SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Thursday, August 22, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
The UAE accepts credentials of Taliban ambassador in major diplomatic coup for Afghanistan’s rulers (AP)
AP [8/21/2024 12:51 PM, Staff, 31180K, Neutral]
The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday accepted the credentials of the Taliban’s ambassador to the oil-rich Gulf Arab state, the biggest diplomatic coup for Afghanistan’s rulers who are not officially recognized as the country’s legitimate government.
The development, the first Taliban ambassador since one was appointed to China last December, underscored the international divide over how to deal with the government now in Kabul.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul confirmed the news about Badruddin Haqqani in a post on the social media platform X. The ministry did not respond to requests for information about Haqqani, who was previously the Taliban’s envoy to the UAE.
Haqqani is not related to the Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who in June met the UAE leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, but he is from his team.
Sirajuddin Haqqani is the current leader of the powerful Haqqani network, a militant movement allied with the Taliban, and a designated global terrorist. He is wanted by the United States for his involvement in deadly attacks and is also on several sanctions lists.
Even though the Taliban remain isolated from the West, they have pursued bilateral ties with major regional powers. Last week, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov arrived in Afghanistan in the highest-level visit by a foreign official since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan three years ago.
The United Nations says that official recognition of the Taliban-run Afghanistan is "nearly impossible" while restrictions on women and girls are in place.
In a separate development Wednesday, a U.N.-appointed rights expert decried the Taliban’s decision to bar him from Afghanistan. The special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett has frequently criticized the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls.
Bennett said the Taliban’s announcement that they would no longer grant him access to Afghanistan was "a step backwards and sends a concerning signal" about their engagement with the U.N. and the international community on human rights.
"I urge the Taliban to reverse their decision and reiterate my willingness and availability to travel to Afghanistan," Bennett said.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Kabul warned that Bennett’s activities were detrimental to the interests of Afghanistan and the Afghan people.
"It was deemed appropriate that Bennett continue his unprofessional conduct from the comfort of his office instead of tiring himself with needless travels," the spokesperson, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, told The Associated Press in a message. The Taliban says it wants people to visit Afghanistan. Here’s what it’s like (CNN)
CNN [8/21/2024 10:04 PM, Sahar Akbarzai, 22739K, Neutral]
Ben Herskowitz stood on a hill overlooking the ancient archaeological landscape of Bamiyan, nestled among the high mountains of the Hindu Kush. In the distance, he could see white snow-capped mountains, greenery and blossoming trees spread across Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley.
It was "one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in my life," Herskowitz said. "So many different diverse landscapes in one area. I’ve never seen contrast like that in one place."
Herskowitz, a 22-year-old from Vermont in the United States, found himself thousands of miles from home in May, with Afghanistan’s spectacular landscapes nearly all to himself.
"You go to Rome or Greece to see ruins and there are thousands of tourists blocking your way all around you, but here you can sit up in these beautiful places that have so much history from so many periods, and you’re the only one there," Herskowitz explained.
The conflict-ravaged country, not known as a vacation hot spot, has seen an increase in tourism since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 after the US withdrawal.
Visitors from around the world have been immersing themselves in Afghanistan’s scenic landscape and ancient history. They’ve been taking dips in the turquoise lakes of Band-e-Amir National Park, exploring Buddhist art and ruins in Bamiyan and shopping in the bustling bazaars of Kabul, all while experiencing the legendary hospitality of Afghans.
About 691 tourists visited Afghanistan in 2021, rising to 2,300 the following year and 7,000 in 2023, according to the Associated Press, citing Mohammad Saeed, head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul. More than 10,179 have visited the country since August 2021, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Tourism told CNN.
While those figures seem low, the steady increase points to a new buzz around tourism in Afghanistan even while the country struggles with a humanitarian crisis and poverty following decades of war. Many countries have not formally recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, and the United Nations calls Afghanistan under the Taliban the most repressive country in the world for women’s rights.
"There’s a flow of tourists coming into the country since the fall of the republic," says Khyber Khan, founder of Afghan tour company Unchartered Afghanistan. The country is known as a conflict zone, but "we have so many things to offer \u2013 culture, people, landscape," Khan said. One now sees "a lot of tourists especially in Kabul, you always see a group of tourists," Khan said.
Taliban officials say they are supporting tourism.
"The growth of the tourism industry has a positive effect on the country’s economy," the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture said. The country sees most tourists coming from the United States, the European Union, China, India, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, the spokesperson added.
A department has been created under the ministry to provide services to tourists and train students in the tourism industry and hotel management, the spokesperson said.‘Hospitality there is so welcoming’
Herskowitz, a part-time social media content creator and traveler, says he was intrigued to explore Afghanistan after hearing how "beautiful" and "hospitable" it is from other tourists who recently visited.
While many travelers have reported positive experiences, many Western governments warn against traveling to the country.
Afghanistan carries a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory from the US State Department, which cites "terrorism, risk of wrongful detention, civil unrest, kidnapping and crime" as reasons for its rating. The United Kingdom also "advises against all travel to Afghanistan."
In May 2024, three Spanish tourists were among four people killedwhen gunmen opened fire on a group of international tourists and Afghans in Bamiyan. It was not clear who was behind the attack.
Despite being aware of the travel advisories warnings, Herskowitz still opted to go to Afghanistan after learning from his community of fellow "extreme travelers" that it’s a relatively safe place for tourists.
"I prefer to get my information from friends who have actually been to these places recently and give me an update on what it’s actually like to visit," Herskowitz told CNN. "From my experience, I felt super safe the entire time."With his best friend from Vermont and two other UK travelers and content creators, Herskowitz embarked on a private eight-day tour across the country with two local Afghan tour guides.
Bamiyan, a central Afghanistan city and region that’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was Herskowitz’s favorite destination they visited.
"It’s an ancient city" and has "these amazing ruins that are really spectacular to see," Herskowitz said. He described staying in a hotel with views of the remains of monumental sixth-century Buddha statues. Two of the standing Buddha statues in this area were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
Herskowtiz also explored Band-e-Amir’s series of six lakes by pedal boat amid picturesque red-hued cliffs and rocky natural dams. The park was "just out of this world," Herskowitz said.
But experiencing Afghan hospitality is what really struck Herskowitz. The "hospitality there is so welcoming," Herskowitz said.
"Locals were so happy to see a tourist in their country. You’re a guest in their country and so they want to invite you for something to show their hospitality."
When shopping in Kabul, Herskowitz said shopkeepers constantly offered him and his friends tea, food and even safe lodging if they needed it.
Herskowitz also said he saw a "good amount" of other tourists during his time in Afghanistan. He said he came across three different 14-member tour groups from Italy, Greece and Indonesia.‘Everyone is coming’
To accommodate the increase in tourists, tourism companies have popped up in Afghanistan.
"The presence of tourists has increased because it’s not an active war zone anymore," Khan said. He started Unchartered Afghanistan in 2023.
Ehsan Barakzai, founder of Afghan tour company Destination Afghanistan, says the "gate (to Afghanistan) has just opened, so everyone is coming."
Barakzai personally gave 130 people tours of Afghanistan in 2023, he said, adding that most of his customers come from China, Germany, Canada and the United States.
"A lot of tourists came from watching YouTubers and people on social documenting their travel to Afghanistan," Barakzai explained.
Tourists can enter Afghanistan only after obtaining a tourist visa from one of Afghanistan’s consulates. A consulate will normally provide the visa if an individual has a letter of invitation from a tour company in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has consulates in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan as well as embassies in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, among other countries.Additionally, tour companies must be registered and licensed to operate with the Ministry of Culture for "better coordination," the ministry spokesperson said.
Bookings for Afghanistan in 2023 were at the highest ever level for tour company Untamed Borders, founder James Wilcox told CNN. Untamed Borders has been offering tours in Afghanistan since 2007, Wilcox said.
"Since the Taliban took over, the security situation has changed. One of the biggest risks isn’t there anymore before the risk was the Taliban," Wilcox explained. A security risk for tourists traveling to Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover was the deadly fighting between the Taliban as an insurgency group against US forces and the previous US-backed government of Afghanistan.
"That major risk has diminished," he said, adding, "there are a lot of historical things to see. It’s culturally very rich."
Touring Afghanistan as a woman
Afghan women have seen their rights rolled back in areas such as education and employment since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
But those restrictions don’t usually apply to female tourists, Unchartered Afghanistan said. "Tourists who are women will generally have the opportunity to explore Afghanistan as men do," the company says on its website.
Emma Witters, a 56-year-old tourist and YouTuber from the United Kingdom, has visited Afghanistan solo four times since the Taliban retook Afghanistan.
Witters felt "safe" as a female tourist security-wise and had a protective tour guide. But she did run into certain challenges, she said. Her attempt to travel from Kabul to the city of Kandahar on her first trip was unsuccessful when a bus driver refused to sell her a ticket because she was traveling as a solo female, she explained. Witters had to take a flight instead.
She first went to Afghanistan in August of 2022 on a nine-day private tour with a guide. She enjoyed trekking the country so much that she extended her stay.
She befriended Afghan women who showed her around. But Witters said it became difficult to travel to certain places with Afghan female friends when the Taliban banned women from entering some public places such as parks in 2022.
Overall, Witters said she had many "memorable experiences," adding, "the people in Afghanistan have been some of the kindest people I met ever." Her favorite area was Nuristan, a northeastern province bordering Pakistan that’s known for the breathtaking natural beauty of its rivers, mountains and greenery.
Another memorable experience for Witters was when she drove a car through a Taliban checkpoint in the province of Ghazni on her second trip in October 2022. Taliban officials at the checkpoint stopped her and she thought they would prevent her from driving, "but they didn’t. It was fine," she said.
The Taliban have banned women from taking long-distance road trips in Afghanistan on their own, requiring that a male relative accompany them for any distance beyond 45 miles.
Afghanistan is misunderstood’
Jacqueline Gonzalez, an American woman from Virginia, visited Afghanistan this past June on a 10-day private tour with Unchartered Afghanistan, she told CNN. She explored four cities: Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and Bamiyan.
The country had been on her bucket list and, after learning more about other tourists’ experiences on YouTube, "the risk seemed like it was worth it," she said.
"I had seen photos and videos, but experiencing it firsthand makes you wonder and realize how archaeologically grand and historic those sites are," Gonzalez said, adding that seeing the remains of Buddha statues in Bamiyan and Band-e-Amir park were highlights.
Her most memorable experiences, however, were meeting Afghans, she said.
"The media hardly focuses on the generosity of Afghans and seeing firsthand the warmth and hospitable attitude of Afghans made me realize how much of the story of Afghanistan is missing from the media," she explained. "Afghanistan is misunderstood."
Although the country struggles with basic infrastructure and cannot accommodate large-scale tourism, Gonzalez believes Afghanistan has the potential to grow its industry with time.
"I hope to live long enough to see its infrastructure strengthen and for girls and women to have equal opportunity at life," Gonzalez said.
An experienced traveler, she said it wasn’t her first time visiting a more conservative country.
"But it was my first time in a post-war country where women are expected to take on more traditional feminine and limited roles in society," she said, adding it took some "adjustment" on her part.
