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Abdul Basit

Abdul Basit is a Senior Associate Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, where he covers extremism and militancy in South Asia. Follow him on Twitter @basitresearcher.

Abdul Basit is a Senior Associate Fellow and head of the South Asia desk at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore. He specializes in South Asian security issues with a primary focus on terrorism and religious extremism in the Af-Pak region. He is also the Associate Editor of ICPVTR’s open-access monthly journal Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA). He regularly publishes commentaries and peer-reviewed research articles on the mentioned topics. He can be reached at [email protected]

Posts by Abdul Basit

January 23, 2023

The Resurgence of Terrorism in Pakistan

By Abdul Basit

Without revisiting its myopic Afghan policy, a new counterterrorism campaign alone will not fix Pakistan's mounting challenges with terrorism.

January 02, 2023

ISKP Flexes Its Propaganda Muscles on Social Media

By Abdul Basit

Military means alone are not enough to fight the group; to debunk its powerful propaganda claims, robust counternarratives are needed especially on social media.

December 05, 2022

Pakistan’s New Army Chief Faces Tough Internal Security Challenges

By Abdul Basit

Will the Pakistan military under Gen. Asim Munir favor peace talks with the TTP, or a return to military operations?

November 30, 2022

Why Banning Hybrid Radical Groups May be Counterproductive in South Asia

By Abdul Basit

Rather than looking at them only through the narrow lens of terrorism, a more interdisciplinary approach that leads to nuanced policymaking is likely to be more useful.

October 28, 2022

Why Separatist Leader Gulzar Imam’s Arrest Will Not Weaken Baloch Insurgency

By Abdul Basit

Unlike previous phases of the insurgency, the current wave is lethal, resilient, and not dependent on a single charismatic leader.

September 29, 2022

The Curious Case of Masood Azhar’s Disappearance

By Abdul Basit

Pakistan says that the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief is in Afghanistan. But the Taliban may not be keen to shelter him at this point.

August 11, 2022

Implications of al-Zawahiri’s Killing for al-Qaida and Taliban

By Abdul Basit

The Taliban regime’s efforts to get international diplomatic recognition and unfreeze Afghan assets worth $3.5 billion with the U.S. will hit a dead end.

July 12, 2022

With Beheading of Hindu ‘Blasphemer’ in India, a Red Line Is Crossed

By Abdul Basit

Notwithstanding the local context of the beheading, it is a continuation of the broader global trend of targeted assassination over blasphemy charges.