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The Taliban’s offer of bilateral relations with India is a “masterful” move that will significantly shape Asian geopolitics as the militant group seeks to bolster its image on the global stage, diplomatic observers say.
Sher Stanekzai, a top Taliban official, said India was “very important for this subcontinent” and that the Taliban would want to continue Afghanistan’s “cultural, economic, political and trade ties” with the country.
“We attach great importance to our trade, economic and political relations with India and want to maintain that relation," Mr Stanekzai, the deputy head of Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said in a video broadcast on Saturday.
New Delhi has historically shunned the Islamist group that it claims is backed by its arch-rival Pakistan, and has preferred to deal with the governments that came to power after a US-led coalition toppled the Taliban regime in 2001.
But after the collapse of the New Delhi-friendly and western-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani on August 15, India found itself isolated as its rivals China and Pakistan raced to embrace the new regime.
Mr Stanekzai, who is tipped to become foreign minister, said the new government in Kabul would want trade with India by a land route through Pakistan, which could anger Islamabad.
Pakistan has blocked New Delhi and Afghanistan from using its territory for trade, forcing Kabul and India to open air corridors.
Experts regard Mr Stanekzai's statement as the first formal contact with India after New Delhi pulled its diplomats out Kabul and moved more than 550 people from Afghanistan as the Taliban overran the city two weeks ago.
Amalendu Misra, professor in the department of politics, philosophy and religion at Lancaster University, UK, said the Taliban extending the olive branch to India was a recognition of New Delhi’s soft power on the global stage and its “constructive role” in rebuilding the war-torn country.
"It is conscious of the advantage it can gain by nurturing India rather than maintaining an antagonistic position,” Prof Misra told The National.
“Its attempts to reach out to New Delhi in opening up a trade corridor to India is a masterful decision."
India, like most nations, did not recognise the previous Taliban regime when it ruled the country under its strict interpretation of Islamic law from 1996 to 2001.
Its concerns included the Taliban being a proxy of Islamabad and the group's alleged ties with militant groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region.
New Delhi was further antagonised when an Indian plane was hijacked by Pakistan-based militants and taken to Kandahar in 1999, forcing India to release three Kashmir-linked militants in exchange for the passengers.
After the fall of the Taliban, India strengthened ties with Afghanistan through cultural, military, trade and people-to-people exchanges.
New Delhi invested more than $3 billion in development projects such as roads and dams, and also rebuilt Afghanistan’s Parliament building to curb Islamabad's influence.
India and Afghanistan established an air freight corridor for bilateral trade in 2017, giving the landlocked country access to India’s huge markets. Bilateral trade reached more than $1.5bn in 2019-2020.
While the Taliban may have regained military control over Afghanistan, they are struggling for global recognition and economic support.
For India, the biggest concerns are the Taliban's closeness to Islamabad and China's interest in the mineral-rich country, including an extension of its global Belt and Road Initiative through Afghanistan to connect Central Asia with the Indian Ocean through Pakistan’s Gwadar port.
India regards the $62bn section of BRI known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a threat to its sovereignty, as it passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir that New Delhi claims as its territory.
Jitendra Nath Misra, a former Indian diplomat, believes the Taliban’s call to India could be part of a policy to strike a power balance in the region, as it does not want to be overwhelmed by China or Pakistan.
“The Taliban could behave in a pragmatic manner and they are mindful of the exponential growth of Chinese power. It is not the China of the 1990s, it is a vastly more powerful country,” Mr Misra told The National.
“The Chinese are interested in Afghanistan’s minerals. The Taliban would not want to be too dependent on China for national reconstruction."
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Specs%20
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'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars
More on animal trafficking
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
Kill%20
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Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
More on Quran memorisation:
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Results
2.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner Lamia, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner Jap Al Afreet, Elione Chaves, Irfan Ellahi.
3.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner MH Tawag, Bernardo Pinheiro, Elise Jeanne.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner Skygazer, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.30pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 1,700m
Winner AF Kal Noor, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m
Winner RB Grynade, Bernardo Pinheiro, Eric Lemartinel.
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
