[b][u]Central Asia[/u][/b]
[i]The central Asia region in this instance refers to grouping these countries for ease and convenience, rather than any official terminology[/i]

[b]Former Soviet Satellite States[/b]
The countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan had all been heavily influenced by the former USSR, some of them even being part of the soviet state itself. This situation continued throughout the rest of the Cold War, with Soviet forces and interests being deeply embedded within these nations. Their governments were virtual puppets of the Soviet state, and their natural resources and industry were subverted to supply Soviet demand. Due to their fortunes being inextricably tied to the USSR's own, their economies and quality of life were mirrors of Russia's own, and they suffered many of the same pitfalls and obstacles. However, dissent was more openly discussed in these satellite states, and the corruption even more obvious. Frequent human rights abuses were noted, and especially in the last decade of the 20th century and the beginning years of the 21st, there was considerable movement against Soviet occupation and soviet-communist governance and ideologies, with resistance movements active in both the cultural, political and military sense. 
As they were already struggling on multiple fronts and engaged in numerous armed insurgencies and low-level conflicts, the USSR started to draw down their forces and their influence in these regions, consolidating to solely keep their interests in the resources and production vital to keep their industrial machine running. 
However, when the Heavenfall struck and the resulting vacuum of power that came with it, the 'stans' were released to their own devices. 
There was some internal conflict as the remnants of soviet forces and their government liasons attempted to seize power in some cases, but such efforts were short-lived, with the responsible parties being either swiftly defeated, or forcibly ejected from the countries in question. 
The economic results have been more long-reaching, and have greatly delayed efforts at recovery from the devastation, despite the best and genuine efforts of the now democratically elected governments in place. Shifts in economic and cultural goals and policies have been swift, but real progress has been slow and fitful, due to the lack of capital and resources to enable trade. This need for capital and investment has been met by MegaCorporations that saw an opportunity in the region, and many established sprawling facilities, such as manufacturing plants, industrial complexes, office complexes, mines and logistics hubs in various places across the region. This was not universal, however; and Kyrgyzstan notably did not follow suit and has established close ties with the N/UN.   

[b]Afghanistan[/b]
A nation caught forever in the tug-of-war between national powers, Afghanistan was wracked by its' conflict with the USSR for the latter years of the 20th century. While there was something of a lul in the conflict for several years in the late 80s, the spring of 1992 resulted in a renewed offensive and in greater force. Soviet forces poured into the country and waged a more brutal and violent war of occupation, installing their own government and enacting harsh and uncompromising laws with the ideal of stamping out religious and ideological conflict. Knowing that the insurgency was sponsored and supplied by the west and their intelligence agencies, any agents captured were interrogated brutally and treated as criminals, while any materiel recovered was released publicly, with frequent and loud appeals to the United Nations about the interference in their business, and threats of reprisals. 
This situation continued throughout the 1990s, with the USSR declaring 'victory' in 1998 after wiping out the heads of the insurgent groups in a massive operation. Nonetheless, insurgent actions were still common, despite the heavy Soviet presence in the area. 
When the Heavenfall hit in the early 2000's, the soviet forces still in the region withdrew, without orders from command and without contact from home, they headed back to Russia for the most part, though in some cases command structures broke down and the remaining units and their personnel asserted themselves as authorities in the region, carving out their own kingdoms. 
The country now is a divided and anarchic region. The largest authority is the Coalition Government, a tribal council of imams that are aligned with the ISL. Other groups share closer ties with the NCAA or N/UN, and CAA, who are interested in the cultivation of poppies and other narcotics crops, something the region is equally famous for, and the main export for which it gains any kind of money. 
The region was also affected by the literal and metaphoric fallout from the war between India and Pakistan, with displaced people moving into Afghanistan to escape the destroyed and devastated areas, and the nuclear fallout. 

