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Pakistan, India NSA meet may achieve little: Daily
Islamabad: The upcoming meeting between the Pakistan and Indian NSAs will “follow the old template of talking past each other and achieving little”, said a leading Pakistani daily, which exhorted them to get beyond the familiar template of trading accusations and discuss all issues related to terrorism.
An editorial “Long road ahead” in the Dawn said that there is a positive, mutually beneficial way to talk about terrorism-related issues.
“Then there is seemingly the Pakistan-India state approach: the two sides ritualistically meet to discuss terror; they accuse each other of fomenting terrorism in the other’s country; they present dossiers of evidence – often vague, rarely specific; and then, once the meeting is concluded, they boast to their domestic audiences of having put their best case forward in no uncertain terms.
“The Pakistan-India approach achieves little and, worryingly, there are already signs that the upcoming meeting of national security advisors (NSA) will follow the old template of talking past each other and achieving little,” it said.
The daily said it is possible to go into specifics of who is to blame and to what degree for each round that leads to nothing – “if indeed the Aug 23 meeting produces nothing of substance”.
It observed that the Narendra Modi government “wants to appear tough on terrorism and Kashmir, but does not appear to have a firm grasp of the multi-dimensional policy issues as yet”.
The editorial added that the Pakistani state does not appear interested in ratcheting up tensions with India, “even as it does not appear particularly keen to try and find avenues to peace”.
“The problem, as ever, remains the misplaced notion that the Pakistani and Indian states can carefully calibrate the tensions – or indeed low-level violence – in the region.
“They cannot.”
The daily went on to say that on the Pakistani side, it is “fairly evident that non-state actors can and have caused great convulsions through well-timed and frighteningly well-executed acts of violence”.
“The Peshawar carnage last December and the Mumbai attacks of 2008 are the foremost examples of what just a few fanatics can do,” the editorial said and added that militant elements and extremist groups remain worryingly well entrenched in society here and the long war against militancy and terrorism will take many years, perhaps even a generation, before it can be won.
“The NSA meeting on Aug 23 needs to get beyond the familiar template of trading accusations and do what the Ufa joint statement suggested it is meant to do: ‘discuss all issues connected to terrorism’.
“That would mean establishing a common, mutually acceptable and inclusive definition of terrorism; identifying ways to cooperate to pre-empt and investigate terror attacks; and addressing the long-term problems that fuel instability in the region.”
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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