SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Wednesday, August 28, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Taliban Laws Further Curbing Women’s Rights Bring Global Outcry (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [8/27/2024 11:22 AM, Eltaf Najafizada, 27782K, Neutral]
New laws by Afghanistan’s Taliban government, which include banning women from speaking or showing their faces in public, sparked global condemnation and could potentially jeopardize the regime’s efforts to gain legitimacy.The Taliban, which took over power three years ago during the chaotic US withdrawal, published a slew of new “vice and virtue” laws last week in the official gazette of Afghanistan. The laws required women to conceal their faces and bodies with thick clothing to avoid tempting men. Women are also not allowed to let their voices be heard in public, including from singing or reading aloud, and are forbidden from looking directly at men who aren’t relatives.The “morality” law is “unconscionable,” Rosemary A. DiCarlo, United Nations’ under secretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said in a post on X, adding that, if maintained, the law “can only impede Afghanistan’s return to the international fold.”The Taliban has established limited diplomatic links with some countries, including Russia and China, but even those countries have not formally recognized its government.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed rejected the criticism in a statement saying “concerns raised by various parties will not sway the Islamic Emirate from its commitment to upholding and enforcing Islamic Sharia law.”The laws are based on “extreme, arbitrary, and rigid interpretations” of Islamic Sharia, Rawadari, an Afghan human rights organization, said in a statement.Millions of women in the country were already barred from education or taking jobs. A UN estimate showed that the curbs on working women could cut Afghanistan’s GDP by 5%, or $1 billion. Female journalist silenced on air apparently in compliance with Taliban morality law (VOA)
VOA [8/27/2024 10:25 AM, Staff, 4566K, Negative]
A Taliban-controlled state broadcaster in Afghanistan silenced a female journalist and her image during a live media event Tuesday, apparently in compliance with the radical rulers’ recently enacted morality law that bans women from speaking or showing their faces in public.
Officials of the de facto Taliban interior ministry organized a news conference in Kabul to share their annual performance before taking questions from around 10 journalists, including a woman.
The RTA broadcaster aired the voices and images of all male reporters without interruption. However, when the female journalist from the local Ariana news channel started asking a question, the broadcast abruptly went silent for the next minute or so until she finished, and the focus remained on Taliban officials instead.
The channel’s audio was unmuted when ministry representatives started answering her query and those asked by others subsequently until the event ended.
No official explanation was provided for interrupting the female reporter’s voice. VOA tried to contact RTA officials via the WhatsApp platform but did not receive a response as usual because the Taliban have banned the media outlet in Afghanistan and do not respond to its queries.
Tuesday’s muting of the female reporter’s voice has raised concerns it could mark the first public enforcement of the contentious morality law promulgated by the Taliban last Wednesday, sparking international outrage.
The so-called "Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" decree forbids women from singing, reciting poetry, or speaking aloud in public and requires them to keep their faces and entire bodies always covered when outdoors in line with the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
The legal document argues that a woman’s voice is intimate and should not be heard publicly. They are also not allowed to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa, nor can taxi drivers transport a woman to any destination unless a male guardian accompanies her.
The 35-article law imposes severe restrictions on the personal freedom of Afghan men and women and empowers the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue to enforce it.
Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, condemned the morality law on Sunday as a "distressing vision" of the country’s future.
"It extends the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation," stated Otunbayeva.
She noted, "Moral inspectors have discretionary powers to threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of infractions" under the Taliban rule.
In a formal response on Monday, the Taliban expressed outrage at what they denounced as "uncalled for objections" by the UNAMA and Western governments to their vice and virtue laws.
"Non-Muslims expressing concerns over these laws or rejecting them should first educate themselves about Islamic laws and respect Islamic values," asserted Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban government, which is not recognized by any country.
"We consider it insulting to our Islamic Sharia (law) when they raise such objections without understanding it," Mujahid stated.
The Taliban introduced the morality law against the backdrop of their wide-ranging restrictions on female members of Afghan society. Since returning to power three years ago, the radical de facto rulers have banned girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and women from working in most fields as well as taking part in public activities at large.
"After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than being threatened or jailed if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one," Otunbayeva said.
The morality law also prohibits the broadcasting and publication of images of living beings, as well as content believed to violate Sharia or insult Muslims under the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N. undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, has warned that the morality decree "is unconscionable, and if maintained, the law can only impede Afghanistan’s return to the international fold."
No country has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, primarily over their harsh treatment of women. EU Aid To Afghanistan Continues To Flow Amid Taliban’s Restrictions On Women (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/27/2024 3:36 PM, Staff, 1251K, Neutral]
Afghanistan is one of the largest recipients of humanitarian aid from the European Union, EU officials said on August 27, one day after saying it was appalled by a new decree issued by the Taliban-led government further restricting the lives of women.The European Union this year has provided 125 million euros ($139 million) to Afghanistan for humanitarian-aid purposes, Balazs Ujvari, European Commission spokesman for budget, human resources, humanitarian aid, and crisis management, said at a European Commission news briefing in Brussels.In addition to classic aid distribution, the EU has also organized 35 “air-bridge” flights carrying 1,600 tons of aid since 2021.“This shows that in a broad variety of areas, we are deploying a variety of humanitarian and civil-protection tools as well to try and alleviate the ongoing difficulties in the country," Ujvari said.European Commission chief spokesman Eric Mamer added that when the EU distributes humanitarian aid, it works with partner organizations, not the government.Nabila Massrali, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said the EU reacted very quickly on August 26 to the Taliban’s so-called Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, but at the same time she defended keeping ties with the Taliban.“When it comes to the engagement with the Taliban, we do maintain contact...to allow the dialogue for political priories of the EU and to ensure that the EU can provide support to the Afghan people, and this is very important,” she said at the briefing. “The EU engagement with the Taliban is not an acknowledgement of legitimacy.”In addition to saying it was appalled by the August 26 decree, the EU statement called it a “serious blow undermining the rights of Afghan women and girls, which we cannot tolerate.”The decree imposes further restrictive dress codes for women and says that voices of women must not be heard in public, “which effectively deprives Afghan women of their fundamental right to freedom of expression,” the EU statement said.The European Union said the decree, issued on the third anniversary of a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 U.S. soldiers and scores of Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal, also gives the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice a mandate to enforce it.“This, together with the restrictions imposed, punishable under Taliban law, violates legal obligations and treaties to which Afghanistan is a state party, including by undermining Afghan people’s right to due process,” the EU statement said.It also noted that the decree creates another obstacle to normalized relations and recognition by the international community -- goals that the Taliban publicly aspires to. Congress Demands Sullivan Testify on Afghanistan Withdrawal (Foreign Policy)
Foreign Policy [8/27/2024 2:56 PM, Robbie Gramer, 1851K, Positive]
The top lawmaker on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has called for National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to testify publicly on Afghanistan, sending a letter to the White House warning that he would "compel" Sullivan to testify if he did not cooperate.
The letter represents the latest salvo in a sweeping investigation by Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), into the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that ended in a U.S. defeat after two decades of war and led to the Taliban takeover of the country.
In his letter, McCaul asserted that the Biden administration’s National Security Council (NSC) played an outsized role in carrying out the decision to leave Afghanistan and executing the withdrawal, which was marked by a rapid collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the chaotic-and at times deadly-attempt to evacuate U.S. forces and personnel as well as tens of thousands of Afghan allies. Thousands of other Afghan allies who were promised sanctuary by the United States were left behind, and some are still trying to escape.
"Crucial questions remain, including the role of the NSC in usurping congressionally designated responsibilities of the State Department and Defense Department," McCaul wrote in a letter to Sullivan, a copy of which was obtained by Foreign Policy and verified by congressional aides and administration officials familiar with the matter. "Evidence gathered by the Committee in this investigation points to Mr. Sullivan as the principal architect of Afghanistan policy," the letter reads, and it gives a deadline of Aug. 30 for the NSC to arrange a date for Sullivan’s public testimony before the Foreign Affairs Committee. "If Mr. Sullivan chooses not to appear voluntarily, I am prepared to compel his testimony."
A White House spokesperson declined to say whether Sullivan would appear before the committee. "Ending our longest war was the right thing to do and our nation is stronger today as a result," and the decision "has put us in a stronger position to address the challenges of the future and the threats we face today," said Sharon Yang, the White House spokesperson, in a statement to Foreign Policy.
"When it comes to the Chairman’s inquiry into the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Administration has taken extraordinary measures to be cooperative, including making senior officials available for hearings, providing briefings for Members and staff, making 18 current and former officials available for transcribed interviews, and producing tens of thousands of pages of documents, and we will respond directly to the Chairman regarding his latest request," Yang added.
Democrats have criticized McCaul’s investigation as a partisan cudgel to criticize the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw and contend that the foundation for the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan was laid during former President Donald Trump’s administration, when Trump opened withdrawal negotiations with the Taliban that excluded the Afghan government.
That decision was met with backlash and confusion inside Trump’s administration and among veteran U.S. national security experts at the time. One controversial part of the former president’s strategy for negotiations involved agreeing to have the Afghan government release up to 5,000 Taliban fighters from prison as part of an exchange to start intra-Afghan negotiations, part of what became known as the Doha agreement.
"That Republicans are attempting to relitigate press briefings from three years ago, which have long been a matter of public record, shows their desperation to grab headlines in the absence of having uncovered any new facts," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the HFAC Committee, in a recent statement after committee investigators interviewed former White House press secretary Jen Psaki in July over her role in communicating the White House’s strategy and response to the Afghanistan withdrawal.
The full 235-page transcript of Psaki’s interview with committee investigators is publicly available, though some other transcripts of current and former officials interviewed as part of the investigation have not been made publicly available.
McCaul and a majority of other Republican lawmakers pin the blame directly on Biden for the botched withdrawal and U.S. defeat. "By choosing an arbitrary withdrawal date and making no effort to ensure the Taliban upheld the Doha Agreement’s conditions-such as protecting women’s rights-the Biden administration emboldened the Taliban and allowed the country to become a terrorist safe haven," McCaul said in a statement published on Aug. 15, the three-year anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal.
Monday marked the third anniversary of the so-called Abbey Gate bombing, a terrorist attack at Afghanistan’s Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021-at the height of the withdrawal-that killed 13 U.S. service members and some 170 Afghan civilians trying to flee the country. Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery on Monday for a wreath-laying ceremony for the U.S. service members killed.
McCaul has been conducting an investigation into the U.S. withdrawal for nearly three years, but he only gained subpoena power in the probe in January 2023, when Republicans gained control of the House and McCaul became the HFAC chairman. An interim investigation report released in August 2022 determined, among other findings, that some elite U.S.-trained Afghan special forces were forced to flee for their lives to Iran after the Taliban takeover. The report identified this as a security risk, as they could divulge sensitive U.S. military training, tactics, and intelligence to the Iranian government.
McCaul issued or threatened to issue subpoenas multiple times against the Biden administration throughout the course of the investigation in order to obtain documents on the withdrawal.
