In recent weeks, there has been some puzzlement over India’s somewhat less than enthusiastic response to Afghan overtures for re-engaging and revitalizing the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between the two countries in 2011. At a time when ....
The spring of 2015 was always going to be ‘hot’ in Afghanistan. The Taliban had already made clear their intention to bring the Ashraf Ghani government to its knees. It was also going to test the mettle of the Afghan National Army (ANA) which for....
The policy shift being attempted by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in which he sought to relegate India to the fourth circle of priority and appease Pakistan has had mixed reception in the Indian strategic community. It ranges from disappointment....
Amidst growing uncertainties about Afghanistan’s future, the VIF hosted the Chief Executive Officer of the national unity government in Afghanistan His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Abdullah to deliberate upon a wide spectrum of issues, including, among ....
A trilateral conference on the theme of “China, India, UK and Afghanistan- A partnership for Stability” was organized at the VIF premises from 02 to 05 March 2015. The main objective of the deliberations was to find ways and means of cooperation ....
One of the most troubling, but also fundamental, questions confronting India is while New Delhi is keen on cultivating with China a mutually beneficial and cooperative relationship that, despite an element of competition, is not only conflict-free bu....
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its latest Afghanistan Opium Survey 2014 suggests that poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has hit an all-time high in 2014. It was estimated at 224,000 hectares in 2014, a 7% increase from the previous year, ....
The menace which has been created by the Sunni militant group, Islamic State (IS) is likely to stay for some time to come. Despite the United States (US)-led coalition airstrikes to destroy the terror organisation , there has been no significant decl....
A trilateral conference ‘China, India, the UK and Afghanistan- A Partnership for Stability’ was held in Beijing from 24 to 26 November 2014 under the auspices of VIF, Royal United Services Institute of UK (RUSI) and China Institute for Con....
There is an effort among some western commentaries – taken up and amplified by the Pakistanis - to try and project the situation in Afghanistan as a proxy war between India and Pakistan. The drumbeat of this thesis grows as the draw-down of western....