Important Picks of the Day

NATIONAL

EAM Jaishankar speaks to British counterpart Raab on the situation in Afghanistan

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar spoke with British counterpart Dominic Raab to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, their second such conversation in a week.

Jaishankar speaks to newly-appointed Iranian counterpart, agrees to strengthen bilateral ties

Iran’s parliament last week approved the appointment of Hossein Amirabdollahian as foreign minister. He had earlier served as Iran’s deputy foreign minister between 2011-2016. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wed spoke to his newly-appointed Iranian counterpart and discussed the situation in Afghanistan as well as bilateral issues.

Indian Army contingent of 200 to participate in a multi-nation military exercise in Russia

‘Zapad’ is a theatre-level exercise of Russian armed forces focusing primarily on operations against terrorists. China & Pakistan are expected to take part as observers. The defense ministry said a contingent of 200 personnel of the Indian Army will participate in an exercise that is taking place from Sept 3-16.

Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to undertake a maiden visit to India in December

In his first visit to India since taking charge, Vietnam PM is expected to discuss advancing the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries with PM Narendra Modi.

At SCO meet, India expected to ‘talk tough’ on Taliban amid worries over Pakistan ‘role’ in Kabul

India is expected to “talk tough” about the Taliban and Pakistan’s tacit support for the insurgent group at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, ThePrint has reported. This comes despite India’s talks with Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, earlier this week.

Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani dies at 91

Curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in Kashmir as a precaution. Roads leading up to Geelani’s residence have been sealed and the internet is likely to be suspended, police said. His passport was seized in 1981 and never returned, barring an exception in 2006 to facilitate him to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Several cases were pending against him in the Enforcement Directorate, police, and Income Tax Department.

NEIGHBORHOOD

With Kabul airport closed, fearful Afghans rush for the border

 borders, as an administrative vacuum after the Taliban’s takeover left foreign donors unsure of how to respond to a looming humanitarian crisis. With Kabul’s airport inoperable, private efforts to help Afghans fearful of Taliban reprisals focused on arranging safe passage across the land-locked nation’s borders with Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asia.

Pakistan Air Force reopens bases near LoC, barely 100 km from Srinagar

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has reopened two air bases, barely 100 km from Srinagar. The airbases in Kotli and Rawalkot, both close to the Line of Control (LoC) are in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and were closed for some years.

China trying to take over Bagram air force base in Afghanistan, use Pakistan against India: Nikki Haley

Haley said that it is time President Joe Biden’s administration reaches out to its key friends and allies like India, Japan, and Australia and assure them that the US will have their back.

Nepal Govt forms committee to study border issue with China

The Nepal Govt led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wed decided to form a committee to study the border issue with China in the Humla district of Nepal. Last year, in Sept, China encroached upon Nepalese territory and constructed nine buildings in border area from Limi Lapcha to Hilla in Namkha village municipality of Humla district.

China warns US envoy John Kerry that bad ties could set back climate talks

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the United States climate envoy John Kerry that deteriorating US-China relations could undermine cooperation between the two on climate change. Wang told Kerry by video link on Wed that such cooperation cannot be separated from the broader relationship and called on the US to take steps to improve ties, a Foreign Ministry news release said.

Jaishankar speaks to newly-appointed Iranian counterpart, agrees to strengthen bilateral ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wed spoke to his newly-appointed Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian and discussed the situation in Afghanistan as well as bilateral issues.

• Iran’s parliament last week approved the appointment of Hossein Amirabdollahian as foreign minister. He had earlier served as Iran’s deputy foreign minister between 2011-2016.
• It is learned that the current situation in Afghanistan figured in the conversation between the two foreign ministers.
• Last month, Jaishankar represented India at the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Iranian President Raisi in Tehran, in reflection of the importance India attaches to its ties with Iran.
• Raisi, a hardliner and known to be close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, won the presidential election in June by a landslide.
• Iran has been playing a key role in the Afghan peace process and hosted intra-Afghan peace talks in Tehran.

