THE
GOOD WORD
Sep 6, 2021 - Week 38
Volume 7S-17|
Pages 2
Massoud calls for a national
uprising
against the Taliban and Pakistan
forces
Sep 6, amid an intense
Pakistan backed Taliban
attack on Panjshir
valley, the National
Resistance Front (NRF)
leader Ahmad
Massoud, released a
video exhorting people
of Afghanistan to rise
against the Taliban.
Massoud declared he is
in Panjshir, the last
province free of Taliban
rule and will continue
to fight the Taliban.
In a message, Republic
TV played several times
yesterday Massoud said
Pakistan has been
assisting Taliban in the
battle for Panjshir.
Images showed
Pakistan helicopters
and commandoes
bombing Panjshir at a
time when Pakistan's
Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) chief
Faiz Hameed's is in
Kabul to aid the
terrorist group.
The NRF refuted
Taliban’s claims that it
had captured Panjshir
completely. ‘Taliban’s
claim of occupying
Panjshir is false. The
NRF forces are present
in all strategic positions
across the valley to
continue the fight. We
assure the people of
Afghanistan that the
struggle against the
Bharat First
Sep 2, the Allahabad
High Court (HC)
directed the UP
government to file a
reply to whether the
state’s policy to
provide financial aid to
institutions imparting
religious education,
such as madrasas, is
consistent with the
mandate for
secularism laid out in
the Constitution’s
preamble. It asked the
state to provide details
of funding provided to
state aided religious
education institutions
and also enquired if
state aided madrasas
admitted girl students.
The court asked the
Sep 2, the Assam cabinet
took a decision to omit
‘Rajiv Gandhi’ from the
name of the erstwhile
Rajiv Gandhi Orang
National Park’s name.
The decision to drop the
former prime minister’s
name came after
discussions with local
adivasi and tea tribes.
Chief minister Himanta
Biswa Sharma tweeted
‘No national park in
Assam has been named
after any person.’ He
added that in 2005, the
government broke the
convention and affixed
Rajiv Gandhi to the name.
The original name now
stands restored.
The Orang National Park
spread over an area of 79
sq km and is among the
country’s top three rhino
habitats. It has the
highest density of tigers
in the country. It was
declared a national park
in 1999. At: Republic, Twitter
Visit IndiaWiki.org
Aug 31, Ladakh declared
the snow leopard and the
black necked crane as its
state animal and bird
respectively. Twitter
corruption in police
transfers. The Bombay
High Court had to direct
a reluctant state to
share these documents.
Last month the
Supreme Court had
refused to grant
Deshmukh protection
against arrest by ED in a
related case.
Deshmukh has now
approached the
Bombay High Court to
quash ED summons. The
ED has so far issued five
summons to Deshmukh
to ask him to join an
investigation which he
has failed to comply
with.
The CBI had registered
an FIR against
Deshmukh for allegedly
asking officers to extort
a sum of ₹100 crores
per month from outlets
and bars when he was
Maharashtra home
minister. CBI is also
probing his role in
corruption in police
transfers and API
Waze’s appointment.
The ED is investigating a
trail of ₹4 crores that
was so collected.
At: Republic,
Nyoooz, TOI
1
5) Mariyappan Thanga-
velu - High Jump T42
6) Praveen Kumar - High
Jump T64
7) Singhraj Adhana –
Mixed 50 m Pistol SH1
8) Yathiraj Suhas –
Badminton singles –
SL4
Bronze medals:
1) Avani Lekhara – 50m
Rifle three positions SH1
2) Sharad Kumar - High
Jump T42
3) Singhraj Adhana - 10m
Air Pistol shooting SH1
4) Sundar Singh Gurjar -
Javelin Throw F46
5) Harvinder Singh -
Archery
6) Sarkar Manoj –
Badminton singles –
SL3
Avani Lekhara and
Sighraj Adhana won two
medals each.
More at: OpInida,
Republic,
Olympics
Sep 3, the Indian army,
has inked a pact for an
emergency purchase of
over 100 explosive-laden
drones with a Bengaluru-
based joint-venture
between Alpha Design
and Israel’s Elbit Security
Systems (ELSEC).
