Family photo of the 20th summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Dushanbe, September 17, 2021 19. SCO won’t be subaltern to QUAD As expected, the situation in Afghanistan was the focal point of the discussions at the 20th summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Dushanbe on Friday. Yet, the SCO’s Dushanbe …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-18
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 …
Biden Doctrine appears in Persian Gulf
Iran’s Vice-President & head of the Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami (second from right) met International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi, Tehran, Sept 12, 2021 The incipient signs of a US retrenchment from Saudi Arabia have appeared in a series of moves in the past 2-3 weeks. On a parallel track, the Biden Administration …
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 …
Reflections on Events in Afghanistan-15
Afghan tribal leaders and religious scholars and youth leaders from the central provinces (Hazarajat) met former president Hamid Karzai regarding formation of inclusive government, Kabul, September 11, 2021 15. Enter regional states The Taliban hoisted their black and white flag on the presidential palace in Kabul on September 11, which happens to be the twentieth …
Biden Doctrine abates China tensions
US President Joe Biden speaking about the end of the war in Afghanistan, White House, Washington, August 31, 2021 A 90-minute phone conversation between the presidents of the United States and China surely makes world news, but President Joe Biden’s call to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday draws special attention on its timing, …
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-13
13. Panjshir revolt becomes footnote At the daily foreign ministry briefing in Beijing on Friday, Russian correspondent of Sputnik asked spokesperson Ambassador Wang Wenbin how China viewed the Taliban decision to attack Panjshir and how this will affect the Afghan situation. Ambassador Wang replied that “it is China’s sincere hope that all parties in Afghanistan …