India, Bangladesh, Nepal finalize MU to boost trade and connectivity Except Nepal, the chair, all other SAA RC countries walked out of the summit with India. Eight years after the last summit, Afghanistan is under the rule of a radical Islamist Taliban regime, with the total budget for the current year (as announced on May 18) a mere. The country is on the verge of famine and disease as the ISI-sponsored Hawaii Network led by global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani fights for the control of Kabul with the Kandahar Taliban led by Mullah Omar’s son Yaqui. Economically ravaged, the country is on life-support, with jihad and drugs being its only global exports. The irony is that the Taliban in Afghanistan are now locked in a simmering conflict with their mentor, the Pakistan Army, and refuses to recognize the Durand Line as it divides the Pashtun tribe between the two countries. In Pakistan, even though Imran Khan Nazi has been booted out of power, ending the political turmoil (for now), Pakistan Prime Minister Shabbat Sharif is facing a full-blown economic crisis at hand and does not have a magic wand to miraculously solve the country’s multiple problems. The Pakistani Rupee has scored a double century against a US dollar and the country’s external debt has crossed more than 71% of the GDP, with food inflation and interest rates in double digits. Thanks to the myopic vision and arrogance of Khan, Pakistan today has made an adversary out of former close allies, the US, and the EU, but has close ties with Communist states of China and now Russia. Sharif is in a Catch-22 situation where tough economic decisions could bring the public on the streets and status quo will lead to disaster and ruin. And for that he must thank Imran Khan for doing his bit by trying to play the imperial power game in Kabul and getting on the wrong side of better players of the great game in a desperately poor country. Pakistan’s comrade in arms in the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) Sri Lanka has been knocked out by economic crisis with the Sri Lankan Rupee certain to score a quadruple century against the dollar, non-existent foreign exchange reserves, runaway food inflation, and no fuel. Also, Read| India dismisses Pakistan’s fresh offer to host SAA RC summit this year Unless IMF gives loan to Sri Lanka, the state, thanks to the (who erred in many ways, not least by cozying up to Beijing without realizing that everything came with a price tag), will eke out a hand to mouth existence for many years. Simply put, the Sri Lankan story is over for the current decade. With Nepal not trapped (yet) in BRI debt, the situation in Kathmandu is slightly better, but the weak Nepali Rupee-US Dollar exchange rate, inflation, and external debt remain a matter of serious concern. Prime Minister Sheri Bahadur Dubai has made it clear to Beijing that Nepal will not accept loans, but only aid from China. Hence, it is only pragmatic for India to engage with all its neighbors bilaterally and provide full support to countries on a reciprocal basis. Although PM Mode sees a lot of hope in relations with Nepal, the same cannot be said at present about Sri Lanka, whose leadership continues besotted with China. Relations with Islamabad are yet to be normalized and remain toxic due to relevance of Kashmir as a political card and perceived vote catcher for Pakistani parties. While the Pakistan Army sees no return on its investment when it comes to Kashmir, proscribed terror groups in that country collect huge funds in the name of jihad in the Valley. SAA RC is dead, and it is time to move on.
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