DHAKA, 28 July 2021, (TON): Bangladesh's High Commissioner to India Mohammad Imran wants infrastructure development in border areas of Bangladesh and India to maintain regular communication and facilitate movement of passengers and goods.

The Bangladesh envoy shared his recent inspecting experience of integrated check-posts and emphasised on maintaining regular communication between the two countries to facilitate the movement of passengers and import-export of goods.

During the meeting, Aditya Mishra briefed the high commissioner about the activities of his organisation and the operation of the integrated check-posts set up in the port areas on the Indian side of the Bangladesh land border.

At these integrated check-posts, all the concerned departments including immigration, customs and border guards work under one roof.

By Usman Khan

After almost the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan which is the culmination of negotiated settlement of march 2020 in Doha Qatar, Taliban is in rise once again on all fronts inside war-torn Afghanistan. The Taliban pledged to prevent territory under their control from being used by terrorists. The agreement was signed following a seven-day reduction in violence. The United States has a vivacious interest in securing the political, economic, and security gains that have been achieved in Afghanistan since 2001. That’s why the Kabul airport is still under its control for pursing and achieving its goals in the area.

Keeping in view the current captures and gains in Afghanistan, the prospects for negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban remain uncertain because the Taliban see and feel the victory. If the Qandahar province falls to Taliban then the fall of Kabul is imminent to Taliban because the way straight goes to Kabul, although they are tactfully avoiding seizing the Kabul at the moment. In addition to a stronghold in southern province of Helmand, the Taliban controls the strategically important territories, border crossings in nearly every province and continues to threaten in multiple ways the provincial capitals of other provinces like, they previously held and capture capitals of Farah and Ghazni Province in the past.

Recently, the Taliban spokesman has said that they don’t want to monopolize power and insisted that there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and the incumbent President of Afghanistan is removed for a free and fair impartial government. He said that who wanted to dominate Afghanistan in the past, were not successful governments. “So we do not want to repeat that same formula.”

He called that Afghan government’s repeated demands for a ceasefire while the current Afghan president stayed in power are equivalent to demanding Taliban surrender. He said “Afghan government don’t want reconciliation, they want surrendering of us, which is not acceptable to Taliban at all. Prior to any truce, there must be an agreement on a new government acceptable to us and to other Afghans.

The Taliban’s supreme leader has already said that he “actively favors” a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan even the military gains and advances of Taliban and as the ground reality of Afghanistan is in grip of Taliban. He said that when the representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban sat down for a new round of talks in Doha before Eid al-Adha in Qatari capital but achieved nothing.

In wake of new emerging realties and developments on the Afghan front, as Taliban has soft-corner for Pakistan, anti-Pakistan elements engineered multi-pronged conspiracies against the solidarity of Pakistan like the alleged abdication of Afghan ambassador’s daughter to create a chaos and unrest. They gathered people who chanted anti-Pakistan slogans in front of Pakistani embassy and demanded its closure to make it a ground for the return of U.S led forces in Afghanistan by any way because the current weak Afghan government is incapable. At the same time the Afghan president in Tashkent conference accused and spewed venom against Pakistan for infiltrating thousands of militants to fight side by side with the Taliban. It has become habitual for the Afghan leaders including the northern-alliance that they spare not efforts to use their inflammatory and abusive languages against the leaders and solidarity of Pakistan who hosted millions of Afghan refugees more than three decades, when no country of south Asia was ready to accept them on their soils at such large-scale. It is also arguable that still a large of Afghans live inside Pakistan, they should also be recalled along with the diplomat’s staff, if the current Afghan government is sincere with its people.

As the Taliban said that no foreign troops will be allowed in Afghanistan, the role of Turkey becomes also diminished because the Taliban say they are not neutral and Turkey always gave asylum to enemies of Taliban and take side with northern-alliance with which Turkey has ethnic-relations. It is also hearsay that according to an under-hand deal with Turkey, U.S has given a notion to Turkey that in lieu of taking the control of Kabul Air-port United States of America will draw its support of Kurd rebellion.

With the rise of Taliban, it is India that received the most serious set-backs to its evil designs in Afghanistan by closing a numbers of its consulates on Afghan territory. The recent recovery of millions of Pakistan rupees from the Indian consulate by Taliban that situated in Spin-Boldak clearly shows Indian involvement in subversive activities to carry-out inside Pakistan from Afghanistan soil. Moreover, India is spreading the rumors as defamation campaign against Taliban that they preparing the list of girls to force them marriages with Taliban in Afghanistan.

Above all, the enemies of Pakistan and Afghanistan want to see the relations of both countries worse day by day because they have a Muslim-identity. Furthermore, these anti Muslims forces wish badly to watch the infighting of warring-Afghan factions to destroy and minimize the Muslims form the world. Therefore, it is a hot time for the Afghan groups for rapid patch-up not only in the larger interest of both the countries but also for a greater Muslim cause and solidarity.

TEL AVIV, 27 July 2021, (TON): On July 25, Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry (EPM) announced it was delaying implementation of a key element in the 2020 Abraham Accords: allowing the United Arab Emirates to use the oil pipeline that extends from the Red Sea port of Eilat across the Negev desert region to the Mediterranean coast.

According to the ministry “the Israeli firm operating the route, the Europe Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC), provided an inadequate risk assessment.”

Yet the ministry appears anxious to avoid a major row, stating in a letter to Europe Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) that the delay was an interim measure until the government has a discussion and reaches a decision.

Similarly, the prime minister’s office stated that it had asked the court adjudicating the issue “for an extension of time, in order to respond to the petition filed by the environmental organizations.”

The operations of the pipeline, originally built in the late 1960s to import oil from pre-revolutionary Iran, are cloaked in secrecy, but the route’s proximity to environmentally and strategically sensitive locations is well known.

The Eilat terminal lies between tourist beaches and coral reef reserves. The desert portion of the route includes a nature reserve that was damaged during a 2014 pipeline break. And the Mediterranean terminal at Ashkelon is just a mile or so from the border with Gaza, making it especially vulnerable to militant rocket fire. A blazing storage tank at the facility was one of the most published photos during the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The UAE’s logic for using the pipeline seems as much diplomatic as commercial. Like other Gulf oil exports, most Emirati production is sold to Asia. Israel’s oil purchases do not originate from the UAE, but from Russia and other producers (including Azerbaijan, which sends it via pipeline to Turkish ports for shipping across the Mediterranean).

KABUL, 27 July 2021, (TON): An official representative of the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid said that the radical movement considers the report of the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) biased and refutes it.

Earlier, the UN mission reported that the number of killed and injured among the civilian population in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 reached a record level, especially a sharp increase in violence occurred in May against the backdrop of the withdrawal of foreign forces.

It was noted that anti-government forces, including the Taliban, continue to be responsible for the majority of civilian casualties (64%), while pro-government forces are responsible for about 25%.

The Taliban spokesman said in a statement that the Islamic Emirate (the self-designation of the Taliban’s governing system – ed.) Denies this report, stating that in the past six months the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate have not deliberately killed civilians or carried out attacks anywhere. that could lead to civilian casualties.”

He noted that civilians could have died due to the detonation of mines in war zones, but this was not a deliberate act.

DAMASCUS, 27 July 2021, (TON): According to a joint statement of the Russian and Syrian coordination headquarters “the ongoing sanctions against Damascus, the illegitimate presence of foreign military contingents on Syrian soil, in addition to the politicization of humanitarian issues are the key obstacles on the path of Syria’s revival.”

The document points out that as a result of Western nations’ actions hampering the return of refugees to Syria, their destructive position and efforts to convince the world community that no conditions for the return of refugees have been created in Syria, many Syrians are delaying their return to the homeland.

“The joint meeting of the coordination headquarters discussed key problems hampering the Syrian people to return to normal life. First, it is the Western nations’ policy of sanctions pressure on Damascus.”

The documents says “the anti-Syrian restrictions that are extended every year slow down the post-war revival of the country where people cannot satisfy their basic demands.”

Another problem, according to the statement, is the illegitimate presence of foreign military contingents on Syrian soil, which impedes the stabilization of the situation in the occupied areas.

“Third, this is out-and-out politicization of a purely humanitarian issue, which implies discrimination aimed at Damascus-controlled areas as far as humanitarian assistance goes, the refusal to help restore social infrastructure and facilitate the return of refugees, letting terrorists off the hook, plans to preserve and expand the cross-border mechanism, which violates the norms of international humanitarian law and the ruling principles of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/182.”

NEW DELHI, 27 July 2021, (TON): A senior politician said that at least seven people, including six police officers, were killed and more than 70 hurt on Monday in clashes between two Indian states, as a weeks-long territorial dispute in the country's northeast turned deadly.

Tensions on the border between Assam and Mizoram have been elevated since last month, when Assam's police allegedly took control of the hilly area of Lailapur, accusing Mizoram of encroaching on the territory.

The violence highlights the long-standing inter-state boundary issues in the region, particularly between Assam and neighbouring states.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told media "we have lost six of our policemen and a civilian along the Assam-Mizoram border when miscreants from Mizoram opened gunfire."

In response, Mizoram's home minister, Lalchamliana, said “in a statement Monday's violence began when Assam police encroached on its territory."

The two state heads, Assam's Sarma and Mizoram's Zoramthanga have each blamed the other side for the violence, appealing on Twitter for India's interior minister Amit Shah to intervene.

Both shared videos of clashes on a thin strip of road running through hills where armed police and civilians can be seen fighting with wooden batons.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power in Assam, while the Mizo National Front (MNF), a constituent of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), is ruling in Mizoram.

GENEVA, 27 July 2021, (TON): The World Trade Organization (WTO published the text of the EU ‘s request for consultations with Russia regarding certain restrictions on the supply of goods and services of European companies to state-owned companies of the Russian Federation.

The WTO said in a statement “the European Union has requested, within the WTO, consultations on a dispute with the Russian Federation regarding Russian measures, which, according to the EU, are part of the import substitution program. The request was sent to WTO members on July 26.”

According to the WTO “the European Union believes that measures related to the activities of certain government agencies, as well as laws and regulations governing these activities, are incompatible with various provisions of the WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the General Agreement on Trade services and the protocol on Russia’s accession to the WTO.”

Requesting advice is the first step in the WTO dispute resolution process. They are usually given 60 days. If the consultations fail, the complainant may ask the organization to form a panel of arbitrators who will consider the dispute.

WASHINGTON, 27 July 2021, (TON): General John Hayten, deputy chief of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said “the United States must surpass China for the Western path of democracy to be the path that the United States will follow in the future.”

Hayten said “I hope that they (China – ed.) Are just competitors for the rest of my life, for the rest of the lives of my children and grandchildren. We are just competing on the world stage, it would be good. But right now they are building an army with enormous capabilities. New nuclear opportunities, space, missile, hypersonic, in cyberspace. They are doing this to challenge the United States, and we need to figure out how to res-pond to that.”

He said “according to him, for the past 20 years, the “views and bodies” of Americans have been focused on the Middle East , then the focus of attention began to shift towards Russia and China, but physically – “bodies” – the United States remained in the Middle East, Hayten said. “We have to move again, move fast.”

THIMPHU, 27 July 2021, (TON): It is almost six months since the task force submitted the draft 21st Century Economic Roadmap to the Gross National Happiness Commission Secretariat (GNHC) for onward submission to the government.

The GNHC was to review and detail out the implementation plan to operationalise the roadmap. However, information on how the final document is shaping up is in short supply from the Commission.

The roadmap was drawn from the His Majesty The King’s speech during the 112th National Day, in 2019. The task force comprising of members from various professional backgrounds was formed to develop the economic roadmap.

His Majesty The King said that the government, lawmakers, private sector and experts in various fields must work collectively to chart out a clear Economic Roadmap for the 21st Century to help every individual and entity understand their respective roles and work towards a common national objective.

Many are questioning whether the government has shelved the task force’s recommendations or rejected the draft economic roadmap.

Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering told media that any planning for economic activities must evolve through GNHC and so the review was vital.

He said that the gap does not mean that the recommendations are shelved or rejected by the government. Review only means to review the document before submitting it to the Cabinet.

He said that the economic roadmap is a comprehensive report and so the GNHC should be careful during the review, especially to look into how to achieve those targets and investment it would require and availability of resources.

NAYPYITAW, 27 July 2021, (TON): Norway’s Telenor will transfer the call data records of its 18 million Myanmar subscribers to a military-linked Lebanese company when it exits the country, raising alarm among activists who fear the junta will get its hands on the data and use it to make arrests.

The company announced on July 8 that it will sell its Myanmar operations to M1 Group, which has been criticised for running mobile networks under dictatorships in Syria, Sudan, and other authoritarian regimes where state surveillance is routine.

A UN Fact-Finding Mission identified M1 Group as a shareholder of Irrawaddy Green Towers, a company that leases phone towers to Mytel, which is part-owned by the military.

A Telenor spokesperson confirmed that the sale would include call data records.

The spokesperson told media “Telenor Group is selling the entire operations of Telenor Myanmar to M1 Group, which means that M1 will continue running the business and offer services to the customers.”

Experts and activists say the data could be highly dangerous in the hands of the junta.

“Who you have called and where you have been is very revealing information,” Lucy Purdon, Policy Director at the campaign group Privacy International, told media.

She said “she noted that phone subscribers in Myanmar were obliged to provide ID cards and addresses when they registered SIM cards. “This makes people extremely vulnerable if shared with authorities.”