Welcome to Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: The son of a political dynasty is set to return ahead of Bangladesh’s national elections, an Indian investigation implicates Pakistan in the April terrorist attack that triggered a military conflict between the countries, and inflation in Nepal falls to a 22-year-low—but it might reflect a deeper problem.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: The son of a political dynasty is set to return ahead of Bangladesh’s national elections, an Indian investigation implicates Pakistan in the April terrorist attack that triggered a military conflict between the countries, and inflation in Nepal falls to a 22-year-low—but it might reflect a deeper problem.

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For more than a year, one of the biggest questions in South Asian politics has been why Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has not come home after more than 17 years in self-exile in London—particularly with national elections set for early next year.

The August 2024 mass uprising that ousted former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seemingly created an opening for Rahman’s return. Hasina had cracked down hard on the BNP while in power, and the many legal convictions against Rahman—which his supporters called politically motivated—were removed by May.

Rahman’s wife, Zubaida, traveled to Bangladesh that month to care for Rahman’s ailing mother, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. In August, the interim government announced that elections would be held in February 2026, adding further urgency to Rahman’s potential return. Despite all of this, he remained mum.

Finally, last week, Rahman told the BNP’s senior leadership that he will return to Bangladesh on Dec. 25. He may have held off on his return until the final confirmation of the election date, which came last Thursday, when the country’s chief election commissioner gave a televised address and set the date the date for Feb. 12.

Zia’s worsening health—she was admitted to a hospital on Nov. 23 and remains in critical condition with a lung infection—may have also prompted Rahman’s decision to return now.

It won’t exactly be smooth sailing for Rahman once he is back in........

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