epubdos : Afghanistan
SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO:
SCA & Staff
DATE:
Monday, February 12, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan
Foreign aid drops sharply as Taliban abuses jeopardize the Afghan health system, group says (AP)
AP [2/12/2024 1:27 AM, Rahim Faiez, 456K, Negative]
Human Rights Watch said Monday that Afghanistan’s public health system has been hit hard following a sharp reduction in foreign assistance, coupled with serious Taliban abuses against women and girls, jeopardizing the right to healthcare of millions of Afghans.

In a new report, the New York-based watchdog said this has left the “Afghan population increasingly vulnerable to severe malnutrition and illness” among other effects of inadequate medical care.

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 drove millions into poverty and hunger after foreign aid stopped almost overnight. Sanctions against the Taliban rulers, a halt on bank transfers and frozen billions in Afghanistan’s currency reserves, have cut off access to global institutions and the outside money that supported the aid-dependent economy before the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces.

In 2023, the World Food Program warned that malnutrition rates in Afghanistan were at a record high with half the country suffering from severe hunger throughout the year.

“Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the healthcare crisis, particularly because of Taliban abuses,” said the report.

The Taliban have barred women from most areas of public life and work and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed after taking power.

Taliban restrictions on women’s freedom of movement and employment have gravely limited their access to health services, the HRW report said, while bans on education have blocked almost all training of future female healthcare workers in the country.

“The loss of foreign development aid and Taliban rights violations have caused a catastrophic health crisis in Afghanistan that is disproportionately harming women and girls,” the report quoted Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, as saying.

She added that “the cost of treatment and medicine has put care out of reach for many Afghans.”

HRW remotely interviewed 46 Afghan and foreign aid officials, healthcare workers, and people seeking healthcare in 16 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces between February 2023 and January 2024. Fifteen of the interviewees, 12 women and three men, were with Afghans who had sought health care. The rights group also talked to Afghan healthcare officials, 10 women and eight men.

The Taliban government spokesmen were not immediately available to comment on the report.

While Afghans living in poverty have always faced difficulties obtaining health care because of costs, a rising number now struggle to pay for food and are often unable to cover the price of medicines and transportation to reach health services.

“Since the Taliban took over, the price of my medications has nearly doubled,” a 54-year-old man living with a kidney infection told HRW. “This is too much for anyone who doesn’t have a job.”

The report also cited an unnamed official with the charity Mercy Corps in September as telling HRW that “the humanitarian response in Afghanistan simply cannot keep pace with the country’s worsening conditions.”

The Taliban have also also imposed the women’s head-covering, or hijab, and strict regulations regarding the presence of a male guardian, known as mahram, further impeding women from traveling for work or receiving treatment, the report said.

The report cited an unnamed doctor in the town of Samangan as saying they have been told by the Taliban “not to treat any female patient who is not accompanied by a mahram or is not in full hijab.”

“The unprecedented economic crisis in Afghanistan has meant that millions are facing life-threatening conditions,” said Abbasi, the HRW researcher. “The situation demands more than humanitarian aid; it requires sustainable efforts to avert further economic decline and alleviate the immense suffering of the Afghan population.”
Afghanistan: Aid Cutbacks, Taliban Abuses Imperil Health (Human Rights Watch)
Human Rights Watch [2/12/2024 1:00 AM, Staff, 190K, Negative]
The sharp reduction in foreign assistance for Afghanistan’s public health system, alongside the Taliban’s serious abuses against women and girls have jeopardized the right to health for millions of Afghans, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The healthcare crisis has made the Afghan population increasingly vulnerable to severe malnutrition and illness.

The 38-page report, “‘A Disaster for the Foreseeable Future’: Afghanistan’s Healthcare Crisis,” describes how the collapse of Afghanistan’s economy after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 inflicted severe harm on the country’s healthcare infrastructure. Donors’ decisions to reduce humanitarian aid have further weakened health care access, destabilized the economy, and worsened food insecurity. The Taliban’s abusive policies and practices have greatly exacerbated the crisis. Bans on education for women and girls have blocked most training for future female healthcare workers, ensuring shortages for the foreseeable future.

“The loss of foreign development aid and Taliban rights violations have caused a catastrophic health crisis in Afghanistan that is disproportionately harming women and girls,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Taliban have severely obstructed women from providing or accessing health care, while the cost of treatment and medicine has put care out of reach for many Afghans.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed Afghan and foreign aid officials, healthcare workers, and people seeking health care in 16 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces between February 2023 and January 2024.

At the planned February 18 meeting of special envoys from key countries organized by the United Nations, governments should press Taliban leaders to remove restrictions impeding people’s access to health care, including bans on women’s education and employment. The special envoys should also address structural problems that have undermined Afghanistan’s economic stability, including those affecting water management, electrical supply, and the banking system.

Over the previous two decades, the Afghan government had depended on international development support from donors to fund essential services like primary health care, even as Afghans paid most healthcare costs from their own pockets. The previous government’s contribution to the public primary care system was negligible, leaving the system vulnerable to collapse once aid was withdrawn. Taliban authorities have also allocated little funding for health care, and humanitarian organizations have struggled to fill the void amid funding cuts that threaten this lifeline.

While Afghans living in poverty have always faced difficulties obtaining health care because of costs, a rising number of Afghans now struggle to pay for food and are often unable to cover the price of medicines and transportation to reach health services.

A 54-year-old man living with a kidney infection said, “Since the Taliban took over, the price of my medications has nearly doubled. This is too much for anyone who doesn’t have a job.”

The United Nations estimates that 23.7 million people – more than half of Afghanistan’s population – will need humanitarian assistance in 2024. While humanitarian agencies provide life-saving assistance, they cannot replace all the essential services that had previously depended on donor support.

As a Mercy Corps official said in September 2023, “The humanitarian response in Afghanistan simply cannot keep pace with the country’s worsening conditions.”

The Taliban’s ban on women’s employment with humanitarian agencies has compounded the crisis by creating additional obstacles to delivering assistance equitably and by depriving women and their families of income. Strict hijab and mahram (male guardian) regulations have impeded women from traveling for work or to receive treatment.

A doctor in Samangan said: “The Taliban have instructed us not to treat any female patient who is not accompanied by a mahram or is not in full hijab.”

Among those most affected by Afghanistan’s healthcare crisis are people with disabilities. Due to decades of conflict and poor maternal health care, Afghanistan has one of the largest populations in the world of people with disabilities. Because of aid shortfalls, the few services for people with disabilities, including physical rehabilitation and mental health support, have largely disappeared.

A counselor based in Kabul said that “even before the Taliban takeover, there were few donors to provide mental health services in major cities. Now most of them are gone, while people are in in greater need.” The Taliban’s restrictive policies further impede access to services for women and girls with disabilities.

“The unprecedented economic crisis in Afghanistan has meant that millions are facing life-threatening conditions,” Abbasi said. “The situation demands more than humanitarian aid, it requires sustainable efforts to avert further economic decline and alleviate the immense suffering of the Afghan population.”
2 Afghans detained at Guantanamo Bay for 14 years have been released, the Taliban say (AP)
AP [2/11/2024 11:09 AM, Rahim Faiez, 22K, Negative]
Two Afghan prisoners who were held in U.S. custody for at least 14 years at the Guantanamo Bay detention center after 2002 were released from house arrest in Oman, a Taliban spokesman said Sunday.

Abdul Zahir Saber and Abdul Karim were released as a result of the efforts made by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Taliban interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said.

Senior Taliban officials posted photographs of Saber and Karim on social media with messages of congratulations. An official welcome ceremony is being organized in the capital, Kabul, for their return on Monday, Qani said.

The two men were held in Guantanamo until 2017, when they were transferred to the Gulf kingdom of Oman, where they spent the next seven years under house arrest, forbidden to travel.

The United States opened the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, under President George W. Bush in January 2002 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the invasion of Afghanistan to capture al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. It was intended at the time to hold and interrogate those suspected of having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban, who had sheltered bin Laden.

However, scores of suspects from multiple countries were later sent there and the detention center became notorious after reports emerged of detainees being humiliated and tortured.

Saber, who was originally from the province of Logar, was arrested by American forces on May 10, 2002, Qani said. In October that year, after four months in Bagram prison just outside Kabul, Saber was transferred to Guantanamo.

“As a result of the efforts of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, after many years in prison and imposed restrictions will be removed, he will return to his homeland,” said Qani.

Karim, a resident of Tani district of Khost province, in the east, was arrested in Pakistan on Aug. 14, 2002. After a few months in prison there, he was handed over to American forces.

He was moved to Guantanamo in early 2003 and then to Oman in 2017.
How an Afghan Drug Kingpin Became Beijing’s Man in Kabul (Foreign Policy)
Foreign Policy [2/10/2024 6:59 AM, Lynne O’Donnell, 315K, Positive]
A drug kingpin whose heroin empire helped fund the Taliban’s long war in Afghanistan—and who was released early from a U.S. prison in a trade for an American hostage—has now gone into business with China.

Bashir Noorzai, a close friend of the extremists’ supreme leader, has set up murky joint-venture deals with Chinese firms in Afghanistan that have won at least two minerals and petrochemical contracts, which mining and security sources said are little more than rentier operations raking in cash but doing nothing to develop the impoverished country.

The Taliban’s multibillion-dollar heroin production and export enterprises have dominated the global market for decades. Before his imprisonment, Noorzai was the don of the heroin trade, sometimes referred to as the “Pablo Escobar of Afghanistan” after the Colombian cocaine king who ran the Medellín cartel until his death in 1993.

Noorzai—a confidant of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s commander of the faithful—was freed in September 2022, in a deal struck by the Biden administration for the return of former U.S. Navy diver Mark Frerichs, who’d been held hostage by a Taliban offshoot called the Haqqani network for two-and-a-half years.

Noorzai returned home a hero and got right back to business, working closely with Akhundzada to snag contracts for gold mines as well as oil and gas exploration in northern Afghanistan, despite having no expertise in mining, researcher Javed Noorani, an expert on Afghanistan’s mining sector, told Foreign Policy. “He has become like one of the warlords,” Noorani said, comparing Noorzai to the late Mohammad Qasim Fahim, an enormously powerful warlord who became a vice president of the republic.

Noorzai’s success in winning the contracts for his company, Afg-Chin Oil and Gas Ltd.—set up with a Chinese partner—was due to Afghanistan’s “nontransparent bidding process” and, most importantly, his friendship with the top man, Noorani said.

Noorzai is also close with the Taliban’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, who has a tight grip on oil contracts, said a source with insider knowledge who wished to remain anonymous. Noorzai’s company has an exploration contract to study the hydrocarbon potential near the Amu Darya, the river border with the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. “They owe Noorzai a lot,” the source said, referring to the Taliban.

The revelation that Akhundzada is supporting his old friend’s business expansion coincides with China’s announcement that President Xi Jinping had accepted the credentials of the Taliban representative in Beijing as the ambassador for Afghanistan, effectively breaking ranks with the rest of the world in acknowledging the Taliban’s legitimacy. Asadullah Bilal Karimi joined dozens of newly arrived ambassadors for a formal ceremony at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Jan. 30. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described it as normal diplomatic protocol.

China’s long-held plans to exploit Afghanistan’s mineral wealth now appear to dovetail directly with the Taliban’s need for money and the diplomatic recognition that will confer legitimacy on their government.

Since taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the group has pilfered cash and aid flown in for humanitarian assistance (reported by Foreign Policy and confirmed in a recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the U.S. government’s oversight authority for the country). The Taliban’s long relationship with China’s ruling Communist Party has paid off since they returned to power, with contracts for Chinese mining firms bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars.

China’s government, which has forced approximately 1 million Muslim Uyghurs into detention camps, seems unperturbed by the Taliban’s extreme behavior. The group has banned women from education and work, and it continues to pursue and kill members of the former government and military. The United Nations has catalogued extensive human rights violations by the Taliban; the U.N. Security Council has repeatedly reported on the Taliban’s ties to al Qaeda and other banned terrorist organizations.

China’s motivation goes beyond access to strategic minerals; Afghanistan is integral to the expansion of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) global infrastructure program, with roads and railways planned for moving Chinese manufactured products through Central Asia to European markets.

Beijing has also been sharing surveillance technology and equipment with the Taliban, which serves a double purpose: The Taliban can more efficiently track down their enemies, and Chinese security agencies can identify Uyghurs who have the Taliban’s protection as members of the anti-China East Turkestan Islamic Movement—a Taliban affiliate whose members the Taliban cannot unilaterally hand over to China, where they would face almost certain execution.

Akhundzada is believed to support attacks on civilian, police, and military targets in neighboring Pakistan by Taliban affiliate Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. The TTP, like many other transnational jihadi and terrorist groups, is protected in Afghanistan as they fight for control of Pakistan’s northwestern tribal regions.

The security challenge posed by the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has dawned on neighboring countries, including China, which is still not completely immune to extremism despite keeping the Taliban close for decades. Chinese people and installations have been targeted by Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Beijing has poured in billions of dollars of BRI investment and loans that have bailed the country out of near-bankruptcy.

Noorzai’s return to business promises to keep the cash flowing into the coffers of one of the world’s richest criminal cartels. Most of his business activity is in the southern poppy belt centered on the province of Helmand, where he has huge land holdings and runs his businesses “like a Mumbai slumdog billionaire,” said the source who chose to remain anonymous.

As leader of the Noorzai tribes, he has kinship with many Taliban leaders and was an early and generous financier. He is believed to have political influence within the group, and before his arrest in 2005 for heroin smuggling, to have acted as an intermediary with the United States. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009.

