New Delhi: In his first week as Sri Lanka’s new president, Anura Dissanayake followed the familiar routine of changing the guard and consolidating power in a weakened economy – all while most of South Asia’s leadership was away at the UN’s annual gathering in New York.
This edition of the South Asia Roundup will explore Sri Lanka’s political dynamics as it adjusts to a president from outside the two major parties, move across the continental expanse of the United States where South Asian leaders made a beeline, and return to the devastating floods in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Shortly after 55-year-old Anura Dissanayake was sworn in on September 23, he swiftly made several symbolic gestures. On his first day in office, he met with Sri Lanka’s top religious leaders, including senior Buddhist clergy, maulvis at the Dawatagaha mosque in Colombo, and Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.
That evening, Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha was the first foreign official to meet him, followed by Chinese envoy Qi Zhenhong. These meetings underscored the geopolitical tug of war that Sri Lanka’s new leader will need to navigate in shaping the country’s foreign policy. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted his congratulations on Sep 22, the Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message a day later.
He appointed his fellow party parliamentarian and academic, Harini Amarasuriya, the third woman premier of Sri Lanka, as part of a three-member cabinet that includes Dissanayake. This is the smallest cabinet in Sri Lanka’s history.
A few hours later, Dissanayake dissolved the parliament, with elections set for November 14. Some analysts note that the ruling alliance, the NPP, secured only 42% of the vote in the presidential elections, suggesting it may struggle to achieve a full majority in the 225-member parliament.
However, others argue that the NPP’s well-organised structure, demonstrated by its election results, gives it a significant advantage over other political parties and could quickly propel it to a strong lead.
While efforts are being made to bring UNP and SJB to fight parliamentary elections together, it seemed to have been shot down by SJB’s Sajith Premadasa.
According to Prime Minister Amarasuriya, the priority of the next six weeks till the new parliament is elected is “stability, changes to governance and to political culture, and getting the required systems in place”. She pointed out that Sri Lanka’s transition had been extremely peaceful, with “no drama” by anyone.
On September 25, Dissanayake appointed new governors for all nine provinces. A particularly notable appointment was that of businessman Hanif Yusuf as governor of the Western Province. Originally from Gujarat, India, Yusuf belongs to Sri Lanka’s Memon community, which settled in the country from India following the Partition riots.
Three days into his presidency, Dissanayake took a widely supported decision of reinstating the previous system for issuing visas to foreign nationals. In April, the Sri Lankan government under Ranil Wickremesinghe had introduced a new visa system that nearly doubled visa fees, sparking backlash from the tourism industry concerned about its effect on the crisis-stricken economy.
The new system had been outsourced to Indian firms GBS Technology, IVS Global FZCO, and VFS Global, which had been also suspended by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. Sri Lanka’s newly appointed public security minister, Vijitha Herath, announced that a forensic audit had been ordered to “investigate irregularities.”
The JVP-NPP government also scrapped the previous administration’s plan to divest from the cash-strapped national carrier, SriLankan Airlines. NPP’s Economic Council Chairman, Anil Jayantha, stated that the airline’s role in boosting tourism made state ownership essential, and a new management model would be explored instead.
A key move that grabbed headlines was reclaiming the official vehicles of the presidential secretariat. With no space to park the flood of returned vehicles, they were left outside government premises “under police protection.”
Out of 833 luxury vehicles owned by the secretariat, 29 were reportedly “missing,” sparking a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe.
On September 30, the secretariat released a list of 107 vehicles previously handed out by the former president to his personal staff. Despite earlier claims that the returned vehicles wouldn’t be “put on display,” they were swiftly reassigned to essential services on the new president’s orders.
The Sunday Times highlighted that the handover of luxury vehicles took centre stage during power transitions in 1994, 2015, and 2019.
On more serious note, the NPP had promised during the election campaign to re-negotiate some of the “social protection and governance” terms of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the International Monetary Fund. This agreement had provided a bailout when Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed under a debt crisis. With an IMF delegation arriving in Sri Lanka this week, it will be the first real test of whether this renegotiation is feasible.
South Asia’s leadership flocked to New York
Last week, Dissanayake appeared to be the only leader who stayed in his capital, while nearly every other head of state or head of government travelled to the United States for the annual gathering alongside the UN General Assembly. The sole exception was Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership, still in their fourth year without international recognition.
