epubdos : Afghanistan
SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO:
SCA & Staff
DATE:
Thursday, March 21, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan
A suicide bomber attacks a bank in Afghanistan, killing at least 3 people and injuring 12 others (AP)
AP [3/21/2024 3:35 AM, Staff, 456K, Negative]
A suicide bomber carried out an attack Thursday at a private bank in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, killing at least three people and injuring 12 others, officials said.

All of the victims were people who had gathered at the branch of New Kabul Bank to collect their monthly salaries, said Inamullah Samangani, head of the government’s Kandahar Information and Culture Department.

Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for the Taliban Interior Ministry, also confirmed the attack but couldn’t provide more details. He said it was being investigated.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. The Islamic State group’s affiliate, a major Taliban rival, has conducted previous attacks on schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout the country.

Kandahar city is a spiritual and political center for Afghanistan’s rulers because the Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, is based there and his decisions on major issues are implemented by authorities in Kabul, the capital.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 during the chaotic departure of U.S. and NATO troops after 20 years. Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban gradually reimposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, as they did during their previous rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
US taxpayer money is flowing to the Taliban: Damning government report reveals American cash getting into terrorists’ hands through $2.9 billion UN plan (Daily Mail)
Daily Mail [3/20/2024 5:20 PM, Rob Cilly, 11975K, Neutral]
American taxpayers’ money is ending up in the hands of the Taliban, according to a U.S. government watchdog, which found that bundles of cash flown into Afghanistan by the United Nations are finding their way to the country’s central bank.

The latest report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that the U.N. has delivered more than $2.9 billion in cash since the extremist group took over in 2021.

The money, most of which comes from the U.S., is deposited in private banks for humanitarian organizations and their lifesaving work.

But some of the money, the report concludes, is routed through the central bank, which is under the control of the Taliban.

‘Most of the money that’s going in cash through the U.N. is ultimately coming from U.S. taxpayers,’ John Sopko, the inspector general, told ProPublica.

‘It’s going to a terrorist group. The Taliban are a bunch of terrorists.’

The report is the first in-depth look at how American money makes its way into Afghanistan on aid flights and what happens to it after that

The U.S. and other foreign donors scaled back their assistance after the collapse of the internationally-backed government in 2021 amid concerns that the Taliban would use the money for their own ends.

Even so the report demonstrates the difficulty of delivering any humanitarian aid to areas under the control of sanctioned governments or terrorists groups.

In its response to the report, the State Department said: ‘We take seriously our duty as stewards of American taxpayer money and hold our implementing partners to the highest standards to ensure that U.S. assistance funds are used wisely, effectively, and for their intended purposes.

‘Any interference with, or diversion of U.S. government assistance is unacceptable.’

The Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021 as American troops and their international partners departed.

The speed of the takeover surprised the Pentagon and intelligence community, leaving government agencies and the United Nations scrambling to ensure that the Taliban couldn’t profit from aid programs.

This year the U.N. estimates that 23.7 million are in need of help, the legacy of decades of war.

The U.S. remains the biggest donor, providing about $2.6 billion since the Taliban takeover, for the U.N., other international bodies, or charities.

During that time, reveals the report, the U.N. bought and transported $2.9 billion of cash to Afghanistan.

The problem is that donors ‘make contributions to pooled U.N. accounts, which prevents tying humanitarian assistance expenses—including for the purchase and transport of cash into Afghanistan—to a specific donor’s contribution,’ it continues.

In the absence of reliable electronic transfer systems, there is only one practical way to get the money into the country.

Pictures published by Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the Afghan central bank, show bales of 100 dollar bills arriving in the country via U.N. flights.

From there they are deposited in a private bank. Some of the money is then converted into local currency, afghanis, for local aid agencies.

‘Despite UN statements that it does not provide cash to the Taliban or the Taliban-controlled DAB, when the UN’s private Afghan bank cannot access sufficient afghanis to fulfill the UN’s requirements for local currency, the bank does so through DAB on the UN’s behalf and with the UN’s knowledge,’ concludes the report.

‘This means some of the U.S. dollars the UN purchases and transports into Afghanistan ends up in Taliban hands via the currency exchange process with DAB.’

Lawmakers said that was not good enough.

‘This is unacceptable,’ Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, told ProPublica. ‘The U.S. government must work harder to prevent the Taliban from benefiting from humanitarian aid.’
Pakistan
US diplomat Lu urges Pakistan to probe election, possibly re-run some votes (Reuters)
Reuters [3/20/2024 9:04 PM, Kanishka Singh, 5239K, Negative]
A U.S. diplomat urged Pakistan on Wednesday to investigate reported irregularities with last month’s general election and re-run the vote in affected constituencies if it found credible evidence of interference.

"The Election Commission of Pakistan, should it find that these irregularities are substantiated, should re-run elections (in constituencies) where there has been interference," Donald Lu, the State Department’s top official for South and Central Asia, told a congressional panel.

Pakistan’s election was marred by arrests and violence ahead of the early-February vote, an internet shutdown on election day and unusually delayed results leading to accusations that the vote was rigged. Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister on March 4, heading a coalition that received fewer votes than candidates backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"We have never used the term ‘free and fair’ in the characterization of this election," Lu testified
, opens new tab to a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee examining Pakistan’s democracy and its relations with the U.S.

"We have expressed serious concerns about the pre-election environment: violence that occurred - terrorism and political violence," he said. "We have expressed concern about the failure to register individual candidates and political parties, the mass arrests of those in opposition, the shutdown of internet, and censorship and pressure placed on journalists."

Britain and the European Union have also expressed concern about reported irregularities and urged a probe. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about violence and the suspension of mobile communications services.

Responding to questions, Lu denied allegations by Khan that he had interfered in Khan’s 2022 removal from power.

"These allegations, this conspiracy theory, is a lie. It is a complete falsehood," Lu said, as some members of the audience shouted protests at his denial. Lu said he had faced threats over the allegations.

Khan was ousted after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies meddling in politics. He alleged the U.S. and Pakistan’s military played a role in his ouster through a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

Multiple legal cases were brought against Khan after he was ousted, which disqualified him as a candidate in February’s election and sentenced him to long prison terms. He denies wrongdoing and remains in jail.
US Diplomat Denies Pushing Pakistani PM Khan Out of Office (VOA)
VOA [3/20/2024 5:49 PM, Sarah Zaman, 761K, Negative]
A top U.S. diplomat for South and Central Asia has for the first time publicly addressed allegations of conspiring to oust Pakistan’s then-Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022.

Testifying before the House Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu rejected the charge that he or his government played a role in fomenting Khan’s ouster.

"These allegations, this conspiracy theory, is a lie, it is a complete falsehood," Lu said responding to a question by committee Chairman Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from the U.S. state of South Carolina.

Cypher conspiracy

In April 2022, Khan was expelled from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

Khan has since alleged that a secret diplomatic cable, or cypher, sent by then-Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. Asad Majeed Khan, proves the United States conspired with Pakistan’s military and opposition leaders to remove him from office. The cable described a March 7, 2022, meeting with Lu in Washington.

Last August, an American news outlet, The Intercept, published what it said was the text of the cipher.

According to Ambassador Khan’s purported cable, the State Department officials at the meeting encouraged Khan to tell Pakistan’s powerful military that Islamabad could expect warmer relations if Khan were removed from office because of his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Pakistani prime minister was in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the day the invasion began and failed to condemn it.

"I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister. … Otherwise, I think it will be tough going ahead," the document quoted Lu as telling the Pakistani ambassador.

While the State Department has consistently rejected the allegation of conspiring in Khan’s ouster, the department’s spokesperson Mathew Miller conceded last year that the Biden administration was unhappy with Khan’s overtures to Russia.

"We expressed concern privately to the government of Pakistan as we expressed concerns publicly about the visit of then-Prime Minister Khan to Moscow on the very day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We made that concern quite clear," Miller said at a regular press conference while responding to a question about The Intercept’s reporting.

The Pakistani military and Khan’s opponents also have rejected his allegations.

The former Pakistani prime minister is currently serving a 10-year prison term for revealing the contents of the secret cable, a charge he rejects as politically motivated.

Lu called the reporting of the diplomatic cable in Pakistani media inaccurate.

"At no point does it [the cypher] accuse the United States’ government or me personally of taking steps against Imran Khan," he told the committee.

Lu pointed out that Pakistan’s now-former ambassador Khan had also testified to his government that there was no U.S. conspiracy to remove the prime minister from office.

In March 2022, Pakistan’s National Security Committee headed by Khan issued a demarche to the U.S ambassador over his country’s "interference" in Pakistan’s politics.

After Khan’s ouster, however, another NSC committee headed by then-Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concluded that the diplomatic cable did not indicate any U.S. conspiracy.

"We respect the sovereignty of Pakistan. We respect the principle that Pakistani people should be the only ones choosing their own leaders through a democratic process," Lu told Wednesday’s hearing.

The assistant secretary was disrupted several times as some in the audience called him a liar. The proceedings stopped on a few occasions, and Capital Police removed some in attendance for being disruptive.

Lu told the committee that he has received several death threats, and his family also has been threatened over "unfounded allegations" since Khan’s removal.

Election irregularities

Addressing reports of irregularities in Pakistan’s February 8 general elections, Lu said the Biden administration was persistently urging Pakistani authorities to investigate.

"We as a partner of Pakistan have called for that to be done transparently and fully and for those found responsible for irregularities to be held accountable."

Pakistan’s much-delayed elections faced several controversies. A state-backed crackdown on Khan’s party, pre-election violence including terror attacks, suspension of mobile internet services on Election Day, and a massive delay in announcing results led local and international observers to question the fairness of the vote.

The United States, U.K. and the EU have called on Pakistan to probe the discrepancies.

In a February 28 letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a bipartisan group of 31 members of the U.S. Congress urged the administration not to recognize Pakistan’s new government until "a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference" was conducted.

In a statement on April 13, though, Blinken congratulated Sharif on being elected as prime minister of Pakistan. U.S. ambassador to Islamabad Donald Blome has since met Pakistan’s new president, prime minister, as well as foreign and finance ministers.

Representative Greg Casar, a Democrat from Texas who was among the authors of the letter, questioned Lu on the administration recognizing Sharif’s government.

"We do not go around recognizing or withholding recognition. We decide whether we are going to engage with the government," said Lu.

