Political risks rise across South Asia, according to a new analysis

India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have all fallen in the rankings of a new political risk index.

Of the South Asian nations, India (27) has seen the biggest fall in the rankings, down nine places from last year. The country is rated as extreme risk in particular for the threat of conflict and political violence, terrorism, and business integrity and corruption.

Afghanistan (5) and Pakistan (11) are both rated at extreme risk, have dropped one place in the ranking, whilst Bangladesh (23) has moved down four places and Sri Lanka (29) has fallen one place; both are deemed high risk countries.

The findings are part of Maplecroft’s Political Risk Atlas 2010, which rates 196 countries.

Eva Molyneux, a Political Analyst at Maplecroft, commented: “India recently formed the separate state of Telangana, to forestall violence in Andhra Pradesh, a move that may provide fresh impetus to separatist groups in Assam and elsewhere. The conflict in Kashmir is still ongoing and India remains vulnerable to al-Qaeda style Islamist terrorism and Maoist terrorism. These factors can present significant security challenges for organisations with operations, supply chains and distribution networks in the country, unless they are managed correctly.”