The Afghan Independent Election Commission’s much delayed announcement that Ashraf Ghani is the winner of the September 28 President Presidential election is expected to deepen the political crisis in the war-torn country
Mr. Abdullah has called the results fraudulent and vowed to form a parallel government.
If he does so, it would undermine the already feeble Afghan administration whose writ does not stretch beyond the main urban centres
While the Taliban steadily
expanded across the country’s hinterlands and stepped up attacks on its
city centres, these two leaders kept fighting amongst each other
Worse, the infighting comes
at a time when the U.S. is near a Taliban agreement
The deal would see the U.S.’s
Afghan troop pullback, winding down America’s longest war and leaving the
Taliban and the Afghan government to start direct talks for a final
settlement
The U.S. excluded the
government from its direct talks with the Taliban as the insurgents do not
see the government as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers.
U.S. withdrawal would
invariably weaken the government, aiding the Taliban even before the talks
start.
What is lost in these narrow,
self-interest driven moves is the collective quest for defeating the
extremists and rebuilding Afghanistan.
INDIA’S DEFENCE JIGSAW
PUZZLE: THE MISSING PIECE
According to 2018 data, India occupies the fourth place in military expenditure across the world, behind the U.S., China, and Saudi Arabia.
However, sober reflection and a cost benefit analysis is the need of hour, to ensure that the amounts expended are in tune with our strategic requirements.
Given India’s rising global profile, and with two major adversaries on its borders, India needs to be fully prepared.
What is lacking in the defence jigsaw puzzle, however, is a well-considered and clearly articulated white paper on India’s defence needs, that sets out its strategic concerns, how it is positioning itself to meet these challenges, and the putative costs of meeting the country’s defence needs
In India, exercises of this kind are sometimes undertaken, but they suffer from a lack of clarity and are restricted in scope.
They contain vague references to the threat posed by China and Pakistan, but there is clearly more to India’s defence needs than exercises in military hagiography.
Meeting the military, strategic and economic challenge from China is an entirely different matter.
China is not Pakistan, and while China and Pakistan may have established an axis to keep India in check, explaining the nature of the threat posed by China to India is a complex task that needs to be undertaken with care and caution
The country needs a clearly articulated white paper on its defence needs which sets out its strategic concerns
The defence white paper needs to underscore that a country’s domestic politics are an Important pointer to a stable foreign policy.
There could be different
schools of thoughts within a nation, but equilibrium needs to be
maintained if it is not to adversely impact a nation’s foreign policy
imperatives.
An impression that the
country is facing internal strains could encourage an adversary, to
exploit our weaknesses.
This is a critical point that
the defence white paper needs to lay stress on.
WHY TRADE WITH US MATTERS TO
INDIA?
Attempts at working out a
short-term agreement have fallen apart in the past, and tensions have
risen over tariffs
India’s existing and stalled
bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) started to receive attention from
the government last year, even as the country worked to conclude the
seven-year negotiations to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP)
In the backdrop of the global
economic slowdown, where India’s global exports have fallen consistently,
it is important for the country to diversify and strengthen bilateral
relations with other markets.
It has set its sights on
“large developed markets”, improved access to which would help its
industry and services sectors.
These include the US, which
has, over the last two decades, become a crucial trading partner in terms
of both goods and services.
India was among the countries
that exported more to the United States than it imported, and the latter
was left with a trade deficit of over $21 billion in 2017-18.
Negotiations on an India-US
trade deal have been ongoing since 2018, but have been slowed by
“fundamental” disagreements over tariffs (taxes or duties on imports),
subsidies, intellectual property, data protection, and access for
agricultural and dairy produce.
The office of the US Trade
Representative (USTR) has underlined India’s measures to restrict
companies from sending personal data of its citizens outside the country
as a “key” barrier to digital trade.
The US wants India to
strengthen patent regulations, and to ease the limitations American
companies investing in India face.