Some figures of the previous government suspected that his release could have been conditional on him once again being Washington’s conduit to the Taliban leadership. His move into the mining business, however, could be a sign that he is no longer Washington’s man and instead sees China as the future source of funding that will keep the Taliban in power.

Akhundzada has banned poppy production—though Noorzai likely has ample opium stockpiles—thus facilitating the Taliban’s move into the more lucrative methamphetamine market. Meth is the product of the ephedra plant, which grows wild in Afghanistan; it can also be made with chemical inputs that are cheap and readily available. No matter how it is made, it is much cheaper to produce than heroin, and the return is much higher. The ban on poppy production has already led to a huge rise in meth production, evidenced by intercepts worldwide; Iranian border guards announced on Jan. 2 that they had seized 171 kilograms (377 pounds) of Afghan meth during a recent operation.

Noorzai’s new business ventures are a reminder that corruption has long been a hallmark of Afghanistan’s mining sector. For decades, the Afghan people have been told that vast deposits of resources—from coal, copper, and iron to precious stones, lithium, marble, gold, and much more—are poised to catapult their country to prosperity. Instead, the 20-year war and a lack of infrastructure kept the big players out while the Taliban used the violence as cover for large-scale looting.

Noorzai appears to be continuing that tradition, albeit through quasi-official channels now controlled by the Taliban. His firm has a $310 million three-year contract to develop the Samti gold deposit in the northern province of Takhar, involving a mine with a history of attracting well-connected fly-by-nighters.

Noorani, the researcher, said the last contractor of the mine, West Land General Trading, also lacked the expertise and capacity to extract the deposit’s estimated 31 metric tons of gold from deep, rocky riverbeds, but won the contract through connections to a minister in the former government.

Afg-Chin’s contract says it will pay 56 percent of profits to Afghanistan, with development scheduled to start within three months. Noorani called the contract “unprofessional and unrealistic,” and he said that any serious mining firms would take years of testing, planning, and preparation before mining could begin. Extensions have already been granted, he added.

It’s more likely, he said, that Noorzai will sell shares in the company to his Chinese partner, which will then sell its interests to small-scale Chinese companies, which in turn will further salami-slice their shares, keeping the money flowing in what he called a “chain reaction of corruption.”

In this rentier scenario, the mine is not developed, no profits flow to the Afghan state, no jobs are created, and all investments from small-scale subcontractors are lost, Noorani said.

Everyone loses but Noorzai and his cohorts in the Taliban leadership.
Pakistan
Shocking Opposition Victory Throws Pakistan Into Chaos (New York Times)
New York Times [2/10/2024 4:14 PM, Christina Goldbaum, 831K, Neutral]
The party of the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, won the most seats in parliamentary elections this week, delivering a strong rebuke to the country’s powerful generals and throwing the political system into chaos.

While military leaders had hoped the election would put an end to the political turmoil that has consumed the country since Mr. Khan’s ouster in 2022, it has instead plunged it into an even deeper crisis, analysts said.

Never before in the country’s history has a politician seen such success in an election without the backing of the generals — much less after facing their iron fist.

In voting on Thursday, candidates from Mr. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., appeared to win about 97 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, the country’s election commission reported on Saturday. The military’s preferred party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or P.M.L.N., led by a three-time former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, won at least 73 seats, the commission said. Only seven seats were left unaccounted for — not enough to change the outcome as reported by the commission.

While candidates aligned with Mr. Khan were set to be the largest group in Parliament, they still fell short of a simple majority — setting off a race between the parties of Mr. Khan and Mr. Sharif to win over other lawmakers and establish a coalition government.

Leaders of Mr. Khan’s party also said they planned court challenges in dozens of races that they believe were rigged by the military, and said they would urge their followers to hold peaceful protests if the remaining results were not released by Sunday.

The success of Mr. Khan’s party was a head-spinning upset in an election that the military thought would be an easy victory for Mr. Sharif. Ahead of last week’s election, Pakistan’s powerful generals had jailed Mr. Khan, arrested candidates allied with him and intimidated his supporters to clear his party from the playing field — or so they thought. Instead, the election results confirmed that Mr. Khan remains a formidable force in Pakistani politics, despite his ouster and subsequent imprisonment.

On Friday evening, Mr. Khan’s party released a victory speech using a computer-generated voice to simulate that of Mr. Khan, who has been jailed since August. “I congratulate you all for your election 2024 victory. I had full confidence that you would all come out to vote,” the A.I.-generated voice said. “Your massive turnout has stunned everybody.”

The success of Mr. Khan’s party upended the decades-old political playbook governing Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 240 million. Throughout those years, the military has wielded ultimate authority, guiding its politics behind a veil of secrecy, and civilian leaders have typically risen to power only with its support — or been driven from office by its heavy hand.

The vote also showed that Mr. Khan’s strategy of preaching reform and railing against the military has resonated deeply with Pakistanis — particularly young people — who are disillusioned with the political system. It also proved that his loyal base of supporters was seemingly immune to the military’s old tactics for demoralizing voters, including arresting supporters and issuing long prison sentences to their political leaders days before the vote.

Mr. Khan, a former cricket star turned populist politician, was sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison after being convicted in four separate cases on charges that included leaking state secrets and unlawful marriage, and that he has called politically motivated.

Three of those verdicts were issued just days before the vote — an old tactic used by the military, analysts say. But early estimates show that around 48 percent of the voters turned out for the election, according to the Free and Fair Election Network, an organization of civil society groups. Voter turnout in the country’s past two elections was about 50 percent, the organization said.

The results were “both an anti-establishment vote and also a vote against the status quo, against the two other major political parties that have been ruling the country and their dynastic politics,” Zahid Hussain, an analyst based in Islamabad, said, referring to the military as the establishment.

Without a simple majority, most analysts believe it will be difficult for Mr. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., to form a government. Some P.T.I. leaders have also suggested that the party would rather remain in the opposition than lead a weakened coalition government with Mr. Khan still behind bars.

Despite lagging behind in the polls, on Friday Mr. Sharif gave a victory speech in front of a crowd of supporters of his party, P.M.L.N. He also invited other parties to join his in forming a coalition government, suggesting that such a coalition would not include P.T.I.

“We are inviting everyone today to rebuild this injured Pakistan and sit with us,” he said in a speech in Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province.

But any coalition Mr. Sharif manages to form will face serious political challenges. The coalition government led by P.M.L.N. after Mr. Khan’s ouster was deeply unpopular and widely criticized for failing to address an economic crisis that has battered the country and sent inflation to record highs.

The incoming government is also likely to face a serious legitimacy crisis. The election on Thursday has also been criticized by some as one of the least credible in the country’s history, and delays in releasing the election results have led to widespread allegations that the military tampered with the vote count to tip the scales back in P.M.L.N.’s favor.

With P.T.I. promising bruising and lengthy court battles over the results, it could be some time before any party manages to form a government.

“We will pursue all legal options, and we will pursue all constitutional options,” said the P.T.I. leader, Raoof Hasan.
Pakistan Sees Imran Khan Followers Protest Over Allegations of Election Rigging (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [2/11/2024 2:20 PM, Saeed Shah and Waqar Gillani, 810K, Neutral]
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held talks Sunday with other parties to form a new government in Pakistan, as followers of jailed opposition leader Imran Khan took to the streets to protest the alleged rigging of this past week’s election.

Thursday’s election, in which no party won a majority and which has been marred by allegations made by Khan’s party of vote tampering after official results were heavily delayed, has left Pakistan’s next government and the country’s stability in question. Sharif held negotiations Sunday with both of the parties he would need to form a coalition government, but no agreement was announced.

The Election Commission, which said on the morning the polls opened that the election would be free and fair, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the rigging allegations.

Thousands of followers of Khan, who previously became prime minister in 2018, came out in cities across the country, adding to the pressure building over the disputed election. It was the first demonstration from the party since a crackdown against its protests in May saw some 10,000 arrested.

Khan’s party is facing off against not only the other major parties but also Pakistan’s powerful military, which it believes to be behind the past week’s rigging as well as the prior crackdown. Khan, who was barred from running himself, was dismissed from office in a parliamentary vote in 2022 after tensions with the military.

“This momentum won’t stop, even if we have to spill our blood,” said Habib Ullah, a 28-year-old factory worker heading to a protest in the northern town of Rawalpindi. “The consciousness that Imran Khan has given us can’t just be put back in the bottle.”

Pakistan’s military, which has appealed for calm, admits to interfering in politics in the past but says it no longer does so.

Candidates associated with Khan’s party emerged with the largest haul of seats, which confounded predictions of a Sharif victory based on a series of moves by the authorities that hobbled the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s chances, including making its candidates run as independents. Candidates associated with the party won at least 90 seats, but it says that rigging robbed it of dozens of more.

Sharif’s party came in second place, with 75 seats, even after the three-time prime minister returned from exile to lead the campaign. Any coalition he is able to hammer out will be potentially shaky, making it hard to carry through tough decisions needed to stabilize the fragile economy, experts say.

“We want a strong alliance in the center, in which different provinces, communities, groups, are represented, so that the federation is secure and Pakistan begins its journey back to stability,” said Azam Tarar, a senior member of Sharif’s party and a former law minister.

Khan’s party says it won a majority of the seats in the Feb. 8 election but alleges that there were overnight changes in the count. It has taken the issue to court, with challenges over results in numerous locations. That includes legal challenges to Sharif’s own seat in Lahore, as well as the seats in that city of his brother Shehbaz Sharif and his daughter and preferred political heir, Maryam.

Those legal challenges are seen by experts as unlikely to succeed before the Feb. 22 deadline for the election authority to announce its final confirmation of the winning candidates. After that date, Khan’s party would be looking at potentially years of litigation to overturn the results—making street protests important as an alternative form of pressure.

Tarar said his party would produce evidence in court to refute rigging allegations against its candidates. He said that the fact that some prominent members of his party lost their seats, including the former railways minister and the former interior minister, showed that rigging wasn’t taking place.

Nawaz Sharif met Sunday with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a party based in the southern city of Karachi, which won 17 seats. Afterward, both sides said that more meetings were needed.

His younger brother Shehbaz Sharif met with the other coalition partner required, the Pakistan Peoples Party, with 54 seats, which is playing hardball. It said before the meeting that it wants its leader, 35-year-old Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the third generation of another political dynasty, to become the new prime minister. That is seen as a negotiating position, but it is a marker of the weak position in which the election has left Sharif.

“We are the decision maker,” said Faisal Karim Kundi, a senior member of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

There was anger against the other parties and the military at the protests Sunday, which were held outside local-election offices in locations across the country.

Khan’s party says it must be allowed to form the next government. But, as the official result stands, it doesn’t have a majority in parliament, while the other parties are trying to entice away its winning candidates. On Sunday, the first such election winner associated with Khan’s party defected to Sharif’s camp.

The party says that back in May, instigators infiltrated its protests over Khan’s arrest, in which some military sites were vandalized, precipitating the crackdown. The military says that it was an attempted insurrection.

In Rawalpindi, those blocked from reaching the protest sites staged spontaneous mini demonstrations on the roadside, with dozens joining in with sloganeering. Later in the day, police used tear gas and made baton charges against the crowd in Rawalpindi, protesters said. Police said that protesters were in breach of a law that is currently being enforced which prohibits a gathering of four or more people.

“Who will save Pakistan? Prisoner 804,” was a popular chant by the crowd in Rawalpindi, referring to Khan’s prisoner number, at a jail in the same city.

“There is no point in having an election, if ‘they’ and not the voters, select the winner,” said Shafqat Mahmood, a 66-year-old retiree heading to a protest in Rawalpindi, referring to the military. “‘Might is right’ isn’t democracy.”
Pakistan’s Old Guard Parties Near Deal to Thwart Imran Khan (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [2/12/2024 2:41 AM, Niki Koswanage and Kamran Haider, 5.5M, Neutral]
Pakistan’s two main family-controlled political parties are drawing closer to forming a coalition government that would thwart Imran Khan’s group, even after the jailed former cricket star’s candidates won the most seats in the country’s contentious election.

The parties of the Sharif and Bhutto clans “agreed in principle to save the country from political instability,” according to a statement posted on X last night by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif.

The scenario would be a closing of ranks by Pakistan’s old guard after Khan’s loyalists — running as independents — defied the odds with a strong performance in Thursday’s election, showing the public’s enduring support for Khan and disillusionment with the status quo. It could also lead to more protests and unrest across the country.

The Sharifs’ PML-N and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party held meetings over the past two days as they seek to form a coalition after the election resulted in another hung parliament.

Bhutto Zardari’s party said it would consider PML-N’s proposal at a Monday evening meeting of its leadership. Sharif “sought the help” of Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto, to form a government, the PPP said in a statement posted on X.

Neither party disclosed the details of the proposal, instead posting videos of members of the two families embracing and holding talks in the sprawling Bhutto Zardari residence in Lahore.

A coalition of the two political clans could raise tensions after an already contentious election, which saw Khan’s candidates, forced to run as independents, shock observers by winning the most seats but falling short of a majority.

Any delays in forming a government would weigh on an economy already challenged on several fronts. Inflation is running at 28%, the fastest pace in Asia, and the latest International Monetary Fund bailout program is set to expire in March, suggesting the next leader will have to negotiate a new deal.

“Irregularities and a delay in election results could start a legal battle and this situation can also jeopardize the economic outlook in the short run,” said Adnan Khan, head of international sales at Intermarket Securities Ltd.

Pakistan’s stocks tumbled 2.4% to the lowest in about six weeks amid the political uncertainty. Dollar bonds maturing in April dropped by the most since July 2022 before paring losses.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, is set to file suits against the Election Commission to attempt to force recounts in some National Assembly seats that it lost. Party supporters have held small protests across cities in Pakistan and blocked a motorway in Peshawar to draw attention to election rigging.