She had minimal interaction with men besides her male tour guides and focused intently on her attire, manners and behavior, she said.
"I found that because I was foreign, I was treated with respect and was given special privileges that I hope local women could one day soon have," she said. 3 Years on: The Cost of Taliban Rule (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/21/2024 9:55 AM, Heela Najibullah, 1156K, Neutral]
August 15, 2024, marked three years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and took the Afghan people hostage.In 2018, when then-U.S. President Donald Trump appointed Zalmay Khalilzad as the special envoy for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, he enthusiastically pressed for negotiations with the Taliban to end the United States’ longest war. Khalilzad’s mandate consisted of (1) securing the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops; (2) securing a guarantee from the Taliban that there will not be any terrorist attacks from Afghan soil; (3) securing a ceasefire; and (4) intra-Afghan dialogue.In his recent interview with Tolo TV, Afghanistan’s largest television network, Khalilzad reiterated that the Doha Agreement signed by the U.S. and the Taliban on February 29, 2020, still needs implementation. He dismissed the Taliban’s rhetoric that the U.S. lost its longest war. Instead, Khalilzad claimed that it was by choice that the United States left Afghanistan.I argue that the aim of Taliban-U.S. negotiations was not peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan but rather to fulfill the first objective of Khalilzad’s mandate: the withdrawal of foreign troops. Meanwhile, Afghan women’s concerns – raised consistently and courageously during the three years of negotiations from 2018-2021 – have been ignored. Today, those concerns have turned into a living nightmare for girls and women.The Taliban’s illegitimate rule has had an enormous impact on the Afghan people even while the current global geostrategic shifts have made peace difficult in Afghanistan. What can the international community in general and South Asia in particular do to support an Afghan-centered and driven political process that could lead to durable peace and regional security?Throughout the Taliban-U.S. negotiations, Afghan civil society and women’s groups emphasized that there is no difference between the Taliban that ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s and the Taliban of today. The Taliban are an ideologically dogmatic, extremist, religious proxy group. Once in power, their goal has been to erase women from Afghan society. Indeed, as Afghan women point out, when the Taliban captured power, they started annihilating women, the political opposition, civil society, media, and progressive voices one by one.One of the first actions that the Taliban took was to ban education and schools for Afghan girls beyond grade 6. There have been no girl graduates from high schools or universities in the past few years. Subsequently, the Taliban started banning women from employment, for example, women-run bakeries were shut. Going to parks, hammams (public baths), and coffee shops was forbidden for women. Local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are banned from providing education and training to women staff. The Taliban also replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.Women are also banned from participating in radio and TV shows where the presenters are men, from sports, and from traveling abroad without a mahram (male chaperone) (for more details refer to the U.S. Institute of Peace’s list of bans). In trying to erase women from Afghan society, the Taliban have put the onus on Afghan men if their female codependents disobey the decrees. This means Afghan men are also victims of the Taliban’s gender discriminatory policies.The Taliban declared that they observe King Zahir Shah’s Constitution but will not allow any political parties and social organizations to be active. Despite announcing amnesty for those who worked with/for the former Republic government, they have continued with arbitrary arrests, killing of former Afghan Security Forces, and the torture and disappearances of ex-government officials, according to a U.N. Special Rapporteur’s report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan (notably, the U.N. Special Rapporteur is barred from entering the country). The imprisonment of Matiullah Wesa, who advocated village to village for the education of girls and empowerment of women, is the precedent for the shrinking voice of Afghan civil society, men and women alike.The Taliban have managed to tarnish Afghan identity by taking down again the tricolor flag and eliminating cultural celebrations of Nowruz. Their bans on education for women were endorsed incorrectly as being part of Afghan culture by Pakistan’s then-Prime Minister Imran Khan when the Taliban became de facto authorities of the country. The Taliban’s ruthless behavior toward religious and ethnic minorities has also damaged the diversity of Afghanistan.Another worrying development is the establishment of madrassas (religious schools) and the radicalization of Afghan society. Haqqani madrassas were founded in Paktia province and the General Directorate of Jihadi Schools has reported that a total of 6,830 madrassas exist throughout the country. At a time when 24.4 million Afghans need humanitarian assistance and 9 out of 10 are living in poverty, per the United Nations, the Taliban are luring Afghan families with $250 to attend these madrassas. There is a direct link between the restrictions and bans on women, their lack of education and poverty, and increased radicalization.In monopolizing power and refusing to negotiate with Afghans from different walks of life, the Taliban have proven that they do not believe in negotiations nor reconciliation. The United Nations and the international community must take note that consensus and peace cannot be reached by endorsing the ways of a militant group that promotes a culture of impunity and only knows the language of force.Even though Afghans do not want a return to an era of warlords and corrupt politicians of the former republic, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA), in a survey, indicated that only 4 percent of Afghan women and 3 percent of Afghan men favor recognition of the Taliban Islamic Emirate.Following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have increased great power rivalry over Afghanistan as well. Afghanistan’s geostrategic location has prompted countries like the U.S., China, Russia and its neighbors to prioritize their own interests over that of the Afghan people. However, cutting deals with the Taliban regime will serve only their short-term interests since the Taliban do not represent the majority of the Afghan population.A prosperous and peaceful region can be envisioned when Afghanistan is at peace, and its political institutions are built based on justice, equality, and economic empowerment. Afghanistan’s global position since World War II has never been offensive. It would like to live in peace with its neighbors, provided its sovereignty is respected and proxy politics of involved stakeholders are put to an end.The current authoritarian regime of the Taliban is a continuation of the misguided policies of foreign actors, which have promoted instability and extremism in Afghanistan. Regional economic prosperity and human security are directly linked to Afghanistan’s current and future political situation.Therefore, the U.N. must pursue a mechanism for international consensus building and a national one that echoes the desires of Afghans for their future with an inclusive, transparent approach.Unfortunately, the people who are invited to international forums are responsible for 40 years of conflict and destruction in Afghanistan. Most conflict actors within Afghanistan negotiate their place for money and power at the expense of the Afghan national interest, which makes them untrustworthy to the Afghan people. In addition, the current regime makes it an impossible task to establish people-led processes to discuss Afghanistan’s political future within the country.Afghanistan’s regional neighbors must foster debate and create favorable conditions to promote Sustainable Development Goals and civil-political and social rights to find inclusive alternatives in Afghanistan instead of blindly falling into the trap of recognizing the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate. The international community must learn from the mistakes of the past: If the foundations of transitional justice, equality, and freedom are not implemented, governmental and political establishments and institutions will fall. The continuation of the status quo in Afghanistan will not only destroy Afghan society but the ripples of chaos will be felt far beyond the Afghan borders. Pakistan
Pakistan Arrests Man Over Disinformation That Helped Spur U.K. Riots (New York Times)
New York Times [8/21/2024 4:14 PM, Salman Masood, 831K, Neutral]
The Pakistani authorities arrested a man this week on charges of cyberterrorism for spreading fake news that helped set off violent riots in Britain following a deadly stabbing attack last month.
Racist and anti-immigrant rioting flared for days after the suspect in the killing of three young girls at a dance class, in the town of Southport, was falsely identified online as a Muslim asylum seeker.
In Pakistan, Farhan Asif, a freelance web developer, was arrested on Tuesday at his residence in Lahore, the local police said. He worked for Channel3Now, a news aggregation website that published sensational claims about the Southport attacker.
The site incorrectly reported that the suspect was a 17-year-old Muslim who had entered Britain by boat the previous year and was on “an MI6 watch list,” referring to Britain’s foreign intelligence service. In reality, the British authorities arrested a 17-year-old who was born and raised in Britain by a Christian family from Rwanda.
Mr. Asif’s arrest came after a meeting on Sunday in Lahore between the British high commissioner in Pakistan, Jane Marriott, and the chief minister for the state of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, along with her father, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Local police sources indicated that the arrest was made at the request of the British authorities, although there was no official confirmation.
The British Embassy in Islamabad declined to comment on whether Britain had asked for the arrest. “This is a matter for the Pakistani authorities,” it said in a brief statement.
Speaking to ITV, a British broadcast network, Mr. Asif denied any responsibility for the violence and downplayed the site’s role in it.
Pakistani officials said that Mr. Asif had been arrested in a raid by the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency. Two laptops and a mobile phone were seized from his residence.
According to a police report viewed by The New York Times, Mr. Asif admitted during interrogation to sharing false information. But he said that he had merely reposted it from another source without verifying its authenticity.
Channel3Now first offered an apology after its role in the riots was revealed. It was later shut down.
