SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Monday, April 1, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Taliban Confirm 2 Americans Among Foreign Detainees in Afghanistan (VOA)
VOA [3/31/2024 10:41 AM, Ayaz Gul, 761K, Neutral]
The Taliban government in Afghanistan confirmed Sunday that they had detained "a number of foreign citizens, including two Americans” for allegedly violating their laws.Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesperson, told the state-run Afghan radio they had informed the United States about the detention of its citizens. He did not provide any additional details, nor did he reveal the nationalities of the other foreign detainees.Relatives and U.S. officials have identified one of the Americans in custody as Ryan Corbett, while the identity of the second person was not disclosed.“Two Americans are currently imprisoned along with other foreign nationals. The reasons for their visit are not clear, but whatever the reasons, anyone who visits Afghanistan must abide by its laws. Anyone obtaining an Afghan visa agrees to follow our laws,” Mujahid said while talking separately to the privately run local TOLO news channel.This is the first time the Taliban has publicly acknowledged the detention of two American nationals. So far, they had only reported the arrest of Corbett.He was taken into custody in August 2022, a year after the Islamist group regained power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S.-led Western troops after nearly 20 years of war with the then-insurgent Taliban.Corbett’s family has lately stepped-up calls for President Joe Biden’s administration to do more to secure his safe and early release.According to CNN, Corbett was able to call his wife Anna and their three children last week for the fifth time since his detention.“It was a disturbing call,” Anna Corbett told the U.S. media outlet Thursday. “It was hard to hear Ryan losing hope. He’s been held now almost 600 days and he had a change in his mindset about it,” she told the U.S. news network.Anna said that Corbett’s physical health had been deteriorating, “and now that his mental health is going down, it’s just super scary for the kids and I.”The U.S. State Department spokesperson said Thursday that it was working to secure the release of all American citizens “wrongfully detained” abroad.Mathew Miller told reporters he “cannot imagine the pain” the families were “going through, and the grief that they’re suffering, and how difficult it must be knowing that their loved one is going through such a tragic hardship.”He said that U.S. officials in meetings with Taliban representatives had “continually pressed” them to release all American detainees immediately and unconditionally.“We have made clear to the Taliban that these detentions are a significant obstacle to positive engagement, and we will continue to do that. We are using every lever we can to try to bring Ryan and these other wrongfully detained Americans home from Afghanistan,” he added.Corbett and his family had lived in Afghanistan for years before being evacuated during the August 2021 Taliban takeover. He ran and supervised humanitarian projects for nongovernmental organizations, focusing on health and education.Corbett returned to Afghanistan twice in 2022 and was detained by the Taliban on his second trip but has not been charged with any crimes, according to his family."The Biden administration has done little to secure Ryan’s release despite continued reports of his deteriorating health while held in deplorable conditions,” U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said in a March 27 statement. Former top general warns of ‘inevitable’ threats to US from Islamic State in wake of Moscow attack (ABC News)
ABC News [3/31/2024 12:21 AM, Juhi Doshi, 22K, Neutral]
The Islamic State terror group has a "strong desire" to attack the U.S. and other foreign powers, the former head of U.S. Central Command warned on Sunday, calling it a threat that is only growing."We should believe them when they say that. They’re going to try to do it," retired Gen. Frank McKenzie told ABC News’ "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz."I think the threat is growing," McKenzie continued, pointing to the dangers from affiliates like ISIS-K after the broader group took responsibility for a deadly attack in Moscow earlier this month.The group also said it was behind a mass bombing in Iran in January."It begun to grow as soon as we left Afghanistan, it took pressure off ISIS-K. So I think we should expect further attempts of this nature against the United States as well as our partners and other nations abroad," McKenzie said. "I think this is inevitable."McKenzie, who is also the author of the upcoming "The Melting Point," a book about leadership and his time commanding U.S. forces in the Middle East, which included the exit from Afghanistan, said that the U.S. maintains a large enough military presence in Iraq and Syria to counter extremists there.But he still believes the U.S. should have kept a small troop presence in Afghanistan rather than withdrawing completely in August 2021, bringing an end to America’s longest war.Though President Joe Biden has previously maintained there would be an "over-the-horizon capability" to "act quickly and decisively" in Afghanistan, even from afar, McKenzie disputed that."In Afghanistan, we have almost no ability to see into that country and almost no ability to strike into that country," he said of the conditions on the ground now.That is a boon to the Islamic State and similar such militants, he said."If you can keep pressure on them ... in their homeland and their base, it makes it hard for them to conduct these types of attacks," he said. "Unfortunately, we no longer place that pressure on them, so they’re free to gain strength, they’re free to plan, they’re free to coordinate."Had the U.S. and its allies kept some forces in Afghanistan, prolonging military involvement there, "I have to believe, Martha, that things would be different. ... I think we might actually be safer than we are," McKenzie said.The attack in Russia on March 22 underscores one of the dangers of militants being able to regroup enough to plan out large-scale operations, McKenzie said. At the same time, such efforts are more easily detectable, he said.The U.S. has said it alerted the Kremlin to just such a possible terror attack weeks ahead of time, adhering to the "duty to warn" principle."I think there was probably good opportunity for the Russians to have averted this attack had they actually listened to the material that was presented to ‘em," McKenzie said on Sunday.The suspects in the Moscow attack -- who have been identified as citizens of Tajikistan -- opened fire in one of the largest shopping and entertainment complexes in Russia, which was followed by a fire that engulfed the complex, according to the Russian Foreign Security Service.McKenzie told Raddatz on "This Week" that militants can become radicalized to fight for groups like ISIS-K through influence campaigns and online methods or through in-person recruitment and training -- but that self-radicalization "may be one of the most dangerous methods that ISIS can use to generate attacks.""Those attacks are generally not going to be well coordinated, they’re not going to be well planned and they’re not going to be well supported. But they could be very lethal because they’ll be so hard to detect," he said.Separately, McKenzie also briefly gave his view on the challenges that the Israeli military is facing as it targets Hamas fighters in Gaza in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack.The mounting casualties amid the fighting -- more than 32,000 in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry -- have provoked increasing international outcry."I think the Israelis are in genuine horns of a dilemma as they try to finish the ground campaign in Gaza," McKenzie said, "and it’s going to be a very difficult stretch for them." Pakistan
Bodies of 5 Chinese killed in suicide bombing in northwestern Pakistan flown to China (AP)
AP [4/1/2024 4:05 AM, Staff, 1824K, Neutral]
The bodies of five Chinese nationals who were killed last week in a suicide bombing in northwestern Pakistan were flown to Beijing on a special plane, Pakistani officials and state media said Monday.The bodies were sent to Beijing overnight from a military air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.The development came a week after the Chinese, along with their Pakistani driver, were killed when the suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into their vehicle in the volatile northwest as they were heading to Pakistan’s biggest hydropower project, Dasu Dam, where they worked.On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also visiting Dasu Dam to meet with Chinese engineers and workers. Pakistani officials will brief Sharif on the project’s progress.Chinese and Pakistani investigators are conducting separate probes into the attack, which drew nationwide condemnation. China has also asked Pakistan to ensure the protection of its nationals working in various parts of Pakistan on projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.Authorities say the Chinese bombing victims were heading to the project site amid tight security.Other Chinese working on CPEC-related projects have faced similar attacks in recent years.In July 2021, at least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, were killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives in his vehicle near a bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani engineers and laborers, prompting Chinese companies to temporarily suspend work. Heavy rains in northwestern Pakistan kill 8 people, mostly children, and injure 12 (AP)
AP [3/30/2024 2:29 PM, Staff, 2565K, Negative]
Heavy rains killed eight people, mostly children, and injured 12 in Pakistan’s northwest, an official said Saturday.Downpours in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province caused rooms to collapse, crushing the people inside, according to Anwar Shahzad, a spokesperson for the local disaster management authority.Shahzad said that three of the dead were siblings aged between 3 and 7 years old, from the same family. The casualties occurred in the past 24 hours, he added.Pakistan has this year experienced a delay in winter rains, which started in February instead of November. Monsoon and winter rains cause damage in Pakistan every year.Earlier this month, around 30 people died in rain-related incidents in the northwest.Across the border in Afghanistan, heavy rainfall on March 29 and 30 destroyed more than 1,500 acres of agricultural land, causing severe damage to hundreds of homes and critical infrastructure like bridges and roads in seven provinces, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Saturday.The provinces most affected are northern Faryab, eastern Nangarhar, and central Daikundi.It’s the third time that the northern region has experienced flooding in less than a month, with seven people killed and 384 families affected by heavy rains, the U.N. agency said. A bomb blast kills 1 person and wounds 14 in Pakistan’s southwest (AP)
AP [3/30/2024 8:46 AM, Staff, 22K, Negative]
A bomb blast killed one person and wounded 14 in Pakistan’s southwest on Saturday, including three soldiers, a police official said.The blast occurred in Hernai district, which is northeast of Quetta city in Baluchistan province.Javed Domki, Hernai deputy commissioner, said the IED exploded when a team from Mari Petroleum Company was conducting a gas exploration survey. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility.For years, Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad.Although the government says it has quelled the insurgency, violence in the province has persisted. Deadly Bomb Hits Gas Surveyors in Southwestern Pakistan (VOA)
VOA [3/30/2024 1:37 AM, Ayaz Gul, 761K, Negative]
A roadside bomb explosion in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province Saturday killed at least one person and injured 14 others.Officials said the attack targeted surveyors from a major, private gas-producing company and Pakistani security forces escorting them in the Harnai district, 170 kilometers (106 miles) northeast of the provincial capital of Quetta.Javed Domki, the district deputy commissioner, confirmed the casualties to VOA by phone. He said the injured were airlifted to a Quetta military hospital, where some of them were in “critical condition.”Several personnel of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps force were among the victims, he said.The so-called Baluch Liberation Army, or BLA, which is an outlawed group, claimed responsibility for the attack in turbulent Baluchistan, which is rich in natural resources.The Pakistani province has experienced a surge in insurgent attacks in recent days, with the BLA taking credit for plotting much of the violence.Last week, BLA loyalists assaulted a key Pakistan naval air base and a government complex in the Turbat and Gwadar districts, respectively. The ensuing clashes killed several security personnel and a dozen insurgents in both attacks. Gwadar is home to a China-run, deep-water Arabian Sea port, central to a multibillion-dollar bilateral collaboration under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, an extension of Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure program.Thousands of Chinese engineers and laborers are associated with CPEC and other Chinese-funded projects in Pakistan.On Tuesday, a suicide car bombing in a northwestern mountain Pakistan region killed five Chinese engineers and their local driver.No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistani officials suspect militants linked to an Afghanistan-based terrorist group, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, was behind it.The TTP distanced itself from the bombing, saying its violence campaign targets only Pakistani security forces. India
US-India Ties Not Damaged By Murder Plot Probe, Ambassador Says (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [4/1/2024 1:24 AM, Dan Strumpf, 5543K, Positive]
The US Ambassador to India said he was pleased with India’s progress on its investigation into an alleged plot to kill a Sikh activist last year, adding that the issue wouldn’t hamper relations between the two countries.“India and the US are showing their resilience and that we really want this relationship for the long haul,” Eric Garcetti said in an interview with Indian news agency ANI that was broadcast on Sunday. “We’ve been satisfied with the coordination on this particular issue and it hasn’t slowed a single thing down” in terms of US-India engagement, he said.US prosecutors accused an Indian government agent last year of directing a plot to assassinate a Sikh activist, who is also a US citizen, in New York. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun — a Sikh separatist who is labeled a terrorist by New Delhi — later said he was the intended victim. The alleged plot, which US authorities said was thwarted, was revealed after an associate of Pannun was killed in Canada.India set up a high-level committee to investigate the allegations, but hasn’t made public any details about the committee, including who is on it or the status of the probe. However, senior officials familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss private deliberations, said recently the investigation found that rogue operatives not authorized by the government were involved in the plot.Both India and the US have sought to downplay the significance of the allegations and have continued to hold high-profile meetings on trade and other issues since the case came to light.“I was very pleased that India put together this commission of inquiry, put senior people who are experienced in law enforcement on that, and that they have been digging in on this side domestically to uncover any evidence that would show a murder-for-hire plot that included anybody who was from the Indian government,” Garcetti told ANI.The ambassador added that government-backed assassination of a foreign country’s citizens is a “red line for any country.”
