TALIBAN MAKES OVERTURES TO INDIA

In what is being seen as a signal to India, a member of the Taliban leadership in Qatar has said that India is “very important for this subcontinent” and that his group wants to continue Afghanistan’s “cultural”, “economic”, “political” and “trade ties” with India “like in the past”.

This overture was made by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, deputy head of Taliban’s office in Doha, in a carefully scripted statement that he read out in Pashto in a 46-minute video message broadcast Saturday on the group’s social media platforms and Afghanistan’s Milli Television. "We give due importance to our political, economic and trade ties with India and we want these ties to continue. We are looking forward to working with India in this regard,” he said.

The signal is significant given that Pakistan holds the levers to the Taliban, and Islamabad and Rawalpindi have always seen India’s ties with Afghanistan as a negative influence. It is also the first categorical statement directed at India by a senior leader of the Taliban since they captured power in Kabul on August 15.

Stanekzai, incidentally, was at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun in the 1980s as part of training for Afghan army cadets.

On the Taliban’s plans for trade in the region, Stanekzai said: “Trade with India through Pakistan is very important for us. With India, trade through air corridors will also remain open.” This is again an important statement from India’s point of view since Pakistan has always blocked overland transit, trade and access between India and Afghanistan.

Speaking on Afghanistan’s relations with Turkmenistan, Stanekzai listed the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and said the Taliban would work to address the problems that are holding up the venture once a government is formed.

OUTRAGE OVER MISSING NEHRU FROM ‘75TH YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE’ POSTER

The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), the culture body under the ministry of education, found itself in the middle of a controversy Saturday when it released a poster about a lecture series commemorating India’s 75 years of freedom, which featured several leaders of the freedom movement including Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar among others.

But Nehru was conspicuously missing from it, which led to massive outrage on social media especially by Congress leaders.

The ICHR, however, said that the reaction to the poster was “premature” and the upcoming posters will feature Nehru.

P. Chidambaram, former finance minister, said on Sunday: "ICHR Member-Secretary's explanation for the omission of Jawaharlal Nehru from the first digital poster to celebrate 75 years of Independence is ludicrous. "If he was celebrating the birth of the motor car, will he omit Henry Ford?  If he was celebrating the birth of aviation, will he omit the Wright brothers? If he was celebrating Indian science, will he omit C V Raman? After bowing down to prejudice  and hate, it is best the Member-Secretary shuts his mouth," he said.

Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said, "It is not merely petty but absolutely ahistorical to celebrate Azadi by omitting the pre-eminent voice of Indian freedom, Jawaharlal Nehru. One more occasion for ICHR to disgrace itself. This is becoming a habit!"

IF A CEASEFIRE IS SUCCESSFUL TODAY, IT IS BECAUSE OF OUR STRENGTH’: RAJNATH

Terming the situation in Afghanistan as challenging, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the changing equations have forced every country to re-think on its strategy.

He said the formation of “Quad”— a group of India, Australia, US and Japan—came up in this background. Speaking at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington, Tamil Nadu, he stressed on the need to view every dimension of national security.

“India, despite its capabilities, has never attacked any country till date, he said. Though India believes in peace, it has always been ready on all fronts to protect self-respect and interest of its people and ensure their security,” he said. He reiterated the government’s resolve to protect the country against all types of external and internal threats. “After losing two wars, one of our neighbouring countrieshas started resorting to proxy war, and terrorism has become an integral part of its state policy. It has started targeting India by providing arms, funds, and training to terrorists,” he said.

“If a ceasefire is successful today, it is because of our strength. In 2016, cross-border strikes changed our reactionary mindset into a proactive mindset, which was further strengthened by the Balakot airstrike in 2019,” Singh added.

On the Galwan Valley incident, he said the unilateral attempt to change status quo at the northern border was also dealt with a new dynamic. “Our soldiers displayed bravery as well as restraint, when required, to thwart enemy plans,” he said.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 3,70,426

New Cases in last 24 hours: 43,370

Recovered in last 24 hours: 34,841

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: +8,002

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 527 (4,38,387)

Daily Tests (Friday): 17,55,327

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.6%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 36.5% / 10.9%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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US AIRSTRIKE HITS PLOTTER OF ANOTHER KABUL AIRPORT ATTACK

The United States carried out a "self-defensive" airstrike in Kabul against a suspected ISIS-K car bomb targeting the airport in Kabul, the US Central Command said on Sunday.

"US military forces conducted a self-defence unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamad Karzai International airport," said Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM spokesperson. "We are confident we successfully hit the target. Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material," the statement added.

US President Joe Biden had on Saturday had said that another terrorist attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport is "highly likely’. "Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours," Biden had said in his statement.

