British Prime Minister visit to India

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit this week to India is seen as long overdue, having been cancelled twice before – first when he was invited as a chief guest for Republic Day celebrations due to a COVID-19 spike in the UK in early 2021 and then cancelled again as a result of the pandemic situation in India at that time last year.

Boris is expected to announce major investments in key industries in India and push for democracies to stick together in the face of threats from “autocratic states" during his two-day visit to India, starting April 21, 2022.

"The visit will begin from Ahmadabad on April 21, 2022 to meet with leading businesses and discuss the UK-India thriving commercial, trade and people links. This will be the first time a UK Prime Minister will visit Gujarat, India's fifth-largest state and the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK," Downing Street said in a statement.

1) In Gujarat, Johnson is expected to announce new science, health and technology projects, as well as major investments in key industries in the United Kingdom and India.

2) The focal point of Johnson’s India visit is expected to be the bilateral discussions and interactions with Indian business leaders.

3) A joint statement, being worked on by both sides, is likely to cover agreements across a variety of sectors, including defence, security and education.

4) The Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to feature strongly during the meeting

5) Boris had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month and agreed to build a strong relationship between the two countries on trade, security and business in the coming days.

 

Boris will seek to put his domestic problems behind him when he visits India, on a trip to strengthen links between the two countries which have not seen eye to eye over the response to the Ukraine crisis.

 Boris will head to India on Thursday with calls for his resignation ringing in his ears after he was fined for breaking his own COVID-19 lockdown rules by attending a birthday party for him in Downing Street in June 2020.

Parliament returns from its Easter vacation on Tuesday and Johnson has said he would "set the record straight" about gatherings in his office. He had previously told lawmakers there were no parties and guidance was always followed.

In details released on Saturday, Johnson's office said the British leader would use his trip to India to deepen relations, including in-depth talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the two nations' "strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership".

He will also push for progress in talks on a free trade deal, which Britain is hoping to strike as part of its post-Brexit strategy. His office said such a trade deal was predicted to boost Britain's total trade by up to US$36.5 billion annually by 2035.

But the visit will be overshadowed in part by disagreement over the Ukraine conflict. Western allies have called for India, which imports arms from Russia, to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin in stronger terms, and US President Joe Biden earlier this week told Modi that buying more oil from Russia was not in India's interest.

British Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan also said last month Britain was very disappointed with India's stance. However, Johnson's office made no direct reference to the conflict, although a source said it was expected Ukraine would be discussed "among other geopolitical issues".

Johnson said India, as a major economic power, was a highly valued strategic partner.

"As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together," he said in a statement.

Last May, the two countries announced a partnership involving more than 530 million pounds of Indian investment into Britain, and Downing Street said Johnson was expected to announce further major investment and new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology.

 

Killing of Muammar Gaddafi: Pepping into the history

A debate is going on in Pakistan; did United States play any role in the toppling of Imran Khan Government? All the arguments being put forward conclude, US didn’t play any role. However, analysts aware of the tactics of the United States are hesitant in accepting these clarifications.

This evening I revisited my blog “Chris Stevens a diplomat or spy” written as back as on September 12, 2012. My point was, killing of the US Ambassador in Libya and his portrayal as friend of ‘freedom’ fighters raises a question, was he a diplomat or an ace CIA operator? In the recent past many countries have been alleging that spies have become an integral part of the US diplomatic core.

I also managed to pick the following lines from Wikipedia on the killing of Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya.

He was captured and killed on October 20, 2011 after the Battle of Sirte. Gaddafi was found west of Sirte after his convoys were attacked by NATO aircraft. He was then captured by National Transitional Council (NTC) forces and was killed shortly afterwards.

The NTC initially claimed Gaddafi died from injuries sustained in a shootout when loyalist forces attempted to free him, although a graphic video of his last moments shows rebel fighters beating him and one of them sodomizing him with a bayonet before he was shot several times.

The killing of Gaddafi was criticized as a violation of international law. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for an independent autopsy and an investigation into how Gaddafi died.

