SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Thursday, August 29, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
CIA official: Predictions about Afghanistan becoming a terror launching pad after U.S. exit ‘did not come to pass’ (NBC News)
NBC News [8/28/2024 4:15 PM, Dan De Luce, 46778K, Neutral]
Warnings that Afghanistan would become a launching pad for terrorist attacks around the world after the withdrawal of U.S. troops turned out to be wrong, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said Wednesday.
"The dire predictions have not come to pass," he said at a national security conference in Rockville, Maryland.
Cohen was referring to warnings from some lawmakers and analysts that President Joe Biden’s decision to pull out U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 has opened the door to a resurgence of terrorist groups in that country.
Republican lawmakers have blasted the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S. exit and argued that Afghanistan is once again a safe haven for terrorist groups,including ISIS-K.
A United Nations report in July said that foreign governments are increasingly concerned about terrorist threats from Afghanistan, including ISIS-K. The report said ISIS-K relies on networks of "facilitators" in Afghanistan and Turkey that are capable of moving operatives from Central Asia and Afghanistan "towards Europe to conduct external operations."
ISIS-K has bolstered its financial, logistical and recruitment efforts and likely provided fighters, funds and training for large-scale attacks carried out earlier this year in Russia and Iran, according to the U.N. report.
Cohen said that Washington has shifted its national security priorities in recent years to focus on China and Russia, but said that combating terrorism remains a mission at which the country’s intelligence agencies cannot afford to fail.
"We continue to invest in it, we’re continuing to deploy resources," Cohen said.
He said that the IslamicState terrorist group, including its branch in Afghanistan known as ISIS-K, remains the top terrorist threat.
The terrorist threat landscape is now more diffuse and, in some ways, more complicated than after the years following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, he said.
But he added that "it’s worthwhile to take stock of some progress" in the U.S. counterterrorism fight.
Cohen cited the U.S. operation that killed Al Qaeda’s chief, Ayman Zawahiri, in a safe house in Kabul in 2022 as an example of a counterterrorism success.
He also said that the CIA has kept in communication with the Taliban, which now rules Afghanistan, reminding the group of its commitment to ensure the country does not again become a staging ground for terrorist attacks abroad.
"We have been engaging with them, all throughout this period, in various ways, as they have taken on the effort to combat both Al Qaeda and ISIS-K," Cohen said,
"And so this isn’t a ‘mission accomplished’ sort of thing. But it is worth noting that in Afghanistan today, the dire predictions have not come to pass," he said.
Vienna plot foiled
Cohen said the CIA and other intelligence agencies played a pivotal role in helping Austrian authorities thwart a potentially lethal plot by operatives linked to ISIS to attack a scheduled Taylor Swift concert in Vienna earlier this month.
The suspects "were plotting to kill a huge number of people," he said.
"The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do," Cohen said.
As a result, hundreds of lives were saved, he said, an example of what he called the "successes" in counterterrorism efforts that sometimes go overlooked.
"We do occasionally make progress," Cohen said.
Swift had been scheduled to perform Aug. 8-10 at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna to an estimated 170,000 fans. But the shows were called off after Austrian police said Aug. 7 that the planned terrorist attack had targeted the concerts. Afghanistan after 3 years of Taliban rule: Women silenced and oppressed as ISIS and al Qaeda regroup (CBS News)
CBS News [8/28/2024 11:47 AM, Ahmad Mukhtar, 59828K, Negative]
The last U.S. troops left Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021. Three years later, the Taliban’s return to power has allowed al Qaeda and other terrorist groups to regain a presence in the country, and deprived Afghan women and girls of basic freedoms they were granted during two decades of Western-backed government following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
In a show of force to mark their third year in power, the Taliban held a parade at Bagram Airfield earlier this month. The sprawling base was the primary hub for U.S. troops in Afghanistan as they hunted Taliban and al Qaeda militants in the 20 years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
The Taliban used the parade to show off U.S. and NATO military equipment abandoned by the foreign forces when they left in a chaotic withdrawal.
Taliban fighters also gathered in a diplomatic district of Kabul, outside the now-abandoned U.S. embassy compound, chanting "death to America" as they trampled a U.S. flag that had trailed from the back of a Ford truck previously used by the U.S.-backed police force.
"Intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women"
Afghan women and girls have suffered enormously under the Taliban’s authoritarian rule. The new government has issued dozens of draconian edicts, systematically excluding women and girls from public life, depriving them of education and employment and subjecting them to detention and even physical assault for daring to advocate for their fundamental rights.
Under the Taliban, Afghanistan has become the only country in the world where girls and women are prohibited from pursuing secondary and higher education.
Last week, the Taliban announced yet more restrictions under the guise of a new "vice and virtue" law. One of the law’s 35 articles declares that women’s faces and voices are sources of temptation that must not be heard or seen in public.
"When a mature woman needs to leave her home, she must cover her face, body, and make sure that her voice is not heard," according to the law.
The measures also bar Afghan women from engaging with "infidel women," and men from associating with "infidel foreigners," using a term that generally refers to non-Muslims. Men can also be imprisoned for listening to music, shaving or trimming their beards or wearing neckties.
"It is a distressing vision for Afghanistan’s future, where moral inspectors have discretionary powers to threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of infractions," said Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General who also heads the U.N.’s mission in Afghanistan, in a statement on Sunday.
She said the new law "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."
According to UNESCO, more than 1.4 million girls are being deliberately deprived of schooling in Afghanistan, putting the future of an entire generation in jeopardy.
The Taliban has also reinstated public flogging of people accused of various crimes, with authorities lashing hundreds of people over the past three years.
"The Taliban have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis since taking power," said the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. "Under the Taliban’s abusive rule, Afghan women and girls are living their worst nightmares."
The return of al Qaeda and the threat of ISIS-K
A year after the U.S. and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, a U.S. drone strike killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul’s diplomatic district, but since then, the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks has reemerged and established new training facilities in the country.
A U.N. Security Council report published in July said al Qaeda had regrouped in Afghanistan and warned that it was aiming to conduct attacks beyond the country’s borders.
"Al Qaeda remains strategically patient, cooperating with other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and prioritizing its ongoing relationship with the Taliban," the U.N. report said, adding that it was operating "covertly in order to project the image of Taliban adherence to the provisions of the Doha agreement," which the Taliban negotiated with the U.S. under former President Donald Trump.
That deal saw the Taliban promise not to let any terrorist group find safe operating space in Afghanistan, but the U.N. report also noted the recent arrival of new al Qaeda members in the country, including a Libyan who it said was working at the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior. The individual has "no clear job description and has been issued an Afghan passport," the report said.
The regional ISIS affiliate, known as ISIS Khorasan, ISIS-K or ISKP, also poses a rising threat, with members having successfully infiltrated Afghanistan’s Taliban-run security ministries, according to the U.N.
Despite losing territory since the Taliban takeover, which has limited ISIS-K operations in the country, the group remains a significant threat to the region and beyond, the report said.
Deadly attacks over the last year in Moscow and Iran, and foiled plots in Europe, all show the group’s capacity to plan violence despite the Taliban’s security forces actively hunting its members.
"The Taliban have the will to fight against ISKP. They are really committed to do that, but they are lacking in operational capability to conduct really effective counterterrorism against the ISKP," Arian Sahrifi, a lecturer at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, said during a recent webinar.
Hafiz Zia Ahmad, a deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declared Afghanistan "a safe and stable country" in a social media post last week, claiming that Taliban forces had "successfully neutralized" ISIS-K in Afghanistan.
Dozens of Afghans stuck and still waiting for refuge
Dozens of people who were evacuated to third countries as the Taliban came back to power are still waiting to be relocated to the U.S. or Canada, including former government officials and Afghan forces. One of them is a man who piloted one of the helicopters used by then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to escape to Tajikistan.
Others include members of the former Afghan president’s protection services, former members of the Afghan Special Forces who worked directly with U.S. and NATO troops in the fight against the Taliban, and other high-ranking officials.
"We are in a modern prison," Qazizada, a former Afghan government prosecutor who’s been stuck in a humanitarian camp in Abu Dhabi since October 2021, told CBS News.
Qazizada, who declined to give his full first name for this article to protect family members still in Afghanistan, said more than 60 people, including 48 women and children, were stranded at the camp with him - all facing an uncertain future three years after their escape.
He said family members of Ghani’s helicopter pilot and personal security detail were still hiding in Afghanistan.
"Every time their kids ask when you come home, we can’t hold back our tears," Qazizada said. "The mental situation of women and children in the camp and in Afghanistan is very dire. Some are even contemplating suicide to end their suffering, but we try to give them hope."
"Almost all of us are taking [anti]depression pills," he said.
A significant number of former Afghan security forces sought refuge in neighboring Pakistan and Iran when the Taliban took back over, but many were later repatriated by those countries to Afghanistan.
In the first six months of 2024, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said it had documented at least nine cases of extrajudicial killings of former members of the security forces and nearly 100 instances of arbitrary arrests.
Relation with U.S. adversaries
While no country has formally recognized the Taliban regime as the new government of Afghanistan since its takeover in 2021, two U.S. adversaries, Russia and China, have granted the regime support on the international stage.
In a recent interview with a local TV network, the Taliban government’s deputy prime minister said the group had two allies in the U.N. Security Council with veto power. He didn’t name them, but of the five permanent Council members that have veto power, he could only have been referring to Russia and China. Counting them as allies gives the regime a diplomatic advantage it didn’t have during its previous period in power, potentially shielding it from any Security Council resolutions seeking action against the Taliban over its policies.
China, which shares a border with Afghanistan, is the only country to have sent an ambassador to Afghanistan, and leader Xi Jinping has accepted the accreditation of a Taliban ambassador to Beijing. The two countries have signed several mining contracts since the Taliban’s return to power.
Russia, meanwhile, said in May that it would soon remove the Taliban from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, which would lead to normalization of relations between the two countries. The Taliban welcomed the announcement and sent a delegation to visit Moscow. Afghan girls, women suffer three years after US withdrawal (VOA)
VOA [8/29/2024 3:00 AM, Anita Powell, 4.6M, Negative]
The hardships and heartbreak of three years of Taliban rule are reflected in the shining brown eyes of schoolgirl Parwana Malik. And on the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, advocates say Washington should take a harder look at the plight of countless young girls who have suffered under the hard-line regime.
In 2021, as the last U.S. troops were leaving after two decades in the country, Malik’s father sold her into marriage to a much older man.
She was 9 years old — young even by local standards, which see many Afghan girls married off in their teens.
In 2021, the U.N. Children’s Fund sounded the alarm about a drastic rise in child marriage as Western forces and aid organizations withdrew, and as desperate Afghan families lost the safety net those groups provided. Some betrothals, they said, involved infant girls as young as 20 days old.
And local media have reported that girls as young as 7 have been married off to Taliban commanders.“What the Taliban is doing to women and girls is absolutely a crime against humanity,” said Stephanie Sinclair, a photographer and founder of the nonprofit group Too Young to Wed. “And Afghan girls and women inside the country are really suffering, unlike anywhere else in the world.”
Earlier this month at an event marking the anniversary, a Taliban official gave a defiant speech criticizing foreign interference.
The new leadership “eliminated internal differences and expanded the scope of unity and cooperation in the country,” said Deputy Prime Minister Maulvi Abdul Kabir. “No one will be allowed to interfere in internal affairs, and Afghan soil will not be used against any country.”
Neither he nor the other three speakers at the event spoke about the day-to-day struggles of civilians. Women — including female journalists — were barred from the event. And this month, the regime passed a law that restricts women’s movements and requires them to cover their bodies and silence their voices in public.
The U.N.’s human rights body condemned the law as “egregious” and demanded its repeal.
"The newly adopted law on the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan cements policies that completely erase women’s presence in public, silencing their voices and depriving them of their individual autonomy, effectively attempting to render them into faceless, voiceless shadows,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Taliban are not officially recognized as Afghanistan’s leaders by the U.N. or by most countries. Yet this regime has been slowly gaining recognition. China this year became the first country to accept credentials from a Taliban-appointed ambassador. And Russia’s foreign minister recently called the Taliban “the real power” in the country.“We never removed our embassy from there, and neither did the People’s Republic of China,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “The Afghan ambassador presented his credentials to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing along with other ambassadors. Kazakhstan recently decided to remove them from the list of terrorist organizations. We’re planning to do the same."
Washington has refused to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government, and has kept its distance, though the White House has repeatedly mentioned that it maintains leverage over the group and has “over the horizon” capabilities to strike.
U.S. President Joe Biden did not mention the Taliban in his statement this week marking the anniversary of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal. He likes to describe Afghanistan as “the graveyard of empires” — so called because of the stubborn resistance to foreign influence by its lionized protectors.
Near the top of that ladder is late resistance fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud, dubbed the “Lion of the Panjshir.” The anti-Soviet guerrilla leader — slain by Taliban sympathizers in 2001 — is memorialized everywhere in the vivid green valley of that name. Panjshir was the last of the nation’s 34 provinces to fall in 2021.
From exile, Massoud’s eldest son now leads the nation’s resistance movement. This week, Ahmad Massoud, head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, argued that trampling the human rights of half of the population is not just bad policy but also bad politics.“They do not represent the will of the population,” he said. “Afghanistan’s youth, especially young girls, have dreams and aspirations no different from their peers around the globe.”
Vice President Kamala Harris also issued her own statement on the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal. Like Biden, she did not mention the regime’s dismal treatment of girls and women — though her campaign for her nation’s top job is a strong repudiation of the Taliban’s rule that girls cannot be schooled past sixth grade.Republican presidential challenger Donald Trump also focused on the deaths of 13 American servicemembers in criticizing the Biden administration’s pullout.
"Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” he said. “And the fake news doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Sinclair urged American leaders to focus not on the men in charge but on the female voices they have silenced, and to impose harsher consequences for it.“I saw those statements, and I really think that we really need to put more accountability, make more accountability, for the Taliban about addressing their crimes,” she said.
She and other advocates are urging foreign powers to further squeeze the regime.“Otherwise, we’re inching towards normalization little by little,” she said. “The next thing we’re going to hear is that primary schoolgirls are going to be out of school. … It’s only going to get worse. It’s been clear that this is not Taliban 2.0. This is the original hardline stance that they had in the late ‘90s. And we really need to do better.”
And now, amid these dismal discussions: a plot twist.
Too Young to Wed persuaded Parwana’s aged husband to return her to her family. Her story inspired the group to launch a fund in her name, which now feeds about 1,000 Afghan families per month and provides essential supplies like blankets and infant supplies.
And Parwana is now back where she belongs, Sinclair says: in school.“She’s quite the character,” Sinclair said. “She has a lot of big opinions, and she wants to be a teacher or a doctor, and she wants to do something, and she’s got the power to do it. … The problem is, she’s not living in a society that is permitting it under this regime, and unfortunately, there are millions of Parwanas right now.”
And as Parwana nears sixth grade — where most girls worry not about husbands but schoolwork, friends and the gale-force winds of puberty — she carries a heavy burden on her young shoulders: the knowledge that, unless something changes, her education will soon end.