The site, which gave the appearance of being a local American television news station, mostly posted clickbait news articles about crime in the United States, Britain and Australia. A Facebook account for the site indicated that it was managed by people in Pakistan and the United States. Police arrest man in Pakistan accused of fueling riots in Britain (Washington Post)
Washington Post [8/21/2024 12:54 PM, Jennifer Hassan and Shaiq Hussain, 54755K, Negative]
Police in Pakistan have arrested a Lahore man accused of spreading disinformation about a deadly stabbing attack last month that spurred anti-immigrant riots across Britain.Farhan Asif, 32, is accused of sharing fake information that incited riots in the United Kingdom, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency said Wednesday. He is accused of amplifying misinformation about the identity of the attacker who stabbed three children to death July 29 in an article on the website Channel3Now.Ten people were wounded in the stabbing attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the northern English city of Southport.In the hours after the attack, reports circulated online that claimed incorrectly that the attacker was a Muslim and an asylum seeker who had entered Britain illegally.Far-right protesters took to the streets, some chanting “We want our country back.” Rioters attacked a hotel housing asylum seekers, threw bricks at mosques and clashed with police, leaving Muslims and people of color in Britain feeling vulnerable and scared.While British authorities moved quickly against alleged rioters, arresting more than 1,000 suspects and charging nearly 500, Pakistan’s FIA, which investigates cybercrimes, was focusing on a claim that a social media post written thousands of miles from Britain helped fuel the mayhem.An article published by Channel3Now after the attack claimed incorrectly that police in Britain had arrested “a Muslim asylum seeker” in the stabbings, investigators said in a report dated Tuesday. The article identified the suspect as “Ali al-Shakati” and said he arrived in Britain by boat in 2023.That claim, investigators said, was “widely shared” to social media and “spurred the far right into violent rioting.”Asif earned money from views generated by posting about crime in Britain, the United States and Australia, investigators said. They accused Asif of using Channel3Now’s X account “with the intent to glorify the incident.” His actions, they said, “created a sense of fear” in Britain and “caused damage to the reputation of Pakistan.”Channel3Now has been taken offline. The website has not posted on X since Aug. 11.Police began their probe after Britain’s ITV News reported that the riots had been amplified by disinformation online, including by an account it said was “partly based in Pakistan,” Faisal Kamran, Lahore’s police deputy inspector general, told The Washington Post.ITV News reported last week that Channel3Now was “one of the accounts most clearly responsible for amplifying” the claim that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.The suspect is, in fact, Axel Rudakubana, a British citizen born in Cardiff, Wales, to parents from Rwanda who was 17 at the time of the attack, authorities say. A judge agreed to lift the anonymity usually afforded minors in part to curb the false reports driving violence. (Rudakubana has since turned 18.)ITV News showed footage of its journalists in Pakistan confronting Asif about “the fake news article.” The outlet said Channel3Now “regularly publishes hyperbolic news stories under the pretense of being an American-style TV channel.”Asif reportedly told the journalists that the article had been deleted and those responsible for publishing it had been fired.“I don’t know how such a small article or a minor Twitter account could cause widespread confusion,” he said, according to ITV News.Investigators told The Post that they summoned Asif for questioning and seized two laptops and one cellphone. During the search, they reported, the X account for Channel3Now appeared to be “active” on the recovered digital media. Asif told police that he had hired four people to help run the website but that he had since fired those individuals, investigators said.“We found that he works alone and he has not hired anyone,” Kamran said. “It was a lie.”Asif “confessed his guilt,” the police report said, and claimed he obtained the information from another X posting and reposted it. Investigators noted that Asif “failed to” verify “the authenticity” of the material. He has never been to Britain, the report said.Asif is due to appear in court Thursday, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported. Pakistan authorities charge man with cyber terrorism over misinformation that sparked riots in UK (AP)
AP [8/21/2024 1:36 PM, Babar Dogar and Brian Melley, 31180K, Neutral]
Authorities in Pakistan on Wednesday arrested and charged a man with cyber terrorism for his alleged role in spreading misinformation that led to widespread rioting in the U.K. earlier this month.The suspect was identified as freelance web developer Farhan Asif, 32, said Imran Kishwar, deputy inspector general of investigations in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province.The man is accused of spreading misinformation from YouTube and Facebook about the British teenage suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three girls and injured 10 other people July 29 at a dance class in Northwest England.The false information claimed that the suspect was a recently arrived asylum-seeker and had a name that suggested he was Muslim.After the misinformation led to a violent mob attacking a mosque near the site of the stabbing the next day, police took the unusual step of clarifying that the suspect was born in the U.K. It’s been widely reported in British media that his parents are from Rwanda and said to have Christian beliefs.Channel3 Now, an account on the X social media platform that purports to be a news channel, was one of the first outlets to report the false name, Ali Al-Shakati. A Facebook account for the channel said it is managed by people in Pakistan and the U.S.The site’s editor-in-chief posted an apology July 31 for “the misleading information published in a recent article on our website, Channel3 NOW. We deeply regret any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”But the false reports were widely disseminated and are blamed for fueling more than a week of rioting that broke out across the United Kingdom and has led to more than 1,000 arrests.Authorities have blamed far-right agitators for stoking the violent unrest by continuing to spread misinformation and promoting the violent demonstrations online.At a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore, the police official Kishwar said Asif was arrested at his house in the city for questioning.He said Asif has claimed that he was not the source of the misinformation but that he reposted it from social media. Kishwar said Asif ran the Channel3 Now account, and alleged that he spread fake news to gain more viewers and income.“He regretted over reposting fake news,” Kishwar told The Associated Press. “This act on the part of Asif amounts to cyber terrorism for which he has been charged.”Kishwar added that Asif’s arrest was a message for other YouTubers that they should verify facts before disseminating any information.Police have handed over the case to the Federal Investigation Agency or FIA, which handles cases relating to the cyber terrorism. FIA said the misinformation shared by Asif “created a sense of fear, insecurity” in England, and added that it also harmed Pakistan’s reputation.It was unclear if Britain had requested his extradition. There is no extradition treaty between Pakistan and the U.K.Federal investigators were granted permission by a court Wednesday to further question Asif for a day. Asif is expected to appear before a court again on Thursday when investigators are expected to seek more time to quiz him. Pakistan is making good progress with IMF, finance minister says (Reuters)
Reuters [8/21/2024 7:26 AM, Ariba Shahid, 42991K, Positive]
Pakistan is making good progress with the International Monetary Fund and hopes to get board approval in September for a new $7 billion loan programme, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday.Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement on the 37-month loan programme in July. The IMF said the programme was subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining "timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners"."We are making good progress with IMF for Board approval in September," said Aurangzeb in text message to Reuters.Pakistan is in talks with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China to meet gross financing needs under the IMF programme, Aurangzeb said in July following a trip to China to seek energy sector debt reprofiling.Rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies, in addition to financing from the IMF, have helped Pakistan meet its external financing needs in the past.The IMF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Pakistan’s external financing needs and the executive board’s meeting on Pakistan’s loan programme.During an analyst briefing following the central bank’s decision in July to cut rates by 100 bps, the central bank chief said he expected rollovers of $16.3 billion in the fiscal year to June 2025 - more than half of Pakistan’s $26.2 billion external financing requirement. Pakistan to Unveil New Design for Currency Notes Next Year (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [8/21/2024 10:08 AM, Kamran Haider, 27296K, Positive]
Pakistan plans to unveil currency notes of all denominations with a new design next year to improve security features, according to central bank Governor Jameel Ahmad.The State Bank of Pakistan will complete working on the designs by December and issue the new notes in a phased manner, he told a parliamentary body in Islamabad on Wednesday. One of the denominations will be a polymer note, Ahmad said.“It will be launched to test its life as well as security features and if it remains effective as long as paper notes in our climatic conditions,” he said.The old currency notes will be withdrawn in five years from the issuance of new ones, Ahmad said, adding there was no plan to demonetize any currency notes.Central banks introduce new banknote series after every 15 to 20 years to secure their integrity and align them with the latest technological developments in design and security features, the State Bank said in a statement on Jan. 30. Bus of Pilgrims From Pakistan Crashes in Iran, Killing at Least 28 (New York Times)
New York Times [8/21/2024 4:14 PM, Amelia Nierenberg, 831K, Negative]
At least 28 pilgrims from Pakistan were killed in Iran when their bus overturned on Tuesday night while traveling to commemorate a Shiite Muslim holiday, state-run media in Iran has reported.
The bus was heading to the Iraqi city of Karbala for Arbaeen, a two-day holiday that begins on Sunday evening, draws tens of millions each year and is one of the world’s largest organized gatherings.
At least 23 other passengers were wounded, 14 of whom were critically injured, the state-run news agency IRNA reported, adding that Iran was working to repatriate the bodies and fly the injured back to Pakistan.
Many of the pilgrims came from Sindh Province in the south of Pakistan, Pakistani officials and local news media said.
Video broadcast on state-run Iranian television showed a yellow and red bus lying upside down. Its big wheels were up in the air. The doors to the luggage storage compartments under the bus had fallen open. Men looked around a gnarl of metal and machinery with flashlights, searching.
The accident took place in Yazd, a province in central Iran, the state media said. The journey from Pakistan, through Iran and on to Karbala can extend 1,100 miles. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Traffic accidents are a systemic problem in Iran, where hazardous roads are a source of concern. The government has been trying to reduce road deaths by 10 percent, but fatalities rose 15 percent in 2022 compared with 2019, according to a paper published in June in The Lancet, a medical journal.
The United Nations Road Safety Fund is also working on a multiyear project to improve highway regulation in the country, saying: “Iran’s performance in policymaking and implementation needs to be radically improved.”
During Arbaeen, the roads may be even more crowded in Iran, which is predominantly Shiite. Last year, the BBC reported, 25 million people participated in the journey. That same year, about 1.8 million people traveled to the Hajj, in Saudi Arabia, according to government data.
There are additional risk factors for people passing through Iran on their way to Karbala, which is about 60 miles southwest of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital: Many people drive for days across hot, bright roads, while struggling to navigate unfamiliar terrain.
The holiday commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. He was an important leader in Shiite Islam and is said to have been killed in a massacre in Karbala more than 1,300 years ago.
Iranian officials offered their sympathy and condolences to the families of the crash victims on Wednesday. Pakistan’s leadership mourned the deaths, too. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on social media that he was “deeply saddened.”
Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, pledged to help families and thanked Iran for its “excellent cooperation.” He said that every year, at least 50,000 Pakistani pilgrims visited Iran to see the holy sites. Most were Shiites, he said, and many continued on to Iraq.“I have no words to express grief,” he wrote on social media, “but I can assure that I will do my very best for repatriation of those who passed away.” Gunmen open fire on a school van in Pakistan’s Punjab province, killing 2 children (AP)
AP [8/22/2024 2:16 AM, Staff, 456K, Negative]
Gunmen opened fire on a school van in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province Thursday, killing two children and wounding six other people, police and officials said.
Authorities said the driver, who was among the wounded, seemed to be the target of the attack. “Our initial investigations indicate that the driver had an enmity with someone,” Mohammad Shakil, a local police official, said. He provided no further details.
Police were still investigating to determine who was behind the firing, and no one has claimed responsibility.
The dead and wounded were transported to a nearby hospital, said Ghias Gull, a district police chief in Attock, where the shooting occurred.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsoin Naqvi denounced the attack and ordered the best possible medical treatment be provided to the wounded.
Attock is a district in Punjab province but is not far away from Pakistan’s restive northwest.
Militant attacks have surged in Pakistan in recent years, mostly in the northwest bordering Afghanistan. In 2014, Pakistani militants in the worst assault on an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed 147 people, including 132 children. A faulty undersea internet cable caused recent internet disruptions in Pakistan, official says (AP)
AP [8/21/2024 9:25 AM, Staff, 31180K, Neutral]
A faulty undersea internet cable caused slower internet connections for millions of Pakistanis in recent weeks, but the problem will be resolved by later this month, the country’s top telecommunications official said Wednesday.
Nearly half of the country’s population has faced problems in using and accessing social media platforms, including the popular WhatsApp. Pakistan has 110 million internet users, and up to 40% slower internet speeds have affected nearly half the country’s 241 million population.
Comments from Hafeezur Rehman, the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, marked the first time the government has broken its silence over the problem. The slowdown has affected millions of internet users, disrupting businesses and drawing nationwide complaints.
Earlier, Pakistan denied allegations that the installation of a national firewall was behind the slowdown.
Rehman told a meeting of lawmakers in Islamabad that internet service slowed down after a problem developed in the deep-sea internet cable. He said technical problems would be resolved by by Aug. 27. India
India’s Modi visits Poland for top-level security and trade talks en route to war-torn Ukraine (AP)
AP [8/21/2024 12:03 PM, Monika Scislowska, 31180K, Neutral]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Poland for top-level security and trade talks before heading to neighboring Ukraine, which is at war with India’s strategic partner, Russia.
Modi will hold talks Thursday in Warsaw with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda, which are expected to focus on security, especially in the region bordering Ukraine.
Ukraine chastised Modi for his visit to Moscow last month, when he met and hugged President Vladimir Putin. Modi has avoided condemning Russia while emphasizing a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine.
Poland offers political, humanitarian and defense supports to Ukraine in its war against Russia’s aggression.
In a statement ahead of his arrival in the NATO and European Union member nation, Modi said Poland remains India’s key economy partner in Central Europe.
Foreign Minister W\u0142adys\u0142aw Teofil Bartoszewski said Poland hopes to sign a strategic partnership agreement with India that will lead to closer political and business relations as well as cooperation in the IT, cybersecurity and defense sectors.
