The newest symbol of Pakistan-Sri Lanka defence cooperation is Exercise Shake Hands-II, launched on April 27, 2026, in Tarbela, Pakistan. The two-week exercise brings together Pakistan Army’s elite Special Services Group (SSG) and Sri Lankan Special Forces. The purpose of the drill is to enhance interoperability, exchange operational experience and improve professional capabilities in counter-terrorism scenarios.
The question India needs to answer is not whether to side with Washington or Tehran. That framing is itself a trap. The question is whether India has the political will to build the energy independence, the institutional credibility, and the diplomatic infrastructure that would make such a choice genuinely unnecessary.
Deforestation in Pakistan is a pressing issue with serious implications for wildlife and ecological balance. Habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and ecosystem disruption are already evident, and the situation will worsen without decisive action. While initiatives like large-scale tree planting are a step in the right direction, they must be complemented by strong policies, effective enforcement, and community involvement.
South Asian states prioritise partners who can deliver immediately in times of economic and political uncertainty. Despite expanding economic ties with China, they continue to turn to India for vital supplies like diesel, LPG and crude oil. This is not only about proximity but rather reflects a level of trust built through repeated experience. China, in response to the crisis, chose to restrict exports of refined fuels such as gasoline and diesel to protect its domestic market.
One thing is clear: a Dalai Lama picked by atheist China will lack legitimacy in the eyes of the world. And if two Dalai Lamas emerge, it will be a test for India: who will it recognize as the temporal head of the Tibetan Buddhists, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
But if India fails to adhere to this main tenet of a modern society, it risks being labeled as an “electoral autocracy”, as Sweden’s V-Dem Institute has done, or “partly free”, as America’s Freedom House has done, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
Is India being overtaken by its eastern neighbor? Far from it, although these numbers will no doubt upset a segment of the Indian political leadership that has pushed a narrative that Bangladeshi infiltration into India is largely because of hunger and poverty, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
The suspected under-reporting in Uttar Pradesh is hazardous from an epidemiological perspective as it would stand against the state preparing for a targeted vaccination drive and a potential third wave, writes Akshat Singh for South Asia Monitor
Whatever sway Islamabad holds over the Taliban, Pakistan realizes it must weigh its options with considerable circumspection to at least mitigate blowback effects in case Afghanistan descends into a civil war, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
On May 20, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa explained to Asian leaders how Sri Lanka balances relations with China and India, writes Sugeeswara Senadhira for South Asia Monitor
Yet, the craze in Pakistan about Indian Bollywood beauties at times assumes dimensions that are wonderful but simultaneously bizarre, if published views of physicians and surgeons dealing with beauty-care are to be believed, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
The 16th India-EU summit, though virtual, marked a watershed in India’s foreign policy, as far as engagement with the West is concerned, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The ceasefire announcement on February 25 came just over two weeks after China and India agreed to military disengagement in eastern Ladakh, leading to speculation that the India-Pakistan ceasefire declaration and China-India disengagement plans aren't unrelated incidents, write Harsh Mahaseth and Ananya Shukla for South Asia Monitor
Perhaps even more than the BJP, the RSS must be deeply concerned about the present calamity since it can delay the implementation of its Hindutva project yet again, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
The Parliamentary Committee on Health and Welfare, in its recent report, had suggested that the public expenditure on health needs to be enhanced to at least 2.5 percent of GDP in the next 3 years, much of which should be invested in creating and modernising the strained infrastructure, reports V K Varadarajan for South Asia Monitor
The underlying reason for Bhutan to keep China at an arm’s length is not India’s strategic influence; rather it emanates from a firm belief that opening diplomatic ties with China is against its national interest, writes Thinley for South Asia Monitor
It is likely that under the Biden administration US-India relations will grow stronger and will have more routes to work on a range of issues -- free and open Indo-Pacific, restoring peace in Afghanistan, arms control, countering aggressive behavior of China and climate crisis with stress on multilateralism, writes Indu Saxena for South Asia Monitor
There have also been reports that other areas of Western Bhutan have been gradually encroached by China to secure access to the border with India, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The region, overall, has gone through a major strategic realignment with the increasing influence of China, and its ties with Pakistan. Also, unlike the 90s, there exists multi-dimensional international cooperation on the issue of Afghanistan today, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
