Bangladesh considering joining Mecca pact The Excelsior 16 Sept 2026 Bangladesh minister for Foreign Affairs, Khalilur Rahman, stated recently that Bangladesh is actively considering joining the Mecca Pact, which currently has Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan as its founding members. The pact claims to have an arrangement akin to Article 5 of NATO, which implies an attack on one […]
Regaining the neighbourhood The Statesman 17 Mar 2026 Who could have predicted that India’s vicinity would change for the better so soon. A year ago, threats to India were rising as countries in the region displayed anti-India sentiments. In Bangladesh, the Mohamad Yunus led caretaker government supported Jamaat-e-Islami and its anti-India agenda. Further, Yunus’s nemesis, Sheikh Hasina, was in […]
Ill winds blow in Bangladesh The Statesman 23 Dec 2025 The death of Sharif Osman Hadi in Singapore, where he had been taken for treatment after being shot in an assassination attempt, resulted in violence across Bangladesh. Hadi was an anti-Indian activist and convenor of Inqilab Moncho, a group formed in the wake of the 2024 student-led uprising, which […]
Security implications of the Hasina verdict The Statesman 25 Nov 2025 Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced its former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death, in absentia, after finding them guilty of crimes against humanity, during the student led protests of Jul-Aug last year. Official records mention that over 1400 were killed […]
Pak-Afghan conflict The Excelsior 15 Nov 2025 The latest round of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks, held in Istanbul, mediated by Turkey and Qatar, has collapsed. These talks were led by intelligence chiefs on both sides, which meant that Pakistan’s polity had no role, as also Rawalpindi’s intent was to coerce Kabul to adhere to their terms under threat of military action. […]
Fraying ties with Kabul threaten Islamabad The Statesman 04 Nov 2025 Talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan held in Istanbul, brokered by Turkey and Qatar, have ended in stalemate. Last minute attempts by the hosts to bring about a settlement have failed. However, the ceasefire agreed to in Qatar continues to hold. Talks are likely to resume on 06 Nov. […]
Pakistan on edge as India strengthens Afghan ties First Post 30 Oct 2025 As a follow up of the visit of the Afghan interim foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to Delhi, India upgraded its technical mission in Kabul to an embassy. India had closed its embassy in Kabul in 2021, when the Taliban took control of the country, expecting […]
India increasing engagement with Afghanistan The Excelsior 09 Oct 2025 The visit of the Taliban interim foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to India this week will be closely watched across the region as it would bring India-Afghan relations, quietly nurtured over the years, into the open. In Jan this year, the Indian foreign secretary, Vikram Misri had met Muttaqi […]
Nepal in a crisis The Excelsior 17 Sep 2025 The Gen Z protests in Nepal, which left over 30 dead, hundreds injured also resulted in political upheaval, with the government resigning and the army taking control of security of the state. Led by youth, supported by members of the opposition as also youth friendly leaders like Sudan Gurung, President […]
South Asian protests follow a common trajectory The Statesman 16 Sep 2025 The Gen Z uprising in Nepal led to the overthrow of the Oli regime in just two days. In its wake it left over 30 dead and hundreds injured. The houses of many politicians were torched while some senior members of the government, manhandled. Democratic institutions, including […]