India and Australia have come strategically closer through forums such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), writes Rahul Nath Choudhury for South Asia Monitor
Deforestation in Pakistan is a pressing issue with serious implications for wildlife and ecological balance. Habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and ecosystem disruption are already evident, and the situation will worsen without decisive action. While initiatives like large-scale tree planting are a step in the right direction, they must be complemented by strong policies, effective enforcement, and community involvement.
South Asian states prioritise partners who can deliver immediately in times of economic and political uncertainty. Despite expanding economic ties with China, they continue to turn to India for vital supplies like diesel, LPG and crude oil. This is not only about proximity but rather reflects a level of trust built through repeated experience. China, in response to the crisis, chose to restrict exports of refined fuels such as gasoline and diesel to protect its domestic market.
COP30, Viksit Bharat, and SDG 13 cannot be separated into silos of policy. They have to be woven into one coherent climate-development narrative. At COP30, India can exercise credible ambition and obtain enabling mechanisms from international partners. At home, Viksit Bharat has to internalise climate—not as a compulsion, but as the basis for India’s success. SDG 13 is the yardstick by which India’s growth needs to be measured to determine if growth is both sustainable and future-proof.
Macroeconomic stability and fiscal sustainability in South Asia are deeply interconnected and increasingly fragile. While the region continues to grow rapidly, structural weaknesses and external vulnerabilities pose significant risks. Insights from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank highlight that sustaining stability will require improved revenue mobilisation, credible fiscal consolidation, structural economic reforms and reduced exposure to external shocks.
India and Australia have come strategically closer through forums such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), writes Rahul Nath Choudhury for South Asia Monitor
Enhanced bilateral ties between Bangladesh and Myanmar could contribute to the growth of trade and investment relations with ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries, writes MD Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
The country expects the world communities to consider all relevant issues including the socio-economic conditions in Bangladesh before making any recommendations to resolve the protracted Rohingya refugee crisis, writes Kazi Mohammad Jamshed for South Asia Monitor
The ISI’s guardianship of terror groups led to the inevitable Talibanisation of Pakistan at the cost of the secular space in politics, writes M R Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
Notwithstanding India not joining the RCEP, it is likely to become the potential gateway for accelerating China’s backdoor entry into India, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor
But getting global recognition could be far from easy for the Taliban because the Western countries have a negative perception about them, with many people in these nations still considering them terrorists, writes MD Ishtiak Hossain for South Asia Monitor
A key facet of the water-energy-food nexus in Pakistan is the heavy dependence of agriculture on groundwater irrigation, write Haris Mushtaq and Taimoor Akhtar for South Asia Monitor
America’s expectations that Afghanistan would not become a haven for terrorists (which it already was) and that the US will remain sheltered from terrorism emanating from that soil, are both misplaced, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Once the PTA comes into force, more people in Bangladesh will get access to good apples and oranges from Bhutan, while the fashion-conscious Bhutanese can choose from more varieties of quality apparel from Bangladesh, writes Md Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
The sense of losing everything - after a quarter-century of modernization and social progress - seems to have broken the Afghan women's fear of confronting the Taliban, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
The difficulty level the current Indian pacers had to overcome to achieve consistency and success in top-flight international cricket is substantially higher than what their counterparts from Pakistan had to surmount decades back, writes Sirshendu Panth for South Asia Monitor
So, what the future looks like for Afghanistan? In one word: hopeless, writes Anondeeta Chakraborty for South Asia Monitor
If India seeks greater market access, it must also allow the UK to sell more of its goods and services, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
The existing Afghan population in Europe is already facing a compassion deficit in Europe due to the rise in anti-immigrant parties threatening to fracture the bloc further, write Dr. Manasi Sinha, Pratyush Bibhakar and Vishal Rajput for South Asia Monitor
To design sustainable food systems for healthy diets within the South Asian region, one needs to take local realities and contexts into account and develop a strong collaboration among all stakeholders at the grassroots, national, regional and global level, write George Cheriyan and Simi T.B. for South Asian Monitor