Pakistan’s next boss is Asim Munir; China collapsing; India ‘Down Under’
Opinion Watch
Pakistan’s next boss is Asim Munir
Pakistan is among a few countries, including Myanmar, which are owned and run by their military. The Imran Khan factor has to an extent brought fissures in the Pakistani army, which otherwise remains united in purpose – rule Pakistan with proxies, run businesses and maintain that India poses an existential threat.
The Indian Express in its Editorial stated that General Asim Munir, who will succeed incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa on November 29, had frosty relations with Imran Khan when he was Prime Minister, for tipping off that his wife had been on a financial slippery ground. Munir paid the price, as he was shunted out as the head of the ISI soon. His appointment thus will be a red flag for Khan, who is building popular support against the army bosses in Rawalpindi. Under his watch, Pakistan commissioned the Pulwama terror attack, which invited India to carry out surgical strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
The Noida-based daily stated that Bajwa leaves the legacy of a fractured military, first scripting judicial coup against Nawaz Sharif and then falling back on him against Khan, working on peace on Line of Control, and starting drone terror against India by supplying drugs and arms through drones.
Who becomes head of Pakistani army is irrelevant, for it’s a mafia that has tentacles spread over Pakistan’s politics, religion and business. But Pakistani middle class is growing restive against the collective loot of the country by the Rawalpindi Corps. Bajwa leaves Pakistani army discredited. Munir has task on hand to stop the Pakistani people dancing on top of tanks on streets and hurling abuses against Generals.
China collapsing
The Economic Times has taken a grim view of China ‘reporting’ 31,444 Covid-19 cases in the last 24-hour. The daily gave an account of stuttering Chinese economy, growing at a mere 2.9 per cent this year against Xi Jingping regime’s claim of 5.5 per cent growth rate. The daily argued that China’s inability to control the outbreak of Covid-19 has consequences on its economy, global supply chains, while offering opportunities to India to scale up ‘China Plus One Set Up’.
Xi has packed his lackeys who floundered in managing Covid-19 cases in the politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. Xi purged all his possible rivals to take the third term, and the economic worry is least of his concern currently, as he firefights popular anger building against him. Hu Jintao’s decade of Chinese economic expansion is now history. That is evident in the likes of Jack Ma disappearing from Brand China. To tap the emerging opportunities, India will have to act on an electric speed to scale up skilling. But the sense of urgency is not visible on the ground, while rhetoric grabs headlines.
India ‘Down Under’
The Australian ratification of India-Australia ‘The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement’ is the silver lining in the bilateral relations, which are flourishing with Canberra’s visible discomfort with Beijing. The Hindu in its Editorial has opined that it could be a template for similar deals with the UK, the EU and Canada, while also cautioning that there should not be any early celebrations, for gains from pacts with Japan and ASEAN have not be so great.
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