Showing political will at the highest level is of little help unless it works at ground level. The government must take Kashmiri people, particularly the youth, into confidence to instill buoyancy into every faith-filled Kashmiri's heart, writes Debasish Bhattacharyya for South Asia Monitor

Hundreds of dengue-affected patients are receiving treatment in different public and private hospitals in Dhaka, but hospitals are full to the brim and facing challenges to handle the crisis due to lack of sufficient equipment and manpower, writes Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor

There is a clear sense that something is missing in the present relationship between the Indian and Nepali governments. Both should work to develop harmony and trust and mitigate the trust deficit, writes Gaurab Shumsher Thapa for South Asia Monitor

Pakistan will try to enhance terrorist activities not only in J&K but in all of India. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence may activate and instruct its sleeper cells to carry out terrorist activities in communally sensitive places so that communal riots erupt in the country, writes J K Verma for South Asia Monitor

The Kashmir issue may have been handled deftly at the global politico-diplomatic level, but the abiding challenge for India remains domestic, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor

PM Modi has made it clear that it cannot be business as usual. The UK would need to carefully consider whether its pre-1947 agenda of promoting an autonomous Muslim state at the intersection of South and Central Asia is a desirable objective for the West, wrties Ambassador Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Pakistan is unhappy that major players which could bail it out at the UN are all embroiled in their own affairs – the US trying to quit Afghanistan and China facing a trying time in Hong Kong, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

Boris Johnson has ended the British stance till now that Kashmir is a bilateral India-Pakistan issue, thereby delivering a lethal blow to India-Britain relations, writes Prakash Chand Katoch for South Asia Monitor

CDS by itself without its essential adjunct of integrated theater commands would be of little avail. It may turn out to be just one more four star-general, without any enhancement in Indian military’s war fighting capabilities, writes  Lt-Gen Harwant Singh ( retd )  for South Asia Monitor

India has rudely shaken China, pushing back the bilateral Wuhan understanding with Beijing. It has hit not just China’s prime ally, but has moved close to Aksai Chin, the Kashmir territory Pakistan ceded to China, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor

Religious leaders should promote interfaith dialogue. They should bring together followers of different persuasions for meaningful conversations. They should promote a dialogue of understanding and a shared sense of community with other faiths, writes Frank Islam for South Asia Monitor

The abolition of J&K’s special status will complete the ongoing process of annexation into the Indian Union, as it was a temporary provision, and will bring misguided and stone-pelting Kashmiri youth into mainstream politics, writes Sudhanshu Tripathi for South Asia Monitor

Experts are divided about the legality and constitutional propriety of the August 5 decisions in relation to Article 3 and the reorganization of states. What is at stake is the sanctity of  constitutionalism  and for PM Narendra Modi the way the Kashmir issue unfolds  will  define his political legacy, writes C Uday Bhaskar for South Asia Monitor

Internationally, the impact has been positive across the international community and, even China, although initially negatively disposed, has chosen not to be too vociferous in its protestations, writes  Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd)  for South Asia Monitor

Haj will continue to be the harbinger of cultural and economic cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia, writes Dr H A Nazmi for South Asia Monitor