India trumps China; Sins of Davos; Riding mountains
Opinion Watch
India trumps China
After fourteen members of the United Nations Security Council came together, China was forced to lift its technical hold on the designation of Abdur Rehman Makki as a global terrorist. China is still blocking such move against four other dreaded terrorists who are hiding in the bosom of Pakistani army. Makki’s designation as a global terrorist, who was involved in the 2004 Red Fort attack and recruitment of terrorists must be a landmark, for a way has opened for India to beat China in its game.
The Hindu in an Editorial has called upon China to withdraw its technical hold against four other Pakistani terrorists so that they could be listed at the UN body. The Chennai-based daily recalled that after China blocked designation of five terrorists last year, India had come down heavily against Beijing, accusing Xi Jinping regime of double-standards on terrorism and also for making a “mockery of the UNSC”. The daily has claimed that Makki’s listing could have been an outcome of the “behind the scene negotiations between India and China”. But it underlined that the test of this (covert) diplomacy would lie in the UN listing of Hafix Saeed’s son Talha, 26/11 handler Sajid Mir, LeT recruiter Shaheed Mehmood and Abdul Rauf Azhar.
The daily has attributed Makki’s listing to a covert negotiation between India and China, while for over one month India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has gone all guns blazing against Beijing, while questioning the relevance of UNSC even, for failing to act against terrorism. The daily appears myopic, for it fails to admit that China currently is bending its back to accommodate adverse voices, including relations with the US. Makki’s listing should be the result of the Chinese bid to save her face.
Sins of Davos
The World Economic Forum is underway in the snowy city of Davos, Switzerland, where the global rich shake hands with each other and make lofty statements, which are repeated next year. While top one per cent in the world is filthy rich, more than 30 per cent of the global population faces extreme poverty.
The Asian Age in an Editorial has stated that Davos forum reminds of the slippery slope of humanity that smothers the current eight billion population of the world. The daily stated while one per cent population has 40 per cent of the wealth in India, the bottom half shares just three per cent. “There is one quality that can help humanity think and act better – tax honesty,” opined the daily, while urging upon the super rich not to make fortunes out of by exploiting the taxation loopholes.
India is making an effort for taxation standardization globally, and also a roadmap that the super rich of the world doesn’t escape paying taxes in regions of their operations. Amazon for instance doesn’t pay taxes in India, while it has captured the e-commerce market in the country. The policy timidity by developing countries for fear of scaring away FDI must be dealt with effectively.
Riding mountains
The Economic Times, while commenting on the ‘Parvatmala project’ of the government, has urged that the infrastructure development of the 13 Himalayan states should be in sync with the people living there. The business daily has called for the mainstreaming in the development journey of such states, while also ensuring that the ecology, specific circumstances and peculiarities be also taken care of by the government. With Joshimath sinking in Uttarakhand, there must be higher sensitivity in development projects in the Himalayas.
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