Moments after it was reported that Gaddafi was killed, Fox News published an article titled "US Drone Involved in Final Qaddafi Strike, as Obama Heralds Regime's 'End'", noting that a US Predator drone was involved in the airstrike on Gaddafi's convoy in the moments before his death. An anonymous US official subsequently described their policy in hindsight as "leading from behind".

Because Libyan rebels had consistently told American government officials that they did not want overt foreign military assistance in toppling Gaddafi, covert military assistance was used (including arms shipments to opposition). The plan following Gaddafi's death was to immediately begin flowing humanitarian assistance to eastern Libya and later western Libya, as the symbolism would be critically important. US sources stressed it as important that they would "not allow Turkey, Italy and others to steal a march on it".

Many Western leaders and foreign ministers in Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States made statements hailing Gaddafi's death as a positive development for Libya. The city-state of Vatican City responded to the event by declaring it recognized the National Transitional Council as Libya's legitimate government. World leaders such as Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and Australian prime minister Julia Gillard suggested that the death of Gaddafi meant the Libyan Civil War was over. Some officials, such as UK foreign secretary William Hague, expressed disappointment that Gaddafi was not brought back alive and allowed to stand trial. In a candid moment while filming a TV interview, Hillary Clinton, at the time the United States' secretary of state, laughingly stated "We came. We saw. He died." — a variant of a Roman phrase alluding to the swift military victory.

Reactions from the governments of countries including Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua were negative. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez described the former Libyan leader's death as an "assassination" and an "outrage", and Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega later called Gaddafi's killing a "crime" during his inauguration on 10 January 2012. Government officials and politicians in Iran showed considerably diverse reactions

The video reportedly left a particularly strong and consequential impression on Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. A senior diplomat who had served at the US embassy in Moscow under the Obama administration reportedly claimed that "Putin had been appalled by Gaddafi's fate" to the extent that "Putin had watched a video of Gaddafi’s savage death three times, a video that shows him being sodomised with a bayonet."

Referring to the US coalition's lobbying efforts for the airstrikes at the United Nations, the US diplomat was quoted as saying that a later US intelligence assessment concluded that "Putin blamed himself for letting Gaddafi go, for not playing a strong role behind the scenes" and that the video may have even influenced Putin's decision to support Syrian president Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War since "Putin believed that unless he got engaged Bashar would suffer the same fate – mutilated – and he'd see the destruction of his allies in Syria."

Putin also lashed out at the US for what he perceived as the illegal killing of Gaddafi and asked "They showed to the whole world how he (Gaddafi) was killed; there was blood all over. Is that what they call a democracy?"

Tribute to Sahibzada Yaqub Khan

Sahibzada Yaqub Khan left this world at 95 with a smile on his face. Very few people knew about the pain hidden behind his smile. He was a soldier tuned diplomat and never liked wars. He used to remember Sullivan brothers who were all killed in 2nd World War.

These five brothers were serving US Navy together as Sailors on a ship called USS Juneau. Japanese attacked their ship in 1942 and all five were killed.

Sahibzada Yaqub Khan said brothers were unlucky because they got killed together. After a brief pause he would say but they were lucky because they were serving in a same Army to fight a common enemy!

He never shared his personal war experiences which always haunted him till his death. Sahibzada Yaqub Khan and his brother Sahibzada Yunus Khan served together in British Army as young officers during 2nd World War. Both earned Indian General Service Medal (IGMS).

Yaqub was captured by Italian and German Army near Egypt-Libya border in 1942. He learned Italian and German languages during his captivity. He was released after the war was over.

The year 1947 separated the two brothers who belonged to the royal family of Rampur. Major Sahibzada Yaqub Khan opted for Pakistan Army and his elder brother Major Sahibzada Yunus Khan decided to serve Indian Army.

Within one year both Khans were leading their battalions from opposite sides in 1948 in the mountains of Kashmir. The two brothers met face-to-face with guns in their hands spitting out bullets in rapid fire. A bullet fired from the gun of Major Yunus Khan injured Major Yaqub Khan.

When elder brother realized that he injured his younger brother he shouted “don’t grieve Chhotey. We are soldiers and we did our duty”. Later on Colonel Maneckshaw and Colonel Jasbir Singh of Indian Army commended Major Yunus Khan but also said sorry for his brother Yaqub.

