epubdos : Afghanistan
SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO:
SCA & Staff
DATE:
Tuesday, August 13, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan
Afghan Taliban Created World’s Most Serious Women’s Rights Crisis, HRW Says (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/12/2024 8:51 AM, Staff, 1530K, Negative]
The Taliban has created "the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis" since returning to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

Under the Taliban rule, Afghanistan has become the only country where girls are banned from going to school beyond the sixth grade, HRW said in a press release on August 11.

The Taliban has also "undermined women’s right to freedom of movement, banned them from many forms of employment, dismantled protections for women and girls experiencing gender-based violence, created barriers to them accessing health care, and barred them from playing sports, and even visiting parks."

The pressures on Afghan women come as their country is also experiencing a major humanitarian crisis, with aid severely underfunded and thousands of Afghan refugees forced back into Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Women and girls are among the most seriously affected by this humanitarian crisis, HRW said.

The situation has been described by the United Nations special rapporteur on Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, as "an institutionalized system of discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity, and exclusion of women and girls," HRW said.

"Under the Taliban’s abusive rule, Afghan women and girls are living their worst nightmares," HRW’s Fereshta Abbasi said.

Abbasi urged all governments to "support efforts to hold the Taliban leadership and all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan to account."

Abbasi said countries engaging with the Taliban-led government in Kabul should consistently remind it that its "abuses against women and girls and all Afghans violate Afghanistan’s obligations under international law."

More than half of Afghanistan’s population -- 23 million people -- face food insecurity, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Restrictions that the Taliban authorities have imposed on women and girls have impeded access to health care, jeopardizing their right to health, HRW noted.

The Taliban’s bans on girls’ education inevitably leads to future shortages of female health workers, HRW said.

The rights group called on donor countries to find ways to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan without reinforcing the Taliban’s repressive policies against women and girls.
Three killed in Pakistan, Afghanistan border clash, Kabul says (Reuters)
Reuters [8/13/2024 2:44 AM, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, 5.2M, Negative]
Three Afghan civilians were killed in a border clash between Pakistan and Afghanistan security forces, a spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul said on Tuesday.

The clashes took place late on Monday near the southwestern border crossing of Torkham after Pakistani border forces opened fire on Afghan border forces, said Mufti Abdul Mateen, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s interior ministry.

The Pakistani forces targeted civilian homes, killing a woman and two children, he said.

Pakistan’s military did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. Three Pakistani paramilitary troops were wounded in the fighting, said a security official who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Clashes often break out between the neighbouring security forces along the border, which was drawn up decades ago during British colonial rule and long been disputed.
Afghanistan withdrawal investigator resigns in protest from GOP probe (The Hill)
The Hill [8/12/2024 6:02 PM, Laura Kelly, 18752K, Negative]
A senior investigator has resigned from the Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee probe into the Biden administration’s deadly and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, accusing the panel of holding back its full power in examining the failures of the U.S. pullout.

Jerry Dunleavy, a former journalist and author of a book detailing first-person accounts of the withdrawal, posted his resignation letter Monday to social platform X. He described himself as a whistleblower, criticizing the committee as suffering from “investigative paralysis.”

“I did not come lightly to this decision to resign and to blow the whistle publicly,” Dunleavy wrote in a post accompanying screenshots of his four-page resignation letter.

Efforts to pursue investigative leads were “repeatedly stymied by our chief investigator and by senior staff, and unfortunately, sometimes by indecision from you, Mr. Chairman,” Dunleavy wrote in the letter, referring to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

In a phone call with The Hill, Dunleavy said he was motivated to speak out publicly ahead of the November election to raise an urgency to go after interviews with key administration officials and dig deeper into the responsibility of the military generals and commanders while Republicans are still in the majority in the House.

“There is definitely a significant bias from the chairman, downward, toward not really looking to hold the military commanders and generals accountable for what happened,” Dunleavy said.

He described committee members treating retired Gens. Mark Milley and Kenneth McKenzie with “kid gloves” during a March hearing. Milley served as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during both the Trump and Biden administrations, and McKenzie is the former commander of United States Central Command.

Dunleavy further said that the committee has taken “zero steps” to look at Vice President Harris’s role in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying “I have received pushback from my superiors related to taking action on this.”

“I have argued repeatedly that Vice President Kamala Harris should be held accountable for her role in the debacle in Afghanistan, especially now that she is the Democratic nominee for President of the United States and could soon be making national security decisions and directing foreign policy for our entire nation,” Dunleavy wrote in his letter.

Emily Cassil, a spokesperson for committee Republicans, responded to Dunleavy’s resignation by saying McCaul “pours his heart and soul into getting answers for our Gold Star families and Afghanistan veterans” and pointed to the committee’s expected publication in September of its final report looking at the decisionmaking surrounding the U.S. pullout.

Separately, a Republican committee aide pushed back on Dunleavey’s assertion that the vice president was off limits, adding that her role in the withdrawal would be addressed in the September report.

McCaul has made investigating President Biden’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan a centerpiece of his agenda heading the committee, promising to discover how the two-decade war culminated in a deadly and chaotic end in which 13 U.S. service members were killed in a terrorist attack, along with roughly 170 Afghan civilians.

But Democrats have criticized McCaul as carrying out a partisan investigation that fails to look at former President Trump’s role in setting up the conditions for the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, as well as decisions by previous administrations from Presidents Bush and Obama.

McCaul’s staff published an interim report in August 2022 that detailed a lack of planning on the part of the administration and analyzed a series of missteps and errors that complicated the withdrawal.

The final Republican committee report is expected to be based on more than 20 transcribed interviews with administration officials involved in the withdrawal and conclusions drawn from at least five public hearings carried out over the course of the year.

The U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal from Afghanistan is largely viewed as one of the darkest moments in Biden’s term in office. Over a fraught two weeks in August 2021, the U.S. watched the Taliban advance a lightning offensive to take over the country, sweeping through Kabul as the internationally recognized Afghan government and military crumbled.

The administration evacuated an estimated 125,000 people over those two weeks, but tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces were initially left behind, and pathways to immigration to the U.S. got caught up in a bureaucratic backlog.

The withdrawal was marked by hectic scenes of civilians mobbing Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport and departing planes. A deadly terrorist bombing by the group ISIS-K left more than a dozen U.S. forces dead.

“I don’t want there to be more unnecessary Gold Star families in the future,” Dunleavy told The Hill.

“That’s what I worry about, if we don’t pursue real accountability and pursue real answers here is that there aren’t going to be lessons learned. There’s not going to be accountability, no one’s going to feel like there needs to be a big mindset change. No one’s gonna really absorb the fact that this was a big loss. We lost a two decade war, and we better get serious if we don’t want to lose the next one.”
Afghanistan’s Lithium: Sovereignty vs. Foreign Exploitation (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/12/2024 1:12 AM, Hamayun Khan, 1156K, Neutral]
Afghanistan sits atop vast lithium reserves and faces a pivotal decision: leverage this mineral wealth to assert national sovereignty and drive local development or risk exploitation by foreign powers eager to dominate the global supply chain for electric vehicles (EV).

Lithium, essential for EV batteries and clean-energy storage, is in high global demand, making Afghanistan’s reserves very significant. A decade ago, U.S. geologists estimated Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, including lithium at $1 trillion — enough potentially to stabilize the country’s fragile economy. Afghanistan’s current Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has identified an abundance of lithium reserves in provinces like Helmand, Nuristan, and Ghazni.

Meanwhile, interest from major regional powers like India and China in Afghanistan’s lithium has provoked a debate over the best path forward for the country. Speculation of China’s dominance over Afghanistan’s mineral resources, following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, and India’s competing interest in lithium for electric vehicle production as part of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) achievements by 2030, further complicate this issue.

The India-China economic rivalry could either drag Afghanistan into regional political conflicts or, if managed wisely, position it as a key player in the regional business and supply chain.

Afghanistan finds itself in a dilemma over whether it should embrace foreign investments or prioritize national sovereignty and local economic development. For sustainable growth, Afghanistan must maintain control over its resources while seeking investments that promote local development.

Afghan Autonomy and National Sovereignty

Afghanistan’s sovereignty over its natural resources is paramount. History has proven that foreign exploitation of resources often leads to economic imperialism, where the local population sees minimal benefits while foreign entities reap substantial profits. Countries like Botswana and Chile have managed their diamond and copper industries by prioritizing national control and equitable terms for foreign partnerships. Given the prevailing global race for minerals, Afghanistan could experience an imminent risk of falling into a debt trap, particularly with Chinese-led investments. This concern is underscored by the Taliban’s attempts to mitigate the effects of international sanctions by engaging in resource deals for cash generation, likely with Chinese mining firms. In exchange, Beijing may secure access to Afghanistan’s abundant and clean mineral resources, essential for its ongoing decarbonization efforts.

Afghanistan’s lithium, vital for large-capacity batteries in EVs and clean-energy storage systems, along with its deposits of copper, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, are crucial to the global energy transition. With China already controlling 60 percent of global lithium processing capacity, its continued investments aim to consolidate control over these and other minerals. Chinese dominance in the critical mineral supply chain poses multifaceted challenges not only for Afghanistan and India but also for global rivals like the United States and the European Union in their green energy transitions.

Afghanistan must limit dependence on investments driven mainly by external strategic interests. Maintaining control over its lithium reserves is equally critical, necessitating a robust national framework for extraction and processing. This framework should ensure equitable foreign partnerships that prioritize Afghan interests, preventing economic imperialism and ensuring wealth from lithium mining contributes directly to national development.

Afghanistan’s strategic location and natural resources make it central to geopolitical rivalries, particularly between India and China. Engaging too deeply with either country without a diligent approach to national interests risks entanglement in their broader strategies. Instead, Afghanistan should pursue strategic independence, seeking partnerships that genuinely benefit the nation. By maintaining a politically neutral stance, Afghanistan can avoid becoming a pawn in regional power struggles and focus on mutually beneficial partnerships, preserving sovereignty and promoting national interests.

Local Development and Capacity Building

The collapse of the Ashraf Ghani regime in August 2021 led to a mass exodus of educated professionals, intellectuals, and skilled workers, leaving Afghanistan vulnerable to brain drain. This marks a loss of not only skilled labor but also the nation’s intellectual foundation and development potential. This is a compelling reason for Afghanistan to focus on local development and the potential for job creation and economic growth.

Attracting donor agencies to help build the capacity of Afghans locally, particularly in dealing with, extracting, and processing natural resources, including lithium, can create numerous jobs, boost the local economy, and foster industrial growth. This strategy could prevent Afghanistan from falling into a prospective debt trap and foreign reliance for hard cash generation and asset relinquishment. Leveraging foreign companies to invest in local capacity building and ameliorating war-hit infrastructure is crucial.

Local capacity building and infrastructural development are critical as they help build a sustainable mining sector, which is significant for the country’s long-term economic growth. It also ensures the reinvestment of revenues from lithium mining into other sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture. As a result, essential services such as education, healthcare, and the revival of war-hit infrastructure will create a positive feedback loop that promotes long-term economic stability. By developing its own capabilities, Afghanistan will ultimately ensure an equal distribution of the benefits of its natural resources for the betterment of its people.

Governance and Human Rights

To truly benefit from its mineral wealth, Afghanistan must improve its governance and human rights. The country is plagued by corruption, lack of transparency, and weak rule of law and these are considered barriers to sustainable development. The international community, including potential foreign investors, should support Afghanistan in implementing governance reforms and improving human rights conditions.

Investments in the mining sector should be conditional on governance and human rights improvements, including better treatment of women. By prioritizing these areas, Afghanistan can create a stable environment for economic activities, attracting responsible investment that benefits the nation.

Afghanistan’s vast lithium reserves offer a significant opportunity for national development. To ensure this wealth benefits the Afghan people, the country must prioritize national sovereignty, establish equitable foreign partnerships, and focus on local infrastructural development and capacity building. Improving governance and human rights is essential for attracting responsible investments and ensuring equitable distribution of benefits. Afghanistan can leverage its lithium reserves to drive local development, promote economic stability, and ensure long-term national growth by maintaining control over its resources and implementing necessary reforms. The international community should support these efforts to create a sustainable and prosperous future for the Afghan people.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s Ex-Spy Chief, an Imran Khan Ally, Is Arrested (New York Times)
New York Times [8/12/2024 4:14 PM, Salman Masood and Christina Goldbaum, 831K, Neutral]
The Pakistani military announced on Monday that it had arrested the former head of its top intelligence agency, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, and initiated court-martial proceedings against the retired general on charges of corruption and political meddling, officials said.

His arrest is the first time in Pakistan’s history that a current or former chief of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, or I.S.I., has faced court-martial proceedings. It is widely seen as part of the latest crackdown on allies of the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who handpicked General Hameed to serve as spy chief during his tenure.

A news release from the Inter-Services Public Relations, or I.S.P.R., the military’s media wing, said Monday that disciplinary action has been taken against General Hameed under the Pakistan Army Act and that it relates to a 2017 scandal involving a private housing development in Islamabad. Officials have accused General Hameed and his brother of attempting to acquire ownership of the housing development by arresting and blackmailing its owner, according to court proceedings.

Officials also accused General Hameed of violating the Pakistan Army Act after retiring in 2022, according to the news release, though it did not specify the exact charges. The act prohibits officials from engaging in political activities for two years after retirement.

The Inter-Services Intelligence is one of Pakistan’s most potent and influential institutions, and General Hameed was once a symbol of unbending, daunting power in Pakistan, whose very public ambitions helped spawn the political crisis that has gripped Pakistan over the past two years.

For years at the spy agency, General Hameed maneuvered alongside Mr. Khan to become army chief — perhaps the most powerful position in Pakistan, where the military acts as the invisible hand guiding the country’s politics. Mr. Khan’s efforts to promote him to that role after he became prime minister in 2018 developed into a major point of friction between him and the military, eventually leading to Mr. Khan’s ouster in 2022.

The role of army chief in Pakistan has been held by Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir since November 2022.

