9/11: The end of the ‘forever wars’ Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe

On December 5, 2001, a range of agreements were exchanged at a meeting in Bonn, Germany. The Bonn Conference — as the United Nations (UN)-led endeavour came to be known — set out the markers of what a new Afghan government would look like.

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This was the first major international effort, in the budding age of the War on Terror, to replace the old — the Taliban — with the virtues of renewal--“democracy, pluralism, and social justice”, as the Bonn text underlined. In a few cities such as Herat, Kabul, and Mazar-e-Sharif, some citizens reclaimed the right to express newfound freedoms. Yet, these virtues of modernity —as the last 20 years have made clear —remain abstract for many Afghans in the hinterland..

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Afghanistan’s operating environment seemed to have changed forever. In 2001, it was believed that the Taliban had been defeated, temporarily at least. After all, reluctantly, a coalition of 42 countries led by the United States (US), committed themselves to what can only be described as nation-building.

The Taliban responded to these developments by indulging violently in rejectionist politics. It adapted instruments of modernity to suit its needs. The smartphone became the weapon of advantage. It recuperated, resisted, and finally invited itself to the negotiating table with bullets, bombs, and tweets alike.

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The combination of Pakistani refuge and encouragement, high levels of government corruption and political instability in Kabul, and the ever-dipping levels of public support for the war in Washington, London, Berlin, Paris, and other European capitals, ultimately led to the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

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The combination of Pakistani refuge and encouragement, high levels of government corruption and political instability in Kabul, and the ever-dipping levels of public support for the war in Washington, London, Berlin, Paris, and other European capitals, ultimately led to the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

A founding member of the movement in the 1990s, Mullah Hassan Akhund, has effectively been made the prime minister (PM) of an unelected caretaker government. He is understood to be a compromise candidate able to band-aid deep-seated differences within the movement. Abdul Ghani Baradar — who has been spearheading negotiations in Doha for the last three years — has been made the deputy PM. Sirajjudin Haqqani, a “specially designated global terrorist” is acting interior minister. Mullah Omar’s son, Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, has been made the acting defence minister. Omar offered Osama bin Laden a home in Kandahar in the late 1990s.

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Platform workers need justice, not charity . Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe.

The narrative of the platform economy has been dominated by the platforms themselves. Whether it is Uber, Ola, Zomato, or Swiggy, we are told about how platforms are “disruptive”, how they offer flexible working conditions in what has largely become a gig-work economy, and how they make life easy and convenient for us, the consumers.

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Over the last month, however, that narrative has changed, as platform and delivery workers have themselves taken to social media to speak directly about their experiences. Their testimonies pertaining to low pay, hazardous working conditions, and the neglect shown by platform companies, have been striking. And these have been supported by numerous detailed investigations into working standards in the gig-economy that have painted a grim picture of exploitation and precarity..

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Tipping delivery workers, offering them shelter during rough weather conditions, and other basic gestures of humanity, have all been mooted. While important in their own right, it is crucial to note that the problem is not one that can be resolved by individual acts. Rather, the problem is institutional, and requires an institutional solution.

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At the heart of the issue is a simple fact. Platforms deprive delivery workers of protection under labour law by classifying them as “independent contractors” or as “partners”. By engaging in the pretence that the relationship between a platform and a delivery worker is between two equally positioned professionals — such as, for example, a freelance designer and a client — platforms ensure that delivery workers cannot access any labour rights, whether it is the right to a minimum wage, the right to basic conditions of safety, the right to bonuses or overtime, or indeed, the right to collective action.

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Furthermore, the actual relationship between platforms and their workers belies the myth of the “independence” of the delivery worker. The testimonies of such workers have shown us how tightly platforms control the performance of tasks. Platforms set the wage, exercise disciplinary authority by retaining absolute power to “kick” workers off the app, are able to surveil how workers are performing the tasks, and put into place a “ratings system” which serves as a constant method of performance appraisal. None of this fits in with the vision of an equal relationship between two professionals. Instead, it is a classic example of hierarchy and control, albeit one that has moved off the factory floor and into the online world.

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Every level of the judicial hierarchy in the United Kingdom — from the Employment Tribunal to the Supreme Court — rejected Uber’s arguments that its drivers were “independent contractors” without any labour rights. Courts in France, Spain, Italy, and across the rest of Europe, have come to similar conclusions, as have various courts in the United States. All these courts have held that the moment one goes beyond appearances, and looks at the actual relationship between platforms and their workers, the control and hierarchy that defines this relationship becomes unmistakable. Consequently, labour laws and labour rights must apply..