“What are they going to do, they’re going to put everybody in jail?” asked Humaira Mahmud, 54, an American-Pakistani watching from the sidelines. “We love our army. We love our policemen. We don’t love those handful of generals who are trying to control for their own good. They need to be respectful to their citizens.”

The army has ruled Pakistan directly or behind the scenes for most the country’s modern history but said recently it will no longer be involved in politics. Khan has said the generals conspired with other political parties to oust him from power in April 2022 and was responsible for the crackdown against him and his group, allegations the military have repeatedly denied.

“If the military establishment and the rest of the politicians join hands and refuse the transfer of power then the anger will boil over to the streets,” said Sarwar Bari, an Islamabad-based political analyst. “The majority is with the PTI despite all the odds.”

Khan loyalists took at least 95 of the 265 National Assembly seats that were up for grabs, according to PTI leaders. But one Khan-backed candidate who won in the Sharif stronghold of Lahore has already switched sides to join PML-N, and it’s possible others may also change allegiancesPTI Chairman Gohar Khan told Geo Television the rest of the independent candidates “are in touch with us and will stay with us only.” He also ruled out forging a alliance with PML-N or the PPP.

“It is better to sit in the opposition than to make a government with them,” he told a Dawn News show.
Pakistan’s Khan-backed independents lead in final poll count (Reuters)
Reuters [2/11/2024 9:15 AM, Charlotte Greenfield and Ariba Shahid, 11975K, Positive]
The final results of Pakistan’s national election put independents, backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in the lead with 93 of 264 seats.

The party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was second with 75 seats after Thursday’s vote, lacking a clear majority but it was the largest single party in parliament as Khan’s independents ran as individuals.

As coalition talks were held and protesters blocked roads in the north of the country, it was not clear who would form a government. The final tally of votes was published by the election commission more than 60 hours after voting ended, raising questions over the delay.

The former prime ministers and bitter rivals have both declared victory, adding to the uncertainty as the country faces numerous urgent challenges, including negotiating a new International Monetary Fund programme to keep a struggling economy afloat.

A prime ministerial candidate has to show a simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly when the house is called in the coming days. This will be determined by coalition talks and whether Khan-backed candidates are able to join a smaller party in parliament to form a single bloc to gain reserve seats.

INTERNET OUTAGE?

Khan’s PTI party had threatened to hold nationwide peaceful demonstrations on Sunday if the vote tally was not released overnight. While a large-scale protest was called off, a police source and motorists said hundreds of PTI supporters had blocked traffic in the northern city of Peshawar.

"We are stuck here on the road as the PTI workers had closed the motorway as a protest," said motorist Shah Zaman Khan.

A police source said on condition of anonymity that around 300 PTI supporters had blocked the main highway connecting Peshawar to the national capital.

Pakistan’s interim government said the voting count delay was caused by communications issues due to a mobile internet outage on election day. The outage, which authorities said was for security reasons, drew concern from human rights groups and foreign governments, including the United States.

In a post on social media platform X on Sunday, a PTI party secretary said there should be demonstrations at certain electoral offices where they were concerned about "forged" results.

Around 93 of the independent candidates who won seats were associated with Khan’s PTI party.

WINNING FROM JAIL

Khan’s supporters ran as independents because they were barred by the election commission on technical grounds from contesting the polls under his party’s electoral symbol.

Despite the ban and Khan’s imprisonment for convictions on charges ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption, millions of the former cricketer’s supporters came out to vote for him, even though he cannot be part of any government while he remains in prison.

One disadvantage the independents face in trying to form a government is that they, having not run as a party, are not eligible to be allocated any of parliament’s 70 reserved seats, which are distributed according to party strength in the final tally. Sharif’s party could get up to 20 of these seats.

A spokeswoman for Sharif’s party said that he had met with representatives of the minority regional Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party and they had agreed to "in principle work jointly in the larger interest of the country."

An MQM leader confirmed the meeting but said no formal coalition agreement had been made.

The election commission previously flagged that results for two seats could not yet be included, one in which a candidate was killed, requiring the postponement of polling, and another in which polling would be completed later this month.
Khan’s Party Says It’s Ready To Form Pakistani Government; Party Leader Shot (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [2/10/2024 3:21 AM, Staff, 223K, Neutral]
The party of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, which according to still incomplete results has won most mandates in the February 8 elections, said it was ready to form a government amid warnings by the nuclear-armed country’s powerful military that politicians should put the people’s interests above their own.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has so far announced the winners of 253 of the 265 contested parliamentary seats amid a slow counting process hampered by the interruption of mobile service.

According to those results, independents backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) won 92 seats, while former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) garnered 71, and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) obtained 54 mandates. The remainder are spread among other small parties and candidates.

Both Khan and Sharif declared victory.

As results appeared to point to a hung parliament, PTI’s acting Chairman Gohar Ali Khan on February 10 told a news conference in Islamabad that the party aimed at forming a government as candidates backed by it had won the most seats.

Khan also announced that if complete results were not released by February 10 in the evening, the PTI intended to stage a peaceful protest on February 11.

Third-placed PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a former foreign minister who is the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, could play kingmaker in case of talks to form a coalition government.

Sharif said on February 9 that he was sending his younger brother and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as an envoy to approach the PPP and other political parties for coalition talks.

The elections were held in a highly polarized environment as Khan, a former cricket superstar, and his party were kept out of the election. Khan is currently in prison after he was convicted of graft and leaking state secrets. He also saw his marriage annulled by a court.

Earlier on February 10, the chief of Pakistan’s powerful military urged the country’s political class to set aside rivalries and work for the good of the people.

"The nation needs stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarization, which does not suit a progressive country of 250 million people," General Syed Asim Munir said in a statement.

"Political leadership and their workers should rise above self-interests and synergize efforts in governing and serving the people, which is perhaps the only way to make democracy functional and purposeful," Munir said.

The military has run Pakistan for nearly half its history since partition from India in 1947 and it still wields huge power and influence.

The February 8 vote took place amid rising political tensions and an upsurge of violence that prompted authorities to deploy more than 650,000 army, paramilitary, and police personnel across the country.

Despite the beefed-up security presence, violence continued even after the election. On February 10, the leader of Pakistan’s National Democratic Movement, Mohsin Dawar, was shot and wounded in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal district.

Daward was shot and injured as he addressed supporters in front of a military camp in Miramsha in the country’s northwest.

Dawar, a well-known Pashtun politician, was shot in the thigh and rushed to a nearby hospital in stable condition. He was later transported to the capital, Islamabad, for further treatment. His injuries are not life threatening. Videos of a bloodied Dawar circulated on social media

Three supporters were killed and 15 more injured in the incident, Rahim Dawar, a party member and eyewitness who is of no relation to the Pashtun politician, told RFE/RL.

Dawar, who was running for the lower house of parliament, arrived at the headquarters of the regional election committee, located inside the military camp, to demand officials announce the result of the vote.

Soldiers barred Dawar from entering and he was later shot as he addressed supporters outside the office. Dawar’s supporters accuse the police and security forces of firing at them.

The security forces have yet to respond to the allegation. Local media, citing unidentified security sources, reported that some policemen were also killed in the incident, but RFE/RL could not confirm that.

Dawar won a five-year term in 2018 and served in parliament until it was dissolved. Election officials later in the day said Dawar had lost the election.

Crisis-hit Pakistan has been struggling with runaway inflation while Islamabad scrambles to repay more than $130 billion in foreign debt.

Reported irregularities during the February 8 poll prompted the United States, Britain, and the European Union to voice concerns about the way the vote was conducted and to urge an investigation.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on February 10 rejected the criticism.

PTI was banned from participating in the vote because the ECP said it had failed to properly register as a party. Its candidates then decided to run as independents after the Supreme Court and the ECP said they couldn’t use the party symbol -- a cricket bat. Parties in the country use symbols to help illiterate voters find them on the ballots.

Yet the PTI-backed independents have emerged as the largest block in the new parliament. Under Pakistani law, they must join a political party within 72 hours after their election victory is officially confirmed. They can join the PTI if it takes the required administrative steps to be cleared and approved as a party by the ECP.

Khan, 71, was prime minister from 2018 to 2022. He still enjoys huge popularity, but his political future and return to the political limelight is unclear.
US, UK and EU urge probe into Pakistan election, express concerns (Reuters)
Reuters [2/9/2024 8:15 PM, Kanishka Singh, 5.2M, Neutral]
The United States, Britain and the European Union on Friday separately expressed concerns about Pakistan’s electoral process in the wake of a vote on Thursday and urged a probe into reported irregularities.

The main battle was between former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s party and candidates backed by ex-prime minister Imran Khan. Both declared victory separately.

Elections were held for 265 seats in the national assembly and a political party needs 133 seats for a simple majority.

The U.S. and the EU both mentioned allegations of interference, including arrests of activists, and added that claims of irregularities, interference and fraud should be fully investigated.

Khan is in jail and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been barred from the polls. Independents, most of them backed by Khan, had won the most seats - 98 of the 245 counted by 1830 GMT - while Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party had won 69 seats.

Khan believes the powerful military is behind a crackdown to hound his party out of existence, while analysts and opponents say Sharif is being backed by the generals.

The EU statement noted a "lack of a level playing field, opens new tab", attributing that to "the inability of some political actors to contest the elections" and to restrictions to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and internet access.

The U.S. State Department said there were "undue restrictions, opens new tab" on freedoms of expressions and assembly while noting violence and attacks on media workers.

Some U.S. lawmakers such as Democratic U.S. Representatives Ro Khanna and Ilhan Omar also expressed concerns, with Khanna saying "the military is interfering and rigging the result."

Both Khanna and Omar urged the State Department not to recognize a winner until investigations are conducted into allegations of misconduct.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington, said both EU and U.S. State Department statements were "relatively mild ... considering the great scale of the rigging that went down."

Earlier this week, the U.N. human rights office denounced violence, opens new tab against political parties and candidates. It voiced concern over the "pattern of harassment, arrests and prolonged detentions of leaders and supporters" of Khan’s party.

The EU, the U.S. and Britain said they would work with the next government and did not congratulate any candidate or party.

British foreign minister David Cameron’s statement noted "serious concerns, opens new tab raised about the fairness and lack of inclusivity of the elections."

Multiple legal cases have been brought against Khan, which disqualified him as a candidate and sentenced him to long prison terms. He denies wrongdoing.

Khan was ousted in 2022 after falling out with the country’s powerful military, which denies meddling in politics. His party won the last national election in 2018.
Pakistan elections draw sharp critiques from U.S. and Europe (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [2/11/2024 9:41 PM, James Hand-Cukierman, 293K, Neutral]
Western governments have critiqued Pakistan’s elections, while vowing to work with the next government in Islamabad.

Polls that were widely expected to be a cakewalk for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, turned into a tense battle with independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed leader Imran Khan.

Both sides have claimed victory, with the PTI alleging that it was unduly hampered by a barrage of legal cases, internet restrictions and polling irregularities.

With the final outcome still uncertain, the U.S. and European Union issued statements that raised serious concerns over the process.

"These elections included undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly," U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. "We condemn electoral violence, restrictions on the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including attacks on media workers, and restrictions on access to the Internet and telecommunication services."

On election day, Pakistanis across the country were cut off from mobile services, which the government called a security measure following deadly bombings the night before.

Miller went on to say the U.S. is concerned about "allegations of interference in the electoral process," and that these "claims of interference or fraud should be fully investigated."

The high representative of the European Union issued a similar statement. "We regret the lack of a level playing field due to the inability of some political actors to contest the elections, restrictions to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression both online and offline, restrictions of access to the internet, as well as allegations of severe interference in the electoral process, including arrests of political activists."

It, too, called for a "full investigation of all reported election irregularities."

With Khan sentenced to prison for allegations ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption and an improper marriage contract -- all of which he denies -- the PTI was barred from contesting as a unified party. Its candidates were forced to run as independents. Nevertheless, they performed far better than anticipated.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron noted concerns over "fairness and lack of inclusivity" in the elections and said, "We regret that not all parties were formally permitted to contest the elections and that legal processes were used to prevent some political leaders from participation, and to prevent the use of recognisable party symbols."

The PTI was stripped of its trademark cricket bat symbol -- a nod to Khan’s storied career on the pitch -- in a move many had feared would confuse voters.

Cameron also questioned the cellular service cutoff, delays in reporting results and claims of irregularities. "The new government must be accountable to the people it serves, and work to represent the interests of all Pakistan’s citizens and communities with equity and justice," he said.

All three statements committed to working with the next government, regardless of its composition, to advance shared interests.

A key remaining question was how China would react to elections that appeared to spell further political instability in a country key to its Belt and Road Initiative ambitions. Pakistan is home to the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an ambitious infrastructure drive that includes the southern port of Gwadar in restive Balochistan province.

Beijing has long harbored concerns over militant attacks against its interests in Pakistan, along with the country’s unpredictable politics. On the eve of Thursday’s elections, its Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, condemned the bombings that killed about two dozen people near candidates’ offices in Balochistan.

Wang called the polls "the internal affair of Pakistan."

"As the all-weather strategic partner and iron-clad friend, we hope the general elections in Pakistan will be held in a smooth, steady and safe manner," he said.
Pakistan hits back at criticism of election conduct and insists cellphone curbs were necessary (AP)
AP [2/10/2024 5:51 AM, Staff, 22K, Neutral]
Pakistan on Saturday hit back at criticism over the conduct of its parliamentary elections, which were held amid sporadic militant attacks and an unprecedented stoppage of all mobile phone services.

The strongly worded reaction from the Foreign Ministry insisted the vote was peaceful and successful.

