Soumya Awasthi was an Associate Fellow (Mar 2020 - Aug 2022) with Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi. Previously, she has worked with Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense and Strategic Analysis (MPIDSA), New Delhi. She has also worked as a fellow at Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR) in United Service Institute, New Delhi and Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping Organization, New Delhi.
Her research interest includes Counter Terrorism, De-radicalization, South Asian strategic studies, Afghanistan, and India’s defense and Strategic policy. She is particularly interested in the Deoband School of Islam in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. She is completing her PhD from the Center for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament (CIPOD) at School of International Studies (SIS) in Jawaharlal Nehru University on the subject “Role of Religious Discourse in Regional and Global Geopolitics: Case Study of Deoband Philosophy in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan”.

She has completed her MPhil on the topic “Defense Budget of India from 1947 till 2015 a Trend Analysis” in the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at the Savitribai Phule University of Pune, Maharashtra. She has presented papers at several national and international conferences on her area of study.

Contributions 
Growing Prowess of TTP amidst Negotiations After a decade and a half long rift between the Pakistan government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and several failed peace treaties, the two sides again attempted an uneasy truce in June 2022 to prevent further bloodshed by having a "three...

“Victory Day” Parade: One year of a Pyrrhic Victory for the Taliban The impact of the Taliban’s one-year rule in Afghanistan differs across regions and countries. The impression on South Asia was more distinct than on any other region. In South Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan bore the burden of the Taliban’s takeo...

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Versus Pakistan Government About 57 members of jirga comprising of some very prominent officials like former ISI chief and current Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, Federal Minister Sajid Hussain Toria, Mohammad Ali Seif, Senior State Counselor Shaukatullah Khan, fo...

Assessment of Islamic State Khorasan Province Tarjuman Al-Asawirti, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet, released a video in English titled "The Crusade Shaming Tactics." The video starts with the following message, "Manipulators use strategies to make others feel pitiful and they can...

Storm after a Lull: Kabul Attack Since the suicide bombing at the Kabul Airport on August 26, 2021, there was a period of lull. While, the Taliban has been shrewdly backing out from its promises which it made after taking over, but that’s about it. There were no major attacks and ...

Monographs/Compendiums 
A Compendium of Terrorist Groups The last three decades has seen the South and West Asian regions turning into a hot bed of terror activities. Spreading from these regions, and alongside by many other isolated areas across the globe, terrorism today has become the biggest threat to ...

Book Published / Book Reviews 
Omar Sadr, Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan. Oxon: Routledge, 2020, xiii+242 pp., INR 995, ISBN: 978-1138371057 ‘Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan’ by Omar Sadr is an account of Afghanistan's multicultural society. The book discusses the challenges that the government faces in ensuring national integration under cultural diversity. The book co...

In their Own Words-Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba by C. Christine Fair, Second Edition; By Christine Fair; India: Oxford University Press, 2019. 303pp. ISBN 10: 0-19-949521-1 The goal of every state is to survive. Many countries adopt various kinds of strategies to achieve their ends. The strategies are a mix of military, economic and diplomatic ways and means to realise their policy goals. However, in the case of Pakista...

Outreach 
India and SAARC Combating COVID Pandemic Published in Bangladesh Institute for Peace and Security (BIPSS) on 1st May 2020....

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