The partition severed a continent from the Indian perspective. Every direct land route India could have used to reach Central Asia in historic arteries through Peshawar, Kandahar, and Khyber fell on the hostile side of the frontier. For years after independence, India’s Central Asia policy has rested more on a wish than a plan. There is indirect hope that Pakistan would permit transit or that Afghanistan stabilises enough as a worthy substitute. Illustration by The Geostrata

In April of 2025, terrorists linked to the Pakistani organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) perpetrated one of the heinous acts of terror against innocent civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in India. In the aftermath of the attack, India took many strategic, military and diplomatic steps to secure its national interest. One such step was the decision to place the Indus Water Treaty, 1960, in abeyance. Infographic by Eurasian Meridian For more than six decades, the Indus Wa

The emergence of critical minerals is increasingly seen as a major driver of both national security and economic growth. This centrality of “future minerals” is driving a fundamental transformation in U.S. foreign policy. Washington's engagement with partner nations is being determined by a vision to diversify and secure supply chains despite global disruption. Within this evolving policy framework, Pakistan has emerged as an unexpected beneficiary due to the country's report

India is the most populous country in the world, the second-largest economy in Asia after China, and the nation that guided a spacecraft to the lunar South Pole on a budget smaller than a Hollywood blockbuster. It built a payment infrastructure so seamless that a fruit vendor in Varanasi and a startup founder in Bengaluru share the same digital wallet. It is, by almost every measure, a country that has learned to live at the speed of data. Illustration by The Geostrata And it

Recently leaked Pakistani military reports revealed some shocking facts. As per the reports, Pakistan is seeking to fulfil its dream of building nuclear missiles beneath the sea as well as building nuclear submarines and requested China’s assistance in 2024, which China outright rejected. To entice China, Pakistan offered it extensive access to its Gwadar port, but China still refused. Illustration by The Geostrata This move by China clearly shows that, regardless of being al

“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

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

For far too long, the European Union has treated Pakistan as a strategic exception. That needs to change, as it continues to repeatedly violate nearly everything the EU stands for. At a time when Pakistan continues to enable extremism and suppress dissent, the EU can no longer hide behind diplomatic niceties. Illustration by Eurasian Meridian And to its credit, the EU has often acted with patience and the belief that engagement is better than isolation. The EU must begin aski

“As the global dynamics evolve, the neighbourhood around New Delhi has gained momentum to strengthen and modernise its democratic systems.” After the 2022 regime change in Sri Lanka, two other nation-states, Bangladesh and Nepal, have now undergone the same by establishing new governments. This political shift in India's neighbourhood has brought the opportunity for New Delhi to reset its ties and emerge as a more trusted partner in the subcontinent. Illustration by The Geost

The US-Iran Ceasefire requires more investigation to show that Pakistan's alleged role as mediator is both exaggerated and misinterpreted. Islamabad presents itself as a diplomatic power, yet its actual work consists of serving as a liaison between major international players. The evaluation of ceasefire stability over the coming months requires this distinction between the two categories. Illustration by The Geostrata Pakistan’s conduct during the crisis was, by most ac

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

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 events in early February 2026, specifically the synchronicity between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s irredentist declaration on February 5th and the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) operational threat on February 6th, are not coincidental, but they are coordinated. To view Sharif’s claim that “Kashmir will become part of Pakistan” as mere political rhetoric for the Muzaffarabad gallery is a dangerous simplification. Illustration by The Geostrata When viewed through the lens o

South Asia is characterized by a geopolitically volatile environment within contemporary global power dynamics. Once viewed as an arena where India’s influence was unquestionable, it is now marked by political uncertainty, regime shifts, never-ending hostilities, security tensions, and competitiveness, along with external influence, particularly China. Collectively, these developments have changed the landscape of South Asia into a contested domain rather than a collaborative

The partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 did not merely divide territory but set in motion a prolonged geopolitical contest over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Cover by The Geostrata Although the Instrument of Accession legally integrated Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Union but Pakistan’s invasion and continued occupation of parts of the erstwhile state gave rise to what are now referred to as Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, and s

India’s nuclear trajectory is marked by scientific ambitions, technological self-reliance and isolation from international politics. The nuclear sector was mainly governed by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, which was a highly centralised and state controlled framework, prioritising safety and sovereignty. Later legislations, like Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 addressed accountability and victim compensation for nuclear incidents.

Secession, the separation of a territory from an established state, is one of the most disruptive moments in international politics. If accompanied by conflict, the relations between the two sides are unsurprisingly complex and turbulent. The new country attempts to define itself in opposition to the state from which it broke away. While the parent state, as the original state is called, may harbour feelings of resentment and humiliation. Illustration by The Geostrata When co

Underneath the dust stirred by the crossfires between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir lies the untold story of developmental disparities between regions separated by misconceived boundaries of baseless claims. Illustration by The Geostrata Boundaries that, by their very nature, separate the two by a margin that is only negligible compared to that separating the economic, social and medical realities of Jammu and Kashmir and the part of it that remains under unlawful P

Poppy cultivation in Pakistan has been a long-standing issue, intensely for decades. Yet, its involvement in the modern international drug trade began only in the 1970s. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 transformed Pakistan into a critical processor and transit corridor for narcotics. Cover by The Geostrata Although narcotics did not initiate the conflict in Afghanistan, the drug trade has both sustained and been sustained by the ongoing violence. This trade has str

The pattern is all too familiar. A jihadi group operating from Pakistani soil, with state backing, carries out a terror attack on India. If the assault is particularly atrocious, India suspends diplomatic engagement while mulling more punitive responses, including strikes on terror safe havens inside Pakistan and adopting more proactive security doctrines aiming to inflict high costs on state-sponsors of terrorism. Illustration by The Geostrata Pakistan, fearing its deterren