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.
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.
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.
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.
It is time for India, along with like-minded nations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, to articulate a shared agenda of non-alignment 2.0, not as a posture of neutrality but as a strategy of autonomy. The original Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) emerged from the Cold War’s bipolar tension; its modern counterpart must respond to multipolar volatility.
The world over, as is evident from the Atlas of endangered languages, there is a thrust of the dominant languages taking a precedence and most of the endangered languages are likely to disappear by 2100. Soon, possibly in the near future, the grand and great grand-children of the present generation may not be able to tell the story of their own mother tongue. Some of these languages will be lost forever and will only be limited to the pages of gazetteers and history books.
Only by asserting ownership over data and algorithms can the South escape serving as the North’s digital underclass. The path forward demands digital decolonization—a reimagining of technology not as an instrument of extraction, but as a platform for justice, inclusion, and shared prosperity. The struggle for sovereignty has moved from the soil to the server.
India provides valuable lessons. Despite its complex religious, linguistic, and ethnic diversity, India has preserved unity through a robust constitutional framework, civic nationalism, and legal consistency. Even contentious debates from population balance to cultural identity are ultimately rooted in democratic institutions. Western democracies can learn from this: pluralism prospers only when supported by strong governance and well-defined civic responsibilities.
After an uprising in 2024, Bangladesh is currently walking on the path to its national election in early 2026. If the ousted Awami League and its allies remain ineligible to participate in the next parliamentary election, ultimately, the central question remains: how will their huge number of supporters exercise their right to vote? Excluding a major political ideology from the electoral process risks making the election less inclusive and could generate new tensions
South Asia’s climate finance story reflects a familiar paradox: abundant potential constrained by institutional inertia. Carbon credit can reprice the region’s natural capital, transforming rural landscapes into financial assets. Yet credibility, governance, and inclusivity will define their success. For now, Morgan Stanley observes “ For millions of farmers across South Asia, that credibility is the difference between surviving climate volatility and profiting from combating it.
India’s goal is clear: to be among the few nations that do not merely consume technology but create and govern it. With its scale, talent, and democratic legitimacy, India is poised to emerge as a true digital superpower—one that shapes, not follows, the rules of the multipolar world.
India’s position in the US-Russia-China tri-polar wrestling arena in 2025 is that of a clever, determined, and autonomous contender. It refuses to be pinned by Beijing’s might, Washington’s transactional approach, or Moscow’s nostalgia. Every move, whether economic, diplomatic, or military, is carefully calculated to preserve its space, grow its influence, and keep the balance constantly shifting.
Muhammad Yunus has not yet successfully connected with the broader public or the key grassroots actors of the July movement, creating a perceptible disconnect. Without national consensus, holding peaceful and participatory elections remains difficult. Excluding the deposed ruling party from upcoming elections could undermine political inclusivity, depress voter turnout, and trigger unrest.
The wars of the future will not be decided solely on land, sea, or air. They will be fought in code, space, and circuits. Nations that dominate these domains will command not just battlefields but geopolitics itself. The contest will be for speed of learning, adapting, and deploying innovation.
Left unchecked, the narco-militant networks that flourish in shadow will continue to undermine social stability across South Asia and beyond. The choice, for policymakers in Washington, New Delhi, Dhaka and capitals across Europe, is to treat the problem as a criminal, financial and geopolitical threat - and respond with the seriousness it demands.
The Taliban regime has started building a tourism complex and rebuilding a historic bazaar near the destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas without UNESCO consultations. Archaeological experts have warned that this could cause permanent damage to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The damaged statues - where only the niches remain - are now belatedly being seen as a lucrative source of revenue for the financially crunched Taliban regime.
We are, in effect, meticulously polishing our guns while the floodwaters rise around our feet. It is time for a profound strategic recalibration. We must pivot from a security doctrine based on state-centric containment to one based on region-wide, human-centric resilience.
Initiatives under SAARC, though often criticized as politically dormant, have nonetheless sought to promote educational and cultural exchanges in fits and starts. Projects that highlight shared histories and traditions can help build a stronger regional identity and collective progress. Elements of ancient wisdom — such as holistic learning, ethical education, and personalized mentorship — continue to inspire modern educational reforms across South Asia.
The story of the alleged captured Rafale pilot is not a case of miscommunication. This is a textbook example of disinformation. It demonstrates how false narratives can be created, promoted, and weaponized in an age where information itself is a weapon of war. The lesson from this experience is plain. In this age of immediate communication, digital literacy and skepticism are critical civic virtues.