The two brothers never contacted each other again because they were serving in opposite Armies until 1960 when Yaqub married an Indian girl Tuba Khaleeli from Kolkata.

Yunus sent greetings to his younger brother in Pakistan on his marriage. Yaqub commanded an armored division of Pak Army during India-Pakistan war of 1965 but at that time his brother Colonel Yunus was retired from Indian Army.

Same Sahibzada Yaqub Khan became a three star General in Pakistan Army in 1971. He was appointed Commander of Eastern Command in Dhaka. In the first week of March 1971 he was ordered to launch a military operation against Awami League lead by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.

Lt.Gen Sahibzada Yaqub Khan advised military dictator General Yahya Khan to avoid using gun power against democratically elected leaders. He informed military dictator in writing that transfer of power to Sheikh Mujib was the only solution of the crises.

When Yahya refused to listen to his Commander on ground Sahibzada Yaqub Khan resigned. Initially he became target of dictator’s anger but later on he was proved right. Pakistan was divided but he got respect due to his refusal and resignation. At least he was not part of any crime.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto knew that Sahibzada Yaqub Khan had command on more than 10 languages including French, German, Italian, Russian, Persian and Arabic. He appointed him Ambassador in France in 1972. When General Ziaul Haq toppled the government of Bhutto in 1977 Sahibzada was serving as Ambassador in Moscow.

He once again decided to act courageously. He advised military dictator General Zia not to hang a politician but Zia never listened to him and hanged Bhutto.

General Zia appointed Sahibzada Yaqub Khan as his Foreign Minister in 1982. Same year Sahibzada Yaqub Khan travelled to Delhi in his official capacity and met his brother after 36 years. They embraced each other with tears in their eyes and never discussed what happened in 1948.

Courtesy: The Bangladesh Chronicle

 

Pakistan must get ready to face IMF

Most of the politicians in Pakistan, being part of the ruling junta or sitting in the opposition, talk ‘bad’ about International Monetary Fund (IMF), mainly to attain political mileage. 

While every political party in opposition blames IMF of economic malice of Pakistan, but no sooner did it comes in power approaches the lender of last resort and often agrees on its (IMF) condition in the name of saving the country from eminent default.

Pakistan and IMF have a long history of love and hate relationship. Since independence Pakistan has entered into 22 bailout programs and also enjoys the distinction of the country that has entered into the largest number of programs, among the community of nations. This establishes a point, “IMF will never allow Pakistan to commit default. This has become all the more necessary after Pakistan has attained the status of ‘an atomic power’.

I am inclined to accept one of the conspiracy theories of my mentor, Masoom Shah Sindhi. He says, “IMF will never allow Pakistan to commit default, but it will also never allow Pakistan to stand on its feet firmly.” He also says, “Historically Pakistan has remained ‘Frontline Alley’ of United States during ‘Cold War Era’ as well as ‘Proxy Wars in Afghanistan’. On top of all the super power will not allow Pakistan to become a darling of Russia or China. The best tool to keep Pakistan under the ‘US Hegemony’ is to make Pakistan follow the ‘IMF Dictate’.”

I have to accept his point of view and I am also sure that you will also join me once you read my narrative. “Pakistan has lived under 22 IMF programs and the lender of last resort still talks about introducing more structural adjustment programs. This proves two points: 1) the programs introduced in the past were faulty or 2) these programs were never aimed at making Pakistan a self-sustained entity.”

Many Pakistanis may be ready to accept the ‘vested’ interest of IMF, but do have a right to raise finger at the integrity of policy planners. Ironically, the policy planners have been following IMF dictate blindly and failing in coming up with ‘home grown’ plan. The beauty is that the politicians continue ‘mudslinging’ despite having remained part of different governments under different political parties.

Enough is enough, the time has come that people of Pakistan open their eyes and ears open and watch every move of the incumbent government, headed by Shehbaz Sharif.

Time has also come that the people of Pakistan ‘dump’ the political parties and politicians who have proven to be ‘vultures’ only. They have done little for the country, except serving ‘their vested interests’.  

 

Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif must bid farewell to his idiosyncrasy

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has to make certain decisions at his own, because the cabinet has not been put in place. 

