ARIANE CRAFTS ANALYSIS

Disclaimer : This paper only seeks to find viable pathways for African nations to seek reparations for systemic economic exploitation by third-party states.

We critically analyse  how international law handles coercive economic practices, and 

commercial debt and ‘strategic autonomy’ are being used as instruments of leverage in ways that might mirror historical colonial patterns.

We conclude with why and how African lives are despised and what we suggest to overcome this mistreatment.

We are not making mention of peoples in particular but of Governments tactics based on statistics and data available to the public and statements by Afghanistan authorities battling ISIS terrorists influence in their country.

Furthermore we acknowledge that Indians and Pakistanis still experience violence and neglect at the hands of their own Governments in the shapes of castes passive enforcement, lack of social protection and denial of justice. 

South-South Exploitation and Dehumanisation: Indo-Pakistani Commercial Influence, Labour Networks, and the Pursuit of Legal Power in Africa

The global geopolitical landscape is violently  shifting from the established post-Cold War unipolarity toward a more fragmented, multipolar order at the expense of African lives. At the centre of this shift is the concept of South-South cooperation, which promises a departure from the historical paternalism of Western-led development. However, beneath the rhetoric of solidarity and “strategic autonomy” lies a complex and often predatory set of economic relationships. Most specifically, the multifaceted influence of South Asian powers—specifically India and Pakistan—on the African continent, focusing on the mechanics of commercial debt, the allegations of involvement in illicit arms transfers, the systemic exploitation of labour, and the burgeoning movement for African legal recourse through international judicial bodies. As India asserts its role as a leading voice of the Global South and a “friend to all,” the reality on the ground often involves violent uncomfortable dependencies that mirror the exploitative patterns of the colonial era, but with a vicious look of contempt and disgust for African’s dignity and lives.

The violent yet subtle Economic Statecraft and the Architecture of Commercial Debt

The expansion of Indian and Pakistani economic influence in Africa is not a monolith but rather a reflection of their diverging domestic realities and strategic priorities. India’s approach, revitalised at the turn of the twenty-first century, is increasingly framed as a market-led, partnership-focused alternative to the state-heavy infrastructure diplomacy of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Indian firms have pursued a “market-focused strategy,” acquiring local African businesses as subsidiaries and prioritising sectors that foster middle-class growth, such as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.  This model relies heavily on the “Kampala Principles,” which emphasise open markets, investment in IT infrastructure, and agricultural improvements—sectors that are resilient and relatively insulated from state control and allow for the creation of ‘an iron front economic elite’ that can comfortably take over another country’s political sector.

Indeed, India’s commercial expansion in Africa is inextricably linked to broader geopolitical ambitions. Projects like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) seek to secure critical gateways to African markets, exemplified by the Adani Group’s 30-year concession to manage port terminals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  While India camouflages the “debt-trap” label often associated with China, its growing economic power allows it to exert significant diplomatic leverage, pushing for the reform of international institutions like the WTO to suit its own priorities and those of its commercial partners subjugating certain African countries to a servitude position of for example being forced to take large migration from India to access high economic and commercial positions in the same African countries.

Comparative Economic Engagement: South Asia and Africa

Parameter	Indian Model (IMEC/Private-Led)	Pakistani Context (State Fragility/Export)
Primary Financial Instruments	Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Joint Ventures	Trade Credits, Circular Debt Management
Strategic Focus	Long-term manufacturing and IT services	Agricultural commodities and transit trade
State Role	Facilitator for corporate conglomerates (Tata, Reliance)	Managing internal debt through external loans
African Regional Presence	Concentrated in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania)	Emerging markets in the Horn of Africa and Maghreb
Geopolitical Alignment	“Friend to all,” Strategic Autonomy	Squeezed between IMF and regional rivals

Pakistan’s influence, by contrast, is often a byproduct of its own internal economic distress allied with hatred against Africans.. Trapped in a cycle of indebtedness, with an external debt of $130 billion representing 90% of its GDP, Pakistan’s relationship with Africa is frequently mediated through its role in global Islamic networks and as a producer of low-cost manufactured goods.  The country’s domestic fiscal crisis, marked by soaring energy prices and a 38% inflation rate, has limited its capacity for large-scale outward investment but has increased the pressure to export both commodities and labour.  The “circular debt” in Pakistan’s power sector, standing at 2.2% of GDP, creates a domestic instability that ripples through its external trade relations, often leading to the export of substandard products to less regulated markets in Africa. The profound despise and hatred towards Africans makes this low standard exports to Africa highly trivial to Pakistani Authorities and as consequence until now no substantial change has been made.

Militancy and Strategic Destabilisation: The Training of Insurgent Groups

A critical and highly contentious aspect of South Asian influence involves state involvement in the training and support of global insurgent networks, including the Islamic State (ISIS). Reports from international security observers and regional officials suggest that Pakistan’s military and intelligence apparatus, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has maintained training centres on its soil for ISIS fighters. Credible accounts indicate that these centres serve as hubs where ISIS Khorasan Province (ISKP) militants—including foreign nationals—are armed and trained before being deployed to carry out attacks in neighbouring regions and African countries where there are large South Asian populations like Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and other Southern African countries.

The Taliban’s deputy foreign minister has publicly confirmed that ISIS operates shelters in Pakistan where they receive military instruction from Pakistani personnel. These allegations are supported by video evidence and confessions from captured ISIS members who claim they were trained at these sites. Such networks pose a severe threat to international security, as the continent of Africa now faces the highest levels of ISIS activity worldwide, with affiliated groups operating across the Sahel, the Lake Chad region, and East Africa. While Pakistan’s representative to the UN has countered by accusing other regional powers of sponsoring terrorism, the presence of these training camps remains a focal point for international scrutiny regarding the “tactical” use of militancy. It is sad that African countries’ resources are still wanted by many and African lives still do not count for many international actors who are actively working against Africa to fight against terrorism and erosion of their social cohesion.

The South East Asian Diaspora in Political Power grab :  Political Actor or Political Agent

The Indian diaspora in Africa occupies a complex position in the continent’s history of political upheavals and coups d’état. Historically, the economic dominance of the South Asian community has often made them a “middleman minority,” serving as a political buffer.

 In South Africa, political leaders have occasionally accused the Indian diaspora of monopolising sections of the economy. 

Extremism and the Ideological Reach of the Diaspora

The Indian diaspora has also been identified as a conduit for the transmission of extremist ideologies that contribute to communal polarisation in Africa and the West. Research indicates that certain segments of the diaspora have promoted Hindutva—a far-right Hindu nationalist ideology—abroad. This movement, spearheaded by overseas wings of Indian political and cultural organisations like the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), has been active in “homeland politics” since the 1970s and has increasingly engaged in disinformation and violence against Muslim businesses and spaces in cities like Leicester.

Simultaneously, the radicalisation of individual members of the diaspora has linked them to global jihadist networks. Although the numbers remain small, Indian nationals have been recorded joining the ranks of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, answering the call of the “caliphate” to serve a mission they perceive as protecting fellow Muslims. These parallel tracks of extremism—one rooted in nationalist identity and the other in religious fundamentalism—exacerbate local social exclusion and challenge pluralist democracies across the Global South.

The Shadow Market: Substandard Pharmaceuticals and Public Health Risks

The proliferation of counterfeit and substandard medicines remains an insidious form of commercial influence. India and Pakistan are global leaders in generic pharmaceutical production, yet porous regulatory environments have allowed them to become central nodes in a criminal trade that disproportionately affects African populations.  The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 30%—and in some cases 60%—of the medicine in circulation in Africa is either counterfeit or substandard.    

This trade is driven by a lucrative profit motive: for every $1,000 invested, criminals can generate $400,000 in profits.  Spurious drugs, ranging from anti-malarials to antibiotics, are often sold in illegal street markets, attracting vulnerable groups who cannot afford genuine products.  The impact is lethal, with fake anti-malarials alone linked to 200,000 deaths annually in Africa.    Unfortunately Black African lives still do not count to the Indian and Pakistani Pharmaceutical Companies deliberately targeting African countries with their counterfeit medicines and food.

The Arms Trade and the Rwandan Genocide: The “White Weapons” Connection

The role of commercial networks in supplying the means for the 1994 Rwandan genocide remains a critical area of investigation. The genocide was largely carried out using “white weapons”—machetes, clubs, and spears.  Evidence indicates that the Rwandan government systematically stockpiled over half a million machetes leading up to the slaughter.  Research has identified Chillingham Tools Ltd, a company with historical links to South Asian business interests, as a primary supplier of these implements.  The importation of 581 tons of machetes provided the Hutu-extremist government with a culturally framed tool of “self-defence” that became a weapon of interpersonal slaughter.    