Pakistan’s polls delivered a hung parliament. Khan’s party had to field candidates as independents after it was deprived of a unified elections symbol.

Although candidates backed by Khan’s PTI won the largest number of seats in the lower house of the parliament, Sharif’s party, which came in second, formed a coalition government with Khan’s opponents.
US warns Pakistan on ties over election irregularities (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [3/20/2024 5:40 PM, Staff, 11975K, Negative]
The United States said Wednesday that relations with Pakistan will suffer if it does not probe irregularities in last month’s election and rerun votes if needed.

Donald Lu, the top US diplomat for South Asia, told lawmakers that the United States had "serious concerns" about the conduct of the February 8 election and ongoing disruptions of media and social media, including a prolonged shutdown of X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The Election Commission of Pakistan, should it find that these irregularities are substantiated, should rerun elections where there’s been interference," Lu told a sometimes raucous hearing of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee.

"We have enjoyed 76 years of partnership with this country. It will be an impediment to our relationship if Pakistan does not have a democratic process that upholds its own constitution," Lu said.

Lu said the United States was not considering any major new military sales to Pakistan, a Cold War ally whose army and intelligence apparatus has long played a dominant role in politics and whose past links with Afghanistan’s Taliban soured ties with Washington.

Ahead of the election, former prime minister and cricket star Imran Khan was jailed and barred from running, with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a crackdown.

Khan’s candidates nonetheless won more seats than any party, but rival Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister in a shaky coalition between two dynastic parties.

Khan, who was removed as prime minister by a parliamentary vote two years ago, has frequently criticized the US military and has alleged that the United States engineered his removal.

Khan’s supporters have cited a leaked Pakistani diplomatic document that said that Lu had voiced alarm over the then prime minister’s relationship with Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.

Lu, who was repeatedly disrupted at the hearing by pro-Khan demonstrators, strongly denied that he ever tried to remove Khan.

"This conspiracy theory is a lie. It is a complete falsehood," he said.

"We respect the sovereignty of Pakistan. We respect the principle that Pakistan -- Pakistani people -- should be the only ones choosing their own leaders through a democratic process."

Lu, a career diplomat, said that he has received death threats and his family has been threatened over the allegations.
Audience members interrupt congressional hearing over Pakistan, Khan (The Hill)
The Hill [3/20/2024 3:19 PM, Lauren Sforza, 1592K, Negative]
Audience members at a House hearing on Wednesday interrupted the testimony of a U.S. State Department official who said it is a conspiracy theory that the U.S. ousted former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Donald Lu, the assistant secretary of State for South and Central Asia, was asked during a subcommittee hearing on Pakistan’s elections about the unfounded theories that the U.S. conspired to remove Khan from power. Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022.

“I want to be very clear on this point. These allegations, these — this conspiracy theory is a lie. It is a complete falsehood. I have reviewed the press reporting related to this what’s called the ‘cypher’ in Pakistan on the alleged leaked diplomatic cable from the embassy here. It is not accurate,” Lu said before members of the audience began to shout.

The Intercept reported last year that the U.S. State Department encouraged the Pakistani government in 2022 to remove Khan from power, citing a Pakistani government document.

The Intercept’s D.C. Bureau Chief, Ryan Grim, posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, that showed people in the audience for the hearing shouting in response to Lu’s comments.

Members of the audience began to chant and continued to accuse Lu of lying as they shouted him down.

A few minutes after the disruption, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) asked those who disrupted the hearing to be removed. A video posted by Grim shows officers escorting a few members of the audience out.

“I would like to point out that we in Congress have a job to do. This is an incredibly important topic. And I think out of respect for those people who are interested in this topic, the people who want to be disruptive, should be gaveled out and removed from this hearing,” McCormick said.

Khan had demanded in 2022 that Lu be removed from his position, citing unsubstantiated claims that he was involved in the U.S. conspiring to remove Khan from power. The State Department said at the time “there is absolutely no truth to these allegations.”

Lu addressed the disruption after a few people were removed and mentioned the theories again, revealing that he has received death threats over them.

“One of the things that I have faced in these last two years, is some of these allegations, unfounded allegations have resulted in regular death threats against me, threats against my family, involvement of local police,” he said.

“There is a line of acceptability. And I do think at times some of the free speech has verged into threats of violence, which is not acceptable in our society,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to Capitol Police for comment.
We Don’t Want Armed Conflict With Afghanistan, Pakistani Defense Minister Tells VOA (VOA)
VOA [3/20/2024 11:25 AM, Sarah Zaman, 761K, Negative]
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says his country does not want to engage in an armed conflict with neighbor Afghanistan after Islamabad conducted airstrikes this week on alleged terrorist hideouts across the border.

“Force is the last resort. We do not want to have an armed conflict with Afghanistan,” Asif said, speaking exclusively to VOA.

However, he warned that Islamabad could block the corridor it provides to landlocked Afghanistan for trade with India, saying Pakistan has the right to stop facilitating Kabul if it fails to curb anti-Pakistan terrorists operating on Afghan soil.

“If Afghanistan treats us like an enemy, then why should we give them a trade corridor?” he said.

On Monday, Pakistan confirmed carrying out “intelligence-based anti-terrorist” operations along the border inside Afghanistan targeting banned terrorist outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban and its affiliates.

The strikes came after insurgents killed seven troops, including two officers, in an attack on a regional military base in Pakistan’s border district of North Waziristan on Saturday.

Pakistan alleges that fighters linked to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and groups supporting it have a haven in Afghanistan.

Intelligence assessments by the United Nations affirm the TTP presence in Afghanistan and say some ruling Afghan Taliban members have joined its ranks.

“A message needed to be sent that this [cross-border terrorism] has grown too much,” Asif told VOA, adding that Pakistan wanted to convey to the de facto rulers in Kabul “that we cannot continue like this.”

Pakistan has experienced a surge in terror attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The Afghan Taliban initially brokered talks between Pakistan and TTP, but the latter unilaterally ended a cease-fire in November 2022. Since then, Pakistan has seen a dramatic rise in attacks, primarily against military and security personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan.

An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 TTP fighters are present in Afghanistan. They took refuge across the border after Pakistan conducted massive military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to flush out terrorists almost a decade ago.

The militant group also provided battlefield support to the Afghan Taliban in their 20-year war against a U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

Asif said that in a visit to Kabul in February 2023, he told Taliban ministers not to let the TTP’s past favors tie Kabul’s hands.

“If they [TTP] have done you a favor and you’re grateful to them, then control them. Don’t let them start a war with us while living in your country, and you become their ally,” he said.

The Taliban denies harboring anti-Pakistan terrorists. Reacting strongly to Monday’s strikes, which Kabul alleged killed eight civilians, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid warned of serious consequences.

“Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for the lack of control, incompetence and problems in its own territory. Such incidents can have very bad consequences, which will be out of Pakistan’s control,” Mujahid said in a statement.

The Taliban Defense Ministry later confirmed that its security forces targeted Pakistani positions with “heavy weapons."

Since Tuesday, a tense calm has prevailed along the 2,600-kilometer-long border (1,616 miles).

Experts say that while the Taliban do not have the military might to attack Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban could use unconventional means, including actively supporting anti-Pakistan militants, to respond if aggression from Islamabad grows.

“If they can harm us, then we’ll be forced to [retaliate],” Asif said, while expressing hope that Afghanistan would meet the “single demand” of reining in TTP, preventing the need for future military strikes from Pakistan.

The defense minister alleged that Kabul was letting TTP operate against Pakistan in a bid to prevent its members from joining the Islamic State terrorist outfit’s local chapter, known as IS-Khorasan Province. Known commonly as IS-KP, the group is a major internal security threat for Afghanistan.

Reacting to Monday’s strikes, the U.S. State Department urged Pakistan and Afghan Taliban to take steps to address differences.

“We urge the Taliban to ensure that terrorist attacks are not launched from Afghan soil, and we urge Pakistan to exercise restraint and ensure civilians are not harmed in their counterterrorism efforts,” deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told media during a regular press briefing Monday.

Pakistan’s biggest ally, China, has remained silent on the cross-border fighting. Asif dismissed the lack of public support from Beijing.

“It’s not necessary that the world must applaud us. What is in our interest is enough for us. We are protecting our interest, irrespective of whether someone applauds us or not,” Asif said.
Pakistan’s Campaign To Expel Millions Of Afghan Refugees Enters Second Phase (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [3/20/2024 11:25 AM, Staff, 223K, Negative]
Pakistan is set to force some 850,000 documented Afghan refugees back to their country next month if they don’t leave voluntarily.

According to reports in Pakistani media, the expulsions, the latest in an ongoing campaign of forced deportations, are scheduled to begin on April 15.

The News, an English-language daily, reported that Afghans holding an Afghan Citizen Card (ACC), an ID card issued by the Pakistani government, will be first asked to voluntarily leave the country.

“Later, they will be arrested and deported,” the report said.

Islamabad is calling this the second phase of its move to force more than 3 million documented and undocumented Afghans out of the country. Since October, it has expelled more than 500,000 Afghans who lacked proper documentation to stay in Pakistan.

“This new step will force Afghans to face danger and fear," lawyer Muniza Kakar told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

Kakar, a lawyer who has voluntarily represented Afghan refugees arrested in the Pakistani city of Karachi, says the campaign aims to expel more than 850,000 ACC-holding Afghans from the South Asian nation.

"When the expulsions begin, they will not discriminate between Afghans holding ACC cards and those holding valid visas,” she said.

Widespread abuses marred Pakistan’s earlier expulsions. Afghans complained of police and other authorities pressuring them for bribes. Many said they were robbed or were expelled despite holding documents that proved that their stay in Pakistan was legal.

“Urgent action is needed to protect the lives and rights of refugees,” Muniza said.

She shared a government document on X, formerly Twitter, that asks the provincial authorities in the southern province of Sindh, where Karachi is the capital, to complete their respective “mapping and repatriation plans” by March 25.

"Unfortunately, the Pakistani government’s campaign against Afghan refugees has upended our lives," said Suraya Sadat. "When outside, we always fear being arrested."

Samira Hamidi, a campaigner for global human rights watchdog Amnesty International, questioned why Islamabad is going after Afghan refugees given the situation in Afghanistan.