“No government or government employee can be involved in the alleged assassination of one of your own citizens,” he said. “That’s just an unacceptable red line.” India reacts sharply to U.S. criticism over democracy and rights (Washington Post)
Washington Post [3/29/2024 10:55 AM, Gerry Shih, 6.9M, Negative]
After the Indian government last week arrested opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal in a case of alleged corruption just weeks before a national election, U.S. and German officials issued public statements gently reminding India about the importance of the rule of law.
The response from New Delhi was anything but gentle. Instead, it reflected the tough new brand of diplomacy embraced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cheered by his nationalist supporters.
The Indian Foreign Ministry immediately summoned German and U.S. diplomats for a dressing-down in New Delhi. It lashed out at Washington for “casting aspersions” and making “completely unacceptable” comments about India’s internal affairs after the State Department reiterated its concerns about Kejriwal’s arrest and the freezing of an opposition party’s campaign funds.
On Thursday, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar raised a complaint frequently heard among Modi’s supporters: that the United States is moralizing, overbearing and prone to interfering.“There are people in the world who want to lecture us on our judicial behavior,” Dhankhar told the American Bar Association at a conference in New Delhi. Dhankhar went on to dismiss U.S. officials’ recent comments about a controversial new Indian citizenship law as “ignorant.”“We are not a nation to get scriptures from others,” Dhankhar said. “We are a nation with a civilizational ethos of more than 5,000 years.”
The shift in tone is one facet of India’s changing face as it grows into global power under Modi. While the Biden administration has assiduously wooed the Indian prime minister as a geopolitical partner and invested heavily in deepening technology cooperation with the world’s fifth-largest economy, it has been met with a Modi government that pushes back with a prickliness that has drawn occasional comparisons to China’s “Wolf Warriors” or officials from other, more adversarial nations.“This seems to be a trend the last few years with the foreign minister very vocally articulating a sense that India will also push back unlike in the past, when India would absorb some of these challenges,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank that has ties with the Indian Foreign Ministry. “This is a more self-assured government that says, ‘Look, we’re doing well, we’re coming back to power, we’re very comfortable politically, and we represent a wide swath of opinion that wants us to reflect that confidence.’”
While analysts and diplomats say the spats are just that — verbal clashes that are unlikely to derail the fundamental trajectory of deepening bilateral relations — they reflect the many serious differences between the two countries on subjects ranging from India’s relationship with Russia to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s treatment of religious minorities and its suppression of political opponents.
This month, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who often goes viral on Indian social media when he delivers one of his trademark ripostes to Western critics, pointedly defended India’s friendship with Russia and accused the West of “cherry-picking principles” on Ukraine.
Jaishankar and other officials have also hit back at the West for harboring Sikh terrorists following U.S. and Canadian allegations that the Indian government may have been involved in a campaign of targeted killings of Sikhs abroad. After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly claimed in September that he had credible allegations tying Indian officials to the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil, India responded with fury — and then raised the ante by expelling 41 Canadian diplomats.
As a result, Western diplomats in New Delhi often say they struggle to calibrate their messaging with the Indian government, because even mild criticism in public can provoke a verbal lashing from the Hindu nationalist BJP government. In recent weeks, after India passed a law that fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslims fleeing persecution from Muslim-majority neighbors, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti and other American officials spoke in public about the principle of equal treatment of different religious communities under law — drawing condemnation in India. Other U.S. allies chose to deliver their concerns in private.
C. Raja Mohan, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said U.S. and Indian leaders were in the midst of reelection campaigns. “The U.S. has to do its democracy-promotion bit, and India has to make its sovereignty argument for the home audience,” he said. “It’s theater.”
Indeed, the tough diplomatic rhetoric has fit neatly with Modi’s domestic brand. Backed by a pliant media and a vast social media messaging machine, he has cultivated an image as a leader who is more respected by world powers and more feared by India’s enemies than any Indian before him.
This week, television channels showed footage of U.S. and German diplomats being summoned as anchors explained to their audiences how India used “very strong words” to reprimand the Americans. “You will remember that this did not happen until very recently,” noted Sudhir Chaudhury, a prominent personality on the Hindi Aaj Tak channel.“The meeting lasted 40 minutes. I’m sure the Indian side had a lot to say,” said Palki Sharma, another anchor popular on the Indian right. She added that today, the United States and Germany needed India, and “India’s message to both countries is: ‘Stay in your lane.’”
The BJP’s tough diplomacy has also set alight its grass-roots supporters. After the U.S.-India spat exploded on Indian social media, some right-wing accounts dug up information about the Washington-based journalist who had asked the State Department about Kejriwal’s arrest and began to troll him as an agent backed by George Soros and the Ford Foundation.
Others, like Gujarat-based social media influencer Raushan Sinha, 35, celebrated India’s newfound swagger.
In January, he gained online notoriety by calling the Maldives’ new pro-China administration a “puppet government,” feuding with Maldivian ministers on X and leading a call for Indians to boycott the popular holiday destination.
This week, Sinha was again cheering the Modi government. In an X post to his 247,000 followers, Sinha posted a video of a U.S. diplomat being summoned and said, “The New India doesn’t give a damn about you.” He garnered 6,700 retweets.
In a telephone interview, Sinha said that many Indians of his generation support Modi precisely because he fills them with self-confidence and pride.“Under the Modi government in the past 10 years, we have done great work; you can see things improving, so why should we tolerate such stuff?” Sinha said. “We, India, are not a third-class country. We are as important as you now. So start treating us the same way.” Thousands rally in India’s capital as opposition bloc and Prime Minister Modi launch their campaigns (AP)
AP [3/31/2024 9:57 AM, Staff, 22K, Negative]
An alliance of India’s opposition parties launched its election campaign with a massive rally Sunday that criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of stifling opponents and undermining democracy ahead of a national election next month.The “Save Democracy” rally in New Delhi was the first major show of strength by the opposition bloc INDIA. Modi on Sunday also launched a formal campaign for the election to be held over six weeks starting April 19.Opposition leaders spoke to the flag-waving crowd and criticized Modi’s government for arresting several of their colleagues, including New Delhi’s top elected official Arvind Kejriwal on March 21. The leaders called the arrests undemocratic and accused Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, of using federal agencies to undermine the opposition.Kejriwal was arrested by the federal Enforcement Directorate on charges that his party and state ministers had accepted 1 billion rupees ($12 million) in bribes from liquor contractors nearly two years ago. The Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, denied the accusations and said that Kejriwal would remain as New Delhi’s chief minister while the court decides on the next step.In January, the agency arrested Hemant Soren — until then the chief minister of eastern Jharkhand state — for allegedly facilitating an illegal land sale. Soren’s party denies the charges.“This battle is to safeguard the nation, democracy, constitution, future of the nation, youth, farmers and women. This battle is for justice and truth,” Deepender Singh Hooda, a lawmaker of the opposition Congress party, told reporters at the rally.Kejriwal’s arrest is seen as a setback for the opposition bloc that is the main challenger of the BJP in the elections.The BJP denies targeting the opposition and says law enforcement agencies act independently.“Narendra Modi wants to strangle democracy and take away the option from the people to choose the government of their choice,” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi from the Congress party, who took part in Sunday’s rally, wrote on X.Modi kicked off his campaign for a third term from the city of Meerut, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of New Delhi.Modi said the opposition was uneasy because of the administration’s crackdown on corruption. “While Modi’s mantra is to eradicate corruption, their (opposition parties) credo is protect the corrupt,” he said. India opposition unites over pre-election arrest, blames PM Modi (Reuters)
Reuters [3/31/2024 8:37 AM, Rupam Jain and Shivangi Acharya, 5239K, Negative]
Indian opposition parties united on Sunday to protest against the arrest of a prominent leader weeks before a national election, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party of rigging the vote and harassing them with large tax demands."Narendra Modi is trying match-fixing in this election," Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi told a New Delhi rally as the crowd chanted "Shame!"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a staunch Modi critic, anti-corruption crusader and a high-profile leader of the 27-member "INDIA" opposition bloc, was arrested on March 21 for alleged graft over granting liquor licenses, less than a month before voting starts in a general election widely expected to solidify Modi’s mandate with a rare third term.Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party says the case is fabricated and politically motivated. Modi’s government and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny political interference and say law enforcement agencies are doing their job."If the BJP wins this match-fixing election and changes the constitution, it will light the country on fire," said Gandhi, whose party ruled India for more than two-thirds of the time since independence in 1947 but has struggled since Modi swept to power a decade ago."This is not an ordinary election. This election is to save the country, protect our constitution."Sharing the stage with Gandhi at the popular Ramlila Maidan gathering site were opposition leaders including regional party heads who have overcome differences over which party would contest which seats.Modi said his fight against corruption has rattled the opposition and this election is a fight between his party and its allies who want to remove the corrupt, compared with the opposition that wants to protect the corrupt."Big corrupt people are behind bars and even the Supreme Court is not giving them bail," Modi said in a rally to launch his election campaign in the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.Congress, besides struggling with detentions and raids by India’s financial crime-fighting agency, says it faces "tax terrorism" from large tax demands by the government and the freezing of some of its bank accounts, all of which it calls attempts to financially cripple the party.Critics say Modi and his party have weaponised investigative agencies and tax authorities to cull political opponents and reduce the chances of a fair election, an accusation the BJP denies."This fascism will not work in India," Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, told the rally. "We will fight and we will win." Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal sent to jail until April 15 in graft case, media reports say (Reuters)
