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 emerging framework is likely to be more complex and less centralised. It may involve a mix of external partnerships, regional cooperation, and internal capacity building. It will also require a different mindset, one that accepts uncertainty as a constant factor.
This night was not about grandstanding; it was about results. Pakistan leveraged decades of ties with the U.S., deep cultural and geographic connections to Iran, and strong Gulf partnerships to create a channel no one else could. In an era of multipolar tensions, where flashpoints can ignite global crises, Islamabad showed it can convene, de-escalate, and deliver where others could not.
The unfolding conflict is not just a regional crisis. It is also putting the current global order under strain. Legal structures, economic systems and strategic alignments are all feeling this pressure. What we are seeing is not a clear collapse, but something more uncertain. Law is still in place, though its application varies. Interdependence continues, but it is increasingly used as leverage.There is no clearly defined alternative order ready to take the place of what is weakening
The most urgent and vital issue is the future management of the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway supports a large part of the world’s energy supply. For many years, its security relied on Western naval dominance. That belief has now been challenged.Iran has demonstrated it can disrupt, threaten, and influence traffic through the Strait.
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
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
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
Increasing Islamic radicalisation and the influence of Pakistan and China in the island nation may be troublesome and India must adopt necessary measures to counter their influence at the earliest, writes Jai Kumar Verma for South Asia Monitor
The enhanced allocation of resources serves as a signal to both Iran and Afghanistan that India is ready to walk the talk and hasten the completion of the project, especially at a time when the almost complete Gwadar port in Pakistan received its first container shipment, in mid-January, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
The US-India relationship has a number of contentious issues, trade being the most important of them, writes Pranay Kumar Shome for South Asia Monitor
The MCC, which has approved 37 compacts for 29 countries since its inception in 2004, could extend a claim on products originating or produced from Nepal, which would unfortunately lose its sovereign rights over certain products which have their origin in Nepal, write Jivesh Jha and Nil Prasad Paneru for South Asia Monitor
The success of Modi’s populist campaigns in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, followed by the majoritarian mobilizations and lurking use of repression, pose a serious threat to liberal democracy in India, writes L T Om Prakash for South Asia Monitor
With Delhi assembly elections set for February 8, the battle lines are sharply drawn between two pitting ideologies that have polarised national discourse like at no time before, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
The re-emergence of IS would have a definite impact on the Af-Pak region, with its consequential fallout for India and regional peace and stability in South Asia, writes Brig Anil Gupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor
What makes the Shaheen Bagh rare in the history of Indian civil society movements is that this is the first-time Muslim women are leading a protest against a law passed by the state, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor
It is widely believed that India’s decision on CAA would ‘question the principle of equality before the law’ and emotionally impact the Muslim community of both India and its neighbouring countries, writes Sukanya Bali for South Asia Monitor
Shringla, who came in from Washington where he served as India’s ambassador, will have his work cut out, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
The strategic gameplan of support to the Rohingya militancy is clearly visible. One, for China, making them into militants can be used to destabilize many countries, including India in South Asia, thus weakening its economic competitors, writes Swadesh Roy for South Asia Monitor
In South Asia, the issue of marine litter management is not taken as a priority by any of the nations, write Harsh Mahaseth and Shubham Sharma for South Asia Monitor