SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS

epubdos : Afghanistan

Prepared for the U.S. Department of State

Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

By TechMIS
www.TechMIS.com

Mobile User Copy

TO:	SCA & Staff
DATE:	Tuesday, March 5, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan

Blast Shakes Taliban Security Base In Northeastern Afghanistan (Agence France-Presse)

Agence France-Presse [3/5/2024 4:22 AM, Staff, 374K, Negative]
A blast shook a Taliban military base next to the airport in Faizabad, the capital of Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province, a government official said on Tuesday.

The Taliban official confirmed on condition of anonymity that an explosion had occurred at the base but would not provide further details.

It remained unclear what caused the explosion, which was heard some two kilometres (over a mile) away from the airport, local residents told AFP.

The area around the site was cordoned off by authorities.

The base is next to the city’s small airstrip, which is not currently served by commercial airlines.

Outcry forces Home Office to allow Afghan youth orchestra to go on England tour (The Guardian)

The Guardian [3/4/2024 4:32 PM, Robert Booth and Nadeem Badshah, 12499K, Neutral]
The Home Office has been forced into a U-turn and has now granted visas to the Afghan youth orchestra for their tour of England, after its earlier refusal threw their planned tour into chaos days before it was due to begin.

The band of 47 exiled musicians aged between 14 and 22 had been working for months on their repertoire for the shows, which are due to start at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on Thursday.

The Home Office had initially refused their visa applications but overturned the decision on Monday after public criticism.

The musicians are also booked to play in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

Diana Johnson MP, the chair of the home affairs select committee, wrote on X: “Excellent news and glad the @ukhomeoffice have done the right thing. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.”

The orchestra’s director, Dr Ahmad Sarmast, said the group have performed freely in Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany among other countries since they were chased out of their home country by the Taliban. Sarmast had described the Home Office’s initial decision as “heart-breaking”.

One of their most recent concerts was at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Among those helping them get out of Kabul were the international classical music stars Daniel Barenboim and Yo-Yo Ma.

After fleeing to Qatar from their home country when the Taliban retook power in 2021, the orchestra is now based in Portugal, where the players were granted immigration rights and are in education at Portuguese music schools, according to Sarmast.

He said the Home Office had initially told them it was not convinced by the information the orchestra provided about the status of the students, saying it was vague.

Speaking to the Guardian before the Home Office’s U-turn, Sarmast said: “The group has been denied visas for entry to the UK to complete this wonderful tour called Breaking the Silence.

“We have played all over the world since we left [Afghanistan] but we never faced this.”

The orchestra said the refusal was a “significant blow” that “deprived these young musicians an opportunity to raise awareness through music about the gender apartheid against Afghan women and denial of cultural rights of the Afghan people by the Taliban”.

The orchestra is part of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), which was established in 2010. When the Taliban retook power its campus in Kabul was seized as a command centre, its bank accounts were frozen, its offices ransacked and its instruments left abandoned.

Last summer the Taliban shared a picture of officials presiding over a bonfire of musical instruments and equipment. Playing and listening to music is heavily restricted under the regime.

In 2014 the ANIM symphony orchestra was performing at the French cultural centre in Kabul when a bomb ripped through the venue. Sarmast was knocked unconscious, both eardrums were perforated leaving him deaf, and he received serious shrapnel injuries. After months of treatment in Australia, he recovered his hearing.

“The main purpose of the orchestra is not only to share Afghan music in exile while it is banned and suppressed [under the Taliban] but to achieve cultural diplomacy – people to people – across the world,” he said.

“This denies our people the opportunity to let people in the UK know about what is happening in Afghanistan and share the beauty of Afghan music.”

The orchestra had prepared a repertoire of Afghan, south Asian and western classical music to perform at the Southbank Centre in London, the Tung auditorium in Liverpool, Stoller Hall in Manchester and at Birmingham Town Hall.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Musicians and performers are a valued and important part of UK culture.

“Applications have to be considered on their individual merits in accordance with the immigration rules with the responsibility on applicants to demonstrate they meet these rules.”

Pakistan

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Orders Starting Talks with IMF for Loan (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg [3/4/2024 10:24 PM, Kamran Haider and Karl Lester M Yap, 5543K, Positive]
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to fasttrack negotiations with the International Monetary Fund as the nation’s $3 billion bailout program is set to end in April.

Sharif gave the order after he was sworn in as Pakistan’s leader on Monday and briefed by Finance Secretary Imdad Ullah Bosal, according to a statement issued by the prime minister’s office. It wasn’t immediately clear if the talks would be for a new loan or a review of the existing program.

There’s a $1.1 billion final tranche that has yet to be released under the current program. Pakistan has also planned to seek a new loan of at least $6 billion from the IMF, Bloomberg News reported earlier.

After narrowly avoiding a sovereign default last year, Pakistan will need to secure fresh funds as soon as possible, Sharif said last month. The South Asian nation faces $25 billion of external debt payments in the fiscal year starting July, about three times its foreign-exchange reserves.

Still, Sharif’s return as prime minister increases Pakistan’s chances of securing a new IMF aid package, Bloomberg Economics said, citing his previous administration’s track record of carrying out reforms. His party’s election manifesto — which includes cutting the fiscal deficit and fixing the current account balance — are aligned with the IMF targets or, in some cases, even more ambitious, Ankur Shukla, a Bloomberg Economics analyst in Mumbai, wrote in the report.

IMF aid will help in retaining support from creditor nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which poured billions of dollars in financing. Securing a new deal may also boost Pakistan’s dollar bonds, which have handed investors a gain of almost 17% this year.

Shehbaz Sharif sworn in as Pakistan’s prime minister after contentious vote (AP)

AP [3/4/2024 8:33 PM, Staff, 2565K, Neutral]
Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistan’s new prime minister on Monday after being elected a day earlier in a raucous parliamentary session.

He held the same position from April 2022 to August 2023, replacing archrival Imran Khan who was kicked out of the job after a no-confidence vote. Shehbaz is the younger brother of three-time premier Nawaz Sharif.