“Most of these refugees fled Afghanistan fearing persecution of the Taliban,” she wrote on X. "Such mapping and any further decision will expose them to great risk.”

The new plan for exclusions comes after Afghanistan’s Taliban government shelled a Pakistani military installation on March 20. The Taliban said that the attacks were a retaliation for Pakistani air strikes that killed women and children in two southeastern Afghan provinces.

Pakistan said the attacks targeted members of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, which Islamabad says is sheltering in Afghanistan. Islamabad blames the group for violent attacks on its security forces.
Militants Stage Attack Near China-Operated Pakistan Port (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/20/2024 9:16 AM, Ismail Dilawar, 5543K, Negative]
A terrorist group staged an attack near Pakistan’s Gwadar port complex in the country’s southwest Balochistan region that has ended after all the terrorists were killed.

Eight militants were killed and the attack has been thwarted, state-owned Pakistan Television reported citing a security official that it did not identify. There were reports of explosions and exchange of fire from the area close to the port that is operated by China Overseas Ports Holding Company Pakistan Pvt., Anwar Jameel, the police official, said from the port city.

Balochistan province has seen low-intensity insurgency for decades, with Baloch nationalists demanding greater political autonomy and a bigger share of the province’s resources. A local militant group, Baloch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

China has raised concerns about security in Pakistan after Chinese citizens have been killed in previous attacks. Pakistan is a flagship destination for President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative.

Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said he is keen to pursue the second phase of the so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor, although little progress was made in his first tenure as premier in 2022.
Pakistan port attack kills two soldiers, eight militants, say officials (Reuters)
Reuters [3/20/2024 2:50 PM, Saleem Ahmed, 5239K, Negative]
Pakistani security forces on Wednesday repulsed a gun and bomb attack by militants on a complex outside the strategic port of Gwadar, which killed all eight militants and two soldiers, officials said.

China has invested heavily in the mineral-rich southwestern province of Balochistan, including developing Gwadar, despite a decades-long separatist insurgency.

Armed with guns and bombs, the militants stormed the complex just outside the port that houses offices of government departments, intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces, said Saeed Ahmed Umrani, a government commissioner.

The militants detonated a number of bombs before launching a shooting attack and trying to storm the complex, he told Reuters.

In a post on social media platform X, Provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said eight militants were "neutralised by security forces." He added: "The message is loud & clear. Whosoever chooses to use violence will see no mercy from the state."

Two soldiers were also killed, said a Pakistan army statement, which said the attack was successfully thwarted by the troops deployed at the facility.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the assault in a statement, saying its militants attacked Pakistan intelligence agencies’ offices.

The BLA has previously been involved in attacks on Pakistani and Chinese interests in the region and elsewhere.

The deep-water port is key to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses roads and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Chinese targets have previously come under attack by several Baloch militant groups in Pakistan, who say they have been fighting for decades for a larger share in the regional wealth of mines and minerals denied by the central government in Islamabad.
A roadside bomb targeting security forces kills 2 soldiers and wounds 15 in Pakistan (AP)
AP [3/21/2024 5:17 AM, Ishtiaq Mahsud, 5239K, Negative]
A roadside bomb exploded near a security convoy in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing two soldiers and wounding 15 others, officials said.

The attack happened in Dera Ismail Khan, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said Inayat Ullah, head of the police bomb disposal unit in the region.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, which has claimed previous attacks on security forces. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, is a separate group that has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

On Monday, Pakistan targeted TTP hideouts in Afghanistan, drawing condemnations from Kabul.

Pakistan says Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are giving shelter to TTP fighters across the unruly border. The Afghan Taliban government insists it doesn’t allow anyone to use Afghan soil for violence in any country.
India
India’s Probe Finds Rogue Officials Involved in US Murder Plot (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/20/2024 9:13 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Anto Antony, 5543K, Negative]
India’s investigation into US claims of an attempted murder of a Sikh leader in New York found that rogue operatives not authorized by the government had been involved in the plot, according to senior officials familiar with the matter.

At least one person directly involved in the alleged attempted assassination is no longer working for India’s main spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, the officials said, asking not to be identified because the details of the investigation haven’t been made public.

The individual is still employed by the government and India hasn’t started any criminal action against him, the people said.

New Delhi has informed US authorities about the findings from the government-appointed panel set up to probe the allegations, the people said. The US is demanding a criminal prosecution of the individuals involved, a request reiterated by Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, during his visit to India in January, the people said.

US prosecutors in November accused an Indian government official of directing a plot to kill a Sikh activist, who holds US citizenship, in New York in June. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, later said he was the intended victim. India has labeled Pannun a terrorist.

US prosecutors alleged the Indian government agent — described as a “senior field officer” with responsibilities in “security management” and “intelligence” — had instructed Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who had ties to criminal networks, to organize the assassination of Pannun. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic and is awaiting extradition to the US to face charges there.

The US expects accountability from India’s government based on the outcome of the investigation, a State Department spokesperson said on background. The department continues to raise its concerns directly with the Indian government at senior levels, the person said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking further information. India hasn’t made public any details of the high-level committee set up to investigate the US allegations, including who is on it and the status of the probe.

Both India and the US have sought to downplay the significance of the allegations, and have continued to hold bilateral meetings on a number of issues since then. Senior Biden administration officials like Trade Representative Katherine Tai have visited India since the claims came to light at the end of November.

The Biden administration has sought to deepen ties with Modi’s government, viewing India as key to its strategy of countering China’s growing assertiveness in Asia.

Even so, the case has put the US in an awkward spot and adds to evidence that India may be targeting Sikh activists overseas. In September, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic storm after he publicly accused India of orchestrating the murder of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil — allegations New Delhi vigorously denied.

India has said Canada hasn’t provided it with evidence of the allegations and the matter isn’t being investigated by New Delhi. The dispute prompted India to force Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff in the country, impacting visa services for Indians seeking to travel to the North American country.
US says Arunachal Pradesh is part of India, amid Indo-China tensions (Reuters)
Reuters [3/20/2024 2:18 PM, Kanishka Singh and Daphne Psaledakis, 5239K, Neutral]
The U.S. government recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as part of India and "strongly opposes" any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims in the northeastern Indian state that shares a border with China, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Nuclear-armed neighbors China and India share a 3,000-km (1,860 mile) frontier, much of it poorly demarcated.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh, opens new tab as part of southern Tibet. New Delhi rejects the claim, saying Arunachal Pradesh has always been a part of India. India’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that China was making "absurd claims" over Arunachal Pradesh, adding that it will always be an "integral and inalienable part of India."

KEY QUOTES

"The United States recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursion or encroachments, military or civilian across the Line of Actual Control," a State Department spokesperson said in a press briefing.

CONTEXT

At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed, opens new tab in 2020 in clashes along their border in the western Himalayas.

The militaries of both countries have fortified positions and deployed extra troops and equipment along the border since those clashes. Both sides fought a border war in 1962.

In recent years, analysts have noted that the U.S. and India have advanced bilateral ties to counter the rising influence of China in the Asian and Indo-Pacific regions.

The U.S. and China have had tense relations of their own for years over issues like trade tariffs, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, human rights, Taiwan and China’s national security law in Hong Kong, among others.
U.S. wades into India-China spat, says border state belongs to New Delhi (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [3/21/2024 3:45 AM, Kiran Sharma, 293K, Neutral]
The U.S. has stepped into a flaring territorial spat between India and China, coming down firmly on New Delhi’s side.

A State Department official said that the U.S. "recognizes" the state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of India and rejects attempts by others to assert control over the territory. China claims ownership of the area, which it calls Zangnan, or South Tibet.

"We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments, military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control," Vedant Patel, the U.S. State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, told reporters in Washington late on Wednesday, when asked about China’s stance.

Tensions rose this month after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh on March 9, as he prepares to seek a third term in a general election beginning April 19 and running until early June. Modi inaugurated a $100 million tunnel project that is expected to provide "all-weather" connectivity to the strategic Tawang region of the remote state, helping India shore up defense along the 3,500-kilometer de facto border with China known as the Line of Actual Control, or LAC.

China, which regularly takes exception when Indian leaders visit the region, issued a statement "strongly deploring and firmly opposing" Modi’s trip. India then rejected Beijing’s reaction, stressing that Arunachal Pradesh "was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India."

Days after the initial tit-for-tat remarks, Chinese Senior Col. Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, told reporters that "the area of Zangnan is China’s inherent territory," according to Chinese official media. "China never recognizes the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ illegally set up by India and firmly opposes it."

India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday fired back again, saying that New Delhi had taken note of Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman’s comments "advancing absurd claims" over the territory. "Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity."

India and China have a long-running boundary dispute and the two Asian giants fought a war over it in 1962. They have also been locked in a border standoff in the eastern Ladakh region since 2020, when a deadly hand-to-hand clash broke out between their troops.
China firmly opposes US remarks on Arunachal Pradesh, foreign ministry says (Reuters)
Reuters [3/21/2024 5:01 AM, Laurie Chen, 5239K, Negative]
China strongly opposes the United States saying Arunachal Pradesh is part of India, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday, as tensions simmer over a contested border shared by both countries.

"Delimitation of China-India boundary has never been completed," said Lin Jian at a regular press briefing when addressing a query on the ongoing tensions around the undemarcated border.

"The China-India border issue is a matter for China and India, it has nothing to do with the U.S.," Lin said. "Everyone knows that the U.S. has always used indiscriminate means to provoke and use other countries’ disputes to serve its own selfish geopolitical interests."

Earlier this week, India’s foreign ministry said the northeastern state which shares a border with China will always be an "integral and inalienable part of India".

The U.S. government said it recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as part of India and "strongly opposes" any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims there, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.

India and China share a 3,800-km frontier, much of it poorly demarcated. At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in clashes in the area in mid-2020.

Both militaries have fortified positions and deployed troops and equipment there in the last few years, and over the past year both countries have continued to trade barbs over territorial claims despite agreeing to hold talks.
India’s Modi Speaks to Putin, Zelenskiy Ahead of Peace Summit (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/20/2024 10:08 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 5543K, Positive]
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Vladimir Putin over the phone on Wednesday, weeks ahead of a global peace summit in Switzerland to resolve war in Ukraine, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The South Asian nation will “continue to do everything with its means to support a peaceful solution,” Modi told Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy and reiterated India’s position of resolving Russia’s war in the country through dialog and diplomacy, according to a statement from his office.

