- 2 months ago
In this episode of India Today Global, the focus is on the escalating water conflict targeting Pakistan from two fronts, with India and Taliban-led Afghanistan using hydro-sovereignty as a strategic tool.
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00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Geeta Mohan and you're watching India Today Global, the big story today.
00:05After India, now Taliban-led Afghanistan is planning to drop a water bomb on Pakistan.
00:11In response to Pakistan's attack killing 17 people, the Taliban's supreme leader has directed its Ministry of Water and Energy
00:19to immediately begin construction of dam on the Qunar River.
00:23Afghan Information Ministry has confirmed that the dam on Qunar River is aimed at limiting water supply to Pakistan.
00:31Here's a report by Menakshi Shandalia.
00:47Following the horrific Pailgham attack, India suspended parts of the Indus Water Treaty,
00:52effectively stopping water supply to Pakistan.
00:56Now, the Taliban-led Afghanistan is preparing for the same.
01:00The supreme leader of the Taliban, Mawlavi Hibatullah Akhundzada,
01:04has directed the Ministry of Water and Energy to immediately begin construction of a dam on the Qunar River.
01:11The Afghan Information Ministry has confirmed that the dam is aimed at limiting water supply to Pakistan.
01:16Mohajir Farahi, the Deputy Minister of Information, posted on X stating that the order has instructed him
01:23to start construction on dams on the Qunar River as soon as possible
01:27and to sign contracts with domestic companies, not waiting for any foreign companies.
01:32Earlier in May, the Taliban Army General Mohamed Mubeen Khan had visited the Qunar area to inspect the dam
01:41and urged the Kabul government to allocate funds for the construction of several dams.
01:47The move comes amid escalating military tensions between both countries along the Durand Line.
01:52Pakistan had carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan's southeastern Bhaktika province,
01:57targeting residential areas in Argon and Barmal districts, killing 17 people, including three Afghanistani cricketers.
02:07The timing of the attack coincided with Taliban Foreign Minister Aamir Khan Muthaki's formal visit to India
02:13and the build-up of diplomatic relations between India and Afghanistan.
02:18During the visit, he had appreciated India's assistance in the construction of the Salma Dam
02:22and agreed to cooperate on future hydroelectric projects.
02:26It seems that the growing bonhomie between India and Afghanistan has left Pakistan deeply troubled.
02:34Now, if Afghanistan stops the Qunar River water supply to Pakistan,
02:39it will be double jeopardy from Islamabad from both its neighbours,
02:42ruining its agriculture and water management system.
02:46With Meenakshi Shandilya, Bureau Report, India Today.
02:49Well, there is more than meets the eye.
02:54On Statecraft today, we dive deep into the heart of Indus waters.
02:59South Asia's rivers are no longer just water, they're weapons.
03:02If Pakistan continues with its ways, then Taliban-ruled Afghanistan will follow India's path
03:08and squeeze Pakistan dry, turning dams into leverage
03:11and reshaping the region's geopolitical battlefield.
03:29First, India did it.
03:30Put the Indus waters treaty in abeyance,
03:33cutting Pakistan's lifeline in the name of national security,
03:37reiterating its position that terrorism and water can't flow together.
03:42Now, Afghanistan has joined the party.
03:45The Taliban's supreme leader has ordered construction of dams on the Qunar River,
03:51threatening to choke the Kabul River flow into Pakistan.
03:54A move that could dry up fields, dim lights and expose Pakistan's water dependence.
04:01From Kashmir's glaciers to the Hind Kush mountains,
04:05Islamabad's rivers of life are turning into rivers of leverage.
04:09And this time, it's not just India holding the dam card.
04:12It's Afghanistan, a country Pakistan once sought to control.
04:17Has Pakistan's old backyard turned into its newest battleground over water?
04:23Hello and welcome.
04:24You're watching Statecraft with me, Geeta Mohan.
04:31The timing couldn't be more dramatic.
04:37India put an abeyance in the Swatters Treaty
04:40after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians,
04:44an attack that was carried out by Pakistan-backed terrorists.
04:47And now, the Taliban and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
04:52is flexing its hydrological muscles,
04:55ordering construction of dams to control its rightful waters.
04:59The Qunar River, flowing from Afghanistan into Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
05:04could soon be weaponized.
05:07Both New Delhi and Kabul have realized the same truth.
05:10Water is power.
05:12And Pakistan's over-dependence is its biggest weakness.
05:16Is Islamabad facing the region's first two-front water war?