The Indian leader’s visit also marks 70 years of official bilateral relations between New Delhi and Warsaw, and comes 45 years after the previous visit by an Indian government leader, Morarji Desai, when Poland was a satellite of the Soviet Union, a dependence it shed in 1989.
Bartoszewski said India is aware that democratic Poland is playing in a "different league" than it was before 1989.
According to the figures cited by the Embassy of India, from 2013-2023, the total value of bilateral trade increased from $1.95 billion to $5.72 billion, with India’s exports accounting for majority.
On Wednesday, Modi is to lay wreaths at two monuments in Warsaw marking joint chapters of World War II. One of the monuments honors the "Good Maharaja" Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, who offered protection and care to some 1,000 Polish children evacuated from the Soviet Union to India from 1942-46, the other commemorates the joint effort in the 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino, Italy.
Modi’s statement said he is also to meet with representatives of the Indian community in Poland.
Then-Indian President Pratibha Patil visited Poland in 2009, and Tusk, during his first term as prime minister, paid a visit to India in 2010.
On Friday, Modi travels to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The trip to Ukraine comes a month after Zelenskyy criticized Modi’s two-day visit to Moscow in July, when he met with Putin on the day Russian missiles struck across Ukraine, killing scores of people.
Zelenskyy had described the meeting as a "huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts." He also chided Modi for hugging Putin during their meeting.
India has avoided condemning Russia’s invasion and instead has urged Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. India walks a diplomatic tightrope, making friends with Ukraine while ally Russia watches on (CNBC)
CNBC [8/21/2024 7:00 PM, Staff, 44457K, Negative]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine on Friday is likely to be closely watched by New Delhi’s long-standing ally, Russia.The trip comes as India looks to navigate alliances with arch enemies Russia and the West, as one of the few countries to have robust trading and diplomatic relations with both parties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 set off heightened global tensions, sanctions and animosity toward the Kremlin. Modi’s government has looked to remain neutral throughout the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, but has been criticized for maintaining tight trade and diplomatic ties with Moscow. India has refused to condemn the war and has continued to buy discounted Russian oil, despite Western efforts to boycott such energy purchases, whose revenues fund the conflict.Now, India appears to be seeking closer relations with Ukraine through Modi’s visit to Kyiv this week, which comes at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Modi’s trip will be the first by an Indian head of state to Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established over 30 years ago, when the European country achieved independence in 1991.Rick Rossow, chair in U.S.-India policy studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNBC that “India clearly has a far deeper relationship with Russia” but wanted to build on fledgling bilateral relations with Kyiv.“For instance, in fiscal year 2021-22, India’s goods trade with Ukraine was only around $3.4b [billion], compared to $13b with Russia. And Russia provided access to high-end weaponry which other major producers like the United States have only recently approved for export to India,” Rossow said in emailed comments.“Following the invasion, India’s imports from Russia have spiked dramatically, even as Russia has difficulties meeting defense export orders,” he noted.“But India does have students studying in Ukraine, buys defense equipment from Ukraine, and Ukraine is among India’s 50-largest trade partners,” he said, concluding that relations between the two nations are “not insignificant.”
‘Landmark’ visitModi and Zelenskyy do not know each other well and only met twice in recent months, on the sidelines of this and last year’s G7 summits in Italy and Japan, an Indian official noted when announcing the trip Monday. He described Modi’s upcoming visit as a “landmark and historic.”When they meet one-to-one on Friday, Modi and Zelenskyy are set to discuss “bilateral relations” and “multilateral cooperation,” Kyiv said, while the ongoing war with Russia is also likely to dominate the agenda.“Bilateral relations” between Ukraine and India are certainly at an earlier stage of development than those between Moscow and New Delhi, with the latter duo now looking to deepen their established lucrative ties, particularly on the energy and trade front.Earlier, Modi’s met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July, making his first visit to the Kremlin since 2019. During this engagement, Ukraine said Russia’s military attacked a children’s hospital in Kyiv, killing 41 people and injuring over 150 others. The assault drew worldwide condemnation, even as Russia denied carrying out the strike and stated, without providing evidence, that Ukrainian anti-missile fire was to blame.Following his meeting with Putin, Modi issued a statement in which he seemed to voice his disapproval of the attack, saying in televised comments that “whether it is war, conflict or a terrorist attack, any person who believes in humanity is pained when there is loss of lives,” according to a Reuters translation.“But even in that, when innocent children are killed, the heart bleeds and that pain is very terrifying,” he added.Despite the comments, Putin and Modi were showed hugging during the visit, and the New Delhi leader was featured addressing his Russian counterpart as “dear friend,” while extolling their “mutual trust and mutual respect.” Their discussions, their respective governments said, led the leaders to pledge to deepen bilateral trade and cooperation in numerous areas, from agriculture to space, medicine and energy infrastructure.The fact that Modi’s meeting with Putin coincided with the deadly hospital attack was widely seen as an embarrassment for the Indian prime minister, however. Ukraine heavily criticized the trip, with Zelenskyy saying it was a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.”Pragmatism or peace?India — along with China, Turkey and several Middle Eastern countries — is seen as one of the few international partners of Russia that could have a potential role as a future mediator between Russia and Ukraine, although Indian media cite sources saying the government is reluctant to intervene in such a capacity.A peace process between Moscow and Kyiv remains a distant prospect for now, with the war in an active phase and both sides distant over the terms of a potential cease-fire. Ukraine insists it will not negotiate until Russian troops leave its soil, while Moscow declared four Ukrainian regions to be Russian territory back in late 2022, and says it will not abandon these territories.Harsh V. Pant, vice president at Observer Research Foundation, told CNBC that India had a vested interest in trying to leverage its influence to bring about a future peace initiative.“I think Modi has always been interested in Ukraine because, fundamentally, there is a strong Indian interest in ensuring that a stable European security architecture emerges that can meet the aspirations of both sides,” he told CNBC Tuesday.“What India has tried to do is to navigate its response between Russia and Ukraine, and Russia and Europe broadly, and Russia and the West, more broadly,” Pant said, adding that there were “pragmatic reasons” behind India’s decision not to follow in the footsteps of its Western partners and openly label Russia as an “aggressor” in the war.“India [has its] own interest in maintaining a stable relationship with Russia. India wants to ensure that Russia does not become a fully joint partner with China,” he flagged. Beijing is seen as India’s regional economic and geopolitical competitor in Asia.“India wants to continue to seek to have Russian support in defense supplies, where even today, 60% of Indian defense supplies continue to be of Russian [origin],” Pant continued, noting that “those sorts of issues prevent India from openly talking about Russia as an aggressor.”CNBC has reached out to India’s foreign ministry for further comment on the motivations for Modi’s latest trip to Ukraine and on the ministry’s appraisal of its current relationship with Russia.Modi’s visit to Ukraine, Pant said, underscored India’s desire to see an end to the conflict and that “both sides actually come to the negotiating table.” India “doesn’t view the possibility that, without having Russia at the table, you can have a solution,” Pant added. Explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical plant in India kill at least 15 workers, wound 40 (AP)
AP [8/21/2024 11:51 PM, Omer Farooq, 47701K, Negative]
A big explosion triggered a fire in a pharmaceutical plant in southern India, killing at least 15 workers, police said on Thursday.
Another 40 people were wounded in the blast and the fire in the chemical reactor of the plant on Wednesday and were hospitalized, said police officer M. Deepika, adding that some of them were in critical condition.
The Press Trust of India news agency reported distressing scenes with the skin of several workers peeling off. Ambulances shifted them to the hospital.
Officials suspect the cause was related to the electricity at the plant. State authorities have ordered an investigation.
The explosion occurred at the Escientia Company in Anakapalle district, nearly 600 kilometers (260 miles) east of Hyderabad, the Telangana state capital.
The 5-year-old company manufactures intermediate chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
As the news of the blast spread, hundreds of workers’ family members and relatives rushed to the plant to learn what happened to their loved ones.
Around 380 employees work two shifts at the plant. Many workers escaped because they were on lunch break when the explosion started the fire.
The plant is in the state’s special economic zone at Atchutapuram village, which was established in 2009 with over 200 companies. Anakapalli is adjacent to the port city of Vishakhapatnam, a highly industrialized area with many mishaps, including hazardous chemical leakages.
In the most extensive industrial mishap in the region, 22 people were killed when a blast occurred in the refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation in Visakhapatnam in 1997.
Fires are common in India, where builders and residents often flout building laws and safety norms. Some don’t even install firefighting equipment.
In 2019, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in a New Delhi factory producing handbags and other items killed 43 people. Death toll in India’s Andhra Pradesh pharma factory blast rises to 17 (Reuters)
Reuters [8/21/2024 11:40 PM, Rishika Sadam, 42991K, Negative]
The death toll in an explosion at a pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh rose to 17 on Thursday, Industries Secretary N. Yuvaraj, a senior official, told Reuters.Nearly 40 people were injured, Yuvaraj said.The blast took place on Wednesday at the 40-acre unit of privately held Escientia Advanced Sciences in the Anakapalli district. Government officials said they suspected there was an explosion in the chemical reactor.Escientia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident."Pained by the loss of lives due to a mishap at a factory in Anakapalli. Condolences to those who lost their near and dear ones," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on messaging platform X.Known as the pharmacy of the world, India is home to many pharmaceuticals manufacturing plants.At least two people were killed and five others injured in a similar incident last year, when a fire broke out at a solvent reactor of a unit of Sahithi Pharma in the same district. India to begin delayed census in Sept as Modi looks to plug data gaps, sources say (Reuters)
Reuters [8/21/2024 8:10 AM, Sarita Chaganti Singh and Shivangi Acharya, 42991K, Negative]
India is likely to begin conducting a long-delayed population census in September, two government sources said, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to plug important data gaps in his third term after years of criticism.India’s once-a-decade census was due to be completed in 2021 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will take about 18 months to complete the new survey after it begins next month, two government sources directly involved in the matter said.Economists within the government and outside have criticised the delay in the latest census as it impacts the quality of many other statistical surveys including economic data, inflation and jobs estimates.At present, most of these data sets - and government schemes based on their results - are based on the last population census released in 2011.The Ministry of Home Affairs, which takes the lead in conducting the census, and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation have drawn up a timeline and are aiming to release results by March 2026, covering a period of 15 years, the officials said.The final nod to start the process from Modi’s office is awaited, one of the two officials said.According to a United Nations report released last year, India overtook China as the world’s most populous nation last year.The home affairs and statistics ministries did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.The government is also trying to overhaul its economic data including retail inflation, include a reweighting of its different categories including food to reflect changes in consumption patterns. Japan calls for ‘integrated joint exercise’ with India (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [8/21/2024 8:01 AM, Satoshi Iwaki, 2042K, Positive]
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara has called for an "integrated joint exercise" between the Indian Armed Forces and Japanese Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces. The exercise will be managed by a joint operations command to be established by March 2025 to oversee the operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.Kihara discussed the plan in an interview with Nikkei on Tuesday during a visit to the Indian capital along with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa for "2-plus-2" ministerial talks on foreign and defense affairs.The two countries discussed revising and updating by the end of this year a joint declaration on security cooperation signed in 2008. They agreed to advance security cooperation through joint drills in addition to deepening bilateral ties in the fields of space and cybersecurity."Japan and India currently hold their respective ground, maritime and air drills, and these have been expanding in recent years," Kihara said. "Integrated joint exercises should be held, and we want to see that happen" to improve our capability to handle emergency situations.Integrated drills would be more complex compared to conventional maneuvers in one domain, like land or sea."We are examining a maintenance plan for Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels in India," Kihara said. "It will be strategically important for Japan as it will lead to greater flexibility in the operations of Japanese ships."India has experience of repairing U.S. and British naval vessels. Strengthening cooperation with the Western bloc, including Japan, will be important to Indian strategies in the context of China’s rising influence.In the talks, the two countries also reviewed progress made on the transfer of a unified complex radio antenna (UNICORN) to India. This will be Japan’s second export of finished defense equipment to a foreign country. Kihara emphasized the importance of transferring defense equipment, saying that "it should be aggressively promoted as part of Japan’s broader strategy to bolster its defense industry.""Self-defense forces have been our sole market in the past, but we should actively leverage equipment transfer to boost deterrence against enemy nations of our allies and like-minded countries," he said.India is currently calling for tenders for transport aircraft, and is developing new engines for stealth advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA). France and other countries have added their names to the project.Japan also wants to promote local production of materiel in India as much as possible in support of the Modi administration’s "Make in India" policy. Kihara said technical cooperation with India aligns with the vision of a "free and open Indo-Pacific," and will be actively pursued.Kihara alluded to Russia’s invasion to Ukraine in early 2022. "I never imagined that it would last this long," he said. "The lesson Japan learned is that stockpiling ammunition and energy, as well as securing transportation, will be crucial to maintaining a war footing during emergencies," he said.Kihara said promoting defense ties with India supports shared strategic interests and fundamental values, such as democracy and the rule of law. It also helps keep India in touch with members of the international community working to contain Russia. Report: Nicaragua, China, India among 55 countries that restrict freedom of movement (VOA)
VOA [8/22/2024 12:30 AM, Liam Scott, 4M, Negative]
At least 55 governments in the past decade have restricted the freedom of movement for people they deem as threats, including journalists, according to a Freedom House report published Thursday.
