Blog
The Pulse
South Asia is a story of promise and peril where Asia’s conflicting forces of modernity and reaction meet head on. Home to a multitude of different cultures, ethnicities, and religions, The Diplomat's regional correspondents and experts will provide the insight you need to navigate one of the world's most consequential regions.
India’s Top Court Upholds Legality of 2016 Currency Ban
By Sheikh Saaliq
The ban had rendered 86% of India’s currency invalid without warning, causing hardship to millions of ordinary Indians.
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.
Prices Rose and Protests Convulsed South Asia in 2022
By Sudha Ramachandran
Depleting foreign exchange reserves forced several countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, to turn to the IMF.
Women, Kids Among 1,200 Afghan Migrants Jailed in Pakistan
By Adil Jawad and Munir Ahmed
Pakistani officials say the detainees will be deported to Afghanistan after serving their sentences or when paperwork for their release is completed by their attorneys.
With China’s Help, Nepal Chips Away at Its India-lockedness
By Santosh Sharma Poudel
They have begun a feasibility study to build a railway line linking Kathmandu with Kerung in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
BJP Government’s Strategy on Implementation of Citizenship Law
By Mridugunjan Deka
Implementation of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 is being advanced incrementally and in a non-dynamic fashion.
Pakistan and the US Join Hands Against the Pakistani Taliban
By Umair Jamal
Pakistan will be wary of becoming a staging post for U.S. counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan as this would worsen its already testy ties with the Taliban regime.
To Please the IMF, Sri Lanka is Cutting Troop Numbers
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Instead, it should retrain its soldiers and redeploy them in policing, peacekeeping, and disaster rescue and relief roles.
Taliban Erasing Women From Society in Afghanistan
By Baktash Siawash
As Afghan women are being erased from society in Taliban-run Afghanistan, all Afghans will suffer.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Heads New Government in Nepal
By Santosh Sharma Poudel
His party, which won only 11 percent of the vote, heads a new seven-party coalition of parties that share little other than a lust for power.
India’s Global Ambitions Begin at Home
By Chietigj Bajpaee
Does the grand rhetoric of India’s foreign policy aspirations match the reality of the country’s domestic reform momentum?
Indian, Chinese Army Commanders Meet to End Border Standoff
By Ashok Sharma
There is no indication whether a breakthrough in the impasse was achieved but the meeting is expected to reduce tensions.