- 1 hour ago
This special report examines the landmark India-US trade agreement following US President Donald Trump's announcement to reduce tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. Gaurav Sawant and former Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu analyze the strategic implications of this deal, which targets a $500 billion bilateral trade volume. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal confirms that the agreement protects India's agriculture and dairy sectors despite global economic pressures. The report highlights India's role in the global supply chain and its focus on competitive parity for textiles, leather, and gems. Addressing the NDA parliamentary party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted the shifting global order in India's favor. Additionally, the program addresses India's continued purchase of Russian oil for national energy security. Experts, including Mark Linscott and Ambassador Arun Kumar Singh, discuss the diplomatic significance of these developments. The broadcast also covers the escalating conflict in Balochistan, where Pakistan's Defense Minister Khwaja Asif admitted military challenges against local fighters.
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00:00India-US seal greatest of all deals.
00:09Trump slashes tariff to 18%.
00:13Dost Modi delivers strong deal.
00:21Modi says, world tilting India's way.
00:35But deal detractors slam BJP.
00:38Narendra Modi ji nai kalshaan us deal ko saing kar diya.
00:45Narendra Modi ji per pressure hai.
00:48Government assures, Dairy farmers protected.
00:51US trade deal me bhi.
00:53Bharat ke joh sensitive sectors hai.
00:57Agriculture ko leke, Dairy ko leke, unko saurikshat kiya gya hai.
01:03After EU deal, is India-US FTA a game changer?
01:10That is our big focus on India first.
01:12Good evening.
01:19Not long ago, India was being called a dead economy.
01:23It was said India was fueling the Russian war.
01:25It was said India was profiteering from the Russian-Ukraine war.
01:29And that India would come running for a deal.
01:33India did not respond to a single taunt, did not respond to a single barb.
01:39Very patiently, keeping India first and Indian interests supreme, India pursued an agreement
01:46with a $30 trillion economy that would benefit the Indian people, that would benefit Indian
01:52trade, commerce, science, technology, business.
01:55And late yesterday, it was the US president who had unilaterally announced 25% plus another
02:0225% tariff on India announced that tariffs were being slashed to 18%.
02:08Now, speaking to NDA's parliamentary party leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reported
02:15to have said India is taking center stage.
02:20India is emerging as a major contributor to global economy.
02:24And the world is tilting towards India.
02:27We get you much more beyond the politics.
02:30We'll speak to experts and get you what you must know about the India-US negotiations and
02:38the road to that agreement, what it means for India.
02:43We get you that story on India first.
02:45Coming up at 8.30 tonight, we'll take you across the border.
02:49We'll tell you what's happening in Balochistan, where Baloch freedom fighters have the Pakistani
02:54security forces running for cover.
02:56In fact, you will hear Pakistan's defense minister, Khwaja Asif, he's almost in tears as he admits
03:04Pakistan does not have the weapons, Pakistan does not have the wherewithal, in his words,
03:11to fight the Baloch Liberation Army, the Baloch freedom fighters.
03:17We get you that story at 8.30 tonight.
03:19I'm Gaurav Sawant.
03:20As always, let's get started with the headlines on India first.
03:26India-US trade deal done.
03:32Tariffs for India lower to 18% from 50%.
03:35Donald Trump says Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I get things done.
03:38The government's big declaration on the US deal says it protects India's agriculture and dairy interests.
03:48Former army chief's unpublished memoirs rock the parliament again.
03:59Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi writes to Lok Sabha's speaker Om Birla alleging refusal of
04:05his democratic rights lodges strong protest and calls it a blot on democracy.
04:12Seven Congress Lok Sabha MPs, one left MP suspended for throwing papers at the chair.
04:25Drama in Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi was stopped from speaking by the chair.
04:30Mamata Banerjee vs. Election Commission war escalates amid showdown over SIR in Bengal.
04:42Trimul Congress in talks with opposition parties to bring an impeachment motion against the CEC, Gyanesh Kumar.
04:50A year after President's rule, Manipur to get a new chief minister, Maitei leader,
05:03Yumnam Khenchan Singh elected as the BJP legislature party leader.
