SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS

epubdos : Afghanistan

Prepared for the U.S. Department of State

Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

By TechMIS
www.TechMIS.com

Mobile User Copy

TO:	SCA & Staff
DATE:	Friday, January 26, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan

Madrasahs Go Mainstream: Taliban To Grant University Degrees To Religious Students In New Blow To Secular Education (Radio Free Europe)

Radio Free Europe [1/25/2024 12:15 PM, Abubakar Siddique, 223K, Negative]
Since seizing power, the Taliban has appointed its foot soldiers, commanders, and leaders as ministers and the heads of state-run institutions in Afghanistan, including universities and hospitals.

The decision has triggered widespread criticism among Afghans, who have accused the Taliban of hiring unqualified and uneducated fighters and clerics to key positions in its government.

In a move that is seen as a response to that criticism, the extremist group announced on January 20 that it would be granting graduates of madrasahs, or Islamic seminaries, the equivalent of high school diplomas and university degrees.

Afghan academics and educators say the Taliban is trying to pave the way for its members and loyalists to dominate government ministries and institutions.

Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, thousands of civil servants who worked for the Western-backed Afghan government have remained on the payroll of the Taliban government. But many have been forced to sign pledges that they will adhere to Islamic Shari’a law or were subjected to a test that gauged their knowledge of Islam.

“The Taliban loyalists are being gifted bachelor’s and master’s degrees,” Jehandad Jehani, a former economics professor at Khost University in southeastern Afghanistan, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

"This step will deny jobs to [non-Talibs] in the government and public sector," Jehani said. "People pursued formal studies for decades to help equip themselves for specific roles."

The Taliban’s government is dominated by clerics and lacks management experience and expert knowledge, which analysts say has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian and economic crises in the country.

Overhauling The System

Under the previous Afghan government, madrasahs were often informal and offered religious instruction to children in mainly poor communities.

But since the Taliban takeover, the militants have overhauled the education system in Afghanistan. They have converted scores of secular schools, public universities, and vocational training centers into Islamic seminaries, leading to a surge in the number of madrasahs in the country.

The Islamist group has also vowed to change the national curriculum and build a vast network of madrasahs across the country’s 34 provinces.

Hundreds of university professors and schoolteachers have been fired from their positions or fled the country, while teenage girls and women have been banned from receiving an education.

Afghan educators say the Taliban is bent on rooting out all forms of the modern secular education that thrived in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the group’s first regime.

In its latest attempt to undermine secular education, the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education said on January 20 that it will grant the equivalent of high school diplomas as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees to graduates of Taliban-run madrasahs.

The ministry said madrasah students who complete six years of education will get the equivalent of high school diplomas. Students who complete eight years of education will be granted a bachelor’s degree, while those with 11 years of religious education will be given a master’s degree after passing a test.

The move is likely to see tens of thousands of madrasah graduates receive formal qualifications, which are limited to Islamic subjects, including jurisprudence and Shari’a law.

The Taliban said it is currently administering exams across Afghanistan that will see some 50,000 madrasah students graduate with new diplomas and degrees.

“Now that they are equating the academic credentials of the madrasahs with those of the universities, it will render the latter irrelevant,” Noorullah Shad, a former university professor in Khost, told Radio Azadi.

“One can graduate from a madrasah in eight years, but it takes 16 years to finish [secular] school and get a bachelor’s degree from the university,” he added.

Asif Nang, a former Afghan education minister, said secular Afghan universities offered degrees in Islamic studies even before the Taliban takeover. But he said religious instruction has now overshadowed secular education.

He said the Taliban’s new decision is likely to pave the way for even more of its members to secure jobs in the government and state-run institutions.

Nang said the move is part of a broader effort by the Taliban to transform from a guerrilla insurgency into a functional government.

“The Taliban wants to transform its fighters from nonstate actors into state actors,” he said.

Afghans Arrest Poet, Magazine Editor, Family Members Say (VOA)

VOA [1/26/2024 12:54 AM, Staff, 761K, Neutral]
Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Thursday detained an Afghan poet, Izatullah Zawab, who serves as the head of Meena (Love) magazine in eastern Afghanistan, as part of an ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression and independent media in the country, family members posted on social media.

The family members said Zawab was apprehended by the Taliban while traveling from the capital, Kabul, to eastern Nangarhar province.

In a social media post, Zawab’s sons, Attullah Zawab and Nusrat Arman, said the Taliban authorities did not reveal why their father was detained but assured them of his well-being and imminent release.

The brothers asked other social media users to delete posts related to the arrest. In response, some Facebook users urged them not to remove the posts until Zawab’s release.

Taliban authorities have not provided any official statement regarding the detention, only telling family members that he is detained "in connection with an issue" without further details.

Zawab is renowned for his critical poetry, which some social media users speculate may have contributed to his arrest. He had faced previous arrests and imprisonment during the former Afghan government because of his critical poetry. Zawab has been critical of mullahs, the mujaheddins and what he called corrupt officials of the country without naming anyone.

Zawab serves as the editor of Meena (Love) magazine published in eastern Afghanistan and owns a bookstore in Kabul.

Since regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban suspended Afghanistan’s constitution and revoked most laws implemented over the past two decades. According to the Afghanistan Journalist Center, the Taliban arrested 61 journalists in 2023.

While some were released after weeks or months of detention, others received lengthy prison sentences.

In the past year, the center documented 168 cases of violence and intimidation against journalists, highlighting the extensive censorship exercised by the authoritarian rulers over the media.

Pakistan

Pakistan accuses Indian agents of orchestrating the killing of 2 citizens on its soil (AP)

AP [1/25/2024 10:49 AM, Munir Ahmed, 22K, Negative]
Pakistan on Thursday accused neighboring India’s intelligence agency of involvement in the extrajudicial killings of its citizens, saying it had credible evidence linking two Indian agents to the deaths of two Pakistanis in Pakistan last year.

“We have documentary, financial and forensic evidence of the involvement of the two Indian agents who masterminded these assassinations,” Foreign Secretary Sajjad Qazi said at a news conference in Islamabad.

He said the assassination of Pakistani nationals on Pakistani soil was a violation of the country’s sovereignty and a breach of the U.N. Charter. “This violation of Pakistan sovereignty by India is completely unacceptable,” he said.

The two dead men, both anti-India militants, were killed in gun attacks inside mosques in separate cities in Pakistan.

The allegations come months after both the United States and Canada accused Indian agents of links to assassination attempts on their soil.

“Clearly the Indian network of extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings has become a global phenomenon,” Qazi said.

India denied the Pakistani allegation, calling it an “attempt at peddling false and malicious anti-India propaganda.”

“As the world knows, Pakistan has long been the epicenter of terrorism, organized crime, and illegal transnational activities,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. “To blame others for its own misdeeds can neither be a justification nor a solution.”

Qazi said the Indian agents, whom he identified as Yogesh Kumar and Ashok Kumar, orchestrated the deaths of the two Pakistanis from a third country.

He said the killings involved “a sophisticated international setup spread over multiple jurisdictions. Indian agents used technology and safe havens on foreign soil to commit assassinations in Pakistan. They recruited, financed and supported criminals, terrorists and unsuspecting civilians to play defined roles in these assassinations.”

Qazi said most of the men allegedly hired by the Indian agents for the killings had been arrested.

In September, gunmen killed anti-India militant Mohammad Riaz inside a mosque in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. He was a former member of the militant group Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which was founded by Hafiz Saeed, who also founded the outlawed group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was blamed by New Delhi for attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people.

Qazi said the other Pakistani national, Shahid Latif, was killed in October inside a mosque in Pakistan’s Sialkot district. Latif was a close aide to Masood Azhar, the founder of the anti-India Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, he said.

Pakistan and India have a long history of bitter relations. Since independence from Britain in 1947, the two South Asian rivals have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir.

Islamabad says arch-rival India orchestrated killings inside Pakistan (Reuters)

Reuters [1/25/2024 12:58 PM, Asif Shahzad, 5239K, Negative]
Pakistan has credible evidence linking Indian agents to the killings of two of its citizens on its soil, its foreign secretary said on Thursday, raising tensions between the two neighbouring arch-rivals.

The claim has come days after tit-for-tat strikes between Pakistan and another of its neighbours, Iran, to hit targets they said were hideouts for militants.

New Delhi also alleged that Islamabad trains and harbours Islamist militants who carry out attacks in its part of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between the two nations.

Both the nuclear-armed countries have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

Muhammad Syrus Qazi, the secretary, told reporters the killings involved a "sophisticated international set-up" spread over a number of places.

"We have documentary, financial and forensic evidence of the involvement of the two Indian agents who masterminded these assassinations," he said.

Qazi said local operators, hired and recruited by the Indian agents operating in other countries, carried out the killings late last year, one in Sialkot district and another in Rawalakot in Pakistan-held part of Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Hired guns and other people involved in the two crimes were on trial, he added and identified the alleged Indian agents as Yogesh Kumar and Ashok Kumar. He said the other countries where the Indian agents allegedly operated had been notified.

Those killed were identified as Shahid Latif and Mohammad Riaz by the foreign secretary, without disclosing who these people were and why would New Delhi got its agents to kill them inside its arch-rival’s territory.

India’s foreign ministry said the accusation was an attempt by Pakistan to peddle "false and malicious anti-India propaganda".

Qazi said the method of assassination was similar to attempts in Canada, the United States and other countries.

The alleged Indian network of "extra-judicial and extra-territorial killings" had become a global phenomenon, he said.

Pakistan’s allegations come months after both Canada and the United States separately accused Indian agents of being linked to assassination attempts on their soil.

India has rejected Ottawa’s allegations and has opened an investigation into U.S. allegations.

Ties between the two rivals have been on ice since a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019 traced to Pakistan-based militants that led to New Delhi sending warplanes to Pakistan.

India calls Pakistan’s claim of targeted killings ‘false’ (BBC)

BBC [1/26/2024 2:04 AM, Meryl Sebastian, 14.2M, Neutral]
India has dismissed allegations by Pakistan that its agents killed two Pakistani citizens on its soil in 2023, calling them "false".

Pakistan’s claims come months after Ottawa alleged that India was involved in the murder of a Sikh separatist in Canada - India has denied this.

On Thursday, Islamabad said it had "credible evidence" of links between the two killings and Indian agents.

India’s foreign ministry called it "malicious anti-India propaganda".

The two deaths in Pakistan include the killing of Muhammad Riaz in Rawalakot city in September 2023 and Shahid Latif in Sialkot city in October 2023, the country’s foreign ministry said in a press briefing on Thursday. One of the men was shot dead while praying at a mosque, while the other was killed outside one.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not disclose who these people were or the reasons for Delhi allegedly dispatching agents to carry out the killings within its arch-rival’s territory.

Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Qazi called the killings "unacceptable" and "a violation of its sovereignty".

"We have documentary, financial and forensic evidence of the involvement of the two Indian agents who masterminded these assassinations," he said.

India must be held "accountable" for its "blatant violation of international law", he added.

India did not directly address the specific allegations raised by Pakistan but called the country an "epicentre of terrorism, organised crime and illegal transnational activities".

"India and many other countries have publicly warned Pakistan cautioning that it would consume by its own culture of terror and violence," its foreign ministry said in a statement.
Mr Qazi also said that the killings in Pakistan were similar to attempts in Canada and the US - though those allegations were about the murders or attempted murders of Sikhs, not Muslims.

In November 2023, the US said it had foiled an alleged plot by an Indian man to assassinate an American citizen in New York who advocated for Khalistan, or a separate Sikh state.

Nikhil Gupta was allegedly directed by an Indian government official who was not named or charged in the indictment.

The White House said it had raised the alleged assassination plot with India at the most senior levels. India said it had formed a high-level inquiry committee to "address the security concerns highlighted by the US government".

The news came months after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was "credible" evidence connecting the Indian government to the murder of a Sikh leader in British Columbia in June. India denied any role in that killing.

The allegation led to a steep deterioration in ties between the two countries.

The Khalistan movement peaked in India in the 1980s with a violent insurgency centred in Sikh-majority Punjab state.