With a range of about 100
km, the SkyStriker is an
unmanned aircraft system
that can acquire and
strike operator-
designated targets. It has
a 5 kg warhead installed
in the fuselage. It is a
cost-effective loitering
munition that is capable
of precise strikes at long
ranges. It can reach a
distance of 20 kms within
10 minutes. The drone
has electric propulsion
and offers a minimal
acoustic signature,
allowing covert
operations at low altitude.
The contract cost is
estimated to be ₹ 100
crore.
More at: ReImage,
TheTatva
Taliban and their
partners will continue
until justice and
freedom prevails.’ the
NRF tweeted.
Fahim Dashty, NRF
spokesperson and
Massoud's family
members were killed in
fierce battle the
previous night.
Helicopters attacked
Amruallah Saleh’s
house twice last night.
He escaped unscathed
to an undisclosed
destination. Pakistani
drones and satellite
imagery from inimical
nations have been
aiding the Taliban, NRF
claims. Republic 1-2,
Wikipedia
Sep 6, India won its
highest ever medal haul
at the Tokyo 2020
Paralympics with 19
medals, 5 gold, 8 silver
and 6 bronze medals
placing it at the 24th
rank. The event
concluded on Sep 5, 2021.
Gold medals (in pictures):
1) Avani Lekhara –10m
Air Rifle Shooting SH1
2) Sumit Antil - Men’s
Javelin Throw F64
3) Manish Narwal - Mixed
50m Pistol SH1 shooting
4) Pramod Bhagat-
Badminton Singles-SL3
5) Krishna Nagar-
Badminton Singles-SH6
Silver medals:
1) Bhavina Patel-Singles
Table Tennis C4
2) Nishad Kumar Men’s
High Jump T47
3) Devendra Jhajharia -
Javelin Throw F46
4) Yogesh Kathuniya –
Discus throw F56
state to furnish details
of the syllabi/courses,
conditions and
standards of
recognition including
the requirement for
playgrounds, at the
madrasas.
The court was hearing
a plea by a madrasa
that sought the
creation of additional
posts of teachers to
cater to increasing
students.
Justice Ajay Bhanot
asked the UP
government to file a
counter affidavit within
four weeks and fixed
October 6 as the date
for the next hearing.
More at: ZeeNews
Sep 3, the CBI secured
two days police custody
of former Maharashtra
home minister,
Deshmukh's lawyer
Anand Daga and accused
CBI sub-inspector
Abhishek Tiwari. CBI
claimed Tiwari leaked
confidential CBI
documents to Daga to
subvert the case against
the ex-home minister
for a bribe. Tiwari’s
arrest comes as a shock
as it exposes the extent
of rot in sections of the
government. Even in an
investigation of a high
profile corruption
case
ordered by a court and
under media glare, the
cop tried to pocket a
bribe. The CBI arrest of
the officer is a silver
lining.
Tiwari and Daga were
arrested Wednesday
night. Deskhmuk’s son
in law was also
interrogated before
being let off. On
Thursday, CBI also
secured custody of
police documents
relevant to IPS officer
Rashmi Shukla’s
complaint of
Ganesh Chaturthi (Sep 10) image courtesy Amazon; Swami
Sivananda
birth anniversary (Sep
8) image - LightInnerLight
Iran wont rush to
recognize Taliban
government
Allahabad High Court questions
UP’s policy of funding madrasas
Snow leopard, black
necked crane to be
Ladakh state animals
With 19 medals India registers a
best ever Paralympics performance
CBI nabs own cop Tiwari and ex-HM
Deshmukh’s lawyer, Daga for
bribe
Indian Army to
get over 100
SkyStriker drones
‘Rajiv Gandhi’
omitted in Assam’s
National Park name
Sep 2, PM Narendra
Modi released a special
commemorative coin of
₹125 on the occasion of
the 125
th
birth
anniversary of Srila
PM Modi releases
a ₹125 coin on
ISKCON founder’s birth anniversary
Aug 30, Iran says it
won’t rush to recognize
a Taliban regime. A
foreign ministry
spokesperson said that
Iran wants lives, honor,
and properties of the
Afghans to be safe. For
peace in Afghanistan an
inclusive government
that reflects the ethnic
and demographic
composition of the
country is needed.