His appointment is controversial because of parliamentary elections last month that his opponents claimed were rigged in his favor.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the PTI, insists it did better in the poll but that electoral theft and other irregularities deprived it of a parliamentary majority.

Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party, the PML-N, didn’t win enough seats to form a government but went into coalition with others to get a majority, clearing his path to a second premiership.

He secured 201 votes in parliament to become prime minister, defeating the PTI-backed candidate Omar Ayub, who got 92 votes.

Monday’s swearing-in ceremony was held in the capital, Islamabad. President Arif administered the oath of office.

Sharif pledged to perform his duties and functions with honesty and loyalty and always for the country’s independence, “integrity, stability, and for the sake of unity.”

But stability and unity are in short supply in Pakistani politics, and Sharif has a tough task of bringing lawmakers together to steer the country through challenging times.

The first two sessions of parliament have been chaotic and noisy, with the opposition shouting and jeering at the new government because of their election grievances.

Sharif is the 24th prime minister in Pakistan’s 77-year history.

Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as prime minister, directs team to talk with IMF (Reuters)

Reuters [3/4/2024 1:31 PM, Charlotte Greenfield and Asif Shahzad, 11975K, Neutral]
Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif took the oath on Monday to officially become prime minister for a second time, nearly four weeks after an uncertain national election caused delays in the formation of a coalition government.

Sharif, 72, officially took up office at a swearing-in ceremony at the presidential office in the nation’s capital, Islamabad, a day after parliament elected him prime minister despite protests from lawmakers aligned with jailed former premier Imran Khan.

His first meeting after the ceremony was with his finance team, a statement from the prime minister’s office said late on Monday, adding that he directed them to begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on an extended funding facility. The current agreement expires in April.

"We got a mandate to improve country’s economy and that’s our government’s top priority," the statement said.

During his oath-swearing Sharif wore a black traditional overcoat, called a sherwani, in the ceremony, broadcast live on state TV and attended by civil, military, bureaucracy and other dignities.

The Feb. 8 election was marred by a mobile internet shutdown, arrests and violence in its build-up and the unusually delayed results triggered accusations that the vote was rigged.

Candidates backed by Khan gained the most seats but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) agreed to form a coalition government. The PML-N is spearheaded by Shehbaz Sharif’s elder brother, three time premier Nawaz Sharif, but he decided not to take the prime minister’s post.

The younger Sharif returns to the role he previously held until August, when parliament was dissolved to prepare for the election.

Economists, investors and foreign capitals would now be watching closely for an announcement by Sharif on the cabinet, especially the important finance portfolio. The next finance minister will have to lead tough talks with the IMF to get a new multi-billion dollar funding agreement.

Former four-time finance minister Ishaq Dar remains the top contender, PML-N sources have told Reuters, though several other candidates were being seriously considered.

Sharif Takes Oath as Pakistan Prime Minister for 2nd Time (VOA)

VOA [3/4/2024 11:13 PM, Ayaz Gul, 761K, Negative]
Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif took the oath Monday as prime minister for a second time, almost a month after a general election that was marred by large-scale allegations of voter fraud and resulted in a split mandate.

State television broadcast Sharif’s swearing-in ceremony from the presidential office in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, with top military leaders and bureaucrats in attendance, among others.

The 72-year-old new prime minister will spearhead a minority coalition government, with his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, and the Pakistan Peoples Party, or PPP, being the two key partners.

On Sunday, the newly elected National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, chose Sharif for the prime ministerial role amid loud protests from opposition lawmakers aligned with Imran Khan, the jailed former Pakistani prime minister.

Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party accuse Sharif of returning to power with the help of the military through what they say were one of the country’s most brazenly rigged parliamentary elections held on February 8.

Candidates backed by Khan’s PTI, rated the most popular national party by public polls, won the most seats but fell short of a simple majority, allowing its bitter political rivals PML-N and PPP, the two family-controlled traditional ruling parties, to form a coalition government.

Sharif held office until last August, when he dissolved the parliament at the end of its mandatory five-year term, allowing an interim government to hold the elections.

On the February 8 polling day, authorities blocked mobile services and disrupted access to social media platforms for users in Pakistan, citing terrorism concerns. There was also a nearly 70-hour delay in announcing the results, leading to accusations of electoral fraud to prevent PTI allies from sweeping the polls.

In the months leading up to the national and four provincial assemblies’ elections, Khan was convicted on disputed charges and sentenced to long prison terms, barring him from running. He denied wrongdoing, maintaining that the military was behind his prosecution and scores of other civil and criminal cases to keep him from returning to power.

PTI supporters and candidates faced a military-backed crackdown, hundreds of them were detained, barring them from holding campaign rallies. The mainstream media was also prohibited from reporting on Khan’s speeches or his party’s election-related activities, while PML-N and PPP freely organized rallies and dominated news on national TV channels.

The United States, the European Union, and Britain have backed domestic critics in expressing concerns over reported electoral irregularities and have called for an independent probe.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, responding to Sharif’s swearing-in on Sunday, told a news conference that Washinton valued its long-standing partnership with Islamabad.

“We have always viewed a strong, prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to U.S.-Pakistan interests, and our engagement with new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government will continue to focus on advancing these shared interests,” Miller said.

Khan, a cricket celebrity-turned-prime minister, was removed from office in 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence that paved the way for then-opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif to replace him. The deposed leader accused the military of orchestrating the vote at the behest of the U.S., charges Washington and Islamabad rejected as baseless.

Analysts say the election’s controversial outcome has dampened hopes for the political stability needed — in the nuclear-armed nation of about 245 million people — to address critical economic problems, rising food and energy prices, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

Sharif met with senior Finance Ministry officials shortly after assuming office Monday and directed them to urgently draft a strategy for economic recovery, his office said.

“The prime minister directed them to expedite talks with the IMF [International Monetary Fund] on its Extended Fund Facility,” it said.

