By the estimates given in the Supreme Court order dated 7 May 2021, almost 90 percent of prisoners released last year had returned to prisons between February and March this year, writes Anju Anna John for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan Mosque Blast: ISIS' Growing Shadow In The Subcontinent
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.
After the Begums: Battle For The Soul Of Bangladesh Has Just Begun
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.
Bangladesh Heads to Crucial Elections Amid Political Exclusion: A Divided Nation Needs Democratic Renewal
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.
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.
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Closer Bangladesh-Myanmar ties have great economic potential - but Rohingya issue must be resolved
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World Bank proposal to integrate Rohingyas into Bangladesh unsustainable for both host nation, refugees
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The Terror Guardians: How Pakistan tripped the US in Afghanistan
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The Taliban must develop Afghanistan, protect women’s rights to get world recognition
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Pakistan needs multidimensional and intersectoral policy approaches for energy-water-food security integration
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Flawed US AfPak policy a boost for Taliban, a boon to China
America’s expectations that Afghanistan would not become a haven for terrorists (which it already was) and that the US will remain sheltered from terrorism emanating from that soil, are both misplaced, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
After PTA, Bangladesh and Bhutan can cooperate to solve regional issues, tackle Covid
Once the PTA comes into force, more people in Bangladesh will get access to good apples and oranges from Bhutan, while the fashion-conscious Bhutanese can choose from more varieties of quality apparel from Bangladesh, writes Md Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
A new street battle by Afghan women that Taliban may not be prepared to fight
The sense of losing everything - after a quarter-century of modernization and social progress - seems to have broken the Afghan women's fear of confronting the Taliban, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
South Asia's cricket rivalry: Is the Indian pace battery a notch-up on Pakistan's feared pace attack of the last century?
The difficulty level the current Indian pacers had to overcome to achieve consistency and success in top-flight international cricket is substantially higher than what their counterparts from Pakistan had to surmount decades back, writes Sirshendu Panth for South Asia Monitor
Augury of a 'failed' Afghanistan: Global sympathy should be with the Afghan people
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India must shed its diffidence on a full-fledged FTA with UK
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