Jaishankar to Visit Croatia Tomorrow: Ties With EU, Afghanistan, and Indo-Pacific on Agenda

• EAM S Jaishankar will visit Croatia on Fri as part of a four-day mission to review bilateral relations with three Central European countries. During his tour from Sept 2 to 5, he will also visit Slovenia and Denmark.
• During his visit to Croatia, Jaishankar will meet with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman and will address the Croatian leadership.
• According to a statement issued by the MEA, the minister’s visit will provide an opportunity to deepen the country’s diverse relationship with the European Union (EU).
• He has been invited to an informal conference of foreign ministers by Slovenia, which now holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to Dec.
• The meeting is anticipated to focus on Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific region.
• The casual meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council will be placed on Sept 3 at an estate near the city of Kranj in the “Gymnich” format, Hindustan Times reported, citing a person familiar with the developments.
• Jaishankar will also participate in a panel discussion on “Partnership for a Rules-Based Order in the Indo-Pacific” at the annual Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) in Slovenia, and meet with his EU counterparts to discuss areas of common interest, as well.

The External Affairs Minister will co-chair the 4^th round of the Indo-Danish Joint Commission Meeting alongside Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod during his visit to Denmark on Sept 4-5.

At SCO meet, India expected to ‘talk tough’ on Taliban amid worries over Pakistan ‘role’ in Kabul

India is expected to “talk tough” about the Taliban and Pakistan’s tacit support for the insurgent group at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, ThePrint has reported. This comes despite India’s talks with Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, earlier this week.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to virtually address the SCO Summit, which will take place in Tashkent on Sept 16-17, and is likely to make a strong pitch on India’s “zero tolerance” stance on terrorism in a “strong signal” to Pakistan amid worries that the neighboring country could use Afghanistan as a terror haven, sources told ThePrint.
• Sources also said while India has always believed in engaging with all the stakeholders in Afghanistan, which includes the Taliban, it has also made it clear to them that the insurgent group has to “bridge the gap” between what their leaders announce in Doha and how it is being implemented at the grassroots level.

India wary of Haqqani influence: India, has also apprised the Taliban leaders of the fact that it is concerned about the increasing responsibilities being given to the Haqqani Network as New Delhi firmly believes it has connections with Pakistan’s ISI, ThePrint reported citing sources.

• New Delhi is now waiting to see what role will the Haqqani Network play in the new Taliban government as that will determine India’s next move as far as “recognizing” them is concerned.
• During the SCO summit this time, a separate meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group will also take place and the Taliban is expected to be represented by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder and deputy leader of the insurgent group, and is touted to be the new foreign minister under the Taliban rule.
• India is also watching what roles will be played by Siraj Haqqani and Anas Haqqani, scions of Haqqani Network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani. The new Taliban government is expected to be announced Fri.

India watching Haqqani influence: The UN Security Council, under India’s presidency, ended on Aug 31^st, Mon adopted Resolution 2593 (2021) demanding that the territory of Afghanistan not be used for terrorist activities or as a safe haven particularly for groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

• As reported earlier, during the voting of the resolution, Russia and China chose to abstain while the US, UK, and France voted in favor along with 10 other non-permanent members. These five countries are permanent members of the UNSC, also known as P-5 countries.
• However, despite the split in voting, New Delhi believes it will be able to announce and adopt a resolution containing certain “concrete counterterrorism measures” before India’s tenure as the Chair of the 1988 Taliban sanctions committee comes to an end.
• The Taliban sanctions committed was formed in 2011 due to the group’s violent activities in Afghanistan.

This is the main reason why the Taliban is increasingly reaching out to New Delhi to assuage its concerns on terrorism, especially cross-border terrorism.

Qatar flight arrives at Kabul airport with ‘technical team’

• Qatar on Wed night sent an aircraft to Kabul with a technical team onboard to restart operations after US exit from Afghanistan.
• Taliban has taken control over Hamid Karzai international airport after US military evacuation on Mon night. The US military had destroyed several aircraft, C-Ram defense systems, and helicopters before folding up the evacuation operation. 
• Reports claimed the Qatar flights will deal with humanitarian aid needed for Afghans and also help in evacuation efforts. Reports claimed the Taliban had asked Qatar to “officially” manage Kabul airport.
• At least 123,000 foreign nationals including thousands of Afghans have already left the country. There has been no official agreement with the Qatari government and Taliban, reports say.
• Qatar has actively hosted negotiations between the Taliban and the United States in recent years and was a key transit point during the US evacuation.

