The highlights this week: Blasts in New Delhi and Islamabad raise concerns about regional stability, India’s Bharatiya Janata Party faces an electoral test in the state of Bihar, and Pakistan’s parliament passes a controversial constitutional amendment .

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: Blasts in New Delhi and Islamabad raise concerns about regional stability, India’s Bharatiya Janata Party faces an electoral test in the state of Bihar, and Pakistan’s parliament passes a controversial constitutional amendment.

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Blasts Underscore Stability Risks

On Monday, a car exploded near New Delhi’s iconic Red Fort, killing at least 13 people. Less than 24 hours later, a blast near Islamabad’s judicial complex killed at least 12 people.

Large and deadly explosions have been rare in the two capitals in recent years. This week’s incidents amplify the growing risks to regional stability six months after the worst India-Pakistan conflict since a 1971 war and a few weeks after the deadliest violence between Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2021.

The New Delhi blast happened as a car slowed down at a traffic light, exploding and igniting a fire that spread to nearly a dozen other vehicles. On Wednesday, India’s cabinet passed a resolution classifying the explosion as a “terrorist incident.”

Indian media, citing unnamed security officials, report that the car’s owner was linked to militants targeted in a raid by officials in the nearby state of