The EFF provides financial assistance to countries facing serious medium-term balance of payments problems because of structural weaknesses that require time to address.

During his previous stint in office, Sharif was able to negotiate a crucial $3 billion loan with the International Monetary Fund. The program expires in April, and economists say the new government will be required to immediately open talks with the IMF to secure a fresh multimillion-dollar loan to keep Pakistan’s fragile economy on track.

Last week, Khan wrote a letter to the IMF asking that future lending to his cash-strapped country be tied to an independent “audit of at least 30%” of the elections. The global lender has not commented on the letter.

Pakistan’s Imran Khan-backed party declined reserved parliament seats - ruling (Reuters)

Reuters [3/4/2024 8:36 AM, Asif Shahzad, 5239K, Negative]
Pakistan’s election commission on Monday ruled that a party aligned with candidates backed by former premier Imran Khan was not eligible for extra reserved seats in the legislature, another blow to the embattled group’s governing prospects.

The decision represents a further setback to Khan, who is in jail following a string of convictions, despite his candidates winning the most seats overall in the Feb. 8 national election.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party couldn’t contest the election under its traditional electoral symbol, a cricket bat, which was denied on technical grounds.

PTI subsequently struck an alliance with another party, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), in a bid to secure reserved seats.

"SIC is not entitled to claim for the quota for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims," the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said in an order seen by Reuters.

The reserved seats will instead be distributed among other parties, it said.

This would bolster the parliamentary strength of the fragile coalition that is set to take office, led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), with support from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

"We will challenge the ECP decision in the superior court," one of Khan’s lawyers, senator and barrister Ali Zafar, said in the upper house of the parliament after the ruling. "Such an undemocratic decision can’t be tolerated," he said.

Under Pakistan’s election rules, parties are allocated 70 reserved seats - 60 for women, 10 for non-Muslims - in proportion to the number of seats they win. This completes the National Assembly’s total strength of 336 seats.

Khan-backed candidates had to run as independents after the election commission stripped his party its famous cricket bat symbol on ballot papers on grounds that it failed to conduct an intra-party election, a pre-requisite for any party to take part in polls.

They aligned with SIC after the vote and argued unsuccessfully that they were now entitled to a share of 23 of the reserved seats, Zafar said.

Pakistan Condemns India for Seizing Cargo in Renewed Tensions (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg [3/4/2024 11:34 PM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 5543K, Negative]
Pakistan hit out at India for detaining cargo bound for the country that New Delhi suspects was meant for Islamabad’s weapons program, a development that could spark a fresh round of tensions between the South Asian rivals.

Indian media reported on the weekend that a shipment en route to Karachi in Pakistan was seized by Indian customs officials on Jan. 23 at the port city of Mumbai. The cargo originating from China contained equipment that could help Pakistan’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Press Trust of India and others said.

A senior Indian government official, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss the matter, confirmed that India seized the cargo containing advanced computer numerical machines — technology that uses a computer program to control mechanical tools. India suspected the equipment could be used for Pakistan’s weapons manufacturing program, the person said.

Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors have been hostile since both gained independence from British rule in 1947, and Muslim-majority Pakistan was created. Their tensions center on the border region of Kashmir, an area in the Himalayas claimed in full — and ruled in part — by both. They’ve fought two of their three wars over control of the region.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry declined to comment. Pakistan denied the Indian media reports and lashed out at what it described as “India’s high handedness in seizure of commercial goods.”

“Specifications of the equipment clearly indicate its purely commercial use,” and was meant for a Karachi based automobile parts manufacturing unit, Pakistan’s government said in a statement. The seizure violates international norms and laws, it added.

Pakistan: At least 35 die due to surprise snowfall and heavy rains (BBC)

BBC [3/4/2024 4:14 PM, Kelly Ng, 14.2M, Neutral]
At least 35 people died while dozens more were injured as freezing rain and unexpected snowfall hit remote areas of Pakistan over the weekend.

Twenty-two children were among the fatalities, many of whom were crushed in landslides that buried their homes, disaster management authorities said.

The extreme weather hit Pakistan’s northern and western regions, clogging roads and damaging hundreds of houses.

Experts were surprised by the snow as Pakistan is typically humid in March.

Mushtaq Ali Shah, a former director of the country’s meteorological department, attributed the unusual conditions to climate change.

He added that a light hail storm that lasts "for a few moments" would not be as surprising, but it is unusual for that to continue for over 30 minutes.

Hajit Shah, a resident of Kirk district in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said that he had experienced snow in his neighbourhood only once before.

"As far as I can remember, there was light snowfall for a few minutes about 25 or 30 years ago," he told the BBC.

The heavy rains completely destroyed at least 150 houses and partially damaged 500 others, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the south-western Balochistan province, authorities said.

Electricity has been completely cut off in some districts for several days.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial government has provided relief supplies to affected areas and announced financial assistance for the injured and the families of those who died.

Pakistan’s meteorological department said in its weekly forecast that "mainly cold and dry weather" is expected in most parts of the country for the rest of this week, although some parts of Balochistan and Kashmir should expect to see "snowfall over hills".

India

Foreign tourist is gang-raped in India as violence against women persists (Washington Post)

Washington Post [3/4/2024 11:29 AM, Anant Gupta, 6902K, Negative]
Police in eastern India say they have arrested three men and are pursuing four others in the gang rape of a Brazilian tourist, a case that has drawn cries of fury and shame from those in Indian society who say sexual violence against women remains a stubbornly endemic problem.

The attack on the Brazilian travel blogger and her Spanish partner took place in a forest late Friday, as the couple were camping while traveling by motorbike across eastern India to Nepal.

Struggling to fight back tears and showing bruises on their faces, the couple said in an Instagram post Saturday morning that seven men held knives against their throats and took turns sexually assaulting the woman while beating and restraining her male partner.

Local police in Jharkhand state said in a news release that they had taken the victims to a nearby hospital and confirmed the outlines of their account. All seven men have been identified and a special investigation team has been set up to arrest the four still at large, police in the Dumka district said.