But in the few years she has left, her smile wide and deep brown eyes shining with hope and joy, she clutches something else close to her chest: schoolbooks. ‘Gender apartheid’ takes hold in Afghanistan three years after US withdrawal (The Hill)
The Hill [8/28/2024 12:42 PM, Sarakshi Rai, 19591K, Negative]
A new Taliban edict banning women in Afghanistan from baring their faces and speaking in public places is spotlighting the betrayal felt by Afghan women and their allies three years after America’s withdrawal from the country.After seeing major progress in women’s rights during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, Afghan women now face restrictions on their movements without a male relative, and women have to cover their bodies and faces with a thick, heavy cloth while in public. Secondary school for girls is nonexistent, and more and more of their freedoms have eroded.Parasto Hakim, who runs underground schools for girls, called what’s happening on the ground in Afghanistan “gender apartheid.” Women on the ground say the latest ban is rolling out unevenly, depending on the Taliban fighter or official they encounter. But in the days since the new edict came into effect, billboards and banners have been going up throughout the South Asian country dictating how women should dress.In posts on the social platform X, Hakim said the restrictions will likely expand, possibly even to primary schools. “Afghan women will once again face the worst gender apartheid under Taliban rule, as they did after 1996,” she added.In the 1,095 days since the U.S. withdrew and the Taliban rapidly took power, Heather Barr, interim co-director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, said women, girls and their families in Afghanistan are slowly giving up hope on the situation changing.“[Over] time, they give up and they start thinking about who you should marry, and the support you have to try and study at home drifts away in terms of people supplying you with books, people supplying you with computers, internet, and stuff like that.”Living in that environment, and the impact on their mental health, is the toughest toll Afghan women and girls face, according to Barr.“You’re stressed and angry at first, but over time, you kind of subside into depression and hopelessness, which I think is what a lot of the women and girls that we talk to are now feeling,” Barr said. It’s also getting harder for women under the Taliban regime to see any light at the end of the tunnel, she added.
“To sustain this belief that you’re going to win in the end. How can you? It’s very hard to kind of stay in that mindset when three years have passed.”But women in the country are also mounting their own, quiet resistance to the new Taliban edicts — at times risking their safety to express their dissent. Women are posting and sharing videos of themselves singing, despite the Taliban’s laws forcing them to stay silent in public.“Afghan women are defying the Taliban’s ban on women speaking in public by singing out loud. Let’s stand with them and support their powerful voices,” Habib Khan, founder of Afghan Peace Watch, wrote on X.In a statement to The Hill, Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, said that the Taliban’s relentless, discriminatory edicts are unparalleled. “Their institutionalized efforts targeting the women and girls of Afghanistan constitute gender persecution. These extreme policies are self-defeating and reinforce views that the Taliban are pursuing the same approach that made them a pariah in the 1990s,” Amiri said.The special envoy added the U.S. will use “every tool at our disposal to support Afghan women and girls, including working with and mobilizing the international community to ensure we collectively make clear to the Taliban any progress in normalized relations will be contingent on ending these extreme policies and making significant improvements in the human rights situation in Afghanistan.”In an interview with LBC, Hakim asked: “isn’t it time to ask the world leaders who handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban — what were you thinking?”This sentiment is echoed by Women for Women International’s country director for Afghanistan, Payvand Seyedali, who told The Hill that “America, Canada, and the UK seem to have washed their hands — on the ground, we see very little impact from their engagement today.”
“What we saw on American TV during the evacuation was exactly how it felt on the ground — a mad, shocking, nonsensical withdrawal,” Seyedal said. “That chaos still has reverberations we feel today.”She is also critical of United Nations Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, who recently highlighted Afghan women’s concerns at the Doha III meeting in June this year but had Afghan women excluded from those talks with the Taliban.According to Seyedali, protests from women’s rights groups led to a hurriedly planned two-hour event the day following Doha III, where select Afghan women were invited with little notice, and no time to consult with wider groups of women. Many did not attend, expressing feelings on media of being a tokenized afterthought.Seyedali, who is based in Kabul, said the U.N. really “struggles to walk the walk.”
“They seem to be at a loss politically, and disconnected beyond humanitarian engagement. This stalemate comes at an incredibly high cost, draining donor investment with questionable return on investment — especially for women,” she added.The Hill has reached out to the U.N. about the criticisms. Roza Otunbayeva, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement the new laws “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.”The statement added that, “The international community has been seeking, in good faith, to constructively engage with the de facto authorities.”Rights groups after the May meeting in Doha strongly criticized the controversial U.N. move to exclude the groups, including women’s rights activists, from the two-day meeting on Afghanistan as the toll for the Taliban government’s participation.A statement issued by a group of U.S. policy advocates for Afghan women and girls said that despite these egregious violations of women’s rights, there has not been a coherent, coordinated and rights-based response to this crisis from the international community.
“The response has been piecemeal. It has lacked a commitment to upholding human rights and international law through concrete steps such as measures to hold the Taliban accountable for their abuses. Instead, the international community has engaged in a pattern of gradually accepting the Taliban’s violations of the rights of women and girls. This poses a dangerous trend toward the normalization of such abuses,” the statement added. According to Lina Tori Jan, a policy officer at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the U.S. can help fund women-led organizations both inside and outside the country to effectively engage with women in Afghanistan.She added that there are a few steps that can be taken including delivering on the commitments made to the Afghan allies and well as including Afghan women in all policy dialogues in relation to the country.In a statement to The Hill, a British embassy spokesperson said the U.K. continues to provide humanitarian support to the most vulnerable and press the Taliban on human rights.“As part of UK diplomatic engagement, we regularly meet a range of Afghan women to ensure our policy and programming reflect their views. Afghan women must have a say in their country’s future governance,” the statement added. However, Seyedali said that while they see those who visit from these governments try to speak up and push, “we see a common refrain of chargé d’affaires on the ground advising headquarters — but unable to move the needle.”According to Barr, there is a kind of “deep rage” at the international community, particularly Western countries like the U.S. and U.K., that were involved in military operations from 2001 on.
“They feel like you created this situation,” Barr said of the sentiment of Afghan women toward Western governments. “You made the deal with the Taliban in Doha, which we were shut out of. You handed the country over to the Taliban. And now we’re the ones who have to live with it. And you don’t seem very interested in hearing about it anymore.” Afghanistan Slides Into ‘Ever More Hellish Conditions’ After New Morality Law Enacted (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/29/2024 12:00 AM, Abubakar Siddique, 235K, Negative]
The Taliban has attempted to police the public appearances and behavior of millions of Afghans, especially women, since seizing power in 2021.
But the enforcement of the extremist group’s rules governing morality, including its strict Islamic dress code and gender segregation in society, was sporadic and uneven across the country.
Now, the hard-line Islamist group has formally codified into law its long set of draconian restrictions, triggering fear among Afghans of stricter enforcement.
The Law On the Propagation Of Virtue And Prevention Of Vice, which was officially enacted and published on August 21, imposes severe restrictions on the appearances, behavior, and movement of women. The law also enforces constraints on men.
Adela, a middle-aged woman, is the sole breadwinner for her family of 10. She is concerned that the new morality law will erode the few rights that women still have.
The Taliban has allowed some women, primarily in the health and education sectors, to work outside their homes.
"I fear that Afghan women will no longer be able to go to their jobs," Adela, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.
Dilawar, a resident of the capital, Kabul, warned of a public backlash if the Taliban intensified the enforcement of its widely detested restrictions.
"The youth are suffering from extreme unemployment. Oppressing them…will provoke reactions," the 26-year-old, whose name was also changed due to security concerns, told Radio Azadi.
Long List Of Restrictions
The new morality law consists of 35 articles, many of which target women.
Women are required to fully cover their faces and bodies when in public and are banned from wearing "transparent, tight, or short" clothing. The law also bans women from raising their voices or singing in public.
Women must also be accompanied by a male chaperone when they leave their homes and cannot use public transport without a male companion.
The law forbids unrelated adult men and women from looking at each other in public.
Men must also dress modestly, even when playing sports or exercising. They are prohibited from shaving or trimming their beards. Men are also compelled to attend prayers as well as fast during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan.“[Men] should not get haircuts, which violate Islamic Shari’a law,” says one of the articles in the law. "Friendship and helping [non-Muslim] infidels and mimicking their appearance" is prohibited.
Afghans are forbidden from "using or promoting" crossses, neckties, and other symbols deemed to be Western.
Premarital sex and homosexuality are outlawed. Drinking alcohol, the use of illicit drugs, and gambling are considered serious crimes.
Playing or listening to music in public is banned. Meanwhile, the celebration of non-Muslim holidays, including Norouz, the Persian New Year, are also prohibited.
The Taliban’s dreaded morality police are responsible for enforcing the morality law. The force, believed to number several thousand, is overseen by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
Under the new law, the powers of the morality police have been expanded.
Members of the force will be deployed across the country to monitor compliance, according to the law. Members of the morality police are instructed to issue warnings to offenders. Repeat offenders can be detained, fined, and even have their property confiscated.
The morality police can detain offenders for up to three days and hand out punishments "deemed appropriate" without a trial.
The Taliban revealed last week that the force detained more than 13,000 Afghans during the past year for violating the extremist group’s morality rules.‘Hellish Conditions’
The Taliban’s morality law has been widely condemned by Afghans, Western countries, and human rights organizations.
The Taliban has defended the law, which it claims is “firmly rooted in Islamic teachings.”
"This new law is deeply harmful," said Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. "It represents a hardening and institutionalization of these rules by giving them the status of law."
She said the law is a "serious escalation" and "swift slide to ever more hellish conditions for Afghan women and girls."
Roza Otunbaeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, on August 25 called the law a "distressing vision for Afghanistan’s future" because of the broad powers the Taliban’s morality police will have "to threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of infractions."
Obaidullah Baheer, a lecturer of politics at the American University of Afghanistan, said that parts of the morality law are "extremely vague."
Yet, the morality police are given broad powers, including to "arbitrarily" punish people without due process, he said.
"[This is] making them the judge, jury, and executioner," said Baheer. Outgoing EU Diplomat Raffaella Iodice Reflects on Her Time in Afghanistan (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/28/2024 10:39 AM, Freshta Jalalzai, 1198K, Neutral]
Raffaella Iodice, the European Union’s Chargée d’Affaires in Kabul, departed Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 27, carrying in her memory the lingering scent of pomegranates and the breathtaking view of Kabul’s hills.
"It has not been easy to work here," she reflected in an exclusive exchange with The Diplomat.
"Yet, when I ascend to the rooftop of my residence and gaze upon the hills encircling Kabul, or when I traverse the streets, where my presence as a woman might even elicit some complaints, I am consistently moved by the warmth and smiles of the people."
Iodice usually adorned herself in traditional Afghan attire and a headscarf, in deference to local customs. Her adaptation to Afghan customs went beyond mere symbolism. Whether amid families devastated by floods in Herat or standing alongside women reporters in a Kabul newsroom, she remained steadfast in her support for the most vulnerable. She stood by the girls and women of Afghanistan when nearly everyone else had left, a commitment that deeply resonated with many in the war-torn nation.
The fact that she was a woman made a difference.
"I was meeting a group of young girls in Herat when floods came, and I asked them what they wanted to become. One of them said she wanted to be like me. That will stick with me for a long time."
This cultural sensitivity not only facilitated her work but also bridged the gap between her role as a foreign diplomat and the lived experiences of those she aimed to support.
"I never faced a closed door," she noted. "None!"
In Iodice’s opinion, Afghanistan is not a black-and-white picture but a place with significant room for improvement, achievable only through continued dialogue.
Her time in Afghanistan has been marked by a profound emotional impact, from the warmth of its people to the despair she witnessed in Afghan girls and women who lived under severe restrictions. Iodice views Afghanistan as a land of profound complexity, where hope persists even in the darkest of times.
"Hope, for me, is not mere optimism but a deep belief in the potential of the Afghan people. The strength of this country does not lie in labels, ethnic groups, or regions, but in the collective will of its people," she said. "I have witnessed countless examples of courage - men and women who, despite facing unimaginable hardships, continue to strive for a better future."
As the only Western diplomat on the ground after the Afghan government’s collapse in 2021 and the Taliban’s takeover, Iodice had to shoulder the daunting task of restarting an office amid a rapidly shifting political landscape.
Returning to Afghanistan, she said, was a courageous decision on the European Union’s part, but it was not easy. Navigating edicts, addressing communication breakdowns, and finding a delicate balance between taking action and not worsening existing issues were among the significant challenges she encountered.
"My daughters and brothers were very worried when I decided to come to Afghanistan after the fall of the government [the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]. It was a brave move, I would say," Iodice recalled. "However, I am no stranger here; I had been coming for humanitarian work since 2016. So, I felt at home when I arrived, and I often remind people that, despite the challenges, life goes on here."
After more than two years, she departs at a critical juncture. The plight of Afghan girls and women remains dire, with little to no improvement - a primary criticism she encountered during her time in the country. Amid the education and employment restrictions imposed by the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate, the most frequent question Iodice faced was, "Why aren’t schools opening?"
This question remains difficult to answer even today, she said, but "one thing is clear: the right to education for girls is not merely a Western demand, but a demand of the Afghan people."
But the Taliban authorities apparently aren’t bothered. Instead, they have doubled down, again and again, on the restrictions against women.
The recent edicts mandating women to silence their voices and barring them from appearing unveiled in public have sparked outrage among Afghan women’s rights groups and drawn widespread condemnation globally.
In a statement, the United Nations denounced these measures. Its head of mission in Afghanistan said these laws exacerbate the "already intolerable restrictions" on women’s and girls’ rights, where "even the sound of a female voice" outside the home is now considered a moral transgression.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, expressed outrage in a statement on Monday, describing the Taliban’s decree as "another serious blow to the rights of women and girls, which cannot be tolerated." He urged the Taliban to end these systemic abuses.
Reacting to the regression in women’s and girls’ rights, Iodice emphasized that every nation in the world recognizes the right of girls to receive an education, and Afghanistan should be no exception.
"It’s devastating to witness young girls being abruptly denied the opportunity to attend school or university," she remarked. "Afghanistan has always been a deeply traditional society, and we cannot expect swift societal transformations. It is the Afghan people, not outsiders, who must lead these changes."That’s why Iodice advocates for dialogue, even with those who hold opposing views. "We must continue to engage, to support, and to believe in the possibility of a better future for Afghanistan," she asserted.
While imploring the international community to maintain its commitment and not turn its back on the masses in this critical situation, she highlighted the international community’s isolation of Afghanistan as a multifaceted issue with no easy solutions.
The country, long battered by nearly five decades of conflict and war, has been profoundly impacted by the fall of the government in 2021. This event was followed by the abrupt withdrawal of the international community, a sharp reduction in aid, sanctions, and political isolation, all exacerbated by climate change, which has caused devastating floods.
Afghanistan ranks among the poorest and least developed nations globally, positioned 182 out of 193 countries and territories on the 2024 Human Development Index. The country also stands at the heart of one of the world’s most persistent and complex humanitarian crises. According to the United Nations, nearly 23 million people in Afghanistan now rely on humanitarian assistance - five times more than in 2019 - with over 15 million facing severe food insecurity. Recent catastrophic floods in central and northern regions have only worsened the crisis.
In May 2024, Edem Wosornu from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), after visiting Afghanistan, told journalists in New York that a $3.6 billion appeal for the country was only 16 percent funded, urging the international community to remain engaged.
"This is not a hopeless crisis. At least I was encouraged to see that the people of Afghanistan continue to fight and push for what they believe in," Wosornu said. "The world cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan at this point."
In the three years since the Taliban regained control, Afghanistan has achieved some stability, but the situation remains highly fragile. Prior to the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, foreign aid accounted for approximately 40 percent of the country’s GDP, covering over half of the government’s $6 billion annual budget and financing 75 to 80 percent of public expenditures. However, following the collapse, aid was predominantly limited to physical shipments of U.S. dollars.
The U.S. and European nations froze nearly $9.5 billion in Afghan external reserves, which left the country’s central bank not only without access to its assets, but also disconnected from the global financial system. This abrupt change, together with the diplomatic isolation, plunged Afghanistan into severe economic decline and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
The top EU diplomat in the country, however, refuted the notion that the world has entirely turned its back on Afghanistan. Iodice emphasized that efforts continue to reach out and support the most vulnerable populations - women and children included.
"Many are trying to help. We are here. The aid that is coming from the EU, the U.N., and the U.S. is a lifeline for the Afghan people, which is only reaching those in need, not the government," she stressed.These funds are delivered under the coordination of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and distributed through various U.N. agencies and international NGOs.
