The real change, then, is not merely that Chinese media sounded friendlier towards India. It is that they assigned India a different place in the story. New Delhi appeared as a complex but consequential partner, whose strategic autonomy and cooperation matter to China's imagining of a changing world order.
Pakistan, for its part, will have to recognise that the old assumption of an immutable treaty operating independently of the broader India-Pakistan relationship has become untenable. Islamabad cannot expect the water relationship to remain insulated indefinitely from terrorism
Hopes for Sino-Indian relations centre on a cautious diplomatic thaw, institutionalised border stability and renewed high-level engagement. Indian negotiators and defence planners are well aware that “trust must be verified”. While the activation of these eight points provides valuable channels to prevent an accidental kinetic clash on the ground, the real test of China’s sincerity will not be the joint statements signed in Beijing, but whether it ceases infrastructure build-ups and respects the historical patrolling rights of Indian troops along the LAC.
By removing the ‘Indo’ prefix from Indo-Pacific the US implicitly acknowledges that it no longer unilaterally defines the eastern strategic landscape. Regional organisations like BRICS continue to redefine the lexicon of ‘rules-based order’ to insulate themselves from western domination.
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.
The exposure of a sophisticated white-collar terror network underscores the evolving nature of radicalisation and the need for comprehensive security reforms. Measures that merit consideration include: a)Reinstating long-term President’s Rule in J&K to stabilise governance and security; b) Implementing an organised, sustained deradicalisation programme, particularly among youth and educated professionals; c) Strengthening the permanent presence of the Indian Army in the Valley and increasing the number of cantonments; and d) Ensuring that elections are conducted only when broader community representation is viable, including Kashmiri Pandits, Dogras, Sikhs and other displaced groups
