
Why the 2021 helicopter crash that killed Gen Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, raises questions, and who stood to gain from his death.
December 18, 2021
Why the 2021 helicopter crash that killed Gen Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, raises questions, and who stood to gain from his death.
The grievances of Pashtuns, the progress of KPK, support base of PTM, role of PTI and PPP, and proposed next steps are discussed in this article and offer additional insight to this issue.
A retired officer revisits the Ayub era, 1965 and the loss of East Pakistan, and argues Musharraf’s NRO legitimised the corruption now crippling Pakistan.
Andrew Korybko rebuts Michael Kugelman’s claim that Pakistan hasn’t criticised the Taliban, citing Imran Khan’s measured critiques on girls’ education.
After the 2021 US withdrawal, the new order of battle in Afghanistan is non-kinetic: frozen reserves, sanctions and a possible new Northern Alliance.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) rejects claims that Pakistani safe havens explain Taliban gains, pointing to the ANA’s collapse and the US decision to withdraw.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan (Retd) argues the Afghan civil war after the US exit was predictable and that the real threat to Pakistan is pressure on CPEC.
A profile of Antony Blinken and what Pakistan should seek from the Biden team: trade not aid, the Afghan deal, WoT dues, and no US role on Kashmir.
Argues Sindh’s 2018 provincial election was distorted by unfair delimitation, comparing the seats each party won with its share of the vote.
After Balakot, Modi’s ‘pilot project’ rhetoric signals India’s new normal of retaliation, set against Pakistan’s restraint and the IAF jets it shot down.
How the ambitions of Mujib, Bhutto and Yahya Khan turned the 1970 election into civil war, and how India and Manekshaw exploited it to dismember Pakistan.
India’s 2016 boycott of the Islamabad SAARC summit, joined by Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan, read as a reply to Pakistan backing China’s membership.
The 2018 FATA-KP merger met the Pashtuns’ main demand and left PTM irrelevant; PPP’s alleged role and why the Army should not negotiate with PTM.
Saeed Afridi draws on relatives who joined the 2018 Pashtun Long March to trace how its FATA grievances were turned into PTM, and how the State responded.
Pashtun grievances, KP’s progress, the neglect of FATA, PTM’s support base and the roles of PTI and PPP: a 2018 assessment of what the PTM really wants.
A January 2018 SITREP on Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification, Raheel Sharif’s legacy, threats from India and Afghanistan, and Trump’s ‘do more’.
ISKP’s rise in Afghanistan in 2017: Qari Hekmat’s defection in Jawzjan, defeats inflicted on the Taliban, and its campaign in Nangarhar near Pakistan.
From Cold War nuclear and conventional deterrence to central and extended deterrence, and the problem of deterring non-state actors in proxy warfare.
Challenges the myth that the 1971 fall of Dhaka left only half of Jinnah’s Pakistan, tracing East Bengal’s separate Muslim League politics back to 1912.
Andrew Korybko argues the 2018 US cut to Pakistan’s military aid is Russia’s chance to build an arms partnership with Islamabad and offset losses in India.
How India’s Cold Start Doctrine met Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons, and why consistent capability, credibility and communication sustain deterrence.
India and Pakistan and Mutual Assured Destruction: the conditions for MAD that South Asia still lacks in 2017, and how the arms race could create them.
With US ties at a low and Washington questioning CPEC’s route, Pakistan should pre-empt US trade sanctions by building trade with Canada, Brazil, Germany.
CommandEleven rejects an 8-point plan seen in 2017 to dissolve NAB, curb the Army chief’s powers and put military budgets and promotions under parliament.
Part 1 of a study of Operation Black Thunderstorm: how close KP and FATA came to collapse before 2008, and the forces the Army and FC took into Dir.
A 2017 brief on new militant group Ansar-ul-Sharia Pakistan: its al-Qaeda and AQIS model, recruitment of expelled militants, and its targets in Pakistan.
How the Cold War nuclear triad concept applies to South Asia: India’s dual-threat arsenal versus Pakistan’s India-specific triad of Ra’ad and Babur-3.
A 2017 assessment that a US exit from Afghanistan opens the way for Russian intervention, driven by the IS-K threat in the north and Moscow’s geopolitics.
Andrew Korybko argues Trump’s 2017 Afghan strategy is a hybrid war on CPEC: US strikes in Pakistan, then sanctions to scare investors off the corridor.
The grievances of Pashtuns, the progress of KPK, support base of PTM, role of PTI and PPP, and proposed next steps are discussed in this article and offer additional insight to this issue.
The India-Pakistan naval rivalry in the Indian Ocean: CPEC, the Indian Navy’s Eastern and Western fleet doctrine, and a blockade posture against Pakistan.
Andrew Korybko argues Syria’s rebuke of Modi’s 2017 Israel visit, possibly nudged by Iran, China and Russia, opens a door for Pakistan.
Assessing the role of mainstream media in shaping national narratives and the lack of accountability in regional information operations.
Granted, we expect them to be active in Afghanistan, where they are fighting for legitimacy against the Taliban, the Afghan National Army and the US-led military force. In Pakistan, however, where they have no foothold, no matter what the media would like to report, they are attempting to strike fear into Pakistani hearts.
It is our duty, much like other think tanks and media organizations, to highlight and educate the Pakistani public to potential dangers to our national security and their personal security. The analysis that we have provided takes the precedents into account and leverages the best resources at our disposal to understand the technical data and provide an understanding for the Pakistani population of what has happened, the implications and the recommendations forward.