How US secret base near Kabul airport transported US citizens, Afghan commandos

• According to reports, the Biden administration officials had secretly moved several US citizens and “at-risk Afghans” including Afghan commandos to a secret CIA base outside Kabul amid terrorist threats during the chaotic evacuation at Kabul airport.
• The operation reportedly took place in mid-August and was planned meticulously as Afghan special forces commandos and hundreds of US citizens were evacuated.
• The secret compound was reportedly called “Eagle Base” destroyed in the final days as the pullout gathered momentum.
• Reports claimed the US undertook helicopter flights to extract people from the base and transported them directly to Kabul airport as the Taliban entered the Afghan capital on Aug 15.

Tajikistan’s President honors the leader of the northern alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, and former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani with the highest honor of the country — The Order of Ismoili Somoni. It is named after Isma’il ibn Ahmad, also known as Ismoili Somoni. They have been honored for mediating in inter Tajik peace talks from 1993-1996.

EAM Jaishankar speaks to British counterpart Raab on the situation in Afghanistan

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his British counterpart Dominic Raab on Wed on the situation in Afghanistan, their second such conversation in a week, the first one on Aug 25^th.
• India has been in constant touch with all major countries on the fast-paced developments in Afghanistan, particularly after the Taliban took control of the country on Aug 15.
• The Jaishankar-Raab conversation came a day after the US completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan, ending its two-decade war in the country.
• On Wed, Jaishankar also spoke to Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi.
• India has been a key stakeholder in Afghanistan and it has invested nearly USD 3 billion in carrying out nearly 500 projects across Afghanistan.

China trying to take over Bagram air force base in Afghanistan, use Pakistan against India: Nikki Haley

In the aftermath of the Taliban regaining power in Afghanistan, America’s former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley told Fox News on Wed has said there is a need to closely watch China as it is making a move to take over the Bagram air force base that was controlled by the United States for nearly two decades.

Adding that Haley it is time that President Joe Biden’s administration reaches out to its key friends and allies like India, Japan, and Australia and assures them that the US will have their back.

“I think they are also making a move in Afghanistan and trying to use Pakistan to get stronger to go against India. So, we have got a lot of issues. The biggest thing he should do is strengthen our allies, strengthen those relationships, modernize our military, and make sure we are prepared for the cyber-crimes and the terrorist crimes that are headed our way,” she said in response to a question.

Won’t meddle in Kashmir: Long-time Taliban ally Haqqani Network

Long-time Taliban ally Haqqani Network looks at Kashmir as being beyond its “jurisdiction” and, hence, any interference there would be against its stated policy, the outfit’s scion Anas Haqqani said in an interview with CNN-News18 on Tue, coinciding with the last of the US troops leaving the Afghan capital.

UNSC softens up to Taliban, but keeps them on the sanctions list

• On Aug 16, statement, “reaffirming the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan” and of ensuring that the Afghan territory “is not used to threaten or attack any country.”
• The statement also said that “neither the Taliban nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country.”
• On Aug 27, (a day after the Kabul airport bomb blasts), the UNSC reproduced a paragraph from its earlier statement but dropped the word Taliban.
• On Aug 30, the Council issued another statement on the Kabul blasts that killed more than 180 people, including 13 US service members and 28 Taliban.
• The text once again called for ensuring that Afghanistan was “not used to threaten … or to finance terrorist acts” but it again did not name the Taliban among the groups that were required to do so.
• If the council wanted to do so, it could have as the Taliban is still listed as a terror organization in UNSC resolution 1267 of 1999.
• The resolution put sanctions on the Taliban and froze their funds and other financial resources because it gave shelter to Osama bin Laden, wanted at the time for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to visit Pakistan

The United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is set to visit Pakistan to hold talks with Pakistani officials on the prevailing situation of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan reported The News.