Reuters [4/1/2024 2:38 AM, Sakshi Dayal, 761K, Neutral]An Indian court sent Delhi chief minister and key opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal to jail until April 15 in a liquor graft case on Monday, local media reported, less than three weeks before the country begins voting in national elections.India’s financial crime-fighting agency had arrested Kejriwal in connection with corruption allegations related to the city’s liquor policy and he had been remanded to the agency’s custody until April 1.Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) says he has been "falsely arrested" in a "fabricated" case, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and his Bharatiya Janata Party deny political interference.Lawyers for the agency said on Monday that Kejriwal had been "non-cooperative" and was "giving evasive replies" and asked the court to remand him to judicial custody for 15 days, news website Live Law reported.Kejriwal blamed Modi for his arrest."What the prime minister is doing is not good for the country," he told reporters on his way to court.All the senior leaders of AAP were already imprisoned in the same graft case before Kejriwal’s arrest.The action against the high-profile leader sparked protests in the capital and the northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by his party, last week.The court’s decision comes a day after the INDIA bloc, an alliance of 27 opposition parties including AAP, came together at a rally in New Delhi to protest against Kejriwal’s arrest and accused Modi of seeking to rig the elections.Besides AAP, several other opposition parties, including regional groups, are also facing action from federal agencies, which they say is "politically motivated".The country’s main opposition Congress party says it has been hit with large income tax demands which it says is an effort to "cripple it financially" before the elections.Modi and the BJP have denied the allegations.Kejriwal’s arrest has also drawn international attention, with the U.S. and Germany urging a "fair" and "impartial" trial, causing New Delhi to strongly object by asking them to stay away from its "internal" affairs. India’s Modi questions rival Congress about island ceded to Sri Lanka (Reuters)
Reuters [4/1/2024 2:37 AM, Krishn Kaushik, 5543K, Neutral]
India’s half-century-old decision to end a territorial dispute with Sri Lanka over a tiny island has become a hot-button election issue, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party accusing the rival Congress of compromising fishermen’s rights.A 1976 agreement barred Indian fishermen from waters around the 285-acre (115-hectare) island in the Palk Strait that divides the neighbours, two years after a pact on maritime boundaries gave Colombo rights over it.On Monday, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Sri Lanka had detained more than 6,000 Indian fishermen and 1,175 fishing vessels over the last 20 years, following the 1976 deal on the island, located 33 km (21 miles) off India’s coast.His comments come a day after Modi accused the Congress of having "callously" given away the island, called Katchatheevu."Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting," Modi said on social media platform X.In response, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the 1974 agreement had been "based on a friendly gesture" and suggested that Modi’s comments came with an eye to general elections set to start on April 19, at which he will seek a rare third term.Kharge said Modi raised the sensitive issue on the eve of the elections, though his government’s attorney general had told the Supreme Court in 2014 that India would "have to go to war" if it wanted to recover the island from Sri Lanka.The office of Sri Lanka’s president and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Discontent over the curtailed fishing rights has grown in the southern coastal state of Tamil Nadu neighbouring Sri Lanka, leading to two legal challenges to the agreements during the last two decades that are still pending in the Supreme Court.Tamil Nadu goes to the polls on April 19, the first phase of seven rounds of voting set to end on June 1.Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to make inroads in the state, where it won none of the state’s 39 seats in India’s 545-member parliament during the last election.Jaishankar did not comment if the government would seek to alter the status of the island, as the matter was in the Supreme Court. What 10 Years of Modi Rule Has Meant for India’s Economy (New York Times)
New York Times [4/1/2024 12:16 AM, Alex Travelli, 831K, Neutral]
As Narendra Modi was storming to victory in the election of 2014, he said that “acchhe din aane waale hain” — good times are coming.
Now as Mr. Modi stands set to secure another term as prime minister in elections starting on April 19, the value of India’s stock market has grown threefold since he first took office. India’s economy is almost twice as big as it was.
Stocks have risen so much because the number of Indians with enough wealth and appetite for investment risk has jumped — to nearly 5 percent of the population from barely 2 percent.
But the economic gains have been widely unequal. The bulk of India’s growth depends on those at the top of the income ladder, including a coterie of huge and tightly controlled businesses.
Ninety percent of India’s population of 1.4 billion is estimated to subsist on less than $3,500 a year. Yet in the poorest rural districts, life has been made more bearable by welfare programs that have expanded under Mr. Modi. Many of the benefits are solid and visible: sacks of free grain, toilets, gas cylinders and housing materials. Purely commercial developments have transformed village life: LED lights, cheap smartphones and nearly free mobile data have changed the nature of idle time.
While America was experiencing a “vibecession,” feeling glum despite upbeat economic news, India has been doing the opposite. Here many of the signals are mixed — but the vibes are fantastic. International surveys show India’s consumers have become the most upbeat anywhere.
Foreigners are also feeling good about the Modi economy. Banks like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are rushing to upgrade India’s weighting in their global stock and bond indexes. Chris Wood, one of the best-regarded market strategists in Asia, warned that if Mr. Modi were not re-elected this year, Indian markets could crash by 25 percent or more.
A strange thing about the spirit of optimism about the Modi economy is that India’s rates of growth over the past 10 years have been very similar to those of the decade that preceded it, under a government that Mr. Modi often blames for wrecking the country.
As real as it is, the Indian economic success story is also an attribute of what could be the singular characteristic of Mr. Modi’s years in the top job: his ability to control all levers of power, with showmanship as the first priority.
Mr. Modi’s face is everywhere, perhaps more present in New Delhi than that of any democratically elected leader in any other capital. In the run-up to the Group of 20 summit last September, his slogans took credit for virtually every positive development that could be found in this inexorably emerging economy.
In the bullish climate surrounding the Indian economy, even the pessimists are optimistic. While official statistics anticipate growth of 7.3 percent in the current fiscal year, most finance professionals in Mumbai peg the figure at 6 to 6.5 percent. The lowest estimate touches 4.5 percent, which would still beat the United States and possibly China.
Expressing even mild skepticism is avoided. Economists who depend on government work must be careful not to speak frankly. Economists who do not work with the government are becoming scarce, as independent think tanks are raided and shuttered.
Message control is much more pronounced than it was under Mr. Modi’s predecessor, the award-winning economist Manmohan Singh. India became known as a “flailing state” during Mr. Singh’s time in office, even with growth occasionally hitting the 10 percent mark.
Mr. Modi has been busy remaking the institutions of Indian governance. Political competition has been all but eliminated at the national level, and he has exploited animosity against the country’s Muslim minority of 200 million.
Mr. Modi has also used state power to make things happen in strictly economic affairs, mostly for better though sometimes for worse. Infrastructure is on a tear. There is some overbuilding, but the fact that building gets done is a welcome relief. Welfare programs have become more responsive.
India — especially in banking and business transactions — has made a widespread digital leap. The push began during the previous management of Mr. Singh, but Mr. Modi has run with it. The “India Stack,” a suite of software platforms that runs on the base of Aadhaar, a biometric identification system, means that Indians now have access to faster and cheaper peer-to-peer transactions than Americans.
Taxes have been overhauled. India has driven more of the economy into the formal sector, for instance by enacting a Goods and Services Tax like Europe’s value-added tax, allowing more revenue to be extracted from more people and businesses. That has freed up money for public spending and, by lowering corporate tax rates, private financing.
One minus on the digitization ledger came on Nov. 8, 2016, when at 8 p.m. Mr. Modi abruptly declared that all large currency notes were suddenly worthless. That was supposed to deprive criminals of “black money.” Instead, it crippled economic activity.
There are other ways the Indian government’s power to act decisively and usually without check has created distortions and inequalities. The biggest companies have profited wildly. Of the $1.4 trillion in wealth created by the most prestigious stock index from 2012 to 2022, 80 percent went to 20 companies, Marcellus Investment Managers in Mumbai estimated in 2022. Those companies are the ones that can talk directly to the government.
No one better illustrates the concentration of corporate wealth, and the risks associated with it, than Gautam Adani. Outside India, few knew his name until 2022, when he suddenly appeared on lists as the world’s second-richest person, after Elon Musk.
The flagship stock of Mr. Adani’s conglomerate nearly doubled in the year after Mr. Modi was elected and grew eight times larger after he was re-elected in 2019. The Adani Group became, in effect, a logistics arm of the government, building up ports, highways, bridges and solar farms at speeds never before seen.
Then last year Mr. Adani’s empire was accused of fraud by a New York short-seller, costing Mr. Adani $150 billion on paper. Though Mr. Adani, who denied the claims, has recouped most of the money he lost, the episode exposed a risk in the Modi strategy of allowing the few at the tippy top to amass enormous clout.
Companies aside, on an individual level, India’s recent growth has been uncomfortably unequal. Having the world’s biggest population explains why so many foreign investors are attracted to its consumer market. Most Indians are rural, and 75 percent of them are by most measures poor, qualifying for free food rations intended to prevent malnutrition. Though that warrants some caution, it leaves room for growth.
Sales of luxury goods have been booming, especially since the pandemic, generating yearslong waiting lists for vehicles like the Mercedes G 63. Sales of motorbikes and scooters, which transport far more Indians than all the four-wheeled cars combined, have been stagnant.
The most painful aspect of the economy is the jobs situation. Officially about 7 percent of Indians are unemployed. Vastly more are underemployed. In the past month, Indians desperate to find better incomes abroad have died trying: crossing the United States’ borders, fighting as underequipped mercenaries for Russia in Ukraine and filling positions left empty by Palestinians forced to stop working in Israel.
And yet, the ascent of India in the world economy seems preordained. It has moved ahead of Britain to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, and it is expected to surpass Japan and Germany to become the world’s third largest within the next few years.
