Ayni Air Base in Tajikistan: For nearly 25 years, a lone sentinel stood in the cold winds of Central Asia. The Ayni Air Base in Tajikistan was India’s only foreign military outpost. It watched over Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. It was a silent guardian, keeping an eye on the changing tides of regional power.

Today, that watch has ended. The tricolour that once fluttered over its hangars has been lowered. The runways India built with nearly USD 10 crore of effort and strategy now belong to someone else.

Officially, New Delhi calls the handover “procedural”. The lease had expired, and all the necessary paperwork was completed as part of routine diplomatic processes.

But analysts see more than that. They call it a retreat of influence from a region once seen as the heart of India’s nor

See Full Page