Undoubtedly, the limited financial support and the near-global political isolation are adversely affecting the Afghan population, leaving them cut off from the rest of the world. Canadian journalist and author Kathy Gannon, who has spent decades reporting on the conflict in Afghanistan, elucidated the negative impact of the continued political isolation in her New York Times opinion piece, "It’s Time to Go Back to Afghanistan."
The issue of legitimacy is also crucial for the de facto authorities. Although the Taliban leadership may not always discuss it openly, behind closed doors they recognize the importance of securing legitimacy if they wish to sustain control over a country with over 40 million people who want to have access to the world and improve their lives. Despite diplomatic overtures from countries like Russia, China, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Kazakhstan, the Taliban’s efforts to gain recognition remain stymied by the international community. Afghanistan’s representation at the United Nations, appointed by the previous government, remains unchanged, with the Taliban denied the country’s seat.
However, the U.N. has been particularly vocal about the issue of education for Afghan girls and women’s rights, emphasizing that these violations not only infringe upon fundamental human rights but also jeopardize the country’s future prospects.
In 2023, Roza Otunbayeva, head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, underscored this paradox in her address to the U.N. Security Council, warning that while the Taliban seeks recognition from the U.N. and its 192 member states, their actions starkly violate the fundamental principles of the U.N. Charter, making such recognition unattainable.
Echoing this sentiment, Iodice cautioned that the prospects for normalizing relations or gaining recognition as Afghanistan’s legitimate government would remain "nearly impossible," especially among European nations, unless the ban on girls’ education is lifted and conditions for women’s rights improve.
Despite the stalemate, Iodice emphasized her hope that dialogue remains possible and underscored the necessity of engaging in difficult conversations.
"Diplomacy is talking to people, and mainly talking to people you don’t agree with. Diplomacy is used in wars. In Afghanistan, sometimes we have this hard feeling that we just don’t even want to have a number of difficult conversations on both sides."
Passing the torch to her successor, Veronika Bo\u0161kovi\u0107-Pohar, her advice was simple: "Listen, embrace, talk, and understand. Respect the culture of this country." Iodice emphasized that even amid the deepest trials, a path forward unfurls through the delicate threads of understanding and cooperation, though it is a journey that demands time and perseverance.
It is perplexing that, while the EU has managed to send two successive female representatives to Kabul, the U.S. operates its embassy from nearly 1,500 miles away in Qatar. Undoubtedly, the continued closure of the U.S. embassy in Kabul is not helping the Afghan populace or improving the global perception of U.S. diplomacy.
At the same time, despite occasional encouraging public statements and grand announcements about development projects, the Taliban leadership has not only failed to address human rights abuses, but also imposed increasing restrictions on women.
This disparity underscores the complexity of Afghanistan’s situation, where both internal and external obstacles hinder meaningful progress. Amidst this, millions of Afghans continue to face daily reminders of isolation, helplessness, and confusion. Afghanistan goes back to war — against women (Washington Post – opinion)
Washington Post [8/28/2024 4:20 PM, Editorial Board, 52865K, Neutral]
When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan after the August 2021 U.S. withdrawal, the radical Islamist group prohibited education for all girls beyond sixth grade. The Taliban said it was just a “temporary” measure. But then the regime followed up with a procession of decrees and rules that robbed women of their rights to education, health care, a livelihood and liberty. The schools never reopened. It turns out that nothing about the Taliban’s abuse of women was temporary.Many of these repressive measures have now been codified into a 114-page “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.” Taliban leaders revealed the new law, with penalties, last week in the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the takeover. The Associated Press viewed the text and published the details.The new law underscores that the Taliban wants to create a society of gender apartheid, in which the government silences women’s voices, robs them of their rights and makes them totally dependent on men. Afghanistan is experiencing the worst crisis of women’s rights in the world today.After the chaotic U.S. departure from Kabul, some diplomats speculated that the Taliban would be forced to give up the harsh rule it imposed between 1996 and 2001 because it would need international recognition to avert a severe humanitarian crisis. A Taliban spokesman announced at a news conference in August 2021 that it would not have enemies, internal or external. But these soothing promises turned out to be nonsense. The Taliban of today is every bit as dehumanizing as the old.According to the AP account of the new law, it mandates that women veil their bodies at all times in public and dictates that a face covering is essential to avoid temptations. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short. Women should veil themselves in front of all male strangers, including Muslims, and in front of all non-Muslims to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting or reading in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage, and vice versa. The law bans the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travelers and the mixing of men and women who are not related. The law also obliges passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times. Further, the law bans the publication of images of living beings, the AP reported, “threatening an already fragile Afghan media landscape.”The Taliban is destroying the country it governs. The absence of women and girls from education and commerce — aside from being a gross violation of their human rights — will harm the nation’s already floundering economy. The Taliban is afflicted with a sick and costly mysoginism. In October 2022, it banned women from choosing agriculture, mining, civil engineering, veterinary medicine and journalism as university majors, saying these subjects were “too difficult” for women. In December 2022, it banned women from public and private universities altogether.As Sahar Fetrat and Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch have pointed out, on the day before the Taliban took over, millions of Afghan girls were in school. “More than a quarter of the members of parliament were women. Women were government ministers and judges and professors and helicopter pilots. Women were singers and painters and conceptual artists and actors. There was a girls’ orchestra.” Now all of it is gone.The international community must not look away. Whenever there are contacts with the Taliban, other nations should include women in the delegations and speak out constantly in defense of the rights of women in Afghanistan. Overseas aid from around the world should be sent specifically to help women and girls and to keep alive the underground schools that, we are told, have been struggling to fill some of the gap caused by the Taliban’s measures.It would help keep hope alive among these women and girls to hear the United States speak out more about their plight; many were encouraged to claim their rightful place in society during the two decades of the American presence, but now they feel lost and forgotten.At the same time, the Taliban cannot escape accountability for this unconscionable smothering of the ambitions and daily lives of half the population. The U.S. Magnitsky Act was created to target those who grossly violate human rights; why not aim its sanctions at more the leaders of Afghanistan, who have promulgated such draconian laws? When will Congress do right by our Afghan allies? (The Hill – opinion)
The Hill [8/28/2024 2:00 PM, Jennie Murray, 19591K, Neutral]
It has now been three years since the fall of Kabul. Three years since the Taliban took over the country and hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals fled their homeland in search of a safe place to raise their families and rebuild their lives.The Afghan people did not choose to leave behind their homeland but were forced to like so many before them.
“I had a great life back in Afghanistan,” a 29-year-old Afghan asylum seeker currently living in the UK told PA Media. “I was working with humanitarian organizations and in the development sector. I was also working as a volunteer.”After the Taliban takeover, however, it became impossible for Afghans to live freely or safely. Girls are now banned from attending school. Poverty has nearly doubled. Arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings are commonplace. The threats of violence and persecution are woven into daily life.There is a diverse array of experiences within the Afghan evacuee community. While some are subject to violence and hatred in their new homes, others experience welcome and kindness. In many cases it is a mixture of both.I had the pleasure of helping to stand-up the welcoming efforts on our military bases as evacuees were brought to the U.S. and was able to meet so many of these incredible U.S. allies. I met remarkably dedicated individuals and families reeling from the loss of their lives in Afghanistan yet ready to contribute to our country with their skills and talents.Here in the U.S., we have a long history of welcoming refugees. We remain the country with the largest resettlement program in the world and have been a leader in the global community for decades, welcoming those who are looking for safety after they are forced to flee precarity at home. Our country’s refugee community has made America more vibrant, innovative and prosperous.In the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, 70,000 people were brought to the U.S. to begin the resettlement process. Today, there are even more who have come to our country for refuge.But three years after arriving in the U.S., Afghans who were evacuated amid the Taliban takeover still face a harrowing level of uncertainty, because Congress has failed to create a path to permanent legal status for this community.Because they were not resettled through the traditional refugee process, Afghan evacuees — many of whom risked their lives working with the U.S. military in their home country — have no clear way to obtain permanent residency or citizenship in their new home.Although the Biden administration has tried to help this population by expanding humanitarian parole, legislative action from Congress is the only real path to permanent change for Afghan evacuees in the U.S. The bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, for example, would offer a solution by providing a path to permanent citizenship, while expanding the efforts for those Afghans left behind. There is massive support for such legislation, including from national security leaders on the Council on National Security and Immigration. Yet we see almost no movement on such legislation, forcing those who have already been through so much to wait out their limbo.Despite this uncertainty, Afghan evacuees have built new lives in the U.S. They’ve joined our schools, neighborhoods, workplaces and churches. While we see so many stories of American welcome, we also see the individuals and families that still await permanent solutions, even after their long and difficult journeys.During the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, our military relied on Afghan men and women to assist our efforts and provide important skills such as translation. Through the work of many Afghan nationals, the lives of U.S. troops were saved.Our Afghan allies deserve stability. As we mark three years since the evacuation of those who risked their lives to assist us, Congress must pay heed and do right by these heroes and their families. The Afghan Adjustment Act is an opportunity for bipartisan action that upholds our nation’s legacy of welcome, allows Afghans to fully resettle and contribute to their new communities, and shows the world that when it comes to our allies across the world, we keep our word. Pakistan
China vows to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan (VOA)
VOA [8/28/2024 8:48 PM, Iftikhar Hussain, 4566K, Negative]
China pledged support for Pakistan’s anti-terrorism campaign after Baloch insurgents, with a history of opposing Chinese investments in the region, carried out a series of attacks in the southwestern Baluchistan province Monday.
More than 40 civilians and military personnel were killed. The military reported killing more than 20 attackers.
The province is home to China-funded mega projects, including the strategic deep-water port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, condemned the latest attacks.
"China stands prepared to strengthen counterterrorism and security cooperation with Pakistan in order to maintain peace and security in the region," Lin said during a Tuesday briefing in Beijing.
The insurgent group, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The multiple attacks in the resource-rich but impoverished Baluchistan province coincided with a trip to Pakistan by Li Qiaoming, the Chinese commander of the People’s Liberation Army ground forces, who met with Pakistan’s army chief General Syed Asim Munir.
"The meeting afforded an opportunity for in-depth discussions on matters of mutual interest, regional security, military training, and measures to further augment bilateral defense cooperation," said a press release issued by the Pakistani army.
Baloch separatist groups have strongly opposed the China-Pakistan alliance in Baluchistan, launching their third major secession campaign since 2006. They have targeted Chinese interests within and beyond the province. No Chinese were targeted in the latest attacks.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told his Cabinet the attacks aimed to disrupt a multibillion-dollar set of projects in the province known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said in a statement, "these attacks are a well-thought-out plan to create anarchy in Pakistan."
Growing violence in cash-strapped Pakistan, especially attacks targeting Chinese nationals and interests, have been a concern for Beijing.
Pakistan has been facing a prolonged debt crisis and has put all its eggs in China’s basket. Beijing had invested around $26 billion in Pakistan under CPEC, said Donald Lu, the U.S. State Department’s assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, during a congressional hearing last month
"The recent attacks have apparently worried China, but what we see is that China kept pressuring Pakistan in the wake of [a past] attack, instead of helping it out in its fight against militancy," Pakistani analyst Murad Ali told VOA.
He was referring to an attack by an Afghan citizen in March that killed five Chinese engineers.
"These attacks are particularly troubling for China, which has invested heavily in CPEC. The government is not doing enough to stop the violence," Abdullah Khan, an Islamabad-based security expert, told VOA.
Last month, weeks-long violent demonstrations in Pakistan’s Gwadar port city aggravated concerns about the country’s security situation and its impact on the Chinese projects in the province.
China called on Pakistan in March to eliminate security risks to its nationals following the suicide attack that killed five Chinese engineers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan’s northwestern volatile province.
Following that attack, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian asked Pakistan at a news conference "to conduct speedy and thorough investigations into the attack, step up security with concrete measures, completely eliminate security risks, and do everything possible to ensure the utmost safety of Chinese personnel, institutions, and projects in Pakistan."
Speaking in Islamabad in October Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong said CPEC had brought more than $25 billion in direct investments to Pakistan, created 155,000 jobs, and built 510 kilometers (316.8 miles) of expressways, 8,000 megawatts of electricity, and 886 kilometers (550.5 miles) of core transmission grids in Pakistan. Chinese General Li Visits Pakistan Amid Deteriorating Security (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/28/2024 6:53 AM, Umair Jamal, 1198K, Neutral]
The recent visit of the commander of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Forces, General Li Qiaoming, to Pakistan, underscores the strategic importance of their defense partnership, particularly as Pakistan grapples with an uptick in militant attacks along its borders.
High-level military talks during Li’s visit focused on critical regional security concerns, including the volatile situation along the Line of Control (LoC) with India, China-India border tensions, and the evolving dynamics in Kashmir and Afghanistan.
The timing of this visit is significant, as Pakistan seeks to bolster its defense ties with China amidst a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.
Pakistan faces security challenges from Afghanistan, where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operates under the protection of the Afghan Taliban regime. Pakistan’s efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the TTP problem have proven challenging as the country struggles to garner the support of nations like China to put pressure on Kabul to change its policy toward the militant outfit.Moreover, Pakistan’s Balochistan province, where China has significant investments, has seen a sudden increase in insurgent attacks, including during Li’s visit. The fresh wave of attacks, which left at least 50 people dead in the province, has renewed concerns about Pakistan’s ability to ensure security and provide a safe environment for Chinese investments and nationals.
While the latest attacks by Baloch militants may have been timed for local propaganda purposes, their coordination and scale suggest a well-planned operation. The incident and the overall increase in insurgent activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan do not reflect well internationally on Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to combat militancy.
In this regard, the visit of China’s army commander to Pakistan during this challenging security environment holds significance.
The visit, among other things, demonstrates China’s unwavering support for its strategic partner and underscores the importance of their defense cooperation in addressing regional security concerns.
Moreover, the visit of the Chinese army commander to Pakistan at a time when militancy seems to be on the rise sends a message to extremist groups that Beijing’s ties with Pakistan will outlast the militancy and are strategic and enduring in nature.
Following the recent attacks in Balochistan amid Li’s visit to Pakistan, China came out in support of the country, strongly condemning the latest militant forays in the province and pledging support to Pakistan in countering terrorism.
It is pertinent to note that while Pakistan may have been under increased pressure from militants in recent months, the country has done well to take the fight to the extremists. The ongoing accelerated counterterrorism operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have led to the killing of hundreds of TTP and Baloch militants across the country in recent weeks.
A security official told The Diplomat on condition of anonymity that everyone, including Pakistan’s allies, should understand that the militancy in Pakistan is a long-term challenge that the country will have to fight and overcome.
While that may be the case, the challenge for Pakistan is to convince the Chinese leadership that it can benefit from Beijing’s increased support with arms transfers to prepare a more effective response to contain militancy. Moreover, Pakistan could also benefit from increased Chinese diplomatic support to put pressure on leadership in Afghanistan and even Iran to deny space for militants that operate on Pakistan’s soil and are a threat to Chinese interests as well. This could prove constructive for Pakistan’s efforts to deal with the TTP as well as Baloch militants, given China’s considerable influence with both Tehran and Kabul.
It is important to note that while Pakistan’s overall ties with China may at times face some irritants, both countries’ military-to-military ties have deepened significantly over the past decade. Their armies and navies are increasingly sharing equipment, engaging in more sophisticated joint exercises, and exchanging staff and officers. As arms supply chains and communications networks between Pakistan and China are more compatible, the countries might be able to further deepen their defense capabilities.
In this context, Pakistan should use its growing military-to-military ties with China to win more support for its counterterrorism initiatives and capacity building.
It is unclear how strongly Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership broached the topic of enhancing counterterrorism capabilities and whether they asked for increased cooperation between the two armies to achieve common security objectives during the meeting with Li. Furthermore, it is unclear whether Pakistan’s political and economic ties with China will benefit from the Chinese army commander’s visit.
