India, Nepal and Bangladesh should have a holistic diplomatic approach to bolster their connectivity project, writes MD. Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
Crunch Point For World Cricket: Power Politics And Double Standards Unfairly Rob Bangladesh Of Participation
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.
Jaish-e-Mohammed's Female Brigade: ISI-Backed New Jihadi Units Intensify Counterterrorism Challenges in South Asia
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.
Securing The Digital Frontier: A Unified Call For Cybersecurity In South Asia
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.
Aid, Ports, And The Limits of Incrementalism: What India’s Budget Says About Its Foreign Policy
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.
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Power of advocacy: How women’s groups, leaders led international efforts to pressurize Taliban to let people leave Afghanistan
Given the Taliban's growing need to be recognized, and to receive international aid, this time around the US and the international community, backed by the World Bamk, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations are in a much better position to together pin down the Taliban on its assurances and also hold it accountable, writes Nisha Sahai Achuthan for South Asia Monitor
End of the road for economic liberalism in Sri Lanka?
Neither SLPP nor SJB has a major reform agenda to breakout from Sri Lanka’s endemic economic problems, which are deeply rooted in the country’s inability to earn enough foreign inflow to sustain itself and to bring in sound fiscal policies, writes Indika Hettiarachchi for South Asia Monitor
Lessons from Afghanistan disaster: US not to 'remake other countries'
The question will be what kind of “consequences” the US can impose on those it considers veering off from the democratic path Biden and his supporters set, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
India should team up with friendly countries to stay relevant in Afghanistan
India’s approach towards Afghanistan should be dictated by its economic and strategic interests and it needs to judge the Taliban by its actions while being flexible enough to leave room for numerous divergences, writes Tridivesh Singh Maini for South Asia Monitor
Of Afghan Snow, Kabul street dancers and fabled Kabuliwalas once upon a time!
For India and Indians, one of the most enduring Afghan connections that developed, rather accidentally, was in the form of “Afghan Snow”, the first beauty crème, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
India should keep open communication channels with Taliban to protect its Afghanistan interests
After all, how can a major political and military force like India stay on the sidelines when the US, the Chinese, of course, the Pakistanis, and even the Russians begin talks, open business and prepare for collaborations with the Taliban? writes Jagdish Rattanani for South Asia Monitor
Can sports be the harbinger of a new dawn in India-Pakistan relations?
Amid the thorny political and diplomatic issues, sports can act as the much-needed balm to remove distrust and promote understanding between India and Pakistan, writes Sirshendu Panth for South Asia Monitor
US ends a 20-year-war in Afghanistan in confused retreat: Is Taliban now an enemy turned partner?
A Taliban-run Afghanistan that eschews support for international terrorism and global Islam and follows a Sharia regime like that of US ally Riyadh – in effect an oil-less Saudi Arabia – and, as it happened this week, both cooperating to fight common enemies may be Biden's dream scenario, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
Afghan refugees crisis: Collective international action need of the hour
The Afghan conflict has already turned shelterless a massive number of people, and it will not end until a morally inclined humanitarian intervention takes place, write Azeemah Saleem and MD. Imtiyaz for South Asia Monitor
Lessons from the Taliban: Only a secular democracy can keep India integrated
Implications for India are more worrisome since the Taliban now has overt support of China and Russia apart from its patron Pakistan, writes Brig Deepak Sethi (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Strong policies, asset management skills can raise mutual funds’ popularity in South Asia
Among many commonalities, South Asian nations have a large hi tech-savvy young population, and the asset management companies should tap this section to deepen mutual fund penetration significantly, writes Ram Krishna Sinha for South Asia Monitor
Transparency, institutional checks and balances must for success of India’s ambitious asset monetization plan
If asset monetization is undertaken with strict oversight, it can be the most effective remedy to dispel the pervading gloom of an ailing economy, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Will Afghanistan provide the strategic depth that Pakistan has long been seeking against India?
Beijing will quickly establish a ruthlessly transactional and pragmatic relationship to exploit Afghanistan’s rich mineral resources as well expand its much-cherished Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from Pakistan, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
The blind men of Capitol Hill: Kabul bombings are America’s self-inflicted wound
Finally, the US has given the biggest boost to global terrorism - and will eventually have to face the consequences. A coupling between the ISIS and Taliban should not be considered an impossibility, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
