International
The Third Eye: The new norms of war and peace
New Delhi: World War II with its crippling global devastation produced a lasting period of Cold War that was rooted in a sharp ideological division of the world in the competing philosophies of International Communism on one hand and Capitalism based on the free market economy resting on competition, on the other.
The Cold War years were marked by a tight military balance between the two nuclear-armed superpowers — the US and the Soviet Union — and the deterrence of mutual assured destruction (MAD) kept either side from resorting to the so-called ‘First Strike’.
It is the forced withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan that led to the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the demise of International Communism in 1991 and brought an end to the Cold War — creating a unipolar world order in which the US would drive all global trends.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, in the last Politburo meeting of CPSU in April 1991, announced that Democratic Centrism or ‘one-party rule’ was being given up in favour of ‘party pluralism’ and formally ended the doctrine of a Communist State.
The termination of the Cold War has in many ways altered the concepts of war and peace.
First, it has ushered in the era of ‘proxy wars’ with open warfare giving way to ‘covert’ cross-border attacks, insurgencies and separatist movements instigated from outside. There were some 200 such localised conflicts recorded in the immediate aftermath of this transformation.
It is interesting that the anti-Soviet armed campaign in Afghanistan totally backed by the US and the CIA was run in a proxy war mode as militant outfits reared in Pakistan were let loose on the ‘God-less’ Soviet army on the war cry of ‘Jehad’.
The American stinger missiles in the hands of the Jehadis caused havoc to the Soviet troops.
Within a few years of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the USSR found it impossible to economically sustain the occupation and made a forced exit bringing down in the process the very existence of the Communist Super Power.
The phenomenon of ‘proxy war’ has evidently come to stay as it serves the military purpose of a hostile neighbour without putting on it the blame for indulging in open warfare and precipitating the prospect of a possible global conflict. No nation really wants another World War.
Secondly, what is far more serious than ‘covert’ warfare is the rise of terrorism as the instrument of proxy war in the post-Cold War period. This all began in Afghanistan where the radical Al Qaeda founded by Osama bin Laden was also a part of the anti-Soviet armed campaign along with Saudi-funded Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pak Jamaat-e-Islami’s offspring Hizbul Mujahideen.
Islamic radicals carry the historical memory of the anti-British Wahabi movement launched on the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century with NWFP — now called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) of Pakistan — as the epicentre of that Jehad.
Terrorism is classically defined as ‘resort to covert violence for a perceived political cause’ — terrorists do not make an open attack and secretly plan their offensive. Since they invoke a ‘cause’ they have a ‘commitment’ that in turn is a measure of their ‘motivation’.
Protagonists of Jehad use Islam as a faith to provide this ‘motivation’ which admittedly was always very strong. Those guiding radical outfits could even raise suicide bombers using the pull of faith, interpreting Jehad as a fundamental duty in certain situations and drawing attention to the rewards of the afterlife. It is this ‘faith-based terrorism’ that has made the world an insecure place even in the absence of open wars.
A third feature of the present era is the tendency shown by major powers of our times to cloak a military attack on a neighbour as an ‘operation’ and deny it as a ‘war’ offensive. This is how President Vladimir Putin of Russia described the military action initiated by him against Ukraine in February 2022 and justified it as a response to the need to protect the interests of Russian-speaking people of South and East Ukraine against the unfair treatment meted out to them by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
In a cautious move, the US and its NATO allies responded by rushing military aid to Ukraine in support of the latter and imposing economic sanctions on Russia — they did not do anything that would precipitate a larger ‘war’. This response was thus in a ‘proxy war’ mode and since proxy wars always turned into protracted confrontations, this is precisely why the Russia-Ukraine conflict has remained an unending combat. If the West thought that what happened to the USSR in Afghanistan would play out for Russia in Ukraine, this has not taken place so far — comparatively speaking the losses suffered by Ukraine seemed to outweigh those encountered by Russia.
Fourthly, the retaliatory military action taken by Israel in Gaza against the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, is different from the Russia-Ukraine conflict in as much as the former had created danger for the democratic world from the rise of faith-based terrorism of Islamic radicals in the Middle East and in many other parts of the world particularly West Africa and South Asia — especially the Pak-Afghan belt.
With Iran jumping into the fray in support of Hamas and against Israel, the conflict can escalate fast making it a wider clash of interests between the US as the closest ally of Israel and the emerging Iran-China-Russia axis.
Drones supplied by Iran have been used by Russia in Ukraine and Iran’s proxies like Hezbollah operating out of Lebanon and the Houthis of Yemen are directly targeting Israel.
