American troops are set to withdraw from the country by September 11 this year, but the shadow of re-engagement looms, raising security concerns beyond South Asia.
Unlike in Iraq and Syria, the US has no bases in Central Asia or South Asia. With China in Gwadar and a hostile Iran, a credible presence is needed to secure much more than the safety of the Embassy.
A new Cold War is building up in every theatre of conflict, riding on real or exaggerated threats of terrorism and extremism. The duplicitous role of Pakistan is going to cause further instability and violence in the region.
Soon enough, the ISIS core will anoint a new Caliph, to whom all the wilayas (branches) and extremists and supporters will readily offer allegiance (bayat) to, while paying rich tribute to the “fallen hero”.
All recent activities of the AQ and AQIS, especially those focussed on Kashmir, suggest that the group is making all-out efforts to recruit cadres from not just within Kashmir but, using the issue of Kashmir, from across South Asia.
Like the al Qaeda, ISIS may now also make concerted efforts to use “front groups” to capture pockets of influence in conflict zones, while carrying out its signature global attacks, seemingly, at will.