The U.S. State Department said that Thursday’s vote was held under undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The European Union has also said it regrets the lack of a level playing field due to the inability of some political actors to contest the elections.

The ministry said it was surprised by “the negative tone of some of these statements, which neither take into account the complexity of the electoral process, nor acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by tens of millions of Pakistanis”.

It said such statements “ignore the undeniable fact that Pakistan has held general elections, peacefully and successfully, while dealing with serious security threats resulting primarily from foreign sponsored terrorism.”

It said there was no nationwide internet shutdown and “only mobile services were suspended for the day to avoid terrorist incidents on polling day.”

A Commonwealth observer group praised election officials for holding the vote despite multiple attacks, and said it received reports of intimidation and violence against candidates, members of the media and other citizens. Without naming any party, it said it also received reports of arrests and detentions, “especially of supporters and members of a main political party.”

In Thursday’s vote, no political party gained a simple majority and independent candidates backed by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan took a lead in the vote count.

It forced Khan’s main rival, three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, to announce plans to try to form a coalition government. Khan was disqualified from running because of criminal convictions.

Candidates backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, won 100 out of the 266 seats up for grabs in the National Assembly. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party captured 71 seats.

On Saturday, PTI chairman Gohar Khan accused authorities of rigging the vote but said despite that, his party would still form the government. He assured supporters that Khan would be among them soon after being freed, though he did not say how Khan would come out of prison.

Also Saturday, the leader of a political party was wounded and two police officers killed in a clash in the country’s northwest.

The violence broke out in North Waziristan when Mohsin Dawar and his supporters tried to march toward an army facility while protesting delays in announcing the election result, police official Zahid Khan said.
The Rise, and Fall, and Rise Again of Imran Khan (New York Times)
New York Times [2/11/2024 4:14 PM, Christina Goldbaum, 831K, Neutral]
When Pakistan’s government censored the media, former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party posted campaign videos on TikTok. When the police barred his supporters from holding rallies, they hosted virtual gatherings online.

And when Mr. Khan ended up behind bars, his supporters produced speeches using artificial intelligence to simulate his voice.

Mr. Khan’s message resonated with millions across the country who were frustrated by the country’s economic crisis and old political dynasties: Pakistan has been on a steep decline for decades, he explained, and only he could restore its former greatness.

The success of candidates aligned with Mr. Khan’s party in last week’s election — snagging more seats than any other in Parliament — was a stunning upset in Pakistani politics. Since Mr. Khan fell out with the country’s generals and was ousted by Parliament in 2022, his supporters had faced a military-led crackdown that experts said was designed to sideline the former prime minister.

His success marked the first time in Pakistan’s recent history that the political strategy used by the country’s powerful military for decades to keep its grip on power had suddenly veered off course. It also proved how Mr. Khan’s populist rhetoric and the country’s internet-savvy youth bulge are rewriting politics in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 240 million people that has struggled with military coups since its founding 76 years ago.

Now, as the parties of both Mr. Khan and Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former prime minister, race to win over other lawmakers and establish a coalition government, Pakistan is in uncharted territory. If Mr. Khan’s party succeeds — an outcome many analysts believe is unlikely — it would be the first time in Pakistan’s history that a civilian government would be led by a party at odds with the military and whose leader is behind bars.

No matter the outcome, Mr. Khan’s party “proved it is an unshakable political presence, tapping into the dissatisfaction of Pakistan’s youth,” said Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. “The old playbook for shaping the country’s politics is outdated; social media and youth mobilization have become game changers.”

For roughly half of Pakistan’s history, the military has ruled the country directly. When civilian governments have been allowed to come to power, they were led by a handful of leaders — including Mr. Khan’s rival in this election, Mr. Sharif — who were typically ushered into power with the support of the generals.

Those military-aligned leaders built political parties around their family dynasties, passing party leadership from one generation to another — and keeping political power within a tightknit circle. But in recent years, as the country’s young population has ballooned to around half its electorate, there has been a growing frustration with that system, analysts say.

Young people felt shut out of Pakistan’s political system because “someone in the family will always get the top slot,” said Zaigham Khan, a political analyst based in Islamabad. “The old parties are becoming obsolete because they refuse to change — and that created a vacuum for someone like Imran Khan.”

While Mr. Khan initially rose to political prominence with the military’s help, after his ouster he capitalized on young people’s yearning for change to strengthen his political base independent of the generals. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., produced political campaigns on social media — outside the reach of state censorship — that young people say stirred a political awakening for their generation.

In viral videos, Mr. Khan railed against the country’s generals, whom he blamed for his ouster in 2022. He described how the military operated like a “deep state” governing politics from behind the scenes, and claimed that the United States had colluded with Pakistani officials on his removal from power. He described himself as a reformer who would bring change.

His message galvanized young people across the country.

“I’m voting for change. I’m fed up with this whole system of political parties that have been running the country,” said Usman Saeed, 36, as he stood outside a polling station in Lahore on Thursday after casting his vote for P.T.I. candidates. “They’ve put Imran Khan in jail — that’s the main issue — it shows it’s all been managed by the establishment,” he added, referring to the military.

Few of these voters remembered the discontent of Mr. Khan’s last months in office, when his popularity plummeted as inflation soared. Had he been allowed to complete his term, many analysts said, his party likely would not have won the next general elections.

But even after his ouster, the country’s military leaders appeared to underestimate the country’s shifting political sands. As Mr. Khan made a political comeback, the generals turned to their old playbook to sideline him.

Authorities slapped Mr. Khan with dozens of charges that resulted in four separate sentences totaling 34 years in prison. They arrested hundreds of his supporters and — for the first time — cast a much wider net, going after Pakistanis in the country’s elite, even those with close ties to the military itself.

That intimidation campaign appeared to only bolster support for Mr. Khan. Because the crackdown was publicized widely on social media, it exposed and turned more of the public against the military’s heavy hand in politics. Many people who cast ballots last week for Mr. Khan’s party said they did so simply to spite the generals.

Looming over the political scramble now to form a new government are widespread allegations of the military tampering with vote counts and the promises by Mr. Khan’s party of long, bruising court battles to challenge dozens of results it says the military rigged. On Sunday, thousands of Mr. Khan’s supporters took to the streets across the country to express anger over allegations of election fraud — protests that were met with police batons and tear gas.

“P.T.I. is a peaceful party that has ushered in a revolution through the ballot,” the party’s head in Punjab Province, Hammad Azhar, said on the platform known as X. “We will not allow our struggle to be hijacked by nefarious designs.”

The political showdown has put the country — whose history is littered with military coups and mass unrest — on edge. Most agree that despite the election’s results showing just how many Pakistanis are rejecting the country’s broken political system, Pakistan is still not moving in a direction of greater stability or a stronger democracy.

“Even if the balance of power is tilting in favor of the political parties, will they actually act democratic themselves?” said Bilal Gilani, the executive director of Gallup Pakistan. “Or will they become more fascist in their ideologies? Will they exclude the people who haven’t voted for them? That’s the question now.”
Pakistan’s shocking election result shows authoritarians don’t always win (Washington Post – opinion)
Washington Post [2/11/2024 3:22 PM, Editorial Board, 6902K, Negative]
It’s hard to win an election from prison, but that appears to have happened Thursday in Pakistan’s general election, which has produced equal doses of confusion and surprise in this troubled nation of 240 million. The army’s heavy-handed attempt to block from power Imran Khan, a populist (and popular) candidate, has backfired. The generals’ dominance is being challenged to an extent not seen in decades, if ever. Authoritarians often get away with heavy-handed tactics. This was not one of those times — offering a stark reminder of the limits of repression.

Tensions had been mounting for months, after Mr. Khan, the celebrity cricketer turned politician, was arrested in August. Just days before the polls opened, he was slapped with two additional prison sentences. Yet his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, is leading with about 93 seats out of 266. The imprisoned Khan, or at least a semblance of him, even gave an AI-generated victory speech.

The PTI’s share is not enough to form a governing majority. But it is enough to plunge Pakistan into extended coalition bargaining and, possibly, more of the chaos it has experienced since Mr. Khan was ousted as prime minister in 2022, after falling out with the country’s generals. For the entirety of Pakistan’s 76-year history, the army has ruled either directly or behind the scenes, propelling or undermining civilian governments as it saw fit. This time, it may have miscalculated.

In Pakistan, no elected prime minister has ever completed a full term, and civilians have been careful not to confront the country’s ultimate authorities — at least not directly. Yet after Mr. Khan was pushed out, he grew more defiant, criticizing the military brass and calling his supporters to mass protests, some of which turned violent.

The army detained party leaders, raided their homes and harassed their relatives. Many, under apparent coercion, denounced the PTI and distanced themselves from Mr. Khan. Journalists came under censorship orders to avoid mentioning the party or its embattled leader. Moreover, PTI was barred from using its ubiquitous symbol, a cricket bat, on the ballot — a heavy blow in a country where more than a third are illiterate.

Critics, rightly, called the election one of the least credible in Pakistan’s history. Yet despite these efforts (or perhaps because of them), it became one of the most competitive. For the first time, the army’s preferred candidate, in this case Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League, or PML-N, failed to win a plurality, coming a distant second with about 75 seats. In an ironic twist, Mr. Sharif was pushed out as prime minister in 2017 after he himself lost the army’s favor. Initially, the generals saw in Imran Khan a kindred spirit but soon found his persistent popularity, freewheeling foreign policy and lack of deference first irritating and then intolerable.

As prime minister, Mr. Khan had also increasingly tilted against the United States in global affairs, frustrating the Biden administration. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Khan, disgracefully, visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.. Meanwhile, it became hard to avoid the impression of American apathy toward Pakistani democracy, or what was left of it. In response to a question about human rights amid the pre-election crackdown, the State Department meekly noted that “there are areas for improvement that we would welcome in Pakistan.”

On election day itself, mobile networks were shut down for long stretches, with poll results delayed, inviting suspicions of vote tampering. On Friday, the State Department condemned “attacks on media workers, and restrictions on access to the Internet and telecommunication services” and called for claims of election interference to be “fully investigated.” Statements are just that, however, and the Biden administration must — in the critical days and weeks ahead — send a clear, consistent message to Pakistan’s military leaders that any attacks on the integrity of the democratic process will come with consequences for the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.

Whatever coalition government is cobbled together, most likely headed by Mr. Sharif with support from other anti-PTI parties, it will struggle for legitimacy. Against considerable odds, Pakistan’s voters registered growing distrust of the army and its proxies at the ballot box. With Pakistan’s economy in shambles and dependent on an International Monetary Fund emergency bailout, more instability is the most likely outcome.

It is a lesson that the United States has often learned the hard way, and often too late: Strongmen in foreign nations promise both reliability and order. But long-term stability rarely comes through military interference in politics. In the case of Pakistan, the army’s unwillingness to cede control to civilians — or voters — has created a fundamentally broken politics. This election is a reminder.
India
Demolition of Muslim Properties Sets Off Deadly Violence in India (New York Times)
New York Times [2/9/2024 4:14 PM, Sameer Yasir, 831K, Negative]
The demolition of a mosque and a Muslim seminary has led to deadly clashes and an internet shutdown in northern India. The flare-up, in the hill state of Uttarakhand, is the latest bout of sectarian tensions as Muslim sites have become a broader target of the Hindu right wing after the opening of a major temple last month.

The toll of the violence was unclear. An official in Haldwani, the town where the clash took place, said in an interview that two people had been killed and dozens injured, including police officers. Reports in the Indian news media, citing top police officials, said four people had been killed, but this could not be confirmed because the police did not respond to requests for comment. Images from the area revealed vehicles destroyed by fire and debris littering the streets.

Thursday’s unrest began when officials and the police arrived to raze the structures, which the authorities said had been illegally built on public land, and encountered an angry crowd. Witnesses said that the police fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who threw stones at a police station and set vehicles on fire. The police have denied using live ammunition.

The violence unfolded against the backdrop of Hinduism’s rise as a national identity in India, a multiethnic state founded as secular republic, but which in the past decade has been moving steadily further from that vision under the leadership of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party.

In his 10 years as prime minister, Mr. Modi has fulfilled many of his campaign promises, like building an enormous Hindu temple where a mosque once stood, and stripping the Kashmir region of its semiautonomous status.

Thursday’s demolition was part of a larger government effort that leaders of the opposition say has been targeting Muslims. In 2022, a court in Uttarakhand ordered the destruction of about 4,000 homes of mainly Muslim inhabitants in Haldwani, located on land that the court said encroached on a railway line.

In January 2023, after weeks of protests in which residents who had been issued eviction notices camped out on the street, judges at India’s top court ordered a stay on the demolitions.

In the months that followed, tensions rose. Posters surfaced in another town calling for Muslims to shutter their businesses after two people, a Hindu and a Muslim, allegedly abducted a Hindu girl. Shops belonging to Muslims in another town were marked with black crosses, and members of far-right-wing groups urged Muslims to leave Uttarakhand. The state, home to many Hindu shrines, has increasingly become a major stop on the Hindu pilgrimage route, yet its population is about 14 percent Muslim.

This week, a court ruling cleared the way for the destruction of the mosque and the seminary. Residents and a local elected representative said the government rushed in to demolish them without consulting local residents.

On Friday, the authorities imposed a curfew, shut down schools and colleges, and deployed hundreds of riot control forces.

The demolitions are not confined to Uttarakhand. In a recent report, Amnesty International described what it called “unjust” targeting of Muslim homes, businesses and places of worship between April and June 2022 in five states where the local governments are run by Mr. Modi’s ruling party.

