Opinion News - Page 15
The great Islamabad tea break is back: When hospitality takes over diplomacy
Amid Strait of Hormuz tensions, Pakistan saw a buffet opportunity at the Serena Hotel
Nepal’s Balen accepts PM Modi’s invite: Delhi must reckon with Kathmandu's youth-driven mindset
New Delhi must be prepared for a young leader who is more vocal on Nepal's sovereignty, and it may need a more independent approach to ensure that mutual sensitivities are respected
The Iran war is more about the Mandarins than the Mullahs
For America, China is the bottom line of geopolitical business; the rest of the world is the topline
Why did Trump call Modi? Understand the dynamic and its subtext in seven points
The timing, context and early details of the conversation along with subsequent comments offered to the media by US ambassador to India Sergio Gor, tell us a few things about the conflict and its possible progression
Ghalibaf’s rise signals Iran’s turn towards Bonapartism
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf’s rising influence increasingly reflects a Bonapartist adaptation towards centralised authority exercised by an insider promising order without structural reform
Orbán’s defeat in Hungary reflects Europe’s unease with Trump-style politics
Hungary’s decisive vote to remove Viktor Orbán is widely seen as part of a broader European shift away from illiberal, Trump-aligned style politics towards a renewed emphasis on democratic accountability and alignment with the European mainstream
Head-on | Trump’s Middle East war could derail the global economy and his presidency
US President Donald Trump’s Iran war gamble risks political fallout at home and economic turmoil worldwide
Escalation in Iran conflict risks wider fault lines in Muslim world
The Iran war is not simply just another Middle East conflict, but it is a structural inflection point, as it is exposing the limits of old hierarchies, accelerating the rise of new actors and forcing every state within the Muslim world to reassess its position
Beijing’s naming war needs a rebuttal: Now, Bharat must rename ‘Chinese territories’
The country should begin renaming places in Xinjiang using their ancient names — Khotan, Kushgar, Kucha, Yarkand, Turfan, et al. The region itself can be called Bhadrasva, a name firmly grounded in literary evidence, not imagination
Artemis II is a wake-up call for spacefaring Bharat
NASA’s Artemis II is less about America’s return to the Moon and more about the world’s entry into a new era of space exploration. For India, the message is clear: the window of opportunity is open, but it will not remain so indefinitely
Trump’s Iran blockade risks an energy shock and wider war
It is likely that Israel and possibly the Saudis, who do not want Iran to remain a viable state, will continue to pressure the US president to break the ceasefire and resume bombing
Islamabad was always the wrong choice for Iran talks
Geographic proximity doesn't confer neutrality; it breeds suspicion
Iran conflict signals shift to a multipolar world where endurance becomes power
The pause in Iran war marks a subtle but meaningful shift toward a multipolar deterrence order in which resilience, disruption capacity, and risk tolerance shape outcomes as much as conventional dominance
Islamabad talks were doomed to fail, but the real trouble lies with American doublespeak
The failure of the Islamabad talks reveals less about diplomacy and more about the contradictions the West continues to overlook — Pakistan as both a jihad factory and America’s frontline ally
Jaishankar's visit positions Mauritius as the linchpin of Delhi's Indian Ocean strategy
By combining political reassurance, strategic depth, developmental partnership, and regional connectivity, the EAM's visit effectively repositions Mauritius as a key pillar of India’s engagement in the Indian Ocean and the wider Global South
Chokepoint as weapons: Hormuz sets template for future conflicts
From Hormuz to Malacca, narrow waterways are now redefining the rules of war and global trade
There is more to Pakistan defence minister’s antisemitic post than meets the eye
Khawaja Asif wouldn’t have taken the risk unless Pakistan was confident that there was increasing daylight between America and its partner in the war
Pakistan’s role in West Asia: A web of competing dependencies
A state that lacks the capacity to absorb the consequences of conflict cannot credibly position itself as a mediator of that conflict
The two-week ceasefire: A tactical pause or a strategic retreat?
The Islamabad talks may produce a document, but they will not produce a different Iran. Trump knows this well
India has unique leverage in mediating Iran war
New Delhi has both the autonomy and strategic power to exact costs on both sides and, if required, push them toward de-escalation while ensuring fidelity to negotiated agreements
LIGO-India: The science is sound, but the strategy is debatable
India possessed the leverage to evolve from a critical node in the network to a co-architect of the instruments shaping the next era of discovery, playing a pivotal role in the crucial effort to advance the understanding of gravitational wave science
Dragon in the Gulf: China’s quiet power play in Iran
China’s policy in the Iran conflict is a calculated effort to maintain its energy security while leveraging the crisis to undermine the US-led world order
Mediation is not independence: Comparing India and Pakistan misreads the map
The suggestion that India should have emulated Pakistan’s mediating posture on the Iran conflict fundamentally misunderstands both countries’ situations
Pakistan is a middleman, not a mediator: The perils of punching above its weight
Islamabad’s latest diplomatic foray in West Asia exposes a familiar pattern: mistaking visibility for influence and performance for power. This may end up disastrously for Pakistan
Bangladesh remains a ticking time bomb due to Awami League ban
If the BNP sustains Yunus’ undemocratic ban for short-term gain, Tarique Rahman risks tearing Bangladesh’s democratic fabric, leaving space for Jamaat-e-Islami to take over
The ceasefire is dead; long live the ceasefire
For any US-Iran deal to succeed, a modicum of trust and a sliver of alignment in objectives are needed
Beyond the Lines | Trump’s war without an endgame
The outcome could leave Iran in the hands of a more hawkish government, its domestic opponents in tatters, an Iran-monitored Hormuz, increased insurance costs and mounting oil prices, an insecure West Asia if not one in turmoil, and an American hegemon reputationally weaker than before
Trump blinks, Iran survives, Israel seethes: Why the ceasefire may not hold for long
A fragile ceasefire holds for now, but with Donald Trump stepping back, Iran unbowed and Israel uneasy, the pause in hostilities may prove short-lived
Iran’s pyrrhic victory: A war that shook the American empire
That is not an American victory. And it is not something easily forgotten in a region where the memory of geopolitical humiliation runs long
Shadow Warrior | Drones are the new tanks: Time for India to catch up
First Ukraine and now Iran have shown how warfare has changed; those who fail to swarm will be overrun. India faces a clear and present danger