The Taliban takeover of
Afghanistan has led
some to draw
comparisons with the
Islamic Revolution in
Iran in 1979, however
that was a popular
revolt, while the Taliban
victory is a military take
over.
The Taliban has been
sectarian in its outlook
and markedly anti-Shia.
Iran hopes that that this
time Taliban will
prevent the revival of
an anti-Iran policy and
proximity to Sunni
dominated Saudi Arabia.
More: TehranTimes,
ShillongTimes
Aug 30, UNSC resolution
2593 (2021) under
Indian presidency was
adopted by a vote of 13
in favour with Russia
and China abstaining.
It demanded that
Afghanistan prevent use
of its territory for
attacks on any other
country or shelter or
training to terrorists. It
must halt any plotting or
finance of terrorism. It
must combat terrorism
against individuals and
entities designated as
terrorists in UNSC
resolution 1267 (1999).
The 1999 resolution calls
for an assets freeze,
travel ban and arms
embargo against
identified terrorists
linked to the Taliban, Al-
Quaida and ISIS. It also
asks for upholding
human rights and an
inclusive political
settlement
More: UN
UNSC Afghanistan
resolution adopted
with 13 in favour
Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, who
founded the
International Society for
Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON) in 1965.
Imaphsy
Sep 3, The Supreme Court
stayed investigation in the
4th FIR filed by
a
vindictive Bengal
government against
OpIndia till November.
The FIR was for the 2020
Bengal Telinipara riots
coverage. The SC had
stayed 3 other FIRs
against OpIndia earlier.
At: OpIndia
SC sets aside 4
th
Bengal FIR against
OpIndia
Chai and Why
With
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Sep 6, 2021 |
Week 38 | Volume 7S-17
Bharat First
Visit IndiaWiki.org
PAGE 2
THE GOOD WORD
Christine Fair nails BBC bias
for Pakistan; clip goes viral.
also a myth that, I
think, Pakistan is very
good at peddling.
What Pakistan wants
more than anything is
an instability that it can
manage. Pakistan will
use the refugee story
as a part of its usual
rent seeking strategy.
You see Pakistan likes
to be thought of as the
fire-brigade, when
Pakistan is, in fact, the
arsonist.
BBC anchor
(interrupts): Pakistan
will of course,
absolutely deny that.
Let me come back to
your phrase ‘an
instability that it can
manage’. Even if that
is the case, that is an
immensely risky
strategy.
Dr Fair: But Pakistan
has always been risk
accepted. There has
never been a risk
averse Pakistan,
whether you look at
incredibly outrageous
terror attacks in India
or whether you look at
the support of Taliban
in the 1990s and all
that that brought
about. Even the fact
that Pakistan harbours
virtual petting zoos of
terrorists in its own
country with the hope
that they will only bite
their neighbours is a
risky strategy (laughs).
BBC anchor (interrupts)
Christine Fair, as we
don’t have a Pakistani
diplomat or official to
speak with us now, I’m
going to say again, that
I know that they firmly
deny that they have
created the Taliban and
that they are the prime
movers behind
the Taliban. And we
have given you space
to put your point of
view and we are going
to leave it now, but
thank you for being
with us.
Fair (interjecting): You
are doing their
propagandist’s work!
Republic TV then
interviewed Dr Fair
about the sparring
exchange with the BBC.
Speaking to its editor-
in-chief Arnab
Goswami on Monday,
Dr Fair said she was
really surprised by BBC
anchor’s pushback on
each assertion she
made about Pakistan.
Arnab started with an
observation that
Western media
behaved as if it was an
advocate or protector
of the Taliban, ISI and
Pakistan.
When asked about her
experience of the BBC
interview Dr Fair
replied that she was
surprised how each
question the BBC
anchor asked was a
loaded one and that it
had embedded in it
Pakistan’s talking
points. Every time she
made a statement,
based on Pakistan’s
own sources, the BBC
anchor shut her down.