The report urged authorities to halt demolitions of Muslim properties, which it said were being carried out as a “punishment” after episodes of religious violence or protests by Muslims against discriminatory policies.
‘It Is Suffocating’: A Top Liberal University Is Under Attack in India (New York Times)
New York Times [2/10/2024 4:14 PM, Sameer Yasir, 831K, Negative]
Jawaharlal Nehru University, named for India’s first prime minister, is one of the country’s premier liberal institutions, a hothouse of strong opinions and left-leaning values whose graduates populate the upper echelons of academia and government.

But to the Hindu nationalists who hold power in India, the university and others like it are dangerous dens of “anti-India” ideas. And they are working to silence them.

Masked men have stormed the J.N.U. campus and attacked students, shouting slogans associated with a far-right Hindu group. Vocal supporters of the right-wing governing party who have been installed as administrators have suspended students for participating in protests and, in December, imposed new restrictions on demonstrations. Professors have been denied promotions for questioning government policies.

“It is suffocating,” said Anagha Pradeep, a political science student who has received warnings from J.N.U. after protesting her housing conditions and helping to screen a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “And you can’t learn in fear.”

The pressure being put on J.N.U. is part of a broader effort to neutralize dissenting voices — media organizations, human rights groups, think tanks — as right-wing Hindus pursue their cause of transforming India into an explicitly Hindu nation.

Not long after Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party took power in 2014, members of its ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or R.S.S., launched a campaign against elite universities across the country, taking steps like filing police complaints against professors who lectured on topics they disliked.

Hindu nationalists, as they try to uproot the secular foundation laid down for India by Nehru, are pushing to supplant universities’ traditional intellectual values with their own conservative thought. The government has excised textbook chapters on India’s past Muslim rulers and silenced researchers who questioned pseudoscience being promoted by right-wing officials.

“We want students to understand that patriotism is of the utmost importance,” said Abhishek Tandon, who has been the head of the student wing of the R.S.S. in New Delhi for 21 years.

He said his organization “won’t allow anti-India forces to work inside the campus against the integrity and unity of India.”

Sumit Ganguly, an India specialist at Indiana University, said that the Hindu nationalists’ campaign, including the appointments of education officials aligned with the right-wing government, could render academic freedom a “relic and a quaint notion” in India.

“What we are witnessing now is a steady stacking of institutions with individuals who lack suitable professional qualifications but share ideological preferences of the ruling party,” he said.

Some of these officials have been effusive in their praise of their government benefactors. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, the J.N.U. vice chancellor since 2022, has called Mr. Modi the “tallest spokesperson for democracy” and a “phenomenon.” Ms. Pandit and a press officer for the university did not respond to requests for comment.

J.N.U., which was founded in 1967 and is spread over hundreds of acres of secluded forestland in southwestern New Delhi, has more than 7,000 students and about 600 professors and instructors. Its founders, including an American rural sociologist, proposed a model research university that would be an incubator of debate and dissent, free of government interference.

In 1975, when the government declared a state of internal emergency — an especially dangerous time for Indian democracy — students at the university who opposed the suspension of basic rights faced expulsion, arrest and prison time.

Even after that traumatic period, students still had room for dissent in the decades that followed. “No one suffered for any ideology,” said Kavita Krishnan, an activist who arrived at the campus as a student in the early 1990s. “Its diversity was its strength.”

The current crackdown started in 2016, two years after Mr. Modi took office, when his government appointed Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, a professor of electrical engineering, as the head of the university.

Within days of his appointment, about a dozen students were charged with sedition after being accused of displaying slogans supporting a Kashmiri man hanged by India over a deadly attack on Parliament. While some videos of the students were found to have been manipulated, India’s toxic social media space and its politicians found an enemy in the university’s students and professors.

Mr. Kumar ended a long tradition of consultation with students and faculty members and, according to teachers and students, curtailed a longstanding policy of encouraging applications from people of lower castes and other disadvantaged groups.

To inculcate “patriotism” and martial pride, he invited retired soldiers to campus and proposed putting a battle tank on display.

Nearly 50 members of the federal Parliament sent a letter to the education minister in January 2019 complaining that the university was being “destroyed.”

In recent years, students linked to far-right groups have physically attacked other students over their liberal and secular views, bashing them with sledgehammers, iron rods and bricks. Amid a wave of student protests in 2019 over a law that opponents called anti-Muslim, officers in riot gear raided a library at another university and beat up students with bamboo sticks. At yet another university, officers fired stun grenades at students.

After masked men stormed the J.N.U. campus and attacked students in January 2020, university alumni who were officials in Mr. Modi’s government quickly condemned the violence. But a politician from his party later justified the attack by describing the campus as a “hub of sex and drugs” that churns out thousands of used condoms and empty liquor bottles daily.

Last year, members of the R.S.S., the right-wing group, tried to intimidate students by carrying out marches with sticks and saffron flags — an emblem of Hinduism — on campus.

Nazar Mohamed Mohideen, a J.N.U. student who has campaigned for affirmative action and is a follower of an anti-caste revolutionary resented by Hindu nationalists, said he was declared a security threat to other students and barred by his professor from entering a laboratory.

Members of the student wing of the R.S.S. beat him up during a scuffle when he tried to save a portrait of the anti-caste revolutionary, Periyar, he said. (The group denied that allegation.) In October, Mr. Mohideen received a letter from the university saying he could not continue his Ph.D. studies, a decision he is challenging in court.

“My fight against oppression,” Mr. Mohideen said, “turned me into a visible enemy.”

Avinash Kumar, a representative of the J.N.U. teachers association, said the right-wing campaign against the university had changed its very nature.

“Ours was a campus which helped realize the real motto of education,” empowering students across caste and class and breaking down societal hierarchies, he said. But those values are antithetical, he added, to “what the ruling regime represents now.”

“Any space where this kind of environment flourishes, they crush it,” he said.
Modi Hailed as Qatar Releases Eight Indians on Death Row (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [2/12/2024 1:02 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Rakesh Sharma, 5.5M, Positive]
Qatar released eight former Indian navy officials who were facing death sentences for alleged spying, a diplomatic coup for Prime Minister Narendra Modi just months before an election.

Seven of the eight men have returned to India, the nation’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement Monday. Some of the men interviewed on TV arriving in Delhi said their freedom was only possible because of Modi’s personal intervention.

A Qatari court sentenced the men to death in October in a case that shocked India’s government. Qatar’s government didn’t disclose the charges the men faced, but Indian officials familiar with the case had said they were accused of espionage.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it appreciated the decision of the Emir of Qatar to “enable the release and homecoming of these nationals.” Modi met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid Al Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 meeting in Dubai in December, after which the sentences of the eight Indian navy officials were reduced.

The release of the men, who had been employees of a company called Dahra Global, boosts Modi’s public image in the run up to an election that’s widely expected to bring him back to power. It also helps to counter some of the negative publicity India has faced since allegations emerged from Canada and the US of India’s involvement in covert operations abroad.

India and Qatar have strong economic ties, with the Gulf nation the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas to India, accounting for more than 50% of its LNG imports.

The release of the veterans came days after India and Qatar extended a long-term LNG supply contract for 20 years to 2048. The deal was sealed in the presence of Qatar Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, who said Qatar wants to be a part of India’s economic growth. The Gulf nation is also talking to other companies in India for more LNG supply deals, he said.

The Qatar news also came a day before Modi arrives in the region, heading to the United Arab Emirates for a two-day official visit. He’s expected to meet with government leaders there and inaugurate the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi.
Indian police block roads to halt farmers marching to New Delhi (Reuters)
Reuters [2/12/2024 3:08 AM, Shivam Patel and Mayank Bhardwaj, 5.2M, Negative]
Indian police on Monday blocked roads to halt farmers who were marching to New Delhi to press for the better crop prices promised to them in 2021 when thousands of growers camped out on major highways leading to the country’s capital.

Some government ministers are expected to meet farm union leaders on Monday to avoid a repeat of the year-long protest, which was aimed at forcing the government to repeal farm laws designed to deregulate vast agricultural markets.

The march comes just months before national elections in India, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win a third term.

India’s millions of farmers form an influential voting bloc and ruling parties try to keep growers on their side.

Television footage showed farmers in tractors driving towards Delhi from the northern Indian breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana, and barriers including barbed wire fencing and cement blocks put up on the edges of the city to stop them. Police also issued orders prohibiting public gatherings in Delhi.

The farmers have come out after a call by union leaders to demand higher support or guaranteed prices for their produce, and press the government to meet its promise to double farmers’ income.

"We will move peacefully and our objective is that the government listen to our demands," Sarvan Singh Pandher, general secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, told news agency ANI.

The government announces support prices for more than 20 crops each year to set a benchmark, but state agencies buy only rice and wheat at the support level, which benefits only about 6% of farmers who raise those two crops.

In 2021, when Modi’s administration repealed the farm laws after the farmers protested, the government said it would set up a panel of growers and government officials to find ways to ensure support prices for all farm produce.

Farmers accuse the government of going slow that promise.
IEA and India to start membership talks as Asian energy use rises (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [2/11/2024 5:01 AM, Madoka Kitamatsu and Takashi Tsuji, 293K, Positive]
The International Energy Agency is finalizing plans to open membership discussions with India, Nikkei has learned, as the organization seeks to strengthen cooperation in Asia to stabilize energy supplies and tackle climate change.

The agency is also preparing to establish its first regional office in Singapore by the end of this year, as a base to bolster ties with non-members such as Indonesia. The focus on Asia comes as the region grows into the center of global energy consumption.

The IEA is preparing relevant documents in the hope of reaching an agreement to start the talks when it holds its next ministerial meeting in Paris, where it is headquartered, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The agency currently has 31 member countries, mainly Western nations such as the U.S. and European states. Asian full members are limited to Japan and South Korea. To ensure stable energy supplies, members are obligated to stockpile oil equivalent to 90 days’ worth of imports. The addition of India, a huge oil consumer, would enhance the grouping’s ability to respond to energy crises.

India’s participation would also make it easier for members to cooperate on climate change countermeasures, such as transitioning to renewable energy. The IEA has taken on a key role in promoting decarbonization in recent years.

In September, the agency recommended that countries triple the global capacity of renewable energy by 2030 to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, an international framework for limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 C above pre-industrial averages. The statement was agreed by countries at the annual United Nations climate conference (COP28) in December.

India, along with Singapore and Indonesia and several others, is already listed as an IEA association country, which allows various forms of participation and cooperation. The IEA formed a "strategic partnership" with New Delhi in 2021, and it has sent a letter to the agency asking to begin full membership talks.

The U.S., Japan, and France are open to India joining the IEA. Joint statements agreed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. last June and French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India in January noted that Washington and Paris were supportive of India’s accession.

The IEA has been led by developed countries, but cooperation with emerging nations is considered essential to implement effective energy policies, including toward decarbonization.

Oil consumption by the world’s most populous country is growing rapidly. The IEA estimates India’s consumption will reach 6.6 million barrels per day in 2030, a 20% increase from 2023. The nation is poised to account for a third of the increase in global consumption in the seven years to 2030.

The criteria for IEA membership include being a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. India has not joined the OECD -- partly reflecting its longstanding policy of nonalignment, and out of consideration for what signal membership in a grouping of developed economies might send to other emerging nations.

But joining the IEA would help India establish itself as a major global power and allow it to become more involved in forming international consensus on energy issues. It would also gain access to global energy supply and demand forecasts, one of the IEA’s strengths. The IEA is set to initiate thorough discussions among its members, including a review of the rules.

Plans for the new office in Singapore also reflect the IEA’s emphasis on Asia. The city-state’s proximity to other Southeast Asian countries would allow the IEA to strengthen its support for the energy policies of each government. Singapore’s status as a regional financial hub also makes it an ideal spot for the agency to gather information related to climate finance. The agency is expected to recruit energy and finance experts as it prepares to open the permanent base.

The IEA was founded in 1974, after the first oil crisis, by the U.S., Japan and European countries. In the event of an emergency, member countries will release their oil stockpiles to prevent a sharp rise in market prices.

But the agency’s relevance and effectiveness has been called into question as countries like India and China -- also only an association country -- increase their energy consumption.

The drive to expand the membership and bring emerging economies like India on board could help the IEA take more concerted action on climate change and other pressing global issues.
NSB
Children traumatised by Nepal quake need aid to rebuild lives, UNICEF says (Reuters)
Reuters [2/11/2024 9:50 AM, Gopal Sharma, 5239K, Neutral]
About 68,000 children and their families who survived Nepal’s deadliest quake in eight years need further humanitarian aid to rebuild their lives, UNICEF said on Sunday, 100 days after the tremors that devastated parts of west Nepal.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck two districts of Jajarkot and Rukum West in the remote western region of the Himalayan country on Nov. 3, killing at least 154 people, more than half of them children.

The tremors, the deadliest in Nepal since two quakes killed about 9,000 people in 2015, flattened more than 26,000 houses and partially damaged another 35,000 buildings, rendering them unfit to live, according to official estimates.

UNICEF said about 200,000 people, including 68,000 children, many of whom spent a cold winter in temporary shelters, still need humanitarian assistance to recover from the disaster.

The U.N. agency said it is appealing for $14.7 million funding to support these children.

“Thousands of children affected by the destructive earthquake ... are still dealing with the trauma of losing loved ones. Their development is at risk as they lost their belongings, homes and schools, among others,” Alice Akunga, UNICEF representative to Nepal, said in a statement.

“Even as temperatures rise, the needs are still high as children require nutritious food, clean water, education and shelter. One of the best ways to rebuild children’s lives and restore a sense of normalcy is to get them back to school and learning, so that they can play with their friends, learn and heal,” Akunga said.