UK ENDS 20-YEAR MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN AFGHANISTAN AS TROOPS FLY BACK

The last remaining United Kingdom troops began landing back from Kabul in Britain on Sunday, ending the country's 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan where the Taliban have seized power. A Royal Air Force plane left Kabul airport on Saturday night and arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, including with British ambassador to Afghanistan Sir Laurie Bristow who had been assisting the evacuation process.

Vice-Admiral Sir Ben Key, who ran the UK's evacuation dubbed Operation Pitting, said there was a "sense of sadness that we haven't done all we would have wished".

In a video posted on Twitter on Sunday morning, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the end of Operation Pitting was the "culmination of a mission unlike anything we've seen in our lifetimes", and that British troops and officials had "worked around the clock to a remorseless deadline in harrowing conditions".

"They have expended all the patience and care and thought they possess to help people in fear for their lives,” said Johnson. "They've seen at first hand barbaric terrorist attacks on the queues of people they were trying to comfort, as well as on our American friends. They didn't flinch. They kept calm. They got on with the job," he said.

In a letter to the armed forces community, Johnson acknowledged the fall of Kabul to the Taliban would have been hard for them to watch and "an especially difficult time for the friends and loved ones of the 457 service personnel who laid down their lives" during the war.

He noted that the UK's involvement in Afghanistan "kept Al Qaeda from our door for two decades and we are all safer as a result".

Paying tribute to the efforts of UK forces since 2001, he added: "Though we would not have wished to leave in this way, we have to recognise that we came in with the United States, in defence and support of the US and the US military did the overwhelming bulk of the fighting.”

"Together with our allies in America and Europe and around the world, we will engage with the Taliban not on the basis of what they say but what they do,” Johnson said.

US AND ALLIES SAY TALIBAN HAS ASSURED PEOPLE CAN LEAVE AF

The US and 97 other countries said on Sunday that they would continue to issue travel documentation to foreign nationals and designated Afghan citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan, and they expected Taliban to stand by their assurance that such evacuees could leave.

“We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan. We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorisation from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country. We will continue issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans, and we have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban,” a statement issued by the countries said.

“We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this understanding,” it added. Taliban’s chief negotiator, Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, had reportedly announced on Friday that the group would not stop people from leaving Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear why India is not signatory to the statement that included several US’ Nato allies and many developing countries. China, Russia, and Pakistan also did not sign on.

Some US officials have said Taliban assurances in this regard are positive but others are more sceptical. “No one here trusts the Taliban. No one here is counting on any words the Taliban offer. What we are focused on is actions,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN when asked about the evacuation. He however said US has “substantial leverage” to ensure American and others can leave after the August 31 deadline.

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PM: START-UP BOOM SIGNALS BRIGHT FUTURE FOR OUR COUNTRY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the start-up culture had become very vibrant in India with youngsters in even smaller cities embracing it. He asserted that it was a sign of India's bright future.

In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast, the PM also noted that space sector reforms in the country had caught people's imagination and expressed confidence that a large number of satellites in the coming days would be developed by youngsters from universities, labs and other sectors.

The Prime Minister touched upon a host of topics, including India's rich spiritual tradition and the boost the sporting culture had received after the performance in the Tokyo Olympics. He also paid glowing tributes to hockey legend Dhyan Chand. National Sports Day is celebrated every year on August 29 to mark Dhyan Chand's birthday.

Modi said the Tokyo Olympics had created a major impact. "Today, it is not that youngsters are just watching sports. They are is also looking at possibilities associated with sports... They now want to surpass conventional ways and adopt new disciplines," he said. "Similarly, young persons are moving away from family traditions, expressing the wish to launch or join a start-up and are willing to take risks. Today, the startup culture is expanding even to smaller cities and I am seeing it as an indication of a bright future," he added

TO PROTEST KARNAL LATHICHARGE, PUNJAB FARMERS HOLD PROTESTS

Thousands of farmers again poured onto the streets of Punjab on Sunday, blocking traffic on all the important states and national highways for two hours, in what they termed was a protest against the brutal lathicharge on fellow agitators in Karnal a day earlier.

Haryana police on Saturday had allegedly carried out a lathicharge on protesting farmers in Karnal where they had blocked multiple roads and highways.

A day after Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar defended police action on agitating farmers and blamed them for pelting cops with stones, his deputy Dushyant Chautala on Sunday called for action against Karnal sub-divisional magistrate Ayush Sinha for directing policemen to beat up the protesters.

“Action will be taken against the IAS officer. I am hurt by his conduct. This is not expected from an officer. It does not match the standards of conduct of an officer of his calibre. An IAS officer, who is a duty magistrate, must act cautiously. We shall certainly ask for action after a probe,” Dushyant, whose Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) is a part of the coalition government in Haryana, said in Chandigarh on Sunday. JJP’s impressive performance in the last assembly elections was largely due to his support base among the farmers in the state.