The allegations of corruption and political meddling lodged against General Hameed sound familiar in Pakistan, where powerful military leaders influence foreign policy and domestic politics, prop up their favorite politicians and crush any opposition in their way.

But typically, the generals themselves have escaped accountability for their transgressions or received only a mild reprimand. General Hameed’s arrest stands apart — and has potentially far-reaching consequences, domestically and internationally, analysts say.

“The arrest and possible trial of a former spy chief is unusual for Pakistan,” said Husain Haqqani, a former ambassador of Pakistan to the U.S. and now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington.

“Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed celebrated the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan and was identified with jihadi militant operations. This could be the beginning of the Pakistani military’s break from policies associated with him,” Mr. Haqqani said.

In the initial years after the 9/11 attacks, there was cooperation between Pakistan’s spy agency and Washington, but by 2007, American officials were accusing the spy agency of supporting the Taliban insurgency inside Afghanistan.

The arrest also highlights the political turmoil that has gripped Pakistan for the past two years since Mr. Khan was removed from office by Parliament in a vote of no confidence.

In the years since, the military establishment has waged a countrywide crackdown on Mr. Khan and his supporters, who took to the streets in droves to show their support for him. Mr. Khan was arrested late last year on what he calls political charges. He remains in prison.

General Hameed was widely understood to be Mr. Khan’s closest ally within the military, who continued after retirement to provide support and advice to Mr. Khan in the hopes of helping him make good with military leaders and return to office, analysts say.

Analysts and government officials say the arrest sends a two-pronged message: It is a cautionary signal to senior military officers and also as a warning to Mr. Khan.

“It is, of course, aimed at Imran Khan and his political party, who have greatly benefited from General Hameed before and after his retirement,” said Murtaza Solangi, a former information minister and political analyst.

“But more than that, it is a clear and powerful message from the emboldened and strengthened Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir to both serving and retired personnel that any attempt to weaken and divide the military will not be tolerated,” Mr. Solangi added.

During General Hameed’s tenure as spy chief, many politicians accused him of employing brute force and heavy-handed tactics to please his political and military bosses and to further his own personal ambitions. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif publicly claimed that General Hameed, along with a group of Supreme Court judges and another military general, were behind his removal from power in 2017.

In 2017, Hameed led the wing of the spy agency concerned with domestic issues, a division often criticized for alleged interference in politics. He was perceived as an enforcer for then-Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, with accusations that the military played a role in skewing the 2018 elections in favor of Mr. Khan.

In 2019, General Hameed was appointed chief of the spy agency, succeeding General Munir, who was abruptly removed from the post by Mr. Khan. In many ways, the current political turmoil in the country is also a result of the feud among these three figures.

As the spy agency’s chief, General Hameed soon became a close ally of Mr. Khan and used his position to intimidate and arrest the prime minister’s political opponents on what they said were trumped-up charges. Opposition politicians viewed him as running government affairs from behind the scenes while serving as spy chief. (Mr. Khan now makes similar accusations against the current military leadership.)

General Hameed was also seen as a supporter of the Afghan Taliban, having backed their takeover of Kabul after the American withdrawal in August 2021, and he and Mr. Khan approved the policy of repatriating Pakistani Taliban militants from Afghanistan back to Pakistan, which critics say has resulted in the return of militancy in the country.

In October 2021, General Bajwa removed General Hameed as spy chief, as differences between them grew and posted him as a corps commander in Peshawar.

Mr. Khan opposed the move before eventually agreeing to it. Mr. Khan has publicly acknowledged that he wanted to retain General Hameed as the spy agency’s chief because of the situation in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s military arrests former spy chief over probe related to a housing project scheme (AP)
AP [8/12/2024 12:29 PM, Munir Ahmed, 31180K, Negative]
Pakistan’s former spy chief has been arrested and will be court-martialed, the country’s military announced Monday without disclosing charges against the retired army general implicated in a housing scheme while former Prime Minister Imran Khan was in power.

In a statement, the military said Faiz Hameed was arrested following an internal probe ordered by the country’s Supreme Court over allegations related to what became known as the Top City project scam. The company, Top City, was developing land near the capital, Islamabad, for a private housing project.

It did not say when the arrest took place, only that the “appropriate disciplinary action has been initiated” against Hameed under army regulations.

The development was a surprise to many in Pakistan, where the army wields considerable power and where arrests of ranking or retired military officers are rare. The country has been ruled by the military for over three decades since its independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Still, it appears Hameed’s arrest is not linked to the fate of Khan, imprisoned since August 2023 and convicted in multiple cases. Some of Khan’s convictions have been overturned by courts in recent months, prompting authorities to rearrest him in new cases to block his release from prison.

Hameed became the head of the Inter-Service Intelligence agency, or ISI, in June 2019 when Khan approved his appointment. He was replaced with Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum in October 2021, while Khan was still in the power.

The Supreme Court last year called for an investigation of Hameed, acting on a motion by Top City. The company had long claimed Hameed was involved in land grabbing and corruption linked to the housing project. It also alleged that as ISI chief, he abused his authority and orchestrated raids at the home and the offices of the project owner Moeez Khan, who is no relation to the former prime minister.

None of Hameed’s family members could immediately be reached for comment.

In Pakistan, the accused are entitled to an attorney of their choice, even in court martial proceedings, which are not open to public.

After Imran Khan was ousted in 2022 in a no-confidence vote in parliament, Hameed was granted early retirement. He has not been seen in public since then, though authorities have said he is being investigated for graft.

Last year, the military fired three senior army officers for failing to prevent attacks on public property and military installations during rioting by Khan’s supporters in May 2023, angered over his arrest at the time in a graft case.
Former Pakistan spy chief arrested over land development case (Reuters)
Reuters [8/12/2024 10:38 AM, Gibran Peshimam, 42991K, Negative]
Pakistan’s military said on Monday it had arrested retired general Faiz Hameed, former head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, in connection with a land development case.

The detention of a high-profile officer is unusual in Pakistan, where the military has ruled for over 30 of the 77 years since independence, and continues to hold sway.

The arrest was ordered by the Supreme Court, the military said in a statement, adding that multiple violations of the Pakistan Army Act after Hameed’s retirement had also been established.

"The process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been taken into military custody," the statement read. It did not elaborate on the violations.

It was not possible to reach him for comment.

Hameed was director general of the ISI from 2019 to 2021, and came into the global spotlight when he was filmed drinking tea in the lobby of a Kabul hotel shortly after the Taliban had taken over Afghanistan following the pullout of U.S. and other Western forces in 2021.

The ISI had long been accused by Washington of backing the Taliban while U.S.-led forces were in Afghanistan from 2001 onwards.

The ISI chief is generally considered the second most powerful military officer in Pakistan after the head of the army.

Hameed was also considered to be close to Imran Khan, who named him to head the ISI when he was premier. Khan was ousted in 2022 in a vote of no-confidence that he alleges was orchestrated by the military, which denies this.

Some local media reports have suggested the disagreements between Khan and the military included Khan’s desire to keep Hameed on as ISI chief after his tenure ended.
Pakistan arrests former spymaster for military trial (VOA)
VOA [8/12/2024 1:29 PM, Staff, 4032K, Negative]
Pakistan’s military announced on Monday that it had detained the country’s former spy chief and initiated court-martial proceedings against him on charges of abuse of office, corruption and army regulation breaches.

The arrest of retired General Faiz Hameed, who served as the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2022, is unusual in Pakistan, where the powerful military has ruled for more than 30 years since the country gained independence in 1947 and continues to wield significant influence.

The head of ISI is regarded as the second most influential military officer in Pakistan after the army chief.

The military noted in Monday’s announcement that its actions had stemmed from a Supreme Court-ordered inquiry against Hameed. It stated that “multiple instances of violations of the Pakistan Army Act” after his retirement had "also been established” during the inquiry.

"The process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated, and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been taken into military custody," the statement read without elaborating on the allegation violations.

It is not possible to contact the former ISI chief for comment due to the military’s prohibition on access to officers in custody, let alone those facing court martial.

Hameed’s name was widely featured in local media for his alleged involvement in national politics and influence on journalists during his tenure as the ISI chief.

The general gained global attention when journalists captured his presence on camera in the lobby of a Kabul hotel shortly after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021 as the U.S.-led Western forces withdrew following nearly two decades of involvement in the Afghan war.

During their presence in Afghanistan, Washington and allied nations had persistently accused the ISI of providing sanctuaries and covertly enabling Taliban leaders to orchestrate insurgent attacks from Pakistan against international forces on the Afghan side of the border.

Hameed was believed to be close to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who appointed him to lead the ISI when he was prime minister.

Khan was ousted from power in 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence that he alleges was orchestrated by the military leadership at the time, charges the army denies.

In the run-up to the vote, the deposed prime minister’s aides reported that he developed disputes with the military over whether Hameed should be retained as the ISI chief, as Khan desired.

“Pakistan has taken a massive and unprecedented step to court martial a former intel chief,” said Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington.

“However one chooses to look at this, given the current political circumstances, it is impossible to assess this development without keeping in mind Faiz’s known closeness to Imran Khan,” Kugelman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Since his ouster from power, Khan has faced dozens of prosecutions on charges ranging from corruption, sedition and ordering violent protests against military installations across Pakistan, charges he rejects as frivolous and politically motivated.

Khan, 71, who remains the most popular politician in Pakistan, was sent to jail a year ago after being convicted in a controversial corruption case.

Appellate courts have since overturned or suspended all of his convictions and sentences due to a lack of evidence. However, authorities immediately filed new cases against Khan to keep him in jail.
Gunmen kill senior government administrator in an attack on his vehicle in southwest Pakistan (AP)
AP [8/12/2024 1:58 PM, Staff, 31180K, Negative]
Gunmen ambushed a vehicle carrying a senior government administrator in southwest Pakistan on Monday, killing him and wounding two other people before fleeing, police and government officials said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted deputy commissioner Zakir Baloch in Mastung district of Baluchistan province, said Hadahyait Bangulzai, a local police official.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Sarfraz Bugti, the top elected official in Baluchistan, denounced the attack in separate statements and ordered authorities to trace and arrest those behind it.

Baluchistan has been the scene of frequent militant attacks amid a long-running insurgency by groups seeking independence for the mineral- and gas-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban and other Islamic militant groups also have a presence.
India
Sikh activists in US, Canada face threats a year after Trudeau linked leader’s killing to India (Reuters)
Reuters [8/12/2024 12:03 AM, Sarah N. Lynch, Wa Lone, and Jorge Garcia, 42991K, Negative]
As a physician specializing in addiction, Dr. Jasmeet Bains, the first Sikh American elected to the California assembly, was used to risky situations.

Even so, Bains said she was shocked when four men came to her office in August last year, shortly after California adopted her resolution declaring the killing of thousands of Sikhs in India in 1984 a genocide. The men, who appeared to be of Indian origin, warned they would "do whatever it takes to go after you," Bains said.

The threat was just the beginning.

Since last summer, Bains said, she has received more than 100 threatening text messages. She spotted someone taking photos of her Bakersfield home from a parked truck, and the lock on her mailbox was broken repeatedly.

Bains reported the incident at her office to the local police, and the surveillance of her home to the state assembly Sergeant-at-Arms. Reuters did not review the text messages.

In late September, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his administration had credible evidence that the Indian government was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia, Bains said the Sergeant-at-Arms conducted a security assessment at her home and urged her to take precautions. The FBI contacted her about the threats in her office in October, Bains said.

Bains said she began screening phone calls and avoiding traveling alone. She occasionally requests a security detail while attending official events.

"My life has changed," she told Reuters. "I don’t go anywhere alone anymore. I make sure my staff is with me at all times, which is hard for someone as independent as me."

Reuters spoke to 19 Sikh community leaders, including three elected U.S. officials, who said that they or their organizations have been targeted with threats and harassment in the United States and Canada over the last year – even as law enforcement agencies pursue criminal investigations into the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada and the foiled assassination attempt of another separatist leader in the U.S.

The Sikhs Reuters spoke to described experiencing online harassment; surveillance at their homes and places of worship; the release of personal details online or doxxing, and "swatting," filing a false police report to trigger a law enforcement response.

Seven Sikh activists told Reuters that the FBI or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned them last year their lives could be in danger, without specifying the source of the threat.

An FBI official said the bureau issues such warnings when it receives credible evidence of a threat, but declined to comment further. Canadian federal police declined to confirm how many individuals were issued duties to warn.

The FBI also warned the Sikh community more broadly about "transnational repression," efforts by a foreign state to intimidate or threaten political opponents in another country, releasing a public service announcement in Punjabi urging people to report threats or harassment. It also held two invitation-only meetings for Sikh advocacy groups, FBI officials and participants said.

U.S. AND CANADA INVESTIGATE

Meanwhile, four Indian nationals are facing charges of murder and conspiracy in Canada for the June 2023 fatal shooting of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside his gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, in Surrey, British Columbia.

Attorneys for the four men did not respond to requests for comment.

Separately, the U.S. Justice Department has charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with trying to arrange the murder of separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun at the behest of an Indian intelligence official. Gupta pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in New York. His attorney declined comment.

India has denied involvement in Nijjar’s killing and the attempted assassination of Pannun. It has pledged to investigate the plot against Pannun, but not Nijjar.

"Nijjar was someone who was a designated terrorist," Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, told Reuters in an interview in June. "For him I have no love lost."

Many of the threats described to Reuters by the Sikh activists originated from anonymous accounts on X. Others came from unknown phone numbers and anonymous text messages, they said.

Reuters was unable to determine the origins of the threats.

At least six activists said they suspect that India’s government or its supporters could be behind the harassment, though they acknowledged it can be hard to prove - especially when the threats come from anonymous parties.

Kanwarpal Singh, political secretary of the Punjab-based Dal Khalsa group, which lobbies for a separate state, has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of trying to defame and isolate Sikh separatists. He did not specify whether he was referring to separatists in India or abroad.

The Indian embassy in Washington and Modi’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Verma did not respond to an email on questions about threats against Sikh separatists and other activists or the criminal cases in Canada and the United States.