It was quelled by force and has little resonance in India now, but is still popular among some in the Sikh diaspora in countries such as Canada, Australia and the UK.

Pakistani Taliban pledge not to attack election rallies ahead of Feb. 8 vote (AP)

AP [1/25/2024 6:08 AM, Munir Ahmed, 22K, Neutral]
The Pakistani Taliban pledged Thursday not to attack election rallies, saying their targets are limited to the military and security forces, as political parties and independent candidates ramp up their campaigns ahead of the Feb. 8 vote.

“We have nothing to do with these elections and the parties participating in them,” the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said in a statement.

Other militant groups have not made similar pledges, and some previous Pakistani elections have been marred by violence. Two-time former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a bomb attack in 2007 minutes after she addressed an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Her son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is leading the campaign for her Pakistan People’s Party.

Thursday’s rare pledge by the TTP came after the government approved the deployment of troops in sensitive constituencies after intelligence agencies warned that militants could target rallies, which are usually held outdoors in public places.

The TTP are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021. Pakistan has experienced many militant attacks in recent years, but there has been an increase since November 2022, when the TTP ended a monthslong cease-fire with the government.

In 2023, nearly 500 civilians and a similar number of security forces were killed in militant attacks clamed by the TTP, the Islamic State group and other insurgents. Most of the violence in 2023 was reported in the northwest and southwest near Afghanistan.

The increase in violence has raised fears among political candidates.

Last week, the Pakistan Muslim League party of former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif launched its election campaign with a rally in Punjab province. Analysts say it is likely to win many parliament seats and may be able to form a new government.

Election officials have rejected the candidacies of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and most members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains a leading political figure despite his conviction in a graft case. Election officials barred Khan from the ballot because of the conviction.

Some lawmakers in the Senate wanted a delay in the vote because of winter and security reasons, but election officials rejected the request. All of the parties also opposed any delay in the vote.

Authorities shut some universities in Islamabad this week without any explanation, but media reports said it was for security reasons.

Pakistan must invest in climate resilience to survive, says prime ministerial hopeful Bhutto-Zardari (AP)

AP [1/25/2024 8:56 AM, Riazat Butt, 2565K, Negative]
Pakistan must invest in climate resilience for its survival, prime ministerial hopeful Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.

He said he had been ready to quit the government while he was foreign minister because there were no new climate-resilience projects in the federal budget following devastating floods that killed more than 1,700 people in 2022.

“I was ready to leave,” he said Wednesday, adding it was only after he threatened to leave that some projects were included.

The country is two weeks away from parliamentary elections, but so far only Bhutto-Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party has made climate adaptability and resilience key pledges in its platform. The AP has requested an interview with his rival, three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but has not received a response.

Unprecedented downpours, worsened by global warming, washed away homes and schools while displacing hundreds of thousands of people in 2022. An international donors’ conference in Geneva last year pledged billions of dollars, but parts of the country still feel the aftermath.

Bhutto-Zardari, who was foreign minister at the time of the floods, spoke to the AP in Nurpur Noon village in eastern Punjab province. He regretted that climate change and its impact on Pakistan are not a greater part of public and political discourse.

He said more needs to be done to communicate climate change and its impact to Pakistanis -- and urged fellow politicians to take the issue more seriously.

He said he was “shocked, horrified, livid and furious at the callous attitude” of lawmakers for not including climate resilience in the budget after the flooding. He said he didn’t know who would come to Pakistan’s aid if there were floods in the future and the state wasn’t funding such projects itself.

“Pakistan must invest in climate resilience for its survival. Climate change is an existential threat. People will face floods and then perpetual droughts. We have to convince the people of Pakistan of the crisis this is.”

Earlier Wednesday, Bhutto-Zardari addressed an election rally in the nearby agricultural and industrial town of Bhalwal. Some in the crowd held up pictures of his mother, two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated at a rally in 2007.

His grandfather is another former prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was executed in 1979 after being deposed in a coup. Zulfikar and Benazir still command loyalty and reverence among the party’s supporters.

Although the family has dominated Pakistani politics for decades, Bhutto-Zardari needs to defeat another dynasty, the Sharifs, if he wants to lead the next government.

It’s a tough task given that he won his first parliamentary seat in 2018 and only entered the Cabinet after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister and his successor, Shehbaz Sharif, the brother of Nawaz, gave Bhutto-Zardari the foreign minister role.

But Khan, a former cricketer who contested his first national elections in 2013 and became prime minister in 2018, is missing from this year’s fray.

He is in prison following a corruption conviction, bogged down by legal cases, and barred from contesting the Feb. 8 polls, when 266 parliamentary seats are up for grabs with a further 70 reserved for women and minorities.

His power base is spread out in eastern Punjab province and northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, opening up the possibility for Bhutto-Zardari and the Sharifs to snap up any undecided voters.

The three main parties, including Khan’s, are fielding about the same number of candidates.

But a national rights group has already said the vote is unlikely to be free and fair because of pre-poll rigging. Bhutto-Zardari played down these concerns, saying that every Pakistani election has had challenges and that this vote has them as well.

He said the challenge this time is the general perception that a political party is being targeted, in a reference to Khan’s party, although he didn’t identify it by name. In an ideal world, all politicians and political forces would participate in the election, he said. But he alleged that Khan “happily and gleefully” tried to eliminate the opposition while he was prime minister, without providing evidence for the claim.

Bhutto-Zardari suggested that Khan shouldn’t complain if he feels he is now on the receiving end of such treatment.

Khan has denounced his legal troubles as a politically motivated plot to keep him out of the picture because of his popularity, and he likes to present himself as an outsider victimized by the military and the political dynasties.

Bhutto-Zardari also alleged that Khan’s engagement with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers was a factor in the rise of militant attacks on Pakistan, again without providing evidence.

Pakistan recently faced another threat to its security from a more unexpected source — Iran.

Last week, Iran launched an air strike inside Pakistani territory targeting what it alleged was a militant hideout. Pakistan retaliated less than 48 hours later. The two air strikes killed at least nine people on either side of the border, mostly women and children.

Bhutto-Zardari said he was shocked by Iran’s attack because of his extensive engagement with the neighboring country while he was in government. “We had created mechanisms to share concerns with each other. We had such extensive communication,” he said.

He noted that the Pakistani caretaker prime minister had met the Iranian foreign minister on the day of the attack but gave no insights into possible reasons for the apparent breakdown in communication, saying there was “incredible domestic pressure” on Iran.

“The Pakistani response was an important message for everybody,” Bhutto-Zardari said. “Pakistan takes its sovereignty very seriously.”

India

Triumphant Hindu mobs stoke fears in India after Modi delivers temple (Washington Post)

Washington Post [1/25/2024 10:05 AM, Anant Gupta, 6902K, Negative]
In north India, Hindu nationalists clambered atop a mosque to plant the Hindu saffron flag. They did the same in central India, unfurling the standard of Lord Ram atop a Christian church. In the south, they burned down a Muslim fruit seller’s shop. And outside Mumbai’s financial capital, they pressured local police to bulldoze Muslim businesses.

In the past week, a spate of attacks by triumphant Hindu nationalist mobs against minorities, chiefly Muslims, has raised fears across India of religious tensions flaring following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s consecration of a temple in Ayodhya that was seen in some quarters as a symbol of Hindu vengeance against India’s centuries-long oppression by Muslims.

Modi’s party has pushed for a more explicitly Hindu vision of India’s identity in contrast to the post-independence leaders who saw the country more as a secular, multicultural democracy.

From northern Uttar Pradesh to southern Telangana, each of the attacks in at least six Indian states followed a near-identical pattern: They erupted after men on motorcycles and jeeps waved Hindu nationalist saffron flags, blared loud devotional music from speakers and chanted the slogan “Jai Shri Ram,” or victory to Lord Ram, as they drove through Muslim neighborhoods.

In each case, the violence either immediately preceded or followed the religious ceremony presided by Modi himself on Monday. In a soaring address from the temple premises, the prime minister, a staunch Hindu nationalist, congratulated citizens for successfully “untangling a historical knot” and building a “brighter future.”

The 71-acre temple complex is built at the site of the demolished Babri mosque that Hindu nationalists say was itself built on top of a razed Hindu temple in the 16th century and served as a reminder of Muslim domination over the majority Hindu subcontinent as long as it stood.

The mob attacks in the last four days have raised uneasy parallels to December 1992, when a Hindu mob agitating for the Ram temple in Ayodhya tore the Babri mosque down, sparking nationwide religious riots that killed more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. Mumbai was particularly hit hard by rioting, and months later, the Muslim mafia boss Dawood Ibrahim carried out revenge attacks that killed hundreds in early 1993.

Irfan Engineer, director of the Mumbai-based Center for Study of Society and Secularism, a nonprofit founded after the violence of 1993 to study riot-affected areas and propagate peaceful coexistence, compared the Hindu nationalist processions in Muslim neighborhoods to wartime marches performed by occupying militaries “for establishing control.”

“Muslims are slowly accepting that they must gulp down every insult because even the mildest reaction will invite trouble from the state,” he said.

In visuals circulating widely on social media in recent days, saffron-flag-wielding mobs have been seen pelting shops selling meat with stones or clothing stores with apparently Muslim business names. The provocative marches through Muslim neighborhoods have prompted Modi’s critics to caution against growing Hindu triumphalism under his watch.

The worst of the clashes took place in a suburban neighborhood north of Mumbai called Naya Nagar. The conflict started the evening before Monday’s temple consecration ceremony, when a Hindu motorcycle procession was stopped with barricades put up by Muslim residents.

The situation escalated when Nitesh Rane, a lawmaker from the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, demanded that the barricades be removed and threatened to “find and kill” those who blocked the Hindu processions.

Muslim residents then threw stones at another procession that passed through their neighborhood the next day.

Rane blamed the clashes on Muslim refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh and called in government bulldozers as punishment. “Naya Nagar is not the new Pakistan,” he told reporters on Tuesday at a news conference. “We know very well what needs to be done there and how many bulldozers are needed.”

Rane could not be reached for comment.

Bulldozers then came through and destroyed illegally built structures belonging to 55 shopkeepers in Naya Nagar and another Muslim-majority neighborhood. As of Thursday, an uncertain peace has prevailed with 13 arrests, mostly of Muslims, according to local officials.

Tariq Chaudhary, a Muslim student, was driving his father’s truck around 8 p.m. on Tuesday near Mumbai when a mob of more than 200 young men charged at him armed with iron rods and wooden sticks and shouting, “Hail, Lord Ram.” They smashed the truck’s windshield, dragged him out and rained blows and kicks on him before moving on to another vehicle. Tariq suffered numerous cuts and bruises on his face, hands and back. His co-worker suffered a head injury and received four stitches at a local clinic.

“In Ayodhya, they said Lord Ram belongs to us all,” Chaudhary said by telephone. “Does Lord Ram teach them to drag Muslims out, beat them with sticks and force them to say, “Hail, Lord Ram”?

Even though reports in local media have trickled in this week of clashes in small towns and on college campuses, police have rarely made arrests or filed cases against Hindus and often punished Muslims or dissidents instead. One exception was in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh state, where police arrested three men for replacing a green Islamic flag on top of a mosque with a saffron banner.

On several campuses, heated debates have erupted over the temple inauguration, and in two cities, students were beaten or harassed when they tried to organize screenings of “Ram ke Naam,” or “In the Name of God,” a 1992 documentary film that delves into the controversial history behind the Hindu nationalist campaign to build the temple in Ayodhya.

After students at a film school in Pune promoted the documentary screening, a group of more than 20 men barged onto campus on Tuesday, scuffled with students and set their posters aflame.

The police briefly detained six of those involved before releasing them. On Wednesday, they filed a complaint against six of the organizers of the screening for “outraging religious feelings” and acting against “national integration.”