Governments control freedom of movement via travel bans, revoking citizenship, document control and denial of consular services, the report found. All the tactics are designed to coerce and punish government critics, according to Jessica White, the report’s London-based co-author.
"This is a type of tactic that really shows the vindictive and punitive nature of some countries," White said. This form of repression "is an attempt to really stifle peoples’ ability to speak out freely from wherever they are."
Belarus, China, India, Nicaragua, Russia, Rwanda and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that engage in this form of repression, the report found. Freedom House based its findings in part on interviews with more than 30 people affected by mobility controls.
Travel bans are the most common tactic, according to White, with Freedom House identifying at least 40 governments who prevent citizens leaving or returning to the country.
Revoking citizenship is another strategy, despite being prohibited by international law. The Nicaraguan government in 2023 stripped more than 200 political prisoners of their citizenship shortly after deporting them to the United States.
Among them were Juan Lorenzo Holmann, head of Nicaragua’s oldest newspaper, La Prensa.
"It is as if I do not exist anymore. It is another attack on my human rights," he told VOA after being freed. "But you cannot do away with the person’s personality. In the Nicaraguan constitution, it says that you cannot wipe out a person’s personal records or take away their nationality. I feel Nicaraguan, and they cannot take that away from me."
Before being expelled from his own country, Lorenzo had spent 545 days in prison, in what was widely viewed as a politically motivated case.
Blocking access to passports and other travel documents is another tactic. In one example, Hong Kong in June canceled the passports of six pro-democracy activists who were living in exile in Britain.
In some cases, governments refuse to issue people passports to trap them in the country. And in cases where the individual is already abroad, embassies deny passport renewals to block the individual from traveling anywhere, including back home.
Myanmar’s embassy in Berlin, for instance, has refused to renew the passport of Ma Thida, a Burmese writer in exile in Germany. Ma Thida told VOA earlier this year she believes the refusal is in retaliation for her writing.
White said Ma Thida’s case was a classic example of mobility restrictions. For now, the German government has issued a passport reserved for people who are unable to obtain a passport from their home country — which White applauded but said is still rare.
"Our ability to freely leave and return to our home country is something that in democratic societies, people often take for granted. It’s one of our fundamental human rights, but it’s one that is being undermined and violated across many parts of the world," White said.
Mobility restrictions can have devastating consequences, including making it difficult to work, travel and visit family. What makes matters even worse is the emotional toll, according to White.
"There is a huge psychological impact," White said. "A lot of our interviewees mention especially the pain of being separated from family members and not being able to return to their country."
In the report, Freedom House called on democratic governments to impose sanctions on actors that engage in mobility controls.
White said that democratic governments should do more to help dissidents, including by providing them with alternative travel documents if they can’t obtain them from their home countries. NSB
Russia leverages ouster of Bangladesh PM to baselessly accuse US of fomenting coup (VOA)
VOA [8/21/2024 7:59 PM, William Echols, 4032K, Negative]
The unfounded conspiracy theory that the United States orchestrated the ouster of Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina dominates Russian disinformation narrative. The propaganda campaign involves top state officials and news media.The narrative is nothing new: For decades, Russia has sought to discredit democratic and popular protests around the world as U.S.-fomented "color revolutions," ignoring the reality of domestic politics and local grievances.
Commentary and analysis in Russia’s state-run Sputnik news agency repeatedly described the events that led Hasina to resign and leave Bangladesh for India on August 5 as a U.S.-led color revolution.
Critics say Hasina, once an advocate for democratic governance, had become increasingly authoritarian, securing a fourth term in office in January.
The U.S. had expressed concerns about the systematic crackdown on the opposition, critics, human rights activists and journalists, which greatly hampered the ability for Bangladesh to hold a free and fair election.
But the events that led to Hasina’s resignation began in mid-June, when student protests against a quota system for government jobs kicked off.
A preliminary U.N. report said those initially peaceful protests "reflected deeper economic frustrations among young people in Bangladesh," punctuated by high youth unemployment.
The report noted the "democratic and civic space has become increasingly restricted in Bangladesh."
The government responded by violently suppressing the demonstrations, leading to hundreds of deaths. That crackdown only fueled public unrest, prompting Hasina to eventually resign and flee.
Conspiracy theories, which Russian media amplified, followed.‘Resignation statement’
On August 11, India’s Economic Times newspaper reported on an undelivered speech, conveyed to it by Hasina’s "close associates."
In that speech, Hasina allegedly said she would have "remained in power" had she "surrendered" sovereignty of Bangladesh’s Saint Martin Island and "allowed America to hold sway over the Bay of Bengal."
On August 11, Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed said the alleged "resignation statement" attributed to his mother was "completely false and fabricated."
The White House called the claim "simply false."
Russian state-owned media Sputnik India has repeatedly used the discredited "resignation letter" to claim the U.S. toppled Hasina’s government, repeatedly failing to acknowledge Wazed’s rebuttal.In June 2023, Hasina claimed, without evidence, that her domestic opponents and outside forces were threatening Bangladesh’s sovereignty over Saint Martin.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller responded that Washington had "never engaged in any conversations about taking over St. Martin’s Island."
Nikolai Patrushev, a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, also claimed that U.S. and Western allies orchestrated chaos in Bangladesh because Hasina refused to let the U.S. establish a military presence there.
Other commentary published by Sputnik alleged the U.S. "wants to turn Saint Martin into another Okinawa," a Japanese island housing the U.S. military bases.
Because of a number of factors, including its size, location and terrain, Saint Martin is not a viable option for a U.S. naval or air base.
Tender for gas field
Sputnik India also insinuated that the U.S. orchestrated Hasina’s ouster to take control of Bangladesh’s energy resources.
In an August 18 X post, Sputnik India claimed Hasina had announced a tender for an offshore gas field Bangladesh discovered in May, attracting "interest from major U.S. firms like Exxon Mobil."
That post, which included a GIF image of U.S. President Joe Biden, questioned whether the discovery of those resources and the resignation of Hasina were a "coincidence."
Bangladesh did discover reserves in a state-controlled gas field in May, but a local firm is handling extraction of that gas.
The Russian speculation about connection between Exxon Mobil’s interests with Hasina’s ousting has no merit. Exxon Mobil had expressed interest in exploring energy reservoirs in the Bay of Bengal in March 2023, and in March 2024, a licensing round was announced to explore 24 oil and gas blocks.
There is no indication that process affected Hasina’s resignation.
Russian media further attempted to leverage the events in Bangladesh to sow distrust of the U.S. in India.
Sputnik India reported that intelligence is "keeping an eye on" meetings between U.S. diplomats and the opposition, even though U.S. diplomats also routinely meet with members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
India’s The Hindu newspaper reported the Indian government is concerned about repeated messages spread by Russian media, misleading the public about meetings between foreign diplomats and political figures, which it called "a legitimate part of their duty."
Russia’s claims that the U.S. would topple Hasina’s government stretch back months.
Prior to Bangladesh’s general election on January 7, which the evidence suggests was neither free nor fair, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the U.S. of planning to stage an "Arab Spring" type of uprising and "further destabilize the situation," if the outcome wasn’t to Washington’s liking.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby called the allegation"classic Russian propaganda." 5 journalists killed, dozens injured covering Bangladesh protests (VOA)
VOA [8/21/2024 4:41 PM, Siddhi Mahatole, 4032K, Negative]
The U.N. Human Rights Commission and international watchdogs are calling on Bangladesh’s interim government to allow media to work without fear of attack, and to ensure accountability for attacks on journalists.
During the mass protest movement in Bangladesh that drove former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office on August 5, dozens of journalists were injured and at least five killed.
Journalists were beaten, forced to delete images from their cameras, and struck by pellets fired by police while reporting on the unrest that started in June and intensified in July. Reporters say they are still receiving threats amid continuing unrest between competing pro- and anti-Hasina factions.
What started as rallies opposing a court ruling reserving 30% of government jobs for descendants of veterans of the nation’s independence war escalated to demands for an end to corruption, political repression and economic inequality.
Hundreds were killed in clashes between the police and protesters, according to a preliminary report by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years, resigned from her role as prime minister and fled to India on August 5. Economist and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed to lead an interim administration.
"Bangladesh’s interim government must prioritize press freedom and do all it can to prioritize journalists’ safety," Beh Lih Yi, Asia Program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told VOA via email. "This includes implementing a transparent and independent justice mechanism to hold all attacks on the media to account."
The U.N. report also called on the interim government to ensure accountability for injuries and deaths. It noted that the media need to be able to work "safely without intimidation or reprisals."
During the unrest, five journalists were killed in separate incidents, including when police fired on protesters.
On July 18, police shot and killed Hasan Mehedi, a journalist for Dhaka Times, in the Jatrabari district of Dhaka. The following day, Shakil Hossain, a correspondent for Bhorer Awaj newspaper, and Abu Taher Md Turab, a reporter for the Daily Naya Diganta newspaper, were both shot dead in the city of Sylhet.
