Not saying anything would have equally invited comments from both Indian and Pakistani commentators. Gilgit was very much a part of the Riyasat of Maharaja Hari Singh and surreptitiously handed over by the British to Pakistan after the Maharaja acceded to India. The subsequent commentary in India has been essentially about Balochistan with hardly any comments on whatever else Narendra Modi said about India — the economy, society and politics.Narendra Modi’s comments brought headline news the next morning and animated, indeed chaotic drop in anchors bolts for sale debates on some TV channels as if India had made a path breaking policy change. That is where the matter rests today. Pakistan reaction has been harsh and brutal and any one visiting social media sites can see the campaign the Baloch have launched. The Chinese have now begun to refer to Gilgit as part of PoK. The former would have been critical about the silence and the latter, triumphant.

For the Chinese, however, Gwadar will remain of very limited strategic salience unless they have security and control in Gilgit Baltistan through which all infrastructure lines to Xinjiang will pass. If we want to alter the narrative now, we will have to work overtime and take policy initiatives, like seeking a relook at the Indus Waters’ Treaty.On the other hand, the Baloch have been suspicious that Islamabad was interested in developing Gwadar by importing manpower from Punjab and PakhtunKhwa provinces, that the locals would get no benefit and would be reduced to a minority in their own province. In our discussions with Pakistan or anywhere else we seem to have allowed all discussions to be centre around the Valley of Srinagar-Baramulla-Anantnag as if this was the only area that needed to be discussed. Our regional environment and our abilities impose some restrictions on what we can say in public. The statement by itself does not show a policy change; what it might show is a change of tactic. It was unreal to expect the Prime Minister to disclose his plans. Soon afterwards the Pakistanis began to change the demography of the region by sending in Sunni Pushtun settlers to try and balance out the Shias and Ismailis. We never seem to have stressed with Pakistan or any other power that the discussion would have to include Gilgit Baltistan and PoK. So, damn-ed if I do and damned if I don’t.

Kidnappings, torture and disappearances are common and often a part of the kill and dump policy adopted by Pakistani agencies. In the context of the speech two issues are important — Balochistan and Gilgit and the two are strategically interconnected given the renewed Chinese interest exhibited through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). A policy change would be indicated by subsequent actions that are sustained over a period of time. Baloch nationalists have been fighting since then. But given Modi’s persona, one half-expected him to say something on August 15. Akbar Bugti led the campaign and he was killed. The failure of Zarb-e-Azb and the National Action Plan must be hurting, so what better than get into denial and blame the evil Indians.Leading up to the speech were clenched fist speeches from Pakistani politicians led by Nawaz Sharif, their Home Minister’s boorish conduct towards our Home minister Rajnath Singh, dire threats from the Ghazwa-e-Hind brigades and then their High Commissioner in New Delhi was shooting from the lip.The present battle in Balochistan began as a reaction to the rape of a woman doctor Shazia Khaled in 2005 and the cover up by the Pakistan Army.

Even prior to this, Baloch nationalism, has cited social discrimination and economic deprivation as the main causes for seeking separation. One presumes though that this comment was not a bolt from the blue and had followed serious discussions weighing in the likely reactions in Pakistan and India before adding the reference to Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK in the speech. Any Chinese commercial dealing with Pakistan through Gilgit, Baltistan and PoK is thus through an area that has to revert to us.Neither China, and bolstered by this, nor Pakistan are likely to change any of their actions unless there is something else at stake for either of them. They have viewed with hostility and suspicion the establishment of new military cantonments in Balochistan meant to control the Baloch and the deployment of special forces numbering about 10,000 to protect the Chinese.The Baloch leader, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, killed in August 2006 under General Musharraf’s orders, used to say that the coastal land from Jiwani (including Gwadar) to Karachi would one day be detached from Balochistan and given away to a foreign power.

The campaign was particularly vicious under General Zia and there were massive riots in 1988. We responded with a parliamentary resolution in 1994 which said Gilgit Baltistan were a part of Jammu and Kashmir which was an integral part of India. One gets the feeling that this chorus was orchestrated by the man with the swagger stick and everyone was paying obeisance to the conductor in Rawalpindi. Akbar Bugti’s grandson, Brahmdagh Bugti was worried that China would usurp Balochistan’s natural resources. The Chinese would like a quiescent Balochistan for progress on not only Gwadar but the linkages that flow from the port and lead to Xinjiang via Gilgit. We did not protest but took the matter to the UN. CPEC may benefit Pakistan and China, but a protest against any of its projects through these regions would be perfectly in order; in fact, silence would mean acquiescence. Quite obviously, given the higher than the skies and deeper than the oceans Pakistan-China relationship, China seems to be the best candidate for this transfer of land.The writer is former head of Research and Analysis Wing.Prime Minister Modi’s comments on Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK were about 350 words in a speech that lasted more than one hour and a half. The Pakistan Army is obviously hurting that its surrogates are now running out of control and the latest evidence was the horrible bombing of the Quetta courts killing about 100, mostly lawyers, on August 8

5 overs (A. Jackson made a 56-ball 59 to share 119-run opening stand with Rahane. Ultimately he holed out to Kishan at long-off with Rasool weaving the magic again after he cleaned up Woakes with a beauty. Nadeem 2/41) lost to India A 283/4 in 39. However, they lost three quick wickets after Dinda came on for a second spell. Stokes 38, P.Rahane looked in fluent touch, striking 10 fours and one six, and was a calming influence on the young Jackson. Hales had completed his half century and put on 74 runs with Bairstow for the second wicket after Pradeep Sangwan ended Jason Roy’s breezy knock (15-ball 25) early. 

Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane led from the front to guide India A to a comprehensive six-wicket win over England XI in the second 50-over warm up game at Brabourne Stadium here on Thursday. India A player Ajinkya Rahane bats during a warm up match against England XI in Mumbai. Rasool 3/38, S.Skipper Eoin Morgan failed yet again offering a caught and bowled chance to Nadeem off the first ball he faced. Pant 59, S.Rasool settled into a good rythm, troubling batsmen especially Stokes from the outset. Stokes struggled for his 38 off 56 balls. Hales 51, J. Dinda then removed the struggling Moeen Ali first ball to be on a hat-trick which was averted by Chris anchor bolts Manufacturers Woakes.4 overs (A. The Bengal medium pacer dismissed Bairstow off his last ball before Rasool had the dangerous Buttler caught & bowled for a golden duck. Deepak Hooda (23 not out) and Ishan Kishan (5 not out) took their team home with 62 balls to spare.

The England left-hander tried to hit away from trouble but wasn’t successful.The Mumbai batsman made 91 runs in 83 balls in front of his home crowd before he was bowled by David Willey in the 33rd over. Rahane 91, S.Opting to bat first after chasing well on Tuesday, England XI were bowled out for 282 with Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales striking half-centuries. He later opened the innings with Jackson to anchor India A’s chase of 283. Siddharth Kaul (1/31) who was part of the first warm-up game squad but didn’t get to play was included in second practice game on Thursday. Raina 45).Off-spinner Parvez Rasool was the pick of the bowlers for India A with 3/38.. Plunkett (8) fell to Kaul soon but Rashid and Willey ensured India A had to chase a stiff target.The 28-year-old Rahane who missed the last two Tests against England due to a finger injury showed no signs of discomfort during fielding on comeback and took a low catch at mid-wicket off Hales. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (2/41), medium pacer Ashoke Dinda (2/55) and left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan (2/64) picked two wickets apiece.

He looked in fluent touch, striking 10 boundaries and one six and was a calming influence on Jackson and youngster Pant in the middle. Raina also got going and played some big shots before being caught nicely at the deep midwicket boundary by Hales. Later, an aggressive Pant smashed 59 (36b) to put India A on course.India A spinners Rasool and Nadeem were the only bowlers to finish their full quota of ten overs in the match. Suresh Raina also made optimum use of the practice game with a 34-ball 45 while Sheldon Jackson and Rishabh Pant struck contrasting half centuries. Bairstow 64, B. Jackson 59, R. Nadeem had in his earlier over accounted for opener Hales (51) by having him caught at midwicket by Rahane. The last pair of Adil Rashid (39) and David Willey (38 not out) added 71 runs to take England to a respectable score.England XI were well placed to score big again as Bairstow looked in sublime touch.Scores: England XI 282 in 48

I said no, I was just making a different point. And as is the norm today, right-wing vultures gathered around the liberal meat, and lists came up immediately on which other prominent dissenters deserved such treatment. As the controversy over Major Gogoi’s use of a Kashmiri as a “human shield” raged, BJP parliamentarian Paresh Rawal fanned the flames in a different direction, but towards a familiar target, with his unprovoked tweet that the Army should tie up writer and activist Arundhati Roy to a jeep and parade her, instead. Now on Twitter, the liberal was shutting me down because I did not agree with her decision to accept it as a topic of debate. This seemed to me a wrong signal to send out on the subject of VAW, that it was a matter of debate.

This, when Roy had made no comment on the Gogoi matter at all. Primarily, the debate boils down to this — one argument is, it is a violation of an international code of ethics and sets a dangerous precedent if the army backs it; the other argument is that the army is allowed to gauge situations in conflict zones and bend the rules if it saves lives or is in the interest of the nation at that moment. She told me I was missing the point. When I persisted, she tweeted to me, inexplicably, “I don’t know where you’re coming from but you’re on your own.Is this what we have become as a society? Is this what we do to people who disagree with us, even when, as in my case, the disagreement is over means, not ends — simply shut them down? Should our Democracy be simply an unending contest between one echo-chamber on the Right and another on the Left? Or, is there space for nuance and negotiation?.Coincidence that all on the list were women?

Not if you go by the typical Violence Against Women (VAW) culture — whether it is in conflict zones in medieval times where women were pulled out to be raped as a lesson to the conquered enemy, or in the present, when instances of rape, murder and acid attacks as acts of revenge continue to be commonplace, the latest being the unspeakably brutal gang rape, torture and murder of a woman in Haryana for rejecting one of the perpetrators advances.This seems to me a version of Paresh Rawal’s threat, albeit definitely less violent and crude, to Arundhati Roy — an attack simply because I seem to dissent from her view on tackling VAW.Therefore, when an English TV channel anchor announced on Twitter that the debate of the evening was whether Rawal was right in his “proposal”, a number of people, including me, expressed horror that this should even be seen as a question to debate.Rawals bizarre comment was not about such a debate, the act he suggests comes solely from a place of humiliation — tying up Roy, and as proposed, other women (a list Rawal backed by tweeting “there are many options” to one suggestion) to a state vehicle and having them paraded through villages as a lesson to all dissenters.

I posed this question to the liberal feminist intellectual: “do you think by agreeing to debate this (as three pieces heavy duty anchors Suppliers opposed to unequivocal condemnation) you reduce VAW to a debate?”She replied that her performance on the show was absolutely ace and she had totally shut down a BJP spokie, and offered I hear her.”Really? On the TV debate, the liberal bragged she had shut down a fellow panelist, who had only taken advantage of the chance that the journalist and the feminist had afforded to make VAW, and Paresh Rawal’s particularly unacceptable suggestion, a matter of debate. Curiously, all the names on the lists were of women, and women who subscribe to a different ideology from the BJP’s ‘nationalist’ one.The Army Majors decision to use a civilian human shield in Kashmir is controversial because there are two opposing views. Code of ethics vs law and order, therefore, is at the crux of this debate.

The Army Majors decision to use a civilian human shield in Kashmir is controversial because there are two opposing views. Code of ethics vs law and order, therefore, is at the crux of this debate. I argued that I had no doubt her counter was technically superb, its just the topic of debate itself I had issues with.The next day, I saw tweets from the anchor thanking a leading feminist intellectual for agreeing to come on the “debate” where others (feminists) had dared not tread

Warner was blown away by Lockie Ferguson on 16 and booed off.The left-arm pacemans second 5-wicket haul of this event gave him a tournament-leading 24, two more than he earned in the 2015 World Cup, with at least two more matches to play. The defending champions extended their lead atop the standings to three points over unbeaten India, which has two games in hand.For all intents and purposes, the groundsmen appeared to be preparing a burial plot, which Australia was only too happy to lower the New Zealanders into on Saturday. Australia strangled the life out of the Kiwis to win their Cricket World Cup group match by 86 runs. Were not quite there yet. Fellow left-armer Behrendorff was left alone for 37 of his 54 deliveries."After promising to keep its foot on the pedal, the Australians squeezed out a fifth consecutive win defending a total since its only loss to India.

Top-order batsman Usman Khawaja and wicketkeeper Alex Carey rescued Australia at 92-5 with a century stand.Top-order batsman Usman Khawaja and wicketkeeper Alex Carey rescued Australia at 92-5 with a century stand, and fast bowler Mitchell Starc polished off the effort with 5-26, tournament-best figures.Khawaja had been scrabbling at the crease since the fifth over, surviving two dropped catches and a run out chance.. Boult also yorkered Starc and trapped Behrendorff for his second hat trick in ODIs, screw plugs Suppliers and the first for New Zealand in World Cups. The pair went 10 overs without scoring a boundary. His pregnant wife Candice is due to give birth in a London hospital to their third child on Sunday. He was also quick to leave Lords after the win.Starc was virtually unplayable: Of his 58 deliveries, 45 were dots.New Zealands chase was as good as over from the 32nd over, once captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were back in the pavilion for 40 and 30 respectively.Khawaja stuck around to the 50th over, when he was the first wicket of Trent Boults hat trick.Australia, still the only team to have qualified for the semifinals, is heading to the playoffs ruthlessly improving in every appearance.While Australia fielders and New Zealand batsmen gulped down fluids on the hottest day of the British summer, three orange-shirted men fussed over the pitch - cleaning, brushing, fixing, painting.

They were pinned by spin, and Starc benefited when he returned for his second spell by getting the big wicket of Williamson. The New Zealand captain was tempted by a fielder vacating slips and tried to dab Starc away only to glance behind to wicketkeeper Carey. But they were hardly any less constricted.His wickets, however, were the result of pressure applied by his fellow bowlers. That ended a stand of 50 with Taylor, who was out skying a fast ball from Cummins.Depending on results over the next three days involving England and Bangladesh, New Zealand could go into its last group match on Wednesday against England as desperate for a win as the tournament host."Good luck to the Warners," Starc said.Starc and Behrendorff got payback with a cherry on top, leaving Boult the only not out New Zealand batsman, on 2.Australia couldnt get a run in the first two overs for the first time in seven years. "Were still searching for that perfect performance. Their 15-over team total of 46-2 was the lowest of the tournament. Thats exciting.Jimmy Neesham removed Marcus Stoinis on 8 and Maxwell on 1, and Australia was in deep trouble."Steve Smith was booed in, made 5, and was out swatting a vicious pull at Martin Guptill at leg gully.The New Zealanders would have cemented their semifinals position with a win, but the day-nighter reflected their performance: Started brightly only to end up being completely shaded. Were showing glimpses. "I think when we see him in Manchester (in three days),

hell have his hands full again.The match also started well for bowlers, New Zealands."Weve always spoken about peaking towards the back end of the tournament," Starc said.Four days after routing England by 64 runs on the same pitch, Australias bowlers were even better in defending 243 and dismissing New Zealand for 157 in the 44th over.The Australians squeezed out a fifth consecutive win defending a total since its only loss to India. Pat Cummins for 28 of his 36. He played anchor while Carey blazed away with 11 boundaries to be man of the match.Of the 261 balls the New Zealand batsmen faced in their innings, 172 were dots. Guptill, just 19 meters away, had an estimated 0.6 seconds to react, leap left, and trap the smoking ball high in his left hand. Even Lords members, allowed to take off their blazers in the heat, stood and applauded the incredible catch.Jason Behrendorff removed the openers cheaply, and part-time spinners Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell, and specialist Nathan Lyon helped to tie down the Kiwis, who cracked trying to make runs.By the 14th over of the chase, Williamson and Taylor, New Zealands best batsmen, were together.Up stepped Khawaja with 88 and Carey with 71 in a fightback worth 107 for the sixth wicket."We were fantastic to keep such a good side to under 160," Starc said.Finch, who scored 100 on Tuesday at Lords against England, was trapped on 8, and his opening partnership with David Warner, averaging 91 in this tournament, was broken on 15. (Photo: AFP) London: The break for drinks arrived and the groundsmen at Lords sprinted into the middle

The entire project was approved by the Centre in March 2015.Top sources privy to the development told this newspaper that the first phase of the over 2,500km-long pipeline project, which consists of setting up a trunk pipeline from Phulpur (Allahabad) till Dobhi (Gaya) in Bihar is only 11 per cent physically complete, and its financial progress is just four per cent.The third phase will involve laying of 583-km line to Haldia at the cost of Rs 3,425 crore.Mr Modi, sources privy to the development told this newspaper, directed chief secretaries of both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to ensure that full-time revenue officers are appointed to expedite the process of land acquisition.Though the Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline project had been envisaged undercut anchors in 2007 by GAIL at a cost of Rs 7,600 crore, it got incessantly delayed owing to the Maharatna company’s inability to find an anchor investor.

Once this happens, sources pointed out, the project’s functioning will help in lessening the gas subsidy burden on the Government in the long run.Official sources pointed that despite being a crucial region - with both UP and Bihar falling within the Gangetic plan - there is huge paucity of gas there, and the Jagdishpur-Haldia project will be crucial for the overall development of the area. Tripathi, chairperson of the state-owned Gas Authority of India Ltd, which is implementing the project, had said earlier in 2016 that while the first phase of the project will be completed by December 2018, the completion of the second and third phases will depend on the fertiliser plants coming up in the region. He also asked the states to ensure faster forest clearance so that the execution of the first phase of the project begins earnestly.The Centre’s ambitious Rs 12,000 crore Jagdishpur-Haldia gas pipeline project, which aims to create a gas corridor across eastern India and will also pass through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Parlia

The Centre’s ambitious Rs 12,000 crore Jagdishpur-Haldia gas pipeline project, which aims to create a gas corridor across eastern India and will also pass through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, is finding it hard to take off owing to delays in land acquisition. The project has a total of three phases.. The first phase of the project, that seeks to ensure cooking gas supply in Tier-II cities of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, is only 11 per cent complete despite having been approved 18 months ago. The total distance of the first phase is 755 km. However, more significantly, FCIL’s Gorakhpur and Sindri fertiliser units and HFCL’s Haldia, Durgapur and Barauni units - which are all located at significant points of Jagdish-Haldia pipeline’s route - had gone defunct since both FCIL and HFCL had been referred to BIFR, and it is only in the recent years when their revival has been ordered. Four urea plants in Gorakhpur,

Barauni, Durgapur and Haldia as well as one steel plant in Sindri are also part of the ambitious project, which has been expedited at the instance of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).In a meeting held recently to discuss the project, the Prime Minister is reported to have been apprised of the fact that owing to non-availability of updated land ownership details in village records, especially in Bihar, the land acquisition process has been affected.The fast tracking of the project has been mainly due to PMO’s direct intervention, as its implementation will not only enable gas supply in key States of UP and Bihar, but its easy availability in these densely populated States will also widen GAIL’s gas network there.The deadline for the completion of the first phase is December 2018.C. In Phase-II, a 1,200 km line would be laid from Dobhi to Bokaro/Ranchi in Jharkhand and Angul and Dhamra in Odisha at the cost of Rs 5,565 crore.With eyes firmly on the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Modi, who was instrumental in reviving the 10-year-old project, is learnt to have taken a stern view over the delay and has directed chief secretaries of both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to expedite the process.B