The threat from ISIS-K is real and growing. A resurgence in Pakistan would have serious implications for the broader region, including India. The danger is compounded if Pakistan once again attempts to clandestinely redirect ISIS-K towards Kashmir. What may appear as an isolated terror incident is, in fact, part of a wider pattern that demands sustained vigilance. Pakistan’s internal security instability risks creating openings for cross-border terror movements, potentially hardening new militant modules aimed at India and beyond.
The optimistic view is that the “Twin Election” will force a compromise. The referendum provides a mandate for reform that even a BNP government cannot ignore. The “July Charter”, if ratified, creates checks on executive power that did not exist before. The students, even if they end up on the opposition benches, will form a moral pressure group that cannot be easily crushed. The cynical view is that Bangladesh is merely swapping a monopoly for a duopoly, or worse, a monopoly of a different colour.
All signs point to a BNP victory. In a competitive contest without the Awami League, the BNP’s organisational depth and electoral reach make it the frontrunner. Yet victory alone may not translate into authority. The absence of the Awami League, the continued influence of Sheikh Hasina from exile, the rise of Islamist alternatives, and the central role of unelected institutions mean that any new government will inherit a fractured polity. The 2026 election may revive the BNP’s fortunes, but it will not by itself heal Bangladesh’s democratic wounds.
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.
Terrorists and extremists need discourses in the inculcation of eternal moral values and practicing of yoga and meditation that can contribute immensely to attaining a perfect and balanced personality as described in ancient Indian classical texts, writes Prof. Sudhanshu Tripathi for South Asia Monitor
If Lata’s ‘Allah, Karam Karna’ and ‘Allah Reham” are popular among the Muslims, two of the Indian cinema’s best bhakti (devotional) songs, “Allah Tero Naam Ishwar Tero Naam” and “Prabhu Tero Naam” are sung six decades after she rendered them in Hum Dono, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
A section of the diaspora has taken a line that it needs to bury the past and open a line with India, which many blame for the plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
But will this productivity-driving initiative really take off when the most prosperous farmers belonging to the vanguard agrarian regions of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh firmly remain on the path of agitation against government efforts to fix agriculture through reform? writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Examining new paradigms and alternate formulations often leads to game-changing events, writes Lt Gen PR Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Strangely, Kerry, while extracting ambitious emission cuts during his rounds of developing countries, does not talk about meeting the financial commitments given by President Barack Obama in Copenhagen in 2009. He talks only about initiating a ‘finance dialogue’ with developing countries, writes Rajendra Shende for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan is also one of the largest recipients of IAEA’s technical and financial help that shows Pakistan has achieved considerable expertise in the application of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, writes Usman Ali Khan for South Asia Monitor
The political crisis in Afghanistan is closely linked with the flow of refugees from the country. The latter cannot be contained without solving the former, writes Anirban Sen for South Asia Monitor
The positive roles played by the American community colleges and universities along with the contributions of the Indian diaspora in the grand American dream are among the key adhesives of the larger bilateral relationship between the two democratic giants, write Dr. Manan Dwivedi and Shonit Nayan for South Asia Monitor
It is only meaningful and sincere cooperation between Bangladesh authorities and a wide array of non-governmental, inter-governmental and development organizations which has, so far, made supporting 1.1 million Rohingyas with such limited resources possible, writes Habibur Rahman for South Asia Monitor
Having a refugee and asylum policy will improve India's standing in the global community and avoid unnecessary expenditure from the national and state exchequers, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
While India inherited the British-era law regarding accounting of official gifts received by government leaders, Pakistan and Bangladesh enacted their respective laws only in 1974, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
The impending resumption of exports thus is good news that will ensure low-cost jabs for the poor in Asia, Africa and Latin America and will also be beneficial for the South Asian neighborhood, especially countries like Afghanistan that are facing a humanitarian disaster while coping with the ravages of Covid-19, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
India’s position as a non-permanent member of the UNSC and member of BRICS gives it an edge to emerge as a responsible ally and push for coordinated international response not just for humanitarian assistance but also to set precedence for dealing with the Taliban, writes Nandni Mahajan for South Asian Monitor
The pomp and pageantry that characterized some of Modi's previous visits will be absent this time because of Covid and the more reserved style of the Biden administration, writes Frank F Islam for South Asia Monitor