The phone-call between the two leaders will also form the background to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visit to India this month. It would be the first high level visit by an Ukraine official to India since Russia’s invasion of the country two years ago.

Switzerland is working toward hosting a global peace summit by the summer, seeking a broad alliance of countries for the peace initiative, including from the so-called Global South. Kuleba will be looking to shore up support for this initiative during his visit, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not be named since the discussions are private.

Modi also separately spoke to Russian President Putin discussing future initiatives to “strengthen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” according to a statement. India, with deep economic and political ties with Russia, has consistently pushed for dialog and diplomacy to end the conflict.
India to prosecute 35 pirates who hijacked ship off Somalia, navy official says (Reuters)
Reuters [3/20/2024 6:23 AM, Krishn Kaushik, 5239K, Negative]
India will bring in and prosecute 35 Somali pirates its navy captured on a hijacked ship off Somalia, a navy official said, in a departure from its recent practice of rescuing vessels and crew but leaving the disarmed pirates at sea.

The captured pirates are due to arrive in India on Saturday and will be handed over to the law enforcement agencies, the official said. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The exact charges against the pirates were not immediately clear, he added.

Indian navy commandos managed to release the Malta-flagged commercial ship MV Ruen on Saturday, which had been hijacked 450 nautical miles east of Socotra in the northern Arabian Sea by Somali pirates on Dec 14.

It marked the first hijacking of a merchant ship by Somali pirates since 2017. At the peak of their attacks in 2011, Somali pirates cost the global economy an estimated $7 billion, including hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.

During the piracy peak, India’s navy used to prosecute and jail in India pirates involved in major attacks, but in recent months the navy has taken to leaving the pirates at sea. The Ruen pirates will be the first India prosecutes in years, the official added.

India has deployed at least a dozen warships in the Gulf of Aden and the northern Arabian Sea since December, which enables it to assist vessels east of the Red Sea, where the navies of several countries, including the United States, are trying to secure shipping routes under attack from Yemen’s Houthi militants.

The Indian official said that since the Ruen’s hijacking, the navy has kept the region under "continuous surveillance activities" using its aerial platforms and information gathered from other vessels it has been investigating.

On March 14 Ruen was spotted off the Somali coast, British maritime security firm Ambrey said.

The navy official said that the pirates had converted Ruen into a mother-ship, using boats to launch attacks on other vessels. It was intercepted on March 15, the navy said in a statement on Saturday.

Another merchant vessel, MV Abdullah was hijacked off Somalia last week, and Somali forces were planning to attack with foreign navies.
India ‘screwed up’: How the U.S. lobbied New Delhi to reverse laptop rules (Reuters)
Reuters [3/21/2024 3:01 AM, Aditya Kalra, David Lawder, and Shivangi Acharya, 5.2M, Neutral]
India reversed a laptop licensing policy after behind-the-scenes lobbying by U.S. officials, who however remain concerned about New Delhi’s compliance with WTO obligations and new rules it may issue, according to U.S. trade officials and government emails seen by Reuters.

In August, India imposed rules requiring firms like Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Dell (DELL.N), opens new tab and HP (HPQ.N), opens new tab to obtain licences for all shipments of imported laptops, tablets, personal computers and servers, raising fears that the process could slow down sales. But New Delhi rolled back the policy within weeks, saying it will only monitor the imports and decide on next steps a year later.

The U.S. government emails - obtained under a U.S. open records request - underline the level of alarm the Indian curbs caused in Washington, and how the U.S. scored a rare lobbying win by persuading Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s usually inflexible government to reverse policy.

U.S. officials have often been concerned about India’s sudden policy changes which they say create an uncertain business environment. India maintains it announces policies in the interest of all stakeholders and encourages foreign investments, even though it often promotes local players over foreign ones.

Some of the language in the documents was blunt, despite the bonhomie often displayed by both sides in public. U.S. officials were upset India’s changes to laptop imports came "out of the blue", without notice or consultation, and were "incredibly problematic" for the business climate and $500 million worth of annual U.S. exports, the documents and emails showed.

Research firm Counterpoint estimates India’s laptop and personal computer market to be worth $8 billion annually.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Aug. 26, soon after the policy was announced. Although the USTR’s public readout said Tai "raised concerns" about the policy and "noted" that stakeholders needed to be consulted, she privately told Goyal during the meeting that the U.S. wanted India to "rescind the requirement", a USTR briefing paper showed.

India’s "surprise" announcement "prompts U.S. and other firms to think twice about doing business in India," stated the "talking points" of her briefing paper.

Around the same time, a U.S. diplomat for trade in New Delhi, Travis Coberly, told his USTR colleagues that Indian officials had conceded the sudden rollout of the laptop licensing policy was a mistake.

India’s IT ministry "understands they (India) screwed up. They admitted as much. American companies here have been hammering them about this," he wrote.

Coberly did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi declined to comment on "private diplomatic communications", redirecting queries to the Indian government.

India’s IT ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

TRACKING INDIA’S POLICY

In response to Reuters queries, Brendan Lynch, acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, said the USTR was satisfied that the current monitoring system so far had a minimal impact on trade but it was still closely tracking India’s scrutiny of imported devices to make sure it was implemented in line with WTO obligations and was "not having a real negative impact on the trade relationship."

Goyal’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement to Reuters that Tai "did raise some concerns" during their August meeting and New Delhi had "conveyed India’s security concerns" at the time. It did not elaborate on why it reversed its decision or on the U.S. emails.

Three Indian officials, including two from the Commerce Ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity since they were not authorised to comment, said New Delhi did not reverse its policy under any U.S. pressure and took the call as it realized local manufacturing of laptops and tablets wasn’t significant at this stage.

While Tai was on her New Delhi visit, a U.S. embassy press officer in New Delhi wrote an email to colleagues flagging caution when U.S officials speak to the press - another sign of how sensitive New Delhi can be.

If asked about the laptops move, the U.S. government’s line is: "The (Indian) government has the right, and the responsibility, to design a trade policy that is responsive to the needs of the people of India", the email said.

The U.S. State Department also expressed concerns about the policy.

"U.S. firms perceived the move as highly protectionist and out of sync with the progress India has made in improving the investment environment," State Department official Timothy Wiley wrote in an email to USTR colleagues containing "talking points".

"Some U.S. companies in India told us that they have been pushing their headquarters for greater manufacturing in India but were embarrassed by this unexpected measure."

The State Department declined to comment.

Modi has taken several decisions that have hit American firms - like forcing Mastercard and Visa to store data locally and forcing Amazon (AMZN.O)

, opens new tab to comply with stringent rules for e-commerce which once disrupted its operations. But Indian authorities did not back off on such policies despite push back.
The emails reviewed by Reuters show HP told the USTR the laptop licensing "policy (and its goal)" is "very problematic".

"Despite our very wide Made in India portfolio, this would have significant impact on HP sales in India," its head of global policy and strategy, Amy Burke, wrote in an email.
HP did not respond to Reuters queries.
India’s Main Opposition Congress Says It’s Being ‘Crippled’ by Modi’s Party Before Polls (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/21/2024 3:08 AM, Swati Gupta, 5.5M, Neutral]
India’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, accused the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to “cripple” the party financially, weeks before the country heads to the polls.

Sonia Gandhi, the party’s former president, made a rare appearance at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, saying the party was under a “determined assault” from the government.

Last month, the Congress party said its bank accounts were frozen because of investigations by the country’s tax agency into irregularities in filing past returns. The party said it’s largely unable to access the funds in its accounts.

Gandhi stressed that the party, despite these hurdles, intended to maintain the “effectiveness” of its ongoing campaign to challenge Modi, who is vying for a third consecutive term in office.

The Congress is on the backfoot ahead of the elections, with most polls pointing to Modi and his Bhartiya Janata Party returning to power.

The BJP has previously denied targeting the Congress and said the tax department is pursuing its own investigation.

Rahul Gandhi, appearing alongside his mother Sonia at the briefing, said the party was unable to conduct normal campaign activity like paying its workers, publishing pamphlets, and buying campaign advertising.

“The idea that India is a democracy is a lie,” Rahul Gandhi said. The government’s actions are “being orchestrated to cripple us before the elections.”

“This is a criminal action against the Congress and the democracy of the country and the prime minister is responsible for it,” he added.
NSB
Used, abused and deported: migrant workers land back in Bangladesh after Saudi dreams turn sour (The Guardian)
The Guardian [3/21/2024 4:00 AM, Pete Pattisson, 12.5M, Negative]
Among the joyful family reunions at the arrivals gate at Dhaka’s international airport, one group of travellers stands out. These men appear gaunt and dazed, most of them carrying nothing but a thin blanket they picked up on the plane. They wear tracksuits and blue rubber sandals or shoes without laces. Some walk barefoot.

All have just been deported from Saudi Arabia, and each day they arrive by the planeload. Nearly 70,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers were deported from the Gulf kingdom in 2022, mostly for not having a valid residence permit, known as an iqama.

They return from one of the wealthiest countries in the world, hungry, traumatised and without even the money to buy a bus ticket home.

The only thing the men do bring back are horrific stories of abuse, false contracts and wage theft that tumble angrily out of them. One man, Amir Hossein, says he paid recruitment agents 400,000 taka (£2,860) to get to Saudi Arabia, but has been sent home after just over a year, during which he worked for nine months without payment.

Another man says: “I was told I would work in a restaurant in a five-star hotel but ended up in a tea stall.” A third says he worked for three months but was only paid one month’s salary. “I’ve lost all my money,” he says.

Saudi Arabia will rely on tens of thousands of low-wage labourers such as these to deliver its dream of hosting the 2034 World Cup. The pipeline of workers from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia is expected to increase dramatically if the country is anointed host by Fifa, as expected this year.

The workers’ allegations of abuse at the hands of their Saudi employers should be a red flag to Fifa, which was heavily criticised for the severe abuse endured by many migrant workers in the lead‑up to the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Human rights groups are warning that if Saudi Arabia does not make drastic efforts to stop the abuse of migrant workers, which is already widespread in the Gulf kingdom, another World Cup tournament could be tainted with suffering and exploitation.