Anil Pokhrel, chief of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said a proposal to provide financial support to affected families to rebuild their homes was ready for cabinet approval.
Sri Lanka eyes tourism boom in 2024 via slick ads, digital nomads (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [2/10/2024 1:32 AM, Munza Mushtaq, 293K, Neutral]
Sri Lanka is crafting a new tourism strategy, aiming to build on a promising 2023 by honing its advertising message, wooing digital nomads and raising per-traveler revenue. It may even have a chance to capitalize on shifting geopolitical winds amid tensions between neighboring India and the Maldives.

The South Asian island welcomed over 1.48 million visitors last year -- roughly double that of 2022, when the country defaulted on sovereign debt, suffered severe shortages and saw protests topple the government. Buoyed by glowing tourism features in international magazines like Forbes and Conde Nast Traveler, the country is hoping for at least 2.3 million in 2024.

So far, the numbers are encouraging: 208,253 visitors arrived in January alone, versus 102,545 a year earlier. Chalaka Gajabahu, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, suggested the country could aim even higher, for an "upper target" of 2.5 million this year.

Better leveraging Sri Lanka’s natural and cultural assets, including picturesque beaches, could help create a tailwind for the nation’s fledgling economic recovery. Already, the sector is performing better than at any time since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings rocked the industry. But Gajabahu stressed there is more to the mission than the sheer number of arrivals.

"The focus is on quality over quantity," he told Nikkei Asia. "When compared to the Maldives, the arrival numbers are quite similar, but in the Maldives the average tourist spends a minimum of $500 to $600 a day, whereas in Sri Lanka it ranges from $160 to $180 a day." The Maldives saw over 1.8 million visitors in 2023.

Gajabahu said the groundwork is being prepared for a campaign targeting digital nomads -- remote workers whose jobs or businesses allow them to work anywhere with an internet connection. Official plans have yet to be revealed, but Sri Lanka is understood to be considering a nomad visa that would allow a yearlong stay with an option to extend. Currently, visitors must apply for a 30-day electronic travel authorization, which can be extended for a stay up to 270 days.

Overall, a 10-year tourism plan calls for attracting 5 million tourists by 2029, of which 2.5 million would be "high-end" travelers.

Until March 31, Sri Lanka is offering free visas for tourists from China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan. In a boost for regional connections, it also signed a free-trade agreement with Thailand last weekend, after which Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said daily flights between the countries would resume at the end of March and pledged collaboration in tourism and other fields.

But despite the strong arrival numbers, tourism earnings remained relatively low last year, estimated at around $2 billion. The Maldives took in an estimated $4.5 billion in receipts in 2022, according to its monetary authority.

Hiran Cooray, chairman of Jetwing Symphony, a prominent hotel chain in Sri Lanka, pointed to low pricing of hotel rooms, particularly in luxury urban establishments. "We were selling rooms at five-star Colombo hotels for $65 on a half-board basis," he said. "However, that changed in October 2023, when the government imposed the minimum room rate on city hotels." Now, such hotels charge at least $110 plus taxes per room.

Cooray said low rates at top-brand chains have a "domino effect" on the industry as a whole. "Internationally branded hotels should elevate the profile of the country, not bring it down. The minimum room rate was a godsend, significantly contributing to the country’s recovery."

Still, Sri Lanka has for years struggled to position and market itself as a destination, he said. "The key for Sri Lanka is to showcase its finest offerings. This doesn’t imply that travelers will exclusively opt for those specific hotels or experiences, but the emphasis should be on highlighting the best," he said, drawing a parallel with air carriers like Emirates and Singapore Airlines that tend to showcase their first- and business-class offerings even though most travelers fly economy.

"The tourism growth observed last year can be attributed to organic factors. However, if Sri Lanka aims to attract high-net-worth travelers, a well-structured campaign spotlighting its premier offerings is essential," he said.

The tourism bureau appears to have recognized this. Gajabahu said the bureau has brought in Phoenix Ogilvy, the agency behind the "Incredible India" marketing campaign. He said a substantial portion of the budget would go toward social media and public relations.

India itself may have given Sri Lanka a leg up recently.

Speaking at a recent forum in Mumbai, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar endorsed the island, saying, "My first advice would be, the next time you want to take a holiday, go to Sri Lanka."

The statement may have had more to do with geopolitics than Jaishankar’s appreciation for Sri Lankan scenery. India has been sparring with the Maldives’ new China-friendly government and found itself in a public spat last month after Maldivian cabinet members hurled online insults at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ministers apparently took Modi’s promotion of Indian beaches as an attempt to draw tourists away from the Maldives.

Amid the feud, Indian tourists -- the top visitors to the Maldives in 2023 -- dropped to fifth in the first month of 2024, reports said.

Imran Furkan, a Sri Lankan geopolitical and risk analyst, said India is poised to use tourism as a weapon -- not unlike China -- by promoting countries closer to them, such as Sri Lanka, and taking a stand against those that have turned against them, like the Maldives. "This strategy aims to favor countries aligned with India while punishing those that are not, and we should seize this opportunity to ... promote our country," he told Nikkei Asia.

Furkan argued that Sri Lanka had not done enough to take advantage of Jaishankar’s statement. Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, he said, should have sent out a tweet thanking him for assistance during a tough time, keeping the story alive and subtly encouraging more support. "This tweet should have been followed by the tourism minister reminding Indian tourists that they have been warmly welcomed in Sri Lanka for thousands of years."

The analyst worries Sri Lanka’s industry is becoming complacent now that arrivals have recovered and domestic conditions are more stable.

Gajabahu, the tourism promotion chief, stressed that maintaining this stability is crucial for achieving further growth. The stakes may be even higher this year, as Sri Lanka is due for presidential and parliamentary elections in the second half. "Political unrest can result in increased travel warnings," he cautioned.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan aims for tricky economic reboot after cabinet shuffle (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [2/10/2024 5:00 AM, Paul Bartlett, 293K, Neutral]
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev hopes to close the book on a challenging period and reboot his economic reform plans after a cabinet reshuffle, though this is likely to involve measures that have met resistance in the past.

Olzhas Bektenov, a relative unknown, was installed this week as the new prime minister, responsible for managing the government’s day-to-day operations. The 43-year-old holds a law degree and has a background in Kazakhstan’s law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies. Since last April, he had been in President Tokayev’s inner circle as the head of the presidential administration.

Bektenov replaced Alikhan Smailov, who was appointed two years ago following days of violent unrest that swept across the country in January 2022, leaving 238 dead. Under his tenure, Kazakhstan had to navigate a series of crises in the aftermath of the unrest and the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

His replacement came as no surprise to analysts, who take such moves with a grain of salt.

"The removal of the former prime minister Alikhan Smailov and some kind of reshuffle has long been expected," Kate Mallinson, an associate fellow at the U.K.-based Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme, told Nikkei Asia. "However, the reshuffle process is a periodic event which gives the illusion of dynamism and is accompanied by grand speeches and plans for economic and political agendas."

Still, she added, "As the immediate fallout of the domestic and geopolitical turbulence of the last two years abates, the Tokayev administration is finally able to move out of crisis management mode and return to its economic agenda."

This includes getting the budget under control and spurring the real economy by making it more efficient, she said, describing "sensible plans that have previously proven very hard to implement."

President Tokayev, speaking to lawmakers in Astana on Wednesday after Bektenov was confirmed, urged the government to develop a long-term vision to accelerate growth, diversify the economy and attract more foreign investment.

Previously, Tokayev set an ambitious target to increase gross domestic product to $450 billion by 2029, the year he is due to step down from the top job after his single seven-year term. This would double the 2022 figure of $225 billion.

"Last year, the growth of the national economy amounted to 5.1%," the president said. To achieve the 2029 goal, "the country’s GDP must grow annually by at least 6%."

In 2024, GDP is forecast to grow 4.3%, according to the World Bank, falling well short of the necessary pace. Kazakhstan’s government predicts growth of 5.3%.

The new prime minister, Bektenov, echoed the focus on the economy when he spoke to parliament after his appointment. "It is crucial to give a new economic impulse and assume firm and prompt measures with special emphasis on such sectors as industry, oil and other spheres," he said.

Another priority is to repatriate illegally acquired assets. While he was head of Kazakhstan’s Anti-Corruption Agency, from February 2022 until April 2023, Bektenov played a key role in investigating and recovering the assets of associates and close family members of disgraced former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

In January, the prosecutor’s office reported that around $2.2 billion of illegally withdrawn assets had been repatriated, including $589 million that was recovered from abroad, giving a boost to government coffers.

An unrelated windfall for the state could come from the upcoming initial public offering of national airline Air Astana. Samruk-Kazyna, the sovereign wealth fund, holds 51% of the carrier, which is set to go public in London and in Kazakhstan next week.

In his time at the anti-graft agency, Bektenov oversaw investigations into claims that Kazakhstan’s law enforcement agencies were complicit in widespread torture of suspects linked to the unrest of January 2022. Despite more than 350 cases being investigated, only a handful of officers were convicted of mistreating suspects, leading to claims of a cover-up in some quarters.

Now, as prime minister, Bektenov leads a cabinet that is for the most part unchanged. However, the key positions of finance minister and the national economy minister are occupied by newcomers Madi Takiyev and Nurlan Baibazarov.

Under Bektenov’s watch, trimming the state budget will be a priority, and to do this some unpopular moves will be needed such as loosening price controls on basic foodstuffs and fuel and privatizing subsidiaries of state-owned companies in the oil and gas sector.

In the past, attempting these changes has sparked protests that have acted as a brake on meaningful reform.

"Lifting subsidies increases living costs for the population, and reducing the state’s share in the economy pushes up unemployment -- factors that foster public dissatisfaction and prompt the government to backtrack on reforms," said Mallinson at Chatham House.

"It was the government’s efforts to lift price caps on [liquefied petroleum gas] that provided the catalyst for the January 2022 protests in the first place -- price controls that were quickly reinstated as the unrest grew," she added.
Kazakhstan’s ‘Bloody January’ Censorship: Good Books And Banned Books (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [2/10/2024 4:50 AM, Chris Rickleton, 223K, Neutral]
There is no better evidence that censorship exists in a country than when a book slated for publication simply cannot get printed there.

Daniyar Moldabekov’s book, Year Of January, is more than 300 pages and packed with on-the-ground reporting both from the days when protests and then deadly clashes engulfed Kazakhstan in January 2022, as well as from the trials and political turning points that followed.

But it might never see the light of day -- in Kazakhstan, at least.

“The publishing house paid for the translation of the text into Kazakh, paid for the design of the cover, and even paid me an advance. Everything was going well,” Moldabekov explained in a column for the Respublika independent media website on February 5. “But then the publisher told me that ‘law enforcement agencies’ approached the printing house that was supposed to start printing it.”

The unrest of January 2022 killed at least 238 people, the vast majority of them civilians, and required a detachment of troops from the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization to restore order.

It also upended the balance of power between Kazakhstan’s current and former presidents, forcing the retirement from public life of ex-leader Nursultan Nazarbaev, while emboldening his hand-picked successor-turned-rival, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.

Moldabekov had already received notice, prior to the grim news from the printing house, that authorities were anxious about the text.

Amid strong preorders -- the publisher compared the interest to that of Nazarbaev’s recently released autobiography -- authorities had asked for a copy of the work, the publisher told Moldabekov, as well as the author’s contact details.

Kazakhstan claims not to practice censorship.

But this is not the first time a private company suddenly backed away from being associated with something about Bloody January.

In the fall of 2022, for instance, the management of an Almaty cinema that had intended to show two films on the topic as part of an independent film festival turned back would-be viewers, citing “technical difficulties.”

And while critical interpretations of the events face a difficult path to being seen, official and pseudo-official accounts are widely available.

One of them -- a book called Tragic January written by the relatively famous Russian publicist and presenter Leonid Mlechin -- is easy to find in Almaty bookstores.

Good Leader, Bad Leader

The first clue that Mlechin’s book has the endorsement of Kazakhstan’s current government is its title.

Tragic January, or The January Tragedy, is Toqaev’s preferred name for the events that began with peaceful protests over a New Year spike in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ended with a security crackdown that reinforced state control at a high human cost.

That phrasing never quite caught on at the grassroots level like the alliterative Qandy Qantar, which is the original Kazakh of Bloody January.

The second clue is that throughout the text Mlechin cites interviews with numerous high-ranking officials, including Toqaev, who declared that he had ordered state forces to shoot-to-kill without warning at the peak of the crisis.

And the final indicator is the fact that large parts of the book are not about the tragedy at all, but about Toqaev, his family background, his diplomatic career, his qualities, and his philosophy on life.

Spoiler: All of it is positive.

From the outset, Mlechin makes no bones about the fact that his primary audience is Russians rather than Kazakhs.

The book begins:

“If you go to neighboring Kazakhstan as a tourist or on a business trip then -- as in the past -- you will not feel like a foreigner. You can speak in Russian, all the signs on the street are in Russian. In Kazakhstan they understand us perfectly. But how well do we understand Kazakhstan and Kazakhs?”

Tragic January is curious insofar as it claims an informed inside-track knowledge of the titanic power struggle that -- depending on whom you believe -- either resulted from or precipitated the chaos on the streets during those early days of 2022.

The book’s clear villain is the former chairman of the Committee for National Security, Karim Masimov, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison on treason charges last April.

Nazarbaev and his broader clan are also under the microscope, with the author openly speculating on their potential roles in fomenting the unrest in order to jettison Toqaev from the presidency.

The sourcing for these assertions is a mixed bag.

Sometimes Mlechin quotes hearsay and chatter on social networks, sometimes from current and former officials, sometimes from Toqaev himself.

Yet what becomes clear throughout the work is that there are many questions that he never bothered putting to either Toqaev or the procession of establishment hawks who offered their takes, sometimes in order to implicate figures now outside of the regime.

There is no mention, for instance, of 4-year-old Aikorkem Meldekhan who, according to preliminary expertise, died from military fire in Almaty the day after forces under Toqaev’s ultimate command regained control over Kazakhstan’s largest city.

Nor was there any mention of the other innocent people who died during the crisis.

Or of the scale of complaints about torture and mistreatment on the part of protesters and passersby detained during the crisis, only a fraction of which resulted in convictions for police and members of the security services.

‘Time Flies In Three Seconds’

To find out more about those things you would have to read Moldabekov’s book.

Because what Year Of January lacks in privileged access to top-level officialdom, it makes up for in atmosphere, personal touch, and relentless reporting.

In a draft seen by RFE/RL correspondents, Moldabekov describes in intimate detail his experiences on January 4, 2022, in Almaty -- the day the government lost control of the city during the largest protest in Kazakhstan’s history.

Moldabekov injured his leg falling in an irrigation ditch during that protest, as demonstrators went toe-to-toe with police in a suffocating cloud of tear gas.

After protesters helped him into a taxi to get home, the cab driver refused a fare.

“What money, brother? This is a beautiful night!” the driver said.

Moldabekov’s interviews with Bloody January participants -- many of them recovering from injuries sustained in detention -- are extensive, drawing on life stories and motivations in sketching a portrait of Kazakhstan in the process.

And, of course, Moldabekov reflects regularly and critically on Toqaev’s public pronouncements, as well as on three decades of Nazarbaev domination that brought Kazakhstan to such a nation-defining point.

Observing that many of the answers about what really happened during the crisis remain buried in top-classified investigations and shuttered trials, Moldabekov argues in his book’s conclusion that “New Kazakhstan, claiming distinction from the old version in terms of democratic credentials, has turned out in practice to be more like Closed Kazakhstan.”

But if authoritarian secrecy and censorship persist, their subjects of interest have undergone a noticeable change.

Prior to January 2022, Nazarbaev was Kazakhstan’s constitutionally enshrined “Elbasy” (Leader of the Nation) and insulting him was a crime with a maximum prison sentence of three years.

Those privileges have been taken away from the octogenarian now, as has the name of the capital city, which reverted back to Astana after three years as “Nur-Sultan,” all done with silent approval from Toqaev.

But none of that beats the symbolism of the statue of the former president in the southern town of Taldyqorghan, which demonstrators tore to the ground to cheers during the 2022 protests.

That moment is now being celebrated again in an artistic exhibition starring a series of “falling Nazarbaev” mini-statues in a government-owned cultural building in Almaty.

“To be in power for 30 years and leave it in three seconds!" Erbolsyn Meldebek, the artist behind the exhibition, told RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service. "Here I show how time can fly in those three seconds."
Kyrgyzstan Responds To U.S. Letter Expressing Concern Over ‘Foreign Representative’ Law (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [2/9/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 235K, Neutral]
Kyrgyzstan has responded to a letter from the United States that reportedly expressed concern over ongoing discussions by Kyrgyz lawmakers of a controversial bill that would allow authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives," legislation that critics say mirrors repressive Russian laws on "foreign agents." The country’s Foreign Ministry said on February 9 that Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev met with the U.S. Ambassador Lesslie Viguerie in Bishkek and handed over a response from President Sadyr Japarov. It gave no further details.
Kyrgyzstan shuts down prominent news outlet (Reuters)
Reuters [2/10/2024 11:38 AM, Aigerim Turgunbaeva, 5239K, Neutral]
A court in Kyrgyzstan has ruled to dissolve a non-governmental organisation that ran a popular news website often critical of the government.

The court order late on Friday to shut down Kloop.kg follows raids on several other media outlets and arrests of their reporters, which Western governments have criticised as a crackdown on independent media.

Kloop.kg’s troubles began last August when state prosecutors filed a lawsuit to have it shut down on the grounds that Kloop Media, its NGO publisher, was not registered as a media organisation.

Prosecutors also pointed out that many of the outlet’s publications were critical of the government, saying they discredited the authorities of the Central Asian nation.

The court said that Kloop Media was carrying out activities that were outside of its charter.

"The court ruling on Kloop is another nail in the coffin of media freedom in Kyrgyzstan," Anna Kapushenko, the editor-in-chief of Kloop.kg’s Russian-language version, told Reuters.

The group said it would appeal the ruling.

Media in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, have long enjoyed greater freedoms than those in other Central Asian countries with more autocratic governments.

However, under President Sadyr Japarov, who came to power in 2020, the country adopted a law making it illegal for media and individuals to "discredit" the authorities, giving the government a tool to go after its critics.

Kyrgyzstan is closely allied with Russia and hosts a Russian military airbase.
Kyrgyz Journalists Under Pressure Amid Watchdog’s Concern Over ‘Unprecedented Crackdown’ (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [2/9/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 235K, Neutral]
Amnesty International (AI) has sharply criticized Kyrgyz authorities over what it called "an unprecedented crackdown on civil society" that threatens human rights and the international standing of the Central Asian nation.

"The [Kyrgyz] government’s campaign against civil society is not just a series of random, sporadic attempts to fend off criticism -- it is strategically designed to stifle critics. The state’s actions echo some of the most repressive tactics deployed in the region’s recent history," AI’s Central Asia Researcher Maisy Weicherding said in a statement dated February 8.

"Just three years after coming to power, President Sadyr Japarov has led an administration that has introduced a series of legislative initiatives, policies, and practices aimed at suppressing critical voices and restricting the operations of NGOs, particularly those engaging in human rights advocacy or ‘political activity.’"

Last month, the Kyrgyz parliament’s committee for constitutional laws approved the draft law that would allow authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives" in a style that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation on "foreign agents." Further discussion of the controversial draft law is pending.

According to the draft, noncommercial organizations and media outlets that receive foreign funding and are engaged in broadly defined "political" activities will be obliged to report about their activities to the authorities. The legislation under discussion will also introduce wide oversight powers by the authorities and potential criminal sanctions for undefined criminal offenses.

AI’s statement also emphasized the situation around independent media in Kyrgyzstan, saying that RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, survived a shutdown attempt last year, while the Kloop independent media outlet was blocked in September.

The statement also noted the ordeal of 11 journalists arrested in recent days over taking part in projects conducted by the Temirov LIVE group led by Bolot Temirov, who was deported from the country after his Kyrgyz citizenship was annulled in 2022.

“A thriving civil society able to operate freely and without fear is an invaluable and irreplaceable asset to any country, especially in the face of economic and climate crises -- and the [Kyrgyz] civil society has long shown itself to be such an asset. It’s time for the [Kyrgyz] government to unshackle the future, embrace constructive criticism and free expression, and chart a course that honors the dignity and rights of all,” Weicherding said.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyz authorities said on February 9 that journalist Ermek Attokurov and blogger Batmakan Jolboldueva were detained a day earlier in two separate extortion cases.

Attokurov wrote on Facebook shortly before his detention that "police are preparing a provocation against me."

As for Jolboldueva, the State Committee for National Security said she was detained after she was caught red-handed while receiving 25,000 soms ($280) from a person in exchange of withholding a sensitive report from publishing. Jolboldueva’s stance on the situation is unknown.

Also, on February 9, journalist Aziyat Zheksheev told RFE/RL that he was summoned to a trial scheduled for March 4 for alleged violation of the law on copyright rights over his report he made five years ago while working for a local television channel.
Turkmenistan Conducting Virginity Tests To ‘Evaluate Teenagers’ Morality’ (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [2/11/2024 4:15 AM, Staff, 223K, Negative]
Female high school students in Turkmenistan’s coastal province of Balkan are being subjected to mandatory virginity tests, which officials say are needed to evaluate the teenagers’ morality.

Authorities have not sought the teenagers’ or their parents’ consent for the controversial tests carried out by gynecologists, several parents and students told RFE/RL.

Students who “fail” the test are being reported to police and security services, according to an educational worker familiar with the campaign.

“In the cities of Balkanabat and Turkmenbashi, all female students from 9th to 11th grades are being forced to undergo the gynecological examination. A list of the girls who are identified during the tests as having had sexual intercourse are being shared with the local police department and the National Security Ministry,” the man, who requested anonymity, told RFE/RL.

Police often check the mobile phones of the girls on the list to seek information about their suspected sexual partners, other education workers claimed.

“Law enforcement officers explained that this is being done to identify and bring to justice people who have had intimate relationships with minors,” said a worker in the provincial capital, Balkanabat.

“Large-scale inspections are under way in the province currently,” he added.

The education workers spoke on condition of anonymity, citing security reasons in the tightly controlled Central Asian state. RFE/RL contacted government officials in Balkan Province for comment but received no response.

No public explanation was offered by the government on why the gynecological tests are being carried out, but the Balkanabat-based worker suspects the tests are linked to a reported rise in teenage pregnancies in the province in recent months. Six such cases were recorded just in Balkanabat, he said.

“This information reached the Education Ministry, which issued a severe reprimand to the head of the Balkan regional education department as a result. Right after that, [provincial authorities] started checks for ‘moral purity’ in big cities,” he said.

They Have No Say

So-called virginity tests are not unprecedented in Turkmenistan, where the authoritarian government exercises extensive control over people’s lives.

In 2018, police and security officers accompanied by gynecologists conducted unannounced raids at schools in the northern Dashoguz region. The officers checked male students’ mobile phones for pornographic videos, while female students were rounded up to undergo virginity tests in the school nurse’s office, eyewitnesses said.

“Some of the girls were discovered to not be virgins during the tests, and their parents were summoned and shamed in front of everyone at the school,” a source close to the matter told RFE/RL at the time.

According to a source at the Dashoguz police department, the 2018 tests were allegedly part of the regional government’s efforts to tackle prostitution among teenagers. RFE/RL cannot independently verify the claims.

In 2019, school administrations in the southeastern Mary Province ordered all female students from the 8th to 11th grades to undergo a gynecological examination “regardless of whether their parents give consent or not.”

Many women’s rights activists worldwide condemn the so-called virginity test as an absurd and demeaning practice that should be abandoned. Many medical experts argue that such tests cannot determine a person’s virginity because the hymen can be damaged in different ways, not only by having sexual intercourse. Some women are even born without them.
Uzbekistan’s trade balance is underwater in its “all-weather strategic partnership” with China (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [2/9/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
Uzbekistan wants to develop an “all-weather strategic partnership” with China. But trade statistics for 2023 indicate the developing relationship between Tashkent and Beijing is far from one of equals.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev traveled to China in late January, meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two countries signed an array of agreements during Mirziyoyev’s visit that a presidential statement said would “enrich the content” of their strategic partnership. The bilateral documents signed in Beijing outlined cooperation in a wide variety of areas, ranging from big-picture issues, including environmental protection and poverty reduction, to micro topics, such as the sanitary standards for Uzbek pea exports to China.

While Beijing rolled out the red carpet for Mirziyoyev, the numbers confirm that the foundation of any strategic partnership rests more on rhetoric than substance. Figures covering 2023 show that Uzbekistan ran a severe trade deficit with Beijing, deepening a dependency on Chinese durable goods. According to PRC’s customs agency, China’s trade turnover with Uzbekistan last year totaled $14 billion, with Uzbek exports accounting for only $1.6 billion of the overall amount. Numbers provided by Central Asian states often do not align with official Chinese data, but Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency also reported that while the volume of Uzbek-Chinese trade reached $13.7 billion, exports to China only stood at $2.5 billion.

Uzbekistan’s growing appetite for Chinese autos has been well documented. The imbalance also extends to consumer electronics, including mobile phones.

The Uzbek Agency for Statistics reported that the country imported 3.1 million mobile phones from China in 2023, far outpacing imports from other sources. Vietnam ranked as the second biggest mobile phone supplier to Uzbekistan, shipping 276,800 units. Third was India, with 37,200 units shipped. The overall total reflected 13.7 percent growth in mobile phone imports over 2022 numbers.

China additionally has established itself as a major creditor of Uzbekistan, according to officials at the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade. The ministry reported that Uzbekistan attracted international loans totaling $2.8 billion in 2023, the majority of which was provided by the Asian Development Bank ($616 million), the World Bank ($552 million) and China ($399 million). The Uzbek government devoted $872 million in loans to the country’s energy sector. Meanwhile, the transport sector gained $473 million in international support, while agriculture and water management sector received $300 million.
Twitter
Afghanistan
Abdul Qahar Balkhi
@QaharBalkhi
[2/10/2024 11:13 AM, 230.5K followers, 40 retweets, 232 likes]
Today, the Adviser to the Russian President & Special Presidential Representative on Climate Issues, Ruslan Edelgeriyev called on IEA-Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. The meeting focused on bilateral relations between IEA & Russian Federation, economic cooperation,

Abdul Qahar Balkhi
@QaharBalkhi
[2/10/2024 11:13 AM, 230.5K followers, 1 retweet, 7 likes]
cooperation in the domain of climate change & ways to upgrade diplomatic relations between the two countries. At the outset, stressing on enhanced bilateral relations, FM Muttaqi said that further progress can be made in several areas by upgrading diplomatic relations,

Abdul Qahar Balkhi
@QaharBalkhi
[2/10/2024 11:13 AM, 230.5K followers, 8 likes]
adding that despite Afghanistan not being a greenhouse gas emitter, it remains vulnerable to hazardous effects of climate change. Urging Russia to cooperate in providing training to the staff of the relevant bodies in environment protection & forestation, FM Muttaqi requested

Abdul Qahar Balkhi
@QaharBalkhi
[2/10/2024 11:13 AM, 230.5K followers, 8 likes]
Russian support in ensuring participation of Afghan representatives in international forums on environmental protection. Exchanging views on upgrading bilateral diplomatic relations, Mr. Edelgeriyev pledged to duly reflect developments in Afghanistan to the Russian President.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi
@QaharBalkhi
[2/10/2024 11:13 AM, 230.5K followers, 1 retweet, 19 likes]
The Special Adviser emphasized that Afghanistan’s representatives should participate in international climate change meetings, highlighting that Russia will support participation of Afghan delegation in COP29 to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi
@QaharBalkhi
[2/10/2024 11:13 AM, 230.5K followers, 1 retweet, 16 likes]
To end, the Special Adviser stressed on the commencement of the work of bilateral trade commission between Afghanistan and Russia.

