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India on August 5 marked the third anniversary of the revocation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir. India did so through the abrogation of Article 370 of its constitution.

Over the past three years, says the Indian government, many reforms in the region have heralded a new era of peace and development. In this period, it claims, a record number of development projects were completed, transforming the lives of millions of ordinary people.

One of them is the rapid expansion of roads targeting every village in Jammu and Kashmir which has ensured the safety, connectivity, and mobility of the people. Similarly, 125 bridges are under construction under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

Similarly, there has been massive construction of transmission lines and distribution of the power to the people. Drastic measures have been taken to transform the governance system which remained dismal for decades.

This state is now becoming a new destination for international investors, says the government. Rebuilding the education system through massive addition of infrastructure and trained human resources is taking place with a view of quality education with academic excellence driven by policy reforms is the new mantra.

The Indian government also claims to have taken measures to ensure equality and justice for all. For the same purpose, reservation rules were amended to extend benefits to left out categories. The number of tourists are also significantly increasing. ‘Mission Youth-My J&K’ is the first-of-its-kind initiative to empower the youth, according to an Indian government report. 

Nepal will vote on November 20 to elect new representatives to the federal parliament and provincial assemblies. 

In a way, these elections will be more than a periodic democratic exercise. External forces, China and the US in particular, will be highly interested in knowing which party forms the government in Kathmandu for another five years.

It would be a folly to imagine otherwise in the current geopolitical climate, says foreign policy analyst Geja Sharma Wagle. 

As the US and China compete for influence in South Asia, he says the two global powers are “keenly observing” Nepal’s political developments. 

“The foreign policy priorities of the new government will directly impact them,” Wagle adds. 

The effects of US-China tensions have already manifested in Nepal’s national politics, as the political parties are divided on issues where Beijing and the West do not see eye to eye. 

Most recently, two former communist prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Jhala Nath Khanal deplored US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.

Earlier, communist forces, including those in the ruling coalition, had objected to the government’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war. They criticized the Nepali Congress-led government for deviating from Nepal’s non-alignment policy and taking the American side by condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The maneuverings of the US and China in Nepal reached the level of open name-calling earlier this year over the America’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal compact. 

It is no secret that both the US and China are trying to pull Nepal into their orbit and each wishes to see a favorable government in Kathmandu. 

Nepali political parties have also left little to the imagination on whose side they stand on. 

“Nepali leaders from across the political spectrum have this tendency of seeking outside blessings,” says political analyst Chandra Dev Bhatta. “Their sycophancy has created space for external forces to influence our internal politics.” 

True, it is up to the Nepali voters to choose their government but you cannot overlook the influence of foreign powers over the electoral process. “The outside forces, for instance, can influence the formation of electoral alliances,” says Bhatta. 

It is clear that China prefers the unification of Nepal’s communist forces as Beijing wants a powerful communist government in Nepal. It had played an instrumental role in uniting two of Nepal’s most prominent left parties, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center), post 2017 polls. 

The result of that union was the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP), the largest communist party in the country’s history, which commanded majority seats in Kathmandu and six of the seven provinces. 

Although the party collapsed within a few years due to infighting, China has still not given up on its communist project in Nepal. If not the party merger, Beijing wants Nepal’s communist parties to forge an electoral alliance at the least.  

During his Nepal visit in the first week of July, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party, met Nepal’s communist party leaders in a bid to encourage them to come together.

The US and its western allies, on the other hand, do not want a pro-Beijing communist government to lead Nepal.  

“The democratic world wants to see a government led by a non-communist party,” says Wagle. 

For the US and by extension the West, the main goal is to counter China’s growing influence in Nepal. They are willing to back the political parties that are committed to implementing the 2015 constitution.

India, which holds considerable sway over Nepal’s internal politics, is wary of China’s growing activism in Kathmandu—or of the Americans, for that matter. 

