Gunners Shot

Aadi and I had a good discussion on the future of the US-Pakistan relationship. We realised that the relationship is historical and multifaceted. It has gone through many ups and downs. One has to be pragmatic in viewing their inter-se relationship. They still need each other. We need  to understand the entire issue in the larger context and not view it in terms of Taliban or Afghanistan alone. Both have their interests and both have their compulsions. Understanding the nuances will enable India to deal with better with both. 

Preface Most of  the cartoons are by Pakistanis. Hence there is fundamental truth in what I have written.  Take any set of keywords and google them. You will get to a Pakistani or an International source to confirm the authenticity of what I have written here. However for most Pakistani watchers this must be old news and quite boring.  It is my sincere request that this article be sent through any of your friends and contacts to one of the three idiots I have described. I do not know how to send it to these characters.       Pakistan’s  NSA,  Human Rights Minister, and Foreign Minister  gave a press brief on atrocities of Indian Forces in Kashmir very recently. They alleged acts of genocide, mass graves, torture cells, use of chemical weapons, rape et al .  Their depiction of Indian Armed Forces made the Nazi concentration camps, Soviet Gulags, Chinese Re-education Centers and Guantanamo Bay sound like holiday resorts! If Indian Armed Forces did what these ‘Three Idiots’ have claimed,

EARLIER ARTICLES ON QUAD  CLICK ON ARTICLE TITLE TO READ QUAD 2.0 OR TIANXIA INDIA'S QUADRATIC EQUATIONS  THE CHINESE CAMEL IN THE QUADRATIC TENT QUAD : EVOLVING FAST  EVOLUTION OF QUAD 3.0 SIX STRATEGIES FOR QUAD 3.0 THE PATHWAYS OF QUAD The View from China ! R egional cooperation cliques formed to target a third country will not be popular and have no future .... Chinese Spokesperson   The forthcoming QUAD Summit on 24 Sep  is the first in person meet between leaders of  USA, Australia, Japan and India. It signifies their commitment and priority to take issues of common interest and concern forward to meet current and future challenges The international environment has changed significantly since the last virtual summit in March 21. China loomed large then. The Pandemic seemed as being brought under control. Recovery was on the horizon. Six months later. The virus has mutated. Its Delta variant has set the world on a skid row. Afghanistan has happened. China is morphing. An Sino-

  India’s geostrategic environment has changed significantly in the past one month. A Talibani Afghanistan, a hybrid Pakistan and an authoritarian China – all in flux, present a new geostrategic challenge beyond the ordinary conception that terrorists will flood the Valley. There is a new Afghanistan- Pakistan- China axis on the block.  This axis has tremendous interdependencies to achieve their interests. Taliban in Afghanistan gets sustainability, Pakistan gets permanent strategic depth vis a vis India and China gets an opportunity at   superpower status. The issue with this new axis is that it is extremely inimical to Indian core interests.  In this context, India will hereafter face a three front situation. The third front being terror, rooted in Afghanistan. One needs to understand this concept better and see how to handle it in the evolving paradigm.    Afghanistan will be under the Taliban rule for the foreseeable future. Taliban will continue to be propped up by China and Pakis

Last year around this time, everyone in India was wondering if the Chinese would recommence their offensives this summer. The summer has come and gone. There has been no indication of any Chinese offensive intent. However, with the news filtering  out that the Chinese have changed their Commander of WTC for the fourth time and that they are carrying out a large number of exercises, there is speculation in the air. The question is that whether the Chinese will take advantage of the situation in Afghanistan to once again attempt an incursion along the LAC to settle issues in their favour. In this context Aadi and I had a great discussion to examine whether China will undertake an offensive in the midst of the evolving situation in Afghanistan.  The complexities  involved are huge and the risks of success and failure are equally great. The question is will China take the risk to do so ?      

Aadi. and I had a freewheeling discussion on Afghanistan. It started off as a discussion on Pakistan in Afghanistan. however it turned out to be more. We covered a whole range of topics and issues pertaining to the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. We had this discussion as the Taliban were announcing their caretaker government. I would recommend you to see this video along with my followup  article   T he Afghanistan Fallout on Afghanistan @  the-afghan-fallout-on-afghanistan-by-lt.html  

A Pre 9/11 Special  Also Read  The Afghanistan Trilogy  The Afghanistan Fallout in Pakistan   The Afghanistan Fallout on China The Afghanistrtan Fallout on India  and  The Naya World Of Naya Taliban Created by Naya Pakistan  Y esterday’s revolutionary is todays leader. However yesterday’s Taliban remains todays Taliban. If  you are  looking for a Che Guevara, Mao Zedong, Zapata, Robespierre or Trotsky equivalent to drive an  epochal change in Afghanistan for a different tomorrow, then you are suffering from poor eyesight cum brain fade. This is a revolution in reverse gear at top speed without a rear view mirror. The Taliban executed a lightning military campaign but its government is dawdling in cloudy skies! If the Ghani government was a puppet of the USA, the Taliban government is the puppet of the Sino-Pak nexus. Having seen Afghanistan’s  fallout on India, China and Pakistan, it is time to see the fallout on Afghanistan itself.    More than three weeks have elapsed since the Talib