The world must engage with Afghanistan, Pakistan’s national security advisor says

The international community needs to engage with Afghanistan to prevent a humanitarian crisis and a security vacuum, said Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf. Islamabad has long been ‘custodian’ of Taliban, provided them shelter: Pakistan Minister Sheikh Rashid. Disengaging the Taliban, abandoning Afghans will create space for terrorist outfits, warns Pak FM SM Qureshi. Pakistan will not make the isolated decision of recognizing Taliban rule in Afghanistan: Minister Fawad Chaudhry

Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to undertake a maiden visit to India in December

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will visit India at the end of 2021, the first time since taking charge in April this year to discuss with PM Narendra Modi measures to advance bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, the country’s ambassador, Pham Sanh Chau, said here on Wed.

• During a telephonic conversation in July, PM Modi had congratulated Chinh on his appointment as the premier of Vietnam and invited him to undertake an official visit to India at an early suitable date.
• PM Modi had expressed confidence that the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership will continue to become stronger under Chinh’s able guidance.
• Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi and Chau also inaugurated the second bust of Vietnam’s founding father and President Ho Chi Minh at Kautilya Marg park in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri, while the first being in Kolkata.
• Chau said a bust of Mahatma Gandhi will be inaugurated in Ho Chi Minh city, was named after President Ho Chi Minh in 1975 when Vietnam was unified, on the occasion of his 152^nd birth anniversary on Oct 2.

The bust of President Ho Chi Minh will stand forever as a reminder of the depth and the strength of the long-lasting cordial relationship dated more than 2,000 years ago when Buddhism started spreading from India to Vietnam, Chau said.

SC shocked over the spread of fake news by web portals, says even judges not spared 

The Supreme Court on Thu expressed concern over the lack of any effective regulatory mechanism to control or keep a tab on content on web portals, online channels like YouTube which according to  Chief Justice NV Ramana “spread fake news rampantly, publish anything against anyone including judges, institutions without any accountability, and get away” and only pay heed “to the powerful”. 

• Also dealing with the issue of “communication” while hearing petitions seeking action against some media organizations which linked the spread of coronavirus to the Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin, Chief Justice Ramana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
• “The problem is, everything in this country is shown with a communal angle by a section of media. Ultimately, this country is going to get a bad name. Did you ever attempt to regulate this?”
• Mehta said that the Centre has come out with new Information and Technology Rules to take care of the issues flagged by CJI.
• However, he added that many petitions are filed in high courts challenging the new IT rules. Then the CJI said the issue “required a debate” 

The stinging observations came while the SC bench was hearing a plea filed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Peace Party of India seeking directions to the Centre to stop the dissemination of “fake news” and take strict action against a section of the media for spreading communal hatred by stating that Tablighi jamaat congregation was primarily responsible for the initial jump in the numbers. 

Pakistan Air Force reopens bases near LoC, barely 100 km from Srinagar

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has reopened two air bases, barely 100 km from Srinagar. The airbases in Kotli and Rawalkot, both close to the Line of Control (LoC) are in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and were closed for some years.

The reopening of PAF facilities so close to the LOC is a threat, while the strengthening of the base in Shamsi in Balochistan and the construction of a new army cantonment near the PAF base in Jacobabad, Sind, is a sign of growing unrest in those provinces.

• The Kotli air-base will be in the area of the Pakistan Army’s 3 POK brigade, which is part of the 23 Division. Over a hundred air-defense troops have been moved to Kotli.
  • The Rawalkot air-base comes under 2 POK Brigades of 12 divisions. This air-base has been closed for 4 years.

The reopening of the two airfields may relate to the Indian Air Force’s strike in Balakot on Feb 26, 2019. At that time, IAF warplanes flew to Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (it is just after POK), and back without being even challenged by the PAF was a huge embarrassment. The reopening of both Kotli and Rawalkot is a precautionary measure as is the deployment of small numbers of F-16 fighters in different airfields all over the country.

• The PAF’s 403 Squadron– of helicopters– has moved to Shamsi where communication and radar networks are being readied.
• The Pakistan Army’s cantonment is coming up near Shahbaz, the PAF base in Jacobabad, Sind. It has acquired over 7,000 acres of land.
• This is in addition to a new PAF base in Nasirabad, in Balochistan. The Pakistan government has already acquired 26,000 acres for the base.