In India, unfortunately, the law remains murky, which is what enables platforms to engage in misclassification. The new labour code contains some thin social security guarantees for platform workers, but nothing beyond that. Parliament has not yet legislated to specifically protect the labour rights of platform workers, and the matter has not yet come before the courts.

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It is, therefore, obvious that the situation of platform workers is a question of justice, not of charity. Needless to say, in our individual conduct, we should ensure dignified and humane treatment of delivery workers. Beyond that, however, the responsibility lies with the platforms to treat their workers as workers. And, failing that, it is for the law — either through Parliament or through the courts — to intervene.

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India and Russia to secure Central Asia against Taliban radicalisation Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe

India and Russia have decided to join hands to firewall Central Asian Republics bordering Afghanistan from spill-over of Islamic radicalisation and jihad from Taliban-ruled Kabul. The security of Central Asian Republics was discussed in India-Russia NSA level consultations between Ajit Doval and Nikolay Patrushev on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by intelligence chiefs from both sides.

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According to those aware of developments, there are firm indications that Turkey and Pakistan are trying to get a toehold in these republics through NGOs with Ankara providing technical support in the Islamization efforts. The Central Asian Republics practice Islam but not of the variety show-cased by the Taliban.

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It is understood that in its mission to spread radical Islam the Taliban ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will be used to promote life under Sharia with the backing of Turkey and Pakistan. The al Qaeda affiliate Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) has active cadres in Afghanistan and influence in the fertile Ferghana Valley of Uzbekistan.

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While the security of Central Asian Republics was discussed in the Doval-Patrushev meeting, the Russian interlocutors conveyed that situation in these republics was under control, but the threat will mount once the Taliban under mentorship of Pakistan will get ambitious to spread their cult across the Amu Darya.

Taliban used whips against Afghan women protesting new regime: Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe

Taliban fighters reportedly used whips against Afghan women protesting the new rulers in the war-torn nation, as the recently-announced hardline regime vowed to restrict any resistance to its rule. According to American news channel CNN, videos and images received from a protest site in Kabul on Wednesday showed the Taliban militants ferociously whipping women to break up a protest against the hardline all-male cabinet announced a day prior.

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Afghan women came together in capital Kabul on Wednesday to mark a bold challenge to the Taliban rule. This was the largest such protest since the militants assumed power, and experts believe the brutal crackdown was about sending a message about how things will be under the new regime.

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“They [the Taliban] hit with whips and they tell us to go to our homes and recognise and accept the Emirate,” a woman present at Wednesday's protest was quoted as saying in the video and reported by CNN. “Why should we accept the Emirate while no inclusion or rights have been given to us?”

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Marcus Yam, a journalist with the Los Angeles Times covering the protest, also confirmed that Taliban fighters were ready to strike protesters with whips. He said on Twitter: “While some tried to put their hands on me, there was one fighter that kept interfering and at one point muttered ‘foreigner’. There were others standing around with their whips ready.”.

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A video shared by Afghan journalist Zahra Rahimi, a correspondent for Tolo News, on Twitter also showed a Taliban fighter ferociously cracking a whip against a woman present at the protest. The clip was shared multiple times on the social media platform by public personalities, who pointed out that the new Taliban regime was just as “barbaric” as the previous one and that all the promises of a ‘moderate’ regime were just a sham.

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UN warns of ‘incredible fear’ among Afghan women

Notably, the United Nations warned on Wednesday that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the subsequent position of the new rulers on women's rights have generated an “incredible fear” across the country. “The lack of clarity of the Taliban's position on women's rights has generated incredible fear,” said Alison Davidian, a senior UN official. “And this fear is palpable across the country.”.

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Pointing out that there were daily reports of the Taliban imposing restrictions on the rights of women, she said that the new rule is reminiscent of the previous Taliban regime in the 1990s when the Islamist rulers forbade women from working jobs or receiving education.

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Why Mullah Akhund emerged as top name for Taliban govt? There's a Pak connection Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe.

Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the chief of the Taliban's powerful decision-making body, will be Afghanistan's new head of state with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Mullah Abdus Salam working as his deputies, a Pakistani media report said on Tuesday. The Taliban’s top leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada proposed Akhund’s name, The News International reported, citing Taliban leaders familiar with the developments.