In a call with Reuters, two FBI officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity did not comment directly on India’s possible role in transnational repression. One said they "look across a really broad range of aggressive countries."

The FBI officials said it can be difficult to determine whether threats are emanating from a foreign government or criminal elements using similar tactics to try to extort victims.

Like Nijjar, Pannun is a proponent of a fringe demand to secede from India and carve out an independent state called Khalistan. The movement led to a violent insurgency in India’s Punjab state in the 1980s and 1990s before it was crushed by Delhi.

TIME TO ‘PLAN YOUR MURDER’

Pannun said he continues to receive violent threats online, even after the Justice Department made public the assassination plot last November.

"Wherever you run, I will come there, enter it and kill you," according to a May 7 email in Hindi reviewed by Reuters.

In April, the X account @randomatheist_ wrote to Pannun: "Polonium-210 arrived in DC," in an apparent reference to the toxic radioactive isotope used to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

Pannun’s organization Sikhs for Justice has a Washington, D.C. office.
X did not respond to requests for comment.

Pannun referred further questions about the threats to U.S. law enforcement.

In 2019, India declared Sikhs for Justice an unlawful association, citing its involvement in extremist activities. Pannun and 15 other members of the organization were charged with terrorism-related crimes a year later, including trying to encourage a mutiny in the Indian army.

Pannun denies the allegations.

Pritpal Singh, a founder of American Sikh Caucus Committee, an advocacy group which supports secession, also told Reuters the threats and surveillance continued after he received an FBI warning last June.

A few days after the warning, he said, a strange car pulled up and surveilled his California home. He said he noticed a second instance of surveillance in November.

The episodes were captured on home security cameras, and the video was reviewed by Reuters. Pritpal said he reported the surveillance to the FBI.

On the June 18 anniversary of Nijjar’s killing, one account on X wrote in Hindi that it was time to "plan your murder." Another X account wrote: "RIP Pritpal." Reuters saw screen shots of both messages, which his family reported to the FBI.

‘A KIND OF WORST-CASE SCENARIO’

Nate Schenkkan, senior director of research at the Washington, D.C. non-profit Freedom House, which monitors global civil liberties, said the campaign represents "a kind of worst-case scenario for transnational repression — when a major state acts completely outside the law using all the tools at its disposal to silence dissent in another country."

He said India appeared to have disregarded the potential diplomatic, legal and political consequences of the campaign, pointing to the prosecutions underway in the U.S. and Canada.

Harjap Singh Japhi, a grocery store owner in Greenwood, Indiana who was charged by India with terrorism-related crimes for his prior involvement with Sikhs for Justice, told Reuters that in the fall of 2022 FBI agents came to his home asking about his possible involvement in a bombing in the late 1980s.

The agents told him India had sent the bureau some records related to the attack.
Japhi, 44, said he was a child at the time.

Japhi’s wife Rajvinder Shokar also told Reuters about the visit by the FBI.

FBI officials told the news agency that they could not comment on Japhi’s case, and Reuters could not independently confirm the account of the bombing or the visit to the couple’s home.

False referrals are a common feature of transnational repression, the FBI said, and the agency is working with local law enforcement agencies on how to scrutinize referrals -particularly if the target is a political opponent.

A day after Nijjar’s killing, Japhi said he received an anonymous phone call from someone purporting to be a member of an Indian organized crime group warning him he was next.

In December, a since-deleted X account doxxed Japhi by posting his residential and business addresses and local health department inspection records online, according to screen shots shared with Reuters.

Japhi said he reported the threatening phone call and the doxxing to the FBI.

Bains told Reuters she isn’t sure whether she experienced transnational repression by the Indian government.

In May, the California Assembly passed a bill she introduced that would train state law enforcement to identify and respond to transnational repression.

"If I’m experiencing it, more people are experiencing it," she said. "And that impacts everyone, not just the Sikh community."
More Indian hospitals hit by doctors’ protest against alleged rape and murder (Reuters)
Reuters [8/13/2024 4:41 AM, Subrata Nag Choudhary, 5.2M, Neutral]
Hospital services were disrupted in several Indian cities on Tuesday, after the nationwide spread of a doctors’ protest against the alleged rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata, authorities and media said.

Television images showed thousands of doctors marching on Monday to protest the incident at a government-run hospital, calling for justice for the victim and better security measures, paralysing health services in West Bengal state.

The protest rippled nationwide on Tuesday, joined by more than 8,000 government doctors in the western Maharashtra state, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, halting work in all hospital departments except emergency services, media said.

In the capital, New Delhi, junior doctors wearing white coats held posters that read, "Doctors are not punching bags," as they sat in protest outside a large government hospital to demand an investigation, Reuters Television images showed.

Thousands of patients were left stranded by similar protests in cities such as Lucknow, capital of the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, and in the western tourist resort state of Goa that crimped some hospital services, media said.

"Pedestrian working conditions, inhuman workloads and violence in the workplace are the reality," the Indian Medical Association, the biggest grouping of doctors in the country, told Health Minister J P Nadda in a letter.

A health ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Doctors maintain their workplace environment is unsafe, even after the weekend arrest of a police volunteer in Kolkata for the doctor’s murder, and the resignation of the principal of the medical college where it happened.

City police chief Vineet Kumar Goyal told reporters a case had been registered against the suspect under provisions of the law relating to rape and murder.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters she had given state police a deadline of Sunday to complete their investigation, or she would hand it to federal agencies.

Emergency services stayed suspended on Tuesday in almost all the government-run medical college hospitals in Kolkata, state official N S Nigam told Reuters, adding that the government was assessing the impact on health services.

Doctors in India’s crowded and often squalid government hospitals, who find themselves overworked and underpaid, sometimes also end up bearing the brunt of violence by those angered at medical services they see as falling short.
NSB
US says it had no role in ousting of Bangladesh’s Hasina (Reuters)
Reuters [8/12/2024 8:40 PM, Kanishka Singh and Costas Pitas, 42991K, Negative]
The United States had no role in ousting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who recently quit her position and fled the South Asian nation, the White House said on Monday, calling allegations of U.S. interference "simply false."

"We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumors that the United States government was involved in these events is simply false," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing when asked about reported claims of U.S. involvement.

A report in the Economic Times newspaper in India on Sunday had cited Hasina as accusing the U.S. of playing a role in ousting her because it wanted control over Bangladesh’s Saint Martin island in the Bay of Bengal. The newspaper said Hasina had conveyed that message to it through her close associates.

Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, in a post on X on Sunday, said she never made any such statement.

"We believe that the Bangladeshi people should determine the future of the Bangladeshi government and that’s where we stand," the White House added.

An interim government in Bangladesh, led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in on Thursday with the aim of holding elections in the Asian nation.

Bangladesh was engulfed by demonstrations and violence after student protests last month against quotas that reserved a high portion of government jobs for certain groups escalated into a campaign to oust Hasina.

She had won a fourth straight term in January in an election that the opposition boycotted and which the U.S. State Department said was not free and fair.

Hasina went to New Delhi after leaving Bangladesh, ending her uninterrupted rule of 15 years.
The Bad Blood Between Sheikh Hasina and the US (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/12/2024 6:42 PM, Jannatul Naym Pieal, 1156K, Negative]
Several Indian media outlets, including the Economic Times, The Print, and NDTV, have printed what is purportedly a speech that Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina planned to make – but which she was unable to deliver before hastily leaving the country on August 5.

It does not come as a surprise that in the undelivered speech, which Hasina recently discussed with her close associates in India, she made significant accusations against the United States, claiming that it orchestrated the plan to remove her from power.

“I resigned so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over the dead bodies of students, but I did not allow it. I resigned from [the] premiership,” Hasina was quoted as saying.

“I could have remained in power if I had surrendered the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island and allowed America to hold sway over the Bay of Bengal. I beseech to the people of my land, please do not be manipulated by radicals,” Hasina was reportedly set to say in her undelivered speech.

Her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, denied the accuracy of the Indian media reports, saying on X (formerly Twitter): “The recent resignation statement attributed to my mother published in a newspaper is completely false and fabricated.”

However, Joy himself has pointed the finger at unidentified foreign forces for forcing his mother from office, telling media that the protests were stoked “from beyond Bangladesh.” He did not provide evidence for the claim or specify which country he believed had been involved.

Notably, Hasina has long blamed the United States for attempting to unseat her. In April last year, while speaking in the Bangladesh Parliament, she went so far as to say, “The U.S. can overthrow the government in any country, particularly Muslim countries.”

She was speaking at a time when then-Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr. AK Abdul Momen was visiting Washington, D.C., which speaks volumes about the kind of relationship Hasina maintained with Washington in recent years.

Each time the United States opposed her government on any front, Hasina interpreted it as a sign of an attempt to oust her from power.

Following the controversial January 7 elections, which were marked by low voter turnout and a boycott from the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the U.S. government said that the polls were neither free nor fair. The U.S. State Department expressed concerns over reports of voting irregularities, condemned the violence that took place, and lamented the lack of participation of all political parties.

Even earlier, in November 2023, tensions between Bangladesh and the United States escalated, drawing international attention.

At that time, Hasina and the U.S. President Joe Biden were involved in a public dispute following large-scale protests in Bangladesh.

Opposition parties, clearly dissatisfied with the status quo, demanded Hasina’s resignation and the formation of a caretaker government to ensure fair elections in January. Hasina’s refusal to step down, naturally, led to a standoff.

The U.S. ambassador in Dhaka later met with Bangladesh’s chief election commissioner to emphasize the importance of transparent elections and to urge dialogue among all political parties.

Later, during a press conference, Hasina likened the ambassador’s call for dialogue with the opposition to a hypothetical scenario where Biden would sit down for talks with his political rival, former President Donald Trump.

But the starting point of the tension between Bangladesh and the United States – which now seems to have reached its peak – came even earlier, in 2021, when the world was still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

On December 10, 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and several of its former officials. The sanctions were a response to allegations of serious human rights abuses committed by the RAB, a specialized anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit in Bangladesh. The United States accused the unit of involvement in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other forms of violence.

This move did not go down well with Hasina’s government, which vehemently criticized the sanctions as interference in its internal affairs and unjustly targeted its security forces.

Just under two years later, in September 2023, the U.S. State Department warned that it would “impose visa restrictions on Bangladeshi individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh,” including “members of law enforcement, the ruling party, and the political opposition.”

Explaining the visa restrictions, the State Department said, “The United States is committed to supporting free and fair elections in Bangladesh that are carried out in a peaceful manner.”

Again, Hasina hit back, denying there were any issues of concern with Bangladesh’s election process and questions why the United States would “suddenly want to impose visa restrictions.”

On May 21 of this year, the U.S. State Department enacted visa restrictions on former Bangladesh army chief Gen. (Retd) Aziz Ahmed, accusing him of “involvement in significant corruption” and “undermining… Bangladesh’s democratic institutions.” He became the first Bangladeshi national to be publicly sanctioned in this manner by the U.S. administration.

Most recently, the frozen relationship between Hasina and the United States grew even more apparent when the U.S. State Department, on July 22, in the thick of the student-led protest movement, urged the Awami League government to “uphold the right to peaceful protest.”

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller stated, “We condemn any violence against peaceful protesters.”

At the time, Bangladesh, a country of 180 million people, was going through an unprecedented internet blackout aimed at not only suppressing free speech but curbing any sort of communication.

While the United States continued advocating for the basic rights of Bangladeshis, Hasina and her government kept on accusing Washington of one plot after another.

In May of this year, during a 14-party meeting at the Ganabhaban, the official residence of Bangladesh’s prime minister, Hasina made a shocking accusation about a purported plot to create a “Christian state like East Timor” using territory from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Though she did not disclose at the time which country was referring to, it was all but apparent that she was actually talking about the United States.

During that meeting, she mentioned a proposal from “a white man” to build an airbase in Bangladesh for a particular “foreign country.” In return, Hasina said, she would receive guaranteed support for a smooth re-election in the January 7 polls.

The conversation surrounding Saint Martin’s Island, located in the northeastern part of Bay of Bengal, is also nothing new.

In a press conference at Ganabhaban in January last year, Hasina claimed that her party, the Awami League, did not seek to come to power by selling any national resources. In contrast, she alleged that the opposition BNP wanted to gain power by promising to sell Saint Martin’s Island.

“The BNP came to power in 2001 by giving an undertaking to sell gas. Now they want to sell the country. They want to come to power by selling Saint Martin’s Island,” Hasina said.

The United States, however, has always declined such claims. Miller, the State Department spokesperson, asserted in June last year that the United States has never engaged in any discussions regarding taking control of the island, nor had any intention to do so.

It was also widely speculated that the United States sought Saint Martin’s Island to build an air base and that Bangladesh’s potential participation in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) – a strategic Indo-Pacific alliance consisting of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – was a factor in this interest.

Michael Kugelman, the deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Washington-based Wilson Center, claimed otherwise in an interview with the Bangladeshi daily The Daily Star in March 2022.

“I can’t imagine the U.S. wants or expects Bangladesh to join the Quad. There are presently no plans to expand the number of Quad members,” he said.

U.S. rivals have taken careful note of the accusations emanating from Bangladesh. On December 15, 2023, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova predicted at a press briefing that if Sheikh Hasina were to come to power in the upcoming election, the United States would use all its resources to overthrow her government.

“Key industries may come under attack, as well as a number of officials who will be accused without evidence of obstructing the democratic will of citizens in the upcoming parliamentary elections on January 7, 2024,” Zakharova said.

“If the results of the people’s will are not satisfactory to the United States, attempts to further destabilize the situation in Bangladesh along the lines of the ‘Arab Spring’ are likely,” she added.

The U.S. State Department refrained from responding to Russia’s allegations at the time, having previously denied any interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs on several occasions.

Bangladesh’s then-Foreign Minister Momen also dismissed the possibility of an Arab Spring-like situation in Bangladesh, denouncing the remarks made by Zakharova.