However, it can be argued that Pakistan’s efforts to transform its military-to-military cooperation with China will also depend on clearing up Beijing’s political concerns regarding persisting political instability in Pakistan and financial challenges like debt related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
As Pakistan navigates these complex challenges, the strengthening of its military ties with China could prove crucial in bolstering its security and regional influence. 4 people kidnapped, including army officer visiting northwest Pakistan to attend father’s funeral (AP)
AP [8/29/2024 2:45 AM, Staff, 456K, Negative]
Suspected militants kidnapped four people, including an army officer who was sitting in a mosque in a former stronghold of Pakistani Taliban to receive mourners after attending his father’s funeral, officials said Thursday.
No one claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s kidnapping of Lt. Col. Khalid Khan and three others in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan.
There was no immediate comment by the military or the government.
A local police official, Ikram Ullah, said efforts were underway to trace and recover the abducted persons: Khan, his two brothers who are also government officers, and one of his nephews.
Though Pakistani Taliban often target security forces in the northwest, such kidnappings are rare.
Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, have a strong presence in the restive northwest. TTP, which is a separate group but allied to the Afghan Taliban, has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
The kidnappings came days after Baloch separatists, who are allies of TTP, shot and killed more than 50 people, including 14 security forces, in one of the deadliest attacks in the southwestern Balochistan province.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Balochistan later Thursday to receive a briefing about ongoing operations against insurgents, officials said. In Pakistan’s Balochistan, deadly attacks rip uneasy migrant-local equation (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [8/28/2024 10:21 AM, Abid Hussain, 25768K, Negative]
Islamabad, Pakistan - For 15 years, pick-up truck driver Qadeer Aslam had been transporting goods across Pakistan. Most of his trips were to Balochistan, about 400km (250 miles) west of his village near Burewala city in southern Punjab province.
Over the years, Aslam, 32, was able to save enough money to buy his own truck, a Hyundai Shahzore, in which he hauled fruit, vegetables and other goods to cities in Balochistan, a mineral-rich province and Pakistan’s largest by area. It has also been home to a violent separatist movement for decades.
On Sunday night, Aslam was on way to the province when armed fighters from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of the main separatist groups, stopped his truck and killed him.
Twenty-two other men were also dragged from their vehicles that night, all singled out for being ethnic Punjabis, and shot dead on the highways.
Within 24 hours, at least 70 people were killed in six such attacks across Balochistan, including 35 civilians, 14 security personnel and 21 BLA fighters.
Aslam’s friend and neighbour Muhammad Tanveer told Al Jazeera he had recently paid the last instalment on his truck and was looking forward to improving his family’s living conditions.
"He was focused on earning enough to support his wife, two children and ageing parents. He had been travelling to Balochistan for years and never felt any danger," said Tanveer, who runs a grocery store in Burewala.
He said Aslam was the only person from his village who sought economic opportunities in Balochistan. "He worked all over Pakistan, but Balochistan offered more work," he said.
Migration despite risks of violence
After Balochistan became a part of Pakistan when the country became independent in 1947, the southwestern province bordering Afghanistan became a hotbed of a secessionism.
Home to nearly 15 million people, Balochistan is rich in natural resources, including oil, coal, gold, copper and gas. But it is also Pakistan’s most impoverished, and residents say the government in Islamabad exploits the province for its minerals but never transfers the benefits to its people.
The anger has fuelled separatist sentiments with Balochistan witnessing at least five rebel movements since 1947. The latest rebellion began in the early 2000s to demand a larger share of the province’s resources and even calls for independence from Pakistan.
The government’s military operation to suppress the movement resulted in widespread human rights abuses against Baloch dissenters, including disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings. Thousands of lives have been lost in the decades-old rebellion.
Most of the government response was aimed at securing Chinese interests. Nearly a decade ago, China announced the $62bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project as part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Balochistan’s Gwadar deep-sea port was the project’s crown jewel.
The Chinese investment created jobs and other economic opportunities in the region, causing the migration of workers from other parts of Pakistan. Baloch separatists have resisted such migrations and have frequently targeted Chinese professionals and Pakistani law enforcement officials and civilians.
A majority of the nearly 30 civilians killed in Sunday and Monday’s attacks were from southern Punjab, an area bordering Balochistan, where a majority of the population is of Seraiki ethnicity.
Senior journalist Shahzada Zulfiqar, who has extensively written on Balochistan, told Al Jazeera that economic opportunities draw people from Punjab and other parts of Pakistan to the province. Many traders in Balochistan have also settled here from neighbouring Iran.
"Despite the risks, people continue to come here for work whether they are traders, masons or barbers," Zulfiqar said.
One such labourer, Muhammad Habib, a barber from a village near Rahim Yar Khan town in southern Punjab, moved to Balochistan’s capital, Quetta, a year ago. His business is on Prince Road, which is lined with barbershops, mostly run by people from Punjab.
"Despite the risks, I chose to work in Balochistan because wages are better here," Habib said, adding that he makes an average of 1,200 rupees ($4.31) a day in Quetta as opposed to about 400 rupees ($1.44) back home.
Like Habib, many others from Punjab’s cities, such as Lahore and Gujranwala, moved to Balochistan for better economic opportunities. "Our parents know about the previous attacks on Punjabi labourers in Balochistan and tried to stop us, but we need to earn for our families," Habib said.
Zulfiqar said many Baloch people are also moving to other parts of Pakistan - a process of opening up to other communities that is changing social attitudes in Balochistan.
"They are sending their children to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to study. Family dynamics are changing, and there is a growing awareness and eagerness for upward social mobility," he said.
But many others in Balochistan retain a deep-seated resentment over perceived exploitation of their region and its resources, analysts said.
Imtiaz Baloch, researcher at The Khorasan Diary, a nonpartisan platform run by journalists, said large projects in Balochistan, particularly the CPEC and mines, are all labour-intensive.
"These projects attract workers who come here to seek income for their families. However, these projects are also the prime targets for Baloch separatist groups, which view them as plunderers of their resources without their consent, leading to attacks," he said.
Baloch rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch, whose father has been missing for 15 years, acknowledged that this week’s bloodshed has created an atmosphere of uncertainty in the province, particularly for those who believe in peaceful protests against the federal government.
Deen also feared a heavy-handed response by the government, saying past operations have led to rights abuses.
"After every major attack, the state has killed people in custody in fake encounters, claiming they were terrorists. This approach will only worsen the situation, pushing the people of Balochistan into further deprivation," she told Al Jazeera. Pakistan urges Afghan Taliban to address perception as ‘ideological cousins of TTP’ (VOA)
VOA [8/28/2024 2:04 PM, Ayaz Gul, 4566K, Negative]
Pakistan urged Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders Wednesday to explain their relationship with a globally designated terrorist group waging cross-border bloodshed and address concerns about sweeping restrictions they have imposed on Afghan women.
The remarks by Islamabad’s special representative to Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, came as the militant group in question - Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP - has intensified deadly attacks on Pakistani soil from its alleged sanctuaries on the Afghan side of the border.
The violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of security forces and civilians in recent months, with TTP formally claiming credit for most of them.
"The TTP-led terrorism is linked with the Afghanistan problem. Therefore, both countries will need to address the menace of TTP together," Durrani told a seminar in the Pakistani capital.
The Taliban "will have to come clean about their image as ideological cousins of TTP. This is the minimum for a durable [bilateral] relationship that [they] can do," he stressed.
The Pakistani envoy spoke just hours after the Taliban army chief, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, rejected previous allegations that TTP was based on and orchestrating attacks from Afghan soil.
"There is no evidence, nor anyone can prove, that TTP is present in Afghanistan," Fitrat told a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul. "TTP has bases in Pakistan and controls some areas from which it launches attacks inside Pakistan," Fitrat said without elaborating further.
TTP has publicly pledged allegiance to the Taliban leadership. The militant group sheltered Taliban commanders on Pakistani soil and provided recruits to support their insurgent attacks against U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan for years until their withdrawal three years ago when the Taliban swept back to power.
Durrani highlighted on Wednesday that despite the mutual tensions resulting from TTP attacks, his government is assisting landlocked Afghanistan in conducting international trade through Pakistani land routes and seaports to help Kabul address national economic and humanitarian challenges.
The United Nations has, in a recent report, described TTP as "the largest terrorist group in Afghanistan." It noted that Taliban authorities are supporting stepped-up TTP attacks against Pakistan, and the militants are being trained, as well as equipped, in al-Qaida-run terror training camps on the Afghan territory, charges Kabul rejected.
On Tuesday, the United States reiterated its worries about the growing threat of terrorism in Afghanistan.
"We know that we can’t turn a blind eye to the threats from organizations such as ISIS-K and that we must keep a relentless focus on counterterrorism," Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters in Washington, referring to the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State. "But there are many other terror groups that are resident right now in Afghanistan," Ryder added without elaborating.
Curbs on Afghan women
Durrani on Wednesday praised the Taliban for establishing national security since their takeover but reiterated concerns about restrictions on Afghan women’s access to public life and supported international demands for their reversal.
"Many have acknowledged the positive aspects of the changed Afghanistan, including less corruption, a drastic reduction in poppy cultivation, and an improvement in the overall security situation," Durrani said. "[However], there are concerns for girls’ education and women’s right to work, which no society, whether Islamic or otherwise, should allow to happen."
Durrani also noted the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, comprising 57 Muslim-majority countries, had "unequivocally" called on the Taliban to lift the ban on girls’ education and their right to work.
De facto Afghan leaders have persistently denounced the U.N.-led global criticism of their policies, saying they are governing the country strictly in line with Islamic law, or Shariah, and local customs.
The Taliban have barred girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and women from most public and private sector employment, as well as prohibiting them from making road trips without a male guardian.
Last week, the radical rulers enacted new regulations prohibiting women from speaking aloud or showing their faces in public at any time, drawing international outrage.
On Monday, Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid lambasted the U.N. and Western critics of their governance, claiming that the objections of "non-Muslims" stemmed from their "lack of understanding" of Islam.
"We view this as disrespect to our Islamic Shariah," he said. Pakistan’s internet to remain slow into October, regulator says (VOA)
VOA [8/28/2024 5:31 PM, Sarah Zaman, 4566K, Negative]
Slow internet speeds that have frustrated Pakistanis for several weeks may persist more than a month while repairs to a faulty submarine internet cable continue, the country’s telecom regulator announced Wednesday.
Internet speed and connectivity have been spotty across much of Pakistan since at least July, with users increasingly struggling to access popular messaging and social media apps.
On Wednesday, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, or PTA, announced that repairs to the faulty cable will likely be completed by early October. The cable in question, SMW-4, is one of two that authorities say needed repairs.
"The fault in SMW-4 submarine cable is likely to be repaired by early October 2024. Whereas submarine cable AAE-1 has been repaired which may improve internet experience," the brief statement said.
Pakistan relies on seven undersea cables for internet service. The regulator reported problems with the SMW-4 cable in mid-June.
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Ltd., or PTCL, is the landing party for most of the seven international internet cables, including the two that have experienced technical issues. The Pakistani government holds a majority share in the national telecom carrier.
Conflicting statements
With public anger mounting, officials have issued a variety of statements to explain the slump in services.
Earlier in August, the state minister for information technology, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, blamed increased use of VPNs by Pakistanis for the slowdown nationwide. She rejected the notion that the government was deliberately throttling internet speed.
"I can say it under oath that the government of Pakistan did not block the internet or slow it down," Khawaja said at a press briefing in Islamabad on August 18.
Later in the month, the PTA chief told lawmakers the faulty submarine cable was to blame, saying it would be repaired by August 28.
Meanwhile, the secretary for the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication told a Seate committee hearing the problem with accessing certain app functions was on the end of mobile data providers.
Although Wednesday’s statement by the PTA referenced two damaged cables, a PTA lawyer told the Islamabad high court this week that a third cable may also be damaged.‘Firewall’
Business community and internet service providers blamed the slump in services on the government’s efforts to implement a "firewall."
Speaking to VOA in late July, Khawaja confirmed that a firewall was being installed. However, the IT minister claimed the tool was meant to strengthen cybersecurity and not to control free speech.
Still, after a Senate committee hearing in mid-August, Khawaja told the news media the government was simply upgrading an older "web management system."
The junior minister, currently the top IT official, has repeatedly accused the media of blowing the "firewall" issue "out of proportion."
According to a source familiar with the implementation of the "firewall," the tool, acquired from China and under installation by the Ministry of Defense since May, is deployed at cable landing stations in Pakistan, the place where the undersea internet data cable meets a country’s internet system.
The "firewall," also being installed on the servers of major internet providers, has the capability to detect and slow digital communication between individual users.
In a statement condemning the "grave consequences of the hastily implemented firewall," the Pakistan Software Houses Association, an industry group of software developers, gaming and IT companies, said slow internet speed has cost the country’s fledgling IT industry more than $300 million in losses.
"These disruptions are not mere inconveniences but a direct and aggressive assault on the industry viability," the statement released earlier in August said.
Another organization, Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, said users are leaving smaller internet service providers because of poor internet speed.
Internet disruptions and implementation of the firewall have been challenged in high courts in Lahore and Islamabad.
Prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir filed a petition requesting that the Islamabad High Court seek details of the firewall’s scope and purpose. He said access to the internet is a fundamental right for the purpose of livelihood.
Expressing frustration with authorities’ "conflicting responses" this week, the court’s top judge demanded a detailed report on the reasons for connectivity disruptions. The next hearing is scheduled for September 3. India
Floods in Indian state kill 28 and displace thousands (BBC)
BBC [8/29/2024 2:56 AM, Staff, 67.2M, Neutral]
At least 28 people have died and more than 24,000 have been relocated in the western Indian state of Gujarat since Sunday after heavy rains led to massive flooding.
Several rivers and reservoirs are overflowing as water levels have crossed the danger mark, officials said.
The Indian army and national disaster response teams are carrying out relief and rescue operations in the worst-hit areas.
The state is on high alert as the weather department has predicted heavy rains to continue over the next few days.
Gujarat regularly witnesses severe floods during the monsoon season - in 2017, more than 200 people died in floods triggered by unrelenting rain.
According to a government report, many parts of Gujarat are vulnerable to floods because major rivers "pass through a wide stretch of the very flat terrain before reaching the sea".
Photos showed flooded streets and overflowing rivers. In some places, stranded people had to be rescued in helicopters.
Transport services have been disrupted in several parts and as many as 48 trains in the state were cancelled on Wednesday.
Villages and towns in the Saurashtra region have been worst-affected as they received non-stop rain for nearly 48 hours.
Several farmers told BBC Gujarati that the downpour had caused extensive damage to crops like cotton and groundnut.
Weather officials expect the heavy rains to start tapering off by 1 September as the deep depression in the Arabian Sea shifts towards Pakistan. Foreign lenders lured by rare stake sales in India banks, but tighter rules weigh (Reuters)
Reuters [8/28/2024 6:44 AM, Siddhi Nayak, 88008K, Neutral]
Talks to sell majority stakes in two Indian banks have attracted interest from foreign peers in Japan and the Middle East betting on a fast-growing economy, but tighter regulations and valuation concerns could curb their appetite, analysts and sources say.
The rare opportunity for foreign banks to take controlling stakes in a market dominated by state-owned banks comes as existing investors in Yes Bank and IDBI Bank look to divest their holdings.
Banking sector deals in India, especially those involving foreign entities, are rare. A full takeover of troubled Indian lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank by Singapore-based DBS Group in a regulatory-driven transaction in 2020 was the last major deal.
The top shareholders are looking to exit from the two banks about four years after they were roped in by the regulator and the government to help them recover from sharply worsening asset quality due to rampant lending that threatened their stability.
Private sector lender Yes Bank, in which shareholders are looking to sell a 51% stake, has drawn interest from Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) and Emirates NBD, Reuters has reported.
IDBI Bank, in which the Indian government and the Life Insurance Corporation are collectively selling a 60.72% stake, has seen Emirates, Canada’s Fairfax Group, as well as local rival Kotak Mahindra Bank express interest.
The foreign interest in the two banks comes as the Indian economy is forecast to grow at 7.2% this year, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.
Demand for bank credit, which includes corporate loans and mortgages, is growing at twice the expected economic growth pace and gross bad loans in the domestic banking sector are currently at multi-year lows of 2.8% of total assets.
Similar to other major markets, inbound banking sector deals are tightly scrutinized in India. Given the sector’s importance and linkages with the broader economy, New Delhi is expected to field interest from bidders in countries it has good political ties with, analysts said.
"India’s growth story is promising, and corporates are looking to expand their businesses," said Ashvin Parekh, managing director of Ashvin Parekh Advisory Services, which provides services to investors in banks.
"That is enticing these (foreign) players," Parekh said.
Despite those attractions, stricter rules related to capital requirements and ownership restrictions, and state domination with government-backed banks accounting for nearly 52% of the bank credit have weighed on foreign banks’ operations in India.
Regulations in India also require that the largest shareholder of a local bank, termed as ‘promoter’ under Indian regulations, must their reduce shareholding to 26% over a 15-year period.
Foreign lenders, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, accounted for only 3.4% of the banking sector credit as of March 2024, less than half of the 8.4% share they held in March 2000, according to the central bank data.‘FIERCELY COMPETITIVE’
SMBC has been in advanced talks with Yes Bank and its lead investor State Bank of India over the past few weeks for the majority stake acquisition, said three sources with knowledge of the talks.
The core banking unit of Japan’s No.2 banking group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has sought Yes Bank operational data and its executives have met with the officials at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central bank, said the sources.Yes Bank was rescued by a consortium of local banks in 2020 after bad loans soared.
Emirates NBD is also in talks for a stake in Yes Bank. It is also participating in the stake sale process for IDBI Bank, said one of the three sources above and a fifth person familiar with the talks in India.
The government plans to invite financial bids for IDBI Bank by the end of this financial year, divestment secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told Reuters last month. IDBI Bank was rescued by the government in 2019.
RBI has approved Fairfax Financial, Emirates NBD, and Kotak Mahindra as potential bidders, Reuters reported earlier this month.
The sources declined to be identified as the talks were private.
Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra did not comment on the deal talks. SMBC declined to comment. The RBI, IDBI Bank, Emirates NBD, and Fairfax did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.
HIGH VALUATIONS?
However, some potential bidders are expected to baulk at the high valuations of the targets, analysts say, clouding the prospects of the deals being sealed. It was not immediately clear known how soon the two deals will be finalised.
Yes Bank is currently valued at about $10 billion, and trading at 1.58 times the 12-month forward price-to-book value, according to LSEG, compared to the sector median price-to-book value of 1.45 times.
IDBI Bank trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-book value of 1.97 times, LSEG data shows.
The "legacy" of asset quality issues at the two banks would also feed into the cost of acquisition for the prospective foreign buyers, said independent research analyst Hemindra Hazari.
"The real problem, however, is that the Indian banking system is fiercely competitive," said Parekh. "A foreign player would need a significant amount of branch network, distribution and franchise to be able to sustain in the banking system." Modi Loses His Mojo as He Bows to the Opposition (Wall Street Journal – opinion)
Wall Street Journal [8/28/2024 4:43 PM, Sadanand Dhume, 810K, Neutral]
Narendra Modi, India’s strongman prime minister, is beginning to look weak. Exhibit A: The government on Aug. 20 withdrew an advertisement aimed at recruiting 45 civil servants with expertise across a range of fields, including emerging technologies, semiconductors, cybersecurity and environmental law. The recruitment drive, announced only three days earlier, had quickly drawn criticism from Mr. Modi’s coalition partners and opposition leaders alike for sidestepping India’s caste-based quota system, which allocates about half of government jobs to people from so-called lower castes.Explaining the U-turn, one of Mr. Modi’s ministers said in a statement that the “Prime Minister is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry”—recruiting external experts for government roles—”must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice.” In other words, you could be the world’s leading expert on semiconductors, but the Indian government has no use for you unless you were born into the preferred caste.
That Mr. Modi—whose government during previous terms recruited dozens of outside experts without fuss—folded like a cheap suitcase augurs poorly for his third term in office. It suggests that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s loss of its single-party majority in June has diminished the prime minister’s appetite for reform.
Those expecting Mr. Modi to move aggressively on a range of issues—including reform of India’s onerous land and labor laws and privatization of inefficient state-owned enterprises—will likely be disappointed. In the first few months of Mr. Modi’s new term, the opposition has already forced the prime minister to withdraw or re-examine contentious policies, including a bill that would have given the government more control over YouTube content and another that would have streamlined the sale and purchase of property held by Muslim trusts.
Mr. Modi’s decision to cave in on the lateral-entry issue could have damaging long-term consequences. While such successful countries as Singapore scour the world for the best talent, India seems determined to keep talent out. It appears likely that the government will acquiesce to the left-of-center opposition Congress Party’s demand to conduct a caste census—determining the precise caste breakdown in Indian society. The government last released such a census in 1931, under British colonial rule.
India’s Supreme Court in 1992 held that caste-based reservations, or quotas, in government jobs and higher education can’t exceed 50%. Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi demands that the government remove this cap. Since the so-called upper castes in India constitute only about 30% of the population, according to estimates by the Pew Research Center, the odds that Mr. Modi will wilt under Mr. Gandhi’s attacks and conduct a caste census are high.
Further increasing quotas will almost certainly worsen governance, accelerate talent flight, and diminish India’s international competitiveness. In his 2004 book, “Affirmative Action Around the World,” economist Thomas Sowell showed that quotas often lead to heightened social conflict and a loss of competitiveness as both beneficiaries and those discriminated against lose the incentive to work as hard as they would otherwise. An India embroiled in petty caste conflict would force U.S. policymakers and foreign investors alike to reconsider their assumption that the country can provide a viable alternative to China.
Even as domestic politics, Mr. Modi’s turn isn’t smart. By failing to defend a perfectly defensible policy, he has allowed Mr. Gandhi to set the national political agenda. It suggests to the BJP’s supporters that the prime minister either lacks conviction or is blind to the danger of continually expanding quotas.
In 1950, India’s quota regime started with supposedly temporary benefits for two historically oppressed groups—a 12.5% quota for Dalits—so-called untouchables, outside the fourfold Hindu caste system—and a 5% quota for members of tribes who often lived cut off from modern civilization. But as Mr. Sowell has pointed out, affirmative-action programs that start out as temporary inevitably become permanent.
In India, such programs have expanded well beyond their original purpose. Since 1950, the percentage of government jobs and seats in government-funded colleges filled purely on merit has fallen from 82.5% to 40.5%. It can be even worse at the state level. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, only 30% of government jobs and college seats are outside the quota system.
Mr. Modi is on shaky ground. After 10 years in office, he can no longer credibly blame the opposition for India’s problems. Many of the prime minister’s grand promises—such as doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 and cleaning the Ganges River—have failed to materialize. YouTubers with an antigovernment message have seen their viewership soar. A recent poll by India Today shows that only 49% of Indians see Mr. Modi as the best choice for prime minister, the lowest percentage in three years.
Mr. Gandhi’s rating, by contrast, has risen nearly 9 points, to 22.4%, over the past six months. State elections later this year in Maharashtra (home to India’s business capital, Mumbai) and Haryana (home to the prosperous city of Gurugram) will further put the prime minister to the test.
If he wants to recover, Mr. Modi should focus on delivering on the promise of good governance that brought him to power in the first place. Kowtowing to the opposition’s worst demands is a recipe for disaster. NSB
Young Officers in Bangladesh’s Army Persuaded Chiefs to Back Protesters (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [8/29/2024 12:05 AM, Syed Zain Al-Mahmood, 810K, Neutral]
As murmurs of discontent rippled through Bangladesh’s army after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina deployed troops to help subdue intensifying protests, the country’s new army chief convened an internal town hall.
At the meeting on Aug. 3, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman defended the army deployment, but also called on junior officers to speak their mind, according to people with knowledge of the gathering.
One after another, officers ranking from major to colonel spoke against the use of force, an infantry major who was present said. The meeting ended with Waker declaring that the army would stand by the people of Bangladesh, according to a statement from the armed forces.
Two days after the meeting, Waker appeared on television to announce that the prime minister had resigned and had left the country.
A younger generation of officers that tracked the protesters and public sentiment on social media played a crucial role in persuading the top rungs of the army to pull support for Hasina’s government, said Maj. Gen. Nayeem Ashfaque Chowdhury, a retired officer who has held senior posts in the Bangladeshi army. Waker is married to a cousin of Hasina, and was initially seen as a confidant of the autocratic leader.“As the crisis dragged on, there was soul-searching within the Bangladesh army,” Chowdhury said. “The army chief saw the unprecedented unity among the people, understood Hasina’s unpopularity among the midranking officers and was aware of international condemnation of the use of excessive force against unarmed protesters.”
The army has since closely coordinated with student protest leaders and thrown its support behind Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, the demonstrators’ choice to lead the interim government.
The high level of sympathy for the protesters among younger army officers, as well as international pressure, means the army is likely to prefer to maneuver behind-the-scenes, rather than seek to govern directly, say political experts.
Protests erupted in Bangladesh in July over a court ruling that reinstated an unpopular quota system for government jobs, in high demand in a country where the youth unemployment rate is in the double digits. As the government cracked down harshly on demonstrators, the protests grew into a broader uprising against Hasina, who had ruled since 2009.
More than 500 people were killed after the demonstrations intensified in mid-July.
Waker was opposed to “shedding blood to prop up the regime,” Chowdhury said. “By Aug. 4, he was secretly trying to convince Hasina to step down, citing threats to her own safety.”
Waker was in a tricky position, Chowdhury added, because some senior army officials were close to Hasina. The army chief has since sidelined some officials from top roles and fired one officer seen as particularly close to Hasina.
It is unclear how long the army’s current hands-off stance will hold.
Yunus’s government is facing significant challenges and law and order remains fragile, with police and many government agencies in disarray.
On Aug. 25, the army intervened to maintain security around the Secretariat complex, where government ministries are housed, after students clashed with members of an auxiliary security force demanding a pay raise and job security.
Zahed Ur Rahman, a political analyst in Dhaka, said the army has now taken a back seat and is allowing the student-backed interim government to run things, but may soon find it needs to get more closely involved in the detail of governance.“We cannot expect the students to provide security or deliver services that are the state’s responsibility,” he said. “If the security situation deteriorates, the army may be forced to play a more hands-on role.”
Chowdhury and others said the army decided not to take power on its own because it understood doing so wouldn’t be well received at home or abroad. “The pragmatic decision was taken not to declare martial law,” he said.
Yunus is widely respected globally and the army is likely to be eager to use the chance to repair diplomatic rifts with the U.S. that emerged under Hasina by supporting his government.
Although many Bangladeshis regard the army as one of the few institutions to retain some degree of independence during Hasina’s 15 years of continuous rule, critics say the force’s senior leadership had been steadily politicized over the past decade.
The U.S. this year blacklisted Gen. Aziz Ahmed, a former army chief, for alleged corruption. The general has denied any wrongdoing.
In 2021, the U.S. also blacklisted the country’s Rapid Action Battalion, a law-enforcement unit that includes army officers, citing involvement in serious rights abuses, including cases of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings. The Bangladesh Police Association, which represents police officers, said at the time that the sanctions were “unwarranted.”
The interim government on Tuesday formed a five-member inquiry commission, headed by a retired high court judge, to investigate allegations of enforced disappearances and killings during the Hasina administration.
Inter Services Public Relations, the armed forces press wing, told The Wall Street Journal that the army would provide its full support to the commission. Anyone found guilty would be dealt with according to the law, an army spokesman said.
Political experts believe the army faced pressure from the United Nations as the crackdown on protests worsened.
Bangladesh is one of the biggest contributors of troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations. Deployment as a U.N. peacekeeper remains a lucrative source of income for midranking officers in the Bangladesh army.
When some armored personnel carriers marked with U.N. insignia appeared on Dhaka’s streets in late July, the U.N. secretary-general’s office said the body had voiced “serious concern” to Bangladesh over the use of such insignia outside of mandated peacekeeping operations.
In the days before Hasina’s departure, the U.N. also joined human rights groups, the U.S. and the European Union in criticizing the government’s use of deadly force to quell the protests. Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for human rights, called for accountability for human-rights violations, including for those with “command responsibility.”
Bangladesh’s retired army officers also called for the armed forces to be withdrawn from the streets.
By then, protesters in Dhaka had already started to see a change in the army’s posture. Arifur Rahman, a law student in Dhaka who took part in the protests, said the soldiers moved to the main street corners and no longer accompanied the police on patrols.On Aug. 4, the ruling Awami League called on its supporters to resist what it said was a conspiracy against the government. More than a hundred people died after Hasina’s supporters clashed with protesters across the country.
That night, a young naval officer in full uniform posted a video on Facebook where he pledged to join protesters the next day. “Enough is enough,” he said, calling on fellow officers in the armed forces to “resist.”
Heavily armed troops were still manning barricades on Aug. 5 as two main groups of protesters—consisting of tens of thousands of people—marched toward the prime minister’s residence. The columns of students paused and tried to negotiate with the soldiers, waving flags and offering flowers and water.“We weren’t sure the soldiers were on our side, but it seemed like something happened that changed the army’s mindset,” Rahman, the protester, said. “We decided to do a bit of emotional blackmail to remind the soldiers they were sons of the soil.”
In the early afternoon, the soldiers suddenly stood aside, Rahman and other protesters said. The crowds surged past the barricades and rushed forward. The news was already filtering out that Hasina had fled the country.“The Bangladesh army faced a historic decision,” said Zahed Ur Rahman, the political analyst. “After plenty of uncertainty, they finally came through.” Bangladesh’s interim government led by Yunus lifts ban on the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party (AP)
AP [8/28/2024 6:16 AM, Julhas Alam, 31638K, Negative]
Bangladesh’s interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday lifted a ban on the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party that was imposed by the former prime minister who was ousted in nationwide protests against her rule.
Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on Aug. 5, had banned the party as a "militant and terrorist" organization and blamed its student wing and other associate bodies for inciting chaos over a quota system for government jobs. The weeks of violent protests and Hasina’s crackdown left more than 600 people dead, according to U.N. estimates.
The Ministry of Home Affairs repealed the ban on Wednesday, paving the way for the party to resume its activities. It still needs to register with the Election Commission to contest polls.
There was no immediate reaction from the party leadership. Jamaat-e Islami has been banned from taking part in elections since 2013, after the Election Commission canceled its registration, a decision upheld by the High Court, which ruled that the party’s charter violated the constitution by opposing secularism.
Bangladesh’s Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul said that Hasina’s ban was politically motivated and not based on ideology.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Hasina’s rival, also had blamed Hasina’s government for the ban that he said was meant to divert attention from the violence in which security officials were accused of using excessive force and causing deaths among protesters.
The Yunus-led government has been struggling to restore political stability and order as police forces and other government sectors are demoralized after attacks by protesters. Compounding the crisis was a devastating flash flood that ravaged the country’s eastern and other regions, killing at least 27 people.
Under Hasina, who was criticized as an authoritarian, thousands of opposition leaders and activists were arrested before the January election that returned her to power for the fourth consecutive term. Human rights groups blamed her for using security forces and courts to suppress the opposition, the charge she denies.
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded during the British colonial rule in 1941 by a controversial Islamist scholar and campaigned against the creation of Bangladesh as an independent state during the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
In 2013, a mass uprising in Dhaka led by youth groups, civil society organizations and secular political parties called for the execution of the party leadership for their role in 1971 war crimes.
Most of the senior leaders were hanged or jailed since 2013 after they were convicted of crimes against humanity including killings, abductions and rapes in 1971. The party had formed militia groups to help the Pakistani military during the nine-month war. Bangladesh won independence on Dec. 16, 1971, with the help of neighboring India.