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Akhund’s name as the Taliban government’s head comes days after Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed flew to Kabul on an unannounced visit last week. During his visit, the ISI chief had met Mullah Baradar and Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to what reports said was to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan.

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On Monday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference said that a new Afghan government would be announced soon without specifying any date. Mujahid also denied there were any disagreements within the Taliban leadership about the formation of a new government. "Final decisions have been taken, we are now working on the technical issues," he said at a press conference.

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Differences within the Taliban?

Before this, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar’s name cropped as the leader of the new government in Afghanistan. Baradar was a close friend of the Taliban's reclusive original leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. He served as deputy defence minister when the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan. Baradar served as a senior military commander responsible for attacks on coalition forces after the last Taliban government fell, a UN sanctions notice said.

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He was arrested and imprisoned in Pakistan by the ISI in 2010. He was released in 2018 and became the head of the Taliban's political office in Doha. He was one of the most prominent figures in peace talks with the United States.

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According to the unverified Twitter handle of Panjshir Observer, which describes itself as an independent news outlet, there was a gunfight last Friday in Kabul. "Gunfire last night in Kabul was a power struggle between two senior Taliban leaders. Forces loyal to Anas Haqqani and Mullah Baradar fought over a disagreement on how to resolve the #Panjshir situation. Mullah Baradar was reportedly injured and is receiving treatment in Pakistan," Panjshir Observer tweeted on Saturday.

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Mullah Akhund belongs to Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and was among the founders of the armed movement, according to The News International. Mullah Akhund was the foreign minister and the deputy prime minister during the Taliban's previous government in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001..

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According to the FBI website, the US department of state is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the arrest of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is thought to be in Pakistan and maintains close ties with the Taliban and al Qaeda. He is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including an American citizen. He is believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against the US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

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He was also allegedly involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on the Afghan president Hamid Karzai in 2008, according to the FBI website.

 

Mullah Yaqoob, son of the Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, will be the new defence minister, the paper said. Yaqoob was a student of Mullah Akhundzada, who earlier appointed him as head of the Taliban’s powerful military commission. He was named as overall head of the Taliban military commission last year, overseeing all military operations in Afghanistan. Considered a relative moderate by some Western analysts, he is still in his early 30s and does not have long combat experience of the Taliban's main battlefield commanders.

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Bottom-up Hindutva will defeat top-down attempts to ‘dismantle’ it Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe

When the newly-formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh won three seats in the first Lok Sabha of Independent India, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the icon of liberalism, could not tolerate even this minuscule presence of the Jana Sangh. Labelling the Jana Sangh “communal” in the Lok Sabha, he vowed to crush it. Arguably, this is the first documented example of cancel culture in a democratic set-up.

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The mindset of liberals has been the same since then, and a pattern repeats itself. First, they infuse borrowed metaphors such as “communal” and “fascist” through sympathetic media and academics, and then bracket every ideological opponent within these categories. They even castigated Jayaprakash Narayan as being a fascist because he collaborated with the Jana Sangh against Indira Gandhi, but did not use the label for Gandhi, who had imposed the Emergency.

Narendra Modi has won two successive Lok Sabha elections with an absolute majority. His national popularity ratings are the highest among world leaders. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in a dominant position in the better part of India. Hundreds of sociocultural organisations and millions of dedicated volunteers are propagating dharmic values across the world. These developments have created an existential threat to those who can be called “pseudo-liberals”. This, in turn, has resulted in hatred against Modi-Amit Shah as individuals, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP as institutions, and, subsequently, against everything that is remotely associated with Hindu civilisation. In a nutshell, this is what “Hinduphobia” is..

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An upcoming conference, titled Dismantling Hindutva, should be examined in this context. Hinduphobia begins from the choice of dates of this conference. September 10, the first day of the conference, is Ganesh Chaturthi, an auspicious day for Hindus. The second day, September 11, is when jihadi terrorists demolished the World Trade Center 20 years ago, killing 2,000-plus innocent people. By choosing these dates, the organisers are trying to achieve twin objectives. First, to hurt Hindu sentiments, and, second, to whitewash memories of jihadi terrorism. One must understand that the choice of dates is not a mere coincidence but part of a carefully planned strategy.

