Trump’s Iran calculus: Is regime change the end game First Post 24 Feb 2026 The US is shifting immense military assets into the Middle East sending a warning of its offensive intent to Iran. A carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln is already deployed 700 Kms away from the Iranian coast. Another carrier group, headed by […]
Removing tax breaks on disability pensions The Statesman 24 Feb 2026 The Finance bill 2026 aims to terminate income-tax benefits accruing from pensions of those who superannuated with disabilities in the armed forces. The supreme court has, over the years, insisted that disability pensions ‘are deferred compensation for past service and are neither dependent upon the grace of […]
AI in defence The Excelsior 22 Feb 2026 Warfare is changing. It will no longer restricted to conventional or kinetic but will be hybrid and multi-domain. Wars may also no longer be short and intense but prolonged while remaining below the nuclear threshold. Today’s warfare will involve large scale employment of drones, cyberattacks, space and informational warfare, guided by […]
Failed marshal, unfailing crisis: How long can Pakistan endure First Post 17 Feb 2026 A former PM and cricketing icon losing his eyesight behind bars, protests for meeting him continuing, an economy in shambles, surviving on debt, rising unrest in western provinces, tensions with its neighbours India and Afghanistan, US threatening its third neighbour Iran and a failing CPEC, […]
Balancing ties with America and Russia The Statesman 17 Feb 2026 Indo-Russia ties have been an enigma for the US. Russia has been a reliable ally for decades as compared to the US, which tilts depending on policies of the current administration. In 2000, India and Russia signed a declaration converting their relationship into a strategic partnership and in […]
Pakistan does U turn again The Excelsior 14 Feb 2026 The Pakistan government’s U turn on playing India in the ICC world cup was not unexpected. It was a matter of time and a possible face saving before they reversed their decision. The initial boycott, announced by their PM, Shehbaz Sharief, was illogical from the start and unexpected to […]
How Trump is pursuing America first in the Ukraine war and Iran crisis First Post 10 Feb 2026 The second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Abu Dhabi, alongside the participation of the US. As per reports, both sides have made some progress but major sticking points continue. Russia wants Ukraine to hand over territory […]
India must use defence allocations prudently The Statesman 10 Feb 2026 Historically, a year following a crisis, the defence budget witnesses a jump, whether it be 1962, 65, 71, Kargil or Sindoor. The reason claimed is making up deficiencies but more likely the crisis has been a wake-up call for a government, which sidelined defence allocations. This year was […]
India-EU Security and Defence Partnership The Excelsior 06 Feb 2026 The India-EU free trade agreement has been dubbed as the ‘mother of all deals,’ by both India and the EU. A part of the agreement was the Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), inked by defence minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart, EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas. India becomes the […]
Ironies the West must confront The Statesman 03 Feb 2026 The speech by Mark Carney, the Canadian PM, received a standing ovation at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He mentioned, ‘great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.’ He went on to add, […]