More multinational businesses are expected to flock to India, creating opportunities for Indians. Only a small proportion of consumers can expect to enjoy living standards taken for granted in the United States, but they are becoming more numerous by the year, and can now be found even in small cities.
Red tape remains to impede businesses without connections to the top of government. But the direction of movement is promising: Projects that used to require two years of permission-seeking can now be completed in 15 days.
Along with the acchhe din he promised in 2014, Mr. Modi pledged “minimum government, maximum governance,” sounding like a 1980s America free marketeer. In practice, his economic approach has not been defined by theory or ideology. He has thrown everything against the wall to see what sticks. He has thrown persistently, and with force. When economists talk about India, they have stopped talking about the “flailing state.” India’s Silicon Valley Faces a Water Crisis That Software Cannot Solve (New York Times)
New York Times [3/31/2024 4:14 PM, Damien Cave, 831K, Negative]
The water tankers seeking to fill their bellies bounced past the dry lakes of India’s booming technology capital. Their bleary-eyed drivers waited in line to suck what they could from wells dug a mile deep into dusty lots between app offices and apartment towers named for bougainvillea — all built before sewage and water lines could reach them.
At one well, where neighbors lamented the loss of a mango grove, a handwritten logbook listed the water runs of a crisis: 3:15 and 4:10 one morning; 12:58, 2:27 and 3:29 the next.“I get 50 calls a day,” said Prakash Chudegowda, a tanker driver in south Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore, as he connected a hose to the well. “I can only get to 15.”
The Silicon Valley of South Asia has a nature issue — a pain point that software cannot solve. In the sprawl beyond Bengaluru’s core, where dreams of tech riches usually grow, schools lack water to flush toilets. Washing machines have gone quiet. Showers are being postponed, and children with only dirty water to drink are being hospitalized with typhoid fever.
The big problem afflicting Bengaluru is not a lack of rain (it gets plenty, about as much as Seattle), but rather what often holds this giant, energetic nation back: arthritic governance. As the city rushed toward the digital future, tripling its population to 15 million since the 1990s and building a lively tech ecosystem, water management fell behind and never caught up as otherwise healthy aquifers were drawn dry by the unchecked spread of urban bore wells.
Failures of environmental stewardship are common across a country with severe pollution and an acute need for economic growth to provide for 1.4 billion people, spanning political parties and India’s north-south divide. But Bengaluru’s water struggle is especially withering for many — and motivating for some who have water sales or reform in mind — because the city sees itself as an innovator. And in this case, the causes and solutions are well known.“There is no crisis of water availability,” said Vishwanath Srikantaiah, a water researcher and urban planner in Bengaluru. “It’s a clear-cut crisis of state failure.”
Viewed another way, he added in an interview at his home, where books about water and rivers were stacked nearly to the ceiling, it is a crisis caused by a lack of imagination.
As public policy experts tell it, Bengaluru and the broader state of Karnataka have been too slow to plan for growth, too divided across agencies and too rigid in their reliance on pumping water uphill from reservoirs along the Kaveri River more than 50 miles away.
Despite a long history of local hydrology — Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the 16th-century founder of Bengaluru, built hundreds of cascading lakes for irrigation — officials have mostly stuck with the traditional engineering option that their predecessors turned to in the 1950s and ‘60s.
That is the case despite its challenges and expense. The energy cost alone for pumping eats up 75 percent of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s revenue, while supplying only around half of what the city needs.
The rest, for decades, has come from bore wells — holes about six inches wide that act like straws for water from aquifers below. An authority separate from the water board has punched 14,000 of them into the ground, half of which are now dry, according to officials. Experts estimate that residents have drilled an additional 450,000 to 500,000 into the cityscape, without the government’s knowing where or having a clear sense of their impact.
In much of the city, the wells are like doorbells, plentiful but seemingly invisible until someone points them out. Drilling failures appear as cutout circles on quieter streets; successes are often covered in flowers, with a black hose snaking into a home down the street.
Spending a day in the cab of Mr. Chudegowda’s tanker truck offered a glimpse of how the ad hoc system works. At one stop, drivers wrote their times in a logbook while cameras watched how much they took. At another the supply was slow and organized: A half-dozen drivers took 20-minute turns for fill-ups of around 6,000 liters, or about 1,600 gallons, just a few steps from a lake depleted to a puddle. At a third, a building owner sold a load to Mr. Chudegowda without the wait.“Every minute counts,” he said as he climbed out of the truck.
His customers ranged from a bra factory with 100 workers to a small apartment building, all within a few miles to maximize profit. He charged each up to 1,500 rupees ($18) for each tanker load, more than double the going rate from a few months ago, which he considered justified because costs had gone up.
Drills — easily hired from companies with storefronts across the city — often fail to find water or have to go deeper now, which means more electricity and gas for the pumps pulling precious liquid from the earth.
The effects, while not at “Dune”-like levels, have become more visible in recent weeks, especially in the tech corridors, with their blur of luxury apartments, slums, mobile phone stores, malls, in vitro fertilization clinics and shimmering offices.
In Whitefield, a busy software hub, Sumedha Rao, a teacher at a new public school, offered to ask her class of 12-year-olds about their experiences with water scarcity. The hallways were painted in bright colors with words of encouragement — resilience, citizenship, collaboration. In class, they were asked how often they have water at home.“There’s no water in the bore wells,” shouted another.
Many take small amounts of drinking water from school taps for their families — only one water bottle per child, because it is all the school can spare. Behind a play area the color and consistency of ground ginger sat a hulking pile of metal: a broken bore well.“The motor stopped working,” said Shekar Venkataswamy, a physical education teacher with a brigand’s mustache.
Walking toward his home behind the school, he pointed to a dry hole where drilling failed, and one where it worked. A few thousand families take turns using the water for an hour each, with an elaborate schedule that is tightly managed.
Community leaders expressed pride in how they were handling the crisis, softening the blows of sacrifice. Many others have been inspired to broader action.
One morning, four tech workers who had become water activists showed up in a northern corner of the city where Mr. Srikantaiah, the water researcher, had worked with the local community to rejuvenate a once trash-strewn lake. A small network of gurgling filters and pipes sends out 200,000 liters of potable water per day.“It will soon be 600,000,” Mr. Srikantaiah said. And the price per customer: nearly a third of what tanker drivers are charging.
The tech workers said they planned to share the details with neighbors and officials, to spread the word that a lake, using rainwater and lightly treated sewage, could be turned into a safe, affordable, reliable water source.
In an interview at his office, the chairman of the water board, Ram Prasath Manohara, 43, a seasoned government administrator installed three months ago, embraced the idea.
Acknowledging that some past officials had thought narrowly about water management, he said he hoped to attract public and private money for a more innovative approach, mixing data-driven methods that would revive lakes to let aquifers recharge and would expand rainwater harvesting and conservation.“We’re going for a greener solution,” he said. “A more effective solution.”So far, though, progress has been slow. He has not been able to hire any additional staff, he said, and he is working from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day.
Short-term relief, he prays, will come in the next few weeks, with reservoir water extended to more parts of the city and the expected spring rains. Most of all, like many others in India’s Silicon Valley, he hopes all the public attention to water scarcity will add momentum for long-term change.
In one corner of his offices, a quote from Benjamin Franklin had been printed on a piece of paper and pasted to a window: “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”“This crisis,” he said, rubbing his tired eyes, “it gives us an opportunity.” Ukraine Foreign Minister Discusses Peace Plan in India Meeting (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/30/2024 2:20 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 5543K, Neutral]
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said discussions on a peace plan were a focus in a meeting with his Indian counterpart as the war-torn nation continues to shore up support against Russia.Kuleba met Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday during a two-day trip to India — Ukraine’s first high-level visit to the South Asian nation since Russia’s invasion two years ago.“We paid specific attention to the Peace Formula and next steps on the path of its implementation,” Kuleba said, referring to an initiative that requires Russian forces to withdraw from all Ukrainian territory.Jaishankar said his meeting with Kuleba focused on the ongoing conflict and its wider ramifications, and they “exchanged views on various initiatives in that context,” according to a post on X. The two sides also discussed ways to increase trade at an inter-governmental meeting.India, with deep economic and political ties with Russia, has consistently pushed for dialog and diplomacy to end the conflict. It has not publicly criticized or voted against Russia at the United Nations over the war.Switzerland is working toward hosting a global peace summit by the summer, seeking a broad alliance of countries to resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Swiss defense minister has said that Russia will most likely not participate in the first round of discussions.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin by phone earlier this month. New Delhi has remained skeptical about the outcome of a peace summit without Russia’s participation. Four killed as sudden heavy rain lashes east Indian state (Reuters)
Reuters [3/31/2024 12:03 PM, Subrata Nag Choudhury, 5239K, Negative]
Sudden heavy rainfall and stormy winds lashed parts of India’s eastern state of West Bengal on Sunday, killing four and injuring several others, as per a local official, prompting evacuation efforts.The storm hit Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal and damaged houses, uprooted trees, disrupted transport and electricity, showed videos by Indian news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake.Local district head Shama Parveen said the storm killed four while scores of injured were taken to the local district hospital to be treated.State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on X that the government will compensate next of kin in cases of death. India Rescuing Citizens Forced Into Cyber Fraud Schemes in Cambodia (Reuters)
Reuters [3/31/2024 3:56 AM, Krishn Kaushik, 761K, Neutral]
The Indian government said it was rescuing its citizens who were lured into employment in Cambodia and were being forced to participate in cyber fraud schemes.The Indian embassy in Cambodia is working with Cambodian authorities and has rescued and repatriated about 250 Indians, including 75 in the last three months, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement on Saturday.Jaiswal was responding to Indian news reports that stated more than 5,000 Indians are trapped in Cambodia and being forced to carry out cyber frauds on people back home."We are also working with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes," Jaiswal said.The Indian government and its embassy in Cambodia have issued several advisories informing them about such scams, the spokesperson said.The Cambodian embassy in India did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Sunday. India rescues Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by pirates off Somalia (Reuters)
Reuters [3/30/2024 10:24 AM, Staff, 5239K, Neutral]
The Indian Navy said it had freed the 23-strong crew of an Iranian fishing vessel which was seized by armed pirates off Somalia.The Al-Kambar 786 was southwest of the Yemeni island of Socotra, in the Arabian Sea, on March 28 when it was reported to have been boarded by nine pirates, according to a naval statement on Friday.The vessel was intercepted by the navy’s INS Sumedha and INS Trishul, leading to "over 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures" forcing the pirates to surrender, the statement said.The nine pirates are being brought to India under the domestic law against piracy on the high seas, the navy said in a separate statement on Saturday.The fishing vessel’s crew of 23 Pakistani nationals were safe and received medical checks before being cleared to continue with fishing activities, the statement said.Piracy incidents east of the Red Sea have resurfaced for the first time in nearly a decade.Taking advantage of Western forces’ focus on protecting shipping from attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants, pirates have made or attempted more than 20 hijackings since November, driving up insurance and security costs and adding to a crisis for global shipping companies. NSB
The ‘Night Government’ Expands Its Violent Reach in Rohingya Camps (New York Times)
New York Times [3/30/2024 4:14 PM, Verena Holzl, 831K, Negative]
They could not worship freely. The authorities denied their very existence and razed evidence of their historical communities. Then came a campaign of ethnic cleansing that forced them to flee to a foreign country where they crowded into bamboo-and-tarp shelters. There they have waited years for a better life.