Then, there is the endorsement by several prominent academic institutions in the United States (US). While some of the institutions in the original list have denied it (and demanded the removal the university logo from the conference portal), some others have said that it is not the university, but individual departments or faculty members who are participating. Others are still supporting the conclave under the guise of “academic freedom”. However, one must note that in the US, Hindu students are being systematically harassed and intimidated for their religious beliefs. Endorsement of an anti-Hindu conclave by these universities is likely to create an unsafe environment for Hindu students on the campuses...

Then comes the familiar narrative creation. First, frame Hindutva as anti-minorities; then, project it as against Dalits and oppressed sections of society; and, finally, bracket it into a single caste, “Brahmin”. None of this holds true on the ground. Dalits and Other Backward Classes have overwhelmingly voted for the BJP; they are participating in the RSS and affiliated organisations in large numbers; their economic upliftment has changed their social status in real terms due to various welfare programmes of the Modi government and Dalit entrepreneurs and innovators are now becoming job providers. But Left-liberals are in denial mode, unwilling to accept these realities.

Naipaul’s response in the same conversation is relevant even today. He says “Hitherto in India the thinking has come from the top... what is happening now is different. The movement is now from below”. The process, which started then, has picked up momentum now. That is the biggest worry for Hindutva’s opponents. This “bottom-up movement” has challenged the hegemony of the Left over oppressed sections of society, over Gen-Next, which combines modernity and belief in civilisational values, and over political power that sustained their brokership. The last weapon for them is to demonise Hindu civilisation under the guise of academic freedom, arts and culture. This is a textbook imitation of Joseph Goebbels.

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To return to Nehru’s rhetoric of crushing the Jana Sangh, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee responded: “My friend Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru says that he will crush the Jana Sangh, I say I will crush this crushing mentality.” While the mentality of dismantling opponents has not changed even a little, civic society will dismantle this mentality of dismantling Hindutva. The Left will use whatever little is left at their disposal, make unholy alliances with anti-Indian or jihadi forces and thrust their views using the “top down” approach. They didn’t succeed in past and they won’t be successful now.

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Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe..

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The opulence of the absolute onm namo shivai

The supreme personality of godhead said listen again O mighty armed Arjuna.

Because you are dear friend for your benefit I said speak to you father giving knowledge that is better than what I have already explained.

The word Bhagwat Geeta is explained by the one who is full of the ship of LIC wage full strength full hem wealth and knowledge Beauty and the unification bhagavan for the supreme personality of godhead.

Call Krishna words present on this earth it is played all six opulences.

Therefore the great sages like the money all expected Krishna as a supreme personality of the body.. 9 Krishna age instructing original in more confidence and knowledge of opulence and his work previously beginning with the seventh chapter the lord has order different is different large and how they have acting in this chapter explain in specific opulence to Arjun in the previous chapter explained it difference energy is used to please the divorce and the firm conviction again in this chapter is it it shows that about is manifestation of the Kansas.

Vaccination: Focus on hesitancy, the 12-18 age group, and booster shots Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe

Two weeks ago, I wrote in this space that the coronavirus disease in India could soon stop being a pandemic and become endemic, an opinion that has since been aired by experts far more qualified than me. This also means that India could either dodge the third wave of the disease altogether — this is an opinion I have consistently articulated, despite the scare being created by some around a wave that affects young people — or, at worst, see localised flare-ups. This, the pandemic-to-endemic transition, is a big and significant milestone, and it is coming soon.

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There is another significant milestone that’s coming too, perhaps as soon as the middle of October. This is the ceiling India will hit in terms of vaccine coverage. There are around 940 million people over the age of 18 in the country. The government has said it will vaccinate all of them by the end of the year — a stretch, but possible as long as supplies keep increasing as rapidly as they did in August.

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The problem is that not all of them want vaccines. And short of vaccine mandates — I am all for them, or creating some link between access to benefits such as grains under the public distribution system to vaccines, or even incentives — there is nothing that is likely to make them take the jab. I expect this ceiling at the 75-80% vaccination coverage level. That translates into 705-752 million people. The government, public health workers, employers, media, religious and charity organisations, influencers — all of us have a responsibility in making sure more people get vaccinated, but there are always those who will not.

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The experience of the United States (US), where many infections, most hospitalisations, and almost all deaths currently being seen, are among the unvaccinated is a cautionary tale, but there are those who will still not learn from it. This means that India needs to start planning for the next phase of its vaccine drive, which could (and should) start mid-October.