Jerry Dunleavy, a former top investigator for McCaul, said earlier this month that he resigned in protest over the direction of the investigation and alleged that McCaul did not do enough to hold military leaders to account in the course of the investigation.
Emily Cassil, a communications advisor for McCaul, said in response that the committee has conducted "thousands of hours of work" and examined "thousands of pages of documents" as well as testimony from numerous current and former senior administration officials "that reveal the Biden administration’s utter failure to properly plan for the withdrawal."
"When our report is released, it will serve as a crucial step towards finally getting accountability for those responsible," Cassil said. Pakistan
Pakistan’s PM Sharif vows retribution for terrorist attacks (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle [8/27/2024 6:28 AM, Staff, 16637K, Negative]
Pakistani security forces on Tuesday hunted for separatist militants who were behind an deadly series of attacks in the southwestern province of Balochistan, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying there was "no room for any kind of weakness."
At least 61 people in Balochistan, including 19 soldiers, died in the Monday attacks on civilians and security forces, which were claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The coordinated attacks on buses, a bridge and a hotel in several districts throughout the province were some of the worst violent incidents in the restive region’s history.
Resentment of outsiders
The attacks, which occurred as a high-ranking Chinese general was visiting Pakistan to talk with civil and military leaders, came amid widespread resentment in Balochistan of foreign actors - notably China - seen as exploiting the impoverished province at the behest of the state.
The BLA is the most active militant separatist group in the province and has previously targeted Chinese interests in the region.
Pakistan’s prime minister told a meeting of the federal Cabinet that "[w]e have to move forward with a resolute decision. There is no room for any kind of weakness."
He said the militants aimed "to halt Pakistan’s progress, sabotage the development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and create divisions between Pakistan and China."
"In Balochistan, the doors for negotiation are always open to those who believe in Pakistan and accept its constitution and flag," he said.
China has also commented on the attacks.
"China is ready to further strengthen counterterrorism security co-operation with the Pakistani side in order to jointly maintain regional peace and security," Lin Jian, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told a regular news briefing.
What happened in the attacks?
The militants took control of a highway and shot dead 23 people, mostly laborers from neighbouring Punjab province, attacked a hotel and also assaulted the railway bridge that connects Balochistan to the rest of Pakistan.
The group said seven suicide bombers and over 800 fighters took part in the attack action.
In all, the death toll includes 34 civilians and several members of the security forces, while the military said troops killed 21 militants.
Security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence for decades in Balochistan, which remains the poorest province in Pakistan despite abundant natural resources. Pakistan eyes $4 bln from Middle East banks to plug financing gap, says central bank chief (Reuters)
Reuters [8/27/2024 9:07 AM, Ariba Shahid, 37270K, Positive]
Pakistan aims to raise up to $4 billion from Middle Eastern commercial banks by the next fiscal year, the country’s central bank chief told Reuters on Tuesday, as the country looks to plug its external financing gap.In a wide-ranging interview, his first with any media organisation since taking office in 2022, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad said Pakistan was also in the "advanced stages" of securing $2 billion in additional external financing required for International Monetary Fund approval of a $7 billion bailout program.Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement on the loan program in July, subject to approval from the IMF’s executive board and it obtaining "timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners".Ahmad said he expected the country’s gross financing needs would be smoothly met - both over the next fiscal year and in the medium term.In the past, Pakistan has relied on long-time allies such as China, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to ‘rollover’ debt rather than force a repayment crunch. Ahmad said he expected similar assurances would be given for the next three years, giving the government more time to get its finances in order.In addition, Ahmad said the central bank reckoned Pakistan’s gross financing needs for the coming years would be lower than the 5.5% of gross domestic product projected by the IMF in its latest country report in May."Pakistan’s external gross financing needs have been declining in the past few years," he said."Since (the IMF’s) assessment was based on a higher current account deficit than realized in fiscal 2024 and now projected for the next few years, we assess the ratio of gross financing needs to GDP to be lower than the 5.5% level."RATES AND INFLATIONAsked about monetary policy, Ahmad said recent interest rate cuts in Pakistan have had the desired effect, with inflation continuing to slow and the current account remaining under control, despite the cuts.Pakistan’s annual consumer price index inflation was 11.1% in July, having fallen from highs of over 30% in 2023."The Monetary Policy Committee will review all these developments," Ahmad said, adding that future rate decisions could not be pre-determined.Pakistan’s central bank cut rates for two straight meetings from a historic high of 22% to 19.5%, and will meet again to review monetary policy on September 12.There have been some concerns in markets that the government might take advantage of lower interest rates to borrow more, but the central bank chief said this was not his expectation."We understand that the government will continue on the path of fiscal consolidation, notwithstanding the reduction in interest rates," said Ahmad.OVERCOMING CHALLENGESAhmad, who was appointed governor of Pakistan’s central bank for a five-year term in August 2022, said his first year had been ‘quite difficult’.In 2023, Pakistan faced an acute balance of payments crisis with only enough central bank reserves to cover a month of imports.After eight months of tough negotiations over fiscal discipline, the IMF threw Pakistan a lifeline in the form of a nine-month $3 billion bailout program."Last year was much better," said Ahmad. "Now everything is under control from an external account management perspective."Ahmad said the central bank would now focus on growth, digitalisation and financial inclusion."Those are also equally important for job creation and other socioeconomic issues," said Ahmad, noting the bank’s mandate was to ensure price and financial stability before shifting its focus to growth. Traders observe a daylong strike across Pakistan to protest rising costs and new taxes (AP)
AP [8/28/2024 3:33 AM, Staff, 456K, Neutral]
Traders in Pakistan went on strike Wednesday, shutting down their businesses in all major cities and urban areas to protest a rise in electricity costs and new taxes imposed on shop owners.
The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has steadily raised electricity prices since Pakistan last month struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a new $7 billion loan. The higher cost of living and price hikes have triggered widespread discontent and drawn protests.
Most of the public markets across Pakistan were closed on Wednesday, though pharmacies and grocery stores selling basic food items remained open. Kashif Chaudhry, a strike leader, said those were not closed so as not to inconvenience the general public.
Stores were shuttered in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi, as well as in the city of Lahore, the country’s culture capital, and the main economic hub of Karachi.
The strike was called by Naeem-ur-Rehman who heads the religious Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party and endorsed by most of the various traders’ unions and associations.However, traders in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern Balochistan provinces observed a partial strike, keeping some stores open while closing others.
The strike is aimed at forcing the government to reverse the recent hikes in power bills and the controversial tax that followed the recent talks with the IMF, which wants to see Pakistan broaden its tax base.
The July deal was Pakistan’s latest turn to the global lender for help in propping up its economy and dealing with its debts through big bailouts. Earlier this year, the IMF approved the immediate release of the final $1.1 billion tranche of a $3 billion bailout to Pakistan. ‘Digital terrorism’ spurs debate on social media use in Pakistan (VOA)
VOA [8/27/2024 4:59 PM, Iftikhar Hussain and Malik Waqar Ahmed, 4566K, Negative]
Pakistan’s military is increasingly issuing warnings about what it calls "digital terrorism," a poorly defined term that some rights activists fear can be applied to anyone who posts criticism of the military online.
Pakistani General Asim Munir, chief of army staff, recently warned that digital terrorism was being used to spread "anarchy and false information" against the armed forces. On Pakistan’s 77th Independence Day at the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad earlier in August, the top general said, digital terrorism aims to divide state institutions and citizens.
The general did not try to differentiate between political opponents of the military who believe it should play a smaller role in the country’s civilian government, versus insurgent separatist groups in places like Balochistan that have battled the army for years. Nor did he identify any individuals, groups or parties as leaders of what he called a "digital terrorism campaign."
Pakistan has seen a surge of online political activism since former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s fall from power in 2022. Many online campaigns have argued against the military’s presumed involvement in politics and its role in framing foreign policy.
In a news conference earlier this month, army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that not enough steps were being taken against what he called digital terrorism and warned that legal action would be taken against those involved.
Reaction from rights activists
Haroon Baloch, a Pakistani digital rights activist and researcher, said digital terrorism is a term that isn’t clearly defined and is used vaguely by the army.
"The government is using this term as a tool to control online speech and silence those who criticize the government, instead of dealing with real terrorist threats," Baloch said in an interview with VOA.
But Haq Nawaz Khan, a Peshawar-based journalist who covers issues on Pakistan and Afghanistan, says that while both digital and real-world terrorism pose threats, focusing on digital issues could distract troops from fighting terrorism on the ground. The actual terror groups need immediate attention, he says.
Salma Gul, a history student at the University of Peshawar, told VOA that digital terrorism "is not a word in Pakistan’s legal framework. It is an unfamiliar term coined by the army to attack those who raise their voices. In my opinion, I could not speak the truth now. This clearly restricts my freedom of speech."
She believes institutions should not be defamed, but they can be openly criticized.
Others say that online criticism of the military has become too extreme, with online posts mocking the country’s army leadership.
"The Pakistani army chief’s picture has been shared on social media with inappropriate words, which gives the government a reason to restrict social media usage in the country," said Anis Qureshi, an expert on Pakistani digital rights.
Prelude to a firewall?
Internet users in Pakistan have reported slow broadband speeds for the past several weeks. The problem has affected millions of users, disrupted businesses and drawn nationwide complaints.
Technology experts say a recently installed internet firewall could give the government more power to block access to social media, websites and messenger platforms. Many have likened it to China’s famous internet firewall that gives Beijing near total power to censor and restrict communications.
Pakistani authorities have denied allegations that a national firewall has been slowing down internet speeds. Last week, Pakistan’s minister for information technology told local media that the government is not responsible for the internet slowdown.
Terror attacks continue
As the military has publicly focused more on combating online criticism in recent weeks, it has faced increased militant attacks on security forces and government installations.
On Monday, militants’ attacks on police stations, railway networks and highways in the restive provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan killed more than 70 people, including 14 security personnel.
In the tribal areas and districts with high militant activity, Pakistani law enforcement agencies and the military have intensified counterterrorism operations. The surge in terrorism increased after the U.S. withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban’s takeover in Kabul. Truck driver thought dead in Pakistan roadside attack recovers in hospital (Reuters)
Reuters [8/27/2024 12:08 PM, Saleem Ahmad, 37270K, Negative]
A Pakistani truck driver, who rescuers initially thought was dead, was recovering on Tuesday after hospital staff receiving bodies realised he was alive despite being shot five times in one of the most widespread attacks by ethnic militants in years.On Monday, Munir Ahmed was driving with three colleagues in a convoy of four trucks through the southern province of Balochistan.The drivers did not notice anything amiss and had not heard of any violence until they were about an hour outside of the provincial capital, Quetta.Suddenly, armed men crowded the dusty stretch of highway, waving at them to stop, ordering the drivers out of their trucks and lining them up on the roadside.Ahmed, 50, began to recite Islamic verses in fear."We were all horrified," he said.The gunmen opened fire and threw the men’s bodies into a stream, leaving them for dead.Meanwhile attackers along other roads were stopping buses, pulling off passengers and killing men in front of their families, the provincial chief minister later said.The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an armed militant group seeking secession of the resource-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, took responsibility for the assaults.Authorities said at least 70 people were killed in the attacks and subsequent military operations, including 23 civilians pulled out of their vehicles.Rescuers put Ahmed and the lifeless bodies of his three colleagues into a vehicle to take to hospital, where medical staff realised he had survived.A nurse said he had been hit by five bullets in the arm and back but was in stable condition.Lying flat in a hospital bed, far from home in Punjab with his arm heavily bandaged, Ahmed said his memory of the attack was hazy and he was upset by his colleagues’ deaths, uncertain what would happen next after such a violent disruption to his livelihood. India
India’s Modi urges early resolution of Ukraine conflict in call with Russia’s Putin (Reuters)
Reuters [8/27/2024 8:36 AM, Gleb Stolyarov, 88008K, Neutral]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he backed an early, peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, days after he held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv.