While cases of rape targeting Indian women from lower castes and Indigenous tribal communities are rife, and often receive little notice and aren’t prosecuted, this incident involving a foreigner — who went public on social media to her more than 200,000 followers — focused national attention to an unusual degree.

National newspapers covered the case, and women’s rights activists, politicians and even Bollywood celebrities weighed in on social media to condemn what they described as an intractable problem despite efforts at cultural and legal reform.

Karanjeet Kaur, a writer who published an op-ed Monday about her outrage over sexual violence against Indian women, said the case sparked so much discussion because the survivor stood out by sharing an experience all too common for Indian women.

“We have become so inured to violence against women that only when the contours of a case are very different does it make a dent in our conscience,” she said in a phone interview. “Otherwise our bodies, our minds, our autonomy does not matter at all.”

In December 2012, thousands of Indians took to the streets to protest the gang rape and death of a 22-year-old student, a case that prompted the Indian government to expand the legal definition of rape and introduce the death penalty as a possible sentence for rapists.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi first ran for the office in 2014, women’s safety featured prominently in his outreach to female voters, and nearly a decade later, his administration remains sensitive to any potential political blowback from controversies over crimes against women.

Yet violent crimes against women continue to rise, according to national statistics, and high-profile rape cases continue to surface with alarming regularity, largely as a result of what many say is a culture of downplaying sexual harassment and violence — and of giving impunity to the perpetrators — in a patriarchal society.

Last year, India’s Supreme Court criticized the Gujarat government, led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for the early release of 11 men convicted of gang-raping a Muslim woman, Bilkis Bano, during riots in the state in 2002. Upon their release, the convicts had been garlanded with flowers by well-wishers and praised by a BJP lawmaker as good Brahmins, the highest Hindu caste. In January, the Supreme Court canceled their release and ordered them returned to custody.

India’s female wrestlers staged demonstrations starting in January last year against the chair of the wrestling federation, accusing him of repeatedly groping women over the previous decade. But the powerful BJP politician faced no consequences until a court ordered police to investigate the case in April 2023

The chief of India’s National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, was herself accused of downplaying sexual violence soon after the Brazilian blogger’s experience became public.

When an American journalist retweeted the couple’s account of their assault and told of experiences of his own, saying he had never witnessed so much sexual aggression as in India, Sharma took him to task for “defaming” India.

Tourist couple alleges gang rape in India, sparking outrage and the arrests of 3 men (NBC News)

NBC News [3/4/2024 11:58 AM, Mithil Aggarwal, 3304K, Negative]
A tourist has alleged she was gang-raped and her partner was attacked while camping in India, sparking outrage and the arrests of three male suspects.

The woman, who has Brazilian-Spanish dual nationality, shared her account of the incident on Instagram, where the couple has drawn a large following tracking their motorcycle tour of Asia.

Police in India’s eastern state of Jharkhand, where the alleged incident took place, said that three men had been arrested and that they were hunting for four more.

The couple looked to have been beaten up when local police found them late Friday by a roadside, Pitamber Singh Kherwar, superintendent of police in the state’s Dumka district, told reporters Sunday.

“Since the victims were speaking in Spanish and English, our police officers could not properly understand what they were saying, but it looked like they were injured,” he said.

Kherwar said the couple, whose identities were not disclosed, were taken to a nearby hospital where doctors said the woman had been raped.

The three suspects were arrested Sunday, Kherwar said, adding that investigators had identified the four other men and they would be arrested “very soon.”

“Our priority is to get them maximum punishment so it is never repeated,” he added. Kherwar also said the couple will get compensation of up to $12,000.

The Indian National Commission for Women asked the police to charge those accused with gang rape, which is punishable by at least 20 years in prison, it said in a post on X on Saturday.

‘Something has happened to us’

“Something has happened to us that we would not wish on anyone,” the woman, who appeared with bruises on her face, said through tears in a video posted on her Instagram page, which has almost half a million followers.

“Seven men have raped me, they have beaten us and robbed us,” she said, according to an accompanying caption in English. The video is no longer available.

In a separate video posted Sunday on their joint Instagram page, which has over 250,000 followers, the couple said that “the police are doing everything possible to catch them. They already know who they are.”

They added: “We ask that justice be done, not only for us but also for all the other women and girls who have gone through this.”

In an interview with the Spanish TV channel Antena 3, the couple said the men raped the woman and hit her partner repeatedly.

“They raped me, they took turns while some watched and they stayed like that for about two hours,” the woman said in the interview, adding that they had decided to camp in the town since they found no hotels to stay at overnight.

NBC News is not naming the couple due to laws in India that prevent disclosing the identities of sexual assault victims. NBC News has reached out to the couple for comment.

The woman was on a motorbike trip with her Spanish partner, the Brazilian Embassy in New Delhi told NBC News in a statement, saying it had registered its “strong repudiation of the barbaric crime against the couple.”

They are being “looked after by the Indian emergency services,” the statement added.

The Spanish foreign ministry told NBC News that its embassy in New Delhi had been in contact with the couple to provide any consular assistance.

The couple had been documenting their trip to more than 200,000 followers on their joint Instagram account, with recent posts from neighboring Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

In their post on Sunday, they added that they had camped in 66 countries, many of which are considered “dangerous.”

“This can happen to any traveler, anyone,” they said.

Prominent Indian celebrities reacted to the incident, calling for the seven suspects to be swiftly apprehended. It was a “shameful act that we MUST show will not be tolerated,” Emmy winner and comedian Vir Das said in a post on X on Sunday.

Despite stringent laws, India has long struggled to tackle male violence against women.

An average of 86 rape cases were registered every day in the country in 2022, according to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau. However, many women still do not report cases of sexual violence to the authorities, especially in rural areas, where a stigma persists that such a disclosure may affect a family’s social standing.

In 2013, a year after the fatal gang rape of a young woman in the capital, New Delhi, authorities doubled the prison term for rapists to 20 years, criminalized acts such as stalking and voyeurism, and lowered the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.