05:07President's rule was imposed due to escalating Maitei vs. Khookhi violence.
05:12I have breaking news that's coming in on top of India first and this is breaking news that's coming in
05:29from the United States of America.
05:32Washington DC has effectively acknowledged what Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government
05:37has repeatedly been saying. India has stressed that India's agriculture sector remains protected.
05:46India has repeatedly said that. In fact, U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer said
05:53there is now an understanding on reducing India's technical non-tariff barriers including recognition of U.S. standards.
06:04But the U.S. Trade Representative also very clearly has said India is maintaining some protection
06:12around agricultural goods, a key point amidst the opposition here in India claiming that farmer interest
06:21had been compromised or words to that effect by leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
06:27But here's a clarification that's coming from the United States of America.
06:31Of course, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal very emphatically, he said there is no question
06:36of compromising interests of Indian farmers and Indian dairy.
06:41But there's a clarification that's also now coming from the United States of America,
06:46especially in the wake of what Agriculture Secretary of the United States, you know,
06:51took to social media platform X to say that American farmers will get greater access to Indian markets.
06:55So, the U.S. Trade Representative Greer, he went on to add that India's industrial goods tariff
07:02will now go down to zero from 13.5% and that India has agreed to reduce tariffs on U.S. exports to India.
07:11And this actually lines up with the Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal insisting that Indian agriculture
07:19and Indian dairy, India's farmers are being safeguarded, they are being protected.
07:26Piyush Goyal stressed that key sectors, very sensitive sectors, agriculture and dairy are being safeguarded in the agreement
07:34and he countered the opposition claims that farmers' interests had been compromised.
07:38Piyush Goyal had earlier today said, and I quote,
07:41the Prime Minister has protected both the agriculture and the dairy just as he saved India from RCEP,
07:49Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, where he said that the Congress Party was ready to push India in in 2012-13.
07:58He then hit out at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party.
08:01He said that in short, that the Narendra Modi government had ensured that the agriculture sector
08:06and the dairy sector in the U.S. deal are being protected in the India-U.S. trade deal that is being negotiated.
08:16Listen in.
08:17Sit There, a lot.
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25:28And the Indian government has not indicated that there is any commitment to completely stop buying Russian oil.
25:34In any case, the message from India consistently over the past couple of years has been
25:39that India will make purchases in the energy market based on the prices at which the products are available
25:46and based on looking at India's energy security.
25:50And Russian oil was available at discounted prices, cheaper than what we could get from elsewhere.
25:55And before the Trump administration, the U.S. administration itself was asking India to buy more and more energy from Russia
26:02to keep the global prices stabilized.
26:05So I think now that Venezuelan oil is again entering the market, availability of oil will change, the price structures will change.
26:14So it's possible that just looking at competitive conditions, India may reduce what it was buying from Russia,
26:21but that doesn't mean that India will take it to zero.
26:23And on that, I have not seen any commitment from the Indian side.
26:28And condition that, you know, we are playing out some of the conditions based entirely on what has been put out
26:33on Truth Social by President Trump or, you know, whatever the Agriculture Secretary may have said in the United States.
26:40And I'll come to that in just a moment.
26:41But there's also this talk about non-tariff barriers would be cut down to zero
26:46and that India would invest $500 billion in purchases from the United States of America.
26:54Sir, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to the United States in February 2025,
26:59India was amongst the first of the bloc, hoping for a quick deal with the United States.
27:03At that time, the conversation was double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
27:10So what's your reading of this?
27:12Is India to buy worth $500 billion or bilateral trade up to $500 billion?
27:17Sir, absolutely.
27:21And at the same time, we know that President Trump, for his own political purposes,
27:26has time to time made claims or projected figures and claims that have not really been based on facts.
27:34So I think he's playing his own political game.
27:36He wants to show to his base that through these trade agreements,
27:40he's able to achieve more than any other U.S. president has done.
27:45But that's all that is not necessarily backed up by facts.
27:49So I think that we should just wait for the details of the agreement to emerge.
27:54And even with South Korea, for example,
27:56the U.S. claimed that South Korea had agreed to invest more than $350 billion in the U.S.
28:04And the South Koreans later said they were not in a position to do that.
