Senior Afghan scribe "finds" a trusted friend in India following Indo-Pak standoff

By Nava Thakuria*
As India is maintaining standoff with Pakistan for weeks now, an Afghan scribe came out with logic for stronger relationship between India’s secular democracy and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. His views come at a time when the situation worsened between New Delhi and Islamabad soon after the Pulwama terror attack on a convoy of CRPF on February 14 killing over 40 personnel.
Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, senior Afghan radio journalist, while talking to members of the Guwahati Press Club from Kabul through video-conferencing has argued that Hindustan (India) and Afghanistan remain friends for centuries. But often the political disturbances in Pakistan make trouble in Indo-Afghan relationship.
“However these difficulties are short lived and both the friendly nations soon come to the business as usual,” stated Khalvatgar, adding that Afghanistan is itself a victim nation of terrorism and all progressive forces on the globe should get united against the menace of terrorism that has emerged as a curse to the human race.
Appreciating the latest initiative to open a trade route between Afghanistan and India through strategic in Arab Sea (Indian Ocean) port in Chabahar of friendly Iran, the journalist pointed out that with this initiative (bypassing Pakistan), Kabul has re-established itself as a sustainable international business centre.
Need not to mention, he said, India’s billion dollar developmental initiatives in Afghanistan have already generated huge goodwill to the Hindu majority nation. Afghanistan is the second-largest recipient of aid (after Bhutan) from India and hundreds of community development projects by Indian agencies are in progress there.
He noted, Indian film actors from both Bollywood and Hindi tele-serials continue to be popular among Afghans. He added, large sections of rural women in Afghanistan glue to their television sets running the dubbed versions of Indian entertaining serials in local languages.
Speaking about pathetic conditions of education and health sectors in Afghanistan, Khalvatgar stated that many young Afghan now prefer to go to India for pursuing higher and professional educations. Moreover, many patients, primarily suffering from hypertension, blood sugar, liver ailment and also cancer opt to leave for Indian hospitals, he concluded, arguing that New Delhi should sympathize to those aspirants.
The journalist showed deep awareness of the suicide bombing, engineered by Maulana Masood Azhar led Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), as it had officially accepted the responsibility of Pulwama attack, sent a massive wave of pain and anger among millions of Indians across the country. Emotionally charged nationalists in India strongly advocated for retaliatory actions against JeM terrorists supported by Islamabad, he observed.
Public sentiments were materialized by the “hardliner” Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “nationalist” Bhartiya Janata Party-led government in New Delhi on the run-up to next general elections in April-May and declared that perpetrators of the attack in Kashmir valley would not be spared., Modi’s assertions followed with sudden aerial attacks by Indian air-forces in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (PKP) of the neighboring country, claiming to kill many JeM terrorists.
Since then both the governments in New Delhi and Islamabad made voluminous statements over the development highlighting their respective success in the battlefield. Presently, ill from renal problems and under treatment somewhere in Pakistan, JeM chief Masood Azhar is understood to be a fanatical enemy to India, as he masterminded an attack on its Parliament building in 2001.
Azhar remained active in PoK and often sent public threats to India as a whole and Modi in particular. With his “holy” mission to transform young men into suicide bombers who would later kill everyone not believing in Islam or even a Muslim who supports “non-Islamic” activities so that those aspirant youths can win paradise after sacrificing lives in the name of Allah (God), Azhar put Pakistan and its neighboring foreign localities in persistent turmoil.
---
*Northeast based journalist

Comments

From algorithms to exploitation: New report exposes plight of India's gig workers

By Jag Jivan The recent report, "State of Finance in India Report 2024-25," released by a coalition including the Centre for Financial Accountability, Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by gig workers on platform-based services.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Over 40% of gig workers earn below ₹15,000 a month: Economic Survey

By A Representative The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, while reviewing the Economic Survey in Parliament on Tuesday, highlighted the rapid growth of gig and platform workers in India. According to the Survey, the number of gig workers has increased from 7.7 million to around 12 million, marking a growth of about 55 percent. Their share in the overall workforce is projected to rise from 2 percent to 6.7 percent, with gig workers expected to contribute approximately ₹2.35 lakh crore to the GDP by 2030. The Survey also noted that over 40 percent of gig workers earn less than ₹15,000 per month.

Fragmented opposition and identity politics shaping Tamil Nadu’s 2026 election battle

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Tamil Nadu is set to go to the polls in April 2026, and the political battle lines are beginning to take shape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 23, 2026, marked the formal launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Addressing multiple public meetings, the Prime Minister accused the DMK government of corruption, criminality, and dynastic politics, and called for Tamil Nadu to be “freed from DMK’s chains.” PM Modi alleged that the DMK had turned Tamil Nadu into a drug-ridden state and betrayed public trust by governing through what he described as “Corruption, Mafia and Crime,” derisively terming it “CMC rule.” He claimed that despite making numerous promises, the DMK had failed to deliver meaningful development. He also targeted what he described as the party’s dynastic character, arguing that the government functioned primarily for the benefit of a single family a...

Search This Blog