But under current Indian laws, marital rape is still not a crime as long as the woman is above the age of 18.

Indian farmers cut off as activists warn of pre-election blackouts (Reuters)

Reuters [3/4/2024 8:35 AM, Mehran Firdous and Abrar Fayaz, 11975K, Negative]
They have been beaten with canes, doused in tear gas and blocked by concrete barricades and metal spikes but the thousands of farmers trying to march to India’s capital to demand higher crop prices also face an invisible barrier - digital blackouts.

As their caravan of tractors and trucks moved from the northern state of Punjab towards New Delhi in February, the farmers found their phones going dead as state authorities imposed temporary internet shutdowns.

It is not the first time authorities have cut the internet - India imposed the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022 - and campaigners fear more digital crackdowns ahead of elections expected by May.

Farm union leaders are seeking guarantees, backed by law, of more state support or a minimum purchase price for crops.

The farmers, who set off on their "Delhi Chalo" (Let’s go to Dehli) protest in early February, were stopped by security forces about 200 km (125 miles) north of the capital, with water cannons and tear gas used to push them back.

They are now camped out at Shambhu Barrier, on the border between the states of Punjab and Haryana.

Since Feb. 12, Haryana state authorities have cut access to mobile internet services at regular intervals and for several days at a time. They said they did so to "stop the spread of misinformation and rumours" and to prevent the mobilisation of "mobs of agitators and demonstrators", according to local media.

The farmers, many of whom are members of the Sikh religious minority from Punjab, say the shutdowns made it hard to get medical help for the injured and to source food. It also cut them off from their leaders, making coordination difficult.

"Snapping the communication lines only spreads rumours and distresses our families," said Hardeep Singh, a 28-year-old who was nursing an injured eye after recent clashes with police.

"We’re already far away from home and the communication blackout adds to our miseries," he said.

Neither the chief minister’s office in Haryana nor the state’s telecoms ministry responded to requests for comment.

Campaigners have accused the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of repeatedly using internet shutdowns to stifle opposition.

"The alarming trend of internet shutdowns coupled with widespread online censorship is a grim reflection of digital authoritarianism, particularly in the lead-up to elections," said Gayatri Malhotra of the digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation.

"Should this trajectory persist, it threatens to severely impede people’s access to information, curtail their capacity to make informed electoral decisions, and restrict their freedom to organise, assemble and communicate their electoral demands peacefully," Malhotra told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

NO SIGNAL

India frequently uses internet shutdowns to control protests, including in disputed Kashmir and northeastern Manipur state, where dozens have died in ethnic clashes since last year.

Mobile access has also often been cut during elections and examinations and these shutdowns were often imposed for indefinite periods and without the publication of shutdown orders, in violation of a 2020 judgment by the nation’s top court.

The state of Haryana ranks fourth in the country for the highest number of internet shutdowns, following Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Manipur, according to Delhi-based advocacy group Software Freedom Law Center.

The farmers’ protests have already sparked other restrictions.

Dozens of accounts on social media platform X have been suspended for backing the farmers, with rights groups and those affected calling the step a worrying sign in the world’s largest democracy where nearly a billion people will cast their votes in national elections due by May.

Although the farmers’ protest is confined to Punjab for now, their complaints of falling incomes resonate more widely, highlighting a perception in India’s huge rural hinterland that Modi has done too little to support the farming community and raise living standards.

Over 40% of India’s 1.4 billion people are dependent on agriculture and many say they have suffered economically under Modi. Hardeep Singh, for example, grows wheat and rice on his four-acre farm, but like many he said poor returns on investments, including pesticides and farm equipment, made it increasingly difficult to make ends meet without guaranteed prices for his produce.

While pollsters say Modi will almost certainly win a rare third term in office, the discontent of farmers will be a headache for years to come.

The federal agriculture ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the protesters’ demands for higher guaranteed prices for all crops.

‘STATE OF DARKNESS’

Farmers said the blackout not only stopped them from spreading their message to the outside world, but also blocked them from receiving information and instructions.

"The internet was our primary means of ensuring our protests receive adequate coverage and reach a wider audience, free from the interference of mainstream media that often portrays us in a negative light," said Taranjeet Singh, a 34-year-old farmer. In Punjab, Singh is a common surname and middle name.

To overcome the challenge, many farmers have installed television sets in their tractor trailers to get the latest news.

The blackouts also make it harder to treat injured and sick people, and to contact emergency services such as ambulances.

"We are forced to walk several kilometres away from the protest site to access stable wireless network connections, which wastes our valuable time, and could prove fatal for those injured and requiring immediate medical care," said Baba Sukhdev Singh, a 50-year-old volunteer with the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, one of the unions leading the march.

Many farmers also said signal jammers were being used in the area, preventing them from contacting people in their villages to ask for food supplies.

Taranjeet Singh said farmers were left walking around in desperation, asking one another about what the protest leaders might want them to do next.

"The communication blackout casts us into a state of darkness, exacerbating the chaos and confusion," he said.

India sees $4.95 bln investment for natural gas network in Kashmir, northeast (Reuters)

Reuters [3/4/2024 7:52 AM, Nidhi Verma, 5239K, Positive]
India expects investment of about 410 billion rupees ($4.95 billion) from companies to build natural gas pipeline infrastructure in its northeastern states and northern federal territories of Kashmir and Ladakh, a minister said on Monday.

India, one of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, is seeking to boost the use of cleaner fuel to cut its carbon emissions and has set a 2070 goal for net zero carbon emissions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targeting raising the share of natural gas in India’s energy mix to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.2%. Natural gas, while still a fossil fuel, emits less CO2 than coal.

"The envisaged natural gas infrastructure development in north-east states would also lead to better utilisation of domestic gas being produced locally in the region," Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters.

India invited bids in October for licences to supply natural gas to small industries, automobiles and households in five northeastern states - Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalya, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh - and the northern union territories of Kashmir and Ladakh. Oil Minister Puri on Monday awarded licences to winners.