28:07And then with Japan, that Japan has agreed to invest $550 billion in the U.S.
28:12and we didn't see a similar matching commitment from the Japanese side.
28:16So I think we should just take it, not take it at face value, let it play out,
28:21see it as a political projection that is being done and wait for the details to emerge.
28:27Okay.
28:27But Ambassador, should we take the U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins,
28:31at face value when there's conversation of India's massive farm markets being opened
28:37for U.S. farmers raising concerns that subsidized U.S. farm produce would be sent to India?
28:45Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, of course, just a short while back said
28:48there's no question of compromising the interests of Indian farmers
28:51or very sensitive sectors like agriculture and dairy.
28:55Is there confusion on this issue?
28:57Or should they not be taken at face value, the Americans, on this?
29:01Of course, there's a clarification from U.S. that has just come in also.
29:03So again, I would say we should not take it at face value.
29:09We should wait for the details to come out.
29:11From the reports that had appeared earlier in the public domain,
29:15it would appear then on a couple of items,
29:19India may be willing to allow more market access when there is shortage in India,
29:25but not open up the entire sector.
29:27And I think that is the kind of statement that has been also coming out from the Indian side,
29:31that the sensitive sectors would be protected.
29:34So I think at this stage, the best option would be to wait for the details to come out.
29:39And the very fact that for more than six months, India stood its ground.
29:43And there was a sense in India that we could live with the present situation
29:47if the U.S. didn't walk back from the position it had taken.
29:50So there is no indication that there was a compulsion on India
29:53to make concessions that it had not agreed to before.
29:56So, Ambassador, you know, this movement on the trade deal comes just a couple of days after
30:04India concluded that deal with the European Union
30:07that Ursula von der Leyen at Davos had described as the mother of all deals.
30:13There are commentators who are saying that India perhaps is hedging
30:16between Washington, D.C. and Brussels to reduce the geopolitical risk.
30:20There are also those who say that India is more keen on a multipolar world,
30:25does not want American pressure.
30:26Then there are those who are arguing that this is a deep reset in India-U.S. ties.
30:31India is now firmly back in the U.S. economic orbit.
30:36Would you agree with that argument?
30:41I would not go that far because, you know, with the action that U.S. has taken,
30:46it has revived in India once again a sense that U.S. can be a coercive and unreliable partner.
30:52You know, for 25 years since 2000, both countries had made a determined effort to consolidate
30:58a relationship, build more trust in the partnership.
31:01Now, here, President Trump suddenly took two actions.
31:04One, reciprocal tariffs of 25 percent and an additional 25 percent related to Russian oil
31:09purchases.
31:10When China was buying more Russian oil than India was doing, but no action against China.
31:15And Europe was buying more from Russia overall than India was buying oil and no action against
31:20Europe on that account.
31:21So it has revived the sense that U.S. can be unreliable, can be coercive at times.
31:26So the argument would be that certainly you should deepen the partnership with the U.S.
31:31It's an important country.
31:33It's a powerful country.
31:34It's the largest economy globally, largest consumer market.
31:37But even as you do that, you must hedge more.
31:41You must diversify more so that you do not give U.S. coercive power over you.
31:45So I would say that with what has happened now, clearly effort can continue to deepen the
31:52partnership with the U.S. in different areas, technology areas where it works for India.
31:57But I think the effort at diversification will continue.
32:01And one can project that there would be enhanced focus on deepening the economic partnership
32:07with Europe in the coming period, because Europe itself is struggling about how to define
32:12their relationship with the U.S.
32:14And there is an argument in Europe that they should build now more autonomous capacity vis-a-vis
32:20in the United States, given the kind of policy U.S. has shown over the past year or so.
32:25Perhaps with those agreements being inked with EU, more manufacturing and high-end defense
32:30manufacturing, or, you know, that could shift to India.
32:34Ambassador Singh, for joining me here on India First, as always, sir, many thanks.
32:38I now want to shift focus and bring you an American perspective on this negotiations moving forward.
32:47I have Mark Linscott, and Mark Linscott is a senior advisor to U.S.-India Strategic Partnership
32:54Forum.
32:55Mr. Linscott, welcome.