Instead, a new threat is stalking the roughly one million Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar who have resettled in refugee camps in Bangladesh: a surge in deadly violence from some of their own people.
Armed Rohingya groups and criminal gangs involved in the drug trade are so entrenched in the camps, aid groups and refugees said, that they are known as the “night government,” a moniker that signified their power and the time that they typically operated. In recent months, they have become more brazen, terrorizing their fellow Rohingya and battling one another in gunfights in broad daylight as they fight for control of the camps.
The escalating violence has become another scourge in the camps, which were already rife with disease and malnutrition, and prone to floods and landslides. Doctors working in the camps say that the number of gunshot wounds they are treating soared in the past year. Accounts in local news media show the number of killings in the camps doubled to more than 90 over the same period. Abductions increased fourfold.“Security is now our number one concern in the camps,” said Sumbul Rizvi, who represents the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangladesh. By the agency’s count, so-called serious security incidents have nearly tripled in the past year, prompting more and more Rohingya to take treacherous boat journeys to flee the camps.
In interviews, residents of the camp widely accused the local police of being ineffective, complicit, or both.
Police officials reject those complaints.“The security situation is totally under control,” said Mohammad Abdullahil Baki, the deputy inspector general of police in Cox’s Bazar, who is in charge of the Rohingya camps.But that assessment does not align with the situation in the camps.
One afternoon last April, a resident of the camps heard gunshots and had a sense of foreboding. “I felt blood rushing to my head,” S.R., whom The New York Times is identifying by only his initials to protect his safety, recently recalled in a house outside the camps.
S.R.’s intuition was right. His father, who was playing with some children in a nearby tea shop, had been fatally shot in the throat.
The gunmen, he said, belonged to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, which was unhappy that his father, a camp liaison to the Bangladeshi government, assisted victims and shared information about the groups, including ARSA.
Like the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, or R.S.O., the other main armed group operating in the camps, ARSA has its roots in opposing the junta in Myanmar.
In interviews with more than a dozen refugees, some were afraid to utter the names of the two groups. Even away from the camps, they lowered their voices and referred to the groups by the length of their acronyms: the “four-letters” and the “three-letters.”
They said members of the groups beat, kill, kidnap, rape and extort them for money they don’t have — claims that both groups deny.
While the number of armed groups is hard to pin down, analysts believe there are between five and 15 more or less well-organized groups and gangs operating in the camps now. Most are allied against ARSA, which has lost significant ground over the past year.
R.S.O. was started in the 1980s and lay dormant for years before re-emerging after the 2021 coup in Myanmar. By then, ARSA had become known for abuses against its own community in the refugee camps.
It was ARSA’s attacks on Myanmar security forces in 2016 and 2017 that were used as a pretext for a violent security operation that killed at least 24,000 people and forced hundreds of thousands of others to flee across the border into Bangladesh. The United States has accused Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya.
ARSA, initially known as Harakah al-Yaqin, or Faith Movement, had vowed to liberate the Rohingya people from oppression in Myanmar when it emerged in 2013. Now both ARSA and R.S.O. are trying to force their own people under their control.“There is a disconnect between what these groups say and what they are doing on the ground, particularly when it comes to ARSA,” said Thomas Kean, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, a think tank. “There is little incentive for them to fight when they can instead stay inside Bangladesh territory, control the camps and make money from illicit activities such as trafficking drugs.”
Bangladesh prohibits Rohingya refugees from working and moving freely. Their predicament has been made worse by the decline in international funding for the Rohingya crisis, with current levels of aid equating to roughly 30 cents a day per refugee.“Most people don’t want to get involved in these groups or their activities, but if the alternative is for their family to go hungry, then some will feel like they have little option,” Mr. Kean said.
Fortify Rights, a rights group, said that by its count of reports in Bangladeshi media, killings in the camps doubled to more than 90 in 2023 from the previous year. In the first eight months of 2023, the number of gunshot wounds treated by Doctors Without Borders had already doubled from 2022.“Arms have become a lot more visible in the camps over the past year,” said Wendy McCance, country director of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Her teams have seen them firsthand. A government building in the camps that some of them were in was locked down last year after armed men entered it.
Now, when Ms. McCance lobbies to fortify schools and learning centers, she worries not just about flash floods but also bullets.
In the camps, Rohingya women said gunmen have pushed their conservative Muslim ideology on them and pressured them to dress conservatively and not work.
One woman, who asked not to be identified over safety concerns, said she believed her husband worked with ARSA. He was also angry with her, she said, because she was making money sewing clothes. One night he became so violent that he bit her breast and she had to get a tetanus shot. She has also found herself caught in the middle of gang rivalries.
For Ms. McCance, the situation in the camps was predictable. “Restrict the movement of one million people, and they will find ways to release pressure. You can’t just keep people cattled, surrounded by wire and CCTV,” she said.
One man, who also asked not to be identified for fear of his safety, said he had been warned several times to stop his human rights work in the camps.
Then he and his family members were attacked, leaving his brother with gunshot wounds and his father hospitalized. The man said he had tried to talk his younger compatriots out of taking up arms.“As long as Bangladesh is sheltering us, we need to abide by the law,” he said. Central Asia
Colossal floods stun Kazakhstan (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [3/29/2024 4:14 PM, Almaz Kumenov, 57.6K, Negative]
Entire swathes of Kazakhstan look like a scene from a disaster movie.
Vast amounts of floodwater have destroyed villages and carried away livestock. Social media is filled with images of people clambering for safety onto the roofs of their homes as rescue helicopters circle above.
When spring arrives, Kazakhstan knows to expect runoff water from melting ice and snow, but this year has been a shock. Bridges have been destroyed, entire sections of highway are now underwater, hundreds of homes have been rendered uninhabitable, and many have been left without tap water and household gas. At least three people are believed to have lost their lives.
The floods that began earlier this month have affected at least seven regions, with the north hardest-hit. The Emergency Situations Ministry said that as of March 29, around 4,700 people, including almost 1,700 children, have been rescued and evacuated. More than 500 residential buildings are flooded. In some regions, entire government buildings, schools and hospitals are flooded.
Speaking at an emergency government meeting on March 29, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov described these as the largest floods in recent years.“The main thing now is to save people’s lives and minimize the fallout from the disaster,” Bektenov told Emergency Situations Minister Chingis Arinov, who briefed the Cabinet on mitigation measures being adopted.
Bektenov said an investigation would be conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office into whether the scale of the crisis was compounded by negligence.
The Abai regional department of the Emergency Services Ministry reported on March 29 that a search for three men who went missing during the floods has been going on for the past week. One is believed to have fallen from his horse into a rushing river, after which he was apparently carried away by the stream. Two others tried to cross the same river on a tractor and got stuck. Divers were enlisted to search for the missing men, but that effort had to be suspended due to weather conditions.
Residents of some affected areas have mounted wildcat demonstrations at what they perceive to be inadequate efforts by the authorities to handle the situation. In doing so, they have incurred sanctions.
A court in the northern Akmola region on March 28 fined six residents of the village of Koyandy for participating in an unsanctioned rally. Fifty people in the village had blocked a nearby road in protest at the local authorities failing to clear snow in good time, which they said caused their homes to be flooded.
Although spring floods occur every year, authorities are often unprepared for the costly consequences. Government critics argue that officials are pathologically incapable of learning from experience and even ignore warnings from experts about incoming floods. Officials argue in turn that the natural disasters are growing worse in scale.
A particularly bitter irony is that while Kazakhstan routinely struggles with floods in March-April, the months that follow have often delivered a period of drought.Kirill Pavlov, the Shymkent-based leader of a farming lobby organization, says that the government should have long ago learned how to manage meltwater.“All countries that have water shortage collect every drop of rain, every snowflake, but in our country all the water from the floods is lost. We have never learned to value water,” Pavlov was quoted as saying by Radio Azattyk, the Kazakh service of RFE/RL. 9 detained in Tajikistan in connection with Moscow concert hall attack, Russian state media report (AP)
AP [3/29/2024 4:03 PM, Staff, 456K, Neutral]
Nine people have been detained by Tajikistan’s state security service over suspected contact with the perpetrators of last week’s attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said Friday.
The reported arrests came exactly a week after the massacre in the Crocus City Hall, in which gunmen shot people waiting for a show by a popular rock band and then set the building on fire. The four suspected attackers were arrested and identified as Tajik nationals.
An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on Russian soil in years. The Kremlin, however, has insisted that Ukraine and the West had a role, something Kyiv has vehemently denied.
RIA Novosti said Friday, citing an unnamed source in Tajikistan’s security services, that those detained in the Central Asian country were residents of the Vakhdat district that lies east of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. The report said those detained are suspected of having connections with IS. Russian security forces were also involved in the operation to detain them, according to the agency.
In Russia, a total of nine suspects have faced court so far and were remanded in pre-trial detention. The latest hearing took place Friday, with a judge in the Basmanny District Court ruling that suspect Lutfulloi Nazrimad should be held in custody until at least May 22. Russian independent news site Mediazona cited Nazrimad as saying in court that he was born in Tajikistan.
Russian officials previously said that 11 suspects had been arrested, including four who allegedly carried out the attack. Those four, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.
Russia’s Investigative Committee additionally said Thursday it had detained another suspect in relation to the raid on Crocus City Hall, on suspicion of being involved in financing the attack. It did not give further details of the suspect’s identity or alleged actions.
Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have persistently claimed, without presenting evidence, that Ukraine and the West had a role in the attack.
The Investigative Committee said Thursday that it has “confirmed data that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack received significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, which were used in preparing the crime.” On Friday, the agency also claimed that the suspects said they were instructed to head to Kyiv after the attack to collect their payment.
