Ultimately, Bangladesh’s absence from the 10th edition of the T20 World Cup was the result of the BCCI’s ego and the ICC’s double standards where power politics and selective decision-making outweighed fairness and sporting integrity. Although many view the Pakistan Cricket Board’s support for Bangladesh positively, in reality it is also a strategic move to counter India for its own strategic benefit. If the match is boycotted, Bangladesh will suffer even greater financial and administrative losses.
Unlike earlier jihadist cells dominated by Pakistani nationals, this unit deliberately recruits women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, and other foreign countries. Reason behind recruiting non-Pakistani nationals serves a dual purpose: it complicates attribution and shields Pakistan’s security apparatus from direct accountability. Such operational sophistication reflects ISI’s continued role not merely as a passive enabler but as an active architect of jihadist adaptation.
South Asia has the potential to be a global digital leader. It has a young population and a booming tech industry. However, this potential will only be realized if the region is secure. We must treat cybersecurity as a pillar of national security, just like border defense. This requires better technology, smarter laws, and stronger regional ties. The digital threats of 2026 are fast and complex. To meet them, South Asia must be faster and more united. The time to build a collective digital shield is now, before the next major crisis occurs.
Yet the strategic costs are real. Reduced engagement in Bangladesh risks ceding influence at a moment when Dhaka is actively diversifying its partnerships. Hesitation over Chabahar weakens India’s leverage in Iran and Central Asia and underscores its vulnerability to US pressure even as it seeks a more multipolar foreign policy. The 2026–27 Budget does not signal a dramatic shift in Indian foreign policy. There is no abandonment of neighbours-first rhetoric or of connectivity-led diplomacy. What it reveals instead is a narrowing circle of feasible economic action.
With PNS Khaibar's delivery Pakistan and Türkiye are taking their relationship to a new level which is not limited to traditional political friendship. At the handover ceremony, Erdoğan described the relationship between the countries as "brotherly ties" and emphasised the need to further collaborate in defence production. The naval leadership of Pakistan also pointed to the fact that the partnership should benefit Pakistan in achieving its overall maritime modernisation.
What is unfolding in Bangladesh bears unsettling resemblance to trajectories seen in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where false blasphemy accusations have long been used to terrorize minorities and silence dissent. Once such violence is tolerated, it expands - devouring journalists, artists, reformist Muslims, and eventually the state itself.
The current strains in Bangladesh–India relations should therefore be seen not as an inevitable deterioration, but as a test of diplomatic maturity. Bangladesh and India share more than geography and history; they share a responsibility to ensure that temporary political frictions do not harden into structural mistrust. In a time of regional uncertainty, neither country benefits from a relationship defined by grievance or miscommunication.
The 27th Amendment, celebrated by its proponents as a security reform, is in reality a political coup executed through constitutional means. It marks not only Munir’s personal triumph but the institutional victory of the military over all other state authorities. As history warns, empowering any unelected institution above the republic’s elected will invites instability—not strength. Pakistan may soon discover that consolidating military power does not secure the nation’s future, but instead places it at greater risk
India must now transition from conventional soft-power thinking to visibility governance—the systematic management of how the country appears, circulates, and is emotionally interpreted across global platforms. Failure to do so will leave India’s global image increasingly shaped by commercial incentives outside Indian control.
The strengthening of Taliban-India ties runs counter to Pakistan’s interests. The more border clashes intensify between the Taliban and Pakistan, the more secure the Kashmir region and the Line of Control (LoC) become for India. Under such conditions, Pakistan will remain preoccupied with its northwestern border, giving India a unique opportunity to consolidate its control over Kashmir and potentially weaken, drive out, or eliminate Kashmiri militant groups
Although U.S. military deployments overseas are common, their presence in Sri Lanka has historically been rare. For the first time, both Indian and American troops are now actively engaged in rescue and relief operations on Sri Lankan soil. This marks a significant departure from past sensitivities surrounding foreign military footprints in the island nation.
This twin strategy -- institutionalised engagement with Europe and practical leadership of the Global South -- would broaden India’s repertoire. A strengthened European partnership would sharpen India’s industrial and technological edge; robust South-South initiatives would deepen its diplomatic capital and soft power. Together they would blunt the effect of whimsical shifts in U.S. policy and give New Delhi greater leverage with Moscow and Beijing.
India has thus far shown that it is willing to continue its friendship with Russia and expand relations in diverse areas from defence to energy, from manpower mobility to innovation, from investment and technology exchange to culture and tourism. In short, Putin’s visit was meant to prepare both countries to defy sanctions and explore new areas of cooperation - in Russia’s Far East and Arctic, cooperation in areas of climate change and green energy, and work together to strengthen multilateral forums like the BRICS, SCO and G-20.
The expansion of education in Bangladesh has played a key role in this transformation. Girls are now equal to boys in schools, colleges, and universities and sometimes even ahead of them. Women have proven their capabilities as doctors, engineers, teachers, researchers, and even pilots. This achievement is not just personal; this is the evolution of the mentality of a society.
However. the desire to collaborate regionally has faced many hurdles such as geopolitical tensions arising from the India–Pakistan rivalry and limited SAARC summit activity that has greatly weakened implementation of regional initiatives. The Rapid Response Mechanism remains largely on paper, with no standing regional force or pre-positioned assets. Smaller nations like Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka face financial/technical limitations in aligning with regional standards.
The exposure of a sophisticated white-collar terror network underscores the evolving nature of radicalisation and the need for comprehensive security reforms. Measures that merit consideration include: a)Reinstating long-term President’s Rule in J&K to stabilise governance and security; b) Implementing an organised, sustained deradicalisation programme, particularly among youth and educated professionals; c) Strengthening the permanent presence of the Indian Army in the Valley and increasing the number of cantonments; and d) Ensuring that elections are conducted only when broader community representation is viable, including Kashmiri Pandits, Dogras, Sikhs and other displaced groups
Bangladeshis can be found in the unlikeliest of places in search of gainful 'employment'. Recently two Bangladeshi militants were killed, reportedly in an anti-militancy raid in Pakistan. Two Bangladeshis were also found in the Ukraine war fighting in support of Russia as mercenaries. With financing and patronage, Bangladesh with a vast population of poor devout Muslims can potentially become an unlimited source of Islamic militants and suicide bombers for the rest of the world.
Putin’s 2025 visit to New Delhi was a strategic demonstration of India’s contemporary foreign policy, not a sentimental reunion. For India, multipolarity is a toolkit — a defense built on diverse partnerships, institutional investments, and internal resilience, not an abstract idea. Yet a shield can fail if it is brittle or hollow. To ensure multipolarity remains a durable defense, New Delhi must convert diplomatic goodwill into operational readiness by strengthening domestic supply chains, addressing payment and logistical gaps, and sustaining principled diplomacy that safeguards India’s international standing. Otherwise, multipolarity risks becoming a comforting phrase rather than real protection.
The Mahabharata’s deepest warning is stark and sobering: nations rarely fall because of external enemies alone. They fall because of internal decay. Hastinapur did not collapse under foreign assault. Its destruction was the inevitable outcome of accumulated resentment, festering grievances, unchecked ambition, wounded egos, and a collective failure to address its own fault lines. The gates were opened from within, and once the poison reached its tipping point, war became unavoidable.