Considering his leeway he is likely to make some populist decisions which could further widen the already wide breach between the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and the lender of last resort, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Since revision of petroleum prices was due on April 15, 2022, Oil and Gas regulatory Authority (OGRA) had recommended a substantial increase in the prices of petroleum products for recovering the full import cost and exchange rate losses from consumers.

According to the estimates of the regulator, the GoP was required to raise petrol prices by Rs21.30 a litre and diesel by above Rs83 a litre in order to recover the full costs. In case it also wants to recover the sales tax and the petroleum development levy on these products, Ogra has proposed a hike of Rs53.30 in petrol and up to Rs120 in diesel prices.

Who would intentionally opt to step on this landmine that PML-N leader Miftah Ismail referred to in his press conference earlier this week? Certainly not a new coalition that, though faced with an enormous economic crisis, has to contend with a formidable political foe. The big question now is: for how long can Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delay defusing the landmine, which his predecessor left for him, by freezing petroleum and electricity rates for four months?

He can’t afford to wait for too long, and would need to start deactivating it, even if gradually — unless he wants to allow a bloating budget deficit to spiral out of control by the end of the current financial year.

Thus, the decision to not hike petroleum prices at all is an ill-advised one.

Pakistan is facing a dire economic crisis and populist policies made under political pressure are certainly not going to help anyone in the long run — least of all the people benefiting from them.

At the end of the day, the beneficiaries always end up paying back such subsidies in a harder way through more indirect levies or higher taxes and heavy cuts in public sector spending on essential services, such as education, water supply and healthcare.

The gravity of the looming economic crisis demands that the new government take prudent, forward-looking policy decisions to put the country back on the trajectory of sustainable growth, even it wants to tread cautiously. However, the Shehbaz Sharif government does not have the option of letting things remain as they are or keep delaying tough decisions. If Sharif continues with populist policies for fear of a backlash from the opposition PTI, he would leave the economy in far more dire straits than he inherited.

Can Europe afford ban on Russian Coal?

The world was already struggling to combat a global energy supply squeeze well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

As world powers seek to condemn the Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine by crippling the Russian economy, it’s becoming increasingly clear that energy sanctions will be a necessary part of any meaningful global response.

Those doing the sanctioning are also going to feel an economic backlash as the exit of Russian oil, coal, and gas from the global energy supply will leave many European and Asian countries scrambling for new sources of fuel. 

In fact, the threat posed to Europe’s energy security by sanctions on Russia have left European leaders  gridlocked and struggling to agree on how, what, and how much to boycott.

Unable to come to an accord around Russian oil and gas, which provide nearly half of Europe's energy imports, the European Union has agreed to start with a Russian coal ban, slated to begin in August 2022.

While this may seem like a weak and belated effort when compared with the magnitude and urgency of the atrocities unfolding in Ukraine, this relatively small step will leave the continent scrambling to find 40 million tons of replacement coal. 

Thanks to the lingering effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a global energy supply squeeze has led many of the world’s countries back to coal as oil and gas prices skyrocket.

This means weaning the world off of Russian coal imports will be an even bigger challenge for European and Asian countries that have ratcheted up their coal consumption in recent months.

In 2021 alone, European imports of Russian coal increased by 22.4%. Coal prices are already near a record high, and the instatement of the European boycott in August will drive them even higher.

The coal ban will have a much greater impact on Russia than it will on the European Union. “It’s bad news for Putin, but won’t devastate the EU,” Fortune recently reported.

For one thing, European buyers have already begun their shift away from Russian coal, and the August deadline, which Germany pushed for, will ease the burden of finding new sources of coal in a hurry. 

The European Union is far from the only economic bloc that will be scrambling to find new sources of coal. Many Asian nations, too, will be looking for non-Russian imports.

Notably, Japan recently announced that it, too, will ban Russian coal imports in a surprise policy shift that was a reversal of the nation’s previous refusal to extend its embargo to the Russian energy imports that Japan heavily relies upon.

“Russia’s cruel and inhumane actions are coming to light one after another all over Ukraine,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Friday. “We will ban imports of Russian coal.”

Some of the world’s biggest coal consumers will be competing in an already tight market for new coal supplies. Top global coal exporters Australia and Indonesia have already hit their production limits, and South Africa, another major coal producer, is facing logistical problems in their own coal supply chains.

According to Fortune, the European Union will likely be looking to the United States and Colombia for coal imports come August, and Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic will be ramping up their domestic production levels.

China, too, will be massively increasing its production levels. While Beijing will not be exporting domestically produced coal, the production increase will lessen demand for international imports, thereby freeing up some supply on the global marketplace for other nations scrambling to keep the lights on without cutting a check to the Kremlin.

 

Afghans condemn attack on Iranian missions

A large number of Afghan citizens participated in a gathering in Kabul to show their vigilance against the hypocrisy of the enemies of the Iranian and Afghan nations. The rally in the Afghan capital held to condemn the attack on Iranian diplomatic facilities ended with the reading of a joint statement.

The final statement, titled “No to seditionists”.

This gathering means raising the voice of saying no to the enemies and the hypocrites as well as the beautiful whisper of solidarity between the brotherly nation of Iran and Afghanistan. We call on the two governments of Iran and Afghanistan to prevent a division of the two nations by the enemies through sound management and to prevent the destructive moves of the enemies.

Today, we will shout for the unity of the two heroic and brave nations many times, so that there will be a loud call against the enemy's conspiracies and a voice for empathy, friendship and convergence of the two nations.

If a number of ill-intentioned people threw stones at the door of the Iranian consulate in Herat on Monday, today, on behalf of the Afghan people, we will open the door of the Iranian embassy in Kabul as a sign of brotherhood and friendship.

The people of Afghanistan and Iran must say no to the conspiracies of the enemy with full vigilance and with empathy and brotherhood, punching the slaves of the hypocrites.”

At the end of the gathering, the participants, representing the people of Afghanistan, placed flowers on the doors of the Iranian embassy in Kabul.

On Monday, protesters in Herat broke the windows and CCTV cameras of the Iranian consulate. They also set tires on fire in front of the consulate’s building. 

On Tuesday, the Director General of South Asia at the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of the Afghan embassy in Tehran to strongly protest against the attacks on the Iranian embassy in Kabul and the consulate in Herat.

Recalling the responsibility of governments in ensuring the security of diplomatic missions, the diplomat called for legal action against the attackers on the Iranian missions in Afghanistan.

The Director General also informed the Afghan chargé d'affaires that the consular sections of the missions of Iran in Afghanistan have ceased their activities until further notice in order to get the necessary assurances from the Afghan Foreign Ministry about the full security of the diplomatic offices.

In this regard, Na’eem al-Haq Haqqani, Head of the Taliban Government's Information and Culture Department, called the gathering and attacks of an unidentified group in front of the Iranian consulate in Herat “an arbitrary act”.

He wrote on his Twitter account, “A number of people had protested arbitrarily in front of the Iranian consulate, and the demonstrators immediately were dispersed with the intervention of the security forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban). After the Taliban took action, the situation was brought completely under control, and since this move (attack) was controlled very quickly, nothing special happened.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced on Tuesday that Iran’s embassy in Kabul and its consulates in other cities in Afghanistan are open and are continuing their activities.

“Yet, it is expected Afghanistan’s interim governing body to responsibly provide the full security of diplomats and diplomatic buildings of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Afghanistan,” Khatibzadeh told reporters.

Iran on Tuesday summoned Afghan envoy in Tehran over attacks the previous day on Iranian diplomatic missions in the neighboring country, state media in Iran reported.

According to the reports, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Afghan chargé d’affaires in protest over Monday’s attacks on the Iranian Embassy in Kabul and the Iranian Consulate in Herat, where protests had turned aggressive. In Herat, angry Afghan protesters pelted the consulate with rocks.

The ministry demanded that Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers provide the missions with full security and said they stopped working until further notice. On Monday, ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said more needed to be done by the Taliban to ensure security to Iranian missions.

In recent weeks, unverified videos purporting to show Afghan refugees being tortured in Iran have been published on social media, angering many Afghans. Iran has denied the accusations.

Iran hosts millions of Afghan refugees. Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the number of Afghans in Iran has jumped to 5 million, from nearly 4 million before the Taliban took power last August