Ukraine denies involvement and its officials claim that Moscow is pushing the allegation as a pretext to intensify its fighting in Ukraine.
The death toll from the raid continues to rise, with the number of deaths increasing to 144 on Friday when a severely injured victim died in a hospital, according to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko. Tajikistan Detains Several People In Connection With Deadly Moscow Attack (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [3/29/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 235K, Neutral]
Tajik authorities detained nine people this week in connection with the March 22 deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, local media reported on March 29, citing a security source.
All nine were reportedly detained by the state security service in the Vahdat district on the outskirts of Dushanbe on March 25, and brought to the capital. They are allegedly also suspected of having connections with the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.
A separate source in Dushanbe told RFE/RL on March 29 there were several youths among the detainees.
On March 26, a source at Tajik law enforcement agencies told RFE/RL that six people were arrested in Vahdat on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack but didn’t provide further details.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said on March 28 that it had detained another suspect in relation with the attack on the Crocus City Hall venue in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk which killed more than 140 people. The committee didn’t provide details of the suspect’s identity or alleged actions, but said he was detained in suspicion of being involved in financing the attack.
Russian authorities have previously said that 11 suspects had been arrested, including four men who allegedly carried out the attack. Those four -- identified as Tajik citizens Muhammadsobir Faizov, Saidakram Rajabalizoda, Dalerjon Mirzoev, and Faridun Shamsiddin appeared in a Moscow court on March 24 on terrorism charges.
Another Tajik, Lutfulloi Nazrimad, 23, appeared on March 29 in the Basmanny Court of Moscow for a closed-door hearing. According to Kommersant, Nazrimad was detained on March 23. He pleaded guilty to disturbing public order and was sentenced by the Preobrazhensky District Court to administrative arrest for 15 days.
The Islamic State-Khorasan, a faction of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the massacre, but Russian officials have persistently claimed -- without presenting evidence -- that Ukraine and the West had a role in the attack.
Kyiv denies involvement and Ukrainian officials claim that Moscow is pushing the allegation as a pretext to intensify its fighting in Ukraine.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia’s charge of Ukrainian involvement in the attack was "nonsense and propaganda" and reiterated that the United States had passed detailed information to Russian security services about an extremist attack in Moscow in advance of the March 22 assault.
"It is abundantly clear that [Islamic State] was solely responsible for the horrific attack in Moscow last week," Kirby said on March 28. "In fact, the United States tried to help prevent this terrorist attack and the Kremlin knows this." Tajikistan says migrants fleeing Russia after concert hall attack (Reuters)
Reuters [3/30/2024 9:47 AM, Elena Fabrichnaya, 5239K, Negative]
There has been a surge of migrant workers leaving Russia for Tajikistan after a March 22 concert hall attack near Moscow which left dozens dead, according to Tajikistan’s Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment.Gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers over a week ago in the worst attack in Russia in two decades which left at least 144 people dead.Four of the suspected gunmen are Tajik citizens and were arrested along with seven other suspects, some of whom also come from the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation."We receive a lot of calls. These are most likely not complaints about harassment, but fear of our citizens, panic, many want to leave. We are now monitoring the situation, we have more people coming (to Tajikistan) than leaving," Shakhnoza Nodiri, deputy head of the ministry, was quoted by Russian state news agency TASS as saying.Tajikistan detained nine people this week suspected of having links to the mass shooting and also to the militant Islamist State group that claimed responsibility, a Tajik security source told Reuters.A labour shortage in Russia’s economy may become even worse due to the outflow of migrant workers, with a deficit in the construction industry growing by 36% this year compared to 2022, Anton Glushkov, president of the National Association of Builders (NOSTROY), told Interfax news agency on Friday.The Russian Central Bank has said that staff shortages and resulting jump in wages were among risks to inflation that have compelled it to keep the key interest rate elevated.Tajikistan’s labour ministry expects that the outflow of migrants from Russia will be temporary.According to the ministry’s website, 652,014 labour migrants left the country in 2023 compared to 775,578 in 2022. Central Asian migrants face xenophobic backlash in Russia after Moscow terror attack (CNN)
CNN [3/30/2024 8:34 AM, Sebastian Shukla, 6098K, Negative]
The four men accused of a deadly terror attack on Moscow’s Crocus City concert hall last week were quickly identified by Russian authorities as being from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.In the hours after the attack, videos began surfacing on Russian social media channels of the police detaining and brutally abusing the alleged attackers, with one appearing to show a suspect having part of his ear cut off and subsequently forced into his mouth. The men had been in Russia as migrant workers on either temporary or expired visas, authorities said.Russians are understandably shocked and saddened by the attack. But in the days since, that emotion – combined with the disturbing videos – appears to have unleashed a wave of xenophobia from some towards Central Asian migrant workers in general.On the social media platform X, CNN saw posts that showed people looking for taxis, asking for their rides to be cancelled if the driver was Tajik. One purported photo of a conversation said, “If you are Tajik, please cancel my ride.”A torrent of abuse has also reportedly been directed towards a barbershop in the city of Ivanovo, where one of the alleged attackers worked. The owner of the shop told Russian journalists that her phone had been ringing “non stop” with death threats, and is quoted by a Russian daily newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolets, as saying, “I’m pregnant and I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid to go outside.”As a consequence, Russian President Vladimir Putin now finds himself in an increasingly delicate position with regard to migrant workers, who occupy vital roles in the Russian workforce — particularly while the country is at war. Perhaps wary of a split in Russian society, Putin on Wednesday called for Russia to remain united.“We must never forget that we are a multinational, multi-religious country. We must always treat our brothers, representatives of other faiths with respect, as we always do — Muslims, Jews, everyone,” he said. ‘It’s going to be a very, very tough period of time’
Migrants from the former Soviet Union’s Central Asian states — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan — have traditionally been a valuable source of cheap labour in Russia.
Generally, they’ve occupied the jobs that many Russians feel are beneath them, such as taxi drivers, truck drivers or supermarket workers. The money they send back in the form of remittances has been an important driver of growth in their home countries.
But many now feel under threat. A well-respected lawyer and migrant activist, Valentina Chupik, told CNN that calls from migrants in Russia asking for legal assistance had skyrocketed from 150 per day before the attack to over 6,000 in total as of Saturday, and that “those numbers are changing with every passing minute.”
Chupik, a native of Uzbekistan who now lives and works in Illinois, runs an NGO focusing on migrant welfare called Tong Jahoni. Her organization offers legal assistance to migrants looking for help in Russia, only on a pro bono basis. She told CNN that the police are clearly cracking down on migrants, but believes the attack in Moscow is being used as cover, exposing a darker side to society.
“The police are trying to pretend that they are actively fighting ethnic crime and preventing terrorist attacks. Actually, they’re robbing migrants. I have dozens of complaints about migrants being stopped by police, and (the police) have stolen whatever they liked,” she said.
Human Rights Watch, in their annual world report said that “Russian police continued to racially profile non-Slav migrants and ethnic minorities and subject them to unsubstantiated ID checks and detentions, often prolonged, in inhumane conditions. Some have been physically assaulted”.
Temur Umerov, an expert on Central Asia at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, told CNN that Moscow’s war in Ukraine has been accompanied by a rapid growth of xenophobia in Russian society, particularly among people who see themselves as Nazis, or neo-Nazis.
“It gave them permission to speak their mind freely and not be shut down or criticized by other parts of society because they’re fighting for Russia … whether it’s online, whether it’s on the real front (in Ukraine),” he said.
A CNN analysis of several pro-war Russian Telegram channels and their messages in the wake of last Friday’s attacks found a clear emergence of xenophobia.
In one channel called the GreyZone, which has half a million followers, a user posted a comment saying: “We need to boycott the service they provide: don’t eat in their cafes, don’t get your hair cut with them, don’t ride in their taxi, don’t BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM AT ALL. We need to spread the word.”
A user in another channel, with 200,000 followers, suggested there was no space for anyone to feel sorry for migrants in Russia. “It is important not to forget that they are not victims at all, but the real executioners and murderers of good Russian people,” the user wrote. “There is no reason to feel sorry for them, they only deserve contempt and being immediately kicked back to their home, into the cesspool called Tajikistan.”
Against this backdrop of simmering xenophobia, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning for its citizens Monday, saying they should refrain from traveling to Russian territory “until the removal of additional security measures and the regime of enhanced control of passage through the state border.”
“As a migrant, it’s going to be a very, very tough period of time in Russia,” Umerov said, speaking to CNN from the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
According to Umerov, there are some 7 million migrants in Russia, of whom around 80% are from Central Asia.
“Migrants work for much lower salaries than ordinary Russians, and are more willing to work in much more difficult and harsh conditions,” he said.
The salaries offered by Russia, and subsequently the remittances that migrants send back to their families, serve the dual function of filling key jobs in the Russian labour market and boosting GDPs for migrants’ home nations.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development forecast in September 2023 that economic growth in Central Asia would hit 5.9% in 2024, with remittances playing a role. Tajikistan was expected to see the biggest GDP growth in the region, reaching 7.5% in 2023 and 2024, the report said, thanks in part to “the inflow of remittances from Russia.”
Umerov noted that since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the economy’s reliance on migrant workers has increased.
“Migrants are crucial for several sectors of running the Russian economy. In several sectors, it’s impossible to have the level of stability it has without the labour force of migrants,” Umerov said. “Russia crucially needs it – without, it would be just impossible.”
Research by the Institute of Economics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, reported by the Izvestia newspaper in December and cited by Reuters, found Russia was likely short of some 4.8 million workers in 2023, with some of the key sectors affected being construction, drivers and retail.
The invasion of Ukraine has had a significant impact on the available Russian workforce. Thousands of Russian men have been mobilized to fight in Ukraine, where many thousands have already been killed, depending on estimates. Hundreds of thousands more are believed to have fled the country in September 2022, after Putin called for a partial mobilization.
Since the attack on Crocus City Hall, Putin and his advisers, including internal and foreign intelligence chiefs, have sought to level the accusation that Ukraine was somehow involved in the attacks, without presenting any concrete evidence.
Ukraine and Western nations have been quick to shut that notion down.
Putin has not, however, pointed the finger of blame toward Emomali Rahmon, president of Tajikistan, despite all evidence suggesting that the attackers were radicalized by the jihadist group ISIS-K, which is known to target recruits in Tajikistan.
On Sunday, the Kremlin said Putin had spoken with Rahmon and that special services in Russia and Tajikistan “are working closely in the field of countering terrorism, and this work will be intensified.”