In his debut UNGA speech, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu did a show and tell, holding graphic of the map of the world drenched in red. “While the alarms are ringing, the band is still playing the same old tunes, as the whole ship descends deeper and deeper into unchartered waters. We need Nations United in harmony not a United Nations in misery”. Muizzu also emphasised the urgency of UN reform and addressing the climate crisis.
He described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide,” calling it “a travesty of justice and the international system.”
With the Maldives on the verge of a severe external debt crisis, Muizzu appealed to “multilateral development funds, banks, and bilateral donors” to treat the country as a partner. He urged them to “reduce the cost of borrowing,” make their terms “flexible,” and ensure lending is “targeted, affordable, and responsible”.
Last month, Fitch downgraded Maldives’ credit ratings due to “increased Risk of Default”. This year, Maldives was supposed to service external debt of around $50 million in debt servicing obligations, which will balloon to $557 million in 2025 and again double to $1.06 billion in 2026.
Notably, Muizzu became the first president of the Maldives to address the UN Security Council since the country joined the UN 59 years ago, where he called for the abolition of the veto power.
Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, elected for a second term in January, used his speech to showcase the kingdom’s flagship initiative, the Gelephu Mindfulness City, which spans over 2,600 square kilometres near the Indian border. “We invite thought leaders, innovators, and investors to join us in creating this groundbreaking city, contributing to a model of peace, harmony, and progress that others can emulate,” he stated in New York on September 27.
He mentioned India twice in his speech – first, to commend it for being a steadfast development partner, and second, to advocate for India and Japan as candidates for permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council.
The prime minister of Bhutan’s neighbouring Himalayan state, Nepal, K.P. Oli, shared a familiar theme in his UNGA speech, warning that the world is on a path toward instability due to climate catastrophes, geopolitical flashpoints, and the looming threat of nuclear conflict.
The Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif treaded traditional lines, expressing anguish over the Gaza conflict and lambasting India over Kashmir.
Both Oli and Sharif specifically endorsed the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ description of the international financial system as “morally bankrupt”.
“With nearly 100 developing countries trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and liquidity crises, I refer to this as a ‘death trap’ rather than a ‘debt trap.’ Under these circumstances, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains a distant mirage,” said Sharif at the UN General Assembly.
Just two days before his UNGA speech, the International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board approved a $7 billion bailout package for Pakistan on September 25, set to last for 37 months. The first tranche of $1.1 billion is expected to be received by the end of September.
Yunus’s US odyssey
While US President Joe Biden hosted the Indian Prime Minister at his residence during the Quad summit side events, he had a brief encounter with the other South Asian leaders, with one notable exception.
The only regional leader to receive special attention was Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government. Photos released by the Nobel laureate’s office capture Biden affectionately hugging Yunus.
Additionally, Yunus, on his first foreign visit since taking leadership in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster during a popular uprising, met with several US officials. Alongside his meeting with President Biden, he held separate discussions with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and USAID Administrator Samantha Power.
He also participated in an event with former President Bill Clinton, which Bangladesh media saw as slightly controversial due to the presence of an ‘intruder’ on stage.
Yunus also met with Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif and Nepal’s Oli, as well as Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
During his meeting with Sharif, Yunus called for revitalising the dormant South Asian regional organisation. “Reviving SAARC could be a good way to start and seek Pakistan’s support,” he told the Pakistani premier.
Yunus’s push for SAARC underscores the dramatic shift in Dhaka’s approach following Hasina’s departure. Eight years ago, Bangladesh, along with Bhutan, Afghanistan, and India, withdrew from the SAARC summit in Islamabad, causing the regional body’s collapse.
Although Yunus did not meet with any Indian officials during his time in the United States, his foreign affairs adviser, Md. Touhid Hossain, held talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New York. This marked the first high-level contact between the two countries, though few details of their discussions were made public. Both also participated in a BIMSTEC foreign ministers’ meeting.
While Taliban government is unable to be join the international community, Afghanistan was nevertheless not totally overlooked in New York.