Bangladeshi labourers are not usually to blame for failing to have the correct residency papers. Many arriving back in Bangladesh claim their employer or sponsor failed to obtain or renew their iqama document, which they need to legally live and work, after they arrived in Saudi Arabia.

“My boss cancelled my iqama without telling me,” says Mohammed Rohmotullah, who had worked in Saudi Arabia for three and a half years. “When the police caught me, they called him and he told them to send me back. He owed me six months’ wages.”

Others say their iqama was still valid but they were deported regardless. “I asked them: why are you arresting me?” says a deportee named Shahabuddin. “They told me to shut up.”

Amnesty International says the situation for migrant workers in Saudi Arabia is bleak, and that they “[continue] to be abused and exploited under the sponsorship system … thousands arbitrarily detained in inhumane conditions, tortured and otherwise ill-treated, and involuntarily returned to their home”.

Despite the Gulf kingdom announcing it had abolished the kafala system – under which workers are tied to their employer, Ali Mohamed, Arabic editor of migrant-rights.org says “employers wield the power to revoke or not renew work permits and can file ‘absconding’ charges, rendering workers irregular and liable to deportation”.

Prioritising the arrest and deportation of migrants over holding employers to account “reinforces the perception that the Saudi authorities regard migrants merely as exploitable and disposable labour”, he says.

The workers interviewed by the Guardian say they were rounded up on the streets or picked up while eating breakfast and taken directly to a detention centre, where they were typically held for one to two weeks before being sent straight home.

Conditions in detention centres vary, but some men allege they were kept in huge overcrowded cells where 250 to 300 men slept two to a single bed or on the floor. There were no showers, little food and no chance to appeal, they claim. “The conditions were miserable. I’ve never seen such a place in my life,” says Rohmotullah, who was locked up for 16 days.

The consequences of being deported are particularly dire for Bangladeshis. Almost all migrant workers must pay extortionate fees to recruitment agents for their jobs in the Gulf, but Bangladeshis are charged by far the highest rates. Many are forced home before they can pay off the cost of their recruitment.

One of the last to emerge at Dhaka airport is 65‑year‑old Sabir Ahmed, who spent 26 years in Saudi Arabia. He carries a small rucksack but there is nothing in it. He does not even have the money for the bus home. “My family will have to pay the bus fare when I reach there,” he says, before heading off, his empty bag over his shoulder. It is all he has to show for almost three decades in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said the country “only repatriates those proven to have violated the work and residency regulations in the kingdom after taking all legal measures to verify their violations and coordinating with the embassies of their countries”.

Detention centres meet the highest international standards and ensure workers’ rights to healthcare, nutrition and a clean and safe environment, as well as the right to appeal, the statement said.

Staff from workers’ embassies have the right to visit detention centres, and the Saudi human rights commission, “makes routine visits … to assess the integrity of all procedures and ensure that the appropriate laws and regulations related to human rights are adhered to”, the statement added.

Fifa and the Bangladesh government did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Bhutan and India: Decoding the Strategic Saga (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [3/20/2024 11:30 AM, Rishi Gupta, 201K, Neutral]
Bhutan’s newly elected Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was on a five-day visit to India from March 14 to 18. It was his first foreign visit after assuming office in February 2024, following the parliamentary elections in January 2024.

Tobgay’s visit to India came against the backdrop of ongoing border talks between Bhutan and China, which has raised concerns among strategic hawks who warn that a Bhutan-China deal would represent India’s crucial loss in the Himalayas. Located in the foothills of the strategic Himalayas, Bhutan holds critical prominence in India’s border policy toward China.

Bhutan and China have held 25 rounds of border talks since 2016 and more than ten rounds of Expert Group Meetings to discuss a “Three-Step Roadmap” aimed at delimiting the border, undertaking surveys, and concluding final demarcation. As the two countries inch toward finding a final resolution to the border, India certainly has worries, as any agreement will directly affect India’s national security.

The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the “Chicken’s Neck,” is a narrow strip of land in India that connects the northeastern states to the rest of the country. Since the corridor is close to disputed areas between Bhutan and China, any resolution will force India to revisit its entire Himalayan security structure.

On the sidelines of these border talks, China is also aiming ti establish diplomatic ties with Bhutan, which Bhutan has been able to resist in the last seven decades. What Bhutan faces is a classical dilemma of a “small state.”

Thus far, closer relations with India have helped Bhutan’s economy and development, while Thimphu has stayed away from China due to Beijing’s expansionist efforts to deepen its foothold in the Himalayas. Yet today, amid economic woes, the aspiring youth in Bhutan are seeking to diversify avenues for education and employment in the neighborhood. This could prove more worrying to India in the long term.

While the border is a sovereign subject for Bhutan, it has traditionally discussed its foreign and security developments with India. With Bhutan and China moving bilaterally on the border issue, Indian antennas have gone up since 2016.

Against this backdrop, Tobgay’s visit can be seen as a continuation of traditional Bhutan-India ties. In the joint statement, the two countries reflected upon their robust partnership across various sectors, including hydropower, energy, space technology, connectivity, education, and sports infrastructure. Interestingly, the cooperation extends to emerging areas such as digital technology, start-ups, and STEM fields, reflecting a forward-looking approach to collaboration. Still, hydropower remains the central pillar of Bhutan-India bilateral cooperation.

Expectedly, the joint communique did not discuss security and foreign policy concerns emanating from the Bhutan-China border talks. Still, India’s proactive approach is visible from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s prompt acceptance of Tobgay’s invitation to visit Bhutan – and that too within the span of a single week. The Indian prime minister will visit Bhutan from March 21-22, undertaking a reciprocal visit just days after Bhutan’s prime minister left India. This is an unprecedented move.

It’s all the more notable given the crucial political moment. The Election Commission of India has announced that the general elections in India will be held in April and May. With the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking re-election for the third consecutive time and Modi as the face of BJP’s political campaign, the prime minister’s visit to Bhutan during this period signals the importance of Bhutan in India’s larger strategy in the Himalayas.

It is worth recalling that Modi chose Bhutan for his first foreign visit after being elected as prime minister in 2014. His visit to Thimphu echoed India’s commitment to the “Neighborhood Policy,” which is the bedrock of the ruling BJP’s foreign policy agenda in the neighborhood. With two months left in his second term as the prime minister, Modi’s crucial last-minute stopover in Bhutan will certainly send strong signals to Beijing.

Strategic considerations are a critical component of Modi’s Bhutan visit this week, but beyond it, Delhi seems to be more comfortable with Tobgay’s approach to China, which is basically about Thimphu maintaining the status quo with Beijing. Tobgay is not rushing to redefine relations, unlike the attempts made by the previous Prime Minister Lotay Tshering who was more open to talks with China.

Looking ahead, India’s engagement with Bhutan underscores Delhi’s pressing strategic considerations in the Himalayas at a time when the two regional nuclear powers are engaged in a border conflict. India has set its priorities right and wants to lose no momentum, even if it means having Modi travel abroad when general elections are a month away.
Sri Lanka to Start Talks to Restructure Bonds Next Week (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/20/2024 10:52 PM, Kerim Karakaya and Ezra Fieser, 5239K, Neutral]
Global investors and Sri Lanka officials expect to start negotiations aimed at restructuring $12 billion in defaulted global bonds next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The nation’s dollar bonds rose.

A group of bondholders, known as a steering committee, will begin talks as they weigh a proposal from the government to rework the overseas debt that has been in default since 2022, the people said, declining to be named because negotiations are private. The goal is to reach a deal quickly, the people said, particularly as Sri Lanka is scheduled to hold presidential elections later this year.

The nation’s central bank governor and treasury secretary are due to travel to Europe for discussions with bondholders, President Ranil Wickremesinghe was cited as saying in a Sinhala-language statement from his media unit March 20.

“After we get a declaration that Sri Lanka is free from bankruptcy, we also expect to have joint discussions with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in April,” Wickremesinghe said, according to the statement. ‘“I expect to complete all these matters by June-July.”

Rothschild & Co., which advises the bondholders, and Lazard Inc., an adviser to the government, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The prospect for a deal in Sri Lanka comes as creditor talks in two other stalled restructurings — Ghana and Zambia — are also gaining traction. Breakthroughs in those cases would mark a victory for the International Monetary Fund and G-20 leaders ahead of next month’s meetings of world leaders in Washington, D.C., where the topic of debt burdens for poor countries is on the agenda.

Last month, Sri Lanka sent a proposal to holders of dollar bonds as part of its plan to overhaul $27 billion of foreign debt, including bonds and loans. The restructuring is critical to ensure financing from the IMF bailout keeps flowing. President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in February that authorities expect to complete the debt revamp within the first half of the year.

The government has already struck deals with official creditors, including China, India and the Paris Club as well as with holders of its local debt.
IMF, Sri Lanka reach staff-level agreement on second review of bailout package (Reuters)
Reuters [3/21/2024 5:53 AM, Uditha Jayasinghe, 5.2M, Neutral]
The International Monetary Fund and Sri Lanka have reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies to conclude the second review of the four-year bailout programme, the global lender said on Thursday.

The review, once approved by the IMF’s board, will release $337 million in funding for the island nation.

The global lender said the South Asian country’s economy was gradually recovering from its worst financial crisis in seven decades that was triggered by a plunge in foreign exchange reserves in 2022.
"Macroeconomic policy reforms are starting to bear fruit," IMF said in the statement.

"Sustaining the reform momentum and addressing governance weaknesses and corruption vulnerabilities are critical to put the economy on a path towards lasting recovery and stable and inclusive growth."

Completion of the review requires confirming multilateral partners’ financing contributions and assessing adequate progress with debt restructuring among other requisites, the statement added.
Central Asia
Kazakh Court Extends Detention Of Karakalpak Activist Wanted In Uzbekistan (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [3/20/2024 12:35 PM, Staff, 223K, Negative]
A court in Almaty on March 20 extended until mid-February 2025 the detention of Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratov, who is wanted in Uzbekistan on charges that human rights activists say are groundless.

The court in Kazakhstan’s largest city had previously ruled that Muratov, who was arrested last month at Tashkent’s request on a charge of undermining constitutional order and other charges, must stay in detention for at least 40 days while a court decision on his possible extradition to Uzbekistan is pending. No further explanation was given.