Modi’s visit last week, the first by an Indian prime minister in Ukraine’s modern history, came at a volatile point in the war that started when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.
Despite Western pressure to distance itself from Russia, India has maintained its ties with Moscow, which has been an important supplier of weapons to India since the days of the Soviet Union.
Modi said he spoke to Putin by phone and discussed ways to strengthen the partnership between their two countries. The Kremlin gave no details except for saying they spoke by phone.
"Reiterated India\u00b4s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict," Modi said in a post on X, describing the conversation.
Modi shared "insights" from his visit to Ukraine with Putin and "underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders" to find peace, the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Modi’s Ukraine visit followed his trip to Russia in July, during which he embraced Putin on the same day that a deadly Russian missile strike hit a children’s hospital.
That visit angered Ukraine and the U.S. State Department said it had raised concerns with India about ties with Russia.
In recent years, Washington has looked to woo New Delhi as a way to counter China’s growing regional influence.
Zelenskiy has said he told Modi he would support India hosting a second peace summit after one held in Switzerland as Kyiv hopes to find a host among countries in the global south.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has ruled out talks after Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region on Aug. 6.
With its traditionally close economic and defence ties to Moscow, India has refrained from criticising Russia over the invasion, while buying record volumes of Russian oil, saying it served national interest.
Ukraine has pitched for New Delhi to help rebuild its economy, inviting investment from Indian companies at a January business summit in India.
On Monday, Modi also spoke to U.S. President Joe Biden about his Ukraine visit. Modi tells Putin he supports early end to Ukraine war (VOA)
VOA [8/27/2024 10:26 AM, Anjana Pasricha, 4566K, Positive]
Days after visiting Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he supports a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Modi’s discussion with the Russian leader on Tuesday came a day after he had a phone conversation about the war with U.S. President Joe Biden.
In a post on X, Modi wrote that he had "exchanged perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and my insights from the recent visit to Ukraine" with Putin. He said that he reiterated "India’s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict."During his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, the Indian prime minister had urged talks between Russia and Ukraine and said that "we should move in that direction without losing any time." He had offered to play an active role in efforts to achieve peace.
Modi’s visit to Kyiv came amid criticism from Western allies that New Delhi has not condemned Russia’s invasion.
The Indian foreign ministry said that during his phone talk with Putin, Modi underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as "sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders."
Modi and Putin also reviewed progress on bilateral ties and discussed measures to further strengthen their partnership, the statement said.
In his talk on Monday with Biden, Modi had also expressed India’s support for an early return of peace and stability.
"I think Modi’s conversations with the Russian and American leaders come amid an effort by India to convey that it is serious about using its leverage to resolve this conflict and to stake a claim for itself as an autonomous actor," according to Harsh Pant, vice president for studies at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. "It has been faulted for not doing that in the past, so it is reaching out to the countries most closely involved in the conflict."
India has not proposed any peace plan to resolve the war. But with New Delhi being one of the few countries that enjoys good relations with both Russia and the West, it hopes to push talks between Moscow and Ukraine.
Following Modi’s visit, Zelenskyy told reporters that he had told Modi that he would support India hosting the second summit on peace as Kyiv hopes to find a host among the countries in the Global South. The first peace summit was held in Switzerland in June.
In Kyiv, India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyan Jaishankar, had said that India is willing to do whatever it can to help end the war "because we do think that the continuation of this conflict is terrible, obviously for Ukraine itself but for the world as well."
The resolution of the conflict is important for India, as Russia’s continued isolation could push Moscow into a tighter embrace with New Delhi’s arch rival, China, say analysts.
"India does not want Russia and the West’s rupture to be permanent because that only means that the Moscow-Beijing dynamic becomes much more solid," according to Pant. "India also wants a stable Europe which can then play a larger role in ensuring a stable Indo-Pacific. That is very important for India. A Europe which is involved with its own internal challenges rather than a global role is something India does not want."
Modi visited Ukraine six weeks after his visit to Moscow elicited strong criticism from Zelenskyy and Western allies. The first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister to the country was billed as a "landmark" one.However analysts in New Delhi point out that Modi’s trip to Ukraine will have no bearing on India’s warm relationship with the Kremlin. Before he visited Kyiv, India’s foreign ministry had said that India has "substantive and independent ties with both Russia and Ukraine, and these partnerships stand on their own." India’s Prime Minister Modi steps into Ukraine-Russia peace vacuum (ABC News)
ABC News [8/27/2024 8:51 AM, Staff, 31638K, Neutral]
Ukraine scored victories on and off the battlefield last week, with Kyiv securing a long sought after visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of its evolving offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.
A wartime visit by Modi -- the popular and powerful leader of the world’s second most populous nation, its fifth largest economy and a major military and economic partner for Russia -- has long been near the top of Kyiv’s diplomatic wish list, second perhaps only to a visit by China’s President Xi Jinping.
"It’s great news for Ukraine and can be viewed as a diplomatic victory," Oleksandr Merezko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee, told ABC News of Friday’s visit. "It’s important for us to have a direct dialogue with him, and persuade him to be on the right side of history."
With a cease-fire proving elusive after two and a half years of war, Kyiv’s friends and enemies alike will see opportunity in Modi’s outreach.
On Monday, President Joe Biden "commended" Modi on his Ukraine visit, per a White House readout, praising the leader’s "message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support."
Russians, too, are "positive" about the visit, Oleg Ignatov -- the Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Russia -- told ABC News. "Russia will welcome their role, if their role is constructive."
The U.S. and its Western partners -- even officially non-aligned ones like Switzerland and Austria -- have "lost their position of independent, impartial players" in the Kremlin’s eyes, Ignatov said. "They can’t be middlemen."
But perhaps Modi can be that middleman.
True neutral
Modi’s dueling visits to Russia and Ukraine characterize -- even if unintentionally -- New Delhi’s staunch neutrality. The prime minister was in Moscow when a Russian missile struck a Ukrainian children’s hospital in July, his bear hug greeting of President Vladimir Putin earned him a fierce rebuke from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
And now, Modi has sat down with the Ukrainian leader while the latter’s troops expanded their occupation of Russian territory, in an operation that Putin has decried as a criminal effort to destabilize his nation.
Merezhko said he was "surprised" by the timing. "I suspect that our American and European allies are trying to push India in the right direction."
India has neither condoned nor condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion. New Delhi has been urging de-escalation and peace talks while benefiting from historically low prices for Russian oil -- which India is also processing and selling on to the West -- amid the Western sanctions campaign, analysts have noted.
India has not signed up to the Western-led sanctions drive. Russia is selling oil to India at prices above the G7 price cap, but Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that is acceptable, as long as India avoids Western insurance, finance and maritime services which are bound by the cap.
Foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last week: "It is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil ... there is an oil strategy to buy oil ... there is a market strategy."
Modi’s India has been building its U.S. ties, happy to work closely with both Republicans and Democrats as the nation looks to extract its mammoth economic potential and blunt the longstanding threat from China across their shared Himalayan border -- a challenge experts have suggested is a major driver of the evolving U.S.-India relationship.
India’s trade with Russia is worth less than half that of the $130 billion exchange with the United States. The 2023 U.S.-Indian commitment to the multibillion India-Middle East Economic Corridor speaks to the expanding strategic vision of the two nations. The White House described the project as "a gateway to our future," while New Delhi lauded what it called "a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and Middle East."
India is also increasingly looking towards the U.S. for its military needs while its military trade with Russia dwindles, amid concerns about the quality of Moscow’s goods and its inability to deliver on advanced contracts. A warm relationship with the U.S. may also somewhat insulate Modi from concerns -- at home and abroad -- that he is pushing India’s democracy in an illiberal and perhaps even authoritarian direction.
Modi and his government have pushed back on such criticisms. At a press conference with President Joe Biden in 2023, Modi said there "is no scope for any discrimination" under his administration. And this year, India’s Foreign Ministry dismissed a State Department report detailing "significant" human rights abused as "deeply biased."
Asked about the Ukraine visit, a State Department spokesperson told ABC News: "We continue to ask all our partners, including India, to support efforts toward a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and to urge Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine’s sovereign territory."
Before departing New Delhi last week, Modi reiterated his calls for peace, saying in a statement: "As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region."
India’s position -- firmly on the fence -- could prove an opportunity for both sides.
Neither the Indian Foreign Ministry nor the Kremlin responded to ABC News’ request for comment in time for publication.‘Let’s talk’
Officially neutral nations like India, China, Qatar or Saudi Arabia could all play a central role in bringing the war to an end, or at least achieving a cease-fire. All refused to join the Western-led sanctions campaign against Moscow, and all have called for an end to the fighting.
Indeed, reported secret Qatari efforts to facilitate renewed cease-fire talks were only scuppered by Ukraine’s Kursk offensive earlier this month.
"They are ready to play the role of intermediaries; not negotiators, but facilitators, to help both countries understand which issues their positions could be close on," Ignatov said of non-aligned nations. "If there is a request from both Ukraine and Russia, they will help. But they won’t do anything to the detriment of one country."
Modi’s visit may undergird the apparent sentiment on both sides of the war that negotiations could be revived. But, Ignatov said, any new proposal should be broad, and as simple as: "Let’s talk."
Chietigj Bajpaee of the Chatham House think tank in London, U.K., told ABC News that Modi wants to promote India "as a rising and responsible global power," and potentially as a "bridging power" between the West, its adversaries in authoritarian nations like Russia, China and India, and less powerful "Global South" nations not willing to commit to broader U.S.-led transatlantic goals.
"The other countries that maintain very good relations with Russia -- China, Iran, North Korea -- all of these are countries with which the U.S. and the West maintain difficult relations," Bajpaee said.
"In theory, at least, I think India is well positioned to play some sort of role as a bridging power or mediating role in the conflict in Ukraine. Whether it has the means and motivation to do so is another question."
Indian officials have publicly ruled out acting as official mediators between the warring nations, though Modi has said he is willing to convey messages between them.
For Merezhko, India would be a more appealing facilitator than China, for example. Beijing presented an initial peace plan in 2023 which was widely dismissed in Kyiv, followed by a second effort in coordination with Brazil in May.
"Modi shows that Ukraine exists for India," Merezhko said. "In this regard, we can see a contrast between China’s and India’s position on Ukraine. Whereas Xi has not visited Ukraine at all and had several meetings with Putin, which is very telling, India’s prime minister seemingly is trying to keep some balance."
"The Chinese plan is empty and pro-Russian. Modi, if he plans to come up with his own peace plan, will at least try to be more constructive than China."
Modi will likely keep one eye on facilitating dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow, Yehor Cherniev -- a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chairman of his country’s delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly -- told ABC News, not least because of continued concerns in the "Global South" as to the conflict’s detrimental effect on trade.
But any nascent rumblings of new talks will be secondary to the ongoing combat. Ukrainian forces will keep pushing in Kursk and Russian forces on the eastern front, particularly in Donetsk. Meanwhile, both sides will keep bombarding the other’s cities with drones and missiles.
Russia’s weekend nationwide missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine served as a bloody reminder of the diplomatic gulf between the two sides.
"The outcome of this war will be decided by Russia and Ukraine," Ignatov said, "not by India, China or the United States."
Cherniev said that while Ukrainians are "open" to fresh ideas and "thankful" for Modi’s visit, his compatriots will wait to see "what conditions" will be tied to any revival of dialogue. "It’s difficult to predict any outcomes of peace negotiations," Cherniev added, stressing that Kyiv’s demand of full territorial liberation "has not changed."
As to the persistent question of territorial concessions in pursuit of peace, Cherniev replied: "We will never do this." Indian police fire tear gas and water cannons at rally against rape and killing of trainee doctor (AP)
AP [8/27/2024 8:57 PM, Bikas Das, 12468K, Negative]
Police in India fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of a top elected official in the country’s east, accusing her of mishandling an investigation into a rape and killing of a resident doctor earlier this month.
The Aug. 9 killing of the 31-year-old physician while on duty at Kolkata city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered protests across India, focusing on the chronic issue of violence against women in the country. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal state.
The protesters say the assault highlights the vulnerability of health care workers in hospitals across India.
Protesters from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party tried to break the police cordon and march to the office of Mamta Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party rules the West Bengal state, and demanded her resignation.
Modi’s party is the main opposition party in West Bengal. Police had banned its rally and blocked the roads.
Police officers wielding batons pushed back the demonstrators and fired tear gas and water cannons. Four student activists were arrested ahead of the rally, police said, accusing them of trying to orchestrate large-scale violence.India’s top court last week set up a national task force of doctors to make recommendations on the safety of health care workers at the workplace. The Supreme Court said the panel would frame guidelines for the protection of medical professionals and health care workers nationwide.
An autopsy of the killed doctor later confirmed sexual assault, and a police volunteer was detained in connection with the crime. The family of the victim alleged it was a case of a gang rape and more were involved.
In the days since, mounting anger has boiled over into nationwide outrage and stirred protests over violence against women. The protests have also led thousands of doctors and paramedics to walk out of some public hospitals across India and demand a safer working environment. The walkouts have affected thousands of patients across India.
Women in India continue to face rising violence despite tough laws that were implemented following the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.
That attack had inspired lawmakers to order harsher penalties for such crimes and set up fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders. BJP Bengal strike: Protesters block train tracks, buses in eastern India (Reuters)
Reuters [8/28/2024 1:43 AM, Subrata Nag Choudhary, 5.2M, Neutral]
Protesters blocked train tracks, stopped buses and shouted slogans in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal on Wednesday, the latest in a series of protests that have rocked the state since the rape and murder of a trainee doctor.
Police fired tear-gas and water cannon to disperse protesters marching towards the state secretariat on Tuesday, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition in the state, to call for a 12-hour state-wide strike on Wednesday, to protest against what it said were police atrocities.
Thousands of protesters, most of them BJP workers, blocked roads and railway tracks and forced shops to shut down on Wednesday, while authorities braced for more protests through the day.
A top police official said 5,000 police personnel were deployed to quell any violence across West Bengal.
The protesters on Tuesday, many of them university students, were demanding the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a staunch opponent of Modi, for her handling of Aug. 9 rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in a government-run hospital in the state capital, Kolkata.
The attack on the 31-year-old doctor has caused nationwide outrage, similar to the widespread protests witnessed after a 2012 gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi, with campaigners saying women continue to suffer from high levels of sexual violence despite tougher laws.A police volunteer has been arrested for the crime and the federal police have taken over the investigation. India Port Workers Avert Planned Strikes With Wage Agreement (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [8/27/2024 10:33 PM, Rajesh Kumar Singh and Weilun Soon, 27782K, Neutral]
Port workers’ unions in India agreed to a new five-year wage deal with government officials, averting a planned nationwide strike scheduled for Wednesday.The new deal halts a walkout that could have involved nearly 20,000 workers and brought widespread disruption to cargo-handling operations at some of the nation’s busiest ports. Unions at India’s 12 major state-run ports have been negotiating with the government since 2021 to try to increase pay.Under the newly agreed terms, unions accepted an 8.5% wage increase over five years, back-dated to Jan. 1, 2022, said Narendra Rao, a working committee member of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions. Dalai Lama returns to Indian headquarters after knee replacement surgery in the US (AP)
AP [8/28/2024 1:26 AM, Ashwini Bhatia, 456K, Neutral]
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, returned to the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile in northern India on Wednesday after undergoing a knee replacement surgery in New York.
Hundreds of followers in colorful, flowing robes, waving scarves and flowers, cheered the Dalai Lama at the airport and his residence. Several of them beat drums and performed traditional dances. Tibetan and Buddhist flags adorned poles and railings.
The Dalai Lama, 89, flew to Dharamshala after weeks of recovery at the Nappi Farmhouse in Syracuse, New York, following the surgery on June 28.
Dr. David Mayman, chief of the adult reconstruction and joint replacement service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, said after the surgery that the Dalai Lama was recovering well and was expected to continue improving over the next six to 12 months.
Dr. Tsetan D Sadutshang and Dr. Tsewang Tamdin, physicians to the Dalai Lama, said last month that the surgical incision had completely healed without any complications. The physiotherapists said they were happy with the speed of his improvement.
The Dalai Lama has made Dharamshala, the hillside town in northern India, his headquarters since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Representatives of a Tibetan government-in-exile also reside there.
The Dalai Lama formally relinquished his political and administrative powers in 2011 and handed his political responsibilities to the community’s elected leadership. But he has remained the spiritual leader of the Tibetan community.
His followers see him as capable of uniting and mobilizing Tibetans inside and outside China.Over 100,000 Tibetan refugees live in India, Nepal and Bhutan, according to Tibetan organizations. Their number in India is estimated at around 85,000, while many have also moved to countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
China exercises rigid control over all religions and, in recent years, has stepped up a campaign of cultural assimilation targeting Tibetans, Turkic Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups.
China castigates the Dalai Lama as an advocate for Tibetan independence and has not had direct contact with his representatives for more than a decade.
The Dalai Lama says he merely advocates for Tibet’s substantial autonomy and protection of its native Buddhist culture. NSB
‘I have lost everything’: Bangladesh floods strand 1.24 million families (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [8/28/2024 12:00 AM, Faisal Mahmud, 1.7M, Negative]
Ekramul Haque was stunned when his uncle called him late in the afternoon of August 21 to inform him that floodwaters had inundated their ancestral home in southeastern Bangladesh’s Feni district, close to the Indian border.
At the time, Haque was about 10km (6 miles) away in the town of Mirsarai in the Chattogram district, where he lives with his wife and children.
The next day, it took 40 minutes travelling by minibus in the downpour to reach his village.“I rushed back to my home the next morning amidst torrential rain. By the time I arrived, knee-deep water had already entered and soaked everything,” the 29-year-old recounted. “I urged my extended family to come with me to Mirsarai.”
His parents and one uncle returned to Mirsarai with him.
But as the heavy rain continued and reports emerged of floodwaters submerging single-storey homes in his village in Chhagalnaiya Upazila (an upazila is a district subunit), Haque decided to undertake rescue missions starting on Friday morning to help other family members and residents of the village who were stranded.“I contacted a few friends from university and formed a team to help. However, I was shocked to discover that the road from Mirsarai to Chagalnaiya was entirely submerged under chest-high water, making it completely impassable on Friday,” he said.
Delivering relief supplies
Haque and his friends initially tried to construct a makeshift raft from felled banana trees, but it failed to float due to the currents.
They eventually managed to hire a small boat at three times the usual cost. “The current was very strong, and it took the boatman three hours to navigate us through. When we arrived, nearly all the houses were completely underwater,” Haque told Al Jazeera.
The region where Haque grew up doesn’t always experience annual monsoon floods, unlike lower lying parts of the country.“I don’t recall ever seeing floodwaters rise beyond ankle-deep in my area before in monsoon. My parents mentioned that during the major flood of 1988, the water reached knee-deep. This situation was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced,” he added, speaking by phone while dropping off aid in Chhagalnaiya.
Floods in central, eastern and southeastern Bangladesh have killed 23 people and affected more than 5.7 million. About 1.24 million families across 11 districts in the country of 180 million people are stranded, cut off from the rest of the country by floodwaters due to relentless monsoon rains and overflowing rivers.
As the floodwaters gradually recede, those affected are urgently in need of food, clean water, medicines and dry clothing. The situation is especially critical in remote areas like Haque’s village, which is not close to the district town and where blocked roads have severely impeded rescue and relief efforts.“We have been working tirelessly to deliver urgent relief to those stranded for the past few days,” Haque said on Tuesday. “Yesterday, we reached a village where people had been without food for 72 hours. Many were severely ill with diarrhoea and lacked clean drinking water. It was an unprecedented crisis.”
Anti-Indian sentiment
Bangladesh, located on the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, which is the world’s largest, has a deep connection with water. Its landscape, characterised by rivers and floodplains, is accustomed to annual monsoon floods, particularly in the low-lying northeastern districts. Residents in these areas are familiar with this cycle and prepare by taking their valuables to relatives in areas that are not flood-prone and stocking up on food and water before the heavy rains and flooding that occur each monsoon season.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, and about 3.5 million people are at risk of annual river flooding, according to a 2015 World Bank Institute analysis.
But this year’s floods caught many in the southeast off guard.
In flood-affected districts such as Feni, Cumilla and Lakshmipur – regions close to the Indian border – many are blaming India, which they said released water from the Dumbur Dam in the state of Tripura in the middle of last week. India has denied opening the sluice gates.
The dam, a low structure about 30 metres (100ft) high, is more than 120km (75 miles) from the Bangladeshi border. It produces electricity that contributes to the grid used by Bangladesh and is built on the Gumti River, which merges with the Meghna in Bangladesh.Tripura is also facing severe flooding with 31 people reported dead and more than 100,000 residents displaced into relief camps. Floods and landslides have affected nearly 1.7 million people in India.
Kamrul Hasan Nomani, 41, a resident of Lakshmipur, told Al Jazeera that the floodwater is knee-deep in his home and has damaged a large part of it.
He believes that no amount of rain could have caused chest-deep water in his village without the dam opening.
For Nomani, like many affected by the flooding, the crisis has generated anti-Indian sentiment with many believing that India purposefully opened the dam without warning. “They did it intentionally because their preferred government, led by [former Prime Minister Sheikh] Hasina, has fallen in Bangladesh,” Nomani alleged.
On August 5 after massive student-led protests, Hasina’s 15-year rule came to an abrupt end. Hasina, who was widely seen as New Delhi’s favoured leader in Bangladesh, sought refuge in India. Anti-India sentiment that existed while Hasina was prime minister, fuelled by allegations of Indian interference to keep her in power, has escalated since she fled to India.
India cited excessive rainfall as the cause of the flooding while acknowledging that on August 21, a flood-related power outage and communications failure prevented sending the usual river updates to their neighbours downstream in Bangladesh.
Shafiqul Alam, press secretary for Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate leading Bangladesh’s new interim government, told reporters in Dhaka that Pranay Verma, India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, informed the interim government that the water from the dam was “released automatically” due to elevated levels.
Sarder Uday Raihan, an executive engineer at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre in Bangladesh, told Al Jazeera that the agency usually gets information about rising water levels in rivers in India twice a day.“However, this time, India did not share any updates. Without accurate information, it’s hard to give an accurate flood forecast,” he said, adding that timely warnings could have helped prevent deaths and damage.
Destroyed homes and crops
Mohamad Khalequzzaman, a professor of geology at Lock Haven University in the United States, told Al Jazeera that the last flood that inundated districts like Feni, Cumilla or Lakshmipur was in 1988.“The primary cause of this year’s flooding appears to be unusual rainfall in the region, but several other factors have exacerbated the situation,” he explained.
He noted that rainfall from August 20 to Friday ranged from 200 to 493mm (8 to 19.4 inches), compared with the usual 120 to 360mm (4.7 to 14.2 inches) in various locations in Tripura and eastern Bangladesh, which he described as unusually “heavy” for that region during the monsoon.
Khalequzzaman added that while the sudden release of dam water during an already severe flood period may have contributed to flooding in the Gomati River watershed, it is unlikely to have contributed significantly to flooding in Feni town, Sonagazi and Chhagalnaiya Upazilas because they do not lie in the river catchment area.
He further explained that with the soil of the watershed area already saturated, most of the rainwater turns into surface run-off, leading to flooding of nearby rivers in the affected districts.
He also pointed out that unplanned urbanisation over the years has led to a build-up of silt, which, along with roads, buildings and embankments, particularly along the Gomati and Muhuri rivers, prevent floodwaters from receding.
Additionally, he said, land encroachment by illegal businesses using the Gomati and Feni rivers for transportation, for example, has destroyed much of the natural drainage system in these areas.“The combination of torrential rain, disruptions in river flow both in India and Bangladesh, loss of natural drainage, riverbed siltation and impediments to surface flow have all contributed to the severe flooding,” he said.
In a still-flooded village in Cumilla, the home of Abdul Matin, a teacher, has been destroyed.“I have lost everything. My corrugated tin house has been washed away. I’m unsure how I’ll cope with the financial devastation caused by the flood,” Matin said.
He does not believe the flooding was solely caused by heavy rainfall and damage to the natural drainage system. “I hold India responsible for this,” he said. “This was India’s water.”
Ismail Mridha, a 46-year-old farmer from Sonagazi Upazila in Feni, told Al Jazeera that the flood devastated both his home and farmland. “My house, made of mud and corrugated tin, has been completely destroyed, and the farmland where I grew eggplant and bottle gourd has been washed away,” he said.“I survived the flood, but I am uncertain how I will manage to recover from the financial devastation.” Yunus Can’t Delay Bangladesh Election Too Long, Key Party Says (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [8/27/2024 7:30 PM, Arun Devnath and Kai Schultz, 27782K, Neutral]
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a key political group, has called on the interim government to open talks with politicians and hold national elections within a “reasonable time,” intensifying pressure on Muhammad Yunus, the leader of the new administration.“People want to vote. There should be a dialog between the political parties for the election,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the party, said in an interview in Dhaka Monday.“People are willing to wait more than three months,” he said. “Probably, reasonable time should be given to the interim government, but not unreasonable time, like in the past — two or three years. I don’t think they will accept that.”The BNP wants to avoid a repeat of the past, where an army-controlled caretaker government in 2006 stayed beyond its mandated three months and delayed the voting by about two years, bringing Sheikh Hasina back to power. Hasina’s government rescinded the caretaker system in 2011, making the subsequent elections less competitive and more favorable to her party, the Awami League.In January this year, Hasina was voted back into power in a third stage-managed election. Her administration hollowed out the BNP by arresting and jailing numerous leaders and supporters, forcing the opposition group to boycott this year’s election. Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP and a former prime minister, was kept imprisoned or sidelined for a decade, while her son Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the party, still lives in exile in London. Islam, 76, a senior leader of the BNP, was behind bars during the election.Hasina resigned and fled to India on Aug. 5 following weeks of deadly protests by students calling for her to step down. Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, was appointed to head an interim government, backed by the military, and work towards holding elections. Under the constitution, voting must take place within 90 days. In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, Yunus vowed to pave the way for a national election but failed to give a clear indication of how soon it will be held.“When the election will be held is entirely a political decision, not ours,” Yunus said. “The countrymen will decide when we should leave. We came here, responding to students’ calls. They are the ones who appointed us and the people of the country supported our appointment. We will constantly remind everybody of this issue so that the question does not suddenly arise when we should go.”As part of the reform agenda, the new government will reform the Election Commission and keep it ready to hold “ideal elections” at any time, Yunus said.While Islam acknowledged the need for reforms to the Election Commission, Yunus’s speech without an election roadmap frustrated him.“It’s a vague, totally a vague statement,” Islam said, adding that Yunus has to invite the political parties to discuss the election roadmap. “He’s well respected in Bangladesh as well as in the entire world. But he’s not a politician. A state is run by politicians. A government is run by politicians,” he said.“This is true that the new government must act as per the desire of the people. But what is the desire of the people and what is the way? How do you know the people? What do people want to say? So we think that Parliament is the only place where these things can be decided,” Islam said.Bangladesh is grappling with a severe political turmoil. More than 600 people were killed during weeks-long violence, including reprisal attacks on Awami League leaders and supporters and minority Hindus. Some in Bangladesh blamed the BNP for fanning the flames, an accusation Islam rejected.The situation is “already defused,” he said. He added that some people in the previous government and media outlets in India had whipped up sentiment around the issue that religious minorities were being targeted.
“This is not a communal problem,” he said. “This was a political problem. It’s always a political party versus another political party, not the communal problems, not Hindu versus Muslims.”Islam urged the international community to come forward to help restore democracy in Bangladesh. “They also came last time, but that should be more coordinated. They should support the present government until it goes for an election,” he said. Bangladesh revokes ban imposed on main Islamic party by ex-PM Hasina (Reuters)
Reuters [8/28/2024 5:38 AM, Ruma Paul, 5.2M, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s caretaker government revoked a ban on the country’s main Islamic party and its affiliated groups on Wednesday, saying it has not found evidence of their involvement in "terrorist activities".Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government had banned the Jamaat-e-Islami party under an anti-terrorism law, blaming it for stoking deadly violence during student-led protests that turned into an uprising against Hasina, forcing her to resign and flee to India on Aug. 5.A gazette notification on Wednesday by the caretaker government that replaced Hasina’s administration said there was "no specific evidence of involvement of Jamaat" and its affiliates "in terrorist activities".The party has denied allegations that it stoked violence and had condemned the ban as "illegal, extrajudicial and unconstitutional."Jamaat has not been able to contest elections in Bangladesh after a court said in 2013 its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh’s secular constitution.Shishir Monir, a lawyer for the party, said it will file a petition early next week at the Supreme Court to seek restoration of its registration. Bangladesh Probes Enforced Disappearance By Security Forces (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [8/28/2024 12:00 AM, Staff, 1.4M, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s new authorities on Wednesday opened an investigation into hundreds of enforced disappearances by security forces during the rule of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina, the government said.
It includes the notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) paramilitary force, accused of numerous rights abuses, and which was sanctioned by the United States for its role in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.Human Rights Watch last year said security forces had committed "over 600 enforced disappearances" since Hasina came to power in 2009, and nearly 100 remain unaccounted for.
Many of those detained were from Hasina’s rivals, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party.
Hasina’s government consistently denied the allegations, claiming some of those reported missing had drowned in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe.
Hasina fled to India by helicopter on August 5 after weeks of student-led protests forced her to quit, ending her iron-fisted 15-year rule.
The five-member committee, headed by retired high court judge Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, will also investigate other paramilitary police units, including the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), a government order late Tuesday said.
The UN rights office says both the RAB and BGB forces have "records of serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances and torture and ill-treatment".
The commission, ordered to begin work by the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has 45 working days to submit its report.
Sanjida Islam Tulee, a coordinator of a group campaigning for the release of people detained under Hasina, welcomed the commission.
"Most importantly, the report needs to be published fully and no information is kept hidden", Tulee told AFP, who heads the group called Mayer Daak, meaning "The Call of the Mothers".
Tulee, who along with those who searching for missing relatives met earlier this month with Yunus asking for action, said she wanted the commission to listen to every family without discrimination.
She said they wanted the return of those missing, and for those responsible to face justice.
More than 600 people were killed in the weeks leading up to Hasina’s ouster, according to the United Nations rights team’s preliminary report, suggesting the toll was "likely an underestimate".
The day after she fled, families gathered outside a military intelligence force building in Dhaka waiting desperately for their relatives.