Umerov notes that Putin is toeing a fine line. In a world where the Russian president has so few allies, having alienated the West with his war on Ukraine, he cannot be seen to be making enemies out of friends.
“Putin just cannot admit that there are problems in Russia-Tajikistan relations, especially right now,” Umerov said. “Tajikistan is one of the closest allies that Putin has, and when Russia is so isolated, it is not in a position to pick which countries it can be in relationships with.”
The declining fortunes of Central Asia coverage (EurasiaNet – opinion)
EurasiaNet [3/29/2024 4:14 PM, Peter Leonard, 57.6K, Negative]
Before moving from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2008 to take up a job as the Central Asia correspondent for The Associated Press, I was given a boozy send-off by some veterans of that same beat.
The venue was a powerfully Orientalist chain restaurant called Shesh Besh. Their stock gimmick was to give diners a pair of dice with any jug of wine ordered. You got three throws, and if you got a six and a five (as in the name of the restaurant), the gift of another jug of wine would follow.
My memories of the evening are thankfully hazy. But I recall the mood.
My colleagues seemed happy for me, even a bit jealous. Central Asia was such an exciting story. Away from the overcrowded press pack of Moscow, journalists could uncover fascinating stories at leisure without having constantly to look over their shoulders.
Those journalists had done their stints in the immediate post-9/11 period. Interest in the region was high at that time. Also, cities like Tashkent and Almaty were convenient and safe locations from which to keep an eye on Afghanistan. I have been told that the AP bureau in Tashkent at one time had a staff of 15 people, mostly there to deal with Kabul business.
The press pack that I found in Almaty was a modest affair, but still reasonably healthy. The BBC had a bureau, which was shared by the full-time correspondent and reporters for local language services. The major wires were represented: Reuters with their big team and an expensive downtown office I would ponder enviously while hunched over my laptop in an uncooled kitchen, Agence-France Presse, Bloomberg, and even Dow Jones. A crew of freelancers kicked about too.
British newspaper The Daily Telegraph unaccountably had full-time correspondents for a while. I shared a house with two of them. An Almaty-based stringer for The New York Times managed to get the odd piece run in the paper.
My predecessor in this job, David Trilling, was over in Bishkek, which Almaty expats would invariably regard with a hint of wholly misplaced snootiness. The Kyrgyz capital was a little ramshackle, sure, and made unnerving by the never-absent risk of falling down an uncovered manhole on an unlit street late at night.
But it was far more fun. As if any bar in Almaty in those days would have had the temerity to stage The Vagina Monologues, as the notorious Metro Pub did.
And Kyrgyzstan had the story. One of the only stories, as it turned out, that editors in Europe or the United States could be sold on with any ease: the U.S. air base (or “transit center,” as pedantic Department of Defense spokespeople insisted we call it).This has been a perennial problem with doing journalism on Central Asia. The story is always refracted through the lens of a nearby drama. The presence of American bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and their eventual expulsion at the hands of capricious Moscow-aligned dictators, was important because those facilities served operations in Afghanistan.
We still have this today. Central Asia is “Russia’s backyard,” we sometimes read. That phrase sends people from the region into perfectly understandable paroxysms of rage. Allusions to Central Asia being sandwiched between Russia and China – heaven knows how many times I must have deployed a variation on that one in more innocent days – elicit weary sighs.
When the American forces left, the appeal faded. It would be glib to assign the sagging interest in Central Asia to that one factor alone. Western media’s foreign coverage across the board has fallen off a cliff in recent years amid shrinking budgets. But it didn’t help.
The BBC bureau is gone. The AP never replaced me after I moved away from Kazakhstan in 2013. Reuters has a reduced presence. Others disappeared entirely.
For curious outsiders unable to comfortably read the languages of the region, or at least Russian, things have become grim.
It has not all been doom and gloom.
To be self-ingratiating for a moment, I am immensely proud of how much light our lean operation at Eurasianet, with its team of journalists on the ground patiently tolerating my endless stupid questions, has managed to shed. To name just a few of the more dramatic stories that we covered in depth at first-hand: Kyrgyz-Tajik border conflicts (from both sides of the border, no mean feat), unrest in Uzbekistan, interethnic violence in Kazakhstan, the Bloody January events in Almaty, the 2020 revolution in Kyrgyzstan. And we have had so many stories, often with beautiful photographic illustration, dwelling on the customs and ways of life of the region. It has been a privilege to be involved in any of this.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has a dedicated Central Asia correspondent in Almaty. The Economist is blessed with having the doyenne of the increasingly inexistent press pack: Joanna Lillis.
Media outlets in the region are also producing more content in English. A great deal of it is patchy, to put it tactfully, but there are notable standard-bearers, such as Vlast.kz.
For the newsletter-reading crowd, more of those are cropping up. And for those prepared to pay for news, services like Interfax and The Central Asia and South Caucasus Bulletin provide a good way to keep abreast of events.
But to come full circle, things have, alas, become tight at Eurasianet. This article is my last bit of writing as the site’s Central Asia editor.
I freely acknowledge there is something a little solipsistic in a Westerner reflecting dolefully on the state of foreign coverage of Central Asia.But there is a broader consideration here. Lack of decent journalism will lead to poor diplomatic and development policymaking. This juncture in history hardly seems the time for that. International investors likewise rely on solid reporting to make their decisions.
And we owe it to journalists in the region to amplify and spotlight work that many of them find increasingly hard to do in their own countries.
Press freedoms in Central Asia have either plummeted or stagnated. Tajikistan is a horror-show only slightly better than Turkmenistan these days. The shoots of spring promised when Shavkat Mirziyoyev became president in Uzbekistan in 2016 have failed to blossom. Kyrgyzstan is rapidly going full-tilt authoritarian. Kazakhstan’s dalliances with liberalizing never seem to come to anything, and journalists still practice their profession at their own risk.
Undemocratic governments cannot seem to grasp that killing the free media only feeds rumor-mongering, especially in the era of social networks, and deepens ignorance; a perfect recipe for the very political instability they claim to abhor.
If the outside world looks away, the darkness will be even more complete. Twitter
Afghanistan
Bilal Sarwary@bsarwary[3/31/2024 10:23 PM, 252.6K followers, 15 retweets, 49 likes]
Increasing uncertainty about drones in Afghan sky & more discreet collaboration between the Taliban & the Americans? Presence of drones over Afghan skies from Korengal in Kunar in the east to Kandahar in the South, Nimroz in the east, Panjshir in north and Badkahshan deep in North-eastern Afghanistan on the border with China and Tajikistan, but why are so many low flying drones? Why increase? If they are indeed US drones as Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid has claimed, these are more for PR purposes, help US send a message that it is still fighting against ISKP, terrorism under the Taliban, that it helps Biden administration’s narrative that Afghanistan is not a breeding ground for ISKP, and sends a message to region and allies that the US is at it. So much confusion & so many questions.
Bilal Sarwary@bsarwary[3/31/2024 9:34 PM, 252.6K followers, 17 retweets, 47 likes]
The video shows the removal of heads from mannequins by Taliban’s officials of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue. These lifeless objects have now been designated as enemies of the Taliban emirate. For the living people of Afghanistan, life has already become a nightmare under their rule. Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue has now established its own intelligence, raid teams, prison cells, and other security units to carry out the duties typically handled by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, and other civilian institutions. This ministry holds a prominent position within the Taliban’s movement, and the minister operates under direct instructions from their supreme leader. Ministry of Vice and Virtue is one of Haibat Ullah’s favourite institutions, a super ministry in Taliban’s government.
Bilal Sarwary@bsarwary[3/30/2024 5:35 PM, 252.6K followers, 16 retweets, 28 likes]
The instructions from the Taliban defense minister Mullah M. Yaqoob instructs provincial Taliban governors to support the work of the Security and Clearing commission (the Anti-Infiltration Commission) to clear up Taliban ranks from unwanted elements. This tasks of this commission is to get rid of all those who are not affiliated with the Taliban or precisely the remnants of former republic. These instructions from Mullah Yaqoob highlights, Taliban insecurity, emphasizing the need to bring order, discipline, and loyalty to the defense and security forces of the Taliban. This comes at a time when there have been a number of targeted attacks on senior Taliban officials and commanders in recent months, and an increase in overall attacks across the country by the ISIS-K. This has led Taliban’s leadership to worry about containing both sympathisers of ISIS-K and those opposing their rule. The challenges in Afghanistan will persist as long as bad governance continues under Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan. The remedy is simple and that is to form an inclusive government as soon as possible.
Lina Rozbih@LinaRozbih[3/31/2024 12:05 PM, 407.5K followers, 8 retweets, 46 likes]
The Taliban banned all political parties in Afghanistan & warned that anyone who uses the terminology "political party" can face punishment. #Taliban Pakistan
Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan@PakPMO
[3/30/2024 11:10 AM, 3.7M followers, 14 retweets, 50 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chairs a meeting of the Federal Cabinet on 30 March 2024.
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia[3/31/2024 7:44 AM, 79.6K followers, 60 retweets, 119 likes]
#PAKISTAN: HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER Recommendation 10: Ensure security while preserving human rights While there has been an increase in security-related attacks and deaths in Pakistan, particularly in the lead-up to the 2024 General Election, attempts to address security challenges should not result in broad laws that give discretionary powers to the government to surveil, detain and prosecute under the ambit of ‘national interest’.
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia[3/31/2024 7:44 AM, 79.6K followers, 4 retweets, 11 likes]
Amnesty International urges the newly elected government to address security and other challenges in light of the country’s international human rights commitments. Read Amnesty’s 10-point Human Rights Charter for Pakistan here: https://amnesty.org/en/documents/asa33/7868/2024/en/. Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia[3/30/2024 2:42 AM, 79.6K followers, 60 retweets, 126 likes]
#PAKISTAN: HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER Recommendation 8: Abolish death penalty In violation of international human rights law and standards, Pakistan imposes the death penalty as a punishment including for non-lethal offences and as mandatory punishment. While there have been no executions since 2019, no official moratorium is in place, and Amnesty International’s figures show that over 178 death sentences have been passed since then.
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia[3/29/2024 11:26 AM, 79.6K followers, 34 retweets, 62 likes]
#PAKISTAN: HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER Recommendation 8: Ensure climate justice Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis and environmental degradation, subject to frequent flooding, droughts, heatwaves, and hazardous levels of air pollution. @ClimateChangePK
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[3/29/2024 11:26 AM, 79.6K followers, 3 retweets, 7 likes]
The @GovtofPakistan and the international community must take affirmative steps to respond and slow the onset of events induced by climate change. Amnesty International’s 10-point Human Rights Charter for Pakistan: https://amnesty.org/en/documents/asa33/7868/2024/en/.