32:57President Trump's announcement bringing tariffs down from 50% to 18%.
33:02But so far, all conversation, sir, is on social media.
33:05There isn't a joint statement yet.
33:09From a trade negotiator's point of view, in your view, when does this become binding?
33:16How would you look at the situation right now?
33:22Yeah, it was a huge development.
33:24I was not expecting it yesterday.
33:26I was hoping that it might come any time, and suddenly it did on a Monday morning here
33:32in Washington, D.C.
33:34So it's an incredibly helpful development.
33:38I think it's quite huge for both countries.
33:41Ideally, it will put the trade relationship back on the right track.
33:48In terms of timing, that's a big question, Mark.
33:50I mean, as you highlighted, we only have the true social post by President Trump.
33:56We have Prime Minister Modi's post as well.
34:01They are stated in very general terms.
34:04So they confirm that they have a trade agreement.
34:07The new tariff will be set at 18%.
34:10There are a number of other things specified in those posts.
34:14But there's a lot left up in the air.
34:17And timing is a big question.
34:20We don't have any details, and it's difficult to assess exactly what's in the agreement until
34:26we have a document that provides some details.
34:28I think Pierce Goyle, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, noted that there should be a joint
34:35statement released in coming days.
34:38That should give us a lot more information.
34:41In terms of when does it come into force?
34:43When does that 18% tariff apply versus a 50% tariff?
34:48They may need a little bit more negotiation on a legally binding tax.
34:52That's been my understanding throughout this negotiation.
34:57And on the point of Russian oil, Mr. Scott, does India have to bring it down to zero?
35:03Or that signal that India is reducing it enough for now?
35:08Is the relationship returning on an even keel?
35:11Are we on the same page there?
35:16Well, in fact, his posting indicated that Indian purchases of Russian oil are already at zero.
35:24Clearly, that's not exactly the case.
35:27It's much more complicated than that.
35:29There have been significant reductions in Russian oil purchases.
35:33And the administration has welcomed that.
35:35I think there's going to be some wiggle room.
35:38You know, I think that there's a recognition among those in the U.S. administration who deal specifically with these issues that India cannot go to zero immediately.
35:49That it just needs to continue to trend downward, perhaps on an accelerated basis.
35:56That's the expectation.
35:58But I don't think that there is a realistic expectation that tomorrow there will be no more Russian oil purchases.
36:06I think that would be unrealistic.
36:07And on the $500 billion worth purchases from the United States, because Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of $500 billion worth of bilateral trade by 2030.
36:21And that was in 2025.
36:22So they were already one year down the road.
36:24So is President Trump playing to the gallery, his gallery, to get that big headline in the U.S.?
36:31I think you're right.
36:35I think he's playing to the gallery.
36:37He likes those headline announcements.
36:39He likes to say that there's an agreement for hundreds of billions of dollars of purchases.
36:47He's done that with countless other countries.
36:51In some of those examples, there's been an actual agreement put into place.
36:57And the best examples of that are Japan and Korea, in which memoranda of understanding were done.
37:05I don't think, I'm not expecting that necessarily to be the case with India.
37:11You know, we have no timeline for that.
37:14It would be unrealistic, again, for that to be in a period of a year.
37:21Perhaps the time horizon is five or ten years.
37:25I think it's mostly a general statement, a headline statement.
37:31And as you highlight, playing to the gallery.
37:34Okay.
37:34So that's a headline statement.
37:36What's your understanding of what was said in the past?
37:39You know, President Trump saying words to the effect that India has a dead economy.
37:43Or Howard Lutnik and Scott Besson saying, you know, India will come looking for a deal in a couple of months.
37:49Or that India is fueling the war in Russia.
37:53Was that to vitiate the environment?
37:54Was that to put India on the edge?
37:56The manner in which India pursued this deal.
37:59What's your reading, sir?
38:02I mean, what can I say?
38:04I mean, this is an essential character of this administration, you know, flowing down from the very top.
38:14You know, we've become very accustomed to provocative statements, very aggressive statements at times, offensive statements from the president himself and from members of his administration.
38:26It's not unique to India.
38:31You know, this has been experienced by many countries.