‘Too much poison’: Attacks on Indian Muslims grow after Ram temple ceremony (Al Jazeera)

Al Jazeera [1/25/2024 4:14 PM, Yashraj Sharma, 2.1M, Neutral]
Driving through the Mira Road neighbourhood of Mumbai was a usual affair for 21-year-old Mohammad Tariq, who ran errands on his father’s white loading auto carrier.

But on Tuesday, participants in a Hindu nationalist rally stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road. Young boys – mostly teenagers – dragged him out. They punched and kicked him and thrashed him with batons, flag staffs and iron chains, his 54-year-old father, Abdul Haque told Al Jazeera. Since then, Haque said, “[Tariq] has been terrified.”

The rally, which was shared over multiple live streams, turned into a mob, targeting several Muslims in the locality, rampaging through their shops and damaging vehicles while chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (Victory to Lord Ram). Similar rallies, often to the beat of booming far-right pop music, took place outside mosques and Muslim neighbourhoods across several states in India.

The trigger was the consecration of a Ram temple in the ancient city of Ayodhya in northern India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. The temple is being built on the site where the 16th century Babri Masjid stood until 1992, when Hindu far-right mobs tore down the mosque, triggering nationwide riots that killed more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims.

Addressing the country from Ayodhya, Modi said that the “wheel of time” had turned, rejecting criticism over the increased religious tensions that have been simmering in India since he came to power in 2014. “Ram is not a problem but a solution,” he said. “We are laying the foundation of India for the next 1,000 years. We take a pledge to build a capable, grand, divine India from this moment.”

Yet, as India celebrates its Republic Day on January 26, the inauguration of the temple, the Indian state’s role in it, and the violence and vandalism that religious minorities have faced since then are, to many, markers of a country that has moved away from the Constitution adopted this day in 1950.

Soon after the consecration, a Muslim graveyard was set ablaze in the north Indian state of Bihar, a Muslim man was paraded naked in southern India, and a saffron flag representing militant Hinduism – was hoisted atop a church in central India.

“This country is increasingly unrecognisable to me, where Muslims are like rubbish for them,” said Haque, on his way to a police station with his son after the Tuesday attack. “There were so many people [during the Mira Road attack] but no one stopped them from beating my child. It is shameful for society. It is a city of the blind.”

‘High priest of Hinduism’

The national broadcast of the temple inauguration, including the unveiling of the idol of Ram, brought India to a halt on Monday morning. Large LED screens were set up in villages, and people gathered at temples with their families to watch the ceremony live.

Polarising speeches by Modi and his colleagues were broadcast in cinema theatres and on YouTube. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, an author and Modi’s biographer, noted that the event cast the prime minister as “the high priest of Hinduism”.

“This is the origin of a new time cycle,” Modi said. “A nation rising after breaking the mentality of slavery … a thousand years from now, people will talk about this date, this moment. The Ram temple’s construction reflects Indian society’s maturity.”

The union cabinet adopted a resolution to applaud the opening of the temple, stating that the country had “independence in 1947, but its soul was freed from centuries of colonial enslavement” on January 22.

However, his critics say that the event was political, rather than a religious one. “It was more about Modi than Ram – a total instrumentalisation of Ram’s figure to serve the cause of an elected monarch,” said Apoorvanand, a professor at the University of Delhi.

The celebrations in Ayodhya “indicate a change in the direction of the Indian state”, he added, referring to the participation of top celebrities and saints, where state-owned helicopters showered rose petals over the city. “This temple is a celebration of victory of violence against Muslims and it has been legitimised. Modi linked the source of nationhood to divinity [of Ram]; all values of the Indian republic stand destroyed.”

India has been continuously slipping in international democracy indices and was tagged “partly free” for the third year in a row by Freedom House, a US government-funded nonprofit. Human Rights Watch warned last year of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) “systematic discrimination and stigmatisation of religious and other minorities, particularly Muslims”.

The chest-thumping rise of Hindu nationalism and apparent departure from secular values also pose troubling questions for India’s international allies, especially in the West, who have strengthened ties with New Delhi in recent years and view it as a counterweight to China.

“Modi has now positioned India to become a Hindu state in a formal sense, a move that would be welcomed by his large base but decried by many non-Hindus and critics as a betrayal of India’s secular traditions,” said Michael Kugelman, the director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute.

Won’t ‘satiate the bloodlust’

Modi and the BJP appear poised for a comfortable win in the upcoming 2024 national election, according to most polls and many political observers. The PM did not need the temple opening to bolster his electoral prospects, said Kugelman, but the consecration gives him another shot in the arm. “He delivered on one of his most longstanding promises and has come through in a big way that will ripple across his electoral base – and beyond,” he added.

But the construction of the temple will fail to “satiate the bloodlust” of the Hindu nationalist movement that went mainstream with the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya in 1992, argued Apoorvanand. After the ceremony, he saw slogans being raised in his university for the demolition of other mosques contested by the far-right in the cities of Mathura and Varanasi.

“There is no closure to all of this,” he said, adding that the temple opening “will only lead to more violence and those violent forces getting emboldened”.

Harsh Mander, a prominent civil rights activist, could not bring himself to watch the broadcast of the consecration, he said. Instead, he gathered in Kolkata, a city in eastern India, for an “anti-fascism march” with thousands of others. Similar marches were organised by student and activist groups in different parts of India. On social media, Modi’s critics shared snaps of the preamble to the Indian constitution, which guarantees equal rights to all citizens, irrespective of religion.

Meanwhile, far-right groups interrupted screenings of a documentary titled Ram ke Naam (In the name of Ram), on the 1992 attack on the Babri Masjid, and attacked students at a university in Pune, 160km (100 miles) from Mumbai, for putting up banners remembering the Babri Masjid demolition.

“The consecration day is an important milestone in the history of the collapse of India’s secular democracy,” Mander said in a phone interview with Al Jazeera. “It is a question of the soul of India. Is it the Hindutva conscience over secular, constitutional morality?”

Addressing the nation on the eve of Republic Day, India’s President Droupadi Murmu recalled the Ram Mandir opening in Ayodhya. “Future historians will consider it a landmark in India’s continued re-discovery of its civilisational heritage,” she said.

But for millions in India, the idea of nation is slipping away fast, said Mander. “Indian people will prevail [over Hindu nationalism] – but it will be a long battle. Maybe a generation. Too much poison has been injected into the veins of our society.”

US Commission Troubled by Hindu Temple Opening on Ruins of Mosque in India (VOA)

VOA [1/25/2024 2:33 PM, Akmal Dawi, 761K, Neutral]
The grand opening this week of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, India, has triggered a wave of both jubilation and criticism, reigniting long-simmering tensions over religious tolerance in the world’s most populous democracy.

The temple, built on the disputed site of the demolished 16th century Babri Mosque, has drawn mixed reactions, with Hindu devotees celebrating its completion while Muslim groups and international observers express dismay.

“[We are] troubled by the recent construction and inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on the site of the demolished Babri Mosque,” Stephen Schneck, a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, told VOA in written comments.

“It highlights a concerning precedent regarding the security of places of worship in India, many of which remain damaged and destroyed, particularly in the aftermath of violence in Manipur, for example.”

Ethnic violence in Manipur left an estimated 175 people dead and hundreds of places of worship destroyed in May 2023.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, a 57-member intergovernmental organization of Muslim-majority nations, has denounced what it calls the obliteration of Islamic landmarks in India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly observed a fast and prayers for 11 days prior to the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya city. The city has a population of 3 million people, including some 500,000 Muslims.

“Today our Lord Ram has come. After centuries of waiting, our Ram has arrived,” Modi said in a Monday speech in which any mention of Babri Mosque was notably absent.

The mosque’s 1992 destruction triggered widespread communal violence across India, claiming at least 2,000 lives.

Although India’s Supreme Court approved construction of the Hindu temple in 2019, the country’s secular constitution prevented government funding for the religious project, which ultimately received $360 million in private donations.

A new India

On Monday, Modi, who has faced accusations of promoting Hindu nationalism, used the term “divine India” to describe his long-term vision for the country.

“By moving ahead of building the temple, now we all take the oath of building a national, capable, successful, beautiful, and divine India,” Modi told thousands of Hindu worshippers gathered for the consecration of the new temple.

Since Modi’s rise to power in 2014, human rights groups and independent observers have warned about growing religious intolerance in the South Asian country.

USCIRF in 2023 called on the U.S. government to list India, along with Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria and Vietnam, among its Countries of Particular Concern for religious freedoms.

“USCIRF continues to express concern about the state of religious freedom in India,” said Schneck. “These actions will only continue to exacerbate existing tensions and violence against religious minorities.”

The glitzy opening of the Ram Temple has drawn considerable attention, not just for its religious significance but also as a potential factor in the May 2024 general elections. With Hindus constituting approximately 80% of India’s 1.4 billion population, the temple holds symbolic importance for a large segment of the electorate.

There are also some 200 million Indian Muslims, nearly 28 million Christians and more than 20 million Sikhs.

Hindus for Human Rights, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, expressed concerns that Modi’s ruling party might be using Hinduism for political and electoral purposes.

“Modi is not a priest, so leading this ceremony for political gain is both technically and morally wrong. This weaponization of our religion tramples what’s left of India’s secular democratic values,” the organization said in a statement.

"Some would say Ram Temple’s construction will set off a firestorm. They should reconsider as Ram is energy, not fire. Ram is a solution, not a dispute," Modi said on Monday.

China Blasts India for ‘Provocations’ at Border (Newsweek)

Newsweek [1/26/2024 4:23 AM, Aadil Brar, 2.2M, Neutral]
China has blamed India for provoking trouble at their disputed border as the military standoff between the People’s Liberation Army and the Indian Army entered another year.

Col. Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry, told a monthly press conference in Beijing on Thursday that the resposibility for ongoing political tensions between the two Asian giants "lies entirely with the Indian side."

A buildup of conventional forces at their shared Himalayan border is being facilitated and reinforced by the construction of permanent infrastructure on both sides. The mutual moves to gain a strategic geographical advantage intensified after a deadly clash in 2020 in the Galwan Valley, which is in the Ladakh region in India’s northwest.

China, whose maps claim the area as part of its territory, said the valley is located "on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control." Wu said the melee, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops, was "entirely caused by India’s violation of consensus and its unilateral provocations."

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, has repeatedly linked political ties with Beijing to the situation at the border; a peaceful resolution there, he says, could help put the relationship back on track.

"It is unwise and inappropriate for the Indian side to link the boundary issue with overall relations. This approach is against the shared interests of the two countries," said Wu, whose comments appeared to speak to China’s desire to stabilize its southern border amid a global great power rivalry with the United States and other Western nations.

"We hope the Indian side can work with the Chinese side towards the same goal, enhance strategic mutual trust, properly handle differences, and safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas," Wu said.

Since the last serious casualties were reported at the LAC over three years ago, military commanders from India and China have held some 20 rounds of dialogue with the stated aim of deescalating and building confidence, and eventually of disengaging their armies at four flashpoints, including the Galwan Valley.

But the border area remains unstable, with both sides positioning themselves strategically on the otherwise inhospitable terrain, near ravines and on snow-capped mountain peaks.

Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow with the Observer Research Foundation think tank in New Delhi, said in an analysis this week that the presence of armed forces on either side of the border raises concerns about the potential for escalation and deeper crises, despite a prohibition on the use of firearms remaining in place.

On Thursday, Communist Party liaison chief Liu Jianchao, who is tipped to become China’s new foreign minister, met India’s ambassador to Beijing, Pradeep Kumar Rawat.

Liu urged both sides to address each other’s core concerns and emphasized the importance of cooperation and coexistence over differences.

The Indian government has hinted at the possibility of easing scrutiny on Chinese investments if tensions at the border remain under control, Reuters reported on Friday.

In the China-U.S. Focus website this week, regional specialist Hu Shisheng accused India is unfairly targeting Chinese companies.

"The worsening of relations with China is the underlying factor behind India’s desire to accelerate industrial substitution with respect to China. In other words, the security logic has superseded the market logic," wrote Hu, who is the director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceanian Studies at the Chinese State Security Ministry-linked China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"Since Galwan, any and all bilateral issues have been turned into matters of security at will," Hu said.