05:20Water has always been South Asia's invisible weapon.
05:24The Indas, the Kabul, the Qunar,
05:26did not just rivers, there are trees of agriculture,
05:30food and survival for millions.
05:32When the British partitioned India in 1947,
05:36they divided not just land, but lifelines.
05:39India inherited the upper stream advantage,
05:41Pakistan, the downstream dependency.
05:44For decades, this imbalance simmered under the surface,
05:48moderated only by the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.
05:52That treaty, brokered by the World Bank,
05:55gave India control over the eastern rivers,
05:58Bias, Ravi and Sathlaj.
06:00And Pakistan, the rights to western ones,
06:03Indus, Chenab and Chelam.
06:06But treaties, like rivers, change course with time.
06:10The moment India froze the Indus Waters Agreement
06:13after the Pahalgam terror attack,
06:15Pakistan's water insecurity resurfaced with vengeance.
06:18And just as Islamabad scrambled to contain that crisis,
06:22Kabul opened a new front,
06:24a hydrological uppercut from the Hindukush.
06:28For decades, Pakistan weaponized terrorism.
06:31Now India has weaponized water.
06:35Pakistan's traditional foreign policy,
06:37which relied on leveraging geography,
06:39is collapsing under the weight of its own geography.
06:42Every dam Afghanistan builds,
06:45every treaty India suspends,
06:48chips away at Pakistan's leverage.
06:50The country that once sought strategic depth in Afghanistan
06:53is now discovering strategic drought.
06:58India's quiet support for Afghanistan's water sovereignty
07:01is not just aid, it's alignment.
07:04The Salman Chaitut dams are more than concrete structures.
07:07They're diplomatic anchors.
07:09They reduce Afghan dependence on Pakistan's electricity grid
07:13and give Kabul the ability to dictate water terms downstream.
07:19India's assistance also gives it indirect leverage,
07:22while maintaining plausible deniability.
07:25It doesn't need to cut Pakistan's water itself
07:28if its ally upstream can do so.
07:31For New Delhi, this is strategic brilliance.
07:34And for Islamabad, strategic suffocation.
07:37The unfolding India-Afghanistan-Pakistan triangle
07:41just isn't about rivers.
07:43It's about a changing balance of power in South Asia.
07:47Water, once seen as a natural resource,
07:50is now a political resource.
07:52Whoever controls the flow, controls the future.
07:56Pakistan is learning this the hard way.
07:59From New Delhi to Kabul,
08:01its neighbors are asserting hydro sovereignty.
08:04And in this new regional reality,
08:06treaties are tools of the strong,
08:09not shields for the weak.
08:11The 21st century great game isn't fought over oil or ideology.
08:15It's fought over water.
08:18India struck first with the Indus.
08:20Now the Taliban follows with the Qunar.
08:22Between them, Pakistan is being squeezed dry.
08:26Diplomatically, geographically and literally.
08:29For decades, Islamabad played fire with proxy wars.
08:34Today, it faces the floodgates of its own making.
08:37The rivers that once nourished it now define its isolation.
08:42As the Taliban tightens the tap and India fortifies its dams,
08:46can Pakistan adapt before its rivers of influence run completely dry?
08:51Or will it discover that in South Asia's new water wars,
08:55it's the downstream that always drowns first?
09:01After the United States imposed sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies,
09:05Luke Oil and Rosneft,
09:07Russian President Vladimir Putin derided the sanctions as unfriendly,
09:12claiming that they wouldn't hurt the Russian economy.
09:15Putin also warned that the reduced oil supply can raise global prices
09:18and can be uncomfortable for countries like the U.S.
09:22He stated that U.S. sanctions would raise energy prices
09:25and hinted at a strong response if tensions escalate.
09:30Along with the U.S.,
09:31European Union also announced a phased ban on Russian liquefied natural gas,
09:37that's LNG.
09:38French President Emmanuel Macron has also supported the sanctions
09:42made by U.S. and the European Union.
09:45We will deliver in the weeks to come on additional efforts on financing.
09:53We had a very long discussion at the European Council yesterday.
09:57We will make progress in the weeks to come.
09:59Probably Ursula and Antonio will revert on that.
10:05But I'm confident that we will finalize our discussions.
10:08But we all share the same objectives,
10:12meaning giving visibility and providing financing for Ukraine.
10:17In parallel, we also need to continue to step up our military support to Ukraine,
10:23air defense capacities, long-range capabilities, drones and anti-drone systems.
10:27I want to confirm, Volodymyr, that we will deliver in the days to come additional ASTAR missiles,
10:34new training programs and new Mirage.
10:37And we will, with some other colleagues, confirm some additional initiatives.
10:43Global oil prices jumped about 5% after the sanctions amid fears of supply disruptions.
10:50India's Reliance Industries and major Chinese oil firms plan to cut Russian crude imports.
10:55Meanwhile, India has denied to accept the limits on its trading choices.
11:00Listen in to what the Trade Minister, Piyush Goyal, had to say in Berlin.
11:06So I was reading in today's paper,
11:08Germany is asking for exemption from U.S. sanctions on oil.
11:15Now, these are, these are,
11:17UK already has sorted and probably got an exemption for procuring oil from the U.S.
11:24This is about the Rosneft deal, sanctions, I think.
11:26And we've sorted out our, the issues with Germany.
11:28We managed to do that very quickly.
11:30And I think the Americans will do something very similar.
11:33So then why single out India?
11:36Well, it's, it's, it's, it's a specific subsidiary in relation to, to Rosneft.
11:42We also have a subsidiary in India of the Rosneft.
11:45Well, you need to come and talk to us.
11:50Sanctions have been imposed and there are going to be impacts.
11:53Here's a report by Debangna Dutta on what are these sanctions and how they can impact India.
11:59U.S. President Donald Trump just dropped what his treasury secretary calls
12:12one of the largest sanctions ever imposed on Russia.
12:15The targets, Rosneft and Lukoil,
12:19Russia's two biggest oil companies that fuel the Kremlin's war machine in Ukraine.
12:24Given President Putin's refusal to end this senseless war,
12:30Treasury is sanctioning Russia's two largest oil companies,
12:34Treasury Secretary Scott Besant declared.
12:37But here's the thing.
12:39These sanctions aren't just about Russia.
12:42They're about to shake up global oil markets.
12:44And India is right in the crosschairs.
12:47The timing is crucial.
12:49Trump imposed these sanctions just one day after cancelling a planned summit with Putin in Budapest.
12:57His reason?
12:58Putin wasn't being honest and forthright in ceasefire negotiations.
13:04But that'll be a big one.
13:05We cancelled the meeting with President Putin.
13:07It just, it didn't feel right to me.
13:09It didn't feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get.
13:12So I cancelled it.
13:13But we'll do it in the future.
13:14But next week we'll be with many of you in those locations that I told you.
13:19Then it's back, back to Washington.
13:22So.
13:23Let's break down what this means for India.
13:26Russia's oil and gas exports make up about a quarter of Moscow's federal budget.
13:32China and India, they're the biggest buyers.
13:35Together, Beijing and New Delhi account for the majority of Russian energy exports.
13:41Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, India has become the largest buyer of discounted Russian
13:48seaborne crude, importing about 1.7 million barrels per day this year alone.
13:55That's cheap oil keeping fuel prices down for Indian consumers.
14:00But Trump isn't happy about it.
14:03He's already slapped India with a 25% punitive tariff for buying Russian oil.
14:08And now, with Rosneft and luke oil sanctioned, the pressure is intensifying.
14:15Trump claims Prime Minister Modi assured him that India was not going to buy much oil from
14:21Russia because Modi too wants to see the war end with Russia-Ukraine.
14:26But New Delhi's official line?
14:29India's priority is protecting consumers in a volatile energy market.
14:33Here's where it gets complicated.
14:35According to Reuters, Indian state refiners, including Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum
14:42and Hindustan Petroleum are now reviewing their Russian oil trade documents to make sure
14:48no supply is coming directly from Rosneft or Lucoil.
14:52The good news, most Indian refiners don't buy directly from these companies anyway.
14:57They use intermediaries, middlemen who handle the transactions.
15:04Now, will the US actively threaten secondary sanctions on Chinese banks, UAE traders and
15:09Indian refiners that deal with these Russian companies?
15:13If Washington follows through with enforcement, India could face a tough choice.
15:18Cheap Russian oil or access to US markets.
15:22Russia, for its part, is defiant.
15:25Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharov fired back, saying Moscow has developed strong
15:31immunity to Western sanctions.
15:33We view this step as extremely counterproductive.
15:39It sends bad signal in terms of reaching significant negotiation progress on Ukrainian conflict
15:45settlement.
15:46If current US administration starts to take their predecessors as example that tried to
15:52make Russia abandon its national interests with legal sanctions, the result will be absolutely
15:57the same.
15:59It will be a failure for domestic affairs and negative for stability of the world economy.
