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.
Ultimately, Bangladesh’s absence from the 10th edition of the T20 World Cup was the result of the BCCI’s ego and the ICC’s double standards where power politics and selective decision-making outweighed fairness and sporting integrity. Although many view the Pakistan Cricket Board’s support for Bangladesh positively, in reality it is also a strategic move to counter India for its own strategic benefit. If the match is boycotted, Bangladesh will suffer even greater financial and administrative losses.
Given this situation, Pakistan has not only failed to secure strategic depth in Afghanistan but has instead found itself trapped in a strategic dilemma. The Taliban have not cooperated with Pakistan in neutralizing the TTP and have consistently denied the TTP’s presence in Afghanistan, despite evidence indicating the group’s activity in the border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan. This cooperation extends beyond providing safe havens
Direct maritime connectivity between Karachi and Chittagong will be crucial to the growth of trade and commerce between the two nations and beyond. They may significantly cut down on the time and expense of shipping products between them and will potentially be crucial in forging connections with other Middle Eastern, Central Asian and East Asian nations, including Russia and China.
Even among the practitioners, some have been over the years lauded as hawks for playing tough with their subcontinental rivals and some derided as doves for seeking reconciliation and understanding only to be rebuffed. But one thing that Pakistan experts in India agree on, be they former diplomats, security officials, academics, or strategic analysts, is that the one single barrier to conciliation and friendship was the all-powerful Pakistan Army which, in the words of Stephen Cohen, who had authored a book on the Pakistan Army, "imposes its own vision of a Pakistani nation.”
Even though prices of solar and other clean energy are falling rapidly, the level of global electricity production from coal and gas has not changed significantly. Countries that attended COP28 in Dubai returned after making history. Countries attending COP29 in Baku may end up wondering about the future of that history.
Militant groups are proliferating at an alarming rate. The last U.N. report on Afghanistan named scores of militant groups setting up house in Afghanistan, destabilizing an already fragile region. Well known among them is the Islamic State and the Tehrik -e-Taliban Pakistan as well as scores of lesser known militant groups. These groups are populated by militants with a grudge against China, Pakistan, the United States, Russia and India.
The problem with the payment started following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August. Amid economic and political instability, forex-starved Bangladesh was paying around $20-40 million against a monthly bill of $90-100 million. This impacted Adani’s ability to procure coal for power generation and make obligatory payments. Adani had warned Dhaka to settle the bills
With almost all the senior politicians out of the poll arena, this election represents a generational shift in Sri Lankan politics with a surge of young leaders and a voting population increasingly vocal about breaking free from established political figures and their entrenched practices. The results of the election will likely set the stage for a broader transformation of Sri Lanka’s governance, reflecting the growing demand for new political dynamics led by the country’s younger generation.
The trip - coming as it does on the heels of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to New Delhi with a large delegation - is a reflection of Europe's increasing desire for greater collaboration with India. And growing Indo-Spanish trade and economic ties may expand further cooperation in commerce, investment, research, technology, education, defense, and security between Europe and India.
Money is an integral part which ensures criminalisation of the political space remains dominated by many such non-state actors without much criticism and conflict. Corruption and the flow of money into politics, therefore, becomes codependent enabling a seamless structure that is vulnerable to uncontrolled hegemony and unlawful domination.
A new narrative then emerges and multiculturalism starts to be perceived as a disruptive force with a contrary ideology that poses a credible threat to the Western worldview. Immigrants are perceived as foreigners, who are disrespectful of the prevailing cultural unity by asserting – even imposing – an alien way of thinking and behaving.
The Biden administration has taken a relatively low-key approach compared to Canada, but it will continue to be an irritant in India-US relations and could balloon in a Harris administration.
In India, HT's message poses particular risks. India has a sizable Muslim population which exceeds 200 million, and around 47 percent of it consists of a young population under the age of 19. Socio-economic challenges of the community make the youth population vulnerable to the group's radical propaganda. This is especially concerning as India grapples with its own extremist threats.
It is estimated that about 37% percent of the world’s 1.1 billion multi-dimensionally poor people live in South Asia. And an estimated 272 million poor people in the region live in households with at least one undernourished person.
For India, its adoption of The Kazan Declaration represents yet another significant turning point. The Kazan Declaration is anticipated to support the BRICS countries' joint endeavours to tackle global concerns, ranging from security to economic development, and to demonstrate the group's increasing global clout.
