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On February 12, India welcomed with much relief the release of eight Indian nationals who were arrested in Qatar on August 30, 2022, and were given death sentence last October. While the arrest of the Indian nationals remained a great cause for concern for New Delhi, the specific cause of their arrest, or the charges, were not entirely clear.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an unscheduled leg of travel to Doha on Wednesday, after his United Arab Emirates visit, signalling his personal involvement in the release of the prisoners, and his desire to thank the Qatari Amir. It was not incidental that the two countries signed a significant, $78 billion LNG deal the week before. Large economic partnerships offer greater diplomatic room for countries to manoeuvre, and the prisoners’ release was likely sealed then.
Suhasini Haidar spoke to former Indian Naval Commander Amit Nagpal days after he, along with his colleagues, was released. In this exclusive interview, he speaks of their 18 month-long ordeal in Qatar, not knowing what his crime was, and whether they would ever return home.
“The Qatar case is a timely reminder of the importance of quiet diplomacy at a time of brinkmanship and geopolitical conflict, particularly when it comes to relationships where so much else is at stake,” The Hindu’s editorial noted.
Watch Worldview this week on the Naval officers’ release and the diplomatic lessons from this experience.
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- A chance to stop the laundry cycle of Pakistan’s elections by Suhasini Haidar
- Misplaced priorities: On the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime between India and Myanmar
- Ties across the sea: On the India-UAE close relationship
- In Gaza, peace prospects remain distant by Talmiz Ahmad
- Starlink | Ukraine’s star-crossed partner by John Xavier