French President Macron joins India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guest (AP)

AP [1/26/2024 4:02 AM, Ashok Sharma, 456K, Neutral]
Thousands of people lined a ceremonial boulevard in the heart of India’s capital on Friday to watch a colorful parade showcasing the country’s military power and cultural heritage to mark its 75th Republic Day.

French President Emmanuel Macron attended the parade as the chief guest at the celebration of the adoption of the country’s Constitution on Jan. 26, 1950, following India’s independence from British colonial rule.

Indian President Draupadi Murmu escorted Macron in a ceremonial British-era horse-drawn carriage from the nearby president’s palace to the viewing stand. It was the first time the carriage has been used at the parade since it was abandoned by the government 40 years ago in favor of an automobile.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wearing a saffron-and-yellow–colored turban representing Hindu nationalist colors, greeted Macron at the viewing stand.

The parade was broadcast live by television networks and watched by millions of Indians across the country.

India traditionally invites foreign leaders to witness the spectacle. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi was the guest of honor last year, former French President Francois Hollande in 2016 and former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2015. Ten Southeast Asian leaders watched the parade in 2018.

Tanks, missile systems, infantry combat vehicles and medium-range surface-to-air missile systems were displayed at the parade, with hundreds of police and military personnel marching with them. Stunt performers on motorbikes, including more than 250 women, also joined.

Other participants included a camel-mounted regiment with mustachioed riders led by a shiny brass band.

Floats showcased Hindu Lord Rama, whose temple was inaugurated earlier this week, India’s moon lander, its first indigenous aircraft carrier, a light combat aircraft and helicopter, and a submarine.

Macron accepted India’s invitation at short notice after U.S. President Joe Biden couldn’t make it, reportedly because of his State of the Union address and reelection bid.

A French 30-member band and 90-member marching group joined the parade.

A French transport aircraft and two fighter jets from the French air force joined 54 Indian air force aircraft in a fly-over past the viewing stand.

“A great honor for France. Thank you, India,” Macron said on X, formerly called Twitter.

Rajpath Avenue, built by India’s former British rulers, has been redeveloped as part of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Indian independence three years ago. It is lined by huge lawns, canals and rows of trees and has been renamed Kartavayapath, or Boulevard of Duty.

Thousands in India flock to a recruitment center for jobs in Israel despite the Israel-Hamas war (AP)

AP [1/25/2024 8:04 AM, Rajesh Kumar Singh and Biswajeet Banerjee, 11975K, Negative]
Thousands of Indians flocked to a recruitment center on Thursday for jobs that would take them to Israel despite the three-month Israeli-Hamas war that is devastating Gaza and threatening to ignite the wider Middle East.

Many among the crowd of men, mostly skilled construction workers and laborers, said they would take their chances in a country embroiled in war as they are struggling to find jobs in India, where unemployment remains high despite a swelling economy.

Anoop Singh, a college graduate and construction worker, was told he would make about $1,600 a month if he was selected to go to Israel — significantly more than the $360 to $420 he could get as a monthly wage for the same work in India.

“That’s why I have applied to go to Israel,” he said as he waited at the center in Lucknow, the capital of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, for his job interview.

The men said they had heard media reports that Israel is facing a labor shortage after barring tens of thousands of Palestinian workers following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

India, where the gross domestic product is about $2,400 per capital annually, seems willing to step in to fill some of that gap.

The states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have advertised for around 10,000 positions each for construction workers in Israel. Uttar Pradesh has finalized a list of 16,000 to send to Israel next month for a final selection, the state labor minister Anil Rajbhar said.

Rajbhar said the federal government’s screening center in Lucknow was in response to Israel’s request for laborers.

The week-long recruitment drive began on Tuesday, with a 15-member Israeli team overseeing the process and expecting to fill over 5,000 positions for masons, carpenters and other construction workers in Israel.

The crowd at the Lucknow center on Thursday was both anxious and hopeful. Many see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity that could change their lives for the better — even if that means working in a war zone.

“I know there is a threat, but problems exist here too,” said Singh, saying he was willing to take the risks so he could provide more for his family. “I am going there for my children.”

The recruitment drive for Israel has also cast a light on the chinks in India’s growth story, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has focused on investing in big-ticket infrastructure projects to woo businesses and foreign investors.

On one hand, India’s large economy is one of the world’s fastest growing and seen as a bright spot amid a recent global downturn.

But joblessness remains a concern as India last year became the world’s most populous. After a rise in salaried jobs in the last two decades, the pace of regular wage jobs has stagnated since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic and an overall growth slowdown, according to the State of Working India report by the Azim Premji University.

The report says that while unemployment is falling, it is still high — above 15% for university graduates of all ages and around 42% for graduates under 25.

New Delhi and Jerusalem last year inked an agreement that would allow 40,000 Indians to work in the fields of construction and nursing in Israel. According to 2022 data from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, there are nearly 13,000 Indian workers there.

Last week, the ministry spokesperson said India’s labor partnership with Israel started before the latest war.

“We already have a large number of people, especially in the caregiving sector in Israel and through this agreement, we want to ensure that there is regulated migration and the rights of the people who go there are protected,” said Randhir Jaiswal.

He added that India is committed to making sure its migrant workers are safe and protected.

There are around 13 million Indians working abroad as laborers, professionals and experts, according to government data released last year.

After his interview Thursday at the Lucknow center, Biltu Singh said he was hopeful.

“They asked me questions about my skills,” he said but also why he wanted to go to Israel, given the security risk.

Singh said he shrugged and told them: “What should I do? I am unemployed.”

Japan-India engagement is expanding amid strategic challenges (Nikkei Asia – opinion)

Nikkei Asia [1/25/2024 3:00 PM, Sibi George, 293K, Positive]
The celebration of India’s 75th Republic Day coincides this year with the 10th anniversary of the elevation of India-Japan relations into a "special strategic and global partnership."

Last year was significant for both India and Japan as they separately chaired two key international groupings, the Group of 20 and the Group of Seven.

It was a year filled with multiple high-level engagements, including three meetings between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida. Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also visited India last July, leading a major delegation of parliamentarians and businesspeople.

These engagements were crucial in reaffirming the special strategic and global partnership between Japan and India and setting a road map for us to realize the full potential of our bilateral relationship.

Last year, India held two Voice of Global South summits to share the perspectives and priorities of Global South nations through a common platform.

India, through its G20 presidency, embodied the spirit of universal brotherhood through the mantra of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or "One Earth, One Family, One Future."

India’s G20 presidency strived for just and equitable growth for all in the world as we shared our strengths and experiences to address global challenges in areas such as food, fuel, fertilizer, energy and climate change. This vision culminated with the inclusion of the African Union into the G20 and the historic G20 New Delhi leaders’ declaration.

India and Japan have been engaging with each other frequently as our deep and multifaceted partnership has brought new strategic aspects into focus amid an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.

Last July brought the 15th round of foreign ministerial strategic dialogue in New Delhi, while September witnessed the first joint service staff talks in Tokyo, involving three military branches from each side. Bilateral military exercises like Veer Guardian and Dharma Guardian also played a crucial role in strengthening defense cooperation and enhancing interoperability between our armed forces.

India envisions a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, based on the principle of security and growth for all in the region and on Prime Minister Modi’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. This corresponds with the free and open Indo-Pacific vision that Prime Minister Kishida has highlighted.

As members of the Quad together with the U.S. and Australia, Japan and India are committed to the rule of law and working toward peace, stability and prosperity in an inclusive Indo-Pacific region and preserving the status quo.

Japan is a natural partner in India’s economic transformation. A shared commitment to realize 5 trillion yen ($33.8 billion) in investments over the next five years underpins our commitment to mutual economic growth and development.

There is immense potential for India and Japan to collaborate on economic security and growth through established platforms like the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement, our Industrial Competitiveness Partnership, the India-Japan Digital Partnership, the India-Japan Clean Energy Partnership and our Semiconductor Supply Chain Partnership as well as our trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative with Australia.

Japan has been an indispensable partner in India’s infrastructure development, taking part in iconic infrastructure projects including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link. Complementarities between the skilled human resources of India and the demands of the Japanese economy are being leveraged for mutual growth.

India’s commitment to fighting climate change is unwavering. India has set itself an ambitious target of raising its non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.

India’s domestic push for renewable energy has been matched with our call for a global solar grid through the International Solar Alliance, which Japan has joined.

With an annual per capita carbon footprint much below the global average, India is focusing on the public’s mindful use of resources through the Lifestyle for the Environment initiative. Sustainable ways of living are a common part of both Indian and Japanese traditions.

India follows a policy of being a first responder in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief globally. Japan is a key member of the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, which has grown in importance in the face of increasing climate challenges. India’s focus on global food security is reflected in the promotion of traditional Indian millet, which is dense in nutrients, climate-resilient and resource-efficient.

India and Japan celebrated 2023 as an India-Japan year of tourism exchange to increase people-to-people contact and strengthen cultural connections between our countries. We will be building on the success of this initiative by celebrating 2024 as the India-Japan Year of Tourism 2.0 with a theme of "Connecting the Himalayas with Mount Fuji." This will also be the India-Japan year of science and innovation.

As the world’s fastest-growing large economy, India has entered its Amrit Kaal, a 25-year golden age set to run through 2047, the 100th year of Indian independence, with a vision of faster growth and prosperity.

Japan has been a valued partner of India in this journey, and I am confident that our bilateral partnership will continue to strengthen and prosper in a safe, secure and sustainable world.

NSB

‘India Out’ campaign heats up in Bangladesh after lopsided election (Nikkei Asia)

Nikkei Asia [1/25/2024 4:14 PM, Syful Islam, 1.7M, Neutral]
A campaign accusing India of interference in Bangladesh politics is gaining traction, pushed by members of the Bangladeshi diaspora and embraced by some opposition circles within the country.

Bangladesh is coming off a controversial "one-sided" election earlier this month, in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League won a fourth straight term in power while the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the polls. While the U.S. had strongly urged Dhaka to hold free and fair voting, India called the process an "internal matter."

At the time, many pointed out India’s generally positive relations with Hasina’s government versus its rocky history with the BNP, suggesting New Delhi preferred the status quo.

Now, a social media drive against India is gaining steam, including calls to boycott Indian products. Some are using the hashtag #IndiaOut, echoing a similar movement against Indian influence in the Maldives that culminated last year in the election of President Mohamed Muizzu, who is demanding the departure of Indian military personnel by March 15 and tilting his country’s diplomacy toward China.

The Indian High Commission in Dhaka did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

A key figure in the Bangladeshi movement is exiled physician Pinaki Bhattacharya, who left the country in 2018 after allegedly facing harassment by government security forces. He launched a #BoycottIndia campaign mid-January, telling his half a million Facebook followers: "Each one of us, regardless of where we stand, is summoned to be an integral part of this monumental endeavor. Our collective resolve, fueled by unwavering determination and a profound love for our homeland, will shatter the chains that bind us."

Thousands have responded to his call, spreading the message on social media, some with photos of Indian products crossed out.

India exports over $14 billion worth of goods to Bangladesh each year, and Dhaka is heavily dependent on New Delhi for essential commodities. The two governments are in advanced talks on an annual quota of Indian farm products. So a widespread boycott could cause a significant disturbance in the countries’ relationship.

Resentment is festering after the Awami League won 223 seats in parliament in the Jan. 7 election. The rest of the field was mostly made up of candidates plucked from the Awami League to run as independents and give the vote a competitive look, along with the Jatiya Party, which is aligned with the ruling camp.

Before the polls, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told the media, "As close friends and partners of Bangladesh, we respect the democratic process in Bangladesh and will continue to support the country’s vision of a stable, peaceful and progressive nation."

After the results were out, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to congratulate Hasina, while Western governments were critical. Modi also congratulated "the people of Bangladesh for the successful conduct of elections."

Hasina, meanwhile, called India a "great friend" at her post-election news conference.

The anti-India drive has begun to make inroads on Bangladesh’s domestic political scene. Gono Odhikar Parishad, a rising political party aligned with the BNP-led opposition coalition, is promoting the boycott.

