The visit will be high on optics and low on substance as both Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek relief from domestic pressures and revalidation before their citizens, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor

The issue of polio eradication has taken a perilous form in Pakistan due to the deadly mixture of militancy and developmental issues, writes Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor

Technology collaboration by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, specifically in the high technology segment, could be great lever of strategic and public policy partnerships for both countries, writes Kumar Deep (@kumar_deep) for South Asia Monitor

India may have jumped the rankings in The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business but foreign and domestic investors seek improvements in the ease of doing business on the ground, especially in the states, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

The 'tax charter' ushers India into a new era where the rights of taxpayers in terms of imposition and payment of taxes are recognized for the first time, writes Arun Anand for South Asia Monitor

India Inc’s confidence will certainly be boosted with a more transparent and non-adversarial tax regime and a business-friendly policy framework that improves the conditions for doing business on the ground, especially in the various states, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor 

The IN has been at the forefront in supporting the country’s security and diplomatic initiatives in the region through extensive bilateral and multilateral interaction, writes Cmdre Anil Jai Singh (retd) for South Asia Monitor

If India has to progress towards deeper engagement under the ‘Neighborhood First’ policy, it has to integrate some of the genuine concerns of its strategic regional partners, writes Kumar Deep for South Asia Monitor 

The enthusiasm Modi has shown towards the neighbourhood, through his numerous visits has not got translated in overall policy during these years, writes Alakh Ranjan  for South Asia Monitor

Fracturing political institutions like the Election Commission, Parliament and the Judiciary are also responsible for the popular apathy and political decay in Bangladesh, writes Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor

The BJP may have also harmed itself by its poisonous communalism which cannot but have put off some of the party’s own sensible supporters, not to mention the Left-Liberals, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor

The US pullout from Iraq, which will be perceived as withdrawal under pressure, will have a fallout in Afghanistan, writes Lt Gen PC Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor

In a country like Pakistan, where freedom of expression is strictly curtailed, guaranteeing that everything is in line with an openly orthodox and conservative interpretation of religion will only multiply the problem, writes Sanchita Bhattacharya for South Asia Monitor

How Ehsan could escape high-security detention and how he could reach Turkey, along with his family, remains a mystery that Islamabad is unable or unwilling to answer, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

If the Muslims were indeed considered equal citizens of a secular India, why would government ministers speak so disparagingly, and even scornfully, of anti-CAA protesters who are mainly burqa and hijab-clad women - ranging in ages from the twenties to the eighties - most of whom are out for the first time in the streets, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor