For many in India and Sri Lanka, however, the memory of the assassination remains raw. Rajiv Gandhi’s killing was not merely the death of a much-loved former prime minister; it marked the violent spillover of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict into India itself.
Non-nuclear weapon states arrived at the conference with legitimate frustration. Nuclear arsenals are being modernized at enormous cost. The New START Treaty expired in February 2026 without a successor framework — the first time since the early 1970s that no binding limits govern the strategic arsenals of the United States and Russia. China is expanding its arsenal faster than any other nuclear power.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front was formed in March 2022 under the leadership of Gen. Yasin Zia, the former Chief of General Staff of the Afghan National Army. The force comprises mainly the former members of the Afghan National Security Forces, trained soldiers and experienced officers, former defenders of Afghanistan against the Taliban under a democratically-elected government who are now stateless, exiles, and warriors once again.
The real question for South Asia is not whether to engage with China. That question is already settled. Every country in the region engages with China in some way. The real question is how to engage wisely. South Asian governments need transparency in project contracts, stronger debt management, competitive bidding, parliamentary oversight, environmental safeguards, and public debate before signing major deals.
Women in Bangladesh often have limited access to financial services, which can make it difficult for them to cope with climate change impacts such as floods, droughts, or cyclones. Digital financial products such as mobile banking and digital savings accounts can help to overcome these barriers and increase financial inclusion among women.
This overbearing numbers-driven outlook has, so far, defined policy on international education. However, if India-Australia relations are to reflect a genuine partnership, the narrative needs to shift from transactional to transformational. This requires that the very purpose behind international education is dramatically rethought and altered.
Karachi was the first Pakistani city to benefit from nuclear energy after KANUPP was connected to the grid. The inauguration of K-2 and now K-3 is a milestone in Pakistan’s quest to increase the share of clean nuclear energy.
If US-Pakistan ties were to deteriorate further, Islamabad has limited options since Beijing in recent months has clearly shown that it will assist Pakistan in dealing with its economic problems only up to a point.
There has been an outpouring of support for ethnic minorities among protesters of the regime, particularly among the younger generation, who believe that a lasting peace in Myanmar can only be achieved if it includes all of Myanmar's citizens, regardless of class, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. This shift in empathy has also altered long-held perceptions of the Rohingya.
Such deliberations around the themes of interfaith harmony, pluralism, diversity, and solidarity bring hope, and perhaps signify the need and readiness among Indians to start reconsidering their nation’s pluralist legacy.
The first proactive approach for Pakistan should be to restore peaceful, friendly relations with India. Prime Minister Modi is fully focused on developing India industrially and economically and a war with Pakistan would be his last option. India and Pakistan are spending excessive resources on building their military warfare due to mutual suspicion. This helps neither India nor Pakistan.
India offers the opportunity to interconnect the Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal electricity supply industries. The possibility of using Indian power infrastructure for electricity trade between Nepal and Bangladesh is another facet of India's neighborhood engagement.
While the I2U2 – often referred to as the Middle Eastern Quad -- grouping is a strong illustration of changing landscape of the Middle East, and India's strong ties with all the other countries which are part of the grouping, the India-UAE-France trilateral is interesting because while all three countries have robust relations with the US, there are foreign policy divergences on a number of issues.
It is necessary for the two sides to revive their bilateral strategic dialogue, rather than just confining it to border negotiations. Both sides should also continue to attach importance to exchanging views and sending out positive signals through multilateral platforms like G20, SCO and BRICS.
If Pakistan can capitalize on its close relations with Turkey in organizations like the OIC over the issue of Kashmir, India should look for possibilities to strengthen ties with its old friend Egypt whose leader Sisi has good relations with the United States, Israel and UAE. In other words, a new UAE- Israel- Egypt- India axis can be an alternative to the Pakistan- Iran-Turkey axis in an emerging global order.
As such these groups are part of an oppressive, sectarian politics, which abhors the free choice of youngsters in particular. Real reasons for this intolerant behavior have to be looked for in their overall agenda to curtail liberalism, and pluralism, and to constrain the democratic ethos of the country.
The duplicity of Erdogan and his dream of championing Islam in South Asia emanates from his close proximity with Pakistan, his appeasement of China and his bombastic statements to gain importance in the Muslim community. For now, India must tread cautiously and be prepared for what kind of Turkish delight its "dost" now prepares to serve in the earthquake's aftermath.
By 1844 shells were still coming from the Maldives to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Bengal, but Chittagong (now Bangladesh) and Calcutta had now replaced Balasore as the destination. Finally, by the time of World War I, this cowrie trade between Maldives and Bengal region had died down.
Current geopolitical realities imply that Pakistan must not interfere in Bangladesh’s internal affairs, nor question Bangladesh’s close ties with India, a country that has actively helped Bangladesh in its liberation, a relation that has passed the test of time and is historic.