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK[3/31/2024 1:49 AM, 8.4M followers, 41 retweets, 253 likes]
Anger of public forced BJP to drop a film star famous for his roles in anti-Pakistan movies. Narendra Modi refused a party ticket to actor Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur, fields ex-US envoy Taranjit Sandhu in Amritsar. https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/ls-polls-2024-bjp-drops-sunny-deol-from-gurdaspur-fields-ex-us-envoy-taranjit-sandhu-in-amritsar-check-full-list-of-candidates-here-423560-2024-03-31
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK[3/31/2024 7:35 AM, 8.4M followers, 58 retweets, 309 likes]
PTI proposed the name of Justice Rtd Tassadiq Hussain Jillani as the caretaker PM in 2018. Now he has been nominated for the inquiry of complaints made by the six judges of Islamabad High Court.
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK[3/30/2024 3:27 AM, 8.4M followers, 762 retweets, 2K likes]
Pakistan must lift ban on X and stop making laws for silencing the voices of dissent, end enforced disappearances and stop trial of civilians in military courts. @amnesty gave its 10-point Himan Rights charter for Pakistan to the government of @CMShehbaz
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK
[3/30/2024 3:19 AM, 8.4M followers, 40 retweets, 243 likes]
An unexpected letter from @JoeBiden to Pakistani Prime Minsiter @CMShehbaz is a big story in Indian media today because Biden said “Together we’ll forge a strong, close-knit partnership”. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-president-assures-pakistan-pm-shehbaz-of-continuous-support/article68008409.ece India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi[4/1/2024 1:58 AM, 96.8M followers, 6.3K retweets, 11K likes]
The @RBI plays pivotal role in advancing our nation’s growth trajectory. Speaking at its 90th year celebrations in Mumbai.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi[4/1/2024 11:14 AM, 96.8M followers, 8.4K retweets, 30K likes]
Rhetoric aside, DMK has done NOTHING to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests. New details emerging on #Katchatheevu have UNMASKED the DMK’s double standards totally. Congress and DMK are family units. They only care that their own sons and daughters rise. They don’t care for anyone else. Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/karunanidhi-taken-into-confidence-by-indira-on-katchatheevu-deal-agreed-to-give-sri-lanka-island/articleshow/108924845.cms
Narendra Modi@narendramodi[3/31/2024 1:19 PM, 96.8M followers, 3.6K retweets, 19K likes]
My thoughts are with those affected by the storms in Jalpaiguri-Mainaguri areas of West Bengal. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure proper assistance to those impacted by the heavy rains. I would also urge all @BJP4Bengal Karyakartas to assist those affected.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi[3/31/2024 4:56 AM, 96.8M followers, 13K retweets, 79K likes]
It was very special to witness the conferring of the Bharat Ratna upon Shri LK Advani Ji. This honour is a recognition of his enduring contributions to our nation’s progress. His dedication to public service and his pivotal role in shaping modern India have left an indelible mark on our history. I am proud to have got the opportunity to work with him very closely over the last several decades.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/31/2024 12:16 AM, 96.8M followers, 27K retweets, 59K likes]
Eye opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away #Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds- we can’t ever trust Congress! Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/rti-reply-shows-how-indira-ceded-island-to-sri-lanka/articleshow/108906977.cms
Narendra Modi@narendramodi[3/30/2024 9:05 AM, 96.8M followers, 3.9K retweets, 13K likes]
Delighted to speak to the @BJP4Keralam Booth Karyakartas. People are tired of the misgovernance and corruption under of the LDF and UDF, and see BJP as ray of hope.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi[3/29/2024 12:01 PM, 96.8M followers, 4K retweets, 11K likes]
India prioritises climate and has made significant advances in renewable energy. @BillGates and I discussed how India is prioritising Green Hydrogen for transportation to protect the environment.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi[3/29/2024 7:13 AM, 96.8M followers, 4.2K retweets, 19K likes]
During our interaction, @BillGates and I discussed ways to harness the power of digital technology for modernising the health, education and agriculture sectors.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar[3/31/2024 1:47 PM, 3.1M followers, 324 retweets, 2.6K likes]
Witnessed a great performance of the Mahabharat at the Purana Qila today. Commend Sabhyata Foundation, @MinOfCultureGoI and @ASIGoI for their efforts. Highlighted in my remarks that: - A Rising Bharat, must understand where we came from to know where we are going.- Cultural rebalancing demands that we project our own heritage, civilization, culture, way of life, faith and belief. - The present day relevance of epic Mahabharat is immense, given the opportunities and challenges facing us.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar[3/30/2024 4:55 AM, 3.1M followers, 438 retweets, 4.1K likes]
Attended the solemn ceremony conferring Bharat Ratna on former PM Narsimha Rao ji, former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh ji, Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur ji and Dr. MS Swaminathan ji at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. This recognition was long due and acknowledges their invaluable contributions to our nation. We commit ourselves to take forward their ideals of nation building. NSB
Awami League@albd1971[4/1/2024 2:57 AM, 637.1K followers, 7 retweets, 16 likes]
Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen today said @UNICEF has expressed its interest for working with the #Bangladesh govt on different issues of #children including 100 percent #vaccine coverage. https://bssnews.net/news-flash/181633 @UNICEFBD @SheldonYett
Awami League@albd1971
[3/31/2024 6:11 AM, 637.1K followers, 34 retweets, 84 likes]
Many workers might be unaware that a govt program provides Tk3,000 allowance per month to #unemployed and #destitute workers of #export-oriented industries. To raise awareness about several workers’ facilities, the government has initiated awareness programs involving relevant stakeholders. https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/govt-providing-tk3000-allowance-month-jobless-workers-export-oriented-industries-818421
Awami League@albd1971[3/30/2024 9:15 AM, 637.1K followers, 29 retweets, 102 likes]
SM @NasrulHamid_MP said that the #AwamiLeague govt will replace diesel irrigation with eco-friendly solar irrigation.#Bangladesh is pledgebound to produce 40% of its power from green resources. There are 74 ongoing projects which will generate 8299 MW. https://bssnews.net/news-flash/181506
Moosa Zameer@MoosaZameer[3/30/2024 1:14 PM, 12.8K followers, 13 retweets, 23 likes]
On the second International #ZeroWasteDay, we must reiterate our commitment to managing waste substantially while promoting sustainability in both production and consumption in our day to day lives. #Maldives remains committed to #BeatWastePollution for a safer, cleaner and a greener future for all of us.
M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc[3/31/2024 11:51 PM, 5.1K followers, 5 retweets, 16 likes]
Pleased to deliver the keynote address at the webinar ‘The FTA Pathway: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Export & FDI Potential’ organised by @Investin_SL last evening. During the keynote, I emphasized that Sri Lanka’s key location and our potential for growth must not be neglected, and we must move towards a more robust system of trade with our regional partners and those on distant shores. We have much to gain from positive Free Trade Agreements, and we must move towards a system of production that is globally competitive, and not only catered to a domestic market. However, I emphasized that negotiations must be strategic, stakeholder driven & focused, and must take in to consideration of the opportunities & threats. @MFA_SriLanka
M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc
[3/30/2024 12:54 AM, 5.1K followers, 4 retweets, 15 likes]
Delighted to attend the #Ifthar hosted by the High Commission of #India in Colombo today. It was a pleasant evening attended by many including MPs, members of the diplomatic corps, business and media. @IndiainSL @MFA_SriLanka Central Asia
MFA Kazakhstan@MFA_KZ
[3/30/2024 7:24 AM, 51.2K followers, 4 retweets, 5 likes]
During an official visit to #China, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of #Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held meetings with the leadership of major Chinese companies https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/738205?lang=en
MFA Kazakhstan@MFA_KZ
[3/29/2024 1:50 PM, 51.2K followers, 3 retweets, 6 likes]
At the invitation of the Chinese side, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of #Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu paid an official visit to the People’s Republic of #China https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/738075?lang=enBakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov[3/30/2024 1:37 PM, 3.5K followers, 9 retweets, 32 likes]
Had an Iftar dinner with the heads of diplomatic missions of #Afghanistan, #Algeria, #Azerbaijan, #Bangladesh, #Egypt, #Indonesia, #Iran, #Jordan, #Kazakhstan, #Kuwait, #KyrgyzRepublic, #Malaysia, #Oman, #Pakistan, #Palestine, #Qatar, #SaudiArabia, #Tajikistan, #Turkiye, #Turkmenistan, and the #UAE in #Tashkent. We expressed our full commitment to make every effort to strengthen our bilateral relations in all sectors, with a particular focus on bolstering trade and investment ties.Joanna Lillis@joannalillis[3/30/2024 7:51 AM, 28.8K followers, 9 retweets, 31 likes]
Must-read by @36_lossi on the arrest of Karakalpak activist @muratbaiman in #Kazakhstan and the depressing implications about a repressive environment in #Uzbekistan https://lossi36.com/2024/03/28/what-the-arrest-of-a-prominent-karakalpak-activist-tells-us-about-not-so-new-uzbekistans-transnational-repression/
Joanna Lillis@joannalillis[3/29/2024 3:07 PM, 28.8K followers, 10 retweets, 31 likes]
Catching up in London with @BaburYusupov re case of his father Kadyr, jailed in #Uzbekistan on treason charges critics deem spurious. Family looking forward to his release in June after serving full 5.5-year term. Background @Peter__Leonard @eurasianet https://eurasianet.org/former-diplomat-crushed-by-uzbekistans-broken-justice-system
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[3/30/2024 12:43 AM, 23K followers, 5 retweets, 3 likes]
Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov must decide by April 14 whether to sign a controversial law modeled on Russia’s "foreign agents law" over the objections of nonprofit groups who say it will stigmatize them and create unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. https://www.voanews.com/a/7549775.html Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[3/29/2024 1:56 PM, 23K followers, 1 retweet]
Last week’s concert hall massacre in Russia demonstrates not only the capacity of Islamic State-Khorasan to stage complex attacks beyond its base in South-Central Asia, but also the inability of the Taliban and regional countries to counter its threats.
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[3/29/2024 11:58 AM, 23K followers, 1 retweet]
The Colorado-based medical relief org @projectcure has been providing aid to Uzbekistan since the 1990s. It’s currently preparing to ship over $5 mln worth of equipment/supplies to hospitals/communities in Karakalpakstan #AralSea.{End of Report} To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.