Muratov is an Uzbek citizen who has legally resided in Almaty for 10 years. Kazakh officials in February granted his request for asylum seeker status, a move that defendants sometimes use to stave off possible extradition.

Muratov, who also goes by Muratbai, is known for his activities defending the rights of Karakalpaks living in Kazakhstan. He has also raised awareness among international audiences about the situation in his native Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan within Uzbekistan.

A lawyer for the Almaty-based Kazakh Bureau for Human Rights, Denis Dzhivaga, told RFE/RL earlier that his organization would provide Muratov with legal assistance.

According to Dzhivaga, Muratov’s detention was similar to the arrests of other Karakalpak activists that took place in Kazakhstan following mass rallies in Karakalpakstan’s capital, Nukus, in July 2022. Thousands of people protested Tashkent’s plans to change the constitution in a way that would have undermined the republic’s right to self-determination.

The protests were violently dispersed. Uzbek authorities said at the time that 21 people died during the protests, but the Austria-based Freedom for Eurasia human rights group said at least 70 people were killed during the unrest.

In January last year, an Uzbek court sentenced 22 Karakalpak activists to prison terms on charges that included undermining the constitutional order for taking part in the protests.

In March 2023, another 39 Karakalpak activists accused of taking part in the protests in Nukus were convicted, with 28 of them sentenced to prison terms of between five years and 11 years. Eleven defendants were handed parole-like sentences.

The violence forced Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev to make a rare about-face and scrap the proposal to change the constitution.

Kazakh and international human rights organizations have called on Kazakhstan’s authorities to release Muratov, saying that he may face arbitrary detention and an unfair trial if he is extradited to Uzbekistan.

Karakalpaks are a Central Asian Turkic-speaking people. Their region used to be an autonomous area within Kazakhstan before becoming autonomous within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1930 and then part of Uzbekistan in 1936.
Kazakh Officials Confirm Conviction Of Nazarbaev’s Nephew (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [3/20/2024 7:18 AM, Staff, 223K, Negative]
Kazakh officials have confirmed the conviction of a nephew of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who lost his influence on the country’s political scene after deadly, unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022.

The Astana City Court told RFE/RL on March 20 that Samat Abish was convicted of abuse of power and handed a suspended sentence of eight years in late February. It added that the former president’s nephew was also barred from serving in public offices for 10 years.

The court’s press service refused to give any further details, saying the trial materials were classified.

Kazakhstan’s DAT newspaper was the first to report the conviction, quoting sources as saying Abish was found guilty and sentenced, while also being stripped of his rank of general and various state awards.

Interior Minister Erzhan Sadenov told journalists in Astana on March 20 that the 45-year-old Abish was currently under parole-like probation.

"He is barred from leaving the country and must stay at his registered residence only," Sadenov said, refusing to provide any other details.

Abish was dismissed as first deputy chief of the National Security Committee (KNB) following the January 2022 protests, which initially began in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen over a sudden fuel price hike. The protests quickly spread across the country as Kazakhs vented their anger over corruption, political stagnation, and widespread injustice.

Much of the protesters’ focus was directed at Nazarbaev, who ruled Kazakhstan from 1989 until March 2019, when he handed over power to his then-ally, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev. However, Nazarbaev was widely believed to remain in control behind the scenes.

The protests were violently dispersed by police and military personnel, including troops from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization that Toqaev invited into the country, claiming that "20,000 extremists who were trained in terrorist camps abroad" attacked Almaty, the Central Asian country’s largest city.

The authorities have provided no evidence to back Toqaev’s claim about foreign terrorists.

Following the unrest that claimed at least 238 lives, including those of 19 law enforcement officers, Abish’s direct boss, then the KNB chief and one of Nazarbaev’s closest allies, Karim Masimov, and his three other deputies were arrested over their roles in the deadly events.

Masimov was later sentenced to 18 years in prison, while his deputies, Anuar Sadyqulov and Daulet Erghozhin, were sentenced to 16 years and 15 years. A court in Astana found all three men guilty of high treason, attempting to seize power by force, and abuse of office and power.

Another former deputy of Masimov, Marat Osipov, was sentenced to three years in prison on a charge of abuse of office at the same trial.

Abish is Nazarbaev’s second nephew to be convicted following the deadly unrest.

Abish’s older brother, Qairat Satybaldy, was arrested in March 2022 and later sentenced to six years in prison on corruption charges.
Kazakhstan: Light punishment for ex-president’s nephew sparks anger (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [3/20/2024 4:14 PM, Almaz Kumenov, 57.6K, Negative]
The nephew of Kazakhstan’s former president, Samat Abish, a former deputy head of the security services, has received an eight-year suspended sentence for his role in instigating bloody unrest in January 2022 that left hundreds dead, court officials said on March 20.

The levity of the punishment is causing anger and bewilderment.

Little is known about how the trial was conducted, or even what specifically Samat Abish was accused of doing, since it was held behind closed doors.

The Prosecutor General’s office revealed two months ago that it had completed its investigation into Abish, who was charged with abuse of office, and that the matter was being taken up by the courts. But it added that proceedings would be held behind closed doors as they would involve state secrets.

The lack of information divulged by investigators have only fueled speculation. A widely circulated theory is that Abish was among a group of frustrated officials within the orbit of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev who had grown uncomfortable with the mounting influence of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Nazarbayev stepped down in 2019 and handpicked Tokayev as his successor. While he and his family retained a powerful influence over the political and business scene after that, some observers believe Tokayev had increasingly been asserting himself.

The bloody turmoil that unfolded in January 2022 played out against that backdrop. Small protests in the west of the country over a spike in fuel price rises rapidly evolved into a broader expression of rage against the system. Events reached their culmination with violent clashes, mostly in Almaty, which ultimately left 238 people dead.

Once the dust had settled, a consensus emerged that what had started as organic demonstrations had been hijacked by nebulous forces intent on sowing instability for its own sake.

The authorities scrambled desperately to find somebody to blame.

Fingers were quickly turned toward the then-chief of the National Security Committee, or KNB, Karim Masimov, a long-time loyalist of Nazarbayev. He was fired and then soon after arrested. In April 2023, the Specialized Inter-district Criminal Court in Astana sentenced Masimov to 18 years in prison on charges of high treason over what his accusers say was his role in orchestrating the unrest.

Massimov’s former deputies in the KNB – Anvar Sadykulov, Daulet Yergozhin and Marat Osipov – were all likewise found guilty of various charges, ranging from treason to abuse of office, and sentenced to 16, 15 and three years in prison, respectively.

That trial too was held under a heavy cloak of secrecy.

But Abish, another one-time deputy head of the KNB, somehow evaded this robust treatment — a fact that has generally been attributed to his closeness to the former president. He was initially treated as a witness and was only charged in September.

Prosecutors had asked judges presiding over Abish’s trial in the Specialized Inter-district Criminal Court for eight years in prison. In the end, the court considered “mitigating circumstances” and Abish’s “full admission of guilt and sincere repentance” in opting for a suspended sentence.

It is unknown what exactly Abish admitted to, however, since his demonstration of repentance too has been kept secret. It is not even certain that Abish is even currently on Kazakh soil, since he has not been viewed physically by independent witnesses, although officials insist he has not been allowed to leave the country.

The fact of the sentence itself only initially came to light by means of a leak. Lawmaker Yermurat Bapi divulged the information to reporters while speaking to reporters on March 19 to express unhappiness over the fact that Abish had received a suspended sentence.

“If they have granted protection to such a person, the second-ranking figure in the National Security Committee, a person who dealt with all operational matters and who was linked to [the January unrest], then the influence of ‘Old Kazakhstan’ still exists in this country,” Bapi said.

The term Old Kazakhstan is commonly deployed as a sardonic reference to the Nazarbayev era, as contrasted with the New Kazakhstan agenda being promulgated by Tokayev.

Rumors about Abish’s role in the 2022 events were given some more substance in February, when an open letter published in Novaya Gazeta Europe authored by a former KNB official Ruslan Iskakov, who is also accused of abuse of power, directly fingered Abish. Iskakov claimed in the letter that Abish was being fully briefed while clashes were occurring and that he was coordinating events. In his own defense, Iskakov said he was only carrying out Abish’s orders.

Andrei Chebotarev, a political analyst, suggested on his Telegram channel that the lenient sentence reserved for Abish was the result of a compromise between the current leadership and the Nazarbayev camp.

The former ruling family may have made pledges to refrain from getting involved in the country’s political scene and transferred assets to the state in return for concessions, Chebotarev wrote.

Furthermore, Abish may have been induced to divulge compromising information regarding his relatives that the authorities could use against them in future if needed, Chebotarev said.
Kyrgyzstan: Reshuffle at news outlet offers fresh hints of media scene decline (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [3/20/2024 4:14 PM, Ayzirek Imanaliyeva, 57.6K, Negative]
Major changes are afoot at one of Kyrgyzstan’s most storied media outlets.

Leadership at the 24.kg news agency insist that the rearrangements are pure business, although they come just weeks after almost a dozen editorial staff were detained for questioning by the security services.

A note indicating that 24.kg has formally changed publisher appeared on the Justice Ministry website on March 19. Founder Asel Otorbayeva, who has been at the outlet since its creation 18 years ago, has been replaced by Almasbek Turdumamunov.

Turdumamunov previously ran the Kyrgyz-language operation at 24.kg. His previous professional experience reportedly included a stint working as press officer for former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was toppled in April 2010 after his security detail killed dozens of demonstrators during protests in the capital, Bishkek. At other times, Turdumamunov has worked at the National Bank and the state telecommunications company.

Speculation about a possible change of leadership at 24.kg have intensified since mid-January, when agents with the State Committee for National Security, or GKNB, mounted a raid on its offices and interrogated senior management over claims that the outlet had been “propagandizing war.” Otorbayeva was among those questioned, as were senior editors Anton Lymar and Makhinur Niyazova.

This week, Niyazova took to Facebook to announce that she was quitting from a job that she has been doing for the last five years. She refrained from providing a full explanation for her decision, but said that she was acting out of principle and from unwillingness to “tolerate repeated lies.”

“I don’t want my name to even be mentioned next to that of the people into whose hands the news agency has passed,” she wrote. “Don’t ask me any questions about the deal. I don’t know. I am not getting anything out of it.”