“‘Friendship to all, malice to none’ is the foundation of the foreign policy of Bangladesh,” said Momen. “It is not our headache whoever says what. We don’t want to be dragged into the tension among superpowers. We want to go ahead with our balanced foreign policy.”

“I don’t really think there is such an opportunity,” Momen added.
Where Students Run the Streets: Bangladesh in Limbo (New York Times)
New York Times [8/13/2024 3:00 AM, Mujib Mashal and Saif Hasnat, 831K, Negative]
The two black V.I.P. vehicles, their hoods adorned with Bangladesh’s national flag according to state protocol, idled late one recent evening in a ground-floor parking lot at the University of Dhaka.

The cars were waiting for two students, both 26. Just a week before, they were hounded leaders of a youth-driven popular uprising against the country’s seemingly unbreakable prime minister. Now, after her astonishing ouster, the two are cabinet ministers in the country’s interim government.

Inside the parking lot, young women and men milled around these unlikeliest of government officials, asking questions and posing for selfies. On a pillar at the entrance, spray-painted graffiti declared the moment: “Revolution is not a dinner party.”

Outside, the streets of this country of 170 million people are run by students.

After overcoming a deadly crackdown and toppling Bangladesh’s iron-fisted leader, Sheikh Hasina, the student protesters are now seeking to set a new course for a nation born in bloody rupture five decades ago and marked by political violence ever since.

The magnitude of their task is not lost on anyone. Not on the young leaders and mobilizers themselves, who have been surprised by what they have achieved and are scrambling to protect the spaces that have fallen into their hands.

Ms. Hasina’s power had grown so all-consuming that her departure triggered a near-total collapse of the state. A wave of violence, including revenge killings and arson, persisted after her departure, with the country’s long-persecuted Hindu minority, in particular, gripped with fear. Almost all of the country’s police officers went into hiding, afraid of reprisals for the force’s role in the deaths of hundreds of young protesters.

Students are managing traffic in Dhaka, the congested capital city — checking licenses and reminding people to use helmets. In some roundabouts, the punishments they are doling out to rule breakers are straight out of the classroom: an hour of standing for a wrong turn, 30 minutes for not wearing a seatbelt.

One female student, who looked no older than 16, tried to ease traffic on a busy street with the zeal of an overachiever, shouting what were more pleas than orders to every “bhaiya,” Bengali for brother.

“Bhaiya — helmet!” she implored one man who raced by on his motorbike. “Bhaiya — footpath, footpath!” she yelled at a group of pedestrians.

A car carrying New York Times journalists was stopped by a boy who looked no older than 12. He asked to see a driver’s license.

In another corner of the city where some of the worst violence had taken place, Salman Khan, 17, and two other students manned a roundabout, occasionally pulling aside the fanciest of cars. What exactly were they looking for?

“Black money, black money,” Mr. Khan said, explaining that many of Ms. Hasina’s senior officials were on the run.

Outside her sprawling official residence, which protesters had breached and looted as she fled to India last week, a teenage student sat on a chair and spoke nonstop on a phone.

This was her duty station. When an army soldier called on her for something, she held out her free hand, in a motion meant to silence him — a single gesture that encapsulated all that has suddenly changed in Bangladesh.

Guiding the students who now run this country is a very different figure: the 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. He is gambling his storied legacy as a helper of the poor to be the interim leader of a nation in disarray. But he has accepted the mantle of handpicked grandfatherly figure for what the students describe as “generational transformation.”

“I’m doing this because this is what the youth of the country wanted, and I wanted to help them to do it,” Mr. Yunus said over the weekend in a briefing with reporters. “It’s not my dream, it’s their dream.”

Nahid Islam, a key student protest leader who said he had been blindfolded and tortured by security forces, described the immense pressure that had now fallen on the movement, “even though we weren’t prepared for it.”

“The day Hasina resigned, we realized everyone wanted to hear from us — what’s next for Bangladesh? How will Bangladesh be governed? How will the government be formed?” he said in an interview in the University of Dhaka parking lot.

Mr. Islam and a second leader, Asif Mahmud, are two of the 17 ministers in the cabinet. Mr. Mahmud oversees the ministry of youth and sports. Mr. Islam’s portfolio in particular has a whiff of justice — he is in charge of the information technology ministry, after Ms. Hasina had shut down the internet to try to break the movement.

“It’s a coincidence,” Mr. Islam said, smiling.

Behind the scenes, other student leaders are trying to figure out how to enact their idealistic vision for the future, even in this moment of chaotic uncertainty.

Mahfuj Alam, 26, one of the leaders tasked with canvassing input for a road map, said the country needed a new political settlement founded on three principles: dignity, compassion and responsibility.

“We want coordinated change, complex change which will facilitate upcoming governments to be democratic, to be accountable,” Mr. Alam said.

The student leaders said the country must break from its cycle of violence, and from the way it has been run for most of its history. Power has swung between two dynastic political parties that alternate between perpetrator and victim of the country’s brutal politics. The students are equally wary of a third force, the Jamaat-e-Islami party, the Islamist movement that Ms. Hasina had banned as radical.

The students want to move away from the binaries — the two dynastic parties, but also the “militant Islamism” and “militant secularism” that the country has been caught between in recent years.

“This generation is really, really aspiring for real changes,” Mr. Alam said, “not mere talking or blabbering about some families, about some histories, about some glories.”

But before the Bangladesh of tomorrow can be conjured, security must be restored today.

The country finds itself in a peculiar reality: The military, with its own history of abuses, has been deployed to guard the police. Dozens of police officers were killed in retaliation for Ms. Hasina’s crackdown on protesters, and many officers fear returning to their jobs.

On the desk of one army officer positioned outside a police station was a pile of unclaimed badges belonging to police officers who had fled. He sat between the carcasses of burned vehicles; the station behind him was a charred ruin.

A man in his 60s walked up with dried blood and wounds on his face. He wanted to lodge a complaint against workers from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition to Ms. Hasina, saying they had attacked him on his way to work at the courts. The officer, Masud Rana, said that “this police station is not operational” and could not do much. He eventually appeased the man by writing his name in a ledger.

“Our main work is to ensure the security of the police,” the officer said.

Later, a woman approached with a request that the army definitely could not help with. A police officer, she said, had taken about $400 in bribes to release her son in a drug case. Could someone pay her back the money?

The interim government is rushing to find creative ways to lure police officers back to work and reduce the toxicity associated with them. There have been leadership changes and talk of new uniforms. In a first step toward a return to a uniformed presence, young cadets and scouts have been placed at roundabouts.

In one stood Tahia, an 18-year-old cadet who was directing traffic with half a dozen other young women. A man waited quietly nearby on the footpath, occasionally pulling out a bottle of water to give to Tahia. It was her father.

Asked what he did for a living, the man grinned nervously and dodged the question. Minutes later, he whispered in a reporter’s ear: “Both her parents are police constables.”

The interim government faces an enormous task not only in restoring law and order but also in reopening the economy. And its members understand that they could be short on time. The caretaker government may last only as long as it shows it can deliver something different.

Pretty soon, the interim leaders will find themselves in the push and pull of the established political parties and their business backers, who want an election to be held quickly.

An immediate test may come on Thursday, when the Awami League, the party of Ms. Hasina, has called for a march. That could put the party — with scant law enforcement presence — face to face on the streets with the movement that brought it down after 15 years in power.

But the caretaker leaders are hopeful that a trump card will buy them time. In toppling Ms. Hasina, they demonstrated that they had a wide-ranging mobilizing power that the organized parties lacked. Those parties, they say, have been discredited by the kind of politics that ignored the young nation’s aspirations.

“If we go to our homes right now, there will be no change,” Mr. Alam, one of the student leaders, said. “We don’t want to let them relax.”
Bangladesh’s New Leader, Nobel Winner Muhammad Yunus, Says He Answers to Protesters (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [8/12/2024 12:13 PM, Shan Li, 810K, Neutral]
Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus said he agreed to lead the caretaker government in Bangladesh after the student protesters who toppled the prime minister asked for his help.

Yunus, a microcredit pioneer, was sworn in Thursday as head of the interim government after the army said earlier this month that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had resigned and fled to India. The leaders of the movement, which erupted in July over recruitment for government jobs, called him in Europe, and asked him to lead the overhaul efforts.

The Bangladeshi economist spoke to a small group of foreign correspondents on Sunday in a briefing that was initially off the record. Representatives on Monday allowed some remarks to be published.

“These are the guys who broke the local government,” Yunus told the press briefing, comparing the movement to a volcano. “I said, ‘I respect you, I admire you. What you have done is absolutely unparalleled.’”

Yunus, who was in Paris for the Olympics as the tumult unfolded in his country, said he wanted to help the students realize their vision of a more democratic Bangladesh. “Because you ordered me to do this, I take your order,” Yunus said he told them.

“It’s not my dream, it’s their dream,” he said.

Weeks of violent upheaval marked by mass demonstrations and a crackdown by security forces killed hundreds of protesters, police and bystanders. The protest began over a quota system for government jobs and then snowballed into a rejection of Hasina’s increasingly autocratic rule.

Her resignation marked the end of more than 15 years of rule under her Awami League party. That period was marked by aggressive crackdowns on political opponents.

Many top allies of Hasina are trying to flee the country or are in hiding. Some who held the most powerful posts—including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the central bank governor, and vice chancellors of top universities—have resigned in recent days after facing ultimatums from student protesters.

Yunus said the resignations were legal. In a country with a power vacuum, he said, “this is how it is done.”

“I’m sure they will find the legal way to justify all of this,” he said. “Legally, all the steps were followed afterwards.”

Yunus became widely respected for pioneering small loans for impoverished people, and women in particular, as a way to spur development and reduce poverty. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the Grameen Bank, the microcredit institution he founded, in 2006.

The situation in Bangladesh remains volatile. Protests continue to flare up in parts of the country. Fearing for their safety, police haven’t patrolled the streets for much of the past week, and student volunteers have stepped into the void to help direct traffic. On Monday, traffic police were seen back on the streets of Dhaka.

Yunus said the first priority for his government was to restore law and order, followed by overhauls such as ensuring freedom of speech. He said that the previous government left behind a “complete mess” but that there was hope now with the new government. “The monster is gone,” Yunus added, referring to the former prime minister.

The Nobel laureate has appointed a cabinet that included two student-protest leaders. He said every ministry should be staffed with at least one student who can advise the government.

“Because you brought this thing,” Yunus said, “why should we go beyond your wishes and desires?”
Resignations of Bangladeshi officials close to Hasina are legal, interim leader Yunus says (AP)
AP [8/12/2024 8:38 PM, Krutika Pathi, 31180K, Neutral]
The head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, says the high-profile resignations of authorities close to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are legal after student leaders who organized protests against Hasina’s government issued ultimatums for them to quit.

“Legally ... all the steps were taken,” Yunus, 83, told a group of journalists Sunday night.

The country’s chief justice, five justices and central bank governor have all resigned in the past few days, part of a dramatic transformation after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs turned into a mass uprising. Hasina resigned and fled to India last week.

Yunus said a key priority of the interim government is to restore the independence of the judiciary. He called former chief justice Obaidul Hassan “just a hangman.”

Syed Refaat Ahmed was appointed the new chief justice on Sunday after his name was proposed by student leaders of the protests.

Students vow to cleanse the political system of Hasina’s rule, which they have denounced as autocratic. More than 300 people, including students and police officers, were killed in the weeks of violence.

Yunus took over on Thursday after student leaders reached out. He said the students told him he was the only one they could trust.

He said he accepted “because these are the guys who broke the local government,” describing it as a “student-led revolution.”

“It’s not my dream, it’s their dream. So I’m kind of helping them to make it come true,” Yunus said.

The interim government is expected to announce a new election, but it is not clear when it will be held.

Yunus had been a longtime critic of Hasina and her government. An economist and banker by profession and known as the “banker to the poorest of the poor,” he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people, particularly women.

Yunus ran into trouble with Hasina in 2008, when her administration launched a series of investigations into him and his Grameen Bank. He was put on trial in 2013 on charges of receiving money without government permission, including his Nobel Prize and royalties from a book.

Yunus has denied the allegations, and his supporters say he was targeted because of his frosty relations with Hasina.
Yunus: I will help make students’ dream for Bangladesh come true (BBC)
BBC [8/12/2024 12:50 PM, Samira Hussain and Flora Drury, 60154K, Negative]
Bangladesh’s new leader is clear: this was not his revolution, and this was not his dream.

But Muhammad Yunus knew the second he took the call from the student on the other end of the phone last week that he would do whatever it took to see it through.

And the students had decided that what they needed was for Prof Yunus - an 84-year-old Nobel laureate - to step into the power vacuum left by the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and lead the new interim government. He accepted immediately.

“I’m doing this because this is what the youth of the country wanted, and I wanted to help them to do it,” he explains during a private briefing for select journalists at his office in the Jamuna State House.

“It’s not my dream, it’s their dream. So I’m kind of helping them to make it come true.”

Prof Yunus was sworn in on Thursday after months of student-led protests culminated in the fall of the government, and is still trying to gauge the scale of the job in front of him.

Most pressing, he says, is the security situation. In the wake of the violence which left more than 400 dead, the South Asian country’s police had all but disappeared - the country’s police union had announced a strike, and traffic was being guided by the students, while hundreds of police stations had been gutted by fires.

“Law and order is the first one so that people can sit down or get to work,” Prof Yunus says.

Monday saw the first glimmers of progress as officers returned to the streets. It is a first step, but security is far from the only problem.

The government entirely “disappeared” after Sheikh Hasina fled the country, Prof Yunus says.

What was left behind after 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule is “a mess, complete mess”.

“Even the government, what they did, whatever they did, just simply doesn’t make sense to me… They didn’t have any idea what administration is all about.”

And yet in the face of the chaos is “lots of hope”, Prof Yunus emphasises.

“We are here: a fresh new face for them, for the country... Because finally, this moment, the monster is gone. So this is excitement.”

Reform is key, according to Prof Yunus. It was a simple demand for reform of a quota system which reserved some public sector jobs for the relatives of war heroes, who fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, that sparked the protest movement in the first place.

