Content

New Atlanticist

May 6, 2020

The US can do more to compensate for Pakistan’s sacrifices during the War on Terror: The plight of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui

By Dawood Ghazanavi

Proper attention to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's case can be a step in the right direction in recovering the relationship Pakistan's public has with its own government and the United States.

Pakistan Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

May 1, 2020

How to make a bad situation much worse: Run from Afghanistan because of the virus

By James B Cunningham, Hugo Llorens, Richard Olson, Ronald E. Neumann, and Earl Anthony Wayne

Recent news reports suggest that US President Donald J. Trump is seriously considering withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan because of concerns relating to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). There are arguments for the United States to stay and to go, but this is a bad one on every count. Our troops will be exposed to COVID-19 wherever they are. In Afghanistan, our military presence is key to the strategy the Trump administration has been laboring to implement to foment peace.

Afghanistan Conflict

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2020

Afghanistan needs a ceasefire now to battle COVID-19

By Marika Theros and Sahar Halaimzai

COVID-19 will not wait for negotiators to reach a humanitarian ceasefire. This is not the time to place political goals above public health or to exploit divisions. A coordinated plan of action, grounded in a public health perspective and which prioritizes pausing the violence, is necessary in order to save lives. Any actor using the pandemic to score political points or to strengthen their hand at the negotiation table cannot be truly committed to peace in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Conflict

New Atlanticist

Apr 20, 2020

Coronavirus will worsen India’s non-performing loan problem

By Ketki Bhagwati

The unwelcome arrival of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the accompanying national lockdown is very likely to bring on a fresh wave of non-performing loans as banks resort to credit contraction to preserve capital for future losses.

Coronavirus Financial Regulation

New Atlanticist

Apr 18, 2020

Kabul attack: Overseas Indian fighters haunt India’s interests abroad

By Shweta Desai

This is the first instance when IS has used an Indian national to spread terror on the handful of remaining Sikh residents in Kabul. The symbolism of an Indian fighter indiscriminately gunning down worshippers is not lost on India, which promises to provide citizenship to the religiously-persecuted Afghan Sikh community. The attack has brought home a haunting realization that Indian nationals who joined jihadist groups like al-Qaeda and the IS in Syria and Afghanistan pose a tremendous security threat and are likely to be used to attack Indian interests at home and abroad.

Afghanistan India

SouthAsiaSource

Apr 14, 2020

Surveying opinions from rural India on the COVID-19 lockdown

By South Asia Center

India is now several week into the government-mandated lockdown intended to control the spread of COVID-19. Led by Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr Edmond Fernandes, the CHD Group and the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center surveyed Indian citizens in rural Karnataka to capture the impact of the outbreak and lockdown on their access to public health services […]

Coronavirus Hindi

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2020

India’s adoption of facial recognition technology could have serious ramifications

By Vappala Balachandran

The application of facial recognition technologies in India would almost certainly aid the country’s stretched law enforcement units and may prove useful in future incidents of public rioting or unrest. Given the state of current technologies, however, observers and government officials in India need to critically examine the reliability of this new platform and its potential to wrongfully infringe on the rights of innocent individuals.

Human Rights India

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2020

Bangladesh’s COVID-19 stimulus: Leaving the most vulnerable behind

By Ali Riaz

The Bangladeshi government’s $8 billion stimulus package, about 2.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), primarily focuses on industries, particularly export-oriented ones. In doing so, the package intended to contain and mitigate the economic fallout of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) left out the most vulnerable sections of the society and the sectors which desperately need support.

Bangladesh Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2020

A new “Asian drama”: Will COVID-19 destroy the progress against poverty eradication and human development in South and East Asia?

By Ajay Chhibber

With weak health systems and crowded living conditions, the chances of wide-spread pandemic is very high. If COVID-19 is not brought under control quickly, despite all the progress in medicine and healthcare since 1918, the number of deaths may rise rapidly. Governments are responding with lockdowns, more health spending, and fiscal and monetary packages for economic life-support—but with weak social safety nets millions will have fallen back into poverty

Coronavirus Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2020

South Asia’s economic outlook in the era of COVID-19

By South Asia Center

Experts from the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center analyze the current efforts of these governments and the potential economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on South Asia:

Bangladesh Coronavirus