To think that Indian companies that produced and massively exported these weapons to Rwanda have not sat in the International Court of Justice alongside the Rwanda leaders at the time, raises concerns as to how the International Justice system still executes justice on behalf of the African countries, with the lenses on always criminalising the African and Jewish leaderships without offering a systemic and global view of the arms trade that sustain these leaders.

Labour Exploitation and the Systemic Violence of the Kafala System

The contemporary labour relationship between South Asia and Africa is defined by the Kafala (sponsorship) system, which regulates the lives of millions of African migrant workers in the Middle East and parts of Africa.  This system ties a worker’s residency to a single employer, creating a power imbalance characterised as “modern-day slavery”.  Migrant workers from Africa are subjected to identical patterns of abuse: passport confiscation, wage theft, and physical violence.  South Asian recruitment agencies, often working with local brokers (dalals), charge exorbitant fees that trap workers in debt before they even depart.    Is sad to see how racial hatred still permeates in the lives of millions of Africans living in the African continent and without their Government protection against racist and violent South Asian businesses.

Legal instruments and the current structure of International Justice

As African states seek to challenge these exploitative dynamics, the focus has shifted to international and regional judicial bodies. The Malabo Protocol, adopted in 2014, represents a groundbreaking attempt to expand the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights to cover transnational crimes such as human trafficking and the illicit exploitation of natural resources.  Furthermore, the concept of obligations erga omnes partes potentially allows African nations to bring cases to the ICJ regarding violations of human rights conventions by foreign commercial actors.  The declaration of 2026-2036 as the “Decade of Reparations” signals a renewed push for the pursuit of compensation for historical and contemporary exploitation.    

The racial hatred and despise against Africans permeating beneath the Global Majority and the South-South Cooperation: What is possible when every way out seems impossible? 

The influence of South Asian commercial debt and security networks on Africa reveals the deep complexity of South-South cooperation. While India’s  hypocritical “strategic autonomy” offers a vision of equity, the presence of unregulated pharmaceutical trades, allegations of militant training in Pakistan, and the promotion of extremist ideologies by diaspora groups highlight a darker reality. Exploitation and destabilisation are not features unique to Western powers but are increasingly manifest in the unregulated corridors of Global South interactions. For African nations, true sovereignty will depend on building robust judicial systems capable of holding both state and non-state actors accountable.

Therefore it is fair to say that now more than ever , the African continent needs a particular diplomatic and legal instrument that allows immediate cessation of commercial and diplomatic relations with specified countries above . How would this be done? I believe that the answer is a regulatory package that offers special protection to Black African countries due to the historical legacy of racism , colonialism and current violent commercial and economic assaults at the hands of the specified countries in my analysis and their diaspora in Africa.

If African countries do not push for a legal instrument at the international level that will allow immediate freeze of commercial and diplomatic relations and expulsion of predatory communities, we will not have a viable way to contain take overs , coup de etats and the slow return to African slave trade to Arab countries – courtesy of course of the South East Asia Job Agencies in Africa. 

We cannot bring the lives back of those who have died and are dying daily in Africa as consequence of violence at the hands of their SA patrons, counterfeit medication, counterfeit food, expired food, food with dangerous bacteria, human trafficking , but we can say that protection for the future generations has to be put in place now, not later than now.

I will go further in advocating for the creation of another legal instrument that allows the African Union to issue orders to companies that are suspected to be acting as iron fronts to negative interests, to cease operations in the African country.

To despise one’s lives with a look of contempt is the tip of the iceberg, we must see beyond these actors’ look of despise, their hatred and what their eyes are showing. That indeed those who they despise are hated to the point that they do not matter, their lives do not matter, and their natural resources are for grabs. 

Should I go on?

Warm wishes, 

Ariane Denise Brito

Bibliography

Wikipedia. “Rwandan genocide.” Last modified 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocide.   

 ISPOR. “Counterfeit medicine is a Global problem.” Presentation by Head of Market Access for Novartis MENA, 2016. https://www.ispor.org/docs/default-source/presentations/874.pdf?sfvrsn=6f3535e7_1.   

 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Exploitation and Human Trafficking of Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon. UN Special Rapporteur Input, 2022. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/trafficking/cfis/dom-workers/subm-migrant-domestic-workers-cso-29-migrant-workers-action.pdf.   

 Asatrian, Georgi. “Taliban blames Pakistan of supporting IS.” Modern Diplomacy, January 28, 2025. https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2025/01/28/taliban-blames-pakistan-of-supporting-is/.   

 Khaliq, Abdul. “Pakistan: Squeezed between IMF programmes and political repression.” Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM), March 4, 2024. https://www.cadtm.org/Pakistan-Squeezed-between-IMF-programmes-and-political-repression-young-people.   

 Oxnevad, Ian. “China, India and Africa: Competition to Shape Africa’s Economic Future.” GIS Reports, June 18, 2025. https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/china-india-africa/.   

 South African History Online. “Indian South Africans – A brief history.” n.d. https://sahistory.org.za/archive/indian-south-africans-brief-history.   

 Mushoriwa, L. “The jurisdiction of the proposed African Court of Justice and Human Rights over the transnational crime of trafficking in hazardous wastes.” Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal (PER) 27 (2024). https://scielo.org.za/pdf/pelj/v27n1/26.pdf.   

 Hendrickse, Melissa, and Rym Khadhraoui. “Sixty years ago, the world tried to stop racial discrimination and failed.” Al Jazeera, December 21, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/12/21/sixty-years-ago-the-world-tried-to-stop-racial-discrimination-and-failed.   

 POMEPS. “The Kafala System as Racialized Servitude.” Project on Middle East Political Science, 2022. https://pomeps.org/the-kafala-system-as-racialized-servitude.   

 Harris, Stevens, and Morris. “Africa’s Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Epidemic: The Road Ahead.” A-CAPP Center, Michigan State University, 2009. https://a-capp.msu.edu/article/africas-counterfeit-pharmaceutical-epidemic-the-road-ahead/.   

 Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “India’s Future Strategic Choices: Complications of Mass.” May 2025. https://www.csis.org/analysis/indias-future-strategic-choices-complications-mass.   

 Permanent Court of Arbitration. “Jadhav (India v. Pakistan).” Press Release, 2023. https://pca-cpa.org/cn/cases/297/.   

 British International Investment (BII). “Evaluating the Impact of BII’s Industries, Technology and Services (ITS) Portfolio.” March 2024. https://assets.bii.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/13082720/BII-ITS-Evaluation-Full-Report.pdf.   

 International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Pakistan: Staff Report for the 2024 Article IV Consultation.” IMF eLibrary, March 2025. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2025/109/article-A001-en.xml.   

 World Health Organization. “Malaria Deaths and Counterfeit Drugs.” WHO Fact Sheet, cited in MSU report, 2009.   

 Verwimp, Philip. “Machetes and Firearms: The Organization of Massacres in Rwanda.” Journal of Peace Research 43, no. 1 (2006): 5-22. https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/joupea/v43y2006i1p5-22.html.   

 Ramapo College. “The Hutus’ Machete: Kwibuka Panel 8.” Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 2024. https://www.ramapo.edu/holocaust/kwibuka-panel-8/.   

 Reading Borough Council. “Statement of Consultation on Pre-Submission Draft Local Plan.” May 2025. https://images.reading.gov.uk/2025/05/LP006-Statement-of-Consultation-on-Pre-Submission-Draft-Local-Plan-Partial-Update.pdf.   

 Observer Research Foundation (ORF). “Uncovering the Influence of ISIS in India.” 2018. https://www.orfonline.org/research/42378-uncovering-the-influence-of-isis-in-india.   

 Georgetown University Law Center. “On Obligations Erga Omnes Partes.” Georgetown Journal of International Law, June 2021. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/international-law-journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2021/06/GT-GJIL210018.pdf.   

Borderless Journal. “What do Rishi Sunak, Freddy Mercury & Mississippi Masala have in common?” January 20, 2023. https://borderlessjournal.com/2023/01/20/what-do-rishi-sunak-freddy-mercury-mississippi-masala-have-in-common/.

Khalilzad, Zalmay. “Reports indicate terrorist camps in Pakistan.” Amu TV, April 26, 2025. https://amu.tv/170906/.

Afghanistan International. “ISIS-K Remains Major Threat In Afghanistan, Region, Says UNSC.” August 21, 2025. https://www.afintl.com/en/202508212435.

Niranjana, Gowri. “Indian Diaspora is Aiding the International Reach of Hindu Nationalism.” CSO Hate, January 5, 2025. https://www.csohate.org/2025/01/05/hindu-nationalism-in-diaspora/.

DefenseOne. “Violent Far-Right Movements Aren’t Just a Western Problem.” March 2023. https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2023/03/violent-far-right-movements-arent-just-western-problem/384003/.