Afghanistan is on the verge of another transition as it seeks stability and deals with a variety of internal and external issues. After the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist organisation, captured Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, on August 15, 2021. It was the culmination of a military offensive against the Afghan government that began in May 2021. The arrest occurred just hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The majority of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals had fallen one after the other as part of a US troop withdrawal scheduled to end on August 31, 2021. Internal political turmoil, constant Taliban attacks across the country, and deadly suicide bombings by the Islamic State-Khorasan keep it busy while external nations play the New Great Game for geo-strategic ambitions both in its front yard and in its backyard. This book highlights all the ongoing issues of Afghanistan’s surge and provides the readers with insights into the country’s past, present and future. Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Contributors 1. Afghanistan’s Modern Taliban Era: A Glass Half Full ShubhangiMisra 2. The Impact of the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan: Pakistan and China AnishaMaulida 3. Feminism, Peace and Afghanistan: An IndianFeminist Perspective Tamanna Khosla 4. India’s Stakes, Challenges and Strategy in the Aftermath of Talibans in Afghanistan Neeraj Singh Manhas 5. Afghanistan: Issues and Challenges in Taliban Era Rajkumar Singh 6. The Graveyard of Empires: An Endless War in Afghanistan Jay Maniyar 7. Decoding Chinese Ambitions in Afghanistan: Its Implications on India Suchita Sharma 8. Regional Security Complex in South Asia: A Study of the Rise of Taliban in Afghanistan Puyesh Kant Sharma 9. Convulsed Women’s Rights in Afghanistan Pursuant to Taliban Governance in Early Twenty-first Century RekhaKumari R. Singh 10. The Resistance of Panjshir in the Face of the Taliban VibhaaSreedhar Index Editor: Neeraj Singh Manhas is a Director, Indo-Pacific, at Raisina House, New Delhi. Currently, he is a Doctoral Scholar in International Relations (Chinese Studies) at Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, India. He has previously completed his M.Phil. in Political Science. At present, he is also officiating an honorary position as an Associate Fellow at the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies (KIIPS) and a Research Associate at the Association of Asia Scholars (AAS). He was also a fellow at Global Policy, Diplomacy, and Sustainability (GPODS) Fellowship programme. Prior to this, he was also associated with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies (AIPRIS), Defence and Research Studies (DRaS), National Maritime Foundation (NMF), and Foreign Policy Research Centre (FPRC). He has authored three books under his name and has various research interests covering India-China in the Indian Ocean, India’s maritime securities, and Indo-Pacific studies. His writings have appeared in The Guardian, The Diplomatist, Chanakya Forum, World Geo-Strategic Insights, and The Rise, among other online platforms. He is a lifetime member of the Indian Political Science Association (IPSA) and an Associate member at the National Maritime Foundation (NMF). He has participated in various National and International seminars and conferences and published over 150 papers.