City gas distribution (CGD) network will cover the entire northeastern region by end of 2025, said Anil K Jain, chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board(PNGRB) told a news conference.

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL.NS), opens new tab and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL.NS), opens new tab have a licence to set up a CGD network in one northeastern state each. Northeast-focused explorer Oil India (OILI.NS), opens new tab also won a licence for setting up a CGD in two areas in separate tie ups with Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.

Jain said building of pipeline network will also help in monetising surplus gas from the blocks operated by Oil India and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS), opens new tab in the northeastern states.

GN Saibaba: India frees disabled academic jailed for Maoist links (BBC)

BBC [3/5/2024 2:05 AM, Staff, 14.2M, Neutral]
A court in India has acquitted a disabled academic and four others serving life sentences for allegedly having links to Maoist rebels.

GN Saibaba, who is paralysed from the waist down, was convicted in 2017 for waging an insurgency against the state.

He has denied all the allegations against him.

A court in Maharashtra state acquitted him in 2022, but India’s top court had suspended the order and asked for a re-hearing.

On Tuesday, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted Mr Saibaba and others and set aside their life sentences.

A former professor at Delhi University, Mr Saibaba was first arrested in 2014 after he was accused of being a member of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Maoist rebels say they are fighting for communist rule and rights for tribal people and rural poor.

Mr Saibaba had travelled to tribal areas and prominently campaigned against the activities of the Indian military and a pro-government, anti-Maoist militia.

But he denied any involvement with the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

A local court, however, said in 2017 that he was guilty of "criminal conspiracy and waging war against the nation".

In his verdict, the judge said that "though he is physically handicapped, he is mentally fit", and that "the imprisonment for life is not a sufficient punishment to the accused".

In 2022, the Bombay High Court cleared him of all charges but the verdict was challenged by the Maharashtra government in the Supreme Court, which then suspended the order.

The court said that the accused had been convicted of a "very serious" crime "against the sovereignty and integrity of the country", and that the high court had not dealt with the facts of the case.

Activists and human rights group have criticised the wheelchair-bound activist’s persistent arrest, calling it unjust.

United Nations Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor had called it an "inhumane and senseless act" that bore "all the hallmarks of a state seeking to silence a critical voice".

‘We exist’: A Himalayan hamlet, forgotten by Indian democracy (Al Jazeera)

Al Jazeera [3/4/2024 4:14 PM, Gurvinder Singh, 2.1M, Neutral]
Jiten Toto has lived longer than independent India, all of his 80 years spent in the small hamlet of Totopara nestled in the green foothills of the Himalayas in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.

He walks with a bamboo stick to his plot of farmland, the size of a football field, where he grows millets, tomatoes and brinjal in neat rows. It feeds his family, and earns them income from the sale to visiting traders who take the produce to other markets.

Jiten has seen dozens of harvests and 17 national elections pass by. Now, as India prepares for its 18th general election, he has little hope that anything will change in a tiny corner of the country whose unique residents feel they’ve long been forgotten by the world’s largest democracy.

Totopara gets its name from the Toto tribe that Jiten belongs to. One of the smallest tribes in the world, the total Toto population is estimated at about 1,670 people. Nearly 75 percent of them are eligible to vote. The Indo-Bhutanese community lives almost exclusively in Totopara, a village with narrow lanes surrounded by hills, which sits just 2km (1.2 miles) from India’s border with Bhutan.

When India votes between March and May, polling officials will come – as they have in previous elections – to set up a camp where the villagers can cast their votes on electronic machines. But despite that exercise in democracy, many Totos say their small numbers and remote geography mean that politicians have repeatedly ignored their concerns.

“Not much has been done for our development. We still face poor roads and pathetic health services,” says Jiten. “No political leader after the poll has ever come here to take stock of our situation.”

There’s also a more recent tension that’s enveloping Totopara and upsetting the Totos – migration from Bhutan has now turned them into a minority in the village, stoking worries that the small community could be squeezed out of its own traditional home.

Shifting demographics

The exact history of when and why the Totos settled in Totopara is unclear, says Samar Kumar Biswas, a professor of anthropology at the University of North Bengal.

“But they might have moved here from Bhutan to avoid confrontation with unfriendly powerful Bhutias during the middle of the 18th century,” he says. The Bhutia are the majority community in neighbouring Bhutan.

What is known is that up until 1939, the Totos were the only inhabitants of the village. Then, in the 1940s, a dozen Nepalese families came from Bhutan and settled there, says Biswas. “After that many non–Toto families came and settled in Totopara village permanently,” he adds.

In 1986, and then again in the early 1990s, the Bhutanese government expelled many ethnic Nepalese communities: One-sixth of the population of the Himalayan kingdom had to flee.

“Some of those Nepali families settled at Totopara for their survival,” Biswas says.

Today, Totapara has a population of about 5,000 people, only a third of whom are Totos. Nepalese communities make up much of the rest of the village’s population, followed by small numbers of residents from other parts of West Bengal and the neighbouring state of Bihar.

This has affected the land holdings available to the Totos. Until 1969, all of the village’s 1996.96 acres (808 hectares) belonged to the community, according to land records, says Riwaj Rai, a researcher whose work has focused on the Toto tribe. The land was owned collectively by the community.

Then, in 1969, the government introduced private ownership of the land, and declared more than 1,600 acres (650 hectares) open for others to settle in and claim. The remainder, some 17 percent of the village land, was set aside by the government for the Totos. But community members say they do not even control that land – in fact, they say, they don’t even know the exact patches of the village that legally belong to them.

“We have no issue with the non-Totos,” says Bakul Toto, secretary of Toto Kalyan Samity, a community group fighting for their rights. “But we want our portion of land back that was granted in 1969.

“The state government conducted a survey of the land after our persistent requests in 2022 which gave us a hope of getting our land holdings back. But the result of the survey is yet to be made public, even after two years.”