But only a handful have been confirmed as released. Vigilante Justice Reigns in Post-Hasina Bangladesh (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/27/2024 12:01 AM, Saqlain Rizve, 1198K, Negative]
On August 15, Salman F. Rahman, adviser to former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, and Anisul Haque, former law minister were arrested in Dhaka and taken first into the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) and then, to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court. The duo were attacked at the court premises by an angry mob that included lawyers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other parties. The main assault was carried out by Injamul Haq Suman, a lawyer and member of the Dhaka Metropolitan Jubo Dal, a wing of the BNP, who hurled eggs at Rahman and Haque.The incident highlights the practice of vigilante justice in post-Hasina Bangladesh.A few days later, Dr. Dipu Moni, former minister of social welfare, was arrested in a murder case. Moni, along with Arif Khan Joy, the former deputy sports minister, were attacked by a group of people including lawyers when they were being taken to court for a remand hearing. Although the two were being escorted by police and despite the large number of police on the court premises, people were able to land blows on them.According to a report in the Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo, a lawyer struck Joy on the neck as he was being escorted to the courthouse. The newspaper has published a photo capturing the exact moment of the attack.Then on August 24, former Supreme Court Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik was hospitalized after he was attacked at the Sylhet court premises. Manik captured attention during the recent unrest when he called the host of a television talk show a “child of razaakar,” (people who collaborated with Pakistan during the 1971 liberation war) after the program. The video went viral, earning Manik a lot of hatred on social media. The Business Standard reported that pro-BNP lawyers and others at the court premises punched Manik, and hurled eggs and shoes at him. The beating caused internal bleeding. The former justice had been detained by the Border Guard Bangladesh while he was allegedly trying to cross over to India on the night of August 23.Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star, has pointed out that the approach of detaining the former powerful personalities seems to be “charge first, prove later.”Hasina has been slapped with “numerous murder charges, which are starting to seem like a witch hunt,” he wrote in a recent article. Instead of focusing on a few well-supported cases, an increasing number of cases are being filed against not only the former PM but also AL leaders, judges, scholars, and politicians like Rashed Khan Menon. Some cases list dozens of individuals without concrete evidence, leading to arbitrary arrests. This misuse of the legal system risks undermining public trust in the legal process and the current administration.”A month ago, these individuals were among the most powerful figures in the country, thanks to the Awami League’s 15-year rule that was characterized by autocracy, corruption, and human rights abuses, and marked by three farcical elections. From 2008 to 2024, the people of Bangladesh witnessed a gradual erosion of their free speech rights and human rights. The judiciary and law enforcement were allegedly co-opted by AL loyalists, including judges and lawyers. Fabricated cases were slapped on BNP leaders and activists. Reports indicate that over 20,000 BNP activists were arrested between October and December 2023 alone. Additionally, at least 15 BNP members died in custody in the run-up to and after the October 28 rally at Naya Paltan in Dhaka. Human Rights Watch has raised concerns about over 600 enforced disappearances since 2009.The Hasina government’s crackdown on protestors during the recent unrest resulted in the death of nearly 400 people, including students and children, and injury to thousands between July 17 and August 4. What were protests opposing quotas in jobs became a mass uprising demanding Hasina’s resignation.On August 5, when Hasina resigned and fled to India, leaving behind hundreds of MPs, ministers, and thousands of party leaders and activists, the latter faced the wrath of an enraged populace and, allegedly, of opposition activists. Many AL leaders were killed. The Bangladesh Police Force collapsed and at least 44 officers were killed and many police stations were vandalized and burned.Public anger over atrocities committed during AL rule is boiling over, with some individuals taking the law into their own hands. Many in Bangladesh seem indifferent to this vigilantism, with some even justifying the vigilante violence. They argue that those responsible for atrocities in the past are finally facing the consequences of their actions.This is a deeply concerning development. While accountability is necessary, it is alarming when ordinary citizens, opposition activists and particularly lawyers, resort to vigilante justice, attacking the accused within court premises. Furthermore, there are complaints of people being arrested and charged with random crimes.Two former journalists Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa of Ekattor TV, known for its biased reporting, were arrested at the airport, handed over to the police, and charged with murder. They were placed on a four-day remand, despite their names not being listed in the original FIR and only later added as “unknown” suspects — a troubling practice that allows police to add names at will during investigations.Ahmed and Rupa supported the AL regime, but they didn’t violate any specific laws. The proper response would be to critique their journalism and expose their bias, not to imprison them without clear legal charges.The students who demanded Hasina’s resignation aimed to reform the country after liberating it from autocracy. Although the autocrat has gone, recent events suggest that oppression lingers.Particularly worrying is the violence by some lawyers. It signals a troubling deviation from their professional responsibilities and ethical obligations. Lawyers are expected to uphold the rule of law, maintain decorum, and ensure that justice is served impartially. Their involvement in physical assaults, especially within court premises, not only undermines the legal system but also erodes public trust in the judiciary.Lawyers play an important role in the delivery of justice. They are supposed to be advocates for justice, not perpetrators of violence. Their vigilantism is shaking the very foundation of the legal system.Bangladeshis want a reform of the system. However, the recent incidents of violence within court premises and the troubling actions of the judiciary and law enforcement suggest that Bangladesh risks sliding back into the cycle of authoritarianism.The interim government has been tasked with stabilizing the country. However, it has failed to assert its authority and maintain order. It is being criticized for failing to halt the outbursts of vigilante justice. This is raising questions about their capacity to govern. Stateless Rohingya put faith in Bangladesh leader Yunus (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [8/27/2024 5:02 AM, Faisal Mahmud, 2376K, Negative]
Hours before ex-Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country in the face of a student-led uprising, Mohammad Sabur and his family were escaping civil war in neighboring Myanmar.Caught in fierce fighting between rebels and government troops, the family of Rohingya tried to cross a river and toward the relative safety of Bangladesh. But all five of Sabur’s children drowned after their boat capsized, the youngest victim just three and a half. Weeks later, a distraught Sabur and his wife now sleep under a blue tarpaulin tent in Cox’s Bazar, home to the world’s biggest refugee camp. An estimated 1.3 million Rohingya live in perpetual uncertainty here as stateless people who fled Myanmar over what the United Nations calls "a textbook case" of ethnic cleansing and genocide.But shock events in Bangladesh that put Nobel Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus in charge of a caretaker government -- and removed Hasina, who was hostile to the Rohingya’s presence -- has given some fresh hope that the refugee crisis might be resolved.Sabur, a former nongovernmental organization worker, is familiar with Yunus and his pioneering efforts on microcredit loans for the poor."I know how famous Dr. Yunus is and how his works have reduced poverty," the 42-year-old told Nikkei Asia. "He is also known for his humanitarian efforts. I hope our rights in the camp will be protected under his government."Yunus has a huge job steering a country rocked by political unrest and a shattered economy, and his ability to revive stalled efforts to solve the Rohingya crisis remains to be seen. Last week, he gave assurances to diplomats and U.N. officials that his interim government "will continue to support" Rohingya taking refuge in the South Asian nation."For all we heard about Hasina’s effective management of Bangladesh’s complex and sensitive Rohingya refugee challenge, her government had long sought to repatriate many of those refugees to a country where they would not be safe," said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington. "I suspect the interim government will put the brakes on repatriation plans for now and look to develop a different policy."Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not consider mostly Muslim Rohingya as an Indigenous group, referring to them as "Bengalis" and effectively rendering them stateless.Refugee Mohammad Nur, 24, is optimistic about the unfolding situation in his adopted country."I want to become a doctor and need the opportunity to study medicine," said Nur, who arrived at the camp in 2017 and didn’t finish high school. "I urge the new Bangladeshi government to provide us with educational opportunities so we can secure decent jobs."Tens of thousands at the camps marked the seventh "Rohingya Genocide Day" last Sunday, with crowds pouring into a field and chanting slogans such as "we want rights" and "ensure our dignified return to Myanmar."The event remembers one of the worst refugee crises on record when about 750,000 Rohingya fled across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in 2017 seeking refuge from rape, beatings and extrajudicial killings carried out by Myanmar’s military. It was the largest influx of Rohingya since an exodus that began decades ago.After the mass flight, the two countries signed an agreement on starting Rohingya repatriation, but despite repeated promises, Myanmar has not created favorable conditions for their return.The events that led to Sabur’s flight this month -- and the tragic death of his children -- were triggered by a new wave of violence in Rakhine State on Bangladesh’s border.Arakan Army rebels fighting the Myanmar military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, had been advancing on the government-controlled border town of Maungdaw and were bombarding the area with heavy artillery.As the fighting drew to closer to Sabur’s home in Maungdaw, he realized that he and his family had to flee immediately or risk being killed."The Arakan Army was attacking us with drones and rocket launchers while we were waiting by the river," he said. "Our boats capsized during our frantic escape."Just a day later, Hasina’s government collapsed. When she fled the country, many Bangladeshi border guards reassigned to quash protests in Dhaka and other cities also went into hiding.That left the border unguarded and vulnerable. At least 2,000 more Rohingya have entered Bangladesh from Myanmar since the beginning of August.A local border commander, who returned to his post after several days of hiding, confirmed to Nikkei the significant increase in refugee arrivals -- and efforts to block more from spilling across the frontier."We have detained at least two dozen new Rohingya refugees today," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.Unverified reports said at least 200 people, mostly Rohingya, were killed in the fresh fighting in what would mark one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Myanmar’s civil war.On Friday, U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk expressed concern about the worsening situation in Myanmar, noting the rising death toll and thousands more who have fled a major offensive by the Arakan Army, including the battle that Sabur’s family was escaping.Amnesty International warned that the violence against Rohingya in Rakhine state "is eerily similar to the atrocities committed in 2017."With Yunus now in power, his global celebrity could help push the international community toward intensifying diplomatic and economic pressure on Myanmar to end the civil war and find a permanent solution for Rohingya refugees who fled the country, said Shahab Enam Khan, a professor of international relations at Dhaka’s Jahangirnagar University."The Western powers, along with China and Japan as the key Eastern influencers, have a high level of confidence in Dr. Yunus," Khan told Nikkei, "So, Yunus’ potential to influence global powers is expected to play a significant role in strengthening the Rohingya repatriation process," he added.Back at the sprawling camp, 55-year-old Zahed Hossain clings to hope that one day he will return to his village in Rakhine state."My heart aches for my home," he said. "I appeal to [Yunus] to ensure our safe return to Myanmar." Maldives police probe alleged bid to topple government (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [8/27/2024 5:56 AM, Staff, 88008K, Negative]