38:34It's unfortunate.
38:35It makes things more difficult to have relationships, strategic and economic and trade.
38:43But it's just the reality we're going to have to all deal with over coming years.
38:48Okay, that's something we just have to learn to live with, you know, for joining me here on this India Today special broadcast.
38:56Mr. Lutnik Scott, many thanks.
39:01Now, ahead of the announcement of the India-U.S. trade negotiations moving forward and tariffs coming down to 18 percent,
39:09U.S. Ambassador to India, Ambassador Sergio Gore, he spoke exclusively to India Today on the telephone about President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
39:18Their conversations, President Trump also put out a picture on social media platform Truth Social, a picture of himself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
39:29And this was the cover of the India Today magazine's newsmakers of the year 2025, The Mover and The Shaker.
39:37We'll get you more in this report.
39:42Just before U.S. President Donald Trump announced the confirmation of the mega trade deal with India,
39:48he took to his Truth Social account to feature an India Today magazine cover.
39:55The magazine cover on the India-U.S. trade deal was aptly titled The Mover and The Shaker with images of Prime Minister Modi and President Trump.
40:04And it's caught the attention of the world.
40:08What a moment for India.
40:09Obviously, I was delighted that he's noticed India Today and posted it at a time when the trade deal was just before to be announced as a signal.
40:23So it kind of, it was the 50th anniversary of India Today and it's a great honour that he's done this.
40:30And we've always believed that good content gets noticed and that's what we've done.
40:37But what is the story behind this magazine cover and how did the U.S. President take note of it?
40:43India Today magazine's group editorial director Raj Chengappa revealed how the magazine reached the highest political office in America
40:50and why its message mattered at a crucial geopolitical moment.
40:54We had decided to put both Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the cover of India Today as the newsmaker for 2025.
41:06They dominated the news as we knew it.
41:08And so I had the privilege of writing this particular cover story and researching it.
41:12As we stand in 2026, both of them are looking for legacy.
41:17That is what is very interesting to me, both above 70 years, Mr. Modi in his third term, Trump in his second term,
41:24both looking to see what they could leave behind.
41:27He's already made a tremendous amount of changes across the world, disrupted it globally.
41:32Mr. Modi has been steady, he's been resilient, and we've seen how he's guided India through these very troubled times
41:40and come out the winner, as we've seen in our recent MOTN polls,
41:43and the fact that he's won his third successive victory, which is a great credit to him.
41:49So, the juxtaposition of this, very happy to see that the President of the United States has seen this cover and has actually tweeted it.
41:59U.S. Ambassador to India, Sergio Gore, also revealed how U.S. President Trump took note of India Today's magazine cover.
42:06So, one thing I'll share with the viewers that I think I told you, Raj,
42:13I ran into Raj at the Republic Day reception that Her Excellency, the President, hosted,
42:19and I ran into Raj and I told him, you know, I went to a meeting and I saw the most incredible cover,
42:25and I took a picture and I sent it to the President.
42:28Little did I know that he would be posting it online, I would have gotten a better picture of it, not as crumpled.
42:34And I appreciated you sent me some brand new copies recently of it.
42:38So, those are actually in the mail to the White House.
42:41India Today Group's Editor-in-Chief Arun Puri also broke down how the cover, titled The Mover and the Shaker, was chosen.
42:49The Newsmaker of the Year is normally, it's an annual event, and we normally put one person on it.
42:57But there was a debate in it that there were two people who were shaking up the world order, the country itself.
43:05So, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi were considered to be the newsmakers.
43:11We thought either one or the other, then we said, well, they're pretty intertwined with each other.
43:17And that's how we decided to put them together.
43:20We called one the mover, which is Prime Minister Modi, because of the reform express which he had,
43:26and the kind of year which he's done, changing India, and President Trump, of course, changing the world order,
43:33and also having something to do with India, in terms of the trade deal, the buying of Russian oil.
43:42So, all these are quite intertwined with each other.
43:44A moment in history for India, and India Today etched in it.
43:50Another signal of the magazine's influence in shaping the global conversation.
43:55Bureau Report, India Today.
44:01It's Pakistan's total admission of failure, that it's failed in Balochistan,
44:07and it's happened in Pakistan's parliament, where Pakistan's Defence Minister Khwaja Asif,
44:13he's made a stunning, stunning admission in the National Assembly.
44:17He says Pakistan Army does not have the weapons to fight the Baloch Liberation Army,
44:22and the Baloch Liberation Army is much better prepared, geared, armed, to take on the Pakistan Army.
44:29And why? Because of the past three days, from Quetta down to Gwadar and Pasni,
44:35the Baloch freedom fighters have the Pakistan Army and security forces running for cover.
44:42Listen in to Khwaja Asif.
44:43This, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, the
44:49what you need to know.
44:52As I will tell them, 20,000,000,000,000 something just like rifle.
44:56Those are no rifles.
45:00We have no rifle.
45:01At the top of the laser, the laser body of the heat,
45:03the fire is detected, the 4,000,000 dollars,
45:07The total gear is close to $20,000.
45:14Where are they coming from?
45:16Who is giving it?
45:18They will endorse it.
45:20There are three items.
45:22A night vision goggle, rifle and one other item.
45:29Recently, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had also confessed that Pakistan Army Chief Aasim Munir
45:35and he, they were going, you know, all over the place with a begging bowl, begging for money.
45:40But what's happening in Pakistan?
45:41Few people understand Balochistan and Pakistan better than Tilak Devashir,
45:47former Special Secretary of the Research and Analysis Wing,
45:50former member advisory or national security advisory board.
45:54Sir, welcome.
45:55What's your reading or what's happening in Balochistan, sir?
45:58You know, the fact that three days, Pakistan Army is still not in control.
46:02There's an entire core of Pakistan Army, 12 core that's deployed there.
46:07There are three divisions, 9 to 10 brigades and independent brigades,
46:11plus the levies, plus paramilitary forces.
46:15What's happening, sir?
46:17Thank you, Gaurav.
46:19Thank you for having me on your show.
46:21You see, first thing we must realize that this operation, Operation Heroff 2.0,
46:28has been meticulously planned by the Baloch.
46:31You know, it must have taken between four to six months of planning.
46:34They targeted 14 cities, 48 locations, including Quetta.
46:41You know, where is the headquarters of the Southern Command, the capital,
46:46all the district officers, police headquarters.
46:49And they really attacked several places in Quetta.
46:53So, this kind of mobilization, planning, and deployment,
47:00that who will, you know, fight in which particular place,
47:04this has stunned the Pakistan Army.
47:06And apart from the weaponry, what Kwaja Asif should also have mentioned,
47:11is that the Baloch are motivated, whereas the Pakistan Army is not motivated.
47:17Because the Baloch are fighting for their honor, they're fighting for their homeland.
47:21The Punjabi Army would rather not be there, you know, to fight against the Baloch.
47:27That's one.
47:28Secondly, why is he acting so surprised?
47:31They keep saying that the U.S. has left about $6 billion worth of weapons in Afghanistan to the Taliban.
47:42Yes.
47:43Taliban, in turn, had passed them on to the TTP as their share in the loot, or the booty,
47:49or in Malik Ginnimat, you know.
47:51Malik Ginnimat.
47:52Malik Ginnimat, after the Americans left.
47:55And the TTP, in turn, would have passed this on to the Baloch.
48:01You know, they have some sort of an agreement that Baloch have allowed them space in Balochistan.
48:08In return, the TTP has shared weaponry with them.
48:11So, why is he acting so surprised?
48:13So, what I want to understand from you…
48:15You see, and also one last thing, Gaurav, an army cannot crimp that they don't have weapons.
48:21I think one of the Indian generals had said, we will fight with whatever we have.
48:26Yes.
48:27You can't use this as an excuse on the battlefield, that I don't have to pass.
48:31True.
48:32I mean, that was General Vaid Malik in the Kargil war.
48:34You're absolutely right.
48:35But I want to understand, sir.
48:37The manner in which the Baloch freedom fighters have the Pakistan army on the run.
48:43Today is day three and day four starting.
48:47In Naushki, apparently, they're still in control.
48:50How is it that an entire core headquarters is in Kuwaita?
