India will have to walk a tightrope between

defending legitimate interests

As Natos International Security Assistance

Force (Isaf) winds down its combat mission,
it is a measure of the challenge still faced in
Afghanistan that the Taliban is claiming a victory, and stating that it will continue its fight.
Thousands of international troops, including
US soldiers, will still be stationed there, but
the task of fighting off the Taliban challenge
will now largely be up to the Afghan army
and there is a big question mark on its ability
to do so. India will have to walk a tightrope
between defending its legitimate interests
without seeming to interfere too much in
what are likely to remain very troubled waters.
Sickening though the irony may be, it was
the carnage in the army school in Peshawar
that seemed to suggest the Pakistan army
was now gathering new resolve to target terrorists. Of note was the immediate visit of the
Pakistan army chief to Kabul right after that
terror attack, and assurances from both sides

that they would cooperate on fighting the Taliban and other groups.
But, clearly, with the top leadership of the
Afghan Taliban still based and protected in
Pakistan, the latter isnt quite going to give
up on using the Pashtun-Taliban card for its
longstanding dream of strategic depth. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said he is
open to talks and working more closely with
Pakistan. But the dangers of a power vacuum which is also internal, since the unity
government in Afghanistan has yet to name
a cabinet and thus an upsurge in alreadyhigh Taliban attacks would need all players,
India included, to help maintain Kabuls stability, hope the Afghan army holds its own,
and perhaps finally have some talks with the
Taliban. An Afghanistan perpetually in conflict bodes ill for the whole region. And much
of the onus to realise that rests on Pakistan.
This piece appeared as an editorial opinion
in the print edition of The Economic Times.

Sebi has reportedly raised concerns over the

lack of reciprocity from the US on automatic
exchange of financial information. The concerns are valid. The US passed a law in
2010, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act, or Fatca, which requires US taxpayers
and foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to report information on foreign accounts of US
taxpayers or of companies in which US taxpayers hold a substantial stake. An FFI in
breach of this requirement has to pay a 30%
withholding tax. India has changed its rules
to be legally equipped to seek information on
foreign accounts of Indian taxpayers, but
might need to tweak more rules to meaningfully take part in the initiative for automatic
sharing of tax-related information that the
G20 has endorsed, after it was initially kicked
off by the OECD.
Sure, India has got a months reprieve, with
the US extending the deadline for signing the
pact till end-January next year. It also has
the obligation to maintain confidentiality, and
requires a specific commitment that information exchanged under Fatca will be used
only for tax purposes. The governments affi-

davits to the Supreme Court made it clear

that the IGA cannot be signed unless New
Delhi can give a commitment to maintain
confidentiality that is consistent with international standards. The court, which brushed
aside the governments assertions, should
see reason. Breach of confidentiality in treaties with foreign governments would also
harm Indias ability to join the global fight to
end erosion of the tax base and profit shifting
by multinational companies. The Supreme
Court should not step into the executives
domain.
The NDA government should also stop playing politics on black money, selectively leaking information on foreign account holders.
This is wholly inconsistent with the governments stand taken in the SC on maintaining
secrecy till investigation is complete or prosecution is filed in acompetent court for tax
evasion. The government must complete investigations quickly if it is serious about penalising those who have stashed illicit money
overseas.
This piece appeared as an editorial opinion
in the print edition of The Economic Times.

He was the biggest challenge for the bowlers

around the world when he played because of
his hard-hitting batting. Matthew Hayden
spoke to Kritika Naidu about the struggles he
had during his career, the work he put in to
cement his place in a strong Australian Test
team, and the influence of Twenty20 cricket
on the modern day game. Excerpts:
What would you attribute your successful
opening partnership with Justin Langer to?
To start off, it would be that se ..
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