16:06The European Union has joined in too, approving its 19th sanction package against Russia, including
16:13a ban on Russian LNG imports by 2027.
16:18So what does this all mean for India?
16:20In the short term, expect some pullback.
16:23Indian refiners will be cautious, ensuring compliance to avoid getting caught in a sanctions tent.
16:30Long term, it depends on how seriously Washington enforces these measures.
16:35If Trump is truly committed to choking off Russia's oil revenues, India may have to look elsewhere
16:41for energy, potentially driving up costs for Indian consumers.
16:45New Delhi finds itself walking a diplomatic tightrope, balancing a strategic autonomy, energy security
16:53and relations with Washington.
16:56One thing's certain, the days of India quietly buying discounted Russian crude without consequences
17:02may be coming to an end.
17:04As global oil markets brace for disruption, Indian consumers and policy makers alike are watching
17:10closely, because what happens next could hit everyone's wallet.
17:16With the Bank Nadatta, Pura Report, India Today Global.
17:19In a major move, the European Union is considering repurposing nearly 200 billion euros of frozen
17:28Russian central bank assets, held primarily in Belgium's Euroclear, to finance Ukraine's war
17:35effort.
17:35European Union leaders are set to approve reparation loans, marking the first time in history that
17:43frozen enemy asset fund the victim's defense.
17:46Here's a report by Shorik Saha on how this unprecedented financial move could reshape global wartime economics,
17:54setting a powerful precedent for how aggressive nations' assets are used in future conflicts.
18:07It is a wide-ranging and extensive package that hits at the heart of the Russian war economy.
18:16The European Union is preparing to hit Russia where it hurts the most.
18:33It's frozen billions.
18:34Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, the EU has frozen nearly 200 billion euros
18:43of Russian central bank assets.
18:46Most of that money is sitting untouched inside the Euroclear, a powerful financial institution
18:52based in Belgium.
18:54Now, Brussels wants to put that cash to work, not for Russia, but for Ukraine.
18:59My position that, first of all, we need to use any kind of Russian money for Ukrainian production
19:11and increase it.
19:14It's cheaper and quicker.
19:16And we speak, first of all, about long-range.
19:18It's about drones.
19:20It's about electronic warfare, systems of electronic warfare.
19:23And it's about missiles.
19:27In any case, one of the ways to pressure on them, and by the way, they're afraid it, afraid
19:33very much, that Europe will make this union decision.
19:40And, of course, one of the ways, yes, to use frozen assets.
19:45And between us, not only on humanitarian things.
19:50Yes, because they attack us.
19:51We need to defend, defend and answer.
19:55EU leaders are set to approve a groundbreaking reparations loan that could hand Kyiv up to
20:01140 billion euros to keep its war effort alive.
20:05But here's the twist.
20:07The EU won't seize Russia's assets directly.
20:11That's legally risky.
20:12Instead, the bloc plans a clever workaround, borrowing from the matured funds in Euroclear
20:17and loaning that money to Ukraine.
20:19Kyiv would only repay if Russia eventually foots the bill on the war's destruction.
20:26Belgium, however, is nervous.
20:29Prime Minister Bart Deweber warns that the move could drag his country into expensive legal
20:33battles with Moscow.
20:34He's demanding ironclad guarantees from all 27 EU nations before signing off.
20:42Still, EU leaders are pressing ahead.
20:45They aim to finalize the plan by year's end, ensuring Ukraine's funding through 2026 and 2027.
20:51It is a wide-ranging and extensive package that hits at the heart of the Russian war economy.
20:59And we will keep up pressure on Russia for as long as it takes, just as we've always said
21:06that we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes to secure an end to the killing and
21:12a just and lasting peace.
21:14We had a good discussion on the reparations loan to be financed with immobilized Russian
21:20assets.
21:21And it allowed us to identify points we still need to clarify.
21:26And then, indeed, we will come back with the different options that we will develop.
21:31The big question now is who controls how the money is spent.
21:35France wants it to boost Europe's own defense industry, while others argue that Ukraine should
21:41buy weapons from anywhere, even the United States.
21:45If approved, this will be the first time in history that frozen enemy assets bankroll the
21:50victim's defense, a financial gamble that could redefine global warfare economics.
21:57With Saurik Saha, Bureau Report, India Today.
22:00The White House has defended the controversial $100,000 H-1B visa fee taking effect on the
22:116th of October.
22:12Trump administration stated that it will fight all the lawsuits filed against the H-1B visa
22:18policy.
