Month: August 2021

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who left the country on Sunday as the Taliban entered Kabul, said in a video message on Wednesday that he left the country in an attempt to avoid bloodshed and backed the recent talks between the terror group and former Afghan president Hamid Karzai to stabilise the country, a media report said.

“I didn’t want the bloodshed to commence in Kabul as it had in Syria and Yemen. So I decided to go, to leave Kabul,” CNN quoted Ghani as saying on Wednesday.
“If I had stayed the President of Afghanistan, people would have been hanged and this would have been a dreadful disaster in our history. I am not fearful of an honorable death, and dishonoring Afghanistan was not acceptable to me, but I had to. I was taken out of Afghanistan to avoid bloodshed and the destruction of Afghanistan,” he added, CNN reported.

After leaving Afghanistan, Ghani is now in the UAE, Abu Dhabi confirmed on Wednesday.

“The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds,” the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.

On Sunday, as the Taliban entered Kabul, Ashraf Ghani left the country. However, Russian Embassy in Kabul had said that Ghani left Kabul with four cars and a helicopter stuffed with cash.

“As for the collapse of the regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled from Afghanistan: four cars were full of money, they tried to put part of the money into a helicopter, but everything did not fit. And some of the money was left on the runway”, Sputnik quoted Russian diplomatic mission spokesperson Nikita Ishenko as saying on Monday. (ANI)

By Ashoke Raj

The Taliban have stopped all imports and exports with India after entering Kabul and taking over the country on Sunday.

Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General (DG) of Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) told ANI that currently, the Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo through the transit routes of Pakistan, thereby stopping imports from the country.

“We keep a close watch on developments in Afghanistan. Imports from there come through the transit route of Pakistan. As of now, the Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo to Pakistan, so virtually imports have stopped,” FIEO DG told ANI.

India has long-standing relations with Afghanistan, especially in trade. India has a large investment in Afghanistan.

“In fact, we are one of the largest partners of Afghanistan and our exports to Afghanistan are worth around USD 835 million for 2021. We imported goods worth around USD 510 Million. But besides the trade, we have a sizeable investment in Afghanistan. We have invested around USD 3 billion in Afghanistan and there are 400-odd projects in Afghanistan some of which are currently going on,” Sahai said.

“…Some of the goods are exported from international north-south transport corridor route which is fine now. Some of the goods go through Dubai route also which is working,” he added.

Sahai said India has healthy relations with Afghanistan in trade. Currently, Indian export profile includes sugar, pharmaceuticals, apparel, tea, coffee, spices and transmission towers. “Imports are related and largely dependent on dry fruits. We also import a little gum and onions from them,” FIEO DG said.

Despite the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan, FIEO DG is hopeful and optimistic about trade relations with Afghanistan.

“I am pretty sure over a period of time Afghanistan will also realise that economic development is the only way to move forward and they will continue with that kind of trade. I think the new regime will like to have political legitimacy and for that India’s role will become important for them also,” DG FIEO told ANI.

Federation of India Export Organisation expressed concern that in coming days dry fruit prices may go up due to the turmoil in Afghanistan. India is importing around 85 per cent of dry fruits from Afghanistan.

“I will say that may not directly impact the prices but the very fact that one of the sources of import no longer exists, speculation of increase in prices is not ruled out,” Sahai said. (ANI)

Several terrorists who belong to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group have been released from the prisons in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over control over the country.

One of the most recognised names is Maulana Faqir Mohammad who is the former Deputy Chief of the TTP, SAMAA News reported. Earlier, Faqir had admitted his close ties to Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri.

Meanwhile, many key Taliban commanders released by the Taliban include Waqas Mehsud, Hamza Mehsud, Zarqawi Mehsud, Zaitullah Mehsud, Qari Hameedullah Mehsud, Hameed Mehsud, and Mazhar Mehsud.

The Taliban have so far released at least 2,300 key TTP commanders and leaders from the prisons of Waziristan, Sargodha, Swat and Bajaur, SAMAA News reported citing a Journalist.

In another recent development, member of the Taliban’s political office, Anas Haqqani held a meeting with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul on Wednesday, Tolo News reported.

The Taliban had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 and in those five years, they imposed Sharia Islamic law in the country, introducing punishments in line with their strict interpretation of the law – publically executing convicted murderers and adulterers and carrying out amputations of those found guilty of theft. Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering hijab. (ANI)

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Wednesday refuted some media reports that it hailed the Taliban’s capture of Afghanistan.

“All India Muslim Personal Law Board has neither expressed any view nor given any statement on Taliban and the recent political situation of Afghanistan. Opinion of some Board members has been portrayed as Board’s stand by few media channels and wrong things are being attributed to the Board,” tweeted AIMPLB.

This came after AIMPLB member Sajjad Nomani praised the Taliban for capturing Afghanistan and calling the outfit ‘history-makers’.

In a video that went viral on social media, Nomani praises the “violence-free” advance of Taliban and salutes their perseverance. He was heavily trolled on social media platforms after the video was shared by many.