"You people have seen how India interfered in our last general election," party chief Nurul Haque Nur said last week at a rally in Dhaka. "We all have to start an ‘India Out’ campaign."

Indian publications have taken notice, with some reporting that the BNP itself has a hand in the campaign.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, a senior joint secretary general of the BNP, denied this but made pointed comments on India.

"The BNP is vocal on Indian interference on Bangladesh internal issues, politics, and the role New Delhi played during the last general election," the party spokesperson told Nikkei Asia. "However," he said, "the party high-ups have not yet discussed about [calling] for boycotting Indian products or promoting an ‘India Out’ campaign."

On Wednesday, Mir Shahe Alam, president of a BNP sub-district unit, backed the idea. "We have to boycott Indian products," he told a meeting. "We won’t buy Indian products and also won’t let our relatives do so."

Touhid Hossain, who served as Bangladesh’s foreign secretary under a past caretaker government, said Bangladeshis harbor deep-seated grievances against India. "Bangladeshi people expressed joy spontaneously when India lost to Australia in last Cricket World Cup," he said. "This is actually not because of defeat in cricket, but due to severe hatred to India on many issues."

He argued that the bilateral relationship disproportionately benefits India, and that New Delhi has emboldened the Awami League to clamp down on the opposition. "People believe that the ruling party went for the ‘arranged election’ due to the presence of Indian support," he said.

Political and security analyst Abu Rushd said many in Bangladesh are "deeply frustrated" by India’s engagement with the ruling party since the 2014 election, which was also marred by a BNP boycott.

"This time, people expected that the Indian government would come to its senses and support the democratic process, being the largest democracy of the world," said Rushd, who edits the Bangladesh Defence Journal. Instead, he said, India "covertly and even overtly sided with the ruling party and pressed for a phony election."

He said that the boycott call may not be logical, in terms of economic interests, but "it surely is a prudent way to give a message" to the Indian authorities.

Bangladesh launches investigation into children ‘wrongly’ adopted overseas (The Guardian)

The Guardian [1/25/2024 7:15 AM, Thaslima Begum and Rosie Swash, 12499K, Neutral]
Police in Bangladesh have launched an investigation into historical allegations that children were adopted abroad without their parents’ consent, after a Guardian investigation into adoptions to the Netherlands in the 1970s.

Bangladesh special branch in Dhaka confirmed it had opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the adoption of a number of children between 1976 and 1979.

It is the first time police have investigated allegations that children were lured from mothers using a tactic known as the “boarding school scam”, where vulnerable families were offered temporary shelter for their children only to find they were adopted abroad without their consent.

Special Supt Tahsin Mashroof Hossain Mashfi told the Guardian: “Shedding light on the matter has ignited a deep sense of responsibility. We commit to conducting a fair and impartial investigation, striving to contribute meaningfully to the nation’s healing process.”

Saida Muna Tasneem, Bangladesh’s high commissioner to the UK, wrote to the country’s foreign minister, AK Abdul Momen, in August 2023 to draw attention to the fact that the Guardian would soon be publishing a number of podcasts and articles about these allegations and asking that he look into the matter. Her letter was passed on to the home ministry, triggering the police investigation.

International adoption from Bangladesh began shortly after the end of the 1971 liberation war, when thousands of babies were born to survivors of rape. As a result, the government introduced emergency legislation allowing foreigners to adopt “war babies”, who had been left at orphanages across the country. Thousands of adoptions took place in the following decade, long after the war had finished.

In 1976 and 1977, allegations were made by a number of Bangladeshi mothers from the Tongi area of Dhaka that they had been duped into giving up their children for temporary care in a local children’s home and their children had been adopted to the Netherlands without their consent.

The Guardian interviewed several adoptees who believe they were stolen from their families in Bangladesh, and elderly mothers who claim that their children were taken without their consent and were still hoping to be reunited with them.

Kana Verheul, a Dutch-Bangladeshi adoptee, was the first witness to be interviewed by police. “The Dutch state has turned a blind eye to these allegations for far too long,” she told the Guardian.

“I hope Bangladesh, my birth country, will cooperate with adoptees and grant us access to the support and information needed to recover our identities and reunite with our families.”

Verheul was brought to the Netherlands as a baby and described in her adoption papers as an orphan. But when she embarked on a search for her biological family in Bangladesh, she discovered that much of what she thought she knew about her past was false. Verheul founded the Shapla Community, which represents the largest group of Bangladeshi adoptees in the Netherlands and is working to reunite them with their birth families.

In Tongi, there was a mixed reaction among the mothers, who for far too long have felt let down by the authorities. “I want to believe this is good news and that there will be justice – but what does that mean any more?” said Nur Jahan, whose baby went missing in the late 70s.

“It has been almost half a century and I am still no closer to getting my child back,” she said. “Until we are reunited, there can be no justice in my eyes.”

Sayrun Nisa, whose son also went missing in the 1970s, said: “I have been praying for this for so long, it is hard to believe it’s actually happening. The mothers of Tongi are now old and so many have already died. I hope this investigation will find the answers we’ve all been searching for and finally give us some peace.”

‘I was told I could visit. Then she went missing’: the Bangladeshi mothers who say their children were adopted without consent (The Guardian)

The Guardian [1/25/2024 7:15 AM, Thaslima Begum, 12499K, Neutral]
More than four decades have passed, but Sayrun Nisa still cries for her son as if she lost him yesterday. In 1977, she had been taking care of her child and sick husband at home when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to find two people who claimed they were from Terres Des Hommes Netherlands (TDHn), an organisation that operated in the Dattapara camp for refugees of the Bangladesh war of independence, where she lived.

“They started telling me about a children’s home they were running,” says Sayrun, now 80. “They said they could take care of my son for me and give him a good education. I had no reason to doubt them as they were from what I thought was a respectable organisation.”

Sayrun recalls feeling unsure as she watched her six-year-old playing in the corner. But when she discussed it with her husband, they felt it might not be a bad idea. “My husband had been sick for a while and was unemployed. If we put our son in the home, it would mean that I could find work,” she says.

The couple were poor and lived in a hut with a roof that often leaked when it rained. “There were days where we struggled to eat,” recalls Sayrun. A week later, she took her son to a children’s home she believed to be run by TDHn. Sayrun thought the staff might show her around. But instead a woman at the gate asked her to hand over her child and leave. “I gave him over with only the clothes on his back,” says Sayrun, holding back tears.

The following weekend, Sayrun returned to the school but was told her son was no longer there. “I demanded to speak to someone and told them I wouldn’t leave until I knew where my son was,” she says. “I waited for over an hour until an officer came to the gate and told me to go home.” When Sayrun refused, she says the guard pointed a gun in her face.

Sayrun told her husband what had happened and the next day they filed a complaint at the police station. “Days turned into weeks and nothing was done,” she says. “I kept going back to the children’s home and then one day, they offered me a job. I took it thinking it might be a way to find my son.”

Sayrun began working for the children’s home but couldn’t find any answers to her questions. One day, she learned from a colleague that a group of children had been sent abroad. “I asked if my son was among them and she told me yes. I fainted on the spot.”

Sayrun often dreamed that her son would return. “I’d hear a knock at the door and my heart would jump with joy,” she says. “One day, I was on a bus in Dhaka and thought I saw a young man that looked just like him. I jumped off and chased the man down the street but it wasn’t him. People thought I had lost my mind.”

The fate of Sayrun’s son was not an isolated incident. In the town of Tongi, on the outskirts of Dhaka, a number of women claim that their children disappeared in similar circumstances.

All the women interviewed for the Guardian say they left their children in what they believed would be the temporary care of the children’s home run by TDHn, in Tongi, only to later discover the children had been adopted abroad.

TDHn says it did not run a children’s home in Tongi at that time and that, although the perception that the organisation performed adoptions was then persistent in Bangladesh, it was entirely incorrect. “The allegation that local [TDHn] staff were involved in misleading parents to give up their children for adoption is not new. Investigations conducted at the time concluded that the claims were not substantiated,” a spokesperson says.

A number of investigations into the allegations took place in the 1970s, including by TDHn, which concluded that they were “false and baseless”. None of the mothers whose children went missing were interviewed for the investigation. Police in Bangladesh have launched an investigation after reports of the allegations by the Guardian last year.

Rezia Begum says she was approached in 1977 by men claiming to work for TDHn offering to take her child, but she politely declined. A week later, she laid her three-month-old down to sleep and went to the bathroom but when she returned, her daughter was missing.

“I was only gone for a moment” says Rezia, now 72. She ran out of her house screaming, telling the neighbours what had just happened. “Everyone started to search the area. We went from door to door until nightfall but we couldn’t find her anywhere.”

For weeks, Rezia sat in the same spot she last held her daughter; the sound of her baby’s cries still ringing in her ears. “I just wanted her back,” says Rezia, tears streaming down her face. “She was the most beautiful little girl – with these big brown eyes and a small button nose. I couldn’t believe she was just gone.” It would be more than 20 years before Rezia was finally reunited with her daughter thanks to the pioneering help of a campaigning group of Bangladeshi adoptees. Others who have lost their children are still waiting.

Aasia Begum, now in her 80s, was a single mother living in the Dattapara camp with her two young daughters. The elder one, Falani, was six years old – a chatty, joyful girl who liked to play with the other children on her street.

“I would sing them lullabies and longed for them to grow up and become educated and successful,” says Aasia. So when she heard about the children’s centre around the corner from her house, she happily enrolled her elder child.

“I was told I could see her every weekend and that in a few years, she could return home,” she says. But Aasia would soon learn that would not be the case. One day, she went to drop off some bananas at the school but found the gates locked. “I could see Falani playing in the courtyard and called out to her. But a guard quickly came and told me I had to go.”

Her daughter had also seen her and ran up to speak to her but the two were separated by force. “She went missing after that,” says Aasia.

Jahanara Begum’s son Montu was two years old when he went missing in 1977. “He learned to walk quickly and would bump into everything in his way,” she recalls. “Even the chickens in the courtyard would run from him.”

These are memories from decades ago that Jahanara clings to: they are the only proof she really has that her child even existed. He too disappeared after Jahanara left him in what she thought would be temporary care at a children’s home she believed was run by TDHn. “For a long time, I was worried I might forget the little things. So I would talk about him to anyone that would listen.”

For years, Jahanara wondered if it might have been better if her son had died. “Then I could mourn and find some sort of peace,” she says. “But when you don’t know where your child is, you desperately hold on to the idea that they could still be out there somewhere – and may perhaps return.”

Nur Jahan, 78, has no idea what her son Bilal looks like. The last time she saw him was in 1976, when he was just six months old; a small baby with big eyes and a dimpled cheek. “I would carry him around everywhere with me … but now he lives inside this photograph,” says Nur, holding up a photo of a group of Bangladeshi children arriving at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam in 1976; an air steward holds up a baby in a basket, and though the photo is not clear, Nur is convinced the baby is hers.

Like the other mothers, Nur too claims she was visited by people claiming to work for TDHn. After handing her baby over for care, Nur was able to visit him the week after. “Everything seemed normal at first, I even saw other parents and children I recognised.” But a week later, she was not allowed in. “I started shouting. There was a broom nearby and I picked it up and threatened them with it,” recalls Nur. Two guards came out and aggressively pushed her away. She fell to the ground crying.

Nur would never see her baby again. Later, she filed a police report and approached local media for help but nothing came of it. “I still pray he comes back to me,” she says, tucking the photo away into a small cabinet. It’s one of the few possessions she owns, but certainly her most cherished.

A spokesperson for TDHn described the women’s stories as “heartbreaking”, but that “the underlying allegation of wrongdoing by Terre des Hommes Netherlands is therefore wholly incorrect. Terre des Hommes Netherlands did not run any school with boarding facilities. The suggestion that the children stayed at a Terre des Hommes-school or home therefore is wrong.”