Bangladesh says 3 million people died, 200,000 women were raped and nearly 1 million people fled to India during the war. Bangladesh’s interim government lifts ban on Jamaat-e-Islami party (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [8/28/2024 8:13 AM, Staff, 25768K, Negative]
Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has lifted a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami party that was imposed under an antiterrorism law.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday revoked the ban on the country’s largest Muslim party, put in place in the last days of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration accusing its members of fomenting unrest during the student uprising that led to her resignation.
A gazette notification issued by the caretaker government said there was "no specific evidence of involvement of Jamaat" and its affiliates "in terrorist activities".
The party had denied allegations that it stoked violence during the protests, which saw students take a stand against a quota system for government jobs, condemning the ban as "illegal, extrajudicial and unconstitutional".
Diversion from crackdown
Jamaat-e-Islami, which has millions of supporters, was banned in 2013 from contesting elections after high court judges ruled its charter violated the secular constitution of the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people.
The party was subsequently excluded from successive elections in 2014, 2018 and in January this year, when 76-year-old Hasina won her fifth term in widely discredited polls without a credible opposition.
Hasina’s government banned the party on August 1, just four days before she was removed from power after weeks of student-led protests, fleeing to India by helicopter.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had accused Hasina’s government of trying to divert attention from a crackdown by security forces in which more than 600 people were killed, according to United Nations estimates.
Shishir Monir, a lawyer for Jamaat-e-Islami, said the party will file a petition early next week at the Supreme Court to seek restoration of its registration with the Bangladesh Election Commission, so it can go on to contest elections.
Jamaat-e-Islami was founded during British colonial rule in 1941, campaigning against the creation of Bangladesh as an independent state during the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Most of the party’s senior leaders have been hanged or jailed since 2013, convicted of crimes against humanity, including killings, abductions and rapes, committed in 1971.
Bangladesh won independence on December 16, 1971, with the help of neighbouring India. Fact-checkers question accounts of ‘anti-Hindu’ violence in Bangladesh (VOA)
VOA [8/28/2024 12:56 PM, Shaikh Azizur Rahman, 4566K, Negative]
Bangladesh-based fact-checkers examining social and mainstream media reporting on mob violence that swept the country after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are debunking numerous accounts suggesting the nation’s Hindu minority were singled out because of their faith.
Those accounts appeared in outlets as far afield as Germany and the United Kingdom, where The Guardian newspaper reported on August 7 that "images of Hindus being lynched by mobs, temples set on fire and businesses looted have flooded social media in India, although the full scale of the attacks is unclear."
In the United States, Bangladeshi American Hindus marched in Detroit with signs saying, "Stop killing Hindus," and Indian American lawmaker Ro Khanna went on Facebook and YouTube this month to demand that the U.S. government act to protect Hindus in Bangladesh.
The alarm was sounded most intensely in Hindu-majority India, where right-wing Hindu groups held rallies in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states to protest what they said were "Islamist communal attacks on Hindus" in Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh itself, a sense of alarm was acknowledged by the interfaith Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, which said in an August 9 open letter, "There is deep apprehension, anxiety and uncertainty among minorities across the country."
The interim Bangladesh government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus issued a formal statement shortly after taking office, saying, "The attacks on religious minorities in some places have been noted with grave concern."
The statement, as quoted by Reuters, said the new Cabinet would "immediately sit with the representative bodies and other concerned groups to find ways to resolve such heinous attacks."
There is no question that people died in the mob violence and that buildings were burned, but detailed analysis by Bangladeshi fact-checkers suggests that most of the victims were targeted because of their association with Hasina’s widely hated Awami League, not because of their faith. Hindus in Bangladesh had overwhelmingly supported Hasina and her party, which had close ties with India.
"After the fall of Sheikh Hasina, people directed their anger at the police and her party members, both Muslim and Hindu. So, the mobs, while attacking those affiliated to the party, attacked some Hindu households, too," Minhaj Aman, lead researcher at Dismislab, a Dhaka-based fact-checking organization, told VOA in a telephone interview.
Qadaruddin Shishir, a Bangladesh-based fact-checker for the French news agency AFP, said, "Some hiding in the mobs might have targeted some households only to loot or steal household materials, as petty criminals do.
"But most attacks were politically motivated, targeting Muslims as well as Hindus who were linked to the Awami League. They did not stem from any religious reasons," Shishir said.
The lack of religious motivation has been acknowledged by the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, comprising almost two dozen Hindu religious organizations.
The alliance said it has counted 278 Hindu properties vandalized by mobs, but its secretary general, Gobinda Pramanik, told VOA that mobs attacked "five to seven times more" A.L.-supporting Muslim households after August 5.
"Almost all were politically motivated attacks. In the Indian media, they falsely termed them as communal anti-Hindu attacks. In Bangladesh, we do not have any communal tension between Muslims and Hindus," Pramanik said by telephone.
"Some Hindus said that they were anxious about the safety of many Hindu temples from August 5, for two or three days; our Muslim brothers maintained vigil in front of many Hindu temples across the country," he said.
Some of the most sensational images and accounts that emerged from the riots are erroneous or misleading.
Republic TV, an Indian outlet, broadcast video of a temple in Chittagong, which it said had been set ablaze by "Islamists in Bangladesh." But the fact-checkers at Dismislab dismissed that report as unfounded.
"The caretaker of the temple told us that it had not been attacked at all. Furniture of an adjacent Awami League office was set ablaze by a mob and he did not know how the rumor of an ‘arson attack’ on the temple spread," Aman told VOA.
VOA reached out to Republic TV to ask whether it still stood by its report but did not receive a response.
Another viral post on X claimed that a mob had set ablaze the house of Liton Das, a Hindu cricketer with Bangladesh’s national team, sharing a video of a burning house as "evidence."
"But on fact checking, we found that the house of Liton Das had not been set on fire. The burning house in the video belonged to former Bangladeshi Muslim cricketer Mashrafe Mortaza, an A.L. [Awami League] member of Parliament, the police confirmed," fact checker Shishir told VOA. Bangladesh: Government Sets up Disappearances Inquiry (Human Rights Watch)
Human Rights Watch [8/28/2024 8:00 PM, Staff, 2M, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s interim government should seek expertise and technical assistance from the United Nations for its new commission of inquiry investigating all cases of enforced disappearances during the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina, Human Rights Watch said today. The interim administration, led by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has announced a five-member team headed by a retired judge, which includes another former judge, a university teacher, and two human rights activists.
The government has also made a commitment to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, a landmark move after years of refusals by the previous government to recognize enforced disappearances. It has also agreed to support a UN fact-finding team in investigating abuses during recent protests, which earlier in August 2024 led Sheikh Hasina to resign as prime minister and flee the country.“With this commission of inquiry, Bangladesh has an opportunity to pursue justice for the victims of enforced disappearances and their families, many of whom have desperately sought answers, only to be dismissed, threatened, and humiliated by officials,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should seize the opportunity to create a robust process with international expertise, including forensics, to investigate these abuses and identify avenues for reparations in collaboration with victims and their families.”
Odhikar, a prominent Bangladeshi human rights organization, estimates that 708 people were forcibly disappeared under Hasina’s rule. While some people were later released, produced in court, or said to have died during an armed exchange with security forces, nearly 100 people remain missing.
The commission of inquiry should investigate every case, regardless of whether the person was returned, killed, or remains missing. It should be additionally mandated with identifying all clandestine detention centers, and the interim government should immediately shut them down and release anyone still being held in incommunicado custody. The commission should have the authority to make recommendations regarding the prosecution of suspects, reparations to victims and their families, the enactment of specific legislation, and institutional and other reforms that would prevent repetition of past violations.
The newly formed commission has said it would submit a report within 45 days. To effectively carry out its mandate, the commission should be adequately resourced and authorized to obtain all information necessary, including to compel the attendance and cooperation of state officials and law enforcement as witnesses and to order the government, police, and other officials to produce records. The commission should establish a variety of means through which to submit evidence so that the process is accessible and all interested parties have an opportunity to participate.
Given the entrenched impunity for security force abuses in Bangladesh, the interim government should request the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN human rights experts to provide technical support and monitoring of the investigation. The investigators should also work closely with Maayer Daak (“Mothers’Call”) and other organizations representing victims and their families.
Throughout the inquiry, the commission should collect views from victims about what forms of reparation would serve to meaningfully recognize the harm suffered, in addition to bringing those responsible to justice. The commission should recommend the full range of reparations required by international standards, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition.
The interim government should make a commitment to ensuring effective reparations, including carrying out Maayer Daak’s call for the creation of a memorial to commemorate victims of enforced disappearances and the suffering of their families, and to stand against the commission of disappearances in the future.
The report’s conclusions and recommendations should be made public and accessible and should require periodic updates on implementation. Evidence collected by the commission should be preserved and made available for judicial and other official investigations in Bangladesh and elsewhere, and the commission should identify an independent entity to safely hold the records following the completion of investigations.
Three victims of enforced disappearances – Michael Chakma, Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, and Abdullahil Amaan Azmi – were released shortly after Hasina fled the country. In all three cases, authorities had for years denied having them in custody.
Speaking to the media, Chakma described severe torture while he was detained underground in a secret detention site called Aynaghar (house of mirrors) run by the military intelligence agency. Since he was released, he has had difficulties walking and reading and suffers from nightmares. Both Quasem and Chakma said they were confined alone in near-constant darkness but could hear others being tortured, indicating that others may still be held in the secret detention center.“The only sounds were the incessant whirring of fans and the muffled cries of fellow detainees from nearby cells. I couldn’t see how many of us there were, but the sounds of weeping and despair gave me a sense of the numbers,” Chakma said.“I could hear people crying, I could hear people being tortured, I could hear people screaming,” Quasem told Agence France-Presse.
The commission’s mandate should include investigations into the torture and other ill-treatment that victims experienced, Human Rights Watch said. The government should ensure that individuals found in the commisssion’s investigation as having participated in violations are investigated and brought to justice. Yunus should facilitate a visit by the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances and the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and seek their recommendations and input.
On August 16, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, called on the government to open a “comprehensive, impartial and transparent investigation into all human rights violations and abuses that have occurred” and to release all victims of enforced disappearances. The commissioner also identified the need for an independent investigation into abuses, including enforced disappearances, in a report it released following the recent protests.
Under Hasina, the government consistently denied that security forces had committed enforced disappearances, insisting that those missing had gone into hiding of their own volition. Relatives of victims of enforced disappearance have suffered harassment and reprisals at the hands of the authorities, with some forced to sign false statements that they had been intentionally misleading the police and the public.
Bangladesh has no witness protection law or system. The interim government should move forward with the proposed legislation drafted by the law commission nearly 15 years ago and donor governments should financially support the implementation of a witness protection program. In the meantime, the commission of inquiry should take special precaution to ensure all witnesses are protected from harassment, threats, intimidation, and retaliation.
As part of efforts to ensure abuses are not repeated, the interim government should reform institutions to enable civilian oversight over security forces and immediately disband the Rapid Action Battalion, a notoriously abusive paramilitary unit that was sanctioned by the United States government in 2021 for human right abuses, particularly enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.“Pursuing accountability for enforced disappearances in Bangladesh and informing the families of victims of what happened to their loved ones is an important first step in building toward a rights-respecting future,” Ganguly said. “Yunus should call on the UN to ensure that Bangladesh’s new commission is well-resourced and has the power to gather all the information required to bring answers and justice to victims of enforced disappearances, their families, and their communities.” Nepal: Will new laws offer closure to war crime victims? (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle [8/28/2024 8:51 AM, Swechhya Raut, 16637K, Negative]
Thousands of people in Nepal are still waiting for justice 20 years after tens of thousands were tortured, raped, killed and forcibly disappeared during a decade-long bloody conflict between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and government forces.Long-delayed amendments to legislation aimed at addressing the war crimes committed during the 1996-2006 civil war are expected to finally offer justice to victims like Laxmi Khadka.
Khadka last saw her husband, Dil Bahadur, on March 13, 2004, when they were eating dinner with their three children at home in their village in Bardiya district in western Nepal.
The meal was disrupted by a group of Maoist soldiers who entered their family home and dragged Bahadur outside, claiming they needed to "discuss some things."
He never returned.
Two weeks later, a local newspaper reported that the Maoist group had "eliminated" Bahadur as a suspected enemy - although no evidence supported this claim, so Khadka refused to believe that he had been killed.
"He was an ordinary man who had returned home for a few days after months of working in India," she told DW, recalling how she even went looking for her missing husband in the forests near their home.
"It was dangerous, not only because of wild animals but also due to the conflict," she said.
Ten years of conflict
The brutal Maoist insurgency, led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to overthrow the monarchy, ended in 2006 with over 13,000 people dead and around 1,300 missing.
The government of Nepal and the Maoists signed the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), which cleared the way for the establishment of two transitional justice mechanisms - the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP).
The commissions were formed to address the human rights violations and crimes against humanity that were committed during the conflict, but they have faced legal challenges.
A 2015 Supreme Court ruling struck down parts of the law that established the TRC and CIEDP, "in particular because they were empowered to grant amnesties to perpetrators of serious crimes under international law," according to Human Rights Watch.
"The law was weak, making it difficult for victims, human rights activists, and civil society to coordinate effectively with the commissions," lawyer Om Prakash Aryal told DW.
He claimed that the government delayed appointing commission members, which risked the destruction of criminal evidence.
"The lawmakers included former government officials and Maoists," Aryal said.
"They blocked international intervention to ensure impunity for actions taken during the conflict."
Nepal’s Supreme Court directed the government to revise certain parts of the act.
Parliament approves amendments to transitional justice act
In July this year, the three major parties - the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) - formed a mechanism to find common ground on the contentious provisions in the bill.
They reached a written agreement on the bill earlier this month, and on August 14, Nepal’s lower house of parliament approved the long-delayed amendments to the transitional justice act.
Ram Kumar Bhandari, whose father disappeared during the conflict, sees this as a "historic achievement."
Bhandari believes new legal provisions incorporate assurances of truth, justice, and reparation but await the law’s effective implementation.
"We’ve been entangled in the legal and political web for years. Now, we expect an emphasis on the basic needs of grassroots victims and survivors, rather than just legal aspects," he told DW.
Changes welcomed, but issues remain
Prakash Chaudhary, who was forcibly disappeared by the state for 82 days in 2002, welcomed the changes.
In 2005, Chaudhary’s younger brother, who was still in school, was killed for allegedly buying instant noodles for the Maoists.
"Our family spent years waiting for justice," said Prakash. "If the new law punishes those responsible for our suffering, our long wait will have been worth it."
However, some human rights activists and organizations have pointed out that problematic provisions remain, including the definition and classification of human rights violations.
Lawyer Om Prakash Aryal noted that the definitions are inconsistent with international human rights standards.
"They do not address issues related to child soldiers and crimes against humanity, which are mentioned in the peace agreement and the interim constitution," he said.
"How can any victim be satisfied when such issues are not addressed by the law?"
Lenin Bista, who was recruited as a Maoist soldier at age 12, shares a similar opinion: "We have been advocating for economic and psychosocial support for child soldiers. But the government continues to deny our existence even in the transitional justice law."
Is compensation being prioritized over justice?
A joint statement from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists highlighted that while the law includes several positive provisions, it also has elements that could undermine its effectiveness.
"Transitional justice should not turn into yet another exercise in which victims are encouraged to accept compensation without truth and justice," the statement said.
Khadka, who struggles with the legal jargon used by leaders and organizations, awaits guidance on the next steps. Justice for her means knowing her husband’s fate.
"If they prove that my husband was killed, I will perform his last rites," she said. "That will be the most painful truth, but I believe his soul will finally find peace." Sri Lanka Leftist Candidate Gains Ground With Anti-Corruption Push (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [8/29/2024 1:09 AM, Anusha Ondaatjie, 5.5M, Neutral]
A candidate with roots in Marxist socialist policy in Sri Lanka is gaining momentum in next month’s presidential election with a strong message to combat corruption and scrutinize investment deals with China to avoid another debt trap.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, popularly known as AKD, leads the National People’s Power, a coalition of leftist political parties and groups backed by protesters who ousted the powerful Rajapaksa government in 2022. He’s emerged as a key challenger to incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who remains unpopular for carrying out austerity measures in exchange for an International Monetary Fund bailout.
