Md Imdadul Haque Sohag | Daily Observer

HEADLINE

● PM Tarique Rahman joins opening of 81st UNGA ● PM Tarique Rahman attends UN chief’s welcome breakfast ● Dengue hospitalisations hit yearly high at 1,872, five die ● 1.012 million buildings across three cities at high risk of earthquakes ● Remanding Patwary will expose bus attacks: Rashed Khan ● Rabiul Alam warns transport owners against excess bus fares ● 22 senior police officers reshuffled

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

Columnist, geopolitical and policy analyst, researcher, and entrepreneur

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag is a columnist, geopolitical and policy analyst, researcher, and entrepreneur. His research and writing focus on the Indo-Pacific, maritime governance, South Asian geopolitics, water and climate security, and regional connectivity. He writes regularly on strategic affairs, public policy, and Bangladesh's emerging role in the Bay of Bengal and the wider Indo-Pacific.

The Riversi Doctrine and Future of the Ganges Water Treaty

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

December 2026 will mark more than another diplomatic milestone in South Asia. It will present Bangladesh and India with a consequential choice over the future governance of one of the region’s most important transboundary river systems. As the 1996 Ganges

An Easier Import Regime Needs Smarter Compliance

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

On August 24, 2026, the government gazetted the Import Policy Order 2026-2029. It permits industrial and commercial importers to use sales or purchase contracts, alongside letters of credit, without the previous annual US$500,000 non-LC cap, subject to applicable rules. It

Turning Regional Connectivity into National Strength

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

Bangladesh is a downstream delta. That does not mean it must remain downstream in the decisions that shape its future. Rivers descend from the Himalayas. Nepali hydropower can reach Bangladesh through India. Regional goods can move through Bangladeshi roads, railways,

Bangladesh’s Infrastructure Power in the Bay of Bengal

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

When this geopolitical discourse began with an initial five-part series in August 2025, Bangladesh’s debate was anchored in a familiar dilemma: how could Dhaka navigate the competing interests of major powers without surrendering its strategic autonomy? Now, as this second

Bangladesh’s Proposed Blue Economy Authority Must Integrate, Not Duplicate

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

Bangladesh’s blue economy will not emerge from another catalogue of the Bay’s riches. It will depend on harder choices: who may use those resources, where, on what terms and at what ecological cost.Fisheries, shipping, energy, tourism, conservation, research and security

Securing Bangladesh’s Maritime Future

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

Bangladesh’s maritime future relies not merely on a visionary outlook, but on robust governance architecture capable of executing it. The historic boundary verdicts of 2012 and 2014 were rightly celebrated as diplomatic masterstrokes; yet, translating those legal rights into tangible

Matarbari and The Future of Our Maritime Governance

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

Bangladesh has entered the Bay of Bengal’s strategic age. The question is no longer whether the Bay matters. It already carries the country’s trade, energy security, climate exposure, digital connectivity and diplomatic choices into one crowded maritime space. The harder

Growing importance of Bay of Bengal

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

The Bay of Bengal is no longer a passive frontier at Bangladesh’s southern edge. It is the strategic space where the country’s trade, energy security, climate resilience, digital connectivity and diplomatic autonomy increasingly intersect.For Dhaka, the Bay is not a

How advanced tech changing our lives

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

A banking system is not sustained by buildings, branches, or balance sheets alone. It is sustained by trust. Every deposit, loan document, statement of account, and customer relationship rests on one fundamental expectation: a bank must be able to explain

CMSMEs suffer credit crunch

Md Imdadul Haque Sohag

The Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (CMSME) sector drives Bangladesh’s economic survival. It contributes roughly 25 percent to the national GDP. It generates nearly 80 percent of all non-agricultural employment. This sector anchors localized value creation and industrial growth.