The Taliban are aware that if they shelter foreign militants with transnational agenda. It could turn neighboring powers like China, Russia, Iran, India, or Pakistan against them, writes Ainur Khan for South Asia Monitor
Power, Influence and Covert Intervention in South Asia: Was Bangladesh Target of a Transnational Conspiracy?
Since August 2024, Pakistan’s military establishment, its intelligence apparatus, and associated actors—including Turkey’s MIT—have allegedly been involved in sending weapons and explosives into Bangladesh. These materials are believed to have ended up in the possession of pro-Yunus loyalist mercenaries as well as various extremist groups, including Ansar Al Islam, a local affiliate of Al Qaeda.
Bangladesh and India: Charting a New Pathway Towards Inter-Dependent Relations
Our shared values should call for appreciating others’ needs, endowment and expectations. In the closest proximity as ours, should there be difficult or sensitive issues, those can – and ought to be – addressed forthright in all sincerity and candour, be in trade, security or sharing natural resources.
Pakistan’s Quiet Energy Pivot in a Time of War
The conflict in Iran, in this context, is acting as the moment of revelation. It is showing us what kinds of energy systems are still structurally dependent on distant chokepoints, and what kinds of energy systems are starting to build the foundations for resiliency much closer to home. The trajectory of the Pakistani experience, while still in its early stages, may represent the beginnings of an alternative model, one in which decentralization and renewables are key to managing global instability.
Conspiracy and Power: How Spy Narratives Shape Sri Lankan Politics
Sri Lanka’s political debate has long revolved around spy narratives, often casting suspicion on India and the United States. Yet, this fixation risks obscuring a more pressing reality. CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report identifies Chinese espionage agencies as the most active worldwide, surpassing even the CIA. In 2024, China’s cyber operations expanded by 150 percent, while attacks on financial services, media, manufacturing, and industrial sectors surged by 200 to 300 percent compared to the previous year.
More on Spotlight
Monk and the prime minister: Did a Sri Lankan scholar help to ignite interest in Buddhist studies in Israel?
Today many Israeli universities have departments of Buddhist studies and South Asian philosophies as interest among Jewish scholars on Buddhist meditation continues to grow, writes Punsara Amarasinghe for South Asia Monitor
Afghanistan, its sectarian divisions, and international stakeholders
Pakistan has checkmated India to some extent, though the Taliban has recognized India’s role in the reconstruction projects and Salma Dam, writes Brig Dinesh Mathur (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Will Taliban 2.0 signal a radical policy change?
To the extent that the Taliban keeps its word both on not letting it soil be used as a terrorist launch pad and keeping off Kashmir, there is a possible window for the Modi government in India to engage with it, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
A prudent India should consider Bangladesh as its most suitable investment destination
India's poor record of implementing infrastructure projects in neighboring countries has pushed them even more towards China, writes Anup Sinha for South Asia Monitor
With Taliban on verge of wresting power, the US has a lot of explaining to do
Can the US pose as the champion of human rights after abandoning the Afghan population to this horrendous human tragedy? writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Independence Days of India and Pakistan tinged with some unfulfilled aspirations
For India and Pakistan, therefore, which were once a single country, the anniversaries of their independence days are burdened with thoughts of what might have been, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
Ties soured by the China factor, Sri Lanka’s new policy document reaches out to India
The document seeks to achieve Sri Lanka’s foreign policy objective vis-à-vis India while coming closest to admitting that China has cast a long shadow over Colombo-New Delhi ties, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
75 years of Indo-Saudi diplomatic relations: Strong mutual interests reinforcing ties
Indo-Saudi economic ties have seen tremendous growth over time, writes Asif Rameez for South Asia Monitor
Tokyo Olympics showing: India should reach out to its South Asian neighbors to help them lift standards
India can offer to lend a helping hand in a new shared spirit of sporting togetherness that can bind South Asia, writes Sirshendu Panth for South Asia Monitor
Fears of a return to the dark days stalk Afghan women amid Taliban's advance
The forty years of protracted war has impacted Afghan society, especially women, in a way that has few parallels in human history, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
A non-adversarial tax environment must for India to become an attractive investment destination
Although the Indian government believes that FDI is coming into the country in record amounts, most of it is through mergers and acquisitions and not greenfield investments which entail building factories, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
US bombs and appeals notwithstanding, Afghan reconciliation not on Taliban agenda
The US may continue to bomb the Taliban and keep asking them to reconcile but such a scenario is not going to unfold, especially when nothing has been done in 20 years to block the financial support and arms supplies to the Taliban, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
South Asia’s women athletes displayed grit and determination to overcome discrimination, bullying and neglect
If sportswomen are treated equally and provided with equitable opportunities, women athletes from South Asia are bound to participate in greater numbers in top international events like the Olympics, writes Sarita Bartaula for South Asia Monitor
US-China rivalry makes for complex Indo-Pacific power dynamics
India ought to tread cautiously in aligning with the US as a counterweight to China, writes Mayank Mishra for South Asia Monitor