Bhutan’s Long Journey Into the World Trade Organization (The Diplomat)

The Diplomat [1/25/2024 8:47 AM, Ladislav Charouz, 201K, Neutral]
A Buddhist kingdom where GDP has been replaced by an index of Gross National Happiness: This is one of the images Bhutan cultivates abroad. For almost a quarter of a century, the reclusive mountain nation has blown hot and cold on its accession to the World Trade Organization, a proxy for the country’s wavering integration with the outside world.

Bhutan first applied to the WTO in 1999. However, accession proceedings lost steam as various government officials clashed over the matter. While supporters of WTO membership cited the potential gains of trade liberalization, prominent detractors feared WTO rules would not gel with the country’s happiness index.

Now it seems that the deadlock has finally been broken. Karma Dorji, Bhutan’s outgoing minister of industry, commerce and employment, announced last April that the government had at long last approved the country’s WTO accession, and expressed hope that the process could be completed by the end of 2023. Due to insufficient standards, he said, the government has earmarked 100 million Ngultrum (around $1.2 million) to develop labs and testing facilities. It will also support the construction of dry ports, waterways, and other infrastructure to heighten Bhutan’s connectivity in anticipation of increased trade.

Despite the opposition’s win in this January’s elections, it is not thought that the incoming government will reverse course. Both the victorious People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP), which will be the opposition in Parliament, focused on Bhutan’s gloomy economic outlook during their campaigns. According to World Bank data, Bhutan’s GDP has grown at an average of 1.7 percent over the past five years, and the country faces a mass exodus among skyrocketing youth unemployment. As such, joining the WTO might provide a way for the PDP to deliver on its campaign promise to double the country’s GDP, multiply its rates of foreign direct investment, and create thousands of new jobs.

Besides, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk remains the decisive voice in Bhutanese politics, and it is inconceivable that the revitalization of WTO accession talks could have been decided without his approval.

Bhutan’s belated decision has been welcomed by the WTO. In July, Accessions Division Director Maika Oshikawa visited Thimphu to meet with Foreign Secretary Pema Choden, who serves as Bhutan’s chief negotiator in the accession process. The two discussed Bhutan’s Legislative Action Plan and Market Access Offer on Goods, with another delegation reviewing the Market Access Offer on Services later that month.

However, officials likely had to temper hopes that Bhutan would be able to accede any time soon. Applicants expected to join the WTO in the near future, such as Timor-Leste and the Comoros, have been actively negotiating their accession for years, as have countries further down the waitlist like Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

What changed Thimphu’s mind about the WTO? One factor is its “graduation” from the status of a Least Developed Country (LDC), which took place at the end of 2023. Graduation from LDC status is determined by the United Nations according to several economic indicators, and within the WTO it entails the loss of certain privileges and flexibilities. Of course, Bhutan would lose these perks regardless, but by graduating before joining the WTO, it may lose out on the ability to seek an extension to certain provisions. The WTO also has special, more lenient accession guidelines for LDCs, which Bhutan may still be able to leverage by revitalizing the accession process before graduating.

Beyond the LDC graduation, experts contend that the country must strive to stand on its own feet as it begins to attract less foreign aid. This necessity was underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, when Bhutan’s development level helped it secure $35 million from the World Bank. However, the pandemic still dealt a major blow to its tourist industry, which employs over a seventh of Bhutan’s population and provides a major source of foreign currency. In this context, it is significant that Industry Minister Dorji laid particular emphasis on joining the WTO as a way to boost Bhutan’s FDI, which is also a priority for the incoming government.

Thimphu’s swing toward the WTO also seems to suggest a willingness to compromise on its touted GNH index, as some observers suggest that Bhutan is growing weary of emphasizing happiness over GDP. For one, the method of calculating GNH is lengthy and expensive, requiring the government to compensate its respondents for a day’s worth of wages and to process responses to 300 questions. Furthermore, focusing on happiness does not seem to have helped Bhutan address outstanding issues like the entrenched income gap, persistently high youth unemployment, and worrying emigration rates.

Abandoning GNH would be a major change, but it is not impossible if conducted in a face-saving way. The index is the brainchild of Bhutan’s Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, who declared it more important than GDP as early as 1972. Since then, Bhutanese officials have championed the idea abroad, and in 2008 Bhutan’s first democratically elected government even enshrined it in the country’s constitution.

However, the current king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, has not been as vocal a supporter of the concept, and Bhutan’s prime minister-elect, Tshering Tobgay, even said in 2013 (during his first tenure as PM) that he preferred to focus on more “concrete goals.” The critique may have been an early indication of a changing course.

Finally, there is the geopolitical dimension. In his announcement of Bhutan’s accession plans, Dorji emphasized the country’s sovereignty. This is particularly significant as India accounts for 93.3 percent of the country’s exports and 77.3 percent of its imports, recently losing some ground to China in the latter domain. Although India has traditionally held much sway over Bhutan’s defense and foreign policy, New Delhi now stands by uneasily as Bhutan discusses its border dispute with China, with some Indian analysts fearing that the resultant deal may be disadvantageous to New Delhi. Acceding to the WTO may help Bhutan diversify its trade partners and avoid overdependence on either country, thus giving Thimphu more leverage in negotiations.

Whatever the calculations behind Bhutan’s WTO bid, the consequences will be significant. Some fear a rapid westernization of the country’s customs and consumption habits, while others ponder how well Bhutan will handle the risks of open global trade. With growing economic uncertainty and volatile borders, one thing is certain: Big changes are on the horizon for the Himalayan kingdom.

Nepal asks Russia to send back Nepalis recruited to fight in Ukraine and the bodies of those killed (AP)

AP [1/25/2024 6:17 AM, Binanj Gurubacharya, 761K, Neutral]
Nepal has asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals who were recruited to fight against Ukraine and repatriate the bodies of those who died in the conflict, Nepal’s top diplomat said Thursday.

The Russian army is estimated to have recruited more than 200 Nepali nationals to fight in Ukraine and at least 14 of them have died there, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“We have asked Russia to immediately stop the recruitment of Nepali nationals in their army, immediately return those who are already serving in the army, repatriate the bodies of those killed, and treat and return those who were wounded in the fighting,” Saud said.

Nepal is also seeking monetary compensation from Russia for the families of those Nepali nationals who were killed in the fighting, Saud said.

Among the 14 confirmed killed Nepali nationals, Russia has said it is in possession of 12 bodies. Most Nepali people want the bodies of their deceased relatives to be cremated following religious rituals.

“We have information that five of our citizens who fought on behalf of the Russians are being held captive by the Ukraine side. We are asking the Russian side to take initiatives to get them freed,” Saud said.

Russian officials have not commented on the recruitment of foreign nationals for military service in Ukraine, but media reports have said that along with Nepal the Russian military has recruited some people from Cuba.

Russian law allows foreign nationals to enlist in its army after they sign a contract with the Defense Ministry.

In September, Cuban authorities arrested 17 people in connection with what they said was a network to recruit Cuban nationals to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that speeds up a path to Russian citizenship for foreigners who enlist in the country’s military as Moscow tries to replenish its troops in Ukraine by various methods, including the recruitment of migrants.

Ukraine is also believed to have hired some Nepalis to fight as soldiers, but Saud said he did not have more information on this.

Nepal’s government has banned its citizens from traveling to Russia or Ukraine for employment, saying many have been recruited by the Russian army to fight in the conflict in Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of Nepalis go abroad in search of work each year and are required to get a permit from the government before leaving the country for employment. Those who made it to Russia are believed to have traveled though a third country pretending to be tourists before flying to Russia.

Saud met with Russian officials on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement conference in Uganda earlier this month and discussed the issues with them.

“We have clearly conveyed to them that our citizens are not allowed to be recruited in the army and to immediately send them back,” Saud said.

For centuries, Nepali nationals were recruited by the British army to fight as famed Gurkha soldiers and later by India when it gained independence from Britain. That arrangement was made in 1816 after signing a treaty between Nepal and Britain.

US expresses concerns over Sri Lanka’s controversial internet regulation law (AP)

AP [1/25/2024 7:58 PM, Bharatha Mallawarachi, 2565K, Negative]
The United States expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s online regulation bill Thursday, a day after it passed overwhelmingly in Parliament over protests by the media, opposition and rights activists.

The Online Safety bill allows the government to set up a commission with a wide range of powers, including ordering people and internet service providers to remove online posts deemed “prohibited statements.” It can also legally pursue people who publish such posts.

Julie Chung, the U.S. ambassador in Sri Lanka, said the United States has concerns about the potential impact of the legislation and urged “Sri Lanka to prioritize transparency and ensure any legislation does not stifle the voices of its people .”

“In addition to jeopardizing democratic values, vague and overly restrictive legislation can hinder investment and the development of a digital economy, undermining the economic growth that Sri Lanka needs,” Chung said in a statement posted on her X account.

Critics say the law is an attempt by Sri Lanka’s governing coalition to stifle speech in an election year as the Indian Ocean island nation copes with an economic crisis that required an international bailout.

The media, opposition lawmakers, internet and civil rights groups say the measure would undermine human rights and freedom of expression.

Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that the bill would create a repressive law with broad and vague “speech-related offenses punishable by lengthy prison terms.”

The Asia Internet Coalition, which has Apple, Amazon, Google and Yahoo as members, warned that the bill could undermine potential growth and foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka’s digital economy.

The government said the legislation addresses problems related to online fraud, abuse and false statements that threaten national security and stability. It denied the bill was drafted to harass media or political opponents.

Sri Lanka is struggling to emerge from its worst economic crisis, which hit the island nation two years ago. The country declared bankruptcy in 2022, with more than $83 billion in debt, more than half of it owed to foreign creditors.

The crisis caused severe shortages of food, fuel and other necessities, which fed strident public protests that led to the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. After Rajapaksa fled, then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as president by parliament.

The IMF agreed last year to a $2.9 billion bailout package for the hard-hit country.

Shortages of necessities have since abated, but public dissatisfaction has intensified as the government imposed new taxes on professionals and businesses and raised energy bills.

Rights groups say that with the presidential election coming later this year, Wickremesinghe has sought to stifle dissent by cracking down on anti-government protests and arresting protestors and activists.

Central Asia

Central Asia Seen as Key to Breaking China’s Rare Earth Monopoly (VOA)

VOA [1/25/2024 5:50 PM, Navbahor Imamova, 761K, Positive]
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.

The study by the U.S.-based International Tax and Investment Center warns that a failure to act could leave China with a "decisive advantage" in the sector, which is crucial to green energy, many new weapons systems and other advanced technologies.

"As the uses for these minerals has expanded, so too has global competition for them in a time of sharply increasing geostrategic and geo-economic tension," the report says.

"Advanced economies with secure, reliable access to REEs enjoy economic advantages in manufacturing, and corresponding economic disadvantages accrue for those without this access."

China, which accounts for most of the world’s rare earth mining within its own borders, has not yet had to seek additional supplies from Central Asia, which enjoys plentiful reserves of minerals ranging from iron and nonferrous metals to uranium.

But, the report says, "the massive size of the Chinese economy and the Chinese Communist Party’s conscious efforts to dominate the REE sector globally mean such increases are a matter of time."

Oil-rich Kazakhstan, the region’s economic giant, holds the world’s largest chromium reserves and the second-largest stocks of uranium, while also possessing other critical elements.

Report co-author Ariel Cohen says it is up to the governments of Central Asia to create the investment climate for development of these resources.

"They may be the next big thing in Central Asia as the engine of economic growth," Cohen said this week during a panel discussion at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

Across Central Asia, experts note, REEs are found in substantial volumes in the Kazakh steppe and uplands as well as in the Tien Shan mountains across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan.

Monazite, zircon, apatite, xenotime, pyrochlore, allanite and columbite are among Central Asia’s most abundant rare metals and minerals.

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey listed 384 REE occurrences in the region: 160 in Kazakhstan, 87 in Uzbekistan, 75 in Kyrgyzstan, 60 in Tajikistan, and two in Turkmenistan.

Wesley Hill, another expert on Central Asia’s mineral reserves, says production of rare earths at present "is almost wholly monopolized by China."

"Depending on how you count, between 80 to 90% of REE refining is controlled by China and done directly inside of China," Hill said.

But, he argued, despite China’s heavy involvement in Central Asia, it has yet to fully take over the region’s rare earth sector. "So, this means that Central Asia is very much at a crossroads,” he said. “Central Asia has the opportunity to expand its REE production without being wholly dependent on China."

Central Asia is currently in a position where it can develop its REE refining capacities both for its national development strategies and to break the Chinese monopoly, Hill said.

"But this is only going to happen with good policy, both from the American side and the Central Asian side."

Ambassador John Herbst, Washington’s former top diplomat in Uzbekistan and Ukraine, says the region’s REE assets are "simply another reason for enhanced engagement by the West."

He said he is not sure that Central Asian governments appreciate how important rare earths can be to their development. "But I do know that the countries of Central Asia want a closer relationship with the United States, and that is one important part of their maintaining their hard-won independence."

Herbst added that the United States and Central Asia have a common interest in working together to develop the region’s rare earths "for the economy of the future."

"We have an ability to innovate that far exceeds [China’s]. Their innovation is based largely on taking our technology."

Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti, who serves as energy transition counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, says the region is eager for investment.

"It is a development opportunity. Particularly with the geostrategic energy realignment after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also, because of the energy transition. Lithium and other REE are necessary for different parts of that transition. So that’s primarily an economic incentive," she said.

She pointed to the Mineral Strategic Partnership Initiative run by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau on Energy Resources, which is able to promote foreign direct investment in the region while providing technical assistance in the mining sector.

Cohen said the Central Asian countries cannot wait long to develop their rare earths. "There is a competition, and the African countries, Latin American countries and others will compete increasingly."

Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, who heads a consultancy called Second Floor Strategies, says Central Asia needs a rare earth research center that can provide timely information to prospective customers and investors.

Transportation is key, Sanchez said. "It’s not just about finding and mining them. You have to get them to the international market."

Access from the landlocked region at present is limited to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure or routes through Russia. Sanchez and others recommend using the Middle Corridor, also called the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which can carry goods to Europe across the Caspian and Black seas.

These experts also say progress will depend on regional governments overcoming their traditional secretiveness regarding natural resources. They emphasize the importance of transparency, the rule of law, adherence to best practices and compliance with international norms if they hope to attract Western investment.

Kazakhstan: Electricity deficits set to deepen (EurasiaNet)

EurasiaNet [1/25/2024 5:26 AM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
Energy officials in Kazakhstan have forecast that electricity shortfalls will deepen in the coming two years, thereby increasing reliance on imports and heightening the risk of unscheduled blackouts.

News outlet LS reported on January 25, citing Energy Ministry data, that power consumption this year is expected to reach 120.6 billion kilowatt hours, while production will lag behind at 118.3 kilowatt hours. Demand and production will both grow in 2025, but the deficit will widen to 3.3 billion kilowatt hours, the ministry is predicting.

Some relief is anticipated in 2026 and 2027, when the government expects production to outstrip demand.

But deficits will again be a feature in the three years that follow, according to a government forecast covering the 2024-2030 period.

Inability to provide domestically for the whole country’s electricity needs is partly about rising demand, but the problem is also rooted in the fact that the electricity grid is split into three geographically distinct areas: the north, the south and the west.

What is known as the western zone is anticipated to produce power in excess of domestic needs this year, but as it is not connected to the linked north-south grid, that excess cannot be delivered to consumers where the need is greatest.

Energy officials anticipate that a project to link the western zone to the rest of the national grid will be completed by 2028, thereby putting in place the infrastructure required to even out the current imbalance between the three zones.

Kazakhstan’s power grid is linked internationally with neighbors Russia, China, and several Central Asian nations to the south.

The most contentious proposed long-term solution for Kazakhstan’s ever-growing electricity needs is to build a nuclear power plant.

In September, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sought to distance himself from having to take a final decision on the matter by announcing a referendum. He has previously expressed support for the idea, though.

At a government meeting in February 2022, Tokayev argued that without nuclear power, Kazakhstan stands to “lose its entire economy,” adding that nuclear skeptics were “populists who do not understand economic realities.”

No date has yet been set for the vote.

Kyrgyzstan: Bill Threatens to Curb Civil Society (Human Rights Watch)

Human Rights Watch [1/25/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 190K, Neutral]
The Kyrgyz parliament should reject the highly repressive “foreign representatives” draft law, which would unduly interfere with the activities of nongovernmental organizations receiving funding from abroad organizations including Human Rights Watch said in a statement today. The bill passed parliamentary committee review on January 23, 2024, and has passed a first reading. It needs approval at second and third readings and to be signed by the president to become law.

The draft law would allow local nongovernmental organizations to be labelled “foreign representatives” if they receive foreign funding, categorizing any of their advocacy, monitoring, information provision, and direct-action activities as “political activities” in the interests of their foreign funders. The bill also introduces criminal liability for vaguely defined activities “harmful to citizens, society, or the state” punishable with up to three years in prison for individuals or up to five years if committed by a group of individuals.

“Kyrgyzstan has always boasted having a vibrant civil society, which contributed to increased respect for the human rights of ordinary citizens and provided key social services,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Adoption of the bill would make Kyrgyzstan an outlier in the international community, severely undermining opportunities for co-operation with its partners around the world.”

Tajikistan enacts mandatory vehicle recycling fee (EurasiaNet)

EurasiaNet [1/25/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
In a bid to generate fresh revenue, the authorities in Tajikistan have begun charging motorists a vehicle-scrapping tax.

Under a new law approved last month but only made public this week, the one-off tax, which is being dubbed a recycling fee, will be collected upon registration of a new vehicle or, for those vehicles already in circulation, during scheduled mandatory technical inspections.

The money will ostensibly be used to cover the cost of scrapping vehicles in a environmentally friendly manner once they are taken off the road.

The amount to be paid by motorists varies in accordance with the type of vehicle and will range from $32 to $261.

Finance Minister Faiziddin Kahorzoda has billed the recycling fee a necessity for ensuring ecological safety, promoting public health, minimizing the impact of waste, and, not least, as a way to boost state revenues.

As of early 2023, there were 600,000 registered vehicles circulating in Tajikistan. The tax accordingly stands to generate several dozen million dollars for the government’s coffers.

Kahorzoda said the experience of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia had been studied in drawing up this tariff.

The precedent of Kazakhstan is not perhaps the most felicitous for Kahorzoda to have alluded to, however. The state-imposed recycling fee there became the focus of a long-running political scandal when it emerged that Operator ROP, the government-appointed monopolist tasked with handling the scheme, belonged to a daughter of former leader President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In February 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev submitted to public pressure and ordered the dissolution of the monopoly, which motorists had blamed for a surge in car prices.

It is not yet known who will be charged with handling the vehicle recycling initiative in Tajikistan.

The problem of flagging government revenue is one that has been weighing heavily on the mind of President Emomali Rahmon. Speaking at a government meeting on January 24, he said that the budget had been deprived of 170 million somoni ($15.5 million) of due payments because of the delinquent conduct of major tax debtors.

He identified aluminum company Talco, as well as Talco Gold, which is a joint venture with China’s Tibet Huayu Mining, Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power plant and mobile telecommunications companies as the leading culprits. Several of the entities mentioned by Rahmon are known to be controlled or owned by members of his extended family.

While those companies are likely to get away with short-changing the state, notwithstanding the public rebuke from Rahmon, motorists may not be so lucky.

Uzbekistan: A fast-growing Tashkent struggling with dirty air (EurasiaNet)

EurasiaNet [1/25/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
There are days when Gulnoza Shomakhmudova, a 57-year-old asthmatic, misses the days of COVID-19, because at least the air in Uzbekistan’s capital was a little cleaner back then.

“I suffer from the air pollution very intensely. My health has worsened, and breathing has become difficult. I have developed strong allergies,” Shomakhmudova, a former health worker who lives in Tashkent’s industrial Yangikhayot district, told Eurasianet. “During the pandemic, it was better. I even contracted COVID, but I didn’t experience any asthma attacks.”

To avoid peak dirty air, Shomakhmudova limits her outdoor activities. She goes for walks as early as 4 a.m., before the city coughs itself awake.

“After that, I can’t go outside anymore because it’s dusty and dirty. I always have to hang wet gauze netting on the window. We don’t open the window at all during the day.”

The data shows that Shomakhmudova is far from alone in experiencing this distress.

In recent weeks, Tashkent has repeatedly been ranked among the 10 most polluted cities globally. With winter now in full swing, more heating fuel is being burned, producing more of the foul air blanketing the city and putting a population of 3 million at risk.

According to the air quality index, or AQI, run by IQAir, a Swiss technology company that tracks air quality around the world, Tashkent in December witnessed at least two days of “very unhealthy” and six days of “unhealthy” pollution. Only on two days was the air deemed to be of “good” quality.

On December 14 and 22, the AQI in Tashkent for PM2.5 – a hazardous air pollutant known as particulate matter 2.5 — stood at 273 and 284, respectively, far exceeding limits set by the World Health Organization, or WHO.

This problem is the inevitable side effect of the rapid urban sprawl now gripping Tashkent. Getting specific about driving factors is complicated, though.

Citizens and lobbies will variously disagree on the extent of damage caused by industrial pollution, aggravated by fossil fuel-fired power plants, transport emissions, the loss of green spaces, the uncontrolled construction boom or even seasonal factors, such as residential heating.

But it is clear there is one major culprit. According to the ecology ministry, the use of hydrocarbons, including coal, has increased substantially over a four-year period due to “the growing demand of economic sectors and the population for energy resources”.

The country’s coal consumption has grown from 3.9 million tons in 2019 to 6.7 million tons in 2023. This has happened not least because of last year’s presidential order to switch greenhouses, cement and brick factories, kindergartens, schools and hospitals to coal fuel in an attempt to save on natural gas.

Recent research shows coal emissions that contain sulfur dioxide are associated with a higher mortality risk than exposure to PM2.5 from other sources. The air in Tashkent is more polluted with carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide than any other city in Uzbekistan, according to daily data provided by Uzgidromet, the state meteorological service.

Toxic emissions from cars are also a part of the problem, the ecology ministry says. Car sales in the city are increasing. According to government statistics, Tashkent has 193 cars per 1,000 people, which is more than double the national average. In 2019, vehicle pollutants accounted for 90 percent of emissions in the city.

To make matters worse, Tashkent has lost swathes of green space. Despite a presidential moratorium, vast numbers of trees keep being felled. Since 2019, when the moratorium was first imposed, about 49,000 trees have been chopped down. Most of them are destroyed by real estate developers undaunted by paltry fines.

Until recently, the government has barely acknowledged a problem exists. There is still no national standard for PM2.5 or a specific policy document on air protection.

The public is getting more vocal, however.

“Air pollution is considered a very hot topic at the moment, because we feel this problem, we see it,” says Mutabar Khushvaktova, an environmental activist and citizen journalist who writes under the pen name Urikguli. “The smog over Tashkent has not dissipated for almost a year.”

“This is because trees are being cut down despite the ban, there are a lot of cars, and a lot of construction work,” Khushvaktova said. “People see this, but not everyone understands how dangerous it is, because there is no information out there in the Uzbek language.”

Amid all this gloom, there are some shoots of positive action.

At the end of 2022, the government recognized the need to transition to a green economy to help meet growing power demand. A strategic green-growth roadmap approved by the president set an ambitious target for Uzbekistan to generate up to 30 percent of its energy needs via renewable energy sources, or RES, by 2030. Currently, about 10-12 percent of the country’s total electricity is generated from RES.

Media coverage and public pressure have finally compelled Tashkent city officials to take action on some matters. Municipal authorities in mid-January announced that they had solicited the services of international experts to develop measures on improving environmental wellbeing in the city.

“To improve the environmental situation and to protect public health, we will need to adopt some tough decisions. To ensure these decisions do not lead to negative consequences in the future, they must be based on research and analysis,” city hall said in a statement.

Quite what that all means will be made clear in a public presentation that officials say is coming “soon.”