But it was the brutal and deadly crackdown by security services which followed that saw it grow into demands for Sheikh Hasina to stand aside.

Reform is desperately needed, says Prof Yunus, pointing to freedom of speech - heavily restricted under Sheikh Hasina’s government, the prisons filled with people who sought to speak out against her.

He himself alleges he was a victim of the crackdown on freedom of speech. An outspoken critic of Sheikh Hasina’s government, Prof Yunus - lauded for his pioneering use of micro-loans but regarded as a public enemy by the former prime minister - was sentenced to six months in jail in what he has called a politically motivated case.

But there are other, more radical, ideas in the pipeline.

Each ministry will have a student seat in it, an acknowledgement of the role they played in bringing the previous administration to an end.

Already, Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, students who led the anti-government protests, sit in his cabinet.

And then there is reform of the judiciary. Already, the students have put pressure on the chief justice to resign.

Prof Yunus argues the judiciary was failing to act independently - instead allegedly taking orders from “some superior authority”.

“In the technical terms, he was the chief justice,” he says. “But actually, he was just a hangman.”

There will, he acknowledges, be decisions made that not everyone agrees with, but he hopes it will be better than what has come before.

“Whatever experience I have in my work... So I’m not saying I can run a government. I’m saying that I have some experience of running some organisations. I’ll bring that as much as I can. There will be people who like it, people who dislike it. But we have to go through with it.”
Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus carries hopes of economic change (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [8/12/2024 5:00 PM, Syful Islam, 2042K, Negative]
For Bangladeshi businessman Mahbubul Alam and many of his countrymen, the future is suddenly an open book.

Until a week ago, this South Asian nation of 171 million was under the firm grip of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League. Her increasingly autocratic governance stifled discussion of change even as cracks in the country’s economic model began to spread.

But following a short student-led uprising, Bangladesh now has an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus and a diverse, nonpartisan team of activists, academics and retired officials, including former central bank chief Salehuddin Ahmed.

As a result, even Alam, head of the country’s main business lobby group, is embracing the idea of radical change.

"It’s a new Bangladesh," Alam, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told Nikkei Asia. "The spirit of the youth who fought to bring change and the experience and connections of the Nobel laureate with the global community will help achieve an economic revolution."

Alam, who owns companies exporting steel and shrimp and another importing pharmaceutical ingredients and packaging, is keenly aware of how dependent Bangladesh is on international trade and of the impact of the bloodshed Hasina unleashed as she fought to squash the student movement.

"Our image aboard has experienced a big blow," Alam said. "Since Dr. Yunus is a globally acclaimed person, we need to utilize his image to regain confidence among the international community."

All told, at least 400 students and other demonstrators were killed over the course of nearly three weeks of clashes with security forces and Awami League toughs. To try to contain the protests, initially sparked by the restoration of quotas reserving most civil service positions for the children of veterans of the country’s 1971 war of independence and other favored groups, Hasina’s government imposed a curfew and cut off internet services for 10 days.

The unrest also affected air and sea traffic in and out of Bangladesh. The Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry has assessed the economic impact of the turmoil at over $10 billion.

The timing of the blow is awkward for Bangladesh. The country is less than halfway into a three-and-half year, $4.7 billion financial aid program that the International Monetary Fund launched to alleviate the squeeze on Bangladesh’s finances from the impact of the Ukraine war and the COVID pandemic.

Despite the cash infusion, Bangladesh’s foreign reserves continue to decline. As of the end of June, its remaining holdings were enough to cover only 3.3 months of imports, according to rating agency S&P Global, which downgraded Bangladesh two weeks ago.

S&P forecast that further net outflows will shrink the country’s import cover to 2.6 months over the next two years. Within the same time frame, Bangladesh is also set to lose the trade preferences that undergird its exports of clothing to Europe, the country’s main source of foreign exchange.

Yet sensing Hasina’s exit as a moment of opportunity, many are optimistic about where Bangladesh is headed. The DSEX Index, Bangladesh’s stock market benchmark, rose 15% last week over the four trading sessions following the prime minister’s departure for India.

"You always have to be hopeful," said Sohela Nazneen, a Bangladeshi development scholar now with the U.K.’s University of Sussex, before detailing a list of areas needing attention including depoliticizing institutions like the police and judiciary and setting in motion an inclusive democratic process to create a new governance framework since the major political parties have been discredited.

"We also have to ensure the economy is stable," she added.

To some observers, the challenges look all too daunting.

In an update on Aug. 7, S&P said the events of the preceding week in Bangladesh had "further undermined sovereign credit support" and that the protests had "exacerbated downside risks to economic growth, fiscal performance, and external metrics."

Hasnain Malik, managing director for emerging and frontier markets strategy at investment research company Tellimer, called the transition so far "deceptively swift and smooth" in a note to clients.

"In a nutshell, the unity of the army leadership, student protesters, and opposition parties behind dethroning Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League may prove fleeting," he said, warning of the powerful "impulse for retribution."

Within Bangladesh’s business community, many worry that the effects of the unrest could linger.

The internet cutoff was particularly devastating for the country’s fledgling IT services industry, which competes with India in serving international businesses.

"The internet is the lifeline of our business," said Russell T. Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services. "As the internet connection was cut suddenly, I could not even let my buyers know about the situation by sending an email."

While estimating the business impact from the first five days of the internet cutoff at 5 billion taka ($42 million), Ahmed worries that many clients will abandon Bangladesh. "Our competitors are always luring buyers by saying that Bangladeshis have no predictability," he said.

Hundreds of IT workers temporarily crossed into India and Nepal to access stable internet connections, according to the Bangladesh Freelancer Development Society. Even when internet service was restored in Bangladesh, Hasina’s government continued to block certain social media platforms including Facebook. The e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh calculated the cost of such disruptions at $150 million.

Garment manufacturers, whose earnings are crucial to the flow of foreign exchange into Bangladesh, are worried about losing business to overseas rivals, too.

MB Knit Fashion, a producer of shirts and pants based on the outskirts of Dhaka, finalized a $1 million order for a U.S. customer just before the internet was cut off. Managing Director Mohammad Hatem, who also serves as executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the client then put the order on hold amid the uncertainty that enveloped the country.

"This is happening now in the case of most apparel exporters," Hatem said, warning that industry orders could fall 30% to 40%. "Foreign buyers have lost confidence in Bangladeshi manufacturers."

The timing of the turmoil has been terrible for clothing companies as August is usually when international buyers place orders for the northern winter holiday shopping season.

"The medium- and long-term impacts of the latest disruptions will be huge as the whole world saw what happened in Bangladesh lately," said Nasir Khan, vice president of the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh.

S. Ahmed Mazumder, who heads up a trade group for companies making bags and other products from jute fibers, said many buyers were already shifting orders to Indian producers. "The buyers are highly concerned since many factories have failed to send goods on time," he said. "They will rethink placing fresh orders in future."

Even before the unrest, American companies were beginning to favor India over Bangladesh for clothing orders, according to a survey by the U.S. Fashion Industry Association conducted between April and June.

Survey respondents rated India higher in terms of vertical integration, minimum order size, flexibility and speed. With respect to Bangladesh, the association said in its report on the survey that "the high social compliance risks involved in sourcing from the country remained a key concern."

Meanwhile, amid last month’s bloodshed, the EU said it would postpone a negotiating round scheduled for September on a partnership and cooperation agreement that would potentially allow Bangladesh to preserve preferential access to the bloc’s clothing market. Citing "the prevailing situation," EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali said no new date had been set.

Yet some observers expect export orders to quickly rebound.

"Of course, Bangladesh is no stranger to political unrest -- if stability was a big concern for investors, it is unlikely they would have entered the country in the first place," wrote economists Gareth Leather and Shilan Shah of Capital Economics in a client note last week.

"It’s very hard to find another Bangladesh today," Tellimer’s Malik told Nikkei, referring to the country’s combination of a large, young, available workforce and attractive wages. "Today, it’s not replaceable."

Even so, the new government faces the challenge of bringing down inflation and youth unemployment while working to diversify business investment and exports and widen its tax base.

Ruchir Desai, a fund manager with emerging markets-focused group Asia Frontier Capital, is optimistic about Bangladesh, given the groundwork laid by reforms Hasina’s government adopted in May under IMF guidance. These included relaxing controls on the movement of interest rates and exchange rates, reducing energy subsidies, increasing the autonomy of the central bank and improving the transparency of economic data.

"Bangladesh has already done much of the hard work," Desai said. He expects more reforms to come in the following months in areas including banking, telecommunications and stock trading. "That should all be positive for the economy overall."

Much of the hopes for the future are riding on the 84-year-old shoulders of Yunus, who has taken the title of chief adviser to the government at the request of leaders of the student movement and with the consent of Army chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman.

Yunus and his team have so far said little about plans for the economy so far. "This is our responsibility to build the new Bangladesh," Yunus said on Saturday after meeting with the family of Abu Sayed, one of the first students killed by police during the protests.

Three days earlier, as he prepared to return from France to Bangladesh, Yunus said: "This is our beautiful country with lots of exciting possibilities. We must protect and make it a wonderful country for us and for our future generations."

Yunus is best known for his work with Grameen Bank, which traces its origins to small unsecured loans he began making to poor families in 1974. The microcredit model he pioneered has since spread to more than 100 countries.

Referring to this model, Yunus told Nikkei Asia in 2020, "The financial system of the new economy will be dominated by social business banks and financial institutions which will be based on zero personal profit."

In his 2017 book, "A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions," Yunus wrote, "The existing capitalist engine is producing more damage than solutions." He called for a "redesigned economic engine" based around social business, entrepreneurship and supporting "people at the bottom of the economic ladder."

Syed Nazrul Islam, first vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, is among those counting on Yunus’ prestige to bring better days.

"We are hopeful that he will be able to strengthen Bangladesh’s economic base using his connections" with the West, he said. "We believe the country will go forward by making good use of his connections."
Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus calls for free speech and independent judiciary (Financial Times)
Financial Times [8/12/2024 9:43 AM, Benjamin Parkin and John Reed, 14.7M, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s new interim leader Muhammad Yunus has said the country of 170mn must reform its judiciary and ensure freedom of speech in order to fix the “complete mess” left by toppled prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist hailed as a “revolution” the ousting of Sheikh Hasina, who fled last week after a popular uprising against her authoritarian rule over Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest garments exporter.

“The monster is gone,” Yunus told foreign journalists in a briefing in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

An estimated 500 people have been killed since Sheikh Hasina last month ordered a crackdown on student protesters, triggering anger that ultimately toppled her government and provoked a wave of retaliatory attacks. Police have mostly gone into hiding, with security on Dhaka’s streets temporarily taken over by the military and student volunteers. 

Yunus said his most urgent task was to restore law and order “so that people can sit down or get to work”, but that he hoped to turn to broader reforms. “The opposition, young people always are talking: ‘There is no freedom of speech’,” he said. “Give them the freedom of speech.”

The 84-year-old added that ensuring “the independence of the judiciary” was another priority.

Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, claimed to have brought development to what had been one of the world’s poorest countries. Her critics accused her government of corruption, rights abuses, rigging elections and stacking the judiciary with loyalists from her Awami League.

Chief justice Obaidul Hassan, the head of Bangladesh’s judiciary, resigned at the weekend following new demonstrations against him by student protesters.

Yunus, who was celebrated internationally for founding microfinance pioneer Grameen Bank, was subject to a barrage of investigations under Sheikh Hasina that his supporters called a vendetta.

Yunus said he only agreed to lead the interim government because student protest leaders asked him to. He has two students in his new cabinet, and Yunus said they should play an even greater role. “Every ministry should have a student,” he said.

Yet he faces considerable obstacles in implementing his agenda. Legal experts debate how long his administration should be in power, with opinions ranging anywhere from three months to three years.

Opposition groups such as the Bangladesh Nationalist party are demanding new elections. And the Awami League is seeking to regroup following its routing last week.

The former prime minister’s son Sajeeb Wazed told the Financial Times that his mother, who is currently in neighbouring India, wanted to return to Bangladesh.

“We are waiting to see how things unfold in Bangladesh and her hope is that at some point she will be able to go back,” Wazed said in a video interview from the US. He said Sheikh Hasina had not requested asylum in a third country.

Wazed denied his mother was responsible for the violence against protesters and said she was “absolutely” ready to face charges if it came to that “because she did nothing illegal”. 

Wazed also attacked Yunus’s interim government, saying it was “an unconstitutional government. There is no democracy in Bangladesh right now.”

Yunus told foreign journalists that Sheikh Hasina’s rule left “a mess, complete mess . . . Whatever they did, just simply doesn’t make sense to me”.

But he acknowledged the early euphoria around his leadership might not last. “The moment you start taking decisions, some people will like your decisions, some people will not like your decisions,” he said.

“I’m doing this because this is what the youth of the country wanted, and I wanted to help them to do it. It’s not my dream, it’s their dream.”
Bangladeshis applaud leader’s ouster but fear old guard will strike back (Washington Post)
Washington Post [8/13/2024 2:00 AM, Karishma Mehrotra and Anant Gupta, 6.9M, Neutral]
Amid their jubilation, many of the student protesters who chased Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power a week ago were afraid this weekend she was scheming to return with the help of her ally, the country’s chief justice.

So students on Saturday surrounded the high court and demanded his resignation, fearing he might overturn the selection of the country’s new, temporary leader. Again, they prevailed.

The repeated success of the students over the past week has fueled hope across the capital, Dhaka, that the tremendous violence that culminated in Hasina’s overthrow will yield dramatic political and social changes, including in how Bangladesh elects its leaders and how its government, courts and police operate.

“We will keep hitting the streets if we have to,” said Shima Akhtar, a protester who said several of her friends had been killed by police during the demonstrations. “This is a time for real change.”

But expressions of hope were mixed with fears that the old guard would hijack the revolution by undermining the transitional government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. There are also concerns about the prospect of ethnic violence or a breakdown of law and order after the departure of Hasina, who had ruled with an increasingly iron fist over the past 15 years, and anxiety over the country’s deepening economic crisis.