Bilal Sarwary
@bsarwary
[2/11/2024 1:17 PM, 251.1K followers, 16 retweets, 51 likes]
Taliban continue to use US citizens in attempts to release their comrades from drug king pins the likes to Bashar Noorzai now to releasing the aide to Usama Bin Laden. It’s now safe to say the demise and resurrection of terrorism could be both credited to US. As Al-Qaida expands once again in Afghanistan, the USG under Biden continues to help Taliban instead of watching over them
Pakistan
Imran Khan
@ImranKhanPTI
[2/9/2024 1:40 PM, 20.5M followers, 59K retweets, 122K likes]
Chairman Imran Khan’s victory speech (AI version) after an unprecedented fightback from the nation that resulted in PTI’s landslide victory in General Elections 2024.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/11/2024 11:22 PM, 209.1K followers, 195 retweets, 827 likes]
A remarkable development that the 8 Indian ex-naval officers on death row in Qatar, reportedly for spying for Israel, have now been released and all but 1 are back in India. That’s a major diplomatic feat to get that result for your citizens held abroad on such serious charges.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/11/2024 3:01 PM, 209.1K followers, 2.1K retweets, 5.8K likes]
PTI has earned a public mandate to govern. But it’s all but assured Pakistan’s next ruling coalition will look a lot like the previous one-a PDM redux led by PMLN and PPP and some smaller parties. PTI defied the odds in recent days, but it appears headed for the opposition.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/11/2024 3:01 PM, 209.1K followers, 36 retweets, 119 likes]
It’ll be tough for PTI to keep all its victorious sponsored independents on side. They’ll be under pressure by the military to align w/different parties. PTI will also struggle to find coalition partners, who may fear repercussions from a military that wants PTI to be isolated.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/11/2024 3:01 PM, 209.1K followers, 32 retweets, 112 likes]
PTI’s view is that rampant rigging deprived it of seats, meaning it must work much harder to put together a coalition. This is one of the reasons why PTI will certainly go the courts seeking relief. That said, even if some results are reversed, it may not be enough to help.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/11/2024 3:01 PM, 209.1K followers, 25 retweets, 107 likes]
PTI & Khan are not known for reaching across the aisle. The party itself would be uncomfortable about being in a coalition w/bitter rivals (eg PPP). It may resign itself to returning to opposition and hoping the next gov’t-which will be weak and fractious-won’t stick around long.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/10/2024 9:07 AM, 209.1K followers, 1.2K retweets, 3.4K likes]
Shocked to hear the very brave rights activist and former parliamentarian @mjdawar was shot in North Waziristan while peacefully protesting the delayed announcement of election results. Fortunately he survived. What an apt commentary on the sad state of Pakistani democracy today.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/9/2024 2:21 PM, 209.1K followers, 7.3K retweets, 14K likes]
The State Department condemns violence & restrictions on freedoms in Pakistan’s election. Expresses concern "about allegations of interference." Calls for investigation. Relatively mild statement, considering the great scale of the rigging that went down.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[2/9/2024 2:21 PM, 209.1K followers, 105 retweets, 285 likes]
Tone and messaging of this statement are similar to the EU one released earlier today (they may have been coordinated). The statement is also similar to the one issued on BD’s election: Criticism (but State rejected BD polls altogether) combined w/calls for continued cooperation.

Hamid Mir
@HamidMirPAK
[2/10/2024 5:52 AM, 8.4M followers, 498 retweets, 6.9K likes]
Who made the history? This team who covered #Election2024 from @geonews_urdu platform or the Elecion Commission of Pakistan? At least there is one undisputed winner @junaidmuhammadd for speaking in live transmission for hours and hours without any fumbles

Hamid Mir
@HamidMirPAK
[2/9/2024 11:41 AM, 8.4M followers, 7.9K retweets, 20K likes]
US State department condemned electoral violence, restrictions on access to the Internet and telecommunication services, and concerned about allegations of interference in the electoral process. Claims of interference or fraud should be fully investigated.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[2/11/2024 2:06 PM, 42.3K followers, 131 retweets, 306 likes]
On election day interference in Pakistan - There are reports of:
- major discrepancies in results from polling stations (form 45) vs constituency-level results (form 47)
- candidates "lost" major vote leads overnight on Feb 8 after counting & reporting of results abruptly stopped

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[2/11/2024 11:51 AM, 42.3K followers, 1K retweets, 3.9K likes]
It takes a different kind of (let’s call it) audacity to lose an election and still try to form government. It disrespects the Pakistani electorate.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[2/11/2024 8:19 PM, 42.3K followers, 209 retweets, 601 likes]
The Pakistani authorities should know that the world and most importantly, Pakistan’s citizens, are watching and understand exactly what’s happening with the election — they’ve noted the unexplained, unlawful delays in reporting and seen evidence of discrepancies in results.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[2/9/2024 5:18 PM, 42.3K followers, 1.2K retweets, 3.8K likes]
A growing number of members of the US Congress are issuing statements of concern about Pakistan’s election. Significant. These should serve as a check on attempts by the Pakistani authorities to interfere with the election results.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[2/10/2024 8:10 PM, 42.3K followers, 10 likes]
This growing list now includes the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Brahma Chellaney
@Chellaney
[2/9/2024 10:12 AM, 262K followers, 80 retweets, 399 likes]
A crisis-torn Pakistan may be sinking into a deeper hole but the messy outcome of its election offers no respite. With the military’s rigging failing to deliver his party a majority, Nawaz Sharif is hunting for coalition partners. But Pakistan will continue to pay dearly for its military’s unending political machinations
India
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[2/12/2024 2:52 AM, 95.3M followers, 400 retweets, 1.5K likes]
The launch of India’s UPI services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius underscores the robust linkages between our countries.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[2/10/2024 3:14 AM, 95.3M followers, 3.2K retweets, 9.7K likes]
Addressing the #ViksitBharatViksitGujarat programme. Elated to inaugurate and perform Bhoomi Poojan of houses built under PM Awas Yojana. https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1MYGNoByVMPJw

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[2/9/2024 10:43 PM, 95.3M followers, 2.4K retweets, 7.3K likes]
Our governance is addressing the challenges of the 20th century and at the same time fulfilling the aspirations of the 21st century. @ETNOW_GBS #GBS2024 https://twitter.com/i/status/1756161880241193074

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[2/9/2024 7:40 AM, 95.3M followers, 5.4K retweets, 38K likes]
Enjoyed a sumptuous lunch, made even better thanks to the company of Parliamentary colleagues from various parties and different parts of India.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
2/12/2024 2:02 AM, 3M followers, 178 retweets, 1.9K likes]
Pleased to meet Secretary General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn of ASEAN today morning. Discussed taking forward our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Our agenda focused on connectivity, food security and trade.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[2/11/2024 12:21 AM, 3M followers, 259 retweets, 1.5K likes]
Greetings to FM @Amirabdolahian and the Government and people of Iran on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Confident that our long standing cooperation and close friendship will continue to grow.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[2/10/2024 10:34 PM, 3M followers, 176 retweets, 1.5K likes]
PM @narendramodi ji’s speech, during its last sitting, encapsulated the transformational impact that the 17th Lok Sabha has brought in the country. Guided by the motto of Reform, Perform and Transform, this Lok Sabha brought many changes in trying times of the Covid pandemic. Abrogation of Article 370; removal of triple talaq; space and data protection reforms and the passing of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in the new building of the Parliament are only a few achievements of this period. The cumulative message is one of inclusive growth, technology advancement, social justice and ease of living of all Indians. Do watch Prime Minister’s uplifting speech: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qx1fWcq0sIk

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[2/10/2024 8:35 AM, 3M followers, 148 retweets, 1.5K likes]
Good to meet members of OFBJP in Perth today. Appreciate their work which promotes better understanding and cooperation between our two countries.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[2/9/2024 10:04 AM, 3M followers, 154 retweets, 880 likes]
Addressed the 7th Indian Ocean Conference today in Perth. Spoke about challenges to stability and sustainability, as also manipulation of the normal. Underlined that Indian Ocean States must come together to build resilient supply chains and enhance digital trust. Shared India’s approach towards IORA, IPOI, BIMSTEC and Quad, highlighted India as Vishwa Mitra, be it in connectivity, development partnership or as first responder.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[2/9/2024 9:59 AM, 3M followers, 291 retweets, 2.9K likes]
Pleased to call on Sri Lankan President @RW_UNP on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Perth. Recognized the progress in our bilateral cooperation and resolved to continue deepening them.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[2/11/2024 5:09 AM, 3M followers, 566 retweets, 5K likes]
The Bharat Ratnas announced for those who played such a defining role in our nation building is a welcome development. Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh made us cognizant of the enormous contribution of our Kisans. Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao initiated much needed economic reforms. Dr. MS Swaminathan made an invaluable contribution to our food security. By doing so, we pay tribute to the real Ratnas of Bharat.

Brahma Chellaney
@Chellaney
[2/10/2024 3:57 AM, 262K followers, 131 retweets, 443 likes]
The Modi government is offering no explanation why for years it allowed the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act — akin to a U.S. entry law whose coverage was expanded from Soviet Jews to persecuted religious minorities from elsewhere, including Christians — to languish due to non-implementation. But now, with national elections approaching, it is framing the required rules to implement the law. By keeping the law in limbo, it callously prolonged the agony of the stateless refugees eligible to secure citizenship.
NSB
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives
@MoFAmv
[2/11/2024 3:11 AM, 53.4K followers, 15 retweets, 24 likes]
#FOSIM successfully concluded the Pre-Posting Briefing for the third batch of diplomats. Last session focused on bilateral relations, networking for diplomats, meeting etiquettes & social media for diplomats.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives
@MoFAmv
[2/10/2024 8:42 AM, 53.4K followers, 25 retweets, 37 likes]
State Minister @SherynaSamad met the Minister of Civil Aviation & Tourism of Bangladesh, Lt. Col. Muhammad Faruk Khan, on the margins of the #7thIOC2024. Discussed the longstanding Maldives-Bangladesh relations & explored avenues to further reinforce the ties of friendship & cooperation.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives
@MoFAmv
[2/10/2024 3:36 AM, 53.4K followers, 26 retweets, 38 likes]
State Minister @SherynaSamad met with the Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Rim Association @IORAofficial, Salman Al Farisi, on the margins of #7thIOC2024. Explored avenues for further collaboration between Maldives and IORA in a number of priority fields.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives
@MoFAmv
[2/10/2024 1:45 AM, 53.4K followers, 21 retweets, 26 likes]
State Minister @SherynaSamad interacted with @WhiteHouse NSC’s Senior Director for South Asia, Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, on the margins of the #7thIOC2024 Both reflected on the robust Maldives-US partnership & expressed hope that it continues to grow further

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[2/11/2024 1:05 AM, 4.9K followers, 3 retweets, 9 likes]
I congratulated the newly appointed Secretary General of @BimstecInDhaka Amb Indra Mani Pandey & wished him all the best in his new responsibilities. We reviewed the current status of the organization & pledged #SriLanka’s firm support and cooperation. @MFA_SriLanka

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[2/9/2024 11:38 PM, 4.9K followers, 9 retweets, 15 likes]
Our Blue Future At #IOC24 in #Perth I discussed areas of cooperation and collaboration required to work together to explore the opportunities and address the challenges in our magnificent Indian Ocean, for the advancement of our communities @MFA_SriLanka
Central Asia
Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[2/10/2024 9:10 AM, 22.7K followers, 5 retweets, 23 likes]
Uzbekistan: Pres. Mirziyoyev wants Uzbekistan media to be competitive and credible, able to counter foreign influence. Uzbek reporters and news managers hope Mirziyoyev means what they want — less propaganda, more journalism. But this would require major reforms.

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[2/9/2024 10:02 PM, 22.7K followers, 4 retweets, 16 likes]
Uzbek reporters, bloggers tell VOA that only free, robust journalism can build trust between the state and the public, offering credible news and critical analysis. @VOANews

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[2/9/2024 4:30 PM, 22.7K followers, 2 retweets, 2 likes]
UZ KZ KG TJ TM +US: Following the largest mining conference in Africa, Mining Indaba, where Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez @State_E advanced cooperation on securing and strengthening critical mineral supply chains, he chaired the C5+1 discussion on goals and objectives of the Critical Minerals Dialogue, which will seek to increase the region’s involvement in global critical minerals supply chains, strengthen economic cooperation, and advance the clean energy transition, while also protecting Central Asia’s unique ecosystems. @StateDept @State_SCA https://state.gov/inaugural-c51-critical-minerals-dialogue-among-the-united-states-and-kazakhstan-the-kyrgyz-republic-tajikistan-turkmenistan-and-uzbekistan/

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[2/9/2024 4:37 PM, 22.7K followers, 2 retweets, 2 likes]
Related story: U.S. officials hoping to break China’s near monopoly on the production of rare earth elements needed for many cutting-edge technologies should engage the governments of Central Asia to develop high concentrations of REEs found in the region, says a new report. https://voanews.com/a/central-asia-seen-as-key-to-breaking-china-s-rare-earth-monopoly/7457583.html

{End of Report}
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