Over the past few years, India has maintained a low-key approach to Nepal’s internal politics. The government of Narendra Modi in New Delhi is more focused on building party-to-party relations with Nepali forces: it does not want to support one party at the risk of antagonizing another.

India knows that Nepal’s communist parties can easily whip up anti-Indian sentiment among voters. So it is willing to work closely with whichever party comes to Baluwatar. New Delhi will be content so long as the next government in Kathmandu does not lean towards Beijing. 

A New Delhi-based diplomatic source says India has urged Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal not to break the current five-party ruling coalition. Dahal too has assured senior Indian officials that his priority is also the continuation of the coalition.

Bhatta says the extent of external influence in Nepali political parties will be further clarified during the formation of the post-election government. 

“All the powers who have interests in Nepal will try to bring to power the political parties they feel comfortable with,” Bhatta says.

Chinese ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi called on Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota at the latter’s official residence in Lainchaur on Friday.

During the meeting, Speaker Sapkota and Chinese ambassador Hou talked on matters of bilateral relations, mutual interest and concern between Nepal and China.

On the occasion, Speaker Sapkota lauded China for the achievement it has made in poverty alleviation in the recent decade, for the initiatives it has taken to control the COVID-19 pandemic and its maturity as regards neighborhood policy and international diplomacy.

Reiterating that Nepal is consistently committed to the One-China policy, he said the country is always conscious about not allowing its land to be used against any neighboring nation.

He was of the opinion that all should respect the policy of non-interference on the sovereignty and internal affairs of any nation in line with the United Nations Charter and the principles of 'Panchasheel'.

Speaker Sapkota recalled his virtual interaction in April with Chairperson of the National People's Congress of China Li Zhanshu. He expressed that the bilateral relations between the two countries could be further expanded and strengthened through the exchange of visits and sharing of experience among the parliamentary friendship groups and the parliaments of both countries.

The Speaker thanked the People's Republic of China for its continued support to Nepal's economic-social sector as well as in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic and during big natural disasters.

They also discussed the operation of trade transit points between the two countries.

In the meeting, Chinese ambassador Hou said that Nepal is a good neighbor of China and highly commended the former's pledge to the One-China policy.

She further said that China has always been resolutely supporting the independence, sovereignty and national indivisibility of Nepal.

Ambassador Hou pledged China's continued support and assistance for Nepal's development and prosperity in the coming days as well.

More shelling of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been reported, with Ukraine and Russia again blaming each other for the attack, BBC reported.

Each side said there were 10 hits on the office and fire station of Europe's biggest power plant on Thursday.

At a meeting of the UN Security Council called to discuss the situation, the head of its nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, warning it was a "grave hour".

UN Secretary General António Guterres also said it could "lead to disaster".

China and the US both called for UN experts to be allowed to urgently visit the plant, but similar demands in the past have so far not been acted upon.

Earlier, the US also called for a demilitarised zone to be established around the plant: "Fighting near a nuclear plant is dangerous and irresponsible," a state department spokesperson said.

However, Russia's UN representative said demilitarisation was not an option, suggesting that it would make the plant more vulnerable to "provocations" and "terror attacks". 

The facility and its surrounding area in central-eastern Ukraine saw shelling last week, with Russia and Ukraine also accusing each other over that attack.

Ukraine says Russia has turned the site into a military base, launching attacks from there knowing that Ukrainian forces are unlikely to retaliate, according to BBC.

Moscow denies the claim.

In a statement on Thursday, Ukraine's nuclear agency Enerhoatom said that "Russian invaders again shelled the Zaporizhzhia plant and territories near the nuclear facility".

It said an administrative office near the welding area was hit and several radiation sensors were damaged. There was a small fire on some nearby grass, but no injuries. 

Enerhoatom added that the fire station located near the plant was also targeted. 

Because of the shelling, it was impossible to change the personnel after their shift, so they had to continue work overtime.

But the situation was currently under control, Enerhoatom said, BBC reported.