Pentagon claimed its “righteous strike” by a Reaper drone on Aug. 28 in Kabul killed an ISIS terrorist who turned out to be an aid worker. Attack killed 10, including 7 children, in a residential block. 18. India’s ‘over-the-horizon’ dilemma In England, they’d plan a park, build it but wouldn’t complete it until they could observe …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-17
Trade caravan on the Silk Road, Central Asia 17. Foreign Devils on the Silk Road The title of an unputdownable 1980 classic by Peter Hopkirk comes to mind even as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation are preparing to hold back-to-back summit meetings at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on September 17. Foreign …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan -16
An Afghan girl… 16. Biden’s Taliban blues The best part of the visit by the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Patrushev to New Delhi (September 7-8) was that the two countries may embark upon a voyage of discovery of each other at a phase in their relationship when the US-led …
Taliban get a government!
The regional states will be shell-shocked by the brazen way Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government that is guaranteed to preserve Rawalpindi’s control over the levers of power in Kabul. There are several things to be noted about the so-called interim government announced …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-14
14. The fall of Panjshir Panjshir has fallen to the Taliban with a bang — and a whimper. The bang is because a 40-year old legend lies shattered, the legend of the invincibility of Panjshir Valley. And the whimper is because the short-lived ‘resistance’ had a tame ending. A BBC report said the revolt’s two …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-11
Taliban’s elite Badri 313 military unit takes position after US troop withdrawal from Kabul airport on August 31, 2021. 11. US slips out of Kabul but is vengeful The back-to-back press briefings on August 30 by General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr, commander, US Central Command and Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, on Afghanistan conveys the …
Rise and rise of Qatar in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (R) receiving Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar (2nd-R), Doha, Sept. 2020 When the US State Department announced that it would host a virtual ministerial meeting on August 30 with “key partners on Afghanistan,” there was an element of surprise in the list of participants. Apart from the US’ NATO and EU allies, …
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US-China relations at crossroads
In two phone calls past fortnight, Chinese Councilor & FM Wang Yi (L) told US counterpart Antony Blinken (R) that coordination over Afghanistan would depend on US policies towards Beijing The Biden Administration, in dire straits over Afghanistan, is pursuing China for help. There have been two phone calls to Chinese State Councilor and FM …
India reaches out to Russia to break out of regional isolation over Afghanistan
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flanked by Taliban officials attending a conference on Afghanistan, Moscow, November 2018 The Indian establishment media hyped up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 24 in a desperate attempt to distract attention from Delhi’s abject isolation over the Afghanistan situation. The desperation to clutch …
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Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-9
US President Biden enters Roosevelt Room in the White House to give a statement on US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Aug 24, 2021 9. A political windfall for Taliban The horrific terrorist strikes in Kabul on Thursday which killed at least 12 US servicemen and dozens of civilians will lead to a higher level of cooperation …