On August 2, Tahir Zaman Priyo, a freelance video journalist who contributed to outlets including The Report 24, was shot in the head in Dhaka. A few days later on August 5, reporter Pradeep Kumar Bhowmik of the Daily Khabarpatra was killed in the city of Sirajganj.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay called for a "swift investigation" into the media killings.
"Journalists covering events of public interest provide critical information to the population and must do so without fearing for their safety. I call on authorities to hold those responsible to account," Azoulay said in a statement.
Media watchdogs are documenting dozens of cases of journalists being injured by police and protesters.
Jibon Ahmed, a photojournalist for the Dainik Manabzamin newspaper, told VOA he was injured when police fired in his direction while he was covering protests in the Rampura region of Dhaka last month.
"There was a three-way conflict between the protesting BRAC University students, the police and the leaders and activists of the [then] ruling party, Awami League. Some of us journalists got caught between the clashes," he said.
Ahmed said the media workers sheltered at a nearby temple, but police came toward them firing pellet guns.
"We held up the journalist ID cards and cameras. Three of us suffered pellet injuries, and 14 pellets hit my camera bag," he said.
Marina Mitu, a reporter for news website Shokal Shondha, said she was also injured after being caught in a clash between protesters and the Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student group aligned with Hasina’s Awami League party.
"At one point, a piece of brick thrown by the protesters aimed at the Bangladesh Chhatra League hit my leg," she told VOA.
When Mitu went to a hospital for treatment, Chhatra League leaders hit her with bamboo sticks, she said, adding that she had shown her press card before the attack.
Sajjad Hossain, a photojournalist at the Bangla Tribune newspaper, said he was attacked by students in Dhaka.
"After the police and Chhatra League activists left the area, the students vandalized the traffic signal lights and police boxes in the area," he told VOA.As Hossain took photos of the students, one spotted him and "hit me from behind with a spear." The journalist said other protesters deleted the picture from his camera and started hitting him with bamboo sticks.
Attacks on media continued even after the interim government took control.
On August 14, unidentified attackers broke into the Chittagong press club and injured about 20 reporters. One day earlier, the president of the Raipura Upazila Reporters Club, Moniruzzaman Monir, was attacked with a hammer by unidentified assailants in the Srirampur Bazar of Upazila.
International media watchdogs have condemned the attacks.
The Vienna-based International Press Institute, or IPI, reports that the violence directed at the media reflects the hostility journalists in Bangladesh have long faced.
An IPI monitoring report from October 2022 to March 2023, found the media in Bangladesh are regularly attacked or threatened, or face legal harassment. Rights group reveals shocking death toll from Bangladesh protests (The Independent)
The Independent [8/21/2024 10:32 PM, Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, 56358K, Negative]
More than 800 people were killed during the mass protestsin Bangladesh that toppled the Awami League government and forced prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India, a rights group in the country has said.
The South Asian nation wasplunged into a crisis earlier this summer after students launched an agitation against a jobs quota for relatives of the 1971 war veterans.
The street protests quickly turned into an uprising against Ms Hasina’s government, despite the top court scaling back the quota, culminating in the prime minister’s ouster in early August.
At least 819 people were killed in the violent agitation, mostly in capital Dhaka, the Human Rights Support Society claimed on Tuesday. The dead included 83 children, five journalists and 51 law enforcement agents.
The group said they identified 630 of the dead based on information from their families, eyewitnesses and hospitals, and 189 remained unknown. At least 455 of them were "shot to death" while others were either burned or beaten to death.
As many as 311 people were killed in the first round of the protests between 6 July and 3 August, but the majority of the deaths were reported from 4 to 18 August when millions of people poured out protesting against police brutality against the demonstrators, the group claimed.
Police in Bangladesh were accused of using lethal force to contain the protests before stepping back in the wake of the prime minister’s minister.
The rights group demanded the formation of an independent commission to ensure justice for those killed during the agitation.A UN agency last week estimated that 650 people were killed in Bangladesh between 16 July and 11 August.
"Those killed include protesters, bystanders, journalists and security forces personnel," the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a report, adding that thousands of protesters and bystanders were injured.
The report suggested that the death toll could be an underestimate as restrictions due to curfew and internet shutdown hindered the process of data collection.
"Additional, alleged violations that also warrant thorough, impartial and transparent investigations included extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, as well as severe restrictions on the exercise of freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly," the report said.
Bangladesh, a country of 170 million, is currently ruled by economist Muhammad Yunus, along with student leaders of the agitation that ousted Ms Hasina.
Mr Yunus, upon taking over as chief adviser of the interim government, declared that his priority would be to restore "law and order". Bangladesh’s Gen Z ‘revolution’ shouldn’t come through religious violence (The Hill – opinion)
The Hill [8/21/2024 12:30 PM, Akhil Ramesh and Samir Kalra, 18752K, Negative]
Many in Western policy circles have applauded the “Gen Z” student protest movement that marked the end of Sheikh Hasina’s era in Bangladesh and paved the way for the ascent of octogenarian and Nobel Laureate, Muhammad Yunus, as the country’s interim leader. The movement, however, was marred by violent riots that led to the deaths of over 440 people, many of whom died at the hands of police and security forces. In addition, Hindus and other minorities were targeted in mass violence that saw at least 205 incidents across 52 districts in the country, according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council. These incidents include killings, rapes and the destruction of temples, homes and businesses. They are affecting thousands of families and leading many to flee to the border seeking refuge in India.Perhaps more disturbingly, some commentators and media outlets have attempted to frame the killings as revenge for traditional Hindu support for the Awami League as the country’s primary secular party. Others have pointed to a few fake images floating around on social media to discredit the overall scale of the anti-Hindu violence, which has however been well documented as real. Even Yunus has come out to condemn the violence and threatened to resign if anti-Hindu attacks continued, while meeting with the Hindu community — all positive developments. Beyond Yunus’s good intentions, events may not be fully within his control, given the country’s sordid history of military coups and political assassinations, religious extremism and mass violence. Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the country to independence, was assassinated in 1975. So as the interim government attempts to restore law and order and move the country towards elections and the restoration of democracy, the question of what the U.S. role should be arises. First and foremost, the U.S. needs to press upon the interim government to provide protection to religious minorities and provide rehabilitation and restitution to the victims of violence, who remain in a state of fear and terror. There is already a budding humanitarian crisis, with thousands of displaced families, many of whom are at the border with India. Despite these unfortunate and grim developments, the response from U.S. government officials has been mixed and sporadic at best with a few statements coming from a handful of members of Congress and the State Department. Others such as the president and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have been shockingly silent about the violence against minorities. And just as critically, the U.S. cannot allow the resurgence of Islamist groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), who seek to create a Taliban-like state, per their own charter. Jamaat is one of the country’s most powerful and influential religious-political organizations, and along with ICS has been behind much of the country’s current violence against religious minorities. By no means is this the first time, however, that JeI and ICS have been involved in mass riots and violence against religious minorities. In 1971, they collaborated with the Pakistani military in committing genocide against ethnic Bengalis and specifically Bengali Hindus as the eastern wing of the country fought for independence against West Pakistan. (The Nixon administration sat by and did nothing to stop that genocide, according to former American consul general in Dhaka, Archer Blood.) Subsequently, they were involved in violence in 2001, and again in anti-Hindu violence in 2013-2014, and 2021. From 2013-2021, there were approximately 3,600 incidents of anti-Hindu violence, with a majority being committed by JeI-ICS activists, according to local human rights groups. This collective violence since 1971 has led to a drastic decline in the Hindu population in Bangladesh from 20 percent to less than 8 percent today. In the past, the response to this violence from members of Congress and other policymakers was muted, due in part to strong lobbying efforts by Jamaat and its affiliate groups in the U.S. Jamaat also has connections and links to transnational terrorist groups such as Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami Bangladesh, a State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Moreover, given their political history, previously forming a coalition government (2001-2006) with the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, they are a political force to be reckoned with. Jamaat, in addition to other Islamist groups such as Hefazat-e-Islam, have used their political power to undermine the country’s secularism and extract concessions from the previous governments. Jamaat’s ability to influence and shape the country’s future trajectory is deeply concerning from a human rights and regional security perspective. That’s why the administration and Congress must speak out in unison against the atrocities committed against Hindus and other religious minorities and send a strong message to the interim government that a failure to stem additional attacks will come with serious economic consequences. The U.S. cannot afford to once again sit by quietly and do nothing like it did in 1971. Doing so will lead to disastrous consequences not only for Hindus or the nation of Bangladesh but the broader Bay of Bengal and Indo-Pacific region. While advocating for a secular government in Dhaka, Washington has to steadfastly champion the rights of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian minorities and the protection of their places of living and worship. Sri Lanka Court Convicts President Over Vote Delay (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [8/22/2024 5:56 AM, Jorgelina Do Rosario and Kerim Karakaya, 27296K, Negative]Sri Lanka’s top court found President Ranil Wickremesinghe guilty of "unlawful conduct" on Thursday for delaying by more than a year local polls seen as an unofficial referendum on his handling of the economy.Since Wickremesinghe enjoys immunity while in office, the judgement carries no immediate legal consequences, but the state of the economy is expected to be a key issue for voters in presidential elections next month.Because the local polls were postponed, the September 21 election will now be the first vote since Wickremesinghe took over two years ago after protesters furious at an unprecedented financial crisis toppled strongman president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking re-election for a five-year term next month, and faces a daunting challenge from rival candidates.A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously held that Wickremesinghe failed to release money to conduct the local government elections in March 2023.Wickremesinghe’s administration said the money in state coffers was needed to pay public servants and pensions, despite a previous court order to finance the vote.The court said Wickremesinghe’s "arbitrary and unlawful conduct" in preventing the local polls had resulted in the infringement of constitutional rights.The court ordered the independent election commission to hold the local polls as soon as possible, but without disrupting the upcoming presidential vote.The state was also ordered to pay the legal fees of four petitioners who challenged the indefinite postponement of the polls.Wickremesinghe, previously an opposition member of parliament, was elected by lawmakers in July 2022 as interim president after his predecessor Rajapaksa quit due to the protests over the economic crisis.Wickremesinghe secured a $2.9 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March 2023 after doubling income taxes, removing energy subsidies and increasing prices.The local poll scheduled for March 2023 had been widely seen as a referendum on the unpopular austerity measures taken to secure the IMF bailout.Opposition lawmakers accused Wickremesinghe at the time of using the economic crisis as an excuse to sabotage democracy. Sri Lanka approves free tourist visas for 35 countries to boost tourism (Reuters)
Reuters [8/22/2024 3:40 AM, Uditha Jayasinghe, 5.2M, Neutral]
Sri Lanka’s cabinet approved issuing free tourist visas to visitors from 35 countries including China, India and Russia, a top official said on Thursday, in an effort to boost tourism and help revive its crisis-hit economy.
Tourists will be given 30-day visas under a six-month pilot programme that will start from Oct. 1, said Cabinet spokesman and Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana.
"The aim of the government is to transform Sri Lanka into a free visa country, much like Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to tap into the benefits of a rapidly growing tourism industry," Gunawardana told reporters at a weekly cabinet briefing.
The extensive list includes India, China, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Denmark, Poland, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nepal, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and France.