The things the ill-
informed anchor said,
Pakistan would reject,
were things Pakistani
officials had already
admitted to on the
BBC.
What made it crazier,
Dr Fair added, was that
when Pakistani officials
were given a platform
on the BBC they do not
face this hostility. No
one will ever say to
them that I’m sure
scholars like Christine
Fair would say that you
are dissembling or
being parsimonious
with the truth. They
never get such push
back. Dr Fair said she
was stunned by the
experience.
The analyst claimed
that one of the
problems with the BBC
is that their biggest fear
is angering British
Pakistanis. ‘They are
afraid of having some
Parliamentarian call
them up and say 'I have
some irate Pakistani
Britons here and their
feelings have been
hurt.' I think that is
what is motivating it,"
she indicated.
Dr Fair also shared that
in another recent
interview with
Bloomberg Asia, she
was similarly shut down
while talking about the
Taliban-Chinese
connection. ‘Every time
I raised the point of
Taliban-Chinese
collaboration, they
went ballistic,’ she said.
Dr Fair opined that
media networks have
to be very careful
about alienating their
constituencies as that
could land them in
trouble. In BBC’s case it
is Pakistani Britons and
Bloomberg Asia’s, it is
China.
Arnab probed further,
saying there could be
other reasons too. He
added the Western
media and BBC
specifically, feels its got
to have Pakistan’s back.
Dr Fair admitted
Western media is
unfair. American
media doesn’t have
such compulsions
thought it may be more
ignorant. If a person is
knowledgeable about
South Asia, they will
talk about Pakistan.
Pakistani’s are very
good at threatening and
admonishing, Dr Fair
also brought up. She
recounted her
experience as a scholar
with the United Nations
(UN). She was the
principal author of a
suicide bombing report.
When she covered
suicide bombers
originating from
Pakistan the UN was
forced to fire her due to
Pakistan's intimidation
tactics. The UN
pretended to fire her
because the Pakistanis
hollered and
threatened to withdraw
their peacekeepers
from UN missions.
The liberal coverage
given by leading
Western media houses
to the Taliban
ascendance in
Afghanistan and the
comparative blackout of
voices of resistance or
Taliban’s excesses, is
exposing their biases.
More at: Republic, Twitter
Email: IndiaWiki2020@gmail.com
Website: http://TheGoodWord.IndiaWiki.Org
Sep 5, the BBC
interviewed the
articulate doctor
Christine Fair, scholar of
military affairs and
politics who spoke on
Pakistan’s duplicitous
role in Afghanistan. Dr
Fair said Pakistan
wanted an unstable
Afghanistan that it
could control, and seek
rent from the world to
do so. What caught the
attention of viewers
was the BBC anchor’s
repeated interruptions
and strident denial of Dr
Fair’s accusations. The
BBC anchor then drew
the interview to a close
abruptly with Fair
accusing the anchor of
doing propaganda for
Pakistan. The clip went
viral on social media
garnering millions of
views raising questions
about why channels like
the BBC are so
sensitivity to criticism of
Pakistan’s actions. An
edited extract of the
BBC interview follows:
BBC anchor: …there is
not continued fighting
in Afghanistan. Or do
you see that differently?
Dr Fair: No, this is also
another myth. What
Pakistan has objected to
over the last 20 years is
the emergence of a
stable Afghanistan that
is opposed to Pakistan
and is friendly to India.
BBC anchor (interrupts)
But an unstable
Afghanistan surely
means more refugees
trying to get across the
border into Pakistan.
How is that in
Pakistan’s interest?:
Dr Fair: Right, so this is
Work for work's sake.
There are some who are
really the salt of the
earth in every country
and who work for
work's sake, who do not
care for name, or fame,
or even to go to
heaven. They work just
because good will come
of it. There are others
who do good to the
poor and help mankind
from still higher
motives, because they
believe in doing good
and love good. The
motive for name and
fame seldom brings
immediate results, as a
rule; they come to us
when we are old and
have almost done with
life. If a man works
without any selfish
motive in view, does he
not gain anything? Yes,
he gains the highest.