Dissanayake is campaigning on a platform of clean governance and combating corruption in a country that’s still saddled with high debt two years after an unprecedented economic crisis and historic default. Sri Lanka’s debt had ballooned over the years partly because of Chinese loans to fund ambitious projects ranging from ports, roads and a “lotus tower.”
Beijing has faced allegations of burdening developing countries like Sri Lanka with debt through its funding of infrastructure projects, accusations it’s denied.
China had been an “easy source of money” for past governments and the NPP wants to ensure future investment isn’t wasteful, said Harini Amarasuriya, a lawmaker and a member of the coalition.“We don’t want easy money coming in to fund unproductive projects and not care about corruption,” Amarasuriya, an academic who has become one of the more public faces of the group, said in an interview in the capital Colombo. “That’s what we expect of any country, and that’s how we would want it to be with China.”
The coalition’s main party is the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, which is led by Dissanayake. Once known for its violent uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s, the JVP has since re-branded itself and entered mainstream politics. Some surveys have polled Dissanayake as a leading contender in the Sept. 21 vote while he’s been drawing substantial crowds at his campaign rallies.
Dissanayake is drawing support from the 2022 protesters, who wanted to curb the executive powers of the presidency, eradicate graft and bring the ruling Rajapaksa clan to task for their role in bankrupting the country. The Rajapaksas cultivated ties with China to help rebuild the country in the 2010s after brutally ending a decades-long civil war with Tamil separatists.
Amarasuriya said the leftist coalition wants to maintain ties with China since the country had been one of the few to back Sri Lanka when it faced global scrutiny for human rights violations as the civil war drew to a close.“We are cognizant of the fact that China has politically backed us in sensitive moments,” she said. “And we want to maintain those relations.”
IMF Bailout
The popularity of the leftists’ candidate adds to political uncertainty that could jeopardize Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring deal with creditors and possibly delay bailout funding from the IMF.“Markets do not have past experience to make a judgment call on NPP policies,” said Thilina Panduwawela, a senior economist at Frontier Research in Colombo. “And the election itself is too close to call and that is why there is some uncertainty in markets.”
Also contesting the election is the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who leads a breakaway group from Wickremesinghe’s party, and Namal Rajapaksa, the scion of the populist clan.
Amarasuriya said her party was against some of the tax measures Wickremesinghe’s government was implementing to meet the IMF targets. Even so, she acknowledged that the conditions of the loan program, including the primary balance and the debt-to-GDP ratio, were “fairly standard.”
Dissanayake’s election manifesto, which was launched on Aug. 26, proposes a number of tax amendments and more oversight on government spending.
He’s pledged to increase the income tax-free threshold and “equitably” amend rates and tax brackets. He also wants to remove some essential health, education and food items from the 18% value-added tax to make them more affordable, Amarasuriya said. The tax threshold has had a huge impact on the middle class and professionals, she said, leading to a severe brain drain with over 3,000 doctors as well as IT and banking personnel having left the country.
Amarasuriya added that the current administration “has not paid enough attention” to some other IMF conditions, including bolstering social security networks and eradicating graft.
With corruption, the approach will be to “clean it from the top” where all elected representatives have to behave based on a code of conduct that is strictly enforced, she said. There will be restrictions on government appointments and the tender processes — two areas where “corruption gets initiated,” Amarasuriya said.Foreign investors have “nothing to fear” as the party will make it easier for business by eliminating corruption and putting in systems, she added. Central Asia
Amid Government Push, Russia Looms Large Over Kazakh Nuclear Power Debate (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/29/2024 4:05 AM, Chris Rickleton and Asemgul Mukhitqyzy, 235K, Neutral]
The world’s largest uranium producer is another step closer to building a nuclear power plant.
Last week, the Kazakh capital, Astana, hosted the last of 20 public hearings staged around the country ahead of a national referendum in the fall on whether to start producing nuclear power.
The format differed little from the discussions held in other cities.
Official presentations focused only on the perceived advantages of nuclear power, while those wishing to ask questions were allocated just two minutes to speak.
After that time had elapsed, the microphone was turned off and those who continued speaking were ushered away.
Some critics never even made it to the venue.
Antinuclear activist Meiirkhan Abdimanapov was fined 129,000 tenges ($270) after being detained in Almaty on August 19 ahead of his trip to Astana.
The official reason for the detention was his participation in an unsanctioned rally six months before.
But he argued that the real reason was to prevent him from repeating his performance at the public hearing in Kazakhstan’s largest city on August 16, when he decried the exercise as "an advert for a nuclear power plant."
Then there was the struggle witnessed by journalists from RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service inside the Radisson Hotel in Astana, where the August 20 hearing was held.
"What is it that you were saying about speaking freely while at the same time not letting people in?" complained activist Nagizhan Toleubaev as minders at the event tried to bar him from entering the event’s main room.
"Didn’t the president himself want the issue to be put to public discussion? How do you explain your actions?"
Despite these apparent attempts to manage attendance, the hearings that began last year on the shores of Lake Balkhash -- near the prospective nuclear facility’s likely location -- have still witnessed plenty of emotional speeches.
Toleubaev, who was eventually admitted into the question-and-answer session, warned authorities that "future generations will damn you" if the nuclear power plant goes ahead. He was subsequently dragged from the mic by well-built men standing nearby.
And opposition will surely only grow louder as the referendum, which pro-nuclear President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has not yet set a date for, gets closer.
But why is his administration heading down this contentious path?
An apparently widening energy deficit is certainly one reason. But another might be nudging from its overbearing ally Russia, which many view as a shoo-in to build the plant.
Rosatom: First Among Equals?
As government-affiliated experts at the public hearings argued, nuclear power is a cleaner form of power generation than the coal-heated and often aging thermal power plants that most Kazakh cities still rely on.
Yet it is also more controversial, and not just because of renewed anxieties around nuclear power in general, after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011.
For four decades during the Soviet Union, the northeastern part of Kazakhstan hosted regular, Moscow-directed nuclear tests.
The human and environmental consequences of those tests can still be seen today.
Another source of anxiety, referenced by at least one speaker at the Astana event, is the danger posed by a nuclear power plant in a potential conflict scenario.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine saw Russian forces surround and occupy the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant -- Europe’s largest -- in eastern Ukraine early in the war.
In this sense, the territorial threats issued regularly against Kazakhstan by Russian politicians and pundits after Astana failed to support Moscow’s invasion have done little to make the idea of a Russian-built nuclear facility appealing.
"A country whose military illegally occupies the nuclear facilities of another sovereign state and creates unprecedented nuclear risks cannot be seen as a reliable partner in the nuclear field," nuclear politics expert Togzhan Kassenova told RFE/RL.
That along with the complications that Western sanctions against Russia could pose to a Russian-led nuclear project in Kazakhstan mean that its nuclear energy giant, Rosatom, "should be a nonstarter for political and practical reasons," argued Kassenova, who is the author of the book Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up The Bomb.
Tet the government has suggested otherwise.In 2023 -- before Toqaev said a referendum on the construction of a nuclear plant would be held – the Kazakh Energy Ministry said Rosatom was one of four contractors whose reactors were under consideration for the plant, with EDF of France, the China National Nuclear Corporation, and South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power the other three.
In the past, Kazakh authorities have floated the rather hopeful idea of an international consortium to build the potential plant.
But skeptics of the idea that Russian leadership of the project is not inevitable don’t have to look far.
In next-door Uzbekistan, then-Energy Minister Zhurabek Mirzamahmudov stated in November that Uzbek authorities were examining the "experience and technology" of other countries and not just Russia, with whom Uzbekistan had already held talks on building a nuclear power plant.
But Tashkent and Moscow subsequently reached an agreement for a Russian-built, small nuclear power plant (SMR) when Russian leader Vladimir Putin visited the Central Asian country for talks in May.
In Kazakhstan, Moscow and Astana are already cooperating in the nuclear realm in higher education.
Among the young supporters of nuclear power in Astana last week was a collective of students and graduates of the Almaty branch of the National Research Nuclear University (NRNU).
The NRNU opened an affiliate on the grounds of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in 2022 -- more than a year before Toqaev said the nuclear power plant plan would be put to a national vote.‘A Test Of Patriotism’
Few doubt that the Kazakh referendum will deliver a "yes," despite visible opposition.
The campaign in favor of nuclear power enjoys the resources of the state.
Naysayers, meanwhile, complain they have been repeatedly refused permission from city councils to hold protests against the proposed plant.
Yet for many citizens, there are some compelling arguments in favor of nuclear power.
In Ulken, where the first public hearing on the project was held in August 2023, some residents expressed enthusiasm for the plant’s capacity to generate local jobs for a depressed region, even as Balkhash fishermen raised alarm over the future of their industry.
Nationally, and especially in the provinces, power shortages are a growing problem with high consumption in the densely populated south taking a heavy toll on the national grid.
Last year, Kazakhstan’s state-run Samruk Energy company projected the national power deficit could double to reach 3 gigawatts by 2029.
Kazakhstan’s future nuclear power plant is projected to be significantly larger in terms of capacity than Uzbekistan’s in-progress 330-megawatt version -- a downsize on the plant that Tashkent had originally intended to build.
At an event held by antinuclear activists in Almaty in September, speakers acknowledged that villagers who suffer regular outages might be easily convinced of the benefits of nuclear power.
What the government has not done, they said, is present the population with viable and clean alternatives to the plant, such as ramping up of wind and solar production.
The referendum moved a step closer on August 27, when Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliev issued a proposal for a presidential decree on holding a nationwide vote at a government meeting, which was backed unanimously.
Toqaev, who earlier promised that the referendum would be held in the fall, is expected to name a date imminently.
Blaming "independent bloggers" and media for stirring up criticism of the nuclear plans, Satkaliev said a Kazakh citizen’s position on nuclear power was a "test" of "intellect…patriotism…decency," with opponents apparently failing on all three counts.
Nuclear power was needed for "the next frontier, for the development of the economy and science, so that the country reaches a new civilizational level of development," Satkaliev added. Kyrgyzstan Considers Fines for Spreading ‘False Information’ (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/28/2024 9:52 AM, Catherine Putz, 1198K, Negative]
Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy has proposed amendments to the Code of Offenses that would entail fines for disseminating "false information" using the media, via the internet, and on social media networks.
The proposal comes as Kyrgyzstan’s parliament the Jogorku Kenesh, is set to discuss another set of amendments - proposed in April and registered in parliament in July - on August 29, which would allow for fines to be imposed for slander and insult in the media and online.
Taken together, and in the wake of Kyrgyzstan’s 2021 adoption of a law on "On Protection from Inaccurate (False) Information" which has been used to target media outlets, such as RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service in 2022 and Kloop in 2023, the space for free speech in Kyrgyzstan continues to shrink.
On August 27, the ministry submitted its latest proposal for public discussion. The proposed article prohibits the "dissemination of false information using mass media, on a website on the Internet, on a website page on the Internet using social networks" and entails fines for individuals of 100,000 Kyrgyz som (around $1,175) and 200,000 (around $2,350) for legal entities.
In its justification for the proposal, the ministry argued that "[f]alse information can cause panic, spread misinformation, provoke unrest and disrupt public order." The ministry added, "Disinformation spread online can manipulate public opinion and influence elections, undermining democratic processes. False information can be used to discredit candidates, parties or state institutions."
The ministry stated that the bill would be used to protect consumers from fraud scams, educe the threat of information attacks, and "contribute to the dissemination of reliable information and raise public awareness of the need for critical thinking when consuming Internet content."
Reasonable at the justification may seem on the surface, in practice it matters considerably who is judging what counts as "false information."
The case of Kloop - one of Kyrgyzstan’s best independent media outlets - suggests caution and concern about how such a law may be applied.
In September 2023, Kloop’s website was blocked on order of the government, following a demand from the Ministry of Culture that the outlet remove an article about the alleged torture of a jailed politician, Ravshan Jeenbekov. In an interview, Jeenbekov - who had been jailed among the Kempir-Abad protesters - alleged that he had been tortured. Kloop published his allegations and refused to take the article down when the ministry, citing the 2021 law on "false information," ordered them to.
A month earlier, in August 2023, the Bishkek prosecutors office had attempted to force the closure of Kloop via a lawsuit, which claimed it was operating outside of its charter. In addition to the core claim that the organization’s charter does not include "dissemination of information" and therefore it should be shut down for operating outside the boundaries of its registration, the document provided to Kloop by the authorities also alleged that Kloop’s reports "contain hidden manipulations of the opinion of the society, which are imposed with negative processes that do not correspond to reality and create opposition to any undertakings of the current government."
The essence of the government’s complaint about Kloop was that its coverage of the government was negative.
This is where the slippery slope begins. Few would make the argument that there should be no penalty for deliberately spreading false information, but the conflation of misinformation and disinformation in the proposal is concerning. The difference between the two terms, so often used interchangeably, is intent. Misinformation is an error, a mistake (and responsible media outlets seek to correct such errors); disinformation is spread on purpose with an objective in mind. Distinguishing the two can be difficult. And in either case, the government’s propensity to conflate unflattering reports with false ones casts doubt on its ability to objectively sort truth from fiction.
The slope is even more slippery when it comes to slander, libel, and insult.
Kyrgyzstan decriminalized slander and insult in 2010, but civil penalties were still on the table thereafter. In 2020, a few months after the landmark investigation into massive corruption in the Kyrgyz customs service broke, the notorious former deputy customs chief Raimbek Matraimov - who sat at the heart of the report - sued several Kyrgyz media outlets, including Kloop, for libel. The suit was withdrawn in April 2021 - after Matraimov had been arrested for corruption, released, and then rearrested. He was released again, but in March 2024 he was, once again, arrested.
Kloop’s reporting has stood the test of time. But the response of successive Kyrgyz governments to that reporting has often been reactive, proactively declaring critical reports lies when the reality is they’ve been spot-on.