48:54There are close to 50,000 troops in Balochistan.
49:00And Pakistan is still unable to take control of various places unless Pakistan army wants to use this as an excuse and benefit from conflict economy, get more funds for itself.
49:11I don't think anybody is going to give them funds for this because the Chinese are very upset with Guadal.
49:17I mean, I read something on social media that the Chinese workers who were in Guadal have all upped and left.
49:25Maybe temporarily, maybe they'll come back.
49:28The U.S. would be very upset that because this is the mineral-rich area where Pakistan was claiming that it has $6 trillion worth of rare earth elements and the U.S. was very excited about it.
49:40So that's one part of it.
49:42About holding on to territory and especially towns like Naushki, you see, I think in this particular operation, the intention was still not to hold ground.
49:53But they got the opportunity.
49:56They had in Naushki, for example, they took as hostage the deputy commissioner and the assistant commissioner.
50:02So they held them hostage.
50:04And they must have found that the defenses of the Pakistan army are the weakest here.
50:09And Pakistan army says everything is under control.
50:12Rate of the state has been established.
50:14But you're right, it hasn't.
50:15And they have not been able to, or you know what is called sanitization operations.
50:20Those sanitization operations are just not successful.
50:24They have not been able to reach out and wipe out wherever the Baloch resistance is.
50:29And in the meantime, I'm sure the Baloch would also have strengthened in a few pockets where they find that the Pakistan army was weak.
50:38And in this case, so far, Pakistan army, I was reading a report, sir, that the Baloch freedom fighters have planned it so well that first they attacked these 48 locations in 14 cities and towns.
50:50Then they had reserves.
50:52When the Pakistani army reserves were coming in and reinforcements were coming in, they were targeted on the highway.
50:59So the Pakistanis cannot use the road anymore.
51:02They're bringing in helicopter gunships and men and material through air.
51:06Do these Baloch freedom fighters have surface to air missiles?
51:09Because in case they do, then Balochistan would virtually be cut off.
51:13Gaurav, I'm not aware of that.
51:16I don't think so that yet they have surface to air missiles or drones, you know, for that matter.
51:23That is something which the TTP would possibly have.
51:25But yes, they have the ability to cordon off highways.
51:29They've established roadblocks.
51:31They've prevented traffic from moving, especially at night.
51:34And that is what would have prevented the Pakistan army from coming into a lot of places.
51:39But you know, if I can just say…
51:40Sir, just the last 30 seconds I have on this part of the show, I also want to understand.
51:43Pakistan army is planning to mount an operation in Teera Valley.
51:46So an operation in Khaybar, Pakhtoonghu at a time when Balochistan is burning.
51:50Can Pakistan afford to fight on so many fronts?
51:53They'll find it very difficult.
51:55You know, if next time there is coordination between the TTP and the Baloch and their time in a window of 10 to 12 hours on the same day.
52:04Can you imagine the mayhem for the Pakistan army?
52:07But Gaurav, allow me to use 10 seconds.
52:10The biggest thing for me in this operation was the presence of women fighters.
52:15Yes.
52:16You saw those photographs.
52:17Not only suicide bombers, but actually fighting at the forefront.
52:21Yes.
52:22And second, the way the people greeted the militants.
52:26You know, they were hugging them.
52:28They were taking selfies.
52:29They were welcoming them.
52:31You know, this is the kind of public support that the Baloch militants now have.
52:36Which is a very dangerous situation for Pakistan.
52:39The Baloch freedom fighters have tremendous support as we saw in those images.
52:45So not only were the Baloch freedom fighters on top of the situation militarily.
52:49They were also on top of the situation when it came to information warfare.
52:52Because real time, those images were being put out in social media and public domain for the world to see what's happening.
52:59We'll be tracking that story very closely.
53:01Unfortunately, I've run out of time on this part of the show, Mr. Devashir.
53:05And it will be such a pleasure to have you back for a much longer conversation in the days and weeks ahead on Balochistan and Khaybar Pakhtunko.
53:13And so much more that's happening on India's Western borders.
53:17Look forward to that, Gauru.
53:19Thank you very much, sir.
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