If Jamaat comes to power it will likely begin with populist moves such as anti-corruption drives, predicts Ahmedur Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi writer and editor who has been living in Norway since surviving a 2015 attack. He says he fears mobilisation of religious groups to push for declaring Bangladesh an Islamic republic and enforce Sharia law. The result would be shrinking freedoms for women, curbs on cultural life, and serious threats to freedom of expression, religious minorities, and secular political and cultural spaces.
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.
Yunus’s actions increasingly reflect the anti-India agenda of pro-Pakistan fundamentalists. This is illustrated by a book he recently presented to a visiting Canadian delegation - its cover featured a map of Bangladesh appearing to encompass large parts of India’s northeast—a symbolic gesture aimed at globalising the anti-India narrative.
At this critical juncture, developing countries such as India need to forge alliances to rescue multilateral trade. This would require a vociferous championing of multilateral trade at all forums and the use of all means to challenge American unilateralism. Sadly, India has not done much in this regard.
Has India faltered in “handling” these two neighbours? In theory, perhaps. As the dominant regional power, expectations are inevitably high. In practice, however, India’s very dominance generates suspicion in both Pakistan and Bangladesh, sharply limiting its influence. Meanwhile, the United States, with its strategic weight, and China with its economic clout, have exercised far greater leverage over Pakistan for decades. A similar dynamic applies to Bangladesh.
Moderator Khushi Kabir repeatedly situated Nepal’s uprising within a broader South Asian context, drawing parallels with recent mass movements in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. She described Nepal’s experience as part of a regional reckoning driven by youth demanding accountability, dignity, and meaningful participation in governance.
With PNS Khaibar's delivery Pakistan and Türkiye are taking their relationship to a new level which is not limited to traditional political friendship. At the handover ceremony, Erdoğan described the relationship between the countries as "brotherly ties" and emphasised the need to further collaborate in defence production. The naval leadership of Pakistan also pointed to the fact that the partnership should benefit Pakistan in achieving its overall maritime modernisation.
What is unfolding in Bangladesh bears unsettling resemblance to trajectories seen in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where false blasphemy accusations have long been used to terrorize minorities and silence dissent. Once such violence is tolerated, it expands - devouring journalists, artists, reformist Muslims, and eventually the state itself.
The current strains in Bangladesh–India relations should therefore be seen not as an inevitable deterioration, but as a test of diplomatic maturity. Bangladesh and India share more than geography and history; they share a responsibility to ensure that temporary political frictions do not harden into structural mistrust. In a time of regional uncertainty, neither country benefits from a relationship defined by grievance or miscommunication.
The 27th Amendment, celebrated by its proponents as a security reform, is in reality a political coup executed through constitutional means. It marks not only Munir’s personal triumph but the institutional victory of the military over all other state authorities. As history warns, empowering any unelected institution above the republic’s elected will invites instability—not strength. Pakistan may soon discover that consolidating military power does not secure the nation’s future, but instead places it at greater risk
India must now transition from conventional soft-power thinking to visibility governance—the systematic management of how the country appears, circulates, and is emotionally interpreted across global platforms. Failure to do so will leave India’s global image increasingly shaped by commercial incentives outside Indian control.
The strengthening of Taliban-India ties runs counter to Pakistan’s interests. The more border clashes intensify between the Taliban and Pakistan, the more secure the Kashmir region and the Line of Control (LoC) become for India. Under such conditions, Pakistan will remain preoccupied with its northwestern border, giving India a unique opportunity to consolidate its control over Kashmir and potentially weaken, drive out, or eliminate Kashmiri militant groups
Although U.S. military deployments overseas are common, their presence in Sri Lanka has historically been rare. For the first time, both Indian and American troops are now actively engaged in rescue and relief operations on Sri Lankan soil. This marks a significant departure from past sensitivities surrounding foreign military footprints in the island nation.
This twin strategy -- institutionalised engagement with Europe and practical leadership of the Global South -- would broaden India’s repertoire. A strengthened European partnership would sharpen India’s industrial and technological edge; robust South-South initiatives would deepen its diplomatic capital and soft power. Together they would blunt the effect of whimsical shifts in U.S. policy and give New Delhi greater leverage with Moscow and Beijing.
India has thus far shown that it is willing to continue its friendship with Russia and expand relations in diverse areas from defence to energy, from manpower mobility to innovation, from investment and technology exchange to culture and tourism. In short, Putin’s visit was meant to prepare both countries to defy sanctions and explore new areas of cooperation - in Russia’s Far East and Arctic, cooperation in areas of climate change and green energy, and work together to strengthen multilateral forums like the BRICS, SCO and G-20.
The expansion of education in Bangladesh has played a key role in this transformation. Girls are now equal to boys in schools, colleges, and universities and sometimes even ahead of them. Women have proven their capabilities as doctors, engineers, teachers, researchers, and even pilots. This achievement is not just personal; this is the evolution of the mentality of a society.
However. the desire to collaborate regionally has faced many hurdles such as geopolitical tensions arising from the India–Pakistan rivalry and limited SAARC summit activity that has greatly weakened implementation of regional initiatives. The Rapid Response Mechanism remains largely on paper, with no standing regional force or pre-positioned assets. Smaller nations like Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka face financial/technical limitations in aligning with regional standards.