Disinformation is a problem, but silencing the media won’t solve it. Uzbekistan is looking to electric cars to help drive its green transition (CNN)
CNN [8/29/2024 5:07 AM, Milly Chan, 1198K, Positive]The most populous country in Central Asia is heavily dependent on burning fossil fuel for electricity. But over the next few years, Uzbekistan plans to slash its carbon footprint.That’s no easy feat for one of the world’s most carbon emission-intensive economies, according to the World Bank. And one part of its green growth strategy is encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).Five years ago, the country dropped excise and customs duties on electric and hybrid vehicles. This ended up cutting the cost of buying an EV by as much as half, according to some estimates. Over the past three years, sales of EVs in Uzbekistan have increased 10-fold.For Tashkent-based project manager Timur Chutbaev, the lower price was a major incentive to buy his first battery-powered car.“Because of my job I travel a lot … and I’ve driven many cars,” Chutbaev told CNN. “If you compare a similar model or similar price range, it’s cheaper to buy an EV now than to buy a gasoline car.”Powering an electric car is also cheaper than one running on diesel or gasoline as Uzbekistan has some of the world’s lowest electricity costs, which are heavily subsidized by the government. Chutbaev says charging at home costs him $5 for 500 kilometers (310 miles) of driving.Last year, just over 25,000 electric cars were sold, out of 1.7 million total car sales. Of those EVs, over 90% came from China, with Shenzhen-based BYD, one of the world’s biggest EV manufacturers, dominating imports.In June, BYD began manufacturing plug-in hybrids in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region. The plant has an annual production capacity of 50,000 cars, which are intended for sale across Central Asia. They were the first passenger cars that BYD made outside of its home base in China, a milestone that was replicated a month later by a plant in Thailand.Charging aheadLocal EV dealer Megawatt Motors imported a range of brands when it started out in 2019 and now exclusively offers BYD vehicles. CEO Alexander Abdullaev said that it had previously struggled to sell any EV model, largely due to a lack of infrastructure to charge them.“We felt that electric cars, at least without charging stations anywhere, were very difficult to promote. So we installed 10 charging stations in the city of Tashkent and in several regions,” he added.Abdullaev said his company provided free electricity for around two years. In 2020, it rolled out repair services for all electric and hybrid cars, which was designed to form a loyal base of customers.Gradually, he says EVs are become more popular and accessible in Uzbekistan. Today, there are hundreds of charging stations across the country, built by Megawatt Motors and other local operators.But increasing the share of EVs on roads won’t be enough for the country to reach its 2030 target of cutting its emissions per unit of gross of product (GDP) by one third compared to 2010 levels.“This is a significant increase in its commitments,” said David Knight, the World Bank’s lead country economist covering Central Asia. “Anything that it can do to improve the efficiency of its production and reduce emissions will be important, especially as it grows rapidly.”Growing renewablesFor the growth in EVs to have an impact, Uzbekistan will have to clean up the grid that powers them. In 2021, more than 80% of the country’s electricity came from burning natural gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change. But there is growing investment in hydropower and solar technologies.“Uzbekistan’s renewable energy mix is increasing quite rapidly from 12% five years ago to 20% now,” says Knight.He notes that electricity costs could rise to meet the cost of production and fund further reforms to the energy sector. This May, electricity and gas tariffs increased for the first time since August 2019. In future, higher running costs might impact drivers’ decision to own EVs.For now, at least, demand is strong, according to Megawatt Motors. This year, the company is launching a program to train more salespeople to be EV specialists able to cater to the growing market.“We have gone through a leap that some countries go through in 10 to 15 years,” said Abdullaev.He predicts Megawatt may even sell electric cars made by homegrown brands in future.“Uzbekistan has been developing automobile production since 1995, and still is. Now it will be easier to jump to the stage of producing electric vehicles, and all this will happen faster,” he says. “Anything is possible.” Indo-Pacific
Thousands evacuated as cyclone builds off India and Pakistan’s coast (Reuters)
Reuters [8/29/2024 4:28 AM, Sumit Khanna, 5.2M, Negative]
Heavy rains battered India and Pakistan’s coastal areas along the Arabian Sea, flooding cities in western India’s Gujarat state and forcing thousands of people from their homes, with authorities predicting a cyclonic storm to develop by Friday.
People waded through waist-high waters that partly submerged vehicles and roads in parts of the state, visuals from Reuters television showed.
At least 28 people have died this week from rain-related incidents in the state, officials said, as meteorologists in India and neighbouring Pakistan warned that more heavy downpours and strong winds were expected to lash the coast.
"There is no electricity for the last two days," said Prabhu Ram Soni, who lives in Gujarat’s coastal city of Jamnagar. "I have an eight-month-old daughter and an asthma patient, my mother, who is on oxygen support."
More than 18,000 have been evacuated since Sunday from cities near the coast, disaster management authorities said. The army was also involved in relief efforts in the state which was hit in last year by cyclone Biparjoy, damaging infrastructure and leading to the evacuation of more than 180,000 people.
Heavy rains also lashed Jamnagar, home to the world’s largest oil refinery complex, owned by Reliance (RELI.NS), the district collector, B K Pandya, told Reuters.
At nearby Vadinar, Nayara Energy, backed by Russian groups including its largest oil producer, Rosneft, runs another refinery.
"They are operational," Pandya said, when asked if rain had affected work in the refineries, adding that authorities were focusing on rescue efforts in the district.
A deep depression off Gujarat is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, but it was forecast to move away from the Indian coast over the next two days.
In Pakistan, the weather department warned fishermen to not venture into the sea until Saturday.
The IMD has forecast extremely heavy rainfall in Gujarat’s Bharuch, Kutch and Saurashtra districts on Friday.
Rain also triggered flash floods in the neighbouring Pakistani port city of Karachi, causing power outages, media reported.
Pakistani authorities have also warned of flash floods in two districts of the southern province of Sindh, which is still recovering from the massive floods of 2022 which inundated large swathes of the country and damaged the economy. Twitter
Afghanistan
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/29/2024 12:50 AM, 232.9K followers, 5 retweets, 19 likes]
Sixty-eight percent of Afghan women report ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ mental health. Since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, Afghan women and girls have faced devastating setbacks, with their public presence almost entirely erased.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/28/2024 10:26 PM, 232.9K followers, 202 retweets, 466 likes]
Instead of standing with Afghan women, the UN lifted sanctions on the Taliban. The Security Council approved a travel ban exemption for Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Motaqi to attend the OIC meeting in Cameroon on August 29-30.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/28/2024 10:49 PM, 232.9K followers, 93 retweets, 237 likes]
None of the Muslim countries or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have called the Taliban’s law banning women from speaking in public and showing their faces “un-Islamic.”
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/28/2024 10:02 PM, 232.9K followers, 105 retweets, 259 likes]
Afghanistan’s women are holding small indoor protests in response to the Taliban’s vice and virtue law. They’re making it clear that no government can shut them up, saying the Taliban are no different from ISIS and want to erase women from society.
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/28/2024 2:30 AM, 63K followers, 3 retweets, 4 likes]
On Aug 14, 2021, millions of Afghan girls were in school. More than 1/4 of parliament was women. Women were ministers/judges/professors/helicopter pilots & singers/painters/conceptual artists/actors. There was a girls’ orchestra. Now all of it is gone. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/28/afghanistan-taliban-women-law-repression/
Sara Wahedi@SaraWahedi
[8/28/2024 5:09 AM, 92.2K followers, 2.2K retweets, 8.4K likes]
We need to recognize the Taliban’s end goal: to erase women from public life. Every restriction they impose is to ultimately confine women to their homes, only allowing them out for medical emergencies. Their aim is total control, to make women invisible.
Sara Wahedi@SaraWahedi[8/28/2024 5:12 AM, 92.2K followers, 74 retweets, 397 likes]
We know this because of the Taliban’s phased approach: dismantling every institution women use—schools, jobs, healthcare. Now, they’re even targeting education via radio. A woman must not learn; she’s confined at home, serving the men in her family.
Nilofar Ayoubi@NilofarAyoubi
[8/28/2024 7:06 AM, 67.3K followers, 1.1K retweets, 3.9K likes]
"You have muted my voice indefinitely and trapped me in my home simply for being a woman." A courageous woman from my country recites from behind the four walls of her home, shrouded in the shadows of oppression. @JahanzebWesa https://x.com/i/status/1828751054051361257 Lina Rozbih@LinaRozbih
[8/28/2024 10:06 PM, 415.3K followers, 5 retweets, 25 likes]
The Taliban held women hostage & use women as bargaining tool to push world to recognize their government. There are using "You recognize my government & I will open girls’ school" strategy. Vice & Virtue Law is a revenge for Taliban’s 3rd year of ruling over Afghanistan as an illegitimate self-proclaimed government! Pakistan
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[8/28/2024 10:27 AM, 3.1M followers, 6 retweets, 21 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chairs a review meeting regarding economic growth and Investment, today in Islamabad.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[8/28/2024 8:37 AM, 3.1M followers, 92 retweets, 273 likes]
Moody’s has upgraded Pakistan’s credit rating to Caa2 with a positive outlook, signaling growing confidence in Pakistan’s economic recovery and reforms. India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/28/2024 1:00 PM, 101.4M followers, 2.4K retweets, 11K likes]
Earlier today, chaired the 44th PRAGATI interaction. Reviewed development projects worth Rs. 76,500 crore spread across 11 states and UTs. The focus areas covered included AMRUT 2.0, Jal Jeevan Mission, Mission Amrit Sarovar and more. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049500
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/28/2024 9:00 AM, 101.4M followers, 4.2K retweets, 20K likes]
The Cabinet has taken a very important decision of building 12 Industrial nodes/cities under National Industrial Corridor Development Programme. Apart from the significant infrastructure boost, it will enhance growth and create employment for many people. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049314
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/28/2024 8:59 AM, 101.4M followers, 2.7K retweets, 12K likes]
The three new railways related projects approved by the Cabinet today will greatly benefit Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. The benefits include seamless transportation of goods and easier travel for passengers. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049317
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/28/2024 8:58 AM, 101.4M followers, 2.3K retweets, 10K likes]
The Cabinet’s approval for financial assistance for hydropower projects in the Northeast will ensure sustainability, energy security and boost the local economy across the region. It will also create job opportunities and boost growth. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049321
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/28/2024 8:58 AM, 101.4M followers, 4.1K retweets, 24K likes]
The decision by the Cabinet on the expansion of Central Sector Scheme of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is yet another example of the importance attached to agriculture and farmer welfare. This decision will ensure a boost of incomes for farmers and encourage sustainability. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049319
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/28/2024 8:57 AM, 101.4M followers, 2.6K retweets, 11K likes]
The Cabinet decision on the rollout of Private FM Radio to 234 cities and towns will enhance access to diverse and local content, thus encouraging creativity and encouraging local languages as well as cultures. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049323 NSB
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[8/28/2024 4:45 AM, 7.5K followers, 32 retweets, 175 likes]
Since now is a time when all things feel possible in #Bangladesh, here is another idea for the @whitehouse and @StateDept to consider. How about bringing @PeaceCorps back to the country? Not only will that provide another way to help the country rebuild, it would also strengthen people-people ties and expand the constituency for Bangladesh in the U.S. Security concerns can be managed through the way in which the program is designed. It won’t happen overnight but I cannot think of a better place to have Peace Corps volunteers. What do you think @USAID_BD and @usembassydhaka?
Tarique Rahman@trahmanbnp
[8/28/2024 5:47 AM, 63.1K followers, 88 retweets, 700 likes] The @bdbnp78 has mobilised leaders and activists from all levels and regions to aid those affected by the devastating floods across Eastern Bangladesh. If we are to embody the aspirations of our ‘second independence’ we must stand alongside all our fellow Bangladeshis in times of crisis. We’ve deployed our entire party structure and personnel to provide 24/7 support and humanitarian relief, including shelter, food, and logistics. I believe politics isn’t merely about power, but about making a meaningful difference on the ground.
Sabria Chowdhury Balland@sabriaballand
[8/28/2024 6:54 PM, 6.9K followers, 1 like]
The #Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) today (28 August) ordered all banks to freeze accounts of Salman F Rahman, the former adviser on private industry affairs to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The same should happen to Hasina & her family globally. https://tbsnews.net/economy/banking/banks-asked-freeze-accounts-salman-f-rahman-his-son-928396?amp
Sabria Chowdhury Balland@sabriaballand
[8/28/2024 7:21 AM, 6.9K followers, 1 retweet, 2 likes]
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. #Bangladesh https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Bangladesh-turmoil/Stateless-Rohingya-put-faith-in-Bangladesh-leader-Yunus
Sabria Chowdhury Balland@sabriaballand
[8/28/2024 6:42 AM, 6.9K followers]
#Bangladesh’s new authorities on Wednesday lifted a ban on the country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, imposed in the final days of the rule of now ousted autocrat Sheikh Hasina. This will give India more ideas for propaganda & falsehoods, claiming that Bangladesh is leaning towards “Islamists”. Bangladesh Lifts Ban On Main Islamist Party https://barrons.com/articles/bangladesh-lifts-ban-on-main-islamist-party-df418875 via @Barronsonline
Awami League@albd1971
[8/28/2024 10:35 AM, 645.7K followers, 31 retweets, 109 likes]
Journalists are not entitled to their freedom of making their committees to run press clubs on their own. They are asked to take prior approvals by BNP leaders before announcing press club committees, a new low on country’s #pressfreedom. A press release by @bdbnp78 unlawfully dissolved the committee constituted by journalists for press club in #Sherpur. The release was issued by Mahamudul Haque Rubel president and Hazrat Ali, secretary of BNP Sherpur unit and asked journalists to form a new committee only after getting approval from the duo. Global bodies must act to stop ongoing dictatorship on journalists. #Bangladesh #BangladeshCrisis
Tshering Tobgay@tsheringtobgay[8/28/2024 9:25 AM, 99.6K followers, 1 retweet, 5 likes]
At the 20th National Education Conference today, I reflected on His Majesty’s insight into the five key qualities that define the Bhutanese spirit: Sincerity, Mindfulness, Astuteness, Resilience, and Timelessness— acronymed as SMART.
Tshering Tobgay@tsheringtobgay
[8/28/2024 9:25 AM, 99.6K followers, 1 retweet, 3 likes]
Urged participants to align their discussions & decisions with the Royal Decrees on education & civil service reforms, the 21st-century economic roadmap, & the Royal Vision for Gelephu Mindfulness City. Let’s empower our future through education & build a SMART Bhutan together!
M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc
[8/28/2024 10:57 PM, 6.3K followers, 8 retweets, 37 likes]
We have made tremendous progress in fiscal consolidation and strengthening state revenue, prerequisites for a sustainable economic recovery and growth! # Any state expenses should be supported by a steady stream of revenue!
M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc
[8/28/2024 8:02 AM, 6.3K followers, 12 retweets, 77 likes]
Though the issue of passports not within the purview of my Ministry, on behalf of the government I apologize to the public for the inconvenience caused ! https://x.com/i/status/1828764980952637932
Harsha de Silva@HarshadeSilvaMP
[8/28/2024 11:04 AM, 356.5K followers, 18 retweets, 97 likes]
President says today he will amend PAYE tax, something he said can not be done. I argued since 2023 it was possible. We already announced ‘middle class tax cut’ (PIT including PAYE) without false promises of doubling tax free threshold (JVP) nor lowering highest marginal rate. Central Asia
MFA Kazakhstan@MFA_KZ
[8/28/2024 8:52 AM, 51.6K followers, 5 retweets, 10 likes]
Kazakhstan and the UN Reaffirmed Their High Level of Cooperation in the Field of International Security https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/835639?lang=en
Bakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov
[8/28/2024 9:07 AM, 4K followers, 7 retweets, 17 likes]
Met with H.E. Regina Maria Castillo, representative of @UNICEF in #Uzbekistan. The number and scale of joint projects are on the rise. Indeed, facilitating the best conditions for our boys and girls is the most important investment towards the prosperity of our nation and sustainable development. @UzbekMFA will further continue supporting @UNICEF_UZB in their endeavors to create a better future for our children in partnership with @GovUz.
Javlon Vakhabov@JavlonVakhabov
[8/28/2024 2:38 PM, 6K followers]
In his recent address, @president_uz Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized how the remarkable victories of our athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics have inspired not just our nation, but the entire region. A particularly touching moment was when an Uzbek trainer played a crucial role in helping a Kyrgyz boxer secure a silver medal. This act of support and collaboration perfectly embodies the spirit of regional unity that the Olympics have brought to light.
Javlon Vakhabov@JavlonVakhabov
[8/28/2024 2:34 PM, 6K followers]
It has been worthwhile to attend the 9th Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network High-Level Annual Meeting. As highlighted in the @president_uz’s speech, delivered by Advisor Ravshan Gulyamov, @Govuz’s efforts have already reduced poverty from 17% to 11%, with child poverty dropping from 22% to 14%. The next goal is to lower the poverty rate to 7% within the next three years. Significant investments have been made in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, with 31.5 trillion soums (~2.5 billion U.S. dollars) allocated in 2024 to improve living conditions. Many speakers have applauded the Government’s steadfast commitment to tackling multidimensional poverty and called for reducing in inequalities, ending the poverty in all its dimensions, and ensuring that no one is left behind. As one of the panelists said, the road ahead might be challenging, but there is no time to despair. Onward.
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[8/28/2024 9:41 PM, 23.6K followers, 4 likes]
Uzbekistan: Most of http://Demokrat.uz are women, still in school, working on what they see as yet another journalism experiment in their country. They are managed by men. who are also quite new in this field. We discussed challenges and best practices.{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.