Gloomier observers still worry decision-makers will prioritize short-term solutions. Earlier this month, a group of activists, bloggers and musicians mounted a demonstration to draw public and governmental attention to the consequences of air pollution, and emphasized that the issue had to be addressed in a systematic fashion.

“It is necessary to develop a whole range of measures and take proper decisions. I want the situation to change for the better. This is what the whole of Uzbekistan is waiting for,” Umid Gafurov, author of the popular Telegram channel Troll.uz, told news outlet Gazeta.uz.

Citizens, meanwhile, must take their own remedial action.

With her mind on a major construction project near her home, Shomakhmudova is now contemplating buying an air purifier. That is an expensive proposition for her.

“A very large construction project started near my house. They are building nine residential blocks. Now I’m sitting here and thinking that in the summer, I probably won’t be able to breathe at all,” she said.

Uzbekistan: Authorities tighten rules on drug advertising (EurasiaNet)

EurasiaNet [1/25/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
Uzbekistan is moving to tighten rules on how medications and dietary supplements are advertised in the wake of a national scandal over the death of dozens of children administered tainted cough syrup.

Under the decree approved by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, television and radio advertising for medicinal goods will from July 1 only be permitted with prior express permission from the Health Ministry.

Drug companies will from that date furthermore be required to start developing customs and warehouse facilities designed in conformity with good storage practice, or GSP, requirements. From the start of 2026, it will become illegal to store medicines in warehouses without a GSP certificate.

Drug companies are also being required to create a procedure for providing regulating agencies with evidence that they are complying with the terms of their business operating licenses at least once a year. In instances where members of the public raise the alarm, more stringent quality assurances will be needed, the decree notes.

The way in which drugs are imported and retailed in Uzbekistan has come under heavy scrutiny in Uzbekistan since late 2022, when reports began spreading of children dying in large numbers as a result of taking a widely prescribed cough syrup called DOK-1 Max. At least 65 children are known to have lost their lives. Most of the victims were under three years old.

Marion Biotech, the Indian company that produced the tainted drug, has said that up to 20,000 vials of DOK-1 Max “were delivered throughout Uzbekistan.” There is no information about how many of the doses were sold in pharmacies before the drug was banned.

Fully 21 people, including Sardor Kariyev, who was until the scandal broke the director of the state Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency, are currently on trial over the DOK-1 Max scandal.

During that trial, the court was told by Raghvendra Pratar Singh, the head of Quramax Medikal, which imported and distributed DOK-1 Max, that his company paid a $33,000 bribe to representatives of the drug regulator to avoid an audit of Marion Biotech products.

The court also heard that Quramax Medikal made regular payments to doctors, nurses and pharmacists to prescribe or promote DOK-1 Max. Overall, the company paid Uzbek healthcare professionals more than $600,000 to fuel the syrup’s prescriptions, it was alleged.

Twitter

Afghanistan

SIGAR
@SIGARHQ
[1/25/2024 11:14 AM, 168.4K followers, 14 retweets, 29 likes]
(1/3) Last quarter, Taliban announced they entered into seven mining agreements, valued at $6.5 billion, with local & regional entities, including Chinese, Iranian, Turkish, British, Kazakh, & Afghan mining companies. Taliban minister of economic affairs projected thousands…

SIGAR
@SIGARHQ
[1/25/2024 11:14 AM, 168.4K followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
(2/3)…of Afghan jobs would result. However, Afghan mining experts said any such figure would be “misleading unless they lead to fully realized mining operations on the ground, which could take years”

SIGAR
@SIGARHQ
[1/25/2024 11:14 AM, 168.4K followers, 1 retweet, 8 likes]
(3/3) #StateDept told SIGAR “none of the agreements announced [last] quarter purporting to be valued at $6.5 billion have resulted in jobs, construction, or revenue” https://sigar.mil/interactive-reports/sigar-quarterly-report-2023-10-30/#reportDevelopments

Massoud Hossaini
@Massoud151
[1/25/2024 12:33 PM, 31.3K followers, 19 retweets, 39 likes]
I talked to a female tailor in #Kabul. She said #TalibanTerrorist group shut down all women tailor shops & they all are jobless. “No food, No school, no life. We are living in the Hell” she said. I told her about those women who are supporting TB due to mutual tribal minds!

Pakistan

Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[1/26/2024 12:31 AM, 3.1M followers, 7 retweets, 22 likes]
Women have had the right to vote since the inception of #Pakistan. Let your vote pave the way for a future that embraces strength and resilience, and creates a society that leaves no woman behind. #Elections2024 #ElectionPakistan

Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[1/25/2024 5:23 AM, 3.1M followers, 7 retweets, 38 likes]
Head of Al-Jomaih Group alongwith a delegation called on the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, today in Islamabad.

BilawalBhuttoZardari
@BBhuttoZardari
[1/25/2024 10:07 AM, 5.1M followers, 7.1K retweets, 7.4K likes]
IA tomorrow afternoon I will address PPP election jalsa in Multan. I invite the people of south Punjab to join me. Let’s build a peaceful, prosperous and progressive Pakistan. We will bury the old politics of division and hate once and for all.

BilawalBhuttoZardari
@BBhuttoZardari
[1/25/2024 7:39 AM, 5.1M followers, 4.4K retweets, 5.4K likes]
Our campaign is one built on a message of hope, progress, and prosperity for all. Our Awami Muashi Muahida is a promise of a better tomorrow. It will benefit farmers, protect laborers, empower women, uplift the poor, house the homeless, and unleash the potential of our youth. The people of Gujrat came out in great numbers today to endorse our promise. Vote ‘teer’ on 8th February and choose a government that will work for you

Hamid Mir
@HamidMirPAK
[1/25/2024 7:31 AM, 8.3M followers, 106 retweets, 614 likes]
Exposed the Indian sponsored target killing network in September 2023 in #CapitalTalk today Foreign Secretary of Pakistan gave more details. All stories were published by Indian newspapers who claimed “we killed them”

Jawad Sohrab
@JawadSohrab
[1/26/2024 12:49 AM, 4.7K followers, 149 retweets, 156 likes]
Today, we commenced construction of a new academic building for 300 students at OPF Girls Higher Secondary School in Rawalpindi. Education forms the cornerstone of a nation’s progress. We must provide our youth with the quality education they need to thrive in the modern competitive world. Overseas Pakistanis are given 50 percent concession on tuition fee. With hope & determination, InShaAllah, completion in 16 months.

India

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[1/26/2024 12:15 AM, 94.8M followers, 2.8K retweets, 9.2K likes]
At the spectacular Republic Day celebrations. Do watch, as India’s military prowess and cultural diversity are showcased during the parade. https://youtu.be/1xi5_OOPM-I

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[1/25/2024 12:42 PM, 94.8M followers, 12K retweets, 105K likes]
Welcome to India, my friend President @EmmanuelMacron. I am happy that President Macron begins his India visit from Jaipur in Rajasthan, a land with rich culture, heritage and talented people. It is a matter of great pride that he will be taking part in our Republic Day celebrations tomorrow, 26th January, in Delhi. His presence not only strengthens the ties between our nations but also adds a significant chapter to our shared history of friendship and collaboration.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[1/26/2024 2:26 AM, 3M followers, 13 retweets, 114 likes]
Unfurled the Tiranga at my residence this morning on our 75th Republic Day. Fully committed to building a developed India in our Amritkaal.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[1/26/2024 1:22 AM, 3M followers, 445 retweets, 2.7K likes]
Great to see the MEA tableau of G20 at the #RepublicDay Parade. What an year it was!

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[1/25/2024 8:48 AM, 205.5K followers, 36 retweets, 182 likes]
Macron is Modi’s Republic Day guest this year. It’s an opportunity to showcase a relationship that shares similarities w/some of India’s deep partnerships—but is quite distinct from India’s partnerships w/other Western powers. My latest @ForeignPolicy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/24/macron-india-france-visit-republic-day-modi/

NSB

Awami League
@albd1971
[1/25/2024 7:26 AM, 635.5K followers, 24 retweets, 94 likes]
Deputy minister of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Ms. Sun Haiyan met Bangladesh Prime Minister #SheikhHasina and greeted her for the massive victory in the general elections. #BangladeshPolls #7January

Moosa Zameer
@MoosaZameer
[1/25/2024 9:24 AM, 12.6K followers, 32 retweets, 49 likes]
At the #UNSC Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, #Maldives expressed concerns on the failures of the Council to uphold the responsibilities of maintaining international peace and security. We reaffirmed our longstanding support for #Palestine in their right to the establishment of an independent state based on pre-1967 borders.

PMO Nepal
@PM_nepal_
[1/26/2024 1:51 AM, 710.2K followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Ms. @INakamitsu paid a courtesy call on Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal `Prachanda´ today. A wide range of topics relating to peace was discussed during the meeting.

PMO Nepal
@PM_nepal_
[1/26/2024 12:27 AM, 710.2K followers, 4 retweets, 39 likes]
On the occasion of 75th Republic Day of India, I extend my best wishes to PM Shri @narendramodi ji, the government and friendly people of India for good health, peace and prosperity. I am confident that the ties of friendship between our countries will continue to grow further.

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[1/25/2024 11:24 AM, 4.8K followers, 2 retweets, 3 likes]
Pleased to take part in a roundtable discussion with Dr. Matthew Offord @Offord4Hendon Chair of the APPG on Sri Lanka, where he extensively briefed the APPG and the Lords of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and reconciliation efforts @MFA_SriLanka

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[1/25/2024 9:23 AM, 4.8K followers, 1 like]
Pleased to meet with Dr. Lisa Cameron,Chair, APPG Foreign Affairs today. We discussed on a wide range of areas and I shared insights on Sri Lanka’s economic progress and international politics @APPGForeign @MFA_SriLanka

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[1/25/2024 7:21 AM, 4.8K followers, 1 retweet, 2 likes]
Pleased to meet with the Chair, All-Party-Parliamentary-Groups for Council of Sri Lankan Muslim Organisations @BobBlackman at Portcullis House today. @MFA_SriLanka

Namal Rajapaksa
@RajapaksaNamal
[1/25/2024 10:20 PM, 438.5K followers, 7 retweets, 44 likes]
Deeply saddened by the loss of State Minister Sanath Nishantha, a dedicated party member. Also, the passing of Police Constable Jayakody. My heartfelt condolences to their families. Let’s honor them with kindness. May they attain supreme bliss of Nirvana

Central Asia

MFA Kazakhstan
@MFA_KZ
[1/25/2024 6:55 AM, 50.1K followers, 2 retweets, 2 likes]
Joint Statement by the Representatives of Iran, Russia and Türkiye on the 21st International Meeting on Syria in the Astana Format https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/documents/details/592658?lang=en #astanaprocess #peace4syria

Hugh Williamson
@HughAWilliamson
[1/25/2024 11:04 AM, 10.4K followers, 12 retweets, 12 likes]
1/ Things are getting really serious in Kyrgyzstan as parliament debates a ‘foreign agents’ style bill that could lead to 3-5 year criminal sentences for NGO activists for doing their jobs @hrw

Hugh Williamson
@HughAWilliamson
[1/25/2024 11:05 AM, 10.4K followers, 1 retweet]
2/ Read the joint statement by 9 human rights groups on the draft law. @HRW says: “Adoption of the bill would make Kyrgyzstan an outlier in the international community, severely undermining opportunities for co-operation with its partners around the world.”

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[1/25/2024 6:54 PM, 22.5K followers, 10 retweets, 14 likes]
Across Central Asia, REEs are found in substantial volumes in the Kazakh steppe and uplands as well as in the Tien Shan mountains across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan.

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[1/25/2024 10:22 AM, 22.5K followers, 1 like]
What #UzbekistanCeramicsPotteryArt in Washington without @POTUS @FLOTUS faces enshrined on a large. plate. (Live @UZEmbassyDC Jan 24) Presented to Nicholas Berliner, Spec. Assistant to Pres. Biden/Russia & Central Asia, National Security Council.

{End of Report}

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