Modi Tries to Pass Major Tax Reform; Ghani Blames Pakistan for Weekend of Violence; Nisar: Rangers Not to Arrest Lawmakers

India

Modi government tries to pass a major tax reform bill amid strong opposition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is attempting a final push to pass a major tax reform bill, aimed at boosting economic growth, but opposition party Congress remains adamant to stop the proposed legislation (Reuters, NDTV). Aimed at creating a customs union for India’s 1.2 billion people, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is the biggest government revenue revision in the history of the country since 1947, and will replace India’s multiple national and state taxes with a single tax regime. Supporters say it will add up to two percentage points to economic growth. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the bill in the lower house of the parliament, Rajya Sabha, amid protest from members of the opposition Congress party. The monsoon session of the parliament is due to conclude this Thursday and the bill has already been cleared by the upper house, Lok Sabha, where Modi’s party has a huge majority.

The Congress party is demanding the resignation of senior BJP leaders it accuses of graft before allowing parliament to work. It also wants changes to the bill, which it says has been diluted to win support from states. Congress leader Anand Sharma said the obstruction replicated tactics by the BJP, which blocked GST and other reforms when Congress ruled India for a decade, before being defeated by Modi last year.

SBI beats expectation, profits rise 10.2 percent

State Bank of India on Tuesday said net profit rose 10.2 percent on year in the fiscal first quarter, as loan provisions fell at the nation’s biggest lender (Reuters, LiveMint, PTI). Net profit was 36.92 billion rupees ($575.6 million) for the three months ending on June 30, which beat both Bloomberg and Reuters estimates. Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans marginally rose to 4.29 percent from 4.25 percent in the previous quarter. Bad loan ratios at Indian banks have nearly doubled in the past four years as weak economic growth hurt companies’ ability to repay debt. At the same time, demand for loans has slowed. Shares of SBI, valued at more than $33 billion, fell 2.3 percent after the earnings announcement in the Mumbai stock market.

India celebrates Pichai’s appointment as Google CEO

The Monday appointment of the 43 year old Indian American, Sundar Pichai, as the CEO of Google is making waves across Indian media and social media outlets, with many seeing his rise as a triumph for the country (BBC, Reuters). Even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted from his personal account to congratulate Pichai. Pichai was born and schooled in Chennai in southern India. After graduating from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, he was offered a scholarship at Stanford, and went on to do an MBA from Wharton. According to a profile in Bloomberg magazine Pichai’s upbringing was rather humble.

— Shuja Malik

Afghanistan

Ghani blames Pakistan for weekend of violence

Just hours after a suicide attack killed five people at Kabul’s international airport on Monday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani blamed Pakistan for the violence that swept Afghanistan leaving at least 70 people dead in a matter of days (NYT, WSJ, VOA, Pajhwok). Ghani stated: “We hoped for peace, but war is declared against us from Pakistani territory,” continuing, “The incidents of the past two months in general, and the recent days in particular, show that the suicide training camps and the bomb-making facilities used to target and murder our innocent people still operate, as in the past, in Pakistan.” Ghani’s phrasing departs from previous efforts at conciliation with Pakistan regarding security issues.

Ghani’s comments come amidst increasing anti-Pakistan feeling in Afghanistan. At a vigil on Saturday for the victims of the three bombings on Friday, chants of “Death to Pakistan” were heard. One of the organizers of the vigil, Ghullam Sarwar Zohir, stated: “We call on international community, and in particular on the United States of America to halt its financial support to Pakistan and to put pressure on Pakistan to stop the bloodshed in Afghanistan.” Ghani did not go so far in his criticism stating: “the enemies of Afghanistan were the enemies of Pakistan,” quoting a comment by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his visit to Kabul in May.

Pakistan’s embassy in Afghanistan acknowledged the comments on Monday night condemning the attacks and reiterating Pakistan’s support for Afghanistan (TOLO News). The Embassy’s statement read: “Pakistan and Afghanistan are brotherly and neighboring countries and enjoy close and cooperative relations.” The statement added: “Having been the biggest victim of terrorism itself with human losses exceeding 60,000, the people and the government of Pakistan can feel the pain and anguish of the brotherly people and the government of Afghanistan over the recent wave of terrorist attacks, which have resulted in the loss of many valuable lives and injuries to scores of people.”

250 dead in 17 drone strikes in Nangarhar op

On Tuesday, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, announced that 250 insurgents had been killed in 17 drone strikes in the past month as part of ongoing operations in the province (TOLO News). Abdulzai stated: “According to the National Directorate of Security in Nangarhar in the past month 17 drone operations were launched in which 150 Daesh insurgents and nearly 100 Taliban insurgents were killed.” Abdulzai asserted that no civilians had been killed in the strikes.

Committee formed to protect journalists

On Tuesday, Deputy Minister for Information Sayeda Mujhgan Mustafavi announced the creation of a committee of major government institutions and journalist associations aimed at protecting journalists (Pajhwok). The committee will include journalists’ associations, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the National Directorate of Security, and the Attorney General’s Office. In the last decade, 49 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan.

Pakistan

Bonus Read: “Pakistan, the Next Software Hub?” by Bina Shah (NYT)

Bonus Read: “The (Non)Free Exercise of Religion,” by Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon (FP)

Nisar: Rangers not to arrest lawmakers

On Tuesday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told members of the National Assembly that he had directed the Rangers, a paramilitary force tasked with providing security in Karachi, not to arrest lawmakers (ET). Nisar stated that Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani had told him some lawmakers faced charges and could be potentially arrested by the Rangers. Nisar stated: “I have stopped the director general of Rangers from arresting the lawmakers,” continuing, “They [the Rangers] can only file cases against them on concrete evidences, that too after consulting with me.” Nisar also addressed the tension with the MQM party in Karachi stating, “The MQM has no control over what their leader says in his speeches from London” and adding that the government is ready to address some of the party’s grievances.

Anti Terrorism Act being considered for child sex abuse case

On Tuesday, the Lahore High Court summoned Punjab officials regarding a petition to try suspects involved in the child sex abuse case currently rocking Pakistan under the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) (ET, Dawn). Advocate Aftab Bajwa stated on behalf of the petition: “The case falls under ATA as it harassed the whole country and the case should be sent to the military court.” At least 12 suspects have been arrested so far and 280 children are believed to have been victims of the gang.

— David Sterman

Edited by Peter Bergen

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