“It’s not very easy to hope for something better,” said Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, a Dhaka University international studies professor who mentored the student protest leaders. “We had this same experience in the past and we failed every time.”

Since the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has cycled through repeated military coups, dictatorships and alternating civilian rule by the old guard parties, Hasina’s Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), both led by dynastic figures.

This latest change of power was the bloodiest, with hundreds, mostly students, killed. “This is the last chance for us,” Khan said.

Hasina’s rule has left the country’s institutions deeply politicized and corrupted, political analysts say. The country’s constitution is riddled with amendments that have allowed elected leaders to abuse their powers. Experts say the last valid election was in 2008.

The temporary government led by Yunus is focused first on restoring law and order and eventually on overseeing fresh elections. But many critics of the old guard are asking for a more fundamental break with the two political parties that have long ruled the country.

“If the current constitution stays as is, how can we say that the next Hasina is not in the making?” asked Ali Riaz, an expert on Bangladeshi politics at Illinois State University.

Demonstrators, who have continued to protest peacefully, are offering a variety of proposals such as a new bicameral parliament, a two-term limit for lawmakers and a new system to nominate judges.

Leaders in the traditional political parties, however, retort that the members of the transitional government are unelected and have no standing to undertake such major changes. Yunus was chosen by the students in negotiations with the security chiefs and the president after Hasina resigned and fled the country, and other members are heads of development organizations, students and other activists.

The Awami League says the government “has no mandate” at all, according to Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed.

“Anytime change is forced outside of the constitutional laws, it is not sustainable,” Wazed said in an interview. “This playbook doesn’t have a chance. Either Awami League or BNP will win an election. No one else is capable. If you talk about democracy, you have to hold elections.”

The BNP also stressed that the transitional period should be over as soon as possible. “This government is here for a specific task: the transition from an autocracy to a democracy,” said Abdul Moyeen Khan, a former BNP minister. “Whether we like it or not, we cannot get away from politics.”

But Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the adviser for environment in the transitional government, said the student-led movement has earned the right to lead through their actions and sacrifices. “If the political parties do not realize the difference in strength between their political standing and the political standing of the students, they would be miscalculating,” said Hasan, speaking at her home beside an array of congratulatory flowers. “These questions of legitimacy will always be there, but we have to earn legitimacy through our actions.”

While the transitional government could lose its legitimacy if it holds power for too long, some students say it would take time to form the new party they would like to see.

Experts such as Khan warn that the coming months could pose various dangers, including the targeting of minority communities. Bangladesh is majority Muslim with Hindus making up about 8 percent of the country’s 170 million people. They predominantly supported Hasina’s Awami League, which espoused secularism, and in the past week they have at times come under violent attack.

Khan said the publicity around these sporadic attacks makes it look like Hindus have been left vulnerable to violence by Islamist extremists if Hasina is not there to protect them. The attacks, he said, are part of a “campaign to claim that if Hasina is not in power, this country will be a country of fanatics.”

Bangladeshis are also imperiled by the desperate state of the economy. The country has been celebrated for the success of its garment industry, which has become a key, low-cost supplier to companies such as H&M and Zara, and is now second only to that of China. But the pandemic undercut demand, pummeling the industry. The country is so dependent on this lone sector that Bangladesh hasn’t been able to generate enough employment for the 2 million people entering the workforce each year. Further stoking the economic crisis have been increases in the cost of food and fuel imports due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other supply chain disruptions.

Employment grievances fueled the protests of the past month, which were triggered by the expansion of affirmative action for government jobs. People whose families participated in Bangladesh’s freedom struggle, many tied to the Awami League, were promised preferential treatment.

“My worst fear would be failing to deliver what the children hoped to achieve from this movement,” said Sharmeen Murshid, the adviser for social welfare in the transitional government. She added, “We are not a government that came through business as usual. We came through a children’s movement.”

The challenge of fostering economic growth is tied up with that of restoring law and order. Stability long made Bangladesh attractive to foreign investors.

A week after Hasina fled, police remain far from public view. But students have stepped into the void. Students carrying sticks and donning donated neon vests have been directing snarled traffic. Other volunteers swept shattered glass from around the high-rise building that housed the pro-government television channel.

Another team of students entered one of Dhaka’s largest wholesale markets, armed with notebooks. They checked the prices being charged by every seller to make sure no one was inflating them to take advantage of the turmoil.

“If we, the students, ever catch a bribe, we will take action against you and the bribe collector,” said Sajjad Hossain, 23, wearing a ribbon around his head with the Bangladeshi flag and shouting into a megaphone. His voice carried down the small alley lined with stacks of rice bags.

“We will liberate Bangladesh again if it comes to that,” he yelled amid a chorus of cheers.
The violence in Bangladesh after Hasina’s ouster stirs fear within the country’s Hindu minority (AP)
AP [8/13/2024 4:12 AM, Krutika Pathi, Al Emrun Garjon, and Shonal Ganguly, 456K, Negative]
When a mass uprising forced Bangladesh’s longtime prime minister to step down and flee the country last week, a 65-year-old retired auditor who had worked for her political party feared for his life.

Arobinda Mohalder, who is part of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, had just learned that a Hindu official working for the Awami League party in the country’s Khulna district escaped after an angry mob set his home on fire.

Mohalder and his wife quickly packed clothes and passports as they fled their home to stay with a relative nearby. Later that evening, they found out their home had been torched. The attackers looted everything, including their television, refrigerator and two air conditioners.

Ever since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, her supporters and associates have faced retaliatory attacks by mobs who have been met by little, if any, resistance from authorities. Members of the country’s Hindu minority feel the most vulnerable because they have traditionally backed the Awami League — seen as a secular party in the Muslim-majority nation — and because of a history of violence against them during previous upheavals.

In the week since Hasina was ousted on Aug. 5, there have been at least 200 attacks against Hindus and other religious minorities across 52 districts, according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a minority rights group that has been tracking incidents.

But experts caution it is hard to establish the extent of and motivations for the violence in this South Asian country of 170 million.

“There may be an element of minorities, particularly Hindus, being targeted due to their faith. But many Hindus had links to the Awami League, because historically it has been the party that protected minorities, so they may have been targeted for their political affiliations,” said Thomas Kean, a senior consultant on Bangladesh and Myanmar at the Crisis Group.

Hasina’s ouster was triggered by student-led protests against a quota system for government jobs. After clashes between protesters and government forces that led to hundreds of deaths, the movement grew into a broader rebellion against the leader and her government.

Mobs rampaged across the country after Hasina fled. Some of the violence was just criminal activity, Kean said, and “we shouldn’t assume they are all due to race or religion.”

The interim government put in place after Hasina’s ouster has condemned the attacks as “heinous” and said it was working with community leaders to ensure Hindus’ safety.

Hindus, who make up 8% of the population and are the largest minority group, “are shivering,” said Kajal Debnath, a vice president of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council. “They are closing their doors, they are not opening it without confirming who is knocking. Everybody (in the Hindu minority)… from the Dhaka capital to the remote villages are very scared.”

For many, the violence has evoked painful memories of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan during which Hindus were targeted. Hindus were also attacked during the rise of Islamic groups in the 1990s, which Hasina stamped out.

Hindus have held large protests in the past week drawing thousands, demanding protection and condemning the recent spate of attacks.

Munni Ghosh, a Hindu housewife in Dhaka, said that attacks have grown since Hasina fled. “The reason (is) because she used to support us,” she said.

According to the minority groups organization, the attacks have included vandalizing and looting of Hindu homes and businesses. A few temples have been damaged. But details remain scarce, and police — whose members were also killed during the recent violence — went on strike last week.

Some analysts say many of the attacks against Hindus are politically driven and reflect resentment against Hasina’s party.

Hindus have suffered, but most attacks have been “politically motivated because the Awami League has been targeted,” said Zillur Rahman, executive director of the Dhaka-based Center for Governance Studies.

In Mohalder’s village, dozens of other Hindu homes were unscathed. And his brother-in-law’s house, which is attached to his own, was not vandalized. A temple in their family compound was also untouched.

Mohalder believes he was targeted because of his ties to the Awami League. He doesn’t know when it will be safe for him to return home. “I want to go back, but goons looted my home and because of that, I am scared.”

The issue has become increasingly sensitive for India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the reports of attacks last week.

But experts say the lack of credible information and official investigations into violence against Hindus has also fueled misinformation about the attacks, much of it coming from Indian news, social media and leaders, said Kean.

On Aug. 5, the day Hasina fled, a leader belonging to Modi’s party in West Bengal state, which borders Bangladesh, claimed without providing evidence that Hindus were being slaughtered. Television news channels ran headlines saying the attacks were “an act of genocide” and a “pogrom.” In another example, an Indian outlet claimed a certain temple had been set on fire, but Prothom Alo — a leading Bengali-language daily newspaper — found that false, and reported that an Awami League office behind the temple had been burnt down.

Nahid Islam, one of the leading student protesters who was sworn in as a minister in the interim government last week, said the violence was more politically than religiously motivated and was meant to divide the country, but that Bangladesh would protect them.

“The responsible will be brought to justice… be assured that the people of Bangladesh, the government of Bangladesh will stand by you.”

But for many Hindus, the biggest worry has been the lack of police since they went on strike in many parts of the country after Hasina fled.

“Anything can happen at any moment of time because there is no law and order,” said Debnath. “There is no place to complain. If they kill me, if they burn my house, there is no one I can complain to.”

On Monday, several police stations opened up and many people hope that will help ease tensions. But while police were on strike, students and other volunteers in Dhaka and elsewhere banded together to patrol neighborhoods and keep watch, sometimes carrying sticks and umbrellas.

Tahsim Uzzaman, a 26-year-old student in Dhaka, is one volunteer who has been patrolling Dhaka neighborhoods late at night.

“I no longer feel alright just sitting at home. I’ve been going out at night to guard places, especially in minority neighborhoods. We took bullets to reclaim our country, it shouldn’t be for nothing, we must now keep it safe for all,” he said.
Why Is Namal Rajapaksa Contesting the Sri Lankan Presidential Election When He’s Likely to Lose? (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/12/2024 7:38 AM, Rathindra Kuruwita, 1156K, Neutral]
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party of the Rajapaksas, has nominated Namal Rajapaksa as its candidate for the September 21 presidential election. Namal is the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The SLPP nominated Namal on August 7 after businessman Dhammika Perera, who was expected to be the party’s presidential candidate, informed the SLPP General Secretary that he didn’t want to run due to personal reasons.

Few in Sri Lanka believe that Perera withdrew entirely of his own accord.

It is unlikely that Perera would have expressed his desire to contest in the first place had he not received a green light from the Rajapaksas, who control the SLPP with an iron fist. The SLPP is a political party by the Rajapaksas for the Rajapaksas.

There are four main candidates in the fray for the upcoming presidential election. They are Anura Kumara Dissanayake representing the National People’s Power (NPP), President Ranil Wickremesinghe contesting as an independent candidate, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Sandanaya (SJS), and Namal of the SLPP. Opinion polls indicate that Dissanayake and Premadasa are the frontrunners, followed by Wickremesinghe and then Rajapaksa as a distant fourth.

Most Sri Lankans believe that the Rajapaksas are the cause of their current economic ills, and hence Namal’s electoral prospects are weak. He has taken a substantial gamble with his political future by throwing his hat in the ring.

Namal, who is 38, probably has a long career ahead of him as a politician. Being the face of a disastrous presidential election would deal a severe blow to his credentials.

Consequently, many Sri Lankans believed the SLPP would field Perera for the presidential election, let him be the fall guy, and slowly rebuild under the leadership of Namal.

So, why did the Rajapaksas change their mind at the eleventh hour? Why are they risking the political career of Namal Rajapaksa?

Probably the decision to field Namal was taken after over 90 SLPP parliamentarians abandoned ship and joined Wickremesinghe. These MPs were SLPP district leaders, and they took along with them most of the remaining grassroots-level activists. At best, the party now has a few MPs and grassroots organizers, and these numbers will further dwindle as more people cross over to Wickremesinghe or Premadasa.

The NPP has insisted it will not entertain horse-trading. Thus, the SLPP no longer has an established network on the ground to carry out an effective political campaign. There are only five weeks before the presidential election.

Perera has little political experience. He is not a charismatic leader. He doesn’t have name recognition and he has plenty of skeletons in his closet. The remaining Rajapaksa voters, having no loyalty or bond to him, might explore other possibilities. Without an established political network on the ground to do the heavy lifting, Perera would have been decimated at the September presidential election.

Although 38, Namal Rajapaksa has been a parliamentarian since 2010, making this his third stint in Parliament. This makes him one of the most experienced politicians left in the SLPP. A third-generation politician, he knows the intricacies of Sri Lankan politics. He has name recognition and is probably the only man, apart from his ailing father, who can gather the votes of Rajapaksa loyalists.

Whoever wins the presidential election would dissolve Parliament immediately and, to capitalize on the political momentum, will call a snap parliamentary election. Therefore, the parties also need to think about securing as many seats as possible in the coming parliamentary election, which in turn depends on their performance in the presidential election.

In the 2020 general election, the SLPP secured 145 seats in the 225-member Parliament. However, within four years, it faces the threat of a whitewash akin to the disastrous showing by its parent party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in 1977. A young Mahinda Rajapaksa witnessed the decimation of the party and a subsequent 17-year stint in the opposition.

As SLPP leader, he would want to avoid the fate that befell the SLFP and ensure his party maintains a foothold in Parliament. In a highly competitive, fragmented Parliament, 10-12 seats can give the SLPP significant power as a tiebreaker.

After considering everything at stake and all the options available, the Rajapaksa family has decided to stake Namal’s reputation for a final throw of political dice.

We will know in the next few weeks whether this gambit works, or whether Namal along with the SLPP will be relegated to the political wilderness for the foreseeable future.
Musk’s Starlink wins Sri Lanka licence (Reuters)
Reuters [8/13/2024 4:26 AM, Uditha Jayasinghe and Tanvi Mehta, 5.2M, Neutral]
Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator has issued a licence to Elon Musk’s Starlink, the satellite unit of SpaceX, to provide the country with satellite broadband services, the president’s office said.

Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a new telecommunications bill last month, which amended the law for the first time in 28 years and paved the way for Starlink Lanka to enter the country.

Musk’s Starlink had approached Sri Lanka in March with a proposal to set up operations, officials told Reuters last month. The company will have to pay a tariff for the licence, they said.

SpaceX’s Starlink, which owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting Earth, is dominant in the satellite internet sphere.

Musk has been trying to enter South Asia after expressing interest in launching Starlink in India. No formal plans have been announced yet.

Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Central Asia
Can Central Asia Deepen Multilateral Cooperation Without Institutionalization? (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/12/2024 9:33 AM, Sanat Kushkumbayev and Aizada Nuriddenova, 1156K, Positive]
In 2024, Astana became a hub for a series of pivotal meetings that each marked as a significant “first” in regional diplomacy. On August 9, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the current leaders of the other four Central Asian countries – Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Following the precedent set at the fifth consultative meeting in Dushanbe in September 2023, the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the head of the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, Kaha Imnadze, also attended the gathering in Astana.

The latest consultative meeting produced a joint statement from the Central Asian leaders and led to the signing of a concept for the development of regional cooperation “Central Asia – 2040,” a roadmap on developing regional cooperation for 2025-2027, and an action plan on developing industrial cooperation among the Central Asian countries for 2025-2027.

Contrary to the Kazakh leadership’s hopes, no breakthrough was achieved in regard to the signing of the Agreement on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness, and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century by holdouts Tajikistan and Turkmenistan at the Astana summit. This reluctance remains despite marked progress in the Kyrgyz-Tajik border negotiations in 2024; Tajikistan’s abstention from approving the friendship agreement has been linked to its border issues with Kyrgyzstan.

In the meantime, attempts at deepening regional connectivity appear to demonstrate positive results. For instance, the trade turnover among Central Asian countries has been on the rise since 2018, doubling within the last six years from $5.7 billion to $11 billion. The countries in the region are seeking to link their transport potential and develop energy infrastructure. This was manifested in the first meeting of Central Asian energy ministers and the second meeting of Central Asian transport ministers held on August 6 and 8, respectively, ahead of the sixth consultative summit. These meetings resulted in the conclusion of a joint communique on the results of the first Central Asian energy ministers’ meeting, a memorandum of understanding on developing transport and logistics centers in Central Asian countries, and the Astana communique of the second Central Asian transport ministers’ meeting. The last two documents are seen as a logical continuation of the agreement on strengthening land transport relations in Central Asia signed at the Dushanbe summit in 2023.

While broader multilateral engagements tend to grab headlines, the bilateral relationships in Central Asia are proving to be the true drivers of progress in the region. Through a web of bilateral treaties, Kazakhstan is not just deepening its ties with neighboring states but also laying the groundwork for a more cohesive regional integration. Allied relations have been established with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, while strategic partnerships with Turkmenistan continue to expand.

In this context, the bilateral meeting between the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on August 7-8 in Astana, just ahead of the consultative meeting of Central Asian leaders, is particularly telling. The cooperation between these two relatively large regional powers is not merely symbolic but foundational. Without their joint efforts, the vision of a unified Central Asia is unlikely to materialize.

A landmark in this cooperation is the first meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, held on August 8 in Astana. This advanced integration mechanism underscores the leadership roles of these two nations in driving regional integration. Their collaboration is reminiscent of the Franco-German partnership that was instrumental in the unification of Europe. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are poised to serve as the locomotives of a similar regional project.

The rapid pace of interaction between Astana and Tashkent is notable, with 15 meetings between their presidents in the past five years alone. The signing of a Treaty on Allied Relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in December 2022, followed by its ratification in Uzbekistan in 2023 and Kazakhstan in 2024, is a testament to their commitment. Recognizing the cautious stance of other Central Asian states toward integration, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are setting the groundwork for regional unity by establishing the Interstate Council and welcoming the adoption of the Strategic Partnership and Alliance Program for 2024-2034.

On the eve of the summit, Tokayev published an article titled “The Renaissance of Central Asia: Towards Sustainable Development and Prosperity.” The piece encapsulates the essence of the concept for the development of regional cooperation “Central Asia – 2040,” adopted at the summit. It emphasizes key pillars of regional integration: a unified security and defense space, joint economic initiatives, transportation projects, and cooperative approaches to water, energy, and food security. The article also highlights a shared Central Asian identity – an elusive but crucial element in ensuring that this integration process extends beyond political elites to engage broader society.

Mirziyoyev referred to Tokayev’s article in his remarks at the consultative summit as an in-depth analysis of their joint work. He complemented Tokayev’s proposals by suggesting the adoption of common concepts in security and transportation. Given the disruptions in traditional trade and transportation routes caused by the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the resulting vulnerability to sanctions, this cooperation is both timely and necessary.

As such, there has been increasing emphasis on the stability and security of transportation in and through the region. In April 2024, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan agreed to organize freight traffic along the China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan route. During their recent meeting, both presidents participated in a ceremony marking the arrival of a container train that traveled nearly 4,500 kilometers in just five days from the Chinese dry port of Xi’an to Tashkent, passing through Kazakhstan. This transportation route offers new prospects for other states in the region.

A significant outcome of these meetings is the establishment of a Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. This body is tasked with ensuring mutual support within international and regional structures – a critical step in consolidating their bilateral and regional cooperation.

Tokayev’s declaration that a “successful Central Asia means a successful Kazakhstan” reflects an encouraging commitment to deepening regional integration. If this principle gains broader acceptance among other Central Asian nations, it could be the key to the long-term success of a unified Central Asia.
Kazakh Plan To Join Chinese-Led Moon Base Would Strengthen Space Partnership (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/12/2024 1:03 PM, Reid Standish, 235K, Neutral]
A new agreement for Kazakhstan to join Chinese-led plans to build and operate a research base on the moon could set the stage for deepening cooperation between the two countries as Beijing makes strides toward becoming a leading power in space.

The July 3 agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and admitted Kazakhstan as the 12th member of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a Chinese-led initiative with Russia’s Roskosmos for a lunar base that was announced in 2021 and includes Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Serbia, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, and Venezuela.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement that, as part of the deal, Beijing and Astana would "support exchanges and cooperation between the two countries’ aerospace agencies…in the peaceful use of outer space" and to "promote mutually beneficial cooperation in the moon and deep space."

The Kazakh Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry Ministry revealed new details of this cooperation on August 5, saying that Beijing and Astana would explore the commercial use of each other’s spaceports and Kazakhstan would also be part of the development and launch of a lunar telescope project.

The addition of Kazakhstan bolsters China’s lunar exploration plans and puts the Central Asian country on a trajectory to further integrate into China’s booming space industry, which is part of a drive by Beijing that experts say is motivated by an ambition to rival the United States.

"China intends to equal and eventually surpass the United States as a space power," Bruce McClintock, a former defense attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and senior researcher on space policy at the RAND Corporation, told RFE/RL. "The recent return of a lunar sample mission from the moon demonstrates China’s financial commitment to lunar exploration and their technical ability to achieve their long-term goals."

The return to Earth of China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module in June was the latest accomplishment as Beijing aims to finish building the ILRS in the 2030s. The China National Space Administration also said it plans to send astronauts to the moon before 2030 and Beijing established the International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO) in April, a Chinese-led body to coordinate lunar missions with member states.

The plans around the ILRS are seen as a response to NASA’s Artemis Program, a U.S.-led initiative that aims to send a crewed mission to the moon by 2025, with a continuous presence by 2028. As part of its own diplomatic push for space, Washington has gotten more than 40 countries to sign the Artemis Accords, a set of principles for the exploration and use of outer space.

"The Chinese are trying to build their own duplicative organizations as a race develops to see who can get the most support for their programs," Eva Seiwert, an analyst at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) think tank, told RFE/RL. "For Kazakhstan, it’s clear that they see China as a future source of knowledge, training, and financing for their space industry."

Liftoff For China

Kazakhstan has been an integral part of the Soviet and Russian space programs for nearly 70 years.

Baikonur, an expansive complex located in southern Kazakhstan, has shot hundreds of rockets into space and holds a special position as a launching pad for some of space flight’s most historic achievements, such as the 1957 Soviet launch of Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first human journey to outer space in 1961.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Baikonur remained a launch site for Russia’s Roskosmos, which maintained a dominant position within the space industry.

But both Russia and Baikonur’s places have begun to shift.

The space complex has been at the center of a contract dispute between Russia and Kazakhstan for years, and Roskosmos is planning to move its space launches to Russian territory.

At the same time, Russia’s space program has faced funding cuts, technical setbacks, and scandals. Western sanctions first brought against Russia in 2014 and expanded following its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine have further dimmed its space program as it has been cut off from some essential Western-made components.

These changes have taken place as China’s own space program leapt forward in recent years, with billions of dollars being invested.

When the space partnership between Russia and China first gained traction in 2014 and gradually grew over the years, it culminated in joint projects like the ILRS.

"I don’t think Russia has many other choices," Juliana Suess, a fellow for space security at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, told RFE/RL. "Russia has a lot of legacy and expertise, but that’s all very much behind it. When it comes to space, Russia looks more like the junior partner in the China-Russia relationship."

Beijing, meanwhile, has continued to broaden its outreach, even adding a space component to its multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as it has looked to build up and link its space industry with other countries.

This has included deploying satellites, building ground stations, erecting data centers, and training foreign space personnel as part of the foundations of a Beijing-led space network.

"China is actively building up its status as a space power, and this lunar base that Kazakhstan has signed up to is just one piece of a constant effort for space soft power," Suess said.

A New Era In Space

While Kazakhstan signing on to the ILRS marks another step forward for China’s space ambitions, Bleddyn Bowen, an associate professor specializing in space policy at the University of Leicester, says the other aspects of the agreement reached between Astana and Beijing may be more significant in the long run.

"The moon is for scientific or research projects," Bowen, also a fellow at RUSI, told RFE/RL. "Whereas a launch service agreement would mean putting more satellites into the Earth’s orbit, which matters because it provides the daily infrastructure that we rely on and is central to the space economy."

For Beijing, a crucial area for enhancing its capacity for competition in space with the United States is the Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS), which is China’s answer to the American GPS, Russian GLONASS, or the European Galileo navigation systems.

Widespread adoption of either system carries immense commercial value and China wants BDS to be used for aircraft, auto, and ship navigation, as well as humanitarian and disaster assistance, agricultural improvement, and weather forecasts. As a report by the U.S. Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute noted, all 30 BDS global networking satellites have been in place since 2020, and more than 120 countries have begun using BDS.

For Kazakhstan, the drift toward Beijing began in 2013 when Chinese and Kazakh private space companies began cooperating. The collaboration has accelerated as Russia’s space program has failed to keep pace with China’s.

"China is much more attractive now as an investor with money to spend," Bowen said. "China is also a massive market where anything that Kazakhstan’s space industry produces is likely to find a use."

Using Kazakh territory for space launches is also important as Russia looks to divest from the Baikonur complex.

While Russia has a lease on the facility until 2050, China is currently working to boost launch-pad access around the world for commercial space providers and Kazakhstan, which shares a long border with China, also hosts the Sary Shagan anti-ballistic missile test site.

"Kazakhstan needs to diversify and bring in new countries to pay for what Russia used to provide," said Bowen. "Partnering more with the Chinese is part of that plan for the future."
Imprisoned Kazakh Journalist Mukhammedkarim Launches Another Hunger Strike (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/12/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 235K, Negative]
Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim, who was sentenced to seven years in prison on August 2 for financing an extremist group and participating in a banned group’s activities, charges he and his supporters reject as politically motivated, has begun a new hunger strike. Mukhammedkarim’s lawyer, Ghalym Nurpeisov, told RFE/RL on August 12 that his client started the hunger strike to protest his imprisonment a day earlier. Last month, Mukhammedkarim was transferred to a hospital after his health dramatically deteriorated following several hunger strikes to protest the secrecy of his trial. Human rights groups have recognized him as a political prisoner.
Bulgaria Seizes Heroin At Black Sea Port Worth $38 Million En Route From Kyrgyzstan, Georgia (AP)
AP [8/12/2024 10:32 PM, Staff, 1530K, Negative]
Bulgarian authorities have seized some 436 kilograms (960 pounds) of heroin at the Black Sea port of Burgas, the district prosecutor’s office said on Monday.

The heroin was stashed in 434 packages hidden inside officially declared cargo in a trailer. The drug haul’s value is estimated at 35 million euros (nearly $38 million).

The trailer had arrived at the end of July on a land route from Kyrgyzstan to the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi, from where it crossed to Burgas.

From Bulgaria, it was supposed to continue to Alexandroupolis in Greece.

The trailer, supposedly transporting cable-laying machines, raised suspicion due to its unusually long stay at the port, anti-drug unit chief Ivan Sokolov told reporters, adding that an X-ray inspection led to the discovery of the concealed heroin.

“So far, there have been no arrests, and no persons found involved in this cross-border crime,” district prosecutor Georgi Chinev said.