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The first will have to be vaccines for around 165 million people between the ages of 12 and 18; the Zydus vaccine, ZyCoV-D, which is thus far the only one approved for use in this age group, should be reserved exclusively for people in this age group, with jabs being prioritised for the most vulnerable and also for those in Classes X and XII. There is simply nothing to be achieved by making this vaccine another in India’s portfolio of vaccines being administered to those over the age of 18. That battle is won (or is in the process of being won).

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The second leg will have to be booster shots. It is now clear that people who have never been infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 will need a booster shot. These shots will, again, have to be prioritised for the most vulnerable, people over the age of 60, those over the age of 45, and others, pretty much in the same order in which vaccines were rolled out earlier this year.

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In ideal circumstances, those who have suffered a Covid-19 infection should come last, but this information isn’t available on Co-WIN, India’s vaccine platform, which, in turn, isn’t connected to the databases where the information is available. Given that there is no supply constraint, it makes sense to just give the booster shot to everyone.

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The two things the country has to watch out for now, as more activities are allowed, and schools open up for physical classes, are localised outbreaks (which have to be crushed through lockdowns; for instance, every district needs to have a school closure protocol ready) and the emergence of mutant strains of the original Sars-CoV-2 virus.

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The future of China’s engagement in Afghanistan Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe.

There has been much speculation about China gaining in the aftermath of the withdrawal of the United States (US) from Afghanistan. However, contrary to this perception, events of the past few weeks actually amplify the strategic challenges that Beijing faces. Yet, they also present the Chinese leadership with an opportunity to demonstrate China’s capacity as a great power to shape outcomes in the region.

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While China was never entirely comfortable with the US presence in Afghanistan, this did serve Beijing’s strategic interests. There were, of course, trade-offs such as having the US military along China’s western periphery and contending with prolonged instability in West Asia along with the spread of transnational terrorism. But, overall, China has benefited from the US war on terror. It kept the US distracted and embroiled in long-drawn-out anti-insurgency and State-building operations. It provided China with the opportunity to free-ride in a regional security environment underwritten by American military power. And it allowed China and the US to cooperate on tackling threats posed by terrorism, while also creating an enabling narrative for the Communist Party to crack down on minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet.

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Foreign minister Wang Yi’s comments to US secretary of state Antony Blinken earlier this week were indicative of Beijing’s discomfort with the US disengagement. Wang warned that a “hasty withdrawal... is likely to offer an opportunity to various terrorist groups in Afghanistan to resurge”. He called on the US to “help Afghanistan combat terrorism and violence, instead of practising double standards or fighting terrorism selectively”. Also, apart from asking for support to “guide” the Taliban, Wang called on the US to “work with the international community to provide Afghanistan with urgently needed economic, livelihood and humanitarian assistance”, and “help the new Afghan political structure maintain normal operation of government institutions, maintain social security and stability, curb currency depreciation and inflation”.

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As evident from this, at one level, the US withdrawal amplifies Beijing’s challenges associated with terrorism. This is not only with regard to the threat, however limited, of infiltration into Xinjiang but also in the context of inspiration for and revitalisation of transnational terror outfits. These could impact China’s Belt and Road Initiative..

Then, there is a second school of thought which argues that the nature of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban have fundamentally eroded Washington’s credibility and legitimacy. This, the argument goes, will impinge on the thinking and decisions of partners in the Indo-Pacific too, which, in turn, benefits Beijing. Unsurprisingly, Chinese Party-state media has seized this opportunity to challenge the values-based foreign policy narrative of the Biden administration.

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A third strand of thought doing the rounds is about China swooping into Afghanistan after the departure of the US forces to capture the mineral bounty that the country has to offer. Former senior PLA colonel Zhou Bo’s recent article in The New York Times made this case. Unfortunately, the reality is that big Chinese investments in Afghanistan’s natural resources over the past two decades have not yet yielded any significant gains. It is unlikely that amid potentially greater instability in the near future, the Chinese leadership will suddenly begin viewing the country from an opportunity prism. This, of course, does not mean that Beijing will not use its substantial financial capacity as a carrot to try and shape the Taliban’s behaviour.

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However, even if Beijing does decide to throw caution to the wind and invest in major natural resource extraction projects in Afghanistan, this shouldn’t be entirely unwelcome. In fact, from an Indian interest perspective, all of the above provides opportunities for cooperation with China.

Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe Shri Radhe.