Police in the Maldives are investigating an alleged attempt to topple President Mohamed Muizzu by stirring anger over the Indian Ocean archipelago’s worsening financial woes.Last week, the main commercial bank in the upmarket tourist destination drastically reduced the foreign exchange spending allowed for Maldivians, sparking widespread anger.Muizzu has slammed the move as an "illegal attempt" to overthrow his government, by making him unpopular and encouraging street protests."An investigation has been launched into the alleged coup attempt," the police said in a statement late Monday.There have been no demonstrations in the capital Male, but scathing criticism of the government has erupted online."Hundreds of ‘bot’ accounts have been used on social media to encourage people to take to the streets to overthrow the government and incite public unrest," police said.The bank said the changes, which they have since rescinded, came "in response to the escalating usage of foreign currency spend on cards and the static sale of foreign currency to the Bank".The international credit rating agency Fitch downgraded the Maldives in June and warned it could be headed for a sovereign default, after its foreign currency reserves dropped to $492 million in May.The downgrade came weeks after the IMF warned the Maldives against a looming "debt distress", as the small but strategically placed country eyes further borrowing from main creditor China.Official data showed the Maldives’ foreign debt reaching $4.038 billion last year, about 118 percent of gross domestic product, an increase of nearly $250 million from 2022.Fitch had noted the government’s debt servicing obligations, amounting to $409 million this year, would add to severe stress.The crisis escalated over the weekend, when the Bank of Maldives Limited (BML) stopped debit card transactions, and allowed a maximum monthly credit card spend of $100 for online transactions.Maldivians use their cards to pay for tuition and medical treatment abroad apart from online purchases.Muizzu told supporters late Monday the bank decision was a plot to discredit him, and accused some BML directors of being loyal to the former government."There is room to believe that this (cap on spending) was an illegal attempt to overthrow a legitimate government," Muizzu said.The bank on Sunday raised forex spending limits after the Maldives Monetary Authority intervened.Political parties have called on the government to tax hotels in foreign currency.Since winning office last year, Muizzu has reoriented his nation from traditional benefactor India and towards China.As of June 2023, the Export-Import Bank of China owned 25.2 percent of the Maldives’ external debt and was the country’s biggest single lender, Male’s finance ministry figures showed. Central Asia
Human Rights Watch Urges Astana To Stop Unjustified ‘Financing Terrorism’ Restrictions (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/27/2024 6:32 AM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused authorities in Kazakhstan of violating international human rights law by "misusing" extremism and terrorism legislation to target peaceful government critics and others.The rights group said in a 29-page report issued on August 27 that that those placed on Kazakhstan’s Financing Terrorism List face financial restrictions that cause them "significant hardship" and lead to "violations" of their guaranteed rights.The situation "is particularly egregious when the prosecutions are for alleged nonviolent “extremist” or “terrorist” crimes, that should not be considered crimes in the first place," it added."If you participate in peaceful antigovernment protests in Kazakhstan, not only can the government prosecute you as an ‘extremist,’ but it can cut you off financially," HRW’s senior Central Asia researcher Mihra Rittman said in the report."Kazakhstan should immediately end its pernicious use of extremism and terrorism laws against peaceful critics and others and remove anyone currently on the Financing Terrorism List who has been convicted of nonviolent crimes.”According to HRW, the tightly controlled former Soviet republic’s laws do not distinguish between violent and nonviolent extremism and multiple articles in the Criminal Code relating to extremism and terrorism are vaguely worded and overly broad.The Central Asian nation’s authorities automatically place on the list of groups or individuals financing terrorism or extremism any person convicted on charges that they deem to be "extremist" or "terrorist" regardless of whether the person instigated, took part in, or financially supported violence."Kazakhstan authorities should revise the criminal code’s provisions on extremism and terrorism so that they have sufficient precision to guarantee legal certainty. Kazakhstan also should not criminalize legitimate exercise of freedoms of speech, expression, and association, or violate other rights protected by international law, HRW’s statement said. Amid Heated Debate, Kazakhstan To Hold Referendum On Building Nuclear Power Plant (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/27/2024 4:56 AM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
The Kazakh government ruled on August 27 that a referendum will be held on the construction of a nuclear power station amid protests against the idea. An exact date for the nationwide plebiscite has yet to be determined. In recent weeks, several activists known for their stance against the nuclear power station’s construction have been prevented from attending public debates on the issue. Nuclear-power-related projects have been a controversial issue in Kazakhstan, where the environment was severely impacted by operations at the Soviet-era Semipalatinsk nuclear test site from 1949 to 1991 and the Baikonur spaceport, which is still being operated by Russia. Kyrgyz Minister Defends Russian Singers In Independence Day Celebrations (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/27/2024 1:03 PM, Staff, 1251K, Neutral]
Kyrgyz Culture Minister Altynbek Maksutov in a televised interview on August 27 defended the participation of Russian entertainers who have openly supported Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine in celebrations of Kyrgyzstan’s upcoming Independence Day. There has been online opposition to the scheduled performances of Russian singers Filipp Kirkorov, Stas Mikhailov, and Lyusya Chebotina at public celebrations on August 31. The protesters oppose their participation, saying their support for the war violates another former Soviet republic’s sovereignty and independence. Maksutov said the protesters should not attend the Russian singers’ performances if they do not like them. Indo-Pacific
A Time Bomb Is Threatening Economies Across Asia (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [8/27/2024 9:00 PM, Jon Emont, 810K, Neutral]
Asia’s fastest-growing economies are hiding a dirty secret: Their youngest workers are battling stubbornly high rates of unemployment.
Bangladesh—long considered a development model for slashing extreme poverty—clocked an average of 6.5% economic growth a year for the last decade. But over the past few years, youth unemployment climbed to 16%—the highest level in at least three decades, according to data from the United Nations International Labor Organization.
China and India recorded the same percentage of young people who are seeking work without success. In Indonesia, the rate is 14%. Malaysia’s is 12.5%.
Across these populous nations, that adds up to 30 million people between the ages of 15 and 24 who are looking for jobs but can’t find suitable ones. They account for just less than half the global total of 65 million jobless youth in that age range, according to ILO data.
The figures are worse than in rich countries such as the U.S., Japan and Germany, where young people tend to get snapped up, though not as bad as slow-growing southern European countries such as Italy and Spain where around a quarter of young people are failing to find work.
For Asian countries that don’t have China’s broad manufacturing base, the double-digit youth unemployment rates raise urgent questions about how to move up the development ladder—and the costs of failing to do so.
Anger over dwindling prospects was a key driver of this month’s tumultuous events in Bangladesh, where large crowds of students forced Sheikh Hasina to relinquish power after more than 15 successive years as prime minister and flee the country. In India, whose economy grew at 8% in the year ended March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party lost its parliamentary majority in elections this year.
Though India’s youth unemployment has come down in recent years, it remains above the global average. Analysts cited poor work opportunities as a major factor in Modi’s setback.
China’s government last year stopped publishing a youth unemployment statistic for a time after it showed more than a fifth of young people weren’t able to find work—a record. Indonesia’s solid economic growth of 5% is coming in large part from an unprecedented expansion in mining and mineral processing, sectors that employ lots of heavy machines and not a lot of people.
In many countries, difficulty in finding decent work extends well into a job seeker’s 20s. Last year, 71% of employed 25- to 29-year-olds in South Asia had insecure work, meaning they were self-employed or in temporary jobs—not a significant fall from the 77% figure recorded two decades ago.
Globally, unemployment among young people tends to run higher than for the labor force as a whole. But across swaths of developing Asia hoping to follow China’s upward trajectory, the trend points to an overarching question: Is the ladder to prosperity broken?
Take Bangladesh. The South Asian nation pulled itself out of poverty by becoming the clothing factory of the world, producing jeans, shirts and sweaters for major Western brands. Millions left the farm for factories.
Then Bangladesh got stuck. It didn’t level up to more complex, higher-value production—say of electronics, heavy machinery or semiconductors—that lead to higher-skilled, better-paying jobs. That transition is how Japan, South Korea and China became breakout economic successes. The climb, however, has become far steeper.
Countries hoping to make it now must compete with hyper-efficient China. Developed economies such as the U.S. are vying to bring more production home. Automation is shifting the landscape. Even Bangladesh’s main growth engine—the production of clothes—is turning to machines over manpower.
Garment exports have doubled over the past decade while overall employment in the sector has grown at a much slower rate.
Then there is the great labor mismatch. Each year, more people in Asia’s developing nations are pursuing higher education and getting college degrees. When they are done, they favor white-collar jobs in fields such as design, marketing, technology and finance. Those are jobs their countries don’t produce in abundance.
India, for instance, has developed a well-known information technology industry, but that can only employ so many people, and artificial intelligence is coming for some of those jobs. More than 40% of the country’s college graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed, compared with 11% of those of the same age group who are literate but haven’t completed primary school, according to a 2023 report from Azim Premji University in Bengaluru that is based on official data.“Now that you’re educated where your dad was not, your mother was not, you don’t want to get stuck in a job like your parents,” said Kunal Sen, director of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research in Finland. “That’s the problem that I think political leaders have not understood.”
In Bangladesh, those with college degrees have an unemployment rate three times the overall figure, according to a 2022 government survey. The library at the University of Dhaka, one of the country’s premier educational institutions, is filled with unemployed alumni poring over books for their first, second or even third shots at cracking the civil service exam. Many live on allowances from their parents well into their late 20s.
Aktaruzzaman Firoz, 28, graduated with a master’s in sociology in 2021 but hasn’t been able to find work despite applying for 50 positions. He entered the race for a government job this year with 500 applicants competing for two spots, he said. He made it to the final round but lost out.
To scrape by, Firoz borrows money from his father, a low-level civil servant in their rural hometown who recently had open-heart surgery. He has put off ambitions to seek a life partner. “If I can’t take responsibility for my family, how can I go for marriage?” he said.
Many Bangladeshis have their hearts set on prestigious government work because the country’s underdeveloped private sector doesn’t provide many steady white-collar jobs. This year’s protests were sparked by a June court decision to reserve 30% of government appointments for families of Bangladeshi veterans of the country’s Liberation War.
A 26-year-old student leader of the protests, Asif Mahmud, is now a government minister overseeing the youth and labor ministries. “One of the main drivers of these protests was the growing job crisis,” he said. He aims to fix the problem by enabling schools and universities to work with industry to churn out employment-ready graduates, he said. “The total number of job opportunities is not enough for Bangladesh, in terms of its population,” said Mahmud. Twitter
Afghanistan
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[8/27/2024 11:46 AM, 91.3K followers, 53 retweets, 81 likes]
AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban’s recently issued “morality decree” is a brazen attack on human rights and must be immediately revoked. In flagrant violation of the country’s obligations under international law, the decree institutionalizes draconian restrictions imposed against women and girls in the country since their takeover in 2021 and introduces new restrictions such as calling the sound of women’s voices in public a “moral” violation. Women and girls are already facing intolerable restrictions and attacks on their rights - that affect all aspects of their life - under the de facto Taliban rule. The decree introduces far-reaching and wide-ranging restrictions on the fundamental rights of people in the country, including on how men and boys can trim their beards or hair.
The repressive decree also empowers the so-called morality inspectors (police) of the Taliban to threaten and detain those deemed violating the Taliban’s "morality code". As the country’s de facto authorities, the Taliban must respect, protect and fulfil Afghanistan’s obligations under the human rights treaties that the country is signatory to.
Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists have investigated and documented that the Taliban’s severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls, together with their use of imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearance, can amount to crime against humanity of gender persecution under the Rome Statute.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/28/2024 2:24 AM, 232.5K followers, 8 retweets, 24 likes]
Afghan women keep singing loud and proud. Despite the Taliban’s draconian laws forcing them to stay silent in public, they’re posting videos of themselves singing.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/28/2024 1:54 AM, 232.5K followers, 50 retweets, 97 likes]
Afghanistan’s iconic singer Aryana Sayeed sings “Freedom” for the women recently banned from speaking and showing their faces in public by the Taliban, at the Melbourne Film Festival. Afghan women need more strong voices like hers to join their fight for freedom.
Shaharzad Akbar@ShaharzadAkbar
[8/27/2024 10:16 AM, 174.9K followers, 5 retweets, 11 likes]
Unsurprisingly, Taliban continue & intensify their acts on human rights & women’s rights. In @rawadari_org, we have been documenting these attacks since their return to power, but their new "law" will increase enforcement of brutal restrictions & strenghten perpetuating entities.
