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 plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Farewell to Saleem Samad: A life devoted to fearless journalism

By Nava Thakuria* Heartbreaking news arrived from Dhaka as the vibrant city lost one of its most active and committed citizens with the passing of journalist, author and progressive Bangladeshi national Saleem Samad. A gentleman who always had issues to discuss with anyone, anywhere and at any time, he passed away on 22 February 2026 while undergoing cancer treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was 74.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

From ancient wisdom to modern nationhood: The Indian story

By Syed Osman Sher South of the Himalayas lies a triangular stretch of land, spreading about 2,000 miles in each direction—a world of rare magic. It has fired the imagination of wanderers, settlers, raiders, traders, conquerors, and colonizers. They entered this country bringing with them new ethnicities, cultures, customs, religions, and languages.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

Search This Blog