22:19White House Press Secretary Carolyn Livett defended the move in a press conference on Thursday.
22:25Listen in.
22:28The administration will fight these lawsuits in court.
22:30The president's main priority has always been to put American workers first and also
22:36to strengthen our visa system.
22:37We know for far too long the H-1B visa system has been spammed with fraud, basically, and
22:44that's driven down American wages.
22:46So the president wants to refine this system, which is part of the reason he implemented these
22:51new policies.
22:52These actions are lawful.
22:53They are necessary and will continue to fight this battle in court.
22:56The press secretary's comment came after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued Trump administration
23:03for raising the H-1B visa fee to $100,000.
23:06Several unions, employers, and religious groups joined the lawsuit in California and Washington,
23:12D.C., claiming the hike is illegal and hurts U.S. industries.
23:17According to U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the fee hike violates the Immigration and Nationality Act,
23:22which mandates that the visa fees should be solely based on the government's processing costs.
23:32Silicon Valley, hub of global innovation, has become the new front line of international espionage,
23:39and this time the weapon is seduction.
23:42Intelligence officials warn that Chinese and Russian spies are using sex warfare tactics
23:48to infiltrate U.S. tech companies, targeting engineers and entrepreneurs
23:53through romance, marriage, and manipulation to steal trade secrets.
23:58Here's a report by Farhan Khan on how China and Russia are stealing U.S. tech secrets using sex warfare.
24:18Welcome to Silicon Valley, land of billion-dollar ideas, tech geniuses, and apparently international espionage.
24:29But this time, it's not your typical spy thriller with gadgets and car chases.
24:35It's something a little more seductive and a lot more dangerous.
24:40Intelligence experts are warning that Chinese and Russian operatives are using a tactic now being called sex warfare.
24:46In short, they're using attractive women to infiltrate tech companies, seduce employees, and steal trade secrets.
24:55Sounds like a movie plot? It's not. It's happening right now.
25:00Reports suggest that spies posing as charming businesswomen or investors are targeting Silicon Valley engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
25:09Some even go as far as marrying their targets and having children,
25:12all to maintain long-term access to classified information.
25:17James Malvinan, a counterintelligence expert and chief of Parmit Consulting,
25:22says he's seen a major rise in these kinds of operations.
25:26He told The Times that he gets an enormous number of LinkedIn requests from attractive young Chinese women
25:33who seem suspiciously interested in defense technology.
25:36Experts say sex-based espionage is only one part of a much larger campaign.
25:43China and Russia are reportedly using investors, academics, and even cryptocurrency analysts
25:48to collect intelligence from the U.S. tech sector.
25:51China, for instance, hosts startup competitions in America,
25:54which sound innocent enough, but are actually used to harvest business plans
25:59and identify promising technologies.
26:02Meanwhile, Russia has updated its old Cold War playbook,
26:06swapping trench coats for tech startups and venture capital deals.
26:10One former U.S. officer revealed a case where a beautiful Russian woman
26:14married an American aerospace engineer working on sensitive projects,
26:19turning what looked like love into lifelong espionage mission.
26:22The financial toll is staggering.
26:26Intellectual property theft costs the U.S. an estimated $600 billion a year,
26:31mostly due to Chinese operations.
26:33Startups, in particular, are vulnerable.
26:36One wrong meeting with the wrong investor and years of innovation could be gone.
26:41Silicon Valley's open, collaborative culture makes it the perfect target.
26:44The region thrives on networking, idea sharing, and trust.
26:48All things that make it hard to detect spies hiding in plain sight.
26:52Even America's allies, like South Korea and Israel,
26:56are said to quietly run intelligence-gathering operations in the region.
27:00There's also a political layer.
27:02China reportedly runs influence campaigns in California,
27:06recruiting local leaders and even mobilizing student groups for Beijing's causes.
27:11Today's espionage battlefield isn't in secret bunkers or military bases.
27:15It's in boardrooms, startup incubators, and coffee shops across Silicon Valley.
27:19China's hunt for tech secrets has been called an Oklahoma land rush,
27:25fast, aggressive, and relentless.
27:27And as America's tech hubs spread to places like Austin, Boulder, and Chapel Hill,
27:32experts warn the threat will only grow.
27:35The lesson?
27:36In a world where data is power,
27:38seduction might just be the new spy weapon.
27:40Bureau Report, India Today Global.
27:48That's all on this edition of India Today Global.
27:50Stay tuned to the channel for all the latest news and updates.
27:53Goodbye and take care.
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