Feature
Question mark on NSA talks, India toughens stand
New Delhi/Islamabad: The NSA talks between India and Pakistan appeared to be in jeopardy on Friday after India objected to Pakistani NSA Sartaj Aziz’s proposed meeting with Kashmiri separatists ahead of his meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
Taking a tough stand, New Delhi said it had told Pakistan that it would “not be appropriate” for Aziz to meet Hurriyat representatives ahead of the August 23-24 meeting with Doval.
The Indian warning was conveyed on Thursday, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
Such a meeting would not be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Ufa (Russia) understanding to jointly work to combat terrorism, he said.
“We have also sought confirmation of our proposed agenda for the National Security Advisor-level talks, which was conveyed to the Pakistani side on August 18,” he said in a statement.
In Islamabad, the Aziz-Doval talks were discussed at a high-level meeting on security chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also attended by Aziz and army chief General Raheel Sharif.
Kashmiri separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir said Pakistan’s envoy in New Delhi had invited them for talks with Aziz. Pakistani officials say there will be no change in that programme.
Both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq respectively and other separatist leaders such as Yasin Malik and Naeem Khan, have been invited by High Commissioner Abdul Basit of Pakistan.
At the July 10 talks in Ufa between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sharif, both sides announced a meeting between the two NSAs in New Delhi to discuss terrorism-related issues.
Since the mandate for the NSAs was only terrorism-related issues, Kashmir would not figure in the agenda and thus Aziz’s meeting with Kashmiri separatists does not make sense, official sources said.
Aziz will arrive in New Delhi on August 23 and meet Hurriyat leaders at a reception at Pakistan House, High Commissioner Basit’s residence, that evening.
On Thursday, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said: “There is nothing unusual in such meetings and it has been normal practice for Pakistan to consult Hurriyat leaders prior to high-level meetings with India.”
The statement came as three Kashmiri separatist leaders were placed under house arrest but were later freed in Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian officials say the Pakistani invite to Kashmiri separatists was designed to scuttle the NSA talks and follows a pattern of the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment.
Ever since Modi and Sharif met at Ufa, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated due to intermittent firing and shelling by the Pakistani military along the Jammu and Kashmir border.
There were also two terror attacks involving Pakistani terrorists in Gurdaspur in Punjab and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. One Pakistani was arrested in Kashmir.
“The game plan is very clear – scuttle the talks,” said one source.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Manish Tewari on Friday criticised the government’s move on Pakistan, saying: “The government is making a fool of itself.
“The manner in which Aziz and Pakistan are conducting themselvs makes it clear that Pakistan is not interested in dialogue. Aziz has not even sent his itinerary yet.”
Another Congress leader and former minister, R.P.N. Singh, criticized the government’s “flip-flops” which, he said, “does not give a strong message to Pakistan”.
India called off the foreign secretary-level talks on August 25 last year after the Pakistani envoy invited the Hurriyat for a dialogue ahead of the India-Pakistan talks.
India says there is no place for any third party in India-Pakistan talks.
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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