John Walters@john_walters_
[8/27/2024 12:55 PM, 3.5K followers, 20 retweets, 69 likes]
The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, which the Biden administration’s policies enabled, has harmed US interests in the region. Read my colleague @LukeDCoffey on how to put America’s Afghanistan policy back on track: https://hudson.org/terrorism/us-should-support-national-resistance-front-afghanistan-luke-coffey
Mina Sharif@minasharif
[8/27/2024 8:17 AM, 35.1K followers, 430 retweets, 892 likes]
In Afghanistan, clothing FROM AFGHANISTAN is not allowed. Musical instruments FROM AFGHANISTAN are not allowed. Singing our own songs is banned. This is not anti-western, it’s anti-Afghanistan. Taliban’s target is the erasure of our thousands year old culture, our existence. Pakistan
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[8/27/2024 2:48 PM, 3.1M followers, 62 retweets, 291 likes]
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chairs a meeting of the Federal Cabinet earlier today. (27-08-2024) https://x.com/i/status/1828504949648732331
Imran Khan@ImranKhanPTI
[8/27/2024 3:20 AM, 20.8M followers, 14K retweets, 25K likes]
Message from Imran Khan, Founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, from Adiala Jail
1. I want to remind my nation that there have been two attempts on my life: first in Wazirabad, and then again at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad. The ISI stole the CCTV footage from Wazirabad, and the night before the attack in Islamabad, the ISI had taken control of the area where it happened.
Now they are even more nervous. In their panic, they have made my conditions in jail even tougher. The staff assigned to ensure that my food isn’t poisoned has been changed for the fourth time. My cell is as hot as an oven. But despite these challenges, I will not give in or demand any special treatment. The ISI controls all administrative matters related to my imprisonment. I’m saying it again: if anything happens to me, the Army Chief and DG ISI will be responsible. There are rats in Bushra Begum’s room. They fall from above when she performs her prayers, and she has been complaining about this for three months. The court has now been informed.
2. I have already explained why the Islamabad rally was postponed. It had nothing to do with contacts with the establishment. This entire government runs on lies; I don’t even read the news about them. I have no contact with the establishment. If we do hold talks with them, it will only be for the sake of the country and the constitution.
3. Just like Israel asks Palestinians to forget about the past, you are asking me to forget the fraudulent elections! Peace and stability come from justice. The people of East Pakistan were seeking justice; they were not against us. Ensure that justice is served before talking about national reconciliation. Cattle can be herded in a desired direction, not humans. Look at what happened in Bangladesh: the Army Chief, Chief Justice, and Police Chief were all loyal to the Prime Minister, but when the people took to the streets, they won their rights.
Despite everything, on February 8, 2024, in the elections, the nation rejected the false state narrative, especially concerning May 9th. People admire the armed forces because they are seen as the defenders. Before the February 8th elections, a false flag operation was carried out against the nation, during which our people were subjected to violence and restrictions were imposed on our party. Yet, the people rejected the state narrative and made their stance clear.
An illegitimate Form 47 government has been imposed, which has no interest in institutional reforms. They have only increased borrowing and caused unprecedented inflation. Since all their wealth is stashed abroad, they don’t care whether Pakistan progresses or declines. Large multinational companies and skilled professionals are leaving the country. The CEO of Shaukat Khanum Hospital has informed me that it is becoming increasingly difficult to run the institution as many professionals are leaving. Only a government with a genuine mandate will be able to plan for fundamental reforms.
Anyone critical of the regime is labeled a digital terrorist. When internet services were shut down, people protested, but those in power couldn’t handle the criticism. No one is permitted to even voice their problems. The nation blames a specific institution for this. I care about my country; my life and death are tied to Pakistan. I don’t have any wealth stashed outside the country, and I will not make dirty deals like Zardari or Nawaz Sharif. What is being done now is akin to suicide. 1/2
Imran Khan@ImranKhanPTI
[8/27/2024 3:20 AM, 20.8M followers, 4.2K retweets, 6.8K likes]
4. Mohsin Naqvi owns property worth five million dollars in Dubai under his wife’s name. He is involved in the wheat procurement scandal and was behind the most fraudulent election in our country. What are his qualifications? Under him, the law-and-order situation across the country is deteriorating. Every day, people are being martyred in KP and Balochistan. The Punjab Police has been tasked with targeting PTI, which has allowed thieves and bandits to grow so strong that they have started abducting and murdering police officers. Mohsin Naqvi himself was investigated by NAB for corruption in 2008. Cricket is the only sport the entire nation watches with great interest on TV, but even that has been destroyed by powerful quarters who brought in an unqualified, favored official to maintain their control. For the first time, we didn’t make it to the top four in the World Cup or the top eight in T20. And yesterday, we faced an embarrassing defeat against Bangladesh, setting a new low. Just two-and-a-half years ago, this team had defeated India by 10 wickets. What has happened in these two-and-a-half years that we lost to Bangladesh by 10 wickets? The blame for all of this collapse falls on one institution. 2/2
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[8/27/2024 10:05 AM, 73.6K followers, 21 retweets, 173 likes]
The United States, United Kingdom, China, Turkey, Iran are among the countries that have condemned the heinous act of terrorism in Balochistan on 25th and 26th August which has been claimed by terror outfit BLA. #Pakistan
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK
[8/27/2024 1:14 PM, 8.5M followers, 31 retweets, 122 likes]
Pakistan govt vehemently opposes judicial probe into gruesome murder of awarded journo Arshad Sharif - YouTube India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/27/2024 11:47 PM, 101.4K followers, 2.6K retweets, 11K likes]
Today, we mark a momentous occasion— #10YearsOfJanDhan. Congratulations to all the beneficiaries and compliments to all those who worked to make this scheme a success. Jan Dhan Yojana has been paramount in boosting financial inclusion and giving dignity to crores of people, especially women, youth, and the marginalized communities.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/27/2024 5:14 AM, 101.4K followers, 8.2K retweets, 51K likes]
Spoke with President Putin today. Discussed measures to further strengthen Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. Exchanged perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and my insights from the recent visit to Ukraine. Reiterated India’s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict.President of India@rashtrapatibhvn
[8/28/2024 3:02 AM, 25.6M followers, 62 retweets, 398 likes]
A delegation of Press Trust of India (PTI), led by Shri Vijay Joshi, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the 77th anniversary of PTI.Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[8/28/2024 12:34 AM, 3.2M followers, 51 retweets, 403 likes]
The world’s largest financial inclusion initiative PM Jan Dhan Yojana completes 10 years of success. #10YearsOfJanDhan Its transformational impact on financial inclusion, women empowerment, access to credit, UPI and digital services are crucial steps in the journey to Vikasit Bharat. NSB
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[8/27/2024 7:05 AM, 91.3K followers, 5 retweets, 14 likes]
Bangladesh: Michael Chakma, an Indigenous rights activist from Chittagong Hill Tracts, was forcibly disappeared by the Bangladeshi authorities for more than five years since April 2019. He is one of the three people who were released after 5 August, after the change in the government following widespread protests. Here, he recounts his ordeal.
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[8/27/2024 7:05 AM, 91.3K followers, 4 likes]
Meanwhile, Sanjida Islam and other members of ‘Mayer Daak’ and families of the disappeared are waiting for information of their loved ones. The release of three individuals and the new interim government’s commitment to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and form a commission to investigate all cases of enforced disappearance is a welcome first step.
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[8/27/2024 7:05 AM, 91.3K followers, 3 likes]
The authorities must further ensure the release of all others who have been subjected to enforced disappearance, and ensure truth, justice and reparations to the victims and their families. In cases of continued detention, they should be promptly brought before a judge to rule on the lawfulness of the arrest and the detention.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[8/27/2024 9:10 AM, 213K followers, 116 retweets, 239 likes]
This is very bad and oddly overlooked news from Bangladesh: ABT is a terror group inspired and influenced by AQ that was behind many of the attacks on bloggers and others in Bangladesh some years back. Rahmani himself is influential within radical circles. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/356166/ansarullah-bangla-team-chief-freed-from-kashimur
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[8/27/2024 9:10 AM, 213K followers, 6 retweets, 33 likes]
Rahmani was actually also released on bail briefly back in January. But he wasn’t free long. What’s troubling is that this time around, other cases against him (unclear how many) have reportedly been withdrawn. More info on his earlier brief release: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/back-planning-sabotage-day-after-release-3530046 Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[8/27/2024 1:42 PM, 265.5K followers, 231 retweets, 501 likes]
Lawless Bangladesh: The economy is already in dire straits, with the country requesting international bailouts. The burning down of this factory — just the latest example of vengeance attacks and killings — will only further scare away foreign investors.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives@MoFAmv
[8/27/2024 7:39 AM, 54.6K followers, 29 retweets, 38 likes]
IFRC Regional Director for Asia Pacific @AJMatheou called on Foreign Secretary Fathimath Inaya, today. During the discussion, both parties reflected on the collaboration between IFRC and Maldives and highlighted on the successful outcomes of programs implemented through @maldivianrc.
Moosa Zameer@MoosaZameer
[8/27/2024 2:09 PM, 13.8K followers, 38 retweets, 68 likes]
Today, I bid farewell to High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Rear Admiral S.M. Abul Kalam Azad. I thanked him for his invaluable contributions towards strengthening the close ties between our two countries during his tenure as High Commissioner. Wish him every success in his future endeavours. @BDHCMaldives @bdhc_maldives
M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc
[8/27/2024 9:59 AM, 6.3K followers, 5 retweets, 26 likes]
During my address to the gathering at The International Day of the Disappeared event organized by @ompsrilanka I reiterated our strong commitment to ensure justice and a dignified closure for the families and loved ones of the disappeared. Through the Office for Reparations (OR), ONUR & OMP we have consistently worked towards achieving this aim, and we appreciate the support of the international organizations and countries and I am confident that we can continue to work together on achieving these objectives @MFA_SriLanka
M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc
[8/27/2024 8:34 AM, 6.3K followers, 1 retweet, 30 likes]
Sri Lanka to introduce new law for Indigenous Community https://www.newswire.lk/2024/08/27/sri-lanka-to-introduce-new-law-for-indigenous-community/
Derek J. Grossman@DerekJGrossman
[8/27/2024 12:37 PM, 92K followers, 2 retweets, 10 likes]
Sri Lanka is hosting dueling India-China naval port calls. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indian-chinese-warships-dock-in-colombo-send-out-ripples/articleshow/112817022.cms Central Asia
Yerzhan Ashikbayev@KZAmbUS
[8/27/2024 3:54 PM, 2.6K followers, 8 retweets, 19 likes]
The Middle Corridor thrives! In just 7 months of 2024, cargo vol. surged by remarkable 1.6x to 2.56M tons on the Trans-Caspian Route, a 63% increase over last year. Following a 65% increase in 2023, back-to-back 60+% growth solidifies KZ’s role in boosting Eurasian trade flows.
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[8/28/2024 3:12 AM, 4.9K followers, 1 retweet, 1 like]
Meetings of the Permanent Representative of Tajikistan in Geneva https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15608/meetings-of-the-permanent-representative-of-the-republic-of-tajikistan-in-geneva
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[8/27/2024 12:58 PM, 198.5K followers, 5 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev held a meeting focused on energy conservation and the development of alternative energy sources. The country continues to build new power stations and increase generating capacity, while also implementing measures to save electricity and natural gas, with a particular emphasis on the adoption of energy-saving technologies and solar power stations. The meeting discussed strategies for reducing energy and gas losses, as well as successful examples of conservation efforts in various regions.{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.