Sushant Sareen

Until recently, most top officials in India who had dealt with very sensitive issues in government refrained from writing about them. The adage they followed was that what everyone wanted to know could not be written, and what could be written was something that no one was interested in. Not surprisingly, even when former civil servants have written anything, it has generally been a self-serving swansong of their accomplishments, which other than them no one really considers accomplishments.

• Published: January 2016
• Strategic Analysis

The new equation is that the Americans nudge India, the Chinese press Pakistan, and together they try to ensure that things don’t go out of control in South Asia.

• Published: July 20, 2015
• IDSA Comments

The US and other countries, including India, should open the floodgates of military and economic assistance to the Afghan state and help build the capacity and capability of its security forces and administrative machinery.

• Published: March 24, 2015
• IDSA Comments

The thumb rule in making a policy U-turn is “minimise damage or maximise advantage”. What is extraordinary about the Modi government’s U-turn is that it maximises losses and minimises advantages.

• Published: February 26, 2015
• IDSA Comments

The time has perhaps come to restructure, even partition, SAARC to make it more effective. This is something that might also be required to be done in the likely event that Pakistan fosters the Taliban in Afghanistan.

• Published: November 28, 2014
• IDSA Comments

The Wagah incident is not going to wake-up Pakistan to the existential threat posed by jihadist terror groups. There is neither going to be any change in its attitude towards using terrorism as an instrument of state policy, nor its inimical attitude towards India.

• Published: November 05, 2014
• IDSA Comments

If Nawaz Sharif now plays his cards well - improves governance, makes his politics more responsive and inclusive, reaches out to opposition and his constituency, doesn’t remain aloof and keeps the parliament and political parties as his back – he could well change the power equations for good.

• Published: September 05, 2014
• IDSA Comments

For all the grandstanding by the Pakistan army and the civilian government that Op Zarb-e-Azb was going to be against all kinds of terror groups based in NWA, no such thing seems to be happening. Clearly, this operation has been launched keeping an eye on the post-2014 situation in Afghanistan.

• Published: July 31, 2014
• IDSA Comments

Before India once again goes down the path of wondering how it can rescue Pakistan from itself, some home truths about Pakistan – the state and society – need to be understood. The single most important home truth is that Pakistan's hatred for India far outweighs any fear or concern or even loathing it may have about the terrorism and extremism that the Taliban have come to stand for.

• Published: June 18, 2014
• IDSA Comments

The simple truth that has eluded Pakistan is that fighting the Taliban is like fighting a shadow. The Taliban are but a symptom, the real problem is of religious extremism which is manifesting itself in radical Islamism and has struck deep roots in state and society.

• Published: March 10, 2014
• IDSA Comments