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A day of fast-moving developments stretched from Dhaka and Islamabad to Kathmandu and London. The updates underscored rising regional strain, active crisis response and shifting political calculations.
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Newdelhi,Oct 12, 2026 17:22 IST
A series of political, legal, economic and security developments unfolded across South Asia and beyond on Monday, with updates ranging from regional diplomacy and trade to court cases, accidents and disaster response.
Bangladesh said Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed will skip the first-ever meeting of home ministers of the BIMSTEC grouping in New Delhi, with a delegation led by a senior bureaucrat representing Dhaka amid strained ties with India. In Washington, a bipartisan group of US Senators questioned the legality of President Donald Trump's decision to allow diesel imports from Russia, saying it went against a law barring such trade until Moscow ends the war in Ukraine.
In Pakistan, two Army pilots were killed after their training aircraft crashed because of a technical fault, the army said. In another development, police took former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and seven other leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf into protective custody after emergency and governor's rule were imposed in the province.
A petition challenging the imposition of emergency and governor's rule in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was filed in the Peshawar High Court on Monday, less than 24 hours after the measures were introduced.
In Sri Lanka, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was admitted to hospital for urgent medical care and is under observation in the intensive care unit, his party said. Separately, a Sri Lankan court rejected an anticipatory bail plea filed by former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, who had sought an order to prevent her arrest.
In the UK, the government said new deals worth 1 billion pounds had been unlocked as the first major British delegation arrived in India to maximise the benefits from the bilateral Free Trade Agreement.
In Nepal, Binod Chaudhary, the country's only billionaire, was elected vice president of the Nepali Congress, the main opposition party, along with Chandra Bhandari and Madhu Acharya at its 15th general convention in Kathmandu.
Nepalese authorities also continued search and rescue operations in Gorkha district, where five people remain missing after flash floods swept away homes and bridges. Authorities said 13 more people had been rescued from flood-affected areas.
In Bangladesh, the authorities stepped up security for Durga Puja amid concerns over minority safety. Officials put in place arrangements at nearly 33,000 venues across the country, including round-the-clock surveillance, specialised police units, and the use of drones and helicopters for idol immersion.
In Stockholm, American-born economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford won the Nobel memorial prize in economics for work on models that have helped governments and central banks manage economic shocks.
Overall, the day's developments included Bangladesh's BIMSTEC decision and Durga Puja security measures, legal and political action in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, trade outreach by the UK in India, political and rescue updates from Nepal, questions in the US over Russian oil imports, and the Nobel economics prize announcement.
With PTI Inputs
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