BY F.M. SHAKIL
Election Commission seems unable to stop the ‘political mainstreaming’ of extremists who may have backing from elements of the Pakistani state; militants could run independently or allied to unknown religious groups
The standoff between the police and Hezbollah Brigades may portend an upcoming power struggle between Iraq's established security forces and the Iranian-supported Shia militias that make up the Popular Mobilization Units.
(South China Morning Post) India’s insurgency-ridden Jammu and Kashmir province is tipped to enter one of its most violent phases as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pulled his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of a local coalition government to prepare the ground for a crackdown ahead of the next general election in 2019.