Earlier this week, Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb spoke to investors in Washington, DC at a meeting organized by a prominent American investment bank. I asked someone in the room how many questions people asked him about Imran Khan’s captivity. The answer: ZERO.

The Modi era in Indian politics began roughly in 2012-13. This is not a value judgment. It’s true whether you love him, hate him, or something in between.

This 1909 map of British India predates Partition by 38 years, and the birth of Bangladesh by 62 years. Sometimes demography really does turn out to be destiny. v ⁦Saquib Salim⁩

.⁦⁦Shekhar Gupta⁩ looks back at 44 years of the BJP: Until the rise of Modi, the BJP’s leadership was collective. For a long time it was led by a duo: Vajpayee and Advani. In Modi, for the first time the party has an unquestioned leader. theprint.in/national-inter…

.Tony Abbott: The modern world is a product of “American strength, American benevolence, American blood, American treasure.” It is “more free, more fair, more safe, more rich for more people than at any time in history, thanks to the Pax Americana.” v Tunku Varadarajan

The latest slew of repression in Afghanistan exposes the naiveté of Western analysts who argued that the Taliban would be more moderate the second time around, writes AEI's Sadanand Dhume.
wsj.com/articles/meet-…

As long as a corner of our planet remains home to a radical jihadist experiment, the potential for attracting adherents in other countries remains.

Meet the New Taliban, Same as the Old Taliban | by Sadanand Dhume wsj.com/articles/meet-… via Wall Street Journal Opinion

Can anyone think of a country that has acquired more soft power than South Korea over the past 50 years? I can’t.

“Women don't want to be limited, exploited, punished, or subject to other unjust treatment because of their biology, but our being female is indeed defined by our biology.”

Fascinating. Robert Vadra, whose dodgy real estate deals helped sink the Congress Party ten years ago, seems to genuinely believe that the Indian public yearns for his entry into electoral politics. [Video, Hindi, 2m] v barkha dutt

.Tunku Varadarajan reviews “a gentle paean to provincials” that seeks to right the wrong done to them by cosmopolitans.

Such an excellent idea. Kudos to Rukmini S and her team for this public service.

Does anyone seriously believe that Gen. Asim Munir will do what none of his predecessors managed and turn Pakistan’s focus toward economic development? I’m skeptical, but this appears to be a central argument of those opposed to an Imran Khan comeback. v ⁦Yousuf Nazar⁩

According to the Guardian, India’s external intelligence agency (RAW) tricked a potential Islamic State recruit into assassinating a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba commander in Pakistan. [Story leans heavily on anonymous sourcing, but IF true it will only help Modi in Indian elections.]