Unlike earlier jihadist cells dominated by Pakistani nationals, this unit deliberately recruits women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, and other foreign countries. Reason behind recruiting non-Pakistani nationals serves a dual purpose: it complicates attribution and shields Pakistan’s security apparatus from direct accountability. Such operational sophistication reflects ISI’s continued role not merely as a passive enabler but as an active architect of jihadist adaptation.
South Asia has the potential to be a global digital leader. It has a young population and a booming tech industry. However, this potential will only be realized if the region is secure. We must treat cybersecurity as a pillar of national security, just like border defense. This requires better technology, smarter laws, and stronger regional ties. The digital threats of 2026 are fast and complex. To meet them, South Asia must be faster and more united. The time to build a collective digital shield is now, before the next major crisis occurs.
Yet the strategic costs are real. Reduced engagement in Bangladesh risks ceding influence at a moment when Dhaka is actively diversifying its partnerships. Hesitation over Chabahar weakens India’s leverage in Iran and Central Asia and underscores its vulnerability to US pressure even as it seeks a more multipolar foreign policy. The 2026–27 Budget does not signal a dramatic shift in Indian foreign policy. There is no abandonment of neighbours-first rhetoric or of connectivity-led diplomacy. What it reveals instead is a narrowing circle of feasible economic action.
The ideals of 1971 represent inclusivity, human dignity, and resistance to oppression. Baul and Sufi traditions reject radical views and promote humanism and coexistence. Islam in Bengal arrived largely through Sufis—from Persia, Arabia, and Central Asia—who emphasized spirituality, tolerance, and accommodation. These traditions resonated with local Hindu practices and gave rise to syncretic forms such as Baul philosophy. Rabindranath Tagore and Nazrul Islam embodied this civilizational synthesis.
Keeping in mind the economic progress of Bangladesh, it can be said that besides the construction of the Padma Bridge, the new communication system being developed between the two countries will further strengthen their bonds, writes Tapan Das for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh has already taken cautionary measures to not be a loan defaulter to avoid a Sri Lanka like situation, writes Sufian Siddique for South Asia Monitor
Floods in the Brahmaputra basin in Assam and downstream Bangladesh are common every year, especially during the June-September monsoon that brings South Asia most of its annual rainfall
It must be noted that tolerance, acceptability and confidence form a nation’s basic tenets. Aggression, violence and intolerance stall its progress and development, write Abhinav Mehrotra and Dr Biswanath Gupta for South Asia Monitor
Although the results will change the government in Punjab, a politically important province of 110 million people, its implications may not be limited to the province, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
India can also help Bhutan to realize its green goals by promoting hybrid CNG/electric powered passenger and goods transport vehicles. These vehicles may be based at an EV park at Phuntsholing. Goods received there after customs clearance can then be distributed by Bhutan's own transport systems, employing their own nationals as drivers, helpers, mechanics and loaders, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
What can we learn from Sri Lanka's disastrous style of ruling, intensification of sectarian divides, marginalization of minorities and power concentrated in autocrats is there for all to see, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
India also no longer capitalizes adequately upon her best known international icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Instability in Sri Lanka is not in India’s interests but at the same time it offers New Delhi an opportunity to help its strategic neighbour emerge from the epic mess it finds itself in, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
As South Asia is now better connected, ensuring BBIN food security will become even easier with packaging centres set up in each country with its own distribution, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Fifty years after the separation of what was then East and West Pakistan in 1971, the exchange of mangoes is a sign that friendly ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh are possible, writes Samina Akhter for South Asia Monitor
Barring India, no other supposed ally has so far come forward to help assist Colombo in a big way. New Delhi, with its obvious strategic stakes and interests in keeping the country afloat, has so far extended assistance worth around $4 billion -- something China has also acknowledged, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
The chars formed as the Brahmaputra, Ganga and other rivers brought silt down from the Himalayas. The river islands are so fertile that they have been fought over for centuries
Today, while a large section of the Muslim community lives in intimidation and fear, at the same time there are elements like Riyaz Ansari and Ghouse Mohammad whose insanity is not only a blot on Indian Muslims but also is totally contrary to the sayings in Koran that if you kill a single innocent person, it is like killing the whole humanity, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor
Solar roofed buses may be handy in providing mobile primary healthcare, primary and adult education, agricultural extension services and training, even telecom and TV connectivity in rural and far-flung areas across South Asia and Africa, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
