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Afghanistan

‘India could gain from Iran deal’

The emerging US-Iran agreement has significant implications for India, including energy corridors, fertilizer supplies, and revival of the Chabahar Port project. As Gulf tensions ease, New Delhi faces a strategic crossroads that could reshape connectivity with Central Asia and Afghanistan.

Targeting music

Perhaps the most ironical aspect of reports emerging from Afghanistan that the Taliban made a bonfire of musical instruments in their attempt to stamp out an activity they consider unIslamic is that they coincide with the 43rd death anniversary of a man considered by many as the greatest male singer to have emerged from South Asia. Mohammed Rafi was a lower-caste Muslim, a simple and unlettered man, but second to none in his piety.

Terror merger

The report by a United Nations committee that says the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which functions with impunity because of the sanctuary provided by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, may be seeking a merger with Al-Qaeda to create an umbrella organization should cause concern.