[b]Pakistan and India[/b]
Pakistan and India were always at the edge of conflict with one another, locked in a game of brinkmanship and one-upmanship throughout the years. This had erupted into open conflict several times, and there were many border clashes and minor skirmishes through the 1990s and into the early 2000s. The Heavenfall served as a spark to light the powder keg, however. Tremendous earthquakes and tidal waves scoured both countries, though India in particular was ravaged, especially with so many cities of such a high population density. While they were engrossed in their relief efforts, the Pakistan armed forces launched numerous attacks on Indian military bases and other important strategic targets. This first strike caught India unaware, and it took them time to organise an effective counterattack. By the time they could get organised, Pakistani forces had devastated a lot of the critical bases and infrastructure, and penetrated deep into Indian territory. With a sense of mounting panic, and their appeals for aid and intervention falling on deaf ears in favour of negotiation and talks, the Indian government responded with nuclear strikes at Pakistani targets, including the seat of government. This resulted in massive deaths of civilians, as well as military personnel, and Pakistan responded in kind, targeting Indian industrial and key government faciltiies, resulting in further tremendous casualties. 
With both sides chain of command essentially decapitated, the remaining units and personnel descended into a chaotic, undirected conflict that slowly wore itself down into a slogging match through attrittion of their equipment, and the rapid using up of wartime stocks of materiel. Civilian populations, largely forgotten or ignored by those who had assumed power, fled the areas most affected and in the path of the fighting, resulting in mass migrations to neighbouring countries, which were not always welcome. 
As time wound on, the region has become a hotspot for mercenary units, especially unlicenced ones, to get involved. The N/UN has deployed peacekeeping forces to the reason, which are in an unsteady balance with the Chinese forces also deployed in the area. Both sides are attempting to regulate and counter the mercenary companies deployed in the region, but it is a complex political situation, with many lives in the balance, due to the civilian populations caught up in the ongoing conflict. 

[b]Nepal[/b]
Nepal has been caught up in the conflict to the south by proxy, if nothing else. While the nation has taken no active part in the fighting, and has had no real aggression from its' neighbours on any side, the influx of refugees and the drifting radioactive fallout has caused many problems for the nation, and it has sought aid from other regional and international powers, with China particularly coming to their aid and helping to manage the refugee crisis, and aiding with disaster relief. 
As a result of the unstable situation, the Nepalese government has sought to upgrade and modernise their armed forces, and as part of this has employed the PMC Platinum Shield to provide reinforcements to their own small armed forces, while also training candidates from their armed forces as combat pilots and in the use of more complex vehicles and equipment.

[b]Bangladesh and Bhutan[/b]
Both countries were affected by the fallout from the war between Indian and Pakistan, as well as the destruction from the Heavenfall causing widespread devastation. For Bangladesh especially, being such a densely populated country, it suffered tremendous loss of life during the Heavenfall. The resulting period was characterised by harsh and brutal rule, which only ended after an overthrow of the government by revolution from the people, though this has not alleviated the crises still in place, and the current democratically elected government has looked to China and the NCAA for help in maintaining stability and improving standards of living for its' people, as well as dealing with the ongoing refugee crises.

In the case of Bhutan, the landlocked country suffered from the geological and seismic activity, but even more so from the resulting rise in global temperatures, as the glaciers in the mountainous regions of the country began to melt at a much faster rate, resulting in massive flooding that caused widespread destruction and losses of life. Extensive reconstruction and disaster relief efforts followed, and the country managed to hold together, and has been a member of the N/UN since it's inception, though mostly as an observer rather than an actively contributing nation to the N/UN's power or forces. 

[b]Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean Islands[/b]
Sri Lanka's coastline was ravaged by the tidal upsets caused by the Heavenfall and the resultant rising sea levels. With somewhat more land area than other island nations in the Indian Ocean, it survived, despite suffering tremendous losses of life, property, and infrastructure and has only recently managed to find itself on stable footing once more, partly due to aid and relief agreements made with the NCAA. 
Other islands nations in the Indian Ocean have not been so lucky. the Maldives and Mauritius, as well as the British Indian Ocean Territories were all-but destroyed by the tsunamis and rising sea levels. The land area of most of them was greatly reduced, and the populations drastically cut down. Many of the islands were abandoned due to being effectively uninhabitable long term, while others reverted to a more basic level of existence, supporting much smaller settlements and populations. 
With an abundance of abandoned population centers and facilities, while still being a major shipping and transit route, many pirate groups have made the area their home, and piracy is common in the area, along with incidents of kidnapping, extortion, and other such crimes, with the N/UN attempting to mount patrols to secure the region, and licensed PMC's often rotating through the area as security forces.