The foreign ministers of Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran met on the sidelines of UNGA. A Russian readout of the meeting emphasised that the quartet had “underscored that there was no alternative to establishing mutually respectful dialogue and partnership relations with the current authorities of Afghanistan”.
The Pakistani media highlighted that the joint statement urged the Taliban “to fight terrorism, dismantle, and eliminate all terrorist groups equally and non-discriminatory and prevent the use of Afghan territory against its neighbours, the region, and beyond”.
Pakistan’s relations with Kabul have deteriorated due to a surge in terror attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
In his UNGA speech, Shehbaz Sharif stressed that Kabul “must take effective action to neutralise all terrorist groups operating within Afghanistan, particularly those involved in cross-border terrorism against neighbouring countries,” specifically naming Daesh, TTP, ETIM, IMU, and Ansarullah.
The Taliban government rejected Sharif’s claims. “Afghanistan does not pose a threat or danger to any country. We do not permit foreign groups to operate in Afghanistan, nor do we allow anyone to use Afghan soil as a threat to others,” said Islamic Emirate deputy spokesperson, Hamidullah Fetrat.
The situation in Afghanistan was also addressed in speeches at the UN and featured in bilateral discussions on the sidelines.
More notable news from across the region
On September 28, the Bangladesh interim government dissolved a committee tasked with revising textbooks. This move followed demands from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islam and Islami Andolon Bangladesh to include Islamic scholars on the panel. There had also been criticism on social media regarding the inclusion of two teachers, labelled as “anti-religion.” On September 30, Dhaka University students held a rally protesting both the dissolution of the committee and the branding of a DU sociology professor as “anti-Islam.” In an open letter, 122 civil society members called for the committee’s reinstatement, warning that “Awami fascism” was being replaced by the growing influence of a particular religious group. Transparency International Bangladesh stated that dissolving the committee undermined the vision of a non-discriminatory and non-communal “New Bangladesh.”
Floods and landslides in Nepal, which began on November 26, have resulted in a death toll of 217 within four days, according to Nepal Police. The heavy rains caused widespread devastation across several provinces, with the most significant damage occurring in the Kathmandu Valley. While Oli was in New York when the floods started, concerns were raised about disaster preparedness, with calls for him to have curtailed his visit and returned to the country. Additionally, the floods led to a decrease in production at Nepal’s hydropower plants, prompting the country to purchase 300 megawatts of electricity from India.
In Bangladesh, the Water Development Board reported that heavy rainfall along the upstream Teesta River in India caused the river to overflow, forcing more than 60,000 people to flee their homes and become stranded. On September 27, following two days of continuous rain, all 44 gates of the Teesta Barrage were opened due to rising water levels. The river crossed the danger level, washing away roads and bridge culverts, and destroying standing paddy crops and fishing enclosures. Although floodwaters began to recede on September 30, concerns remain over potential damage to the winter vegetable crops.
Pakistan’s higher judiciary witnessed its internal tensions come out openly, when a Supreme Court judge refused to sit in a hearing of a five-judge bench for a review of a 2022 verdict that ruled votes of defecting lawmakers will not be counted. In a letter, Justice Munib Akhtar stated that his absence should not be interpreted as a recusal. His decision came in the context of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa justifying his exclusion of Justice Akhtar from a three-member committee of the Supreme Court, citing Akhtar’s unavailability to address pending work during the vacation, among other reasons.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan government is expected to attempt again to pass a ‘package’ of constitutional amendments after earlier having embarrassingly failed to secure enough support in both houses of parliament. The JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is the main target of the outreach effort, stated that his party opposes any amendments designed to benefit specific individuals or enhance the power of security forces at the expense of fundamental rights. “We want constitutional amendments to be made with consensus, ensuring they do not lead to political unrest in the country,” he said on September 29.
Bhutan’s finance ministry warned that the Himalayan kingdom could not rely on hydropower to be the primary source to earn foreign exchange through exports in the coming years. According to latest projection of Finance ministry, Bhutan’s domestic electric demand is expected to increase by 232 percent in 2026, which will far exceed export demand. Currently, Bhutan sees a surge in demand during the winter months, when it must even import electricity from India. After new hydropower projects are finished, Bhutan’s total electricity generation would be around 5500 MW in five years.
Read the previous South Asia Roundup here.
