This is not new and it’s certainly not accidental that women are participating in every sphere of the Baloch movement, from the streets of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, to the suicide operations of the Majeed Brigade. It’s the most precise sociological indicator of how far this conflict has travelled in southwestern Pakistan. Mama Qadeer Baloch conducted 2,000-kilometre march from Quetta to Islamabad in 2013-14, under the banner of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons. It was largely sustained by women.
Barring several imponderable items, the pomp and show and the nine-course meal banquet, Trump essentially returned empty-handed after his visit to China, with the latter asserting over Taiwan, ushering in G2, but with no major trade or investment concessions from Beijing. It is advantage China in this round, and the new-found confidence in Beijing could constrain New Delhi's moves.
Now, Bangladesh has said that future bilateral relations with India will heavily depend on successful renegotiation and renewal of the 1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, which expires in December 2026. Bangladesh’s Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee and the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir are pressing for immediate talks on new agreements that should not have fixed tenures.
Amid this regional uncertainty, a new dynamic is emerging. China and Pakistan are taking steps to form a new regional alliance that plans to include Bangladesh as a potential member. This reality may lead to various disagreements about the need for SAARC’s revival. However, establishing active regional cooperation in South Asia would help create geopolitical pressure and push crises like the Rohingya problem towards a coordinated solution.
The unfolding conflict is not just a regional crisis. It is also putting the current global order under strain. Legal structures, economic systems and strategic alignments are all feeling this pressure. What we are seeing is not a clear collapse, but something more uncertain. Law is still in place, though its application varies. Interdependence continues, but it is increasingly used as leverage.There is no clearly defined alternative order ready to take the place of what is weakening
The most urgent and vital issue is the future management of the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway supports a large part of the world’s energy supply. For many years, its security relied on Western naval dominance. That belief has now been challenged.Iran has demonstrated it can disrupt, threaten, and influence traffic through the Strait.
However, concerns persist that efforts to reshape Bangladesh’s political landscape have not ceased. There are allegations that Yunus has mobilized aligned groups, including student activists, to push for constitutional reforms that critics argue could weaken the current government and create conditions for renewed political upheaval.
It becomes evident that the emergence of Sri Lanka–Israel relations in the 1980s was fundamentally driven by the realist imperatives of both states: Sri Lanka sought to strengthen its defence sector, while Israel aimed to legitimize its ties with Colombo. Each actor pursued distinct strategic objectives. However, what largely remains unknown is the US involvement in bringing Israel to Sri Lanka’s platform in the early 1980s.
It is high time South Asian countries not only pass stricter environmental regulations but also strictly enforce them, making sure that there is no factory releasing waste water without adequate treatment. Besides, upholding legally binding labour standards must also be a priority together with ensuring safety of the workplace environment.
The Rohingya dimension is inseparable from the question of AA engagement. Bangladesh hosts 1.4 million displaced Rohingya. While these numbers do not decrease, the fiscal, social, and security costs compound, pressing against the newly elected Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s electoral promises: a domestic agenda centered on growth in the Chattogram division, and a foreign policy agenda built around repatriation of the Rohingyas.
The progression from Purab Aur Pachhim to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to Dangal is not a neat policy timeline. It is something subtler: a cultural echo of India’s journey from caution to engagement to assertion. The shift is not just in policy documents or diplomatic speeches; it is embedded in how stories are told, how characters behave, and how audiences respond.
Against this backdrop, in 2025, India, Sri Lanka, and the UAE signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop Trincomalee. The agreement, involving the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the UAE Ministry of Investment, and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Energy, was designed to enhance Sri Lanka’s energy security and integrate the country into regional energy networks.
Pakistan’s attempt to position itself as a peace broker in the Middle East may generate headlines, but it does little to advance the cause of stability. If anything, it underscores a larger truth: in high-stakes geopolitics, perceived neutrality without proven credibility is not an asset—it is a liability.
India’s leadership in global forums such as BRICS and the G20 further enhances its ability to bring together diverse stakeholders. Simultaneously, its role as a prominent voice of the Global South enables it to advocate for peace without appearing aligned with any specific
Expanding the arc of aerial/missile destruction to the Bab el-Mandeb would irreparably threaten the last viable option for Gulf oil exports and a regional war will soon cascade into an ‘epic’ global crisis. Ironically, the tally of death and destruction is barely mentioned and the war sanitized to a daily video ritual. Scroll and move on. Sagacious global leadership is absent when it is most needed and a discerning global civil society has been paralyzed by the unending Trump theatrics.
Given that Nepali citizens enjoy national treatment in India, greater enrolment in higher education institutions across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal should be encouraged. India must remain the first responder to Nepal’s needs at all times. Sustained cooperation and mutual trust can help realise the vision of “Viksit Nepal” alongside “Viksit Bharat.” Regional frameworks such as SAARC, BBIN, and BIMSTEC should be leveraged to strengthen Nepal’s alignment with India across international platforms.
Balendra Shah’s rise as Prime Minister of Nepal represents a defining moment in the country’s contemporary political evolution. It signals a break from traditional party dominance and the emergence of a new political language shaped by youth aspirations and digital mobilization. At the same time, it introduces new uncertainties into Nepal’s regional relationships, particularly with India and China, both of whom will closely monitor Kathmandu’s evolving foreign policy orientation.
Since August 2024, Pakistan’s military establishment, its intelligence apparatus, and associated actors—including Turkey’s MIT—have allegedly been involved in sending weapons and explosives into Bangladesh. These materials are believed to have ended up in the possession of pro-Yunus loyalist mercenaries as well as various extremist groups, including Ansar Al Islam, a local affiliate of Al Qaeda.
Our shared values should call for appreciating others’ needs, endowment and expectations. In the closest proximity as ours, should there be difficult or sensitive issues, those can – and ought to be – addressed forthright in all sincerity and candour, be in trade, security or sharing natural resources.