तालिबान को ‘हिंदी मुसलमान’ का सलाम और मुबारकबाद…!!!! कोई कितना भी डिफ़ेंड कर ले, ये लोग ख़ुद अपनी पोल खोल लेते हैं 🤭 pic.twitter.com/nUFKNcJOj2

— Manak Gupta (@manakgupta) August 18, 2021

Earlier, Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq had supported the regime change in Afghanistan and said that the Taliban is fighting for the freedom of their country and Afghan people want freedom under its leadership.

“When India was under British rule, our country fought for freedom. Now Taliban wants to free their country and run it. Taliban is a force that did not allow even strong countries like Russia and US to settle in their country,” Barq told ANI.

Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday and took control of the presidential palace. Taliban leaders have been discussing future government plans in Doha after gaining control of Kabul.

Panic has gripped the Afghan capital as people fear a return to the Taliban’s brutal rule and the threat of reprisal killings.

Soon after the terror group claimed control over the Afghan capital, several countries evacuated their diplomatic personnel from the country, and thousands of people flocked to the Kabul airport in a desperate attempt to leave Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Taliban had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 and in those five years, they imposed Sharia Islamic law in the country, introducing punishments in line with their strict interpretation of the law – publically executing convicted murderers and adulterers and carrying out amputations of those found guilty of theft. Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering hijab.

For the first time ever, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will have an examination Centre at Leh to conduct Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2021.

The announcement came after Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh R K Mathur called on Union Minister of State for Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh in Delhi.

The decision is believed to be helpful for the youth of the Ladakh region whose grievance was that they found it difficult to reach Examination Centres in other parts of the country because of the constraints of affordability of airfare and uncertain weather conditions.

According to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (DoPT), Dr Singh informed that monetary incentives called ‘Special Allowances’ for AIS officers belonging to NE Cadres of AIS is paid to the officers who are working in the North-Eastern Region, presently at the rate of 20% of the basic pay and the same has been extended to the AIS officers working in the UT of Ladakh also vide order dated April 12, 2021.

In another major decision, the union minister said that the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), affiliated with DoPT, is conducting computer-based examination for selection to Group ‘B’ and ‘C’ posts of the Union Territory of Ladakh. This arrangement, he said, will streamline free and fair selection on merit for Group-‘B’ and Group-‘C’ posts in the Government departments.

A new centre of examination will be opened at Leh for the conduct of UPSC examinations, while the Lamdone Online Assessment Institute Leh is facilitating the SSC examinations.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2021, scheduled to be held on October 10. (ANI)

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday congratulated the envoys of the Holy See, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Austria, and the Republic of Korea for their appointment in India and accepted credentials from them.

During the virtual ceremony, the President conveyed his good wishes to them for a successful tenure in India. He noted that India enjoyed close ties with all the four countries and shared a common vision of peace and prosperity, the office of President of India said in a statement.
“President Kovind said that India’s engagement at the United Nations and other multilateral fora has resulted in mutually beneficial partnership. India remains committed to a just and equitable global order, keeping in mind the interests of the developing countries and under-represented,” the statement added.

Envoys also conveyed good wishes to President Kovind on behalf of their leadership and reiterated the commitment of their leaders to work closely to strengthen their ties with India.

Those who presented their credentials in the virtual meeting are Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Ahmed Sule, Katharina Wieser, Chang Jae-bok, the statement added. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked former India skipper Kapil Dev and said the legend has been the source of inspiration for all sports lovers in the country. This after the World Cup-winning captain praised the PM for interacting with the Indian athletes who participated in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.

“Dear @narendramodiJi, Watched your interaction with Olympians and absolutely loved it. This will strike a chord with every sportsperson. aaj aapne puurii Sports Fraternity kaa dil jiit liyaa hai / jy hiNd! [You have won hearts of all sports fraternity, Jai Hind] Here’s something I penned,” Kapil Dev had written.
“Thank you @therealkapildev Ji for the kind words. You have been a constant source of inspiration for all sports lovers. All of us have to work together and ensure Indian sports reaches new heights in the times to come,” PM Modi wrote while replying to Kapil Dev’s tweet.

Kapil Dev Lauds Kartik For ‘Chandu Champion’

The Indian Tokyo Olympics contingent had on Monday gone to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the official residence of PM Modi to have breakfast with him. The PM interacted with the athletes and praised them for expressing themselves at the showpiece event.

PM Modi had earlier in his Independence Day speech — on Sunday — applauded the Indian Olympic athletes and said the country was proud of them for bringing glory to the nation and that their feat has inspired future generations.

India recorded its best-ever medal haul at the recently concluded Olympics by bagging a total of seven medals — one Gold, two silver, and four bronze. (ANI)

Under India’s August presidency, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is set to chair high-level meetings at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on August 18 and 19.

The first event slated for Wednesday will be an Open Debate on ‘Protecting the Protectors: Technology and Peacekeeping’ while the second event on August 19, will be a high-level briefing on ‘Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts’.
This meeting comes as the Taliban on Sunday took control of Kabul and installed themselves in the presidential palace in Kabul.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a press release said that both these topics are priorities for India during its UNSC innings.