There is a geopolitical shift towards a Cold War type of situation even though the ideological divide in the world is non-existent and the possibility of a nuclear war is totally discounted.
Whatever the nature of military conflicts, however, the fact that the Israel Defense Forces killed over 33,000 Palestinians including a very large number of civilians — women and children have perished in huge numbers — has brought up once again the matter of human rights in war theatres, as a front issue of global concern.
The UN is reported to have blacklisted Israel for causing the death of thousands of children in military operations.
The question cannot be sidetracked on the plea that counter-terror operations were of prime importance — the unwarranted human killings are going to ultimately benefit the hold of terrorist forces as has been demonstrated in Gaza. In any military conflict, civilian casualties therefore have to be consciously minimised and this norm has to be enforced even in an ‘asymmetric war’.
The fifth angle of war and peace relevant to the present age is linked to the new concept that “national security is inseparable from economic security”.
The covert attacks so characteristic of the post-Cold War era can be directed against the economic assets of the target to make the latter substantially weak.
Sabotaging the strategic establishments, damaging the economic lifelines of the nation and disrupting vital systems through cyber attacks are the new facets of ‘proxy war’.
Further, social media has become an instrument of combat and a weapon of ‘information warfare’. This has necessitated the introduction of laws to prevent the spread of misinformation and punish resort to ‘deep fakes’ for malicious objectives.
An entirely new way of pulling down a targeted democratic regime is to influence the electoral outcome and build adverse ‘narratives’ against it. Non-military methods of defeating an adversary set new norms of war and peace and call for new strategies for handling international relations and defining new yardsticks of friendships and opponents.
India has adopted a sane foreign policy to deal with the shifting world scene of armed conflicts and the new threats to global peace.
Since foreign policy by definition is a product of national security and economic concerns — in that order, India has opted for bilateral and even multilateral friendships based on mutual interests that did not prejudice the cause of world peace and human welfare. In the post-Cold War era, this is a new strategy of practising ‘non alignment’ and contributing to the stability of a peaceful world that worked for human advancement. This has enabled India to become a world power that represented the voice of sanity in today’s geopolitics.
India’s stand on Russia-Ukraine confrontation and the Israel-Hamas conflict have earned the country a universal appreciation for supporting what was right in both cases. It advocated a peaceful resolution through mediators who understood the security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine and while denouncing the terrorist attack of Hamas on Israel called for restraint of military offensive of Israel in Gaza and a solution-finding resting essentially on the recognition of ‘two states’ in Palestine.
India has also given a timely warning to the US that the rise of radical Islamic forces in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world must be checked before they posed a formidable threat to the democratic world as a whole.
(The writer is a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau. Views are personal)
–IANS
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International
Laos seeks to enhance nutrition amid climate change concerns
Vientiane (Laos), Aug 22 (IANS) Representatives from the Lao government and development partners have attended a conference here titled “Climate Change and Nutrition in Laos: Intersections and Interventions” to discuss the impact of climate change on nutrition in the Southeast Asia country and potential solutions.
Speaking at the conference, deputy director general of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion under the Lao Ministry of Health Viengkhan Phixay, said, “We gather to address a critical and interwoven issue: the impact of climate change on nutrition and how we can work together to tackle these challenges,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lao government is actively engaged in this endeavor, with numerous policies and initiatives aimed at addressing both climate change and nutrition, Lao National Television reported on Thursday.
“By leveraging the Scaling Up Nutrition network in Laos, which is led by the government, and supported by civil society, donors, and the United Nations, we have a robust platform to tackle the negative impacts of climate change while improving nutrition and overall health for everyone in Laos,” Viengkham said at the conference held on Monday.
The conference featured a series of presentations that not only detailed evidence-based research but also introduced innovative tools for measuring and enhancing nutrition under the impact of climate change.
The conference stressed the critical need for integrated approaches to tackle the intertwined challenges of climate change and nutrition, and setting the stage for impactful future collaborations.
–IANS
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International
One killed, seven injured in shootout in Iraq
Baghdad, Aug 22 (IANS) A civilian was killed while seven others were injured on Thursday in a tribal shootout in Iraq’s holy Shiite province of Najaf, according to a local security source.
The shootout erupted in the early hours between armed men from the local tribe in the al-Zarga area in northern Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, a local police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The clash resulted in the killing of an Iraqi civilian and the injury of seven others, including three Iranian Shiite pilgrims, the source added.
A joint force from the Interior Ministry’s emergency response division and Najaf provincial police arrested 53 gunmen from both sides of the shootout and seized weapons and ammunition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It added that search operations are ongoing to locate additional gunmen and weapons, with more details to be released later.