Unselfishness is more
paying, only people
have not the patience
to practice it. It is more
paying from the point of
view of health also.
Love, truth, and
unselfishness are not
merely moral figures of
speech, but they form
our highest ideal,
because in them lies
such a manifestation of
power. In the first place,
a man who can work for
five days, or even for
five minutes, without
any selfish motive
whatever, without
thinking of future, of
heaven, of punishment,
or anything of the kind,
has in him the capacity
to become a powerful
moral giant. It is hard to
do it, but in the heart of
our hearts we know its
value, and the good it
brings. It is the greatest
manifestation of power
— this tremendous
restraint; self-restraint
is a manifestation of
greater power than all
outgoing action. A
carriage with four
horses may rush down a
hill unrestrained, or the
coachman may curb the
horses. Which is the
greater manifestation
of power, to let them go
or to hold them?
Swami Vivekananda
Karma Yoga
a series of extracts
Swami Vivekananda Image courtesy Newsgram.com;
Sep 5, the Taliban’s
delayed formation of
government was
reportedly due to
disagreement over the
response to the Panjshir
resistance and had
resulted in a gunfight
between two factions of
the group, the Haqqani
network and Mullah
Baradar’s forces.
The Panjshir Observer, a
local news outlet from
Afghanistan, reported
that gunfire on the night
of Sep 3, 2021, in Kabul
was a power struggle
between two senior
Taliban leaders. Forces
loyal to Anas Haqqani
and Mullah Baradar
fought over how to
resolve the Panjshir
situation. Mullah
Baradar was reportedly
injured and is receiving
treatment in Pakistan.
According to Afghan
media house Tolo News,
2 people had died and
several were injured in
the gunfire.
Lieutenant General Faiz
Hameed, the Chief of
Pakistan’s Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) arrived
in Kabul the next day,
Sep 4, to resolve the
disagreement between
Baradar, the co-founder
and the senior-most
leader of the Taliban,
and the Haqqani
network leader Anas
Haqqani, son of
Jalaluddin Haqqani and
brother of Sirajuddin
Haqqani, the current
head of the terrorist
group and deputy chief
of the Taliban.
Pakistan’s ISI is a major
patron of the Haqqani
Network, which is
designated as a terror
group by the United
Nations over its close
ties with Al-Qaeda.
ISI is also trying to
broker a peace with a
third, Mullah Yaqoob
faction which is also
unhappy with the
power-sharing
agreement. Yaqoob, of
the Quetta Shura, is the
eldest son of Mullah
We found
ourselves in an
incredibly bizarre
situation, where
you are paying the
country that
created your
enemy so that it
will let you keep
fighting that enemy
Omar. Omar had led
the Taliban when it
founded the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan
in 1996. He died in
2013.
Reports said Baradar did
not want to fight his
countrymen in Panjshir
but the Haqqani
network wanted to
defeat the resistance.
Baradar urged his
Taliban not to fight the
Panjshirs and recalled
them to Kabul.
Additionally there have
been differences
between the Taliban
and the Haqqani
network over power-
sharing. The plan to
make Haibatullah
Akhundzada the
country's supreme
leader based in
Kandahar met with
disapproval from the
Haqqanis and other
Taliban factions. They
do not accept
Akhundzada as their
leader.
Earlier it was reported
that the Taliban plans to
set up a government
based on Iran’s model –
an Islamic republic
where the Supreme
Leader is the head of
state and the highest-
ranking political and
religious authority
above the president.
The National Resistance
Front (NRF) fighters
alleged that the ISI was
supporting the Taliban
in Panjshir with drone-
fired rockets and drone
eyes in the sky. ‘Isn't
this a clear sign of
Pakistani intervention in
Afghanistan? Why is the
head of ISI in Kabul? We
cannot accept foreign
puppets to rule us at
any cost,’ said Ahmad
Massoud, chief of the
NRF in Panjshir.
Amrullah Saleh, the
caretaker president of
the former government,
also added, ‘The
Taliban's spokesperson
receives directions,
literally, every hour
from the Pakistani
embassy,’.
At OpIndia, IBTimes
Factions emerge
in the
Taliban leadership