INVESTIGATION IN DELHI RIOTS 'VERY POOR' IN NUMBER OF CASES: COURT

A court in Delhi has said that the standard of investigation in a large number of 2020 northeast riots cases is “very poor” and sought the intervention of the Delhi Police Commissioner.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav made the observations while framing charges against one Ashraf Ali for allegedly attacking police officials with acid, glass bottles and bricks during the communal violence on February 25, 2020.

“It is painful to note that in a large number of cases of riots, the standard of investigation is very poor,” the Additional Sessions Judge said, adding that in a majority of cases investigating officers have not been appearing in court.

Furthermore, ASJ Yadav said the police hardly bother about taking the investigation to a logical end after filing half-baked charge sheets, due to which the accused, who have been named in multiple cases, continue to languish in jails.

“This case is a glaring example, wherein victims are police personnel itself, yet the IO did not bother to collect the sample of acid and to have its chemical analysis. The IO has further not bothered to collect the opinion about the nature of injuries,” he noted in an order dated August 28.

The sessions judge further said that it is high time that the DCP of North-East District and other higher officers take notice of the observations taken by him and take immediate remedial action required in the matters.

TEAM INDIA HURT BUT NOT DEMORALISED BY LOSS, SAYS KOHLI

India captain Virat Kohli said his players are hurting after losing the third Test against England at Headingley by a big margin but are not demoralised. "We like to be in this situation where people start coming at us with doubts and really start questioning the ability of our team," Kohli told reporters on Saturday.

"That is the situation we love best. I can guarantee you one thing - that we will not be demoralised by this loss. "The guys in the changing room are hurt. And when they are hurt they badly want to correct the things that didn't go well in this game. That is how we are going to play the next two test matches."

TOKYO PARALYMPICS: NISHAD KUMAR WINS SILVER IN MEN’S HIGH JUMP

India’s Nishad Kumar clinched a silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 event in the Tokyo Paralympics with an Asian record effort here on Sunday.

Kumar cleared 2.06m to win the silver and set an Asian record. American Dallas Wise was also awarded a silver as he and Kumar cleared the same height of 2.06m. Another American, Roderick Townsend won the gold with a world record jump of 2.15m.

This was India’s second medal of the Games after Bhavinaben Patel won a silver in women’s singles table tennis class 4 event on Sunday.

Discus thrower Vinod Kumar clinched a bronze medal in the men’s F52 event with an Asian record to give India its third medal in Tokyo Paralympics here on Sunday. But his medal was put on hold after a protest over his disability classification.

Vinod’s classification in F52, which is for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, was done on August 22 by the organisers. It was not clear on what grounds the classification has been challenged.

“Results of this event are currently under review due to classification observation in competition. The Victory Ceremony has been postponed to the evening session of 30th August,” read a statement from the Games organisers.

US OPEN STARTS TODAY: ITS NOVAK VS NEXT GEN

It's been four years since the ATP announced the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, an event for the best under-21 players in the world.

Though Hyeon Chung of South Korea won the title, the qualifiers for the first event in 2017 included Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov, while Stefanos Tsitsipas was an alternate.

Today, the US Open begins with five of those six players ranked in the top 10. The next generation of rising stars are not just coming, they're already here.

And yet, there's still a problem. Since Roger Federer won his first Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, 60 of the 71 Slam events have been won either by Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka briefly broke the stranglehold with three Slam wins apiece but since Wawrinka won the US Open in 2016, the only win by a non-big-three player was at last year's US Open, when Dominic Thiem won his first Slam.

World No. 1 Djokovic is a strong favorite to win this year's US Open, which coincidentally would also make him the first man to win all four majors in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. But there is a growing feeling that the passing of the baton is not too far away. Federer is 40 and facing another rehabilitation after knee surgery, while Nadal has a foot injury which will keep him out the rest of the year.

The fact that there is a group of players all around the same level is helping the pretenders believe they can finally make that Slam breakthrough.

Djokovic remains the favourite, but the pack is closing in.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

No man should escape our universities without knowing how little he knows. - J. Robert Oppenheimer

OFF TRACK

A man had been drinking at the bar for hours when he mentioned something about his girlfriend being out in the car. The bartender, concerned because it was so cold, went to check on her. When he looked inside the car, he saw the man's friend, Dave, and his girlfriend kissing one another. The bartender shook his head and walked back inside.

He told the drunk that he thought it might be a good idea to check on his girlfriend. The fellow staggered outside to the car, saw his buddy and his girlfriend kissing, then walked back into the bar laughing.

"What's so funny?" the bartender asked.

"That stupid Dave!" the fellow chortled, "He's so drunk, he thinks he's me!"