The incident took place as numerous pilgrims traveled to the city of Karbala to observe Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Typically, these pilgrims also visit Najaf as part of their journey to Karbala.
–IANS
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International
Bangladesh seeks $1 billion budget support from World Bank
Dhaka, Aug 22 (IANS) Bangladesh’s interim government has sought $1 billion from the World Bank as budgetary support.
The call came from the country’s Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan’s meeting with Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He made the plea as the ministry owes more than 2 billion dollars to suppliers in import costs of power and energy, Xinhua news agency reported.
Khan mentioned that the interim government, which was formed with many pressing mandates, is due to settle a $2 billion debt left by the previous government in the power sector.
He said they have already suspended activities under the much-criticized Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act 2010 and abolished the government’s power to set energy prices without any public hearing.
On August 5, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted from her country and power, ending her rule since January 2009.
This event was seen as a massive escalation, with what initially started as student’s protests and resulted in a major crisis in Bangladesh.
Earlier on August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
–IANS
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International
Search for missing migrants underway after boat capsizes in Serbia: Ministry
Belgrade, Aug 22 (IANS) Serbian police are still searching for seven missing migrants in the Drina River after their boat capsized when crossing from Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia’s Interior Ministry confirmed in a press release issued on Thursday.
According to testimonies of the migrants who managed to reach the shore, there were approximately 25 people on board. So far, police and rescue teams have found 18 individuals, including three children, on the riverbank, Xinhua news agency reported.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said police and the Emergency Situations Sector responded promptly after being alerted by the Bosnian border authorities early Thursday morning.
An intensive search is underway in the Drina River and its surrounding area.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, reported a significant decrease in illegal border crossings in the Western Balkans during the first half of 2024.
The illegal crossings towards EU borders reached 12,407 between January and July 2024, a 75 per cent drop compared to the same period last year.
–IANS
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International
Islamabad sealed with containers amid threats of religious and political protests
Islamabad, Aug 22 (IANS) Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, turned into a fortress on Thursday with dozens of containers forcing closure of several roads with heavy deployment of law enforcement forces following the cancellation of a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) of an anti-government protest planned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and protest call by religious parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) under the banner of Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat against a Supreme Court decision in the Mubarak Sani case.
Anticipating widespread protests, the local administration, which had cancelled the NOC, imposed Section 144 in the city, barring assembly of people and also closed all educational institutions for the day.
Later in the day, the PTI announced its decision to postpone its protest rally and rescheduled it for September 8.
The government maintained that it did not want to take any chance considering the Supreme Court hearing and also the presence of Bangladeshi cricket team in the country which is currently touring Pakistan for a Test series.
On Wednesday, the capital administration of Islamabad decided to cancel the NOC for PTI, less than 24 hours before the scheduled public gathering in Tarnol area. PTI had earlier announced that it would go ahead with its planned gathering even after its NOC was revoked.
“It is concerning that the government might try to exploit the rally to incite unrest and blame it on PTI. They are scared and are trying to find ways to orchestrate cases against us,” said senior PTI leader Azam Swati.
Imran Khan’s party has been struggling to hold a political gathering in the capital for the past five months with the local administration delaying grant of any permission to hold such an event. Even after a permission is granted, it ends up being revoked a few hours later.
The latest episode is the second time the capital administration has cancelled the NOC issued to PTI for holding a political gathering at Tarnol.
The government maintains that it had detailed meeting with the Inspector General Police, Deputy Commissioner, senior officers from the Chief Commissioner’s office, officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) after which it was decided that there will be serious law and order concerns if the gathering is allowed.
On the other hand, several religious parties have also taken to the streets in Islamabad, protesting against the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict in the Mubarak Sani case.
Tehreek-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, an umbrella name for different religious parties, has called for a protest in front of the Supreme Court after the July 24 Supreme Court verdict in the case, maintaining and ruling that while Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims, they retain the right to profess and proliferate their religion, provided they do not publicly use Muslim terms or introduce themselves as Muslims.
In February 2024, Mubarak Ahmed Sani, an Ahmadi, was accused of violating the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) Amendment) Act 2021 by distributing the proscribed book ‘Tafseer-e-Sagheer’. However, the Supreme Court maintained that the alleged act occurred in 2019, before it was criminalised in 2021.
The Supreme Court decision was widely criticized by the religious groups who demanded the federal and the Punjab government to challenge the decision and ensure punishment for Sani.
The Punjab government later filed a review petition in the Supreme Court while a petition was also filed by the Federal government on directions of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
–IANS
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