Posts

When Measles Kills Again

Parents must trust that vaccines are available, safe, and reliably delivered and that the health system stands with them. This trust cannot be built through campaigns alone. It requires sustained community engagement, local leadership, and transparent communication.

The Quiet Crisis We Keep Ignoring

Universities need to fund counselling services as a genuine commitment, not a box-ticking exercise. Policymakers need to allocate budget to mental health as a first-order public health priority. The private sector needs to stop treating employee wellness as a branding exercise and start treating it as a structural responsibility.

In Kerman, the Past Stays Present

This piece marks the first in a multi-part series that seeks to place a human face on the Iranian people, moving beyond the abstractions of politics and stereotype.

Balancing Acts

Bangladesh’s government faces a delicate balancing act. Every move in the international arena will be closely scrutinized for signs that the government is “tilting” towards one geopolitical axis or another.

The J-Z Show| Episode 20. Ceasefire

In this episode of “The J-Z Show,” hosts John Danilowicz and Zafar Sobhan examine the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran—and the fragile ceasefire currently at risk.

The Metaphysics of Bangladeshi Democracy

BNP must ensure that the caretaker government system, now revived, is built to last, not as a tool of partisan advantage but as the institutional guarantee that, now and going forward, no government, can close the door on the voters' right to choose their leaders.

Will Dr. Zahid go after Facebook and YouTube?

He can keep the portfolio as a badge of party confidence. Or he can turn it into something rarer in our politics: A record. And if he wants that record to mean anything, he should begin by demanding answers from Facebook and YouTube.

The Future of Reform

As a supporter of substantive reform within the political structure of this country, this dim scenario really makes me sad. And it also clarifies one thing: our failure has come from one major shortcoming -- we didn’t reach out to people.

Jamaat's Quiet Victory

What Jamaat's 68 seats do is give the party institutional leverage to shape the answers to questions that matter far more than whether Bangladesh wakes up tomorrow under a theocracy.

What the Bangladeshi People Want

We have long ago given up hoping that our government would do anything for us, and would be content if it simply reined in its worst excesses. As the old Bengali adage has it: We don’t want charity. Just please call off your dog.

Bangladesh Cannot Reach $1 Trillion by Rewarding Passivity

A trillion-dollar economy requires a financial system that can recognize risk, tolerate risk, and allocate capital with intelligence.

Notes on the Ceasefire

It is a clear admission that the war failed to deliver its stated objectives. No regime change, no oil conquest, no uncontested control of the Strait of Hormuz, no elimination of Iranian nuclear capabilities without serious concessions.

No Time to Waste

It is striking that nearly two years after a youth led uprising that was triggered by protests about jobs, the economy is largely absent from public discourse. This may be the ultimate July betrayal of them all. 

The Time Is Now Ripe For Reform

I am hoping against hope that the issue of LGBT rights in Bangladesh can be viewed by most people in the country through the lenses of anti-discrimination and not through that of any special rights, and certainly not through any notions of promotion. There is nothing to promote here.

Emerging Markets Monitor

The Strait of Hormuz is in crisis, disrupting the global economy. Asia, in particular, faces a coming storm with a prolonged closure -- the Strait carries the lifeblood of Asia's economy.

Our Energy Crisis is Structural

With only a few weeks of stock, Bangladesh ranks among the region’s most vulnerable.