The Indus Waters Treaty has been placed in abeyance by India, bringing about fresh worries over Pakistan's water security. However, the failing nation's fragility goes beyond the upstream geopolitics; it is also the result of decades of institutional sluggishness, under-investment and the failure to transform assured access to water into lasting economic resilience. Illustration by The Geostrata 2022 should have been a memorable summer for Pakistan, as it had excess water. Ra

“The Pakistani state’s oppression on its own people is a reality, which becomes into an cowardly irony whenever they face off against their avowed enemy, India.” A THROWBACK IN TIME The partition of India was not just a political division; it separated millions of people who had once fought together for freedom. It was based largely on religious demographics, creating Pakistan as a separate homeland for Muslims, while the rest became India. The real challenge was not drawing

In 1527, two armies clashed on a plain in northern India at the Battle of Khanwa. Across the field, Rana Sanga commanded a larger force, built on cavalry, tradition and numbers, an army that represented the established logic of warfare at the time. Babur stood opposite him. His army was smaller, but it carried something new: Gunpowder. What followed was not just a battlefield triumph, but a shattering of expectations. It was not only Babur’s victory, but a signal that the nat

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake - Napoleon Bonaparte The geo-political architecture of West Asia experienced a traumatic rupture in February 2026, when, in a joint military operation, the USA and Israel conducted airstrikes on Iran, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military and political actors in Tehran, plunging Washington and Tehran into a full-scale conflict. Illustration by The Geostrata Ignited by increasing rivalry bet

At an elevation of over 4,500 metres, the Tibetan Plateau stores more freshwater than anywhere on the Earth outside the polar ice caps and It's the origin of ten of Asia's most consequential rivers like Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yangtze, Yellow, Salween, Indus, Irrawaddy, Ganges tributaries, Amu Darya, and the Tarim rivers which are collectively sustaining the lives and livelihoods of nearly two billion people across China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cam

US President Donald Trump is set to visit China from May 13 to 15 for the Trump-Xi Summit, amid recent tensions on tariffs, the US’s sanctions on five Chinese refineries for purchasing Iranian oil and the new Chinese anti-sanctions law asserting that these sanctions “shall not be recognised, enforced or complied with”. Illustration by The Geostrata Although President Trump sought to ease these tensions with his new Board of Trade proposal to resolve trade-related issues and p

The first quarter of 2026 has been marked by a continuum of accelerated geopolitical reset. It has, in various analytical circles, been argued that 2026 may represent a breaking point for the existing order, but this narrative is less about collapse and more about confrontation. While not literally accurate, it fits metaphorically in a world increasingly defined by energy politics, currency leverage, and proxy-driven conflicts. Illustration by The Geostrata However, with two

Operation Sindoor, which India launched last year in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, marked the defining moment in India’s counterterrorism response. In that 88-hour-long conflict, India redrew the lines of deterrence, making the harbours of terrorism know that no sanctuary of terror across the border is safe and India has the capability and resolve to destroy and hit everything. Illustration by The Geostrata Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery famously remarked, “

“The very ‘rules of war’ have changed. The role of nonmilitary means of achieving political and strategic goals has grown, and, in many cases, they have exceeded the power of force of weapons in their effectiveness.” ~ General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Illustration by The Geostrata The concept of warfare has been evolving, from ancient times to the current state of advanced technology-driven warfare. In the past

In September 2015, Saudi and Emirati forces were coordinating airstrikes together over Yemen. In December 2025, Saudi Arabia was bombing ships sent by the UAE. That reversal, one of the most dramatic shifts in Gulf politics in a generation, did not happen because of a single dispute or a single miscalculation. It happened because two countries that once needed each other have spent years building incompatible visions of what the region should look like, and those visions have

If nations were not distinct and unique, the world would be a single large family devoid of border disputes, ethnic strife, and prolonged conflicts. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Israel, although exhibiting substantial divergence in modern-day approaches and politically contrasting in nature, orientation, and direction, are born of a similar foundation. Illustration by The Geostrata Both Israel and Pakistan were created with the explicit purpose of securing a haven fo

The Pacific Ocean is the Earth’s largest and deepest ocean, covering one-third of the Earth’s surface, housing the most varied array of algae & animals, and navigating trillions of dollars in trade annually. Yet, out of all the activities that take place here, the most interesting might just be the ongoing recalibration of power, as one pacifist nation’s actions quietly start a new era. Japan, in the legacy of WW2, is a war-renouncing nation. Illustration by The Geostrata Th

The collapse of the Islamabad talks after 21 hours of negotiations does not, on its own, determine whether the war will resume. What it does is confirm that the two-week ceasefire, expiring around 22 April, was never a diplomatic instrument designed to produce peace but rather a tactical pause in which both sides repositioned for the next phase of coercion. Illustration by Geopolitics Next Washington’s core demand, a binding Iranian commitment to abandon its nuclear weapons c

Yet another potential source of disruption to the global energy market, and perhaps one less tied to the Russia–Ukraine war, has arisen in the Middle East. As Iran blocks traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint through which nearly 20 million barrels per day (mb/d), one-fifth of the world's oil supply, passes, raising the likelihood of yet another global energy crisis. Recent escalations involving Iran, Israel, and U.S. naval deployments in 2025–26 have a

When people think about the Strait of Hormuz, they usually think about oil. They picture giant tankers slowly moving through a narrow strip of water between Iran and Oman, carrying fuel to power cars, factories, and cities around the world. But for India, this thin stretch of water that is only 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point is far more than an oil route. It is a critical lifeline that touches almost every part of the Indian economy. Illustration by The Geostrata

The geopolitics of energy is historically associated with the supply security concerns of oil-importing states. The urgency of climate action, the long-term downward trend of the cost of renewable energy generation technologies, and the rapid technological advancements are all signs that demand a more analytical framework. Illustration by The Geostrata The field of energy geopolitics has grown to include not just the conventional fossil-fuel complexes, but also a wider array

The most recent round of military hostilities in the India-Pakistan conflict indicates a pattern of enduring hostility, suggesting that the focus remains on confrontation rather than attempting to reconcile past disagreements. The Indus Water Treaty (IWT ) remains one of the major flashpoints in their tenuous history. Illustration by The Geostrata Signed in 1960 to mediate disputes over the use of the Indus River System, the Treaty allocates limited non-consumptive rights

The combined US-Israel operations - Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, followed by Iran's retaliatory attacks under Operation Truthful Promise 4, once again plunged West Asia into crisis. The ongoing war is projected to last for 4-5 weeks or longer, potentially exerting a significant impact on the global economy and supply chain resilience. The key motive behind the sudden escalation amid mediation talks under Oman remains unclear. Illustration by The Geostrata

India's Maoist insurgency once controlled 200 districts across ten states, with varying degrees of fear or allegiance. It now has control of only seven. Over 12,000 people died in Naxal-related violence between 2000 and 2019. In 2024, that number was 290, which is still significant, but a fraction of what it was before. Reports indicate that no new cadres have been recruited since 2019. Illustration by The Geostrata To truly grasp the reality of a Naxal cleanup, one must g

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) operates a highly calibrated strategic signalling apparatus. Recent showcases of solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and tactical delivery systems are not propaganda; they are calculated manoeuvres to fracture the US-South Korea security architecture. Despite comprehensive Western sanctions, Pyongyang bypasses isolation through a robust strategic axis with Moscow and Beijing to accelerate the transfer of dual