Otorbayeva, meanwhile, posted a statement on Facebook to deny rumors that her outlet had been taken over by elements close to the ruling regime. She said that her decision to relinquish control over 24.kg was taken a year ago for health and family reasons. The move was not political, she insisted.

“There was no raiding,” Otorbayeva wrote, using the Russian term alluding to the practice of aggressive corporate takeovers. “There has been no conversation about changing editorial policy, and I hope there will not be one either. We have never been an opposition publication. And we have never been a pro-government publication.”

While it is true that 24.kg’s reporting style has generally steered a careful line, refraining from overly polemical and aggressive coverage of national developments, it has nevertheless also not shied away from relaying news that was embarrassing to the authorities.

One recent example concerned the government’s bumbling adoption of a new national flag at the start of this year. 24.kg coverage of the inept roll-out is known to have angered officials, so much so that one staffer left the country out of fear of reprisals.

Otorbayeva said she handed the reins to Turdumamunov as she has known him for a long time as a person with solid experience of “interacting with government agencies” and working in senior management.

“We were in negotiations for a long time. Those [talks] slowed down as a result of the raids and the absurd accusations of war propaganda,” she wrote.

Otorbayeva gave no insight into the nature of those negotiations.

To make matters only more complicated, one other individual was registered as 24.kg’s publisher, if only for a few days, before Turdumamunov was eased into that position. That person was Gulzhan Sheripbayeva, the chief editor of another outlet, NazarNews. She is not known to have had any prior involvement with 24.kg.

In October, the Culture Ministry threatened, under censorship powers it acquired in 2021, to slap a block on the NazarNews website over an article criticizing the head of the government, Akylbek Japarov. NazarNews hastily pulled the offending piece, but the GKNB in November nevertheless opened a criminal investigation into Sheripbayeva on suspicion of “inciting hatred.”

It is unclear what the status of proceedings against Sheripbayeva is at this stage. In any case, her resumé made her an odd fit for 24.kg. Her social media activity points to pro-Russia sympathies, but also, historically, support for the once-powerful but now severely out-of-favor corrupt former customs chief and political kingmaker Rayimbek Matraimov. Many figures once close to Matraimov have in recent weeks vocally recanted their previous stance, apparently out of fear of legal consequences, and pivoted to support of President Sadyr Japarov.

When Sheripbayeva’s name was first linked to 24.kg, which happened on March 15, she told reporters that this was a temporary development and that the identity of the new leadership would soon become known.

While this convoluted ownership drama is playing out, 24.kg is still ostensibly facing a case under an article criminalizing the “propaganda of war.” The GKNB has not stated publicly what content they believe fell foul of this law. Niyazova speculated on the day of the raid in January that the articles in question may have been about the war in Ukraine.

Kyrgyzstan has under Japarov’s leadership stuck fast to the country’s generally pro-Russian line. While the government has refrained from explicitly endorsing the invasion of Ukraine, it has similarly avoided criticizing it and has at times taken action to discourage activists — specifically, Russian nationals living in Bishkek — from doing so either.

24.kg, which was founded in 2006 by Otorbayeva, a former editor at the Vecherniy Bishkek (Evening Bishkek) newspaper, has before now been targeted for censorship by the Russian authorities.

In September, Roskomnadzor, the Russian media watchdog that essentially enforces Kremlin directives, mandated the blocking of the site due to its reporting on the Ukraine invasion. It seems this action was triggered by reports that were considered to have an anti-Russian bias. A June article from the site included commentary from political analysts portraying Moscow as possessing "imperial ambitions" in Central Asia. A piece from April focused on the intricacies of Russian propaganda tactics.

While it is too early to tell if the change of management at 24.kg will lead to a shift in the tenor of its coverage, there is certainly a precedent for such developments in Kyrgyzstan.
Central Asians Find New Routes On American Journey As Turkey Blocks Them (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [3/20/2024 4:02 PM, Farangis Najibullah, 223K, Neutral]
Saltanat and her husband had just bought return tickets from Moscow to Dubai. But they don’t want to return.

The couple, who have both Tajik and Russian citizenship, see the United Arab Emirates as a transit country at the start of a long journey that they hope will take them to the United States via Mexico.

“We originally wanted to fly to Mexico from Istanbul, but we read on Telegram that Turkish Airlines is not allowing people from Russia and other former Soviet countries to board planes to Latin America, so we changed the plan,” said Saltanat who asked that her last name not be published.

Dozens of passengers from Central Asia, Russia, and the Caucasus have recently been stopped in Istanbul from boarding Turkish Airlines planes bound for Mexico and several other Latin American countries -- popular transit countries for migrants trying to reach the U.S. border.

Turkish Airlines announced “additional checks” for passengers flying to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela.

In addition to a visa, passengers are now required to provide return tickets, fully paid hotel reservations, and proof of sufficient funds for their trip. Turkey itself does not require travel visas for citizens of Russia and Central Asian countries with the exception of Turkmenistan.

The restrictions are widely seen as part of multinational efforts to stop the influx of migrants to the United States, which saw a record number of more than 2.5 million migrant encounters at its southwestern borders in 2023. With many others making it in without being caught.

There was a big uptick in the number of migrants from Central Asian countries last year, with more than 50,000 people from the region illegally entering the United States. Among them were some 17,000 from Uzbekistan, 7,000 from Kyrgyzstan, 3,000 from Tajikistan, 2,700 from Kazakhstan, and some 2,000 from Turkmenistan.

And the massive inflow of illegal migrants -- including Central Asian nationals -- has showed no signs of abating so far this year, U.S. statistics show.

Through one U.S. border sector alone -- San Diego, California -- 140,000 illegal migrants, including some 2,500 Uzbek citizens, 500 Tajiks, and about 400 Kyrgyz nationals have entered the United States since the beginning of 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Stranded In Istanbul

Passengers affected by the latest restrictions in Istanbul -- the Turkish Airlines hub -- say some of them lost several thousand dollars in ticket fares and other expenses.

Most passengers were unable to get a refund as they bought the cheapest, nonrefundable tickets. Some have been stranded for days at the airport or elsewhere in the city, spending more money on hotels and food while still hoping to be allowed to fly.

“I know families who have been at the airport or staying at hotels, paying about [$115 per night],” said one Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the man told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service that he flew to Cancun, Mexico, in February but was deported back to Istanbul. The man did not say the reason for his deportation, but admitted he intended to use Mexico as a transit route to get into the United States.

Once back in Istanbul, he bought tickets to fly to another Latin American country but wasn’t allowed to board the plane. The man said he has so far spent $15,000 during the failed journey.

Some Russian passengers were reportedly barred from boarding planes despite having return tickets and hotel reservations because they had no previous visas on their passport or only had hand luggage for their alleged long holiday in Cancun. The passengers allegedly sparked suspicion that their intended destination was the U.S. border.

A ‘Small Inconvenience’

For Saltanat and her husband, the new rule by Turkish Airlines is just a “small inconvenience” that won’t stop them from pursuing their American dream.

“When we heard about it, we immediately started looking at the list of countries that don’t require a visa from us, and from where we can fly to Mexico,” Saltanat told RFE/RL. “We chose the United Arab Emirates. With our Russian passports we can travel visa-free both to the U.A.E. and Mexico.”

Saltanat did not say if they have tickets for all legs of their journey or will purchase the next tickets while in Dubai.

Saltanat’s husband, who owns a successful construction business in Russia, wants to make a new, better life in the United States. The spouses, both in their early 30s, will be followed by their close friends and neighbors -- a married couple from Kazakhstan.

With the Istanbul route no longer an option, Saltanat’s friends are also looking for alternative ways to get to Mexico, she said.

“They were set to travel via Turkey to Brazil, and from there go to Mexico through some South American countries, possibly paying [smugglers],” Saltanat said. “We want to be neighbors again in America someday.”

Saltanat is aware of the arduous journey ahead that involves the risk of being jailed, kidnapped, or even killed before reaching the United States. Even if the family makes it to the United States, they could still be deported.

But she is undeterred by any of the risks, saying “thousands of Russians and Central Asians have made it to America, only a handful were deported.”

Saltanat’s husband plans to seek asylum due to the fact he faces the risk of being recruited into the Russian Army and sent to war in Ukraine.

The couple have heard from their Central Asian migrant friends in the United States that even if their request is rejected, it will take years until their case is processed and then can be appealed again.

Under current U.S. law, most asylum seekers receive work permits while their cases are reviewed by underfunded immigration courts struggling with heavy backlogs.

Saltanat and her husband believe they will ultimately realize their dream to live and work in America.
Twitter
Afghanistan
Bilal Sarwary
@bsarwary
[3/21/2024 1:01 AM, 252.1K followers, 11 retweets, 31 likes]
There are reports of an explosion outside of Kabul bank branch in Kandahar city, in PD6. According to eye witnesses Taliban soldiers and security officials were waiting to receive their salaries. Taliban governor for Kandahar province Mullah Shirin had gathered local Taliban security chiefs and instructed them to do a “ better job of providing security.”

Bilal Sarwary
@bsarwary
[3/20/2024 9:00 AM, 252.1K followers, 7 retweets, 40 likes]
Taliban’s aggressive rhetoric towards Pakistan is an attempt to mask their failures in fighting terrorism in Afghanistan under their control. Taliban have mastered the denial and double-game tactic from Pakistan’s intelligence services.

Bilal Sarwary
@bsarwary
[3/20/2024 8:05 AM, 252.1K followers, 6 retweets, 23 likes]
It is time to hold the Taliban accountable for its abuses. It is time to impose costs, sanctions, travel restrictions until the regime mends its ways. The civilised world owes this to Afghan girls. #LetAfghangirlsgotoschool

UNAMA News
@UNAMAnews
[3/20/2024 7:15 AM, 304.9K followers, 43 retweets, 70 likes]
As #Afghanistan’s new school year begins, it is now more than 900 days since girls aged 12+ have been barred from attending school & university. UNAMA urges the de facto authorities to end this unjustifiable and damaging ban. Education for all is essential for peace & prosperity.

Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office
@amnestysasia
[3/20/2024 4:11 PM, 79.5K followers, 116 retweets, 180 likes]
Afghanistan: Today is the start of the new school year in Afghanistan but girls above grade six are banned from education. This is unjustifiable and in violation of fundamental human rights to education. The Taliban must allow girls of all ages to attend school and stop using cynical pretexts to further its discriminatory agenda, Sign our petition to hold the Taliban accountable: https://amnesty.org/en/petition/stop-the-roll-back-on-human-rights-in-afghanistan/

Ali M Latifi
@alibomaye
[3/20/2024 2:32 PM, 55.8K followers, 10 retweets, 43 likes]
An all-female panel on @TOLOnews discusses the fact that for three years, girls in Afghanistan cannot study beyond the sixth grade. Once again, the remarkable Tafsir Siyaposh speaks the truth clearly https://twitter.com/i/status/1770518670793388168
Pakistan
Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/20/2024 11:05 AM, 42.5K followers, 5 retweets, 14 likes]
Will be noting some observations on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s ongoing subcommittee hearing on the future of Pakistan’s democracy and the US-Pakistan relationship: Rep Wilson and Chairman McCaul both noted the unprecedented levels of interest in the hearing. /1

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/20/2024 11:17 AM, 42.5K followers, 1 like]
Asst Sec Lu notes that the US-Pakistan relationship is at an "inflection point" post the US withdrawal from Afghanistan; this provides an opportunity to have a relationship with Pakistan "on its own terms," and the US is committed to that. /2

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/20/2024 11:27 AM, 42.5K followers]
In response to Rep Phillips’ question on investigations of election irregularities, Asst Sec Lu points to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s processing of (thousands of) those claims, says State will be monitoring how that process goes closely.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/20/2024 4:32 PM, 42.5K followers]
Asst Sec Lu: "The ECP in past elections has rerun elections where there have been finding(s) of electoral abuse... We call on the Election Commission to fulfill its constitutional role in Pakistan, to be the watchdog over this election, and to act in a nonpartisan way..." /4

Sadanand Dhume
@dhume
[3/21/2024 12:21 AM, 171.2K followers, 6 retweets, 20 likes]
So let me get this straight: Imran Khan supporters think heckling and abusing Donald Lu, the senior State Department official responsible for Pakistan, helps their cause? Daft strategy if you ask me. Nobody sane in DC buys the claim that Lu was responsible for Khan’s ouster.

Husain Haqqani
@husainhaqqani
[3/21/2024 1:32 AM, 460.4K followers, 15 retweets, 39 likes]
Before getting carried away by the ‘holding of a Congressional subcommittee hearing on Pakistan election proves that Pakistani Americans have come of age’ narrative, let us recall similar hearings from the past. There was one in 2007…1/3

Husain Haqqani
@husainhaqqani
[3/21/2024 1:34 AM, 460.4K followers, 8 retweets, 23 likes]
In 2008, there was also a post-election Pakistan hearing before a Senate Committee 2/3 https://foreign.senate.gov/download/hearing-transcript-022808?download=1

Husain Haqqani
@husainhaqqani
[3/21/2024 1:42 AM, 460.4K followers, 12 retweets, 26 likes]
& there were pre and post Pakistan election hearings as far back as 1990, with very similar proceedings 3/3

Hamid Mir
@HamidMirPAK
[3/21/2024 1:08 AM, 8.4M followers, 191 retweets, 541 likes]
Finally the State of Pakistan admitted that X was banned on the reports of spy agencies. Previously our state claimed in the courts that X was not banned.They admitted truth to avoid contempt of court notice. How can they run this country by speaking lies? https://www.dawn.com/news/1822791
India
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/20/2024 11:51 AM, 96.4M followers, 4.1K retweets, 15K likes]
Sharing my remarks at the Summit for Democracy. https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1vAxRvgeAorxl

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/20/2024 8:28 AM, 96.4M followers, 3.3K retweets, 21K likes]
Had a good conversation with President @ZelenskyyUa on strengthening the India-Ukraine partnership. Conveyed India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict. India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance guided by our people-centric approach.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/20/2024 5:59 AM, 96.4M followers, 6.7K retweets, 47K likes]
Spoke with President Putin and congratulated him on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation. We agreed to work together to further deepen and expand India-Russia Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership in the years ahead. @KremlinRussia

Sidhant Sibal
@sidhant
[3/20/2024 10:31 PM, 268.3K followers, 289 retweets, 1.7K likes]
US recognises Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory & we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments military or civilian, across LAC: US state dept on Arunachal Pradesh after China objected to PM Modi’s visit

Brahma Chellaney
@Chellaney
[3/21/2024 12:22 AM, 262.8K followers, 102 retweets, 484 likes]
US’s statement that it “recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory” is in line with the fact that no country recognizes the PRC claim. But the US has gone further by warning against “any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursion or encroachments.”

Shashi Tharoor
@ShashiTharoor
[3/20/2024 10:32 PM, 8.4M followers, 54 retweets, 416 likes]
A story that deserved much more attention: a brilliantly successful anti-piracy op by our highly trained and disciplined professional special forces of the @indiannavy. Every Indian has much to be proud of our men & women in uniform, who are among the world’s best. A pity their professionalism is being diluted by the disgraceful Agniveer scheme. Let us maintain the standards that win us global accolades like this: https://cnn.com/2024/03/19/india/india-pirate-ship-capture-intl-hnk-ml?cid=ios_app

Shashi Tharoor
@ShashiTharoor
[3/20/2024 6:47 AM, 8.4M followers, 42 retweets, 322 likes]
Spent a couple of hours at the rousing Thiruvananthapuram Parliament Convention that formally launched @INCKerala’s campaign for the seat. A jampacked hall in the city, which saw as many people outside as in, cheered the leaders of @udfkerala parties as they tore into the central and state governments and lauded my credentials for re-election. Delighted that my colleague Ramesh @chennithala inaugurated the convention and @iuml4thepeople leader @munavvarshihab was chief guest
NSB
Awami League
@albd1971
[3/20/2024 12:40 PM, 637K followers, 17 retweets, 58 likes]
Foreign Affairs Minister and #AwamiLeague Joint General Secretary @DrHasanMahmud62 said that @bdbnp78 seeks foreign help rather than support from the people. He also said that #BNP activists have no confidence in their leaders. https://link.albd.org/gy8i7 #Bangladesh #Politics

Awami League
@albd1971
[3/20/2024 11:39 AM, 637K followers, 20 retweets, 52 likes]
SM for @MoPEMR, @NasrulHamid_MP said that #Bangladesh will generate 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2041. He was speaking at a Ministerial-level Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable in the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2024. https://link.albd.org/w3yes #BETD24

Awami League
@albd1971
[3/20/2024 10:39 AM, 637K followers, 22 retweets, 60 likes]
The BRTA has opened the FDC exit ramp of the #Dhaka #ElevatedExpressway. Roads Transport Minister Obaidul Quader MP has dubbed it the Eid gift from HPM #SheikhHasina for Dhaka dwellers. Vehicles can use this ramp from today. https://link.albd.org/axyca #Transport #Communication

Awami League
@albd1971
[3/20/2024 9:46 AM, 637K followers, 32 retweets, 71 likes]
In an exclusive interview with the country’s first policy magazine @whiteboardedit, Prime Minister #SheikhHasina explained her priority goals in setting out long-term policies that have led to a rise in living standards in #Bangladesh. https://albd.org/articles/news/41346

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives
@MoFAmv
[3/20/2024 12:08 PM, 53.6K followers, 24 retweets, 28 likes]
Foreign Minister Zameer addresses the Third Summit for Democracy Press Release | https://t.ly/FZcOA

Moosa Zameer
@MoosaZameer
[3/20/2024 5:51 AM, 12.8K followers, 27 retweets, 36 likes]
Honoured to represent President Dr @MMuizzu at the Third Summit for Democracy hosted by @President_KR. Delivering Maldives’ National Statement virtually, I stressed on the Maldives’ commitment towards upholding the principles of democracy, justice and equality. I also reflected on the importance the Government levies on women and youth empowerment, enabling space for an independent civil society and a judiciary that provides equal justice for all.

Mohamed Nasheed
@MohamedNasheed
[3/20/2024 11:23 AM, 271.3K followers, 65 retweets, 111 likes]
The Govt should rethink its plans for reclamation, especially the pipeline of resorts to be built on reclaimed coral reefs and lagoons. We have enough empty islands & should use those instead. We must protect nature & our coral reefs, not destroy them for tourism. @visitmaldives

MOFA of Nepal
@MofaNepal
[3/20/2024 1:10 PM, 257K followers, 7 retweets, 27 likes]
DPM/FM Hon @nksthaprakash addressed this evening the reception hosted for the Non-Resident Ambassadors accredited to Nepal. He highlighted Nepal’s foreign policy outlook and emphasized the need of expanding engagements, including in the areas of trade, investment and tourism.
Central Asia
Furqat Sidiqov
@FurqatSidiq
[3/20/2024 11:56 PM, 1.3K followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
A heartfelt thank you to all who attended the Interfaith Iftar Dinner at @UZEmbassyDC. The event was a true reflection of the values of respect, tolerance, and unity that are deeply embedded in Uzbek culture. Let’s continue to build bridges together.

Furqat Sidiqov
@FurqatSidiq
[3/20/2024 5:28 AM, 1.3K followers, 1 like]
Wonderful meeting with @RepEscobar! Discussed strengthening our interparliamentary relations. I deeply appreciate her support for @GOVuz’s reforms on human rights, gender equality & women’s entrepreneurship. Looking forward to our future collaboration.

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[3/21/2024 12:50 AM, 22.9K followers, 1 retweet, 1 like]
Interfaith Iftar @UZEmbassyDC, March 20, 2024 Speakers: Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. and Canada @FurqatSidiq, @MultiFaithNN Bob Roberts, @ADAMSCenter_ Imam Mohamed Magid, and Rabbi David Saperstein @rabbisaperstein. https://youtu.be/KibfynBjsqk

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[3/20/2024 10:20 AM, 22.9K followers, 5 retweets, 11 likes]
Uzbekistan, March 20: Shahzod Allakulov, son of opposition leader Khidirnazar Allakulov, sentenced to four and a half years in Tashkent court, which found him guilty of assaulting police. Unsurprised, Allakulov says “the whole case is politically motivated … thus the unfair trial.” He vowed to continue shaping his party, which has so far been denied registration. https://youtube.com/live/AE8HRMqjz7g?si=Bc6LlKO5hBAZMfMe

{End of Report}
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