By Afshain Afzal

As on today, US aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower is destined for unidentified vicinity, probably sailing to a location near the Arabian Gulf but it is changing. Overtly the move aims to shoulder protection for American and coalition troops during their planned withdrawal from Afghanistan in order to meet 1 May deadline and completion by September this year but it is far less than that was announced. Is it a retreat, a withdrawal or the repositioning of the troops for a strategic assault; analyst are tight lipped. US General Austin Miller has confirmed preparation of handful of remaining security apparatus to move out. Early April this year, US Navy's 7th Fleet guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones was sighted in claimed Indian waters in Bay of Bengal. Washington announced that it conducted a Freedom Of Navigation Operation (FONOP) in Indian waters without prior consent to challenge India's "excessive maritime claims". Indian government reacted strongly while Indian Navy authorities expressed ignorance about US Navy’s maneuver but reports speak of increase US and Indian Naval activities in Indian Ocean Region.

Indian Navy Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) at INS Vikramaditya, a conventionally powered aircraft carrier with displacement of 44,500 tonnes and has MiG-29K fighters on board was also sighted in the Arabian Gulf off the Gwadar maritime zone. We should not forget that India Armed Forces claim that they do not come under the political machinery of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which they claim is unreliable and can compromise Indian interests. Hence both US and Indian Navies are carrying out maneuvers with mutual coordination and consent. In June 2012, the United States moved its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise near Gwadar to pressurize Pakistan to ink a deal on NATO supplies passing through its sea and land routes to Afghanistan. These symbolic moves in guise of Afghan withdrawal from Afghanistan means something more than affairs focused at Kabul.

Official reports speaks that all preparation by Pentagon for an assault with aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower and other fleet ships in the Arabian Gulf, overtly to shoulder protection for American and coalition troops in their September withdrawal deadline. For fiscal year 2021, Congress ceased around $3 billion for the Afghan military to put pressure on Afghan government to remain ally of the US in order to continue with the funding. The money US claims to have spent on Afghan forces and security forces for their training and equipment is not seen on ground and was subject to huge corruption and misappropriation of funds. Today US cannot prove even the 20 percent of the approved funding for Afghanistan spent there as nothing is visible in term of equipment, establishment of institutions, enhanced military capacity and training or even review of military manuals.

The gap created between the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian political leadership has created a sense of mistrust and suspicion. Indian political leadership wants its sovereignty back while the Armed Forces of India with an ambition to deal China and Pakistan at the same time has secretly become US most trusted ally and come up at one to one contacts with US authorities and allies without the involvement of Ministry of External Affairs. Following this trend, today the Armed Forces of the region are in direct talks with the US military and civilian authorities in violation of chain of communication involving their foreign or external affair ministries. This trend is highly negative and may lead to worse scenario detrimental to peace and harmony in the region. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.