MEA: Pakistan record on terror clear
In response to a question on Central Command Chief General Kurilla's comments at the Congressional hearing a day earlier, during the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal recalled how one of the conspirators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Tahawwur Rana, was recently extradited from the US to India and also mentioned how Osama bin Laden was given shelter in Pakistan.
'The record of Pakistan, of what Pakistan actually is, is very clear, we all know Pahalgam's attack is only a recent example of cross-border terrorism. Only recently, the conspirator, one of the conspirators of 26/11, Tahawwur Rana, was extradited from the US to India. Obviously, none of us has forgotten that Pakistan gave shelter to Osama bin Laden …You would be aware that Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped locate Osama bin Laden, is still imprisoned by the Pakistani military,' the MEA spokesperson said.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
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Time of India
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What complicates the equation for India is that the Chinese are at an advanced stage of negotiations towards a deal, which could have a favourable tariff rate and potential waivers on secondary tariffs, including possibly the tariff on account of Russian oil imports and the proposed 10 per cent BRICS tariff. China is currently faced with a 30 per cent tariff. From New Delhi's perspective, a deal needs to be clinched precisely for ensuring the gap in tariffs between India and China is maintained, even with a limited early-harvest type of deal. There is, however, greater receptiveness now within the policy circles to cut tariffs on some industrial goods, especially intermediate goods where there is the twin problem of high duties and an inverted duty structure (duty being higher on inputs than on final products). Alongside, there is a willingness to grant concessions in sectors such as public procurement and agri provided these are matched by the other side, like in the case of the UK deal. Also, India is willing to import more from the US, especially in three big-ticket sectors – defence equipment, fossil fuels and nuclear – to manage Trump's constant references to the trade gap, the sources said. Tariff rebalancing, if done right, could potentially offer an impetus to the economy, given that the biggest beneficiaries of tariff protection, especially the non-tariff barriers such as an increasing array of QCOs (quality control orders), are the big players. MSME units have been calling for these QCOs to be removed, especially in areas such as steel and textiles. Since 1991, New Delhi has gradually reduced its average tariff from nearly 79 per cent in 1990 to around 12 per cent in 2013, following which it has gone back up to 16-17 per cent by 2023. Sectors such as agriculture, dairy and automobiles, continue to be protected, even as the Ministry of Commerce and industry maintains that its trade measures are WTO compliant. Unlike its response during Trump's first term, where retaliatory tariffs were imposed, New Delhi has desisted from retaliating and is working on strategic concessions in sectors that the US is keen to target, while adhering to its own broad red lines. This involves areas symbolic of trade openness, including nuclear energy, fossil fuels and defence procurement. Think tanks such as Delhi-based Global Trade Research Initiative have said that by refusing to cross its red lines, particularly on agriculture, India has helped avoid 'the trap of a one-sided deal'. Once the official level discussions wrap up, there is a sense that a final call on the deal could come down to a conversation between the two leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump. 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