The country of 22 million people, famed for its beaches, ancient temples and aromatic tea, saw its tourism industry pummelled first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by a severe financial crisis in 2022 that saw mass scale protests and shortages of essentials such as fuel.
But the tourism industry is reaping the benefits of a turnaround that began last year with Sri Lanka clocking nearly 2 million arrivals by mid-August, for the first time since 2019.
The island is expecting to close the year at 2.3 million arrivals.
India is the largest source of tourists with 246,922 arrivals, followed by UK with 123,992, latest data from the Sri Lanka Development Authority showed.
Sri Lanka earned $1.5 billion from tourism in the first six months of 2024, up from $875 million dollars during the same period last year, according to the central bank. Central Asia
Kyrgyz Activist Loses Appeal Against Prison Term Handed Down Over Facebook Post (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/21/2024 5:23 AM, Staff, 1530K, Negative]
Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court on August 21 rejected an appeal filed by activist Kanykei Aranova against a 42-month prison term she was handed in June over a Facebook post. Aranova was arrested in February as part of a case concerning protests against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border deal that led to the detention of 27 people. Aranova was initially ordered to pay a fine after she was found guilty of inciting hatred and making online calls to seize power. Prosecutors appealed the ruling, calling it too lenient, after which the Bishkek City Court cancelled the initial ruling and sentenced her to 42 months in prison. Kyrgyz Banks Suspend Transactions To Major Russian Banks (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/21/2024 5:30 AM, Staff, 1530K, Negative]
The Keremet Bank in Kyrgyzstan said it suspended money transactions to several major Russian banks. Last week, another bank in the Central Asian nation, MBank, made a similar move. The 24.kg website reported on August 21 that after visiting 16 banks in Bishkek, the outlet’s journalists found that in all, 13 banks have suspended monetary transactions to major Russian banks. The Tazabek website cited sources at the Kyrgyz National Bank (KUB) as saying that all commercial banks in the country had been instructed to stop cooperation with Russian banks sanctioned by the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Uzbekistan Forges Ahead, Deepening Relations With Taliban-ruled Afghanistan (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/21/2024 9:41 AM, Catherine Putz, 1156K, Neutral]
On Saturday, August 17 Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov became the highest-ranking foreign leader to visit Afghanistan since the Taliban’s 2021 return to power. The $2.5 billion in trade and investment deals signed between the two sides, just days after the third anniversary of the collapse of the Afghan Republic, illustrate Uzbekistan’s growing bilateral relationship with the Taliban government.
The Taliban refers to its government as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. To date no country has formally recognized it as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Nevertheless, a number of countries - China most prominently, but Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, too - have engaged with the Taliban diplomatically and commercially. Both China and Kazakhstan have ambassadors in Kabul, and Uzbekistan is expected to send a new ambassador soon, too. Earlier this year, Taliban officials stated their intention to dispatch an ambassador to Uzbekistan.
Aripov’s trip coincided with a visit by Uzbek Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov, underscoring the economic angle to Uzbekistan’s engagement with the Taliban.
Alongside Deputy Taliban Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Aripov oversaw the signing of 35 memorandums of understanding. Baradar’s office, in a statement, said the MoUs included $1.4 billion in 12 investment agreements and 23 trade deals worth $1.1 billion.Baradar reportedly said, "Today is a very good opportunity to discuss the relations between the two countries and economic issues, especially railways, electricity, trade, transit, and visas."
One of those agreements is a preferential trade deal which, from October 1, will see the cancelation of duties on a number of Afghan products entering Uzbekistan.
Earlier this year, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decision outlining new rules and regulations for the Termez International Trade Center area, a free-trade zone in city of Termez on the Afghan-Uzbek border, including the allowing of payments in U.S. dollars, Russian rubles, euros, Chinese yuan, as well as Uzbek som. The decision also paved the way for Afghan and Pakistani citizens to lease and own shops and buildings in the area. In addition, the decision allowed foreign citizens to enter the area without a visa for 15 days.
In outlining the outcomes of his trip to Afghanistan, Kudratov mentioned hopes to increase mutual trade to $3 billion. In the January-June 2024 period, trade turnover between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan was $461 million.
Kudratov said that the customs station at the Ayritom-Hairatan border post - the site of Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge - just outside of Termez now operates 24 hours a day, allowing traffic to flow. Kudratov noted also that Afghan entrepreneurs would be exempt from all taxes. Finally, he said that work was being carried out in regard to the construction of a trans-Afghan railway line, promising that "practical work" would begin soon but offering few concrete details.
Although Uzbekistan has one of the shorter borders with Afghanistan - just 144-kilometers (89.4 miles) - it is one of the most amendable to deepening trade. The Taliban’s relationship with Pakistan has been tumultuous over the years, troubled by Islamabad’s accusations that the government in Kabul is harboring its enemies, namely the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Pakistan’s own domestic instability complicates the investment potential, too. The Iranian border, meanwhile, given international sanctions on Iran, hardly presents an easy access point to international markets. Uzbekistan, therefore, threads the needle with a stable government, a reasonably well developed economy, and amicable international relations.
Unmentioned in the various statements and news reports regarding the visit was any discussion of an "inclusive" government in Afghanistan, let alone an elected one. Uzbekistan - like China, Russia, and number of other countries that have engaged with the Taliban - has paid little attention to the plight of women, girls, and minorities in Afghanistan. Indo-Pacific
Floods maroon many people in Bangladesh and India and cause at least 15 deaths (AP)
AP [8/22/2024 4:39 AM, Julhas Alam, 456K, Negative]
Floodwaters have stranded hundreds of thousands of people in India’s northeast and neighboring Bangladesh’s eastern region, causing at least 15 deaths as rescuers struggled to reach those who needed help, officials and media reports said Thursday.
At least 11 people were killed and thousands displaced from homes as floods and mudslides have ravaged India’s northeastern Tripura state, bordering Bangladesh, since Wednesday.
Another four were killed in Bangladesh as upstream India and downstream Bangladesh share common rivers along their border.
India’s Meteorological Department issued a “red” alert in Tripura on Wednesday, forcing authorities to announce a two-day closure of schools after heavy rains inundated several regions, including the state’s capital, Agartala.
Authorities have opened more than 300 relief camps in Tripura, where the number of people shifting to the camps was estimated to run into thousands.
Of the 11 dead since the rains intensified Monday, seven drowned or washed away while four were buried by mudslides.“We are closely monitoring the situation and are focusing on providing relief to those displaced from their homes,” Tripura’s Chief Minister Manik Saha said.
In Bangladesh, a pregnant woman died after she fell into raging waters at Akhaura in Brahmanbaria district, Bengali-language Kal Bela newspaper reported. Three other people died from drowning and electrocution, it said.
The rains and the rising waters from upstream Tripura state devastated many areas in eastern Bangladesh. Many in the worst-hit districts such as Cumilla, Feni and Noakhali called for rescue as power was cut and road links were disconnected. Travel and communication were severed between the capital, Dhaka, and the southeastern port city of Chattogram as parts of a major highway were under water.
The Bangladesh Flood Forecasting and Warning center said Thursday that the water levels in many rivers in the delta nation’s eastern, northeastern and southeastern regions were still increasing.
About a dozen volunteers who rushed to the scene with boats and speedboats in the region told The Associated Press by phone that they were struggling to reach many of the affected people as they failed to communicate with them because the victims’ mobile numbers could not be reached. Many areas have no electricity, the government said.“We are taken shelter at a house where about 35 people need to be rescued soon. The water is still rising and now we are on the rooftop with our small kids and elderly family members,” Sonia Akter, a mother of 2-year-old girl, told AP by phone from the scene at Feni. “Please send us a boat. Please save us.”
The military and other authorities have started rescue operation in the region, the authorities said.
While the both neighbors have been affected in the flood, many Bangladeshis blamed India for the flash floods, saying that India opened a river dam in Tripura, causing sudden floods in Bangladesh. India’s Ministry of External Affairs denied that in a statement.Monsoon rains in South Asian nations India and Bangladesh typically begin in June. India and Bangladesh share 54 common rivers that flow from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. The countries have contention over the sharing of waters of the common rivers. Twitter
Afghanistan
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/21/2024 1:14 PM, 229.4K followers, 1K retweets, 2.3K likes]
The Taliban’s new decree bans women’s voices from being heard by men outside their family. This regime has progressively banned women from work, education, travel, media, and public life, reducing their existence to mere reproductive functions with no voice or face.
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/21/2024 6:22 AM, 62.9K followers, 52 retweets, 103 likes]
This harrowing story raises grave questions about how unsafe people the Taliban see as their enemies may be outside of Afghanistan, especially in neighboring countries. https://rukhshana.com/en/justice-for-afghan-woman-viciously-murdered-in-iran-faces-financial-and-legal-hurdles-as-authorities-ignore-husbands-pleas-for-help
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/21/2024 5:03 AM, 62.9K followers, 9 retweets, 16 likes]
This moment--Taliban banning @SR_Afghanistan from the country--is a key test of the will of the intl community to defend the rights of women/girls anywhere. They have failed many such tests over the last 3 years, but there is still time to do better. https://reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-bars-un-human-rights-special-rapporteur-afghanistan-tolo-news-2024-08-21/#:~:text=KABUL%2C%20Aug%2021%20(Reuters),watchdog%20of%20%22spreading%20propaganda%22
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/21/2024 5:06 AM, 62.9K followers, 5 likes]
What should countries--and @UN--do? It’s clear:
1) No discussions on Afghanistan’s future without Afghan women there as full participants;
2) Human rights--especially rights of women and girls--have to be at the top of the agenda for all discussions;
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/21/2024 5:09 AM, 62.9K followers, 3 likes]
3) No treating the Taliban like legitimate leaders. No private jets, no red carpets, no smiley photo ops, no all-male delegations. Stop whitewashing their crimes--that’s what principled engagement means;Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/21/2024 5:10 AM, 62.9K followers, 5 likes]
4) Stop with this myth that it’s women’s rights versus humanitarian assistance. You can’t deliver humanitarian assistance without women’s rights. Deliver humanitarian assistance in a way that respects women’s rights;
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/21/2024 5:12 AM, 62.9K followers, 5 retweets, 8 likes]
5) Hold the Taliban accountable. Get the ICC to do its job. Bring an ICJ case. Listen to Afghan women demanding codification of gender apartheid as a crime under international law. Create a new UN mechanism to collect and preserve evidence of crimes being committed. Do it now.
Sara Wahedi@SaraWahedi
[8/21/2024 2:37 PM, 80.5K followers, 134 retweets, 255 likes]
The Taliban just banned the UN Human Rights Envoy from Afghanistan. The last international watchdog is now silenced. This is the catastrophic outcome I’ve warned about for years—a calculated move by the Taliban with devastating consequences to follow.