Jaishankar reached New York on Monday to preside over two high-level meetings of the UNSC on UN peacekeeping and terrorism. “Today in the UNSC. EAM @DrSJaishankar will chair UNSC meetings: Adoption of Resolution on “Protecting the Protectors” on @UNPeacekeeping; Open Debate on Technology and Peacekeeping,” India at UN tweeted.

On Tuesday, Jaishankar met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and held discussions on Afghanistan. “Good to meet UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres. Our discussions focused on Afghanistan, following upon the Security Council meeting yesterday,” Jaishankar tweeted.

The world is closely watching the unfolding situation in Afghanistan as the countries have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan in an attempt to secure their people.

President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as the terrorists entered the city on Sunday. Panic gripped the Afghan capital as people fear about a return to the Taliban’s brutal rule and the threat of reprisal killings. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday in an interim order has allowed women to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) exam scheduled for September 5 and has also slammed the Indian Army for the decisions that are based on “gender discrimination”.

A Bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Hrishikesh Roy ordered that female candidates can sit for the NDA exam on September 5 but the admissions will be subject to the outcome of the petition.
The Bench posted the matter for hearing on September 8 and asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to advertise the court’s order widely.

The top court slammed the government and Army for not allowing women to take part in NDA exams. As Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the government and Indian Army told the Bench that it’s a policy decision not to allow women to take the NDA exam, the Bench said that this policy decision is based on “gender discrimination”.

“It’s a policy decision which is based on gender discrimination. We direct the Centre and Army to take a constructive view of the matter…,” the Bench said expressing displeasure on “regressive mindset”.

As the ASG said there are three modes of entry in the Army- NDA, Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) and that women are permitted entry through OTA and IMA. To which the Bench asked why women’s entry is allowed only through two sources.

“And even if it is a matter of policy, you are allowing women’s entry through two sources. Why should you say the one more additional source of entry is closed for women? It is not just a gender principle but discriminatory otherwise also,” it added.

Don’t compel judicial intervention all the time, said the apex court while slamming the Indian Army for not giving opportunities to women.

“How can you continue to plead the same thing… This has been my impression right from the High Court that till a judgment is passed, the Army doesn’t believe in doing anything voluntarily. It’s like Army will act only when judicial orders will be passed,” observed Justice Kaul.

The Bench added, “It’s a question of mindset which is not changing. That’s why despite so many opportunities in the Supreme Court and High Court, we couldn’t persuade the government. Every time the order has come from the court, it has expanded the scope.”

We are permitting the girls who have approached the court to sit for the NDA examination because we will be considering the larger issue, it said further while giving interim order.

When the ASG Bhati sought to submit that women have been conferred Permanent Commission in the Army, Justice Kaul remarked, “You (Army) kept on opposing it and till orders were not passed, you didn’t do anything. The Navy and the Airforce are more forthcoming. The Army seems to have a bias to not implement.”

The court’s order came on a plea seeking directions to allow eligible female candidates to join the NDA and the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at par with the men.

The plea filed by advocate Kush Kalra stated that denial of opportunity to women candidates to enrol at the NDA is violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19 of the Constitution.

Senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, appearing for Kalra, told the Bench that the government has filed its affidavit and they say it is purely a policy decision and should not be interfered with by the court and that because girls are not allowed to enter into NDA does not mean there is any difficulty in their progression or in their career.

Earlier, the Bench had also issued a notice in an impleadment application by a woman candidate Anita, who was denied an opportunity to enrol at the NDA.

Anita said she had to give up her aspirations to join the Armed Forces.

The plea said stated that the eligible and willing female candidates being denied the opportunity of entry to the National Defence Academy “on the basis of their sex and thereby systematically and categorically excluding eligible female candidates” the opportunity to train at the premier joint training institute of the Indian Armed Forces which, at a later point of time, becomes a hurdle in the career advancement opportunities for Female Officers in the Armed Forces.

The petition was filed in light of the directions issued by the top court on the extension of Permanent Commission to Short Service Commissioned women officers of the Indian Army.

The plea said, “After the passing of the judgment in the matter of Secretary, Ministry of Defence vs Babita Puniya by this Court, Permanent Commission has been extended to the Women Officers of the Army. However, there is still no mode of entry available to female candidates to join the Armed Forces as Permanent Commission Officers. In the present state of affairs, female candidates have to apply through the appropriate mode of entry into the Armed Forces as a Short Service Commissioned Officer and after serving for a certain period of time, have the option to opt for Permanent Commission.”

It added that granting Permanent Commission to the Short Service Commission Women Officers is only half a measure to restore equality of opportunity in the Army.

“The categorical exclusion of women to train at the National Defence Academy and get commissioned into the Armed Forces of the Country as Permanent Commissioned Officers solely on the basis of their sex is a denial of the Fundamental Right to Practice any Profession and it is not justifiable within the contours of the Indian Constitution,” it added.

The government allows unmarried male candidates having adequate 10+2 qualification to take the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination, however, eligible and willing female candidates are not allowed to take this examination on the sole ground of their sex and without any reasonable or justifiable explanations, the petitioner contended. (ANI)