Dr.Priyanka Singh is Associate Fellow at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. She holds an Honours degree in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, and a PhD from the University of Lucknow. Her PhD thesis was titled “Indo-US Relations in the Last Decade - 1990-2000: Shifting Paradigms.” She joined MP-IDSA in September 2007 and is presently associated with the South Asia Centre. Formerly, she worked for the US, Europe &Nuclear centre at the institute. Her broader research interests include Indo-US relations, US engagement in Pakistan and the Cross Line of Control Confidence Building Measures between India and Pakistan. Currently focusing on Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), she is progressing towards developing expertise and extensive subject matter knowledge on various dimensions related to PoK. She is also part of the MP-IDSA project team on Pakistan and PoK. She was the lead author of the PoK Project Report titled “Pakistan occupied Kashmir: Changing the Discourse” published in May 2011.
Her current project is titled“Growing Sino-Pak Ties: Impact on Kashmir issue”. Since 2008, she has been compiling and editing MP-IDSA's monthly newsletter on PoK.She has travelled extensively across the state of Jammu and Kashmir.She undertook a postgraduate course in Peace Research at theUniversity of Oslo conducted by the International Peace Research Institute,Oslo (PRIO) during June-August 2009. She has frequently delivered lectures/talks on Pakistan occupied Kashmir in Delhi and other parts of the country. She has participated in various officers training programme/courses at MP-IDSA including those for the Indian Air Force and Border Security Force.
She is the author of the monograph Situating Gilgit Baltistan in the Kashmir Discourse (March 2013). Her second monograph is titled: Re-positioning Pakistan occupied Kashmir on India's Policy Map: Geopolitical Drivers, Strategic Impact (forthcoming 2017). She is the editor of the book The Role of Media in Promoting Regional Understanding in South Asia (Pentagon Press, 2016), co-editor of Proliferation and The Emerging Nuclear Order In the Twenty First Century (Academic Foundation, New Delhi, 2009) and Saving Afghanistan (Academic Foundation, New Delhi, 2009). Her recent publications include: “Army: The be-all or end-all of Pakistan Politics,”Strategic Analysis, 39(3) May/June 2015; “The China Pakistan Economic Corridor: Gauging Implications for India’s claim on Pakistan occupied Kashmir,”CASSJournal, (Centre for Advanced Strategic Studies)April-May-June 2016; “Prospects of Travel and Trade Across the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LoC),” International Studies, Volume 50 (1& 2) ( 2016); and “Radicalization in Pakistan: Youth Bulge as a Factor,” in S. D. Muni & Vivek Chadha (Eds.) Asian Strategic Review (Pentagon Press 2016).
Independent Kashmir: An Incomplete Aspiration: Christopher Snedden, Manchester University Press, Manchester
Independent Kashmir: An Incomplete Aspiration by noted author and expert Christopher Snedden touches upon a raw nerve in the discourse on Kashmir—the aspiration for independence. Snedden describes how and where exactly the idea germinated, sequentially tracing its evolution. This is Snedden’s third book on Kashmir; the first focussed on the so-called ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)’ that together with Gilgit-Baltistan forms Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The second book focused primarily on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in India.
China-Pakistan Ties and Kashmir: History and Geopolitics
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the multi-billion dollar flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has brought the Sino-Pakistan partnership at the centre stage of contemporary strategic discourse.
US–Pakistan Equations at a Crossroads
US–Pakistan relations have witnessed upheavals in the past; the US’ exit from Afghanistan is the latest in the series of inflection points in their relationship. However, irrespective of the escalatory war of words sometimes, the nature of US–Pakistan relationship of convenience is likely to keep them strategically aligned in the future as well.
Elections in the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Mired in controversies, the 2021 elections in the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir were heavily tilted towards the Kashmir issue, which overpowered all other issues including those concerning immediate local needs and the extant development lag.
Dichotomies in Pakistan’s Approach Towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
Pakistan has not allowed a genuine democratic system of governance to emerge in PoK, as it interferes with its pursuit of absolute control over the occupied territories.
Chinese Glimmer to Pakistan’s Dam Distress
China's decision to fund the controversial Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Gilgit Baltistan could be part of its strategic pursuits in the region to further deepen its engagement in India’s neighbourhood.
Pakistan: The Balochistan Conundrum
It is not often that Pakistan is talked of in terms of the diversities it embodies. It is, perhaps, its descent into extremism and violence that has overshadowed every other characteristic of the country. Tilak Devasher peeks into this rather less traversed dimension and provides an analysis on the festering insurgency in Balochistan. The book provides a lucid account of Balochistan’s history, geography, and demography.
COVID-19 Crisis and Pakistan-China Equation
China is too important for Pakistan’s power elite, given that their stakes are tied firmly to the success of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects. Similarly, China would also need dependable and loyal allies like Pakistan willing to support and disseminate the emerging Chinese narrative on COVID-19.
India’s Renewed Push on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)
The surge in official references to PoK has disrupted the inertia of the past years. Pushing PoK high on India’s strategic priorities will make India’s Kashmir policy more effective.
Pakistan’s Dam Despair
Pakistan’s determination to build the Diamer Basha Dam (DBD) project with indigenous funding may prove even more difficult than obtaining foreign funding.