A conviction on drug trafficking carries up to 20 years in prison in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria, which lies on a drug route from the Middle East to Western Europe, has taken massive steps in recent years to prevent drug trafficking.
Twitter
Afghanistan
SIGAR
@SIGARHQ
[8/13/2024 3:00 AM, 170.5K followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
#Afghanistan has the highest number of cholera cases reported globally this year, according to #WHO. A Taliban ministry of health spokesman denied Afghanistan has any confirmed cases https://sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2024-07-30qr.pdf#page=62

SIGAR
@SIGARHQ
[8/12/2024 11:16 AM, 170.5K followers, 4 retweets, 28 likes]
(1/2) After hearing experiences of Afghan refugees in U.S. & Canada, it’s clear both groups face many same difficulties (lack of support, trouble finding a job equal with experience, culture shock). Both groups expressed discontentment with int’l community’s engagement with #AFG,

SIGAR
@SIGARHQ
[8/12/2024 11:16 AM, 170.5K followers, 1 retweet, 10 likes]
(2/2)…& fear for safety of those still living there. Apparent difference: while Afghans in U.S. often most concerned about uncertain future legal status, Afghans in Canada comforted by legal certainty & ability to stay permanently, although some weren’t sure they wanted to

Freshta Razbaan
@RazbaanFreshta
[8/12/2024 4:18 AM, 4.8K followers, 6 retweets, 14 likes]
Afghanistan has transformed into a living hell for women, human rights defenders, and former government employees, especially prosecutors. Since the Taliban takeover, these individuals have faced relentless persecution, including targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture. Those who dedicated their lives to upholding the rule of law are now the prime targets of the Taliban and other extremist groups. Prosecutors, in particular, are at heightened risk due to their previous roles in the justice system. The Taliban, along with released criminals, have created a climate of fear and impunity, where basic human rights are routinely violated. #AfghanProsecutors

Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[8/12/2024 12:38 PM, 229.1K followers, 7 retweets, 50 likes]
Right before the August 15 anniversary, as Afghanistan fell to Pakistan’s proxy, the Taliban, they’ve now started border skirmishes with Pakistan to distract from the fact that Pakistan’s own puppet has been running Kabul for three years.

Lynne O’Donnell
@lynnekodonnell
[8/11/2024 8:50 AM, 27.2K followers, 39 retweets, 69 likes]
Manizha Talash is the biggest winner at #Paris2024Olympics. Her message about #Taliban abuse of women in #Afghanistan has reverberated around the world & shown the IOC for the politicised men’s club that it is. Take a bow, B-Girl, you’re the true hero https://www.euronews.com/2024/08/10/paris-olympics-afghan-refugee-breaker-disqualified-for-wearing-free-afghan-women-cape?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
Pakistan
Imran Khan
@ImranKhanPTI
[8/12/2024 2:37 PM, 20.8M followers, 10K retweets, 20K likes]
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Conversation with Journalists in Adiala Jail: August 12, 2024
The army belongs to the entire nation, not just to the Army Chief or a political party. General Asim Munir bear in mind where the nation stands & what the public sentiment is, while the military leadership has positioned itself in the completely opposite direction. Never before have I seen such a divide between the military and the people. They have pitted the military against the country’s largest political party.

On May 9, it was the military that initiated this unrest, and ISI has concealed the cctv footage to protect the real perpetrators from being exposed. If the government fails to comply with the decision on reserved seats and attempts to extend the Chief Justice’s tenure, we will take to the streets in protest. To obstruct the Supreme Court’s ruling, they have already amended the Election Act and are now seeking to get a two-thirds majority through backdoor channels to amend the Constitution.

First, they violated the Constitution by not holding timely elections in two provinces, and now they are committing another violation by not implementing the Supreme Court’s decision. Their refusal to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling stems from their desire to secure a 2/3 majority and prolong Qazi Faez Isa’s tenure. These crooks have destroyed the economy and are now jeopardizing the Supreme Court as well. The nation is watching, and the pressure is mounting. The Chief Justice and the Election Commission were in collusion, and were aided by the Army Chief. However, their entire plan was thwarted by the people of Pakistan on February 8.

Pakistan’s situation is worse than that of Bangladesh! Just as Hasina Wajid appointed her own Chief Justice, Army Chief, and Election Commissioner, the same has been done here. When people took to the streets in Bangladesh, the army refused to fire on its own citizens.
Despite the oppression, our party emerged victorious on February 8. Currently, 90% of the population stands with PTI; Khaleda Zia did not have the same level of support that PTI enjoys in Pakistan. Regardless of what they do, the Pakistani military will not fire on its own people.

I am about to give the call; the people are ready. They have overcome their fears, and are prepared to face imprisonment and even lay down their lives. If the Constitution is violated in Pakistan, the future of our youth will be at risk. Before the election, there was a crackdown on our party under the pretext of May 9. Half of our leadership was thrown in jail, half went underground, and the rest were forced to leave the party. They committed massive fraud in the elections, and now they fear that if the constituencies are audited, the mandate theft will be exposed. This is why they want to place their judges in the tribunals. They know that such a massive fraud cannot be covered up. The former Commissioner of Rawalpindi said that candidates who were winning by margins of 70,000 votes were declared losers. Patan said that 74,000 extra votes were cast in Nawaz Sharif’s constituency.

When they suspect that Imran Khan has any contact with the establishment, they start trembling, even though I have no contact with anyone, and there has been no communication. We have given Mehmood Khan Achakzai the authority to negotiate with the politicians. However, PTI will not negotiate with puppets. If we negotiate with these stooges, it means we have accepted the current government. If they want to reject our demands, let them do so. I wanted to talk for the sake of the country. PTI’s popularity is growing day by day. If they don’t want to talk, so be it; I am in no hurry.

Kamran Khan
@AajKamranKhan
[8/12/2024 10:06 AM, 5.6M followers, 32 retweets, 220 likes]
Former ISI Chief Lt Gen (R) is in hot water. As the former spy chief faces a court martial, he could potentially lose his rank, post-retirement military service benefits, and most likely be awarded a long prison term. The likely scenario emerged recently as, besides confirmation of more serious allegations, a 4-month-long military investigation led by a two-star General also gathered solid evidence to confirm charges leveled against Lt Gen Faiz by the owner of Top City Builder Ltd. In the petition filed before the Supreme Court in Lt Gen (R) Faiz was accused of misusing his authority. The petition filed in the Supreme Court stated that on May 12, 2017, at the behest of Gen Faiz, ISI officials raided the top city office and the complainant’s house. During the raid, valuables, including gold, diamonds, and money, were seized from the house by ISI officials. The Supreme Court ordered the probe. Findings of the four-month long probe will also be presented before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Lt Gen (R) Faiz is also understood to be found to be involved in most serious violations of relevant sections of the military act also applicable to retired military officials.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[8/12/2024 11:22 AM, 212.7K followers, 110 retweets, 659 likes]
Pakistan has taken a massive and unprecedented step to court martial a former intel chief. However one chooses to look at this, given the current political circumstances, it is impossible to assess this development without keeping in mind Faiz’s known closeness to Imran Khan.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[8/12/2024 2:13 PM, 42.9K followers, 14 retweets, 111 likes]
Should Gen Faiz Hameed’s arrest be seen as a new era of accountability within the military? Seems unlikely. It seems more a pointed message on dissent within the army.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[8/12/2024 9:55 AM, 42.9K followers, 3 retweets, 13 likes]
Unprecedented: Former DG ISI Faiz Hameed taken into military custody, court martial initiated. He had been seen as close to former PM Imran Khan. https://www.dawn.com/news/1851818

Anas Mallick
@AnasMallick
[8/12/2024 6:57 AM, 73.4K followers, 29 retweets, 220 likes]
Imran Khan who earlier signalled for reconciliation with powers that be while opting a softer tone, has today in his statement, essentially signalled a full blown confrontation with powers who are not political. #Pakistan
India
Vice-President of India
@VPIndia
[8/13/2024 12:29 AM, 1.5M followers, 76 retweets, 555 likes]
Hon’ble Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar flagged off the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ Bike Rally with Members of Parliament at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today. #HarGharTiranga @MinOfCultureGoI @KirenRijiju @gssjodhpur @KirenRijiju @RamMNK

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[8/13/2024 3:32 AM, 3.2M followers, 2 retweets, 32 likes]
Addressed the Indiaspora gathering in New Delhi this morning. Spoke about the role of the Indian diaspora in building the contemporary IN-US Partnership. The report on Small Community, Big Contributions & Boundless Horizons is an effective presentation of their notable contributions. @IndiasporaForum

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[8/13/2024 1:36 AM, 3.2M followers, 50 retweets, 228 likes]
In conversation with @NavaniRajan and @mrsandhill at the launch of the Indiaspora BCG Impact Report in Delhi.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[8/12/2024 7:55 AM, 3.2M followers, 221 retweets, 1.9K likes]
Pleased to meet diplomats & officers of Sri Lanka undergoing the 1st Special Course @SSIFS_MEA. Discussed the importance of working together as the Global South. Also exchanged views on the potential and challenges of the Digital era.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[8/12/2024 5:42 AM, 3.2M followers, 522 retweets, 3.8K likes]
Concluded a productive visit to Maldives! Living up to the message of our ties: ‘Imagined by Maldives, Delivered by India’. Some highlights: https://x.com/i/status/1822931637992145313
NSB
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[8/12/2024 9:57 AM, 41.3K followers, 42 retweets, 478 likes]
Bangladesh reaffirms its commitment to International Humanitarian Law as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions. #IHL #GC75

Derek J. Grossman
@DerekJGrossman
[8/12/2024 12:39 PM, 91.3K followers, 162 retweets, 682 likes]
Hasina allegedly said US wanted control of Bangladesh’s St. Martin’s Island and pushed her out to get it. This is absurd. St. Martin’s has no runway, no deep water port, low electrical power, and little infrastructure to support much of anything. It’s also frequented by monsoons.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[8/12/2024 12:53 PM, 212.7K followers, 48 retweets, 242 likes]
I’d argue that for the US and some of its partners the current era of great power competition has made Bangladesh geopolitically relevant, esp. in terms of how it fits into the Indo Pacific strategy. But the US doesn’t pursue its geopolitical interests by demanding tiny islands.

Sultan Mohammed Zakaria
@smzakaria
[8/12/2024 6:18 PM, 5.6K followers, 69 retweets, 152 likes]
#Bangladesh: After fully backing a tyrannical regime in Bangladesh that killed and maimed its own people en masse, the Indian establishment has now unleashed its Twitter army to grossly inflate some unfortunate attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. The irony is staggering—the Hindutva gang, which supports religious fundamentalism in India, is now preaching secularism to its neighbor. We have received assurances from the administration of Professor @Yunus_Centre in Bangladesh that every attack on minorities since the new government was sworn in will be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted. I am confident that Professor Yunus and his team will deliver justice and hold the perpetrators accountable. To the Indian Hindutva gang: focus on the atrocities your theocratic regime and its supporters inflict on Dalits, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and countless other minorities. We welcome constructive criticism on our internal affairs, but preaching from a fanatic group with its own severe issues is simply insulting. #India #MinorityRights

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[8/12/2024 2:46 AM, 109.4K followers, 41 retweets, 40 likes]
First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed attends the opening ceremony of the validation workshop of the 10-year master plan for Thalassemia prevention and control.

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[8/12/2024 6:02 AM, 109.4K followers, 125 retweets, 140 likes]
President Dr @MMuizzu attends the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Youth Advisory Board. The board will advise the President on youth-related matters, ensuring that the perspectives and aspirations of young people are integrated into government policy formulation.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maldives
@MoFAmv
[8/12/2024 8:16 AM, 54.5K followers, 21 retweets, 33 likes]
#FOSIM conducted day one of Pre-Posting Training Programme for its 8th batch of diplomats. Sessions on Maldives Foreign Policy and Expectations of a Diplomat as well as Foreign Service Code of Conduct & HR Matters were briefed to the participants, by senior officers.

MOFA of Nepal
@MofaNepal
[8/12/2024 7:56 AM, 259.1K followers, 16 retweets, 71 likes]
Foreign Secretary Ms. Sewa Lamsal @sewa_lamsal had a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Secretary of India shree Vikram Misri @VikramMisri today. Both sides committed to deepening bilateral cooperation and addressing shared challenges.

MOFA of Nepal
@MofaNepal
[8/12/2024 5:24 AM, 259.1K followers, 17 retweets, 53 likes]
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary of India, paid a courtesy call on the Hon. Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba at her office in Singha Durbar today. Views were exchanged on further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between Nepal and India.

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[8/13/2024 2:41 AM, 6K followers, 4 retweets, 8 likes]
Honored to take over duties at the Justice Ministry today. Outlined our immediate priorities in legal reforms, which are essential to building a highly competitive, export-oriented economy. Committed to positive and sustainable changes as we review progress in key areas #ReformSL

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[8/12/2024 8:52 AM, 6K followers, 9 retweets, 81 likes]
Thank you @DrSJaishankar for facilitating the 1st Special Course training programme for Sri Lankan diplomats and officers at @SSIFS_MEA on my request. I am confident that this will contribute not only to their personal development but also benefit Sri Lanka and the region as whole. @IndiainSL @MFA_SriLanka

Saminda Deshapriya
@SamindaDe
[8/13/2024 1:37 AM, 861 followers, 17 retweets, 49 likes]
Here are the results of @RW_UNP’s economic policy, and it’s clear that it’s working. Therefore, there’s no need to switch to the opposition’s untested economic wish lists, as we don’t want to change what’s currently working perfectly. In his second term, the focus will be on sharing the benefits of economic growth more equitably across society. #SriLanka #EconomicRecovery
Central Asia
UNODC Central Asia
@UNODC_ROCA
[8/12/2024 2:33 PM, 2.5K followers, 4 likes]
|@UNODC & partners held a regional training on open-source intelligence in Almaty🇰🇿, equipping analyst officers w/ powerful new tools to fight crime online. Watch the video & read more: https://rb.gy/mp7pka @oliverstolpe @CRIMJUST_UNODC @UN__Cyber @CARICC_2018 @StateINL

UNODC Central Asia
@UNODC_ROCA
[8/12/2024 10:13 AM, 2.5K followers, 3 retweets, 9 likes]
On behalf of our team, we, @UNODC , want to congratulate all employees of the penitentiary service on their professional holiday and wish them continued success in incorporating the #NelsonMandela Rules into their day-to-day operations @Madina_Sarieva @ph_meissner

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[8/12/2024 11:44 PM, 4.9K followers, 2 retweets, 3 likes]
Meeting with Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Zijin” Mining Industry Corporation of the People’s Republic of China Chen Jinghe https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15516/meeting-with-chairman-of-the-board-of-directors-of-zijin-mining-industry-corporation-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-chen-jinghe

{End of Report}
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