The issue of polio eradication has taken a perilous form in Pakistan due to the deadly mixture of militancy and developmental issues, writes Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor
In Pakistan's and Turkiye's Military Commitment, the Mecca Pact Faces its First Litmus Test
It would also explain why Pakistan is trying to preserve a distinction between supporting Saudi Arabia and fighting the Houthis. Pakistan has every reason to avoid another open-ended conflict in the Middle East. Its military is heavily committed to its own security challenges. Its economy cannot easily absorb the political and financial consequences
EU and India Should Cooperate Strategically on Middle East Stability
EU and India could establish a regular EU–India-Middle East Consultative Mechanism involving foreign-policy officials and experts. Its purpose would be to coordinate positions before major international gatherings and meetings.
Sri Lanka’s Ruling Marxists-Leninists on Delhi, Beijing Visits: Embracing Diplomatic Pragmatism?
For Sri Lankan politics, this is more than diplomatic sightseeing. It raises a fundamental question whether the JVP is developing a sophisticated strategy of balancing relations with India and China or is it gradually adapting itself to the organisational models of powerful one-party or dominant-party systems in China and India respectively?
Continuing Kuki-Naga Conflict is a Threat to Northeast India's Security
The ongoing civil war in Myanmar has caused an influx of armed cadres (Meitei, Naga and Kuki) into Manipur's border tracts like Kamjong district, further squeezing finite land resources and aggravating historical territorial disputes. What began as a localized dispute under the state's newly elected government in February 2026 has escalated into intense, multi-district armed warfare.
More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs
When Trump comes calling, tech collaboration should be high on agenda
Technology collaboration by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, specifically in the high technology segment, could be great lever of strategic and public policy partnerships for both countries, writes Kumar Deep (@kumar_deep) for South Asia Monitor
Can India enhance foreign investor confidence?
India may have jumped the rankings in The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business but foreign and domestic investors seek improvements in the ease of doing business on the ground, especially in the states, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Modi government balancing structural reforms with ideological commitments
The 'tax charter' ushers India into a new era where the rights of taxpayers in terms of imposition and payment of taxes are recognized for the first time, writes Arun Anand for South Asia Monitor
For India's growth to revive, needed deep-going structural reforms
India Inc’s confidence will certainly be boosted with a more transparent and non-adversarial tax regime and a business-friendly policy framework that improves the conditions for doing business on the ground, especially in the various states, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
For a place at the global high table, India’s maritime strength needs bolstering
The IN has been at the forefront in supporting the country’s security and diplomatic initiatives in the region through extensive bilateral and multilateral interaction, writes Cmdre Anil Jai Singh (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India should take the lead in regional connectivity and integration
If India has to progress towards deeper engagement under the ‘Neighborhood First’ policy, it has to integrate some of the genuine concerns of its strategic regional partners, writes Kumar Deep for South Asia Monitor
India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy: Need to put money where its mouth is
The enthusiasm Modi has shown towards the neighbourhood, through his numerous visits has not got translated in overall policy during these years, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor
Popular apathy towards elections a sign of institutional shortcomings in Bangladesh?
Fracturing political institutions like the Election Commission, Parliament and the Judiciary are also responsible for the popular apathy and political decay in Bangladesh, writes Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor
Delhi defeat is BJP's fourth successive state loss: Is there a lesson in it for PM Modi?
The BJP may have also harmed itself by its poisonous communalism which cannot but have put off some of the party’s own sensible supporters, not to mention the Left-Liberals, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
US pullout from Iraq will embolden Taliban in Afghanistan
The US pullout from Iraq, which will be perceived as withdrawal under pressure, will have a fallout in Afghanistan, writes Lt Gen PC Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Fate of a film: How Pakistan is stifling creativity at the altar of extremism
In a country like Pakistan, where freedom of expression is strictly curtailed, guaranteeing that everything is in line with an openly orthodox and conservative interpretation of religion will only multiply the problem, writes Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor
TTP leader Ehsan’s escape to Turkey queers Pakistan’s anti-terror stance
How Ehsan could escape high-security detention and how he could reach Turkey, along with his family, remains a mystery that Islamabad is unable or unwilling to answer, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
The message of the Delhi elections
If the Muslims were indeed considered equal citizens of a secular India, why would government ministers speak so disparagingly, and even scornfully, of anti-CAA protesters who are mainly burqa and hijab-clad women - ranging in ages from the twenties to the eighties - most of whom are out for the first time in the streets, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
Urgent police reforms and regulation required in India, but politicians unwilling
What is required to be done is that all enforcement agencies, like ED, CBI and, at the state level, the police, should be completely insulated from political masters, writes Vinod Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor
