As US President Donald Trump along with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed the Gaza peace declaration in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners, it evoked a new hope in Gaza and the Middle East after two years of war. The breakthrough dominated the coverage of Urdu dailies through the week. Back home, Taliban leader and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made headlines during his first visit to Delhi, which also made the front pages of the dailies.
Highlighting the agreement for a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner deal between Israel and Hamas as part of the first phase of President Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, the Hyderabad-based Munsif, in its October 10 editorial, notes that the breakthrough was achieved on the second anniversary of Israel’s war on Gaza, that started after Hamas’s attack on Israel. The daily says the ceasefire has created hopes for long-awaited peace in the region where Israel’s offensive has upended the lives of 2.1 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 67,000 people, injuring tens of thousands, displacing 90% of the population, and reducing the enclave to ruins. Israel’s war has also triggered a famine situation in Gaza.
The editorial quotes President Trump describing the deal as a “great day” for the Arab and Muslim world, the US and Israel, and calling it “first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting peace”. “There is now hope that the devastating war would come to an end in Gaza, that humanitarian aid and essential supplies would start flowing into the besieged territory, and suffering people would be given medical care,” it says. The edit also notes that United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for a permanent end to war, leading to a “two-state solution”, which could enable Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.
The big question is how will the goal of an independent Palestinian state be achieved, the daily asks, referring to opposition from Israel and some other quarters. “The Gaza war has exposed the real faces of countries that claim their commitment to human rights and peace,” it says. “The conflict has also unmasked the rulers of several Arab and Muslim countries who, despite their financial and military powers, remained apathetic and callous, merely issuing hollow condemnation statements.”
URDU TIMES
Referring to an upturn in India’s diplomatic ties with the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan amid changing geopolitics, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its October 12 editorial, points out that it was announced during the meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi, their first meeting, that India would upgrade its “technical mission” in Kabul to the status of an embassy. “This was not merely a routine engagement but one that marked a seismic shift in the equations of South Asian countries, which even took global diplomatic circles by surprise,” it says, noting that New Delhi had earlier extended its full support to the West-backed government in Kabul before the Taliban recaptured it in August 2021. “India had then made significant investments in Afghanistan, especially in development and infrastructure projects and setting up of institutions. However, New Delhi retreated from Kabul after the Taliban seized power.”
The daily says the question is, why India is taking steps to normalise its relationship with the Taliban-led Afghan government. “Does this reflect India’s pragmatism or it is a compromise with principles? Both countries are warming up to each other when there is a chill in the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Also, China has been quietly trying to deepen its influence in Afghanistan. In this backdrop, New Delhi’s bid to step up its engagement with the Taliban could be a diplomatic masterstroke,” it says, adding that India seems to be trying to re-energise its historical bonds with Afghanistan.
Flagging the row over Muttaqi’s first press conference at the Afghan Embassy in Delhi from which women journalists were kept out, the editorial says this was disgraceful, noting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi’s criticism of the Modi government’s “silence” in the face of such gender discrimination. (At Muttaqi’s second press conference at the same venue later, women journalists were allowed even as he attributed their earlier exclusion to “technical issue”.) “A right question has been raised whether India is ready to turn a blind eye to gender equality for its realist diplomacy via-a-vis the Taliban,” the edit says. “The Taliban’s policies of discrimination against women and minorities are well-known. And yet, amid a complex geopolitical scenario, India’s new diplomatic approach towards the Taliban is based more on strategic reasons than moral considerations,” the edit adds.
SIASAT
Referring to the alleged suicide of senior Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste, over which the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government has come under fire, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its October 12 leader, says that the country has been plagued by caste-based discrimination for centuries. “A long, unrelenting struggle has been waged against the scourge of casteism, which has succeeded in curbing it to an extent, but the truth remains that the suppressed, backward communities have still not been fully empowered and given their rightful representation in the power structures of society,” it states. The edit notes that in his “final note” Kumar accused several senior IPS and IAS officers, including Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur and then Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya, of caste-based harassment. “If an IPS officer is targeted for his Dalit identity, it is anyone’s guess what would be the plight of a common person from such communities.”
The daily states that while the venom of communalism has gone deep into society, Puran Kumar’s suicide has punctured our complacency that caste-based atrocities have abated. “The Haryana IPS officer’s suicide could not be brushed aside by calling it just an extreme step taken by an official. It is not an incident that has taken place in a remote village. When top officials of a state can allegedly victimise a colleague from a vulnerable group, it can have wide-ranging ramifications,” the editorial says.
While an FIR has been lodged in the case, the Haryana government has dragged its feet against the named officers despite widespread protests. “The steps taken by the government so far have been an eyewash. It must suspend and arrest the accused officers to set an example,” the edit adds.