Mohammed Haneef Atmar@MHaneefAtmar
[8/21/2024 9:36 AM, 716.1K followers, 2 retweets, 10 likes]
The travel ban on @SR_Afghanistan has dashed all hopes for improving the human rights situation for the people of Afghanistan, especially women’s rights, and raises serious concerns. We strongly condemn this irresponsible action and call for its immediate reversal. Mr. Richard Bennett’s mission has international support and legitimacy. Cooperation with this mission is part of Afghanistan’s international obligations, which must be upheld under any political situation and by any governing regime. Preventing independent assessments of the human rights situation in the country, as prescribed by the United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of the entire international community, seriously damages the ongoing political process in Doha and jeopardizes the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 2721 (2023). This resolution aims at lasting peace in the country, respect for human rights and Afghanistan’s international commitments, intra-Afghan negotiations, and the normalization of relations between Afghanistan and the global community. This issue can even negatively impact international humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, which the vast majority of our people need for their survival. The current rulers of the country have made an extremely wrong and dangerous decision, which unfortunately deepens the current crises. Political and civil movements of the country will by no means remain silent about this matter. The only way out of this crisis is to ensure respect for the human rights of the Afghan people and cooperate with the Special Rapporteur. @antonioguterres @UNAMAnews @SE_AfghanWGH @tomas_niklasson @USAmbKabul @SecBlinken @ABaerbock @DavidLammy @MBA_AlThani_ @HFalconerMP @IRIMFA_EN
Bilal Sarwary@bsarwary
[8/21/2024 2:52 PM, 254.3K followers, 5 retweets, 8 likes]
While the Taliban have announced that Badruddin Haqqani has been accepted as their official Ambassador to the UAE, this story raises multiple questions.
1. Badruddin Haqqani is appointed to the UAE with a diplomatic passport that designates him as a “first secretary diplomat”, which is a junior level diplomatic position. An official cannot serve as an Ambassador with a passport that designates him as a junior diplomat. An Ambassador’s diplomatic passport states his position as an Ambassador.
2. An Ambassador’s credentials are accepted by a President, Prime Minister or Head of State of a country, in a lavish ceremony. The UAE often holds notable ceremonies for such events. But Badruddin Haqqani apparently exchanged a letter with a junior official of the UAE’s Foreign Ministry.
The main question is whether Badruddin is now accepted as an official Ambassador? Or has he now been accepted as a caretaker Charge d’Affaires by the UAE? More clarity needs to be provided.
Freshta Razbaan@RazbaanFreshta
[8/21/2024 12:37 PM, 4.9K followers, 35 retweets, 55 likes]
Taliban’s New Law: Women Silenced, Men in Charge The Taliban have just passed a new law that gives religious police the power to threaten and jail people. The rules for women are even stricter than before. Under this new law, it’s now illegal for women to even hear the voices of men they’re not related to. Women also have to cover their entire faces, including their eyes, because the Taliban are worried about men getting "tempted." The Taliban say women can’t wear tight or short clothes and have to hide their faces from men they don’t know. This law even bans Muslim women from seeing non-Muslim women. This new law comes after years of the Taliban restricting women’s rights and freedoms. Pakistan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan@ForeignOfficePk
[8/21/2024 9:58 AM, 480K followers, 20 retweets, 46 likes]
The formal launching ceremony of the “Apostille Convention”, was held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. With this launch, public document authentication for international use has been streamlined. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 presided over today’s launching ceremony which was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information Technology and National Information Technology Board (NITB).
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister ;- Outlined the government’s priority of public facilitation- Highlighted the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in provision of efficient public service delivery - Urged the officers of the Ministry to be more proactive in provision of efficient public service delivery India
President of India@rashtrapatibhvn
[8/21/2024 2:16 PM, 25.5M followers, 135 retweets, 882 likes]
Deeply anguished to know about the loss of lives in an explosion at a pharma company in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for speedy recovery of the injured. NSB
Tarique Rahman@trahmanbnp
[8/21/2024 11:36 AM, 61.7K followers, 99 retweets, 667 likes]
Transfer of state power isn’t just a change from one government to another, but a fundamental change in how the state, politics, and policies are conducted. Without ensuring the political and economic empowerment of the people, that change cannot be achieved. An elected government with transparent and accountable governance, drawing on a public mandate, can achieve that national aspiration for state reformation. Through a united front, we have achieved an incredible height of ‘second independence’. Let’s drive true political and economic change within state mechanisms by empowering all Bangladeshis.
Tarique Rahman@trahmanbnp
[8/21/2024 5:05 AM, 61.7K followers, 397 retweets, 2.3K likes]
Devastating flash floods have struck four eastern and southeastern districts of Bangladesh, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded in numerous villages.I urge the government to take necessary steps to safeguard families, livelihoods and properties in those districts. I also call upon leaders and activists across all levels of the @bdbnp78 to support the affected people with humanitarian relief, including shelter, food, and logistics. We must adhere to our humanity and be at one another’s side during these times of crisis.
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[8/21/2024 11:32 AM, 7K followers, 18 retweets, 98 likes]
Many in #Bangladesh chose to interpret past criticism of the Hasina regime’s human rights record as support for opposition parties. They refused to believe that human rights activists were taking a principled stand. This despite the fact that many of these activists and organizations had spoken out against abuses committed by previous governments. Both the interim government and its elected successor need to realize that they will also be judged by their actions and their adherence to international standards and norms. It won’t be a sufficient defense to point to the abuses carried out by previous governments. This message needs to spread to all who serve the state, in particular members of the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. Otherwise, the government could rapidly lose the good will at home and abroad that it had upon taking office.
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[8/21/2024 7:56 AM, 7K followers, 69 retweets, 373 likes]
The last thing #Bangladesh needs at this point is to deal with the effects of serious flooding. Responding to the floods will be a test for the interim government and require civil-military cooperation at the national and local level. As they have done in the past, the U.S. and others should help as needed. This is an opportunity to demonstrate to the Bangladeshi people that the world stands with them.Sabria Chowdhury Balland@sabriaballand
[8/21/2024 10:31 PM, 6.8K followers, 11 retweets, 13 likes]
The Interim Government of #Bangladesh should begin the same initiatives for money laundered to the US. @sajeebwazed lives in the US & is also, according to at least one report, involved in a $5 billion embezzlement deal with his mother & cousin, British politician, @TulipSiddiq. The US should look into this. @USTreasury @SecYellen @usembassydhaka @StateDept @JakeSullivan46 @TheJusticeDept @State_SCA @UKParliament @RupaHuq @10DowningStreet Prof Yunus seeks UK govt’s support to bring back laundered money https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/u841lrtzk2 #
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[8/22/2024 2:09 AM, 265.2K followers, 38 retweets, 122 likes]
Hasina’s undemocratic government gave Bangladesh political stability and rapid economic growth. The current military-picked regime, far from initiating a democratic transition, presides over a mobocracy, with human rights abuses rampant and the economy going downhill, including foreign reserves depleting rapidly. What a sad state of affairs! Unless the rule of law is restored and the economy revived, Bangladesh risks again becoming a "basket case," as Kissinger once derisively called it. A stable, democratic Bangladesh that is thriving economically is vital to regional security and for its own well-being.
Namal Rajapaksa@RajapaksaNamal
[8/21/2024 12:41 PM, 437.4K followers, 3 retweets, 33 likes]
I extend my deepest respect and gratitude to all the MPs and party representatives who stood by the #SLPP in our time of need. Your unwavering commitment, despite the obstacles and challenges, strengthens us all. Together, we move forward with resilience. #Namal2024
Namal Rajapaksa@RajapaksaNamal
[8/21/2024 10:32 AM, 437.4K followers, 18 retweets, 79 likes]
Thank you to everyone who joined me in my maiden rally in Anuradhapura today. Your energy, support, strength and commitment was a great motivation as we move forward together. Together, we will make a difference! #Namal2024
Harsha de Silva@HarshadeSilvaMP
[8/21/2024 3:57 PM, 356.4K followers, 10 retweets, 44 likes]
Had a thought provoking chat with @MontekSinghPC and @EranWick moderated by @FT_SriLanka @nisthar_cassim ar_cassim. Spoke on the @IMFNews agreement, debt restructure growth and subsidies. I explained our economic plan for #SriLanka I It’s always great to chat to Dr Ahluwalia. Central Asia
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[8/21/2024 6:40 AM, 4.9K followers, 2 retweets, 3 likes] Meeting with the Deputy Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15566/meeting-with-the-deputy-secretary-general-of-the-international-telecommunication-union
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[8/21/2024 6:16 AM, 4.9K followers, 2 retweets, 4 likes]
Meeting of the Ambassador with the Governor of the Punjab Province of Pakistan https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15564/meeting-of-the-ambassador-with-the-governor-of-the-punjab-province-of-pakistan
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[8/21/2024 5:50 AM, 4.9K followers, 1 like]
Participation in the ceremony of awarding diplomas to the first graduates of the Medical University of Tajikistan https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15563/participation-in-the-ceremony-of-awarding-diplomas-to-the-first-graduates-of-the-medical-university-of-tajikistan
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[8/22/2024 1:57 AM, 197.2K followers, 1 retweet, 4 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev visited the new Karakalpak branch of the Republican Scientific Center for Emergency Medical Care. He stressed that the development of healthcare was a priority in policy of Uzbekistan, as he recognized the importance of providing high-quality medical services for the people. The new multidisciplinary complex was equipped with advanced medical equipment, allowing for high-quality treatment on a new level.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[8/22/2024 2:24 AM, 197.2K followers]
Under the chairmanship of President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev was held a meeting on the socio-economic development of #Karakalpakstan. The Head of State highlighted new opportunities for attracting investment and business growth, as well as plans for improving infrastructure. Discussions focused on strategies for the continued development of entrepreneurship and creation of new job opportunities.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[8/22/2024 1:57 AM, 197.2K followers, 1 retweet, 4 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev visited the new Karakalpak branch of the Republican Scientific Center for Emergency Medical Care. He stressed that the development of healthcare was a priority in policy of Uzbekistan, as he recognized the importance of providing high-quality medical services for the people. The new multidisciplinary complex was equipped with advanced medical equipment, allowing for high-quality treatment on a new level.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[8/22/2024 1:51 AM, 197.2K followers, 1 like] President Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid a visit to the Karakalpak branch of the #IT Park in #Karakalpakstan. During his meeting with the residents of the park, he expressed support for the development of information technology and instructed responsible officials to provide assistance to the specialists working in this field.
Bakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov
[8/21/2024 11:13 AM, 4K followers, 6 retweets, 14 likes]
Met with Mr. Balakrishnan Rajagopal, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to @adequatehousing. @GovUz has been actively engaging with international organizations in many dimensions. 5 @UN resolutions initiated by #Uzbekistan have been adopted since the beginning of 2024. We stand ready to continue our close collaborations with #UN special rapporteurs on all areas.
Saida Mirziyoyeva@SMirziyoyeva
[8/21/2024 7:24 AM, 19.2K followers, 5 retweets, 81 likes]
We still have much to accomplish in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Leila Nazgul Seiitbek@l_seiitbek
[8/21/2024 8:18 AM, 3.7K followers, 4 retweets, 6 likes]
Karakalpak HRD Saadatdin Reimov’s life is in danger. He suffered from a heart attack, was given 3 sleeping pills and 2 paracetamol tablets as a treatment. He had appendicitis that burst due to prison administration’s ignoring his health complaints. He survived a coma. He was operated on to remove burst appendix without anesthesia. https://freedomforeurasia.org/1792-2/ {End of Report} To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.