That, he says, raised questions in the minds of the Totos about the seriousness of the state government – led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress – in addressing their worries.

Prakash Newar, who hails from a Nepalese community, says it would be wrong to brand non-Totos as outsiders.

“We have been living here for generations after our forefathers settled here,” he says. “We have lived amicably with Totos.” Nepalese, he says, would be willing to vacate land that courts decide belongs to Totos, “after all the legal options have been exhausted.”

Senior government officials did not respond to repeated calls and text messages from Al Jazeera.

Need doctors, not elephants

But land and tensions between communities are not the only challenges Totopara grapples with.

The road from the village to Madarihat, the nearest town 21km (13 miles) away, is cratered with potholes and crosses river beds that get flooded during the monsoon when Totopara gets cut off from the rest of India.

“Sometimes, it takes up to two to three days for the water to recede and (people to) resume travel. We have been demanding the construction of over-bridges for a very long time but nothing has been done for us and we continue to suffer,” says Ashok Toto, 54, a village resident.

The increasing population of the village, he claims, has also led to deforestation, resulting in a rise in human-animal conflict over the years.

“Earlier, the elephants rarely came to the village but now they come here almost every day searching for food and attacking those coming in their way,” he says. “The massive deforestation has not only led to the substantial loss of flora and fauna but also the drying of natural streams on which we were dependent for drinking water. Water crisis is now a major issue here.”

The village’s solitary primary health centre has had no doctor since July 2023: three other staff members and a pharmacist run it.

“Serious cases are referred to far-flung hospitals, around 70-80km (43-50 miles) away,” says 36-year-old Probin Toto. During the monsoon, with the road flooded, this becomes impossible at times. “We immediately need a doctor here but the government is yet to pay heed to our demands.”

The next generation in crisis

The only secondary school in the village, the government-run Dhanapati Toto Memorial High School, has just eight teachers when it is entitled to 20. Three years ago, it had 18 teachers but a government initiative that allowed teachers to transfer to public schools closer to their homes led to an exodus. The government also has not hired any new secondary school teachers since 2011.

The result? A surge in dropouts. The school, which had 350 students just three years ago, now has 128 students.

“Most of the subjects have no specialist teachers,” says Annapurna Chakraborty, a teacher. So parents “take their children out of school and send them to distant schools or even for work due to poverty,” she adds.

Bharat Toto, 25, has a postgraduate degree in maths, and has recently started to teach village students and dropouts to encourage them to return to school, “We do not want any freebies from the government but we require a strong education that would act like a weapon to fight for our rights,” he says.

A lack of jobs also hobbles prospects for Totos, say community members. Most homes have tall areca trees in their compounds and sell betel nuts to traders for their livelihood.

“The betel nuts have been saving us from starvation as there are no jobs for us,” says 34-year-old Dhananjay Toto, who has a postgraduate degree yet works as an agricultural labourer. “I had applied for the government job of a librarian but didn’t get it.”

Other than the Trinamool Congress that rules the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is the other major political force in West Bengal.

The Totos say they have not decided who they will vote for in the coming elections:

Not that it matters, says Jiten, as he trudges back home, with dusk descending on Totopara.

“We are part of the world’s largest democracy,” but “our handful of votes hardly matter for any political party,” he says.

“I doubt if most of them know that we even exist here.”

NSB

China Gives Maldives Defense Help as Indian Troops Leave (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg [3/5/2024 4:30 AM, Dan Strumpf, 5.2M, Neutral]
China agreed to provide free military assistance to the Maldives, the island’s defense ministry said, signaling closer defense ties with Beijing just months after Indian troops were forced to leave the country.

The Maldivian Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with China to provide the assistance, it said on the social-media site X on Monday, adding it would foster stronger bilateral ties. The post was accompanied by photos of a signing ceremony with defense officials from both countries. No specific details about the agreement were provided.

The move is the latest sign of closer ties between the Maldives and China following the election in September of President Mohamed Muizzu, who campaigned on promises to reduce India’s influence on the country and draw closer to Beijing.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday the country is “committed to building a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” with the Maldives.

“The cooperation doesn’t target any third party and shouldn’t disturb any third party,” the ministry’s spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing in Beijing. China’s Defense Ministry didn’t immediately reply to a faxed request for comment.

Shortly after his visit to meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing in January, Muizzu made a formal request to India to withdraw troops from the island. India said last month it would accede to the request by May 10. India and China have alternately vied for influence over the Maldives, investing heavily in its infrastructure and extending loans.

Maldivian media on Monday separately reported that China had also provided 12 “eco-friendly” ambulances to the Maldives, adding that the vehicles would improve healthcare access in remote islands.

Maldives signs defense deal with China amid rift with India (Deutsche Welle)

Deutsche Welle [3/5/2024 4:06 AM, Staff, 2.7M, Neutral]
Maldives officials said on Tuesday they have ordered Indian troops to leave the archipelago and signed a "military assistance" deal with China.

The Maldives Minister of Defense and a senior Chinese military official "signed an agreement on China’s provision of military assistance gratis to the Republic of Maldives, fostering stronger bilateral ties," according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense on X, formerly Twitter.

India and Maldives had historically enjoyed good relations, which turned sour after pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu came to power on an "India Out" platform in last year’s elections.

The islands, which lie in a strategically important position halfway along major east-west shipping routes, have long been considered by India as part of its sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean.

Rift between India and Maldives

The Indian military will complete a full withdrawal of around 89 troops, who were asked to leave by Muizzu.

The troops, who had been deployed to help operate three reconnaissance aircraft, given by India to the Maldives to monitor its maritime borders, are expected to leave by May 10.

India is expected to start replacing the military personnel with civilian staff to operate the aircraft.

Last week, the Indian navy announced it would boost "operational surveillance" from the island of Minicoy in the Lakshadweep islands, which lie about 130 kilometers north of the Maldives.

Last month, a Chinese marine research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03, had been given permission to dock in the Maldives. Muizzu also signed a series of infrastructure, energy and agricultural deals with China during a visit to Beijing in January.

India has been wary of China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean, including Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Nepal’s communist parties join forces to form a new coalition government (AP)

AP [3/4/2024 8:27 AM, Staff, 22K, Positive]
Nepal’s two largest communist parties joined forces to form a new coalition government on Monday that will also include smaller parties as partners.

Maoist party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal will remain prime minister a year after he was elected to the office.

Dahal has ended his partnership with the Nepali Congress party, the largest group in parliament, and is now joining forces with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), the second-biggest party led by Khadga Prasad Oli.

Dahal appointed three new ministers on Monday who were sworn in to office by President Ram Chandra Poudel in Kathmandu. The Cabinet is expected to be expanded through negotiations between the new partners in the coalition government.

Dahal’s party is the only third-largest group in the 275-seat House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament.

However, he was chosen as prime minister last year after the general election with the support of the largest political party. That partnership lasted for a year.

In the previous election in 2017, Dahal and Oli had combined their parties and won the election. Oli became the prime minister, but halfway through the five-year tenure, their partnership ended.

Political stability has remained elusive for Nepal, which has had 13 different governments since 2008, when the centuries-old monarchy was abolished and the Himalayan nation turned into a republic.

Nepal PM forms new coalition, dumps old allies (Reuters)

Reuters [3/4/2024 8:54 AM, Gopal Sharma, 11975K, Negative]
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal named three ministers, including one each from two opposition parties, in a new coalition on Monday, dumping the centrist Nepali Congress party which had dominated his previous government.

Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla leader in the mountain nation lying between China and India, formed a coalition cabinet including the Nepali Congress and other smaller groups last year.

But his Maoist Centre party, which is the third biggest group in the 275-member parliament, had criticised the Nepali Congress for not giving him free hand and putting "hurdles" to removing some ministers with whom he was not satisfied.

Dahal named a three-member cabinet including one minister each from the new coalition partners - the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). The third minister is from his own Maoist Centre party.

No portfolio was allocated to any minister for now.

President Ram Chandra Paudel administered the oath of office to the new ministers, a presidential statement said.

"It is clear that the prime minister himself broke the coalition with us," said Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Nepali Congress general secretary.

But an aide to the prime minister blamed the Nepali Congress for not cooperating with him.

"There were mainly policy differences that made it difficult for the prime minister to continue to work with the Nepali Congress. So he is bringing in the UML and RSP as new coalition partners," Govinda Acharya, Dahal’s press secretary, told Reuters without elaborating.

Party officials said Dahal, 69, wanted to remove some "non-performing" ministers including Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, who is from the Nepali Congress, saying he had not done enough to boost growth of the $40 billion economy.

Mahat has said the economic condition of the country was better now than last year.

Dahal’s Maoist Centre and the Nepali Congress are also claiming the chair of the upper house of parliament the National Council, a parliamentary body key to making new laws.

Analysts said after the change in coalition partners the prime minister must take a vote of confidence in the parliament within 30 days, which he is expected to win.

The full cabinet is likely to be announced after that, party officials said.

Dahal led a decade-long insurgency from 1996 which caused 17,000 deaths before he joined the mainstream under the 2006 peace deal overseen by the United Nations.

He is serving a third time as prime minister but did not complete the full five-year term during his previous stints.

Nepal has had 13 governments since it abolished its 239-year-old monarchy in 2008 and became a republic.

Sri Lanka cabinet agrees to absorb $553 mln debt from national carrier - minister (Reuters)

Reuters [3/5/2024 5:40 AM, Uditha Jayasinghe, 5.2M, Neutral]
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to absorb about $553 million in debt from state-run SriLankan Airlines, a top official said on Tuesday, to smoothen its divestiture and make it more attractive to potential investors.

Sri Lanka, which is struggling to emerge from its worst financial crisis in decades, is undertaking a major divestiture drive in loss-making government-owned enterprises, including the national carrier, under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $2.9 billion bailout.

The cabinet approved a proposal for the country’s Treasury to absorb part of the national carrier’s debt, which includes $378 million owed to state banks and a $175 million state-backed bond it defaulted on last February, Ports Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told reporters.

Sri Lanka expects about $500 million from the divestiture, which the government hopes to complete in six months, he added.

"The debt will be reduced to about half of the amount which is there now. Therefore, we feel that there will be more airlines, and entrepreneurs or investors that will come now the airline becomes attractive," he said.

The total debt of SriLankan Airlines is estimated to be about $1.2 billion.

The airline, which has been racking up losses for years, invited bids on 31 October, but the deadline to close bids by December 4 was extended by 45 days, de Silva said. The government will continue funnelling about $60 million-$70 million per month for the next six months to keep the carrier afloat.

"Otherwise, if we go at this rate without any assistance the airline will collapse at any moment and 6,000 employees will be out of employment," de Silva said.

Sri Lanka’s economy is gradually recovering from the financial crisis that was caused by record low reserves, leading to sky-rocketing inflation and currency depreciation.

The airline, one of Sri Lanka’s biggest loss-making state enterprises, has struggled in recent years with a fall in tourism because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the transaction adviser.

Sri Lanka cultivates sustainable fashion for an economic revival (Nikkei Asia)

Nikkei Asia [3/4/2024 4:00 PM, Marwaan Macan-Markar, 293K, Neutral]
The small town of Arayampathy on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast was once part of the turf contested by government troops and Tamil separatists in the country’s three-decade civil war. Now, years after the guns fell silent, the farming and fishing community is an unlikely contender to shape the future of global fashion.

A sprawling garment factory of Brandix, a leader in the local apparel industry, is nestled among ebony trees and flowering plants on a 4-hectare property. Elephants roam in nearby scrub forests. The facility boasts green credentials to match the setting: Rooftop solar panels keep its machines and air conditioners running, solar tubes light the interior for 1,600 workers per shift, and processing systems treat wastewater. The entrance sports a plaque conferring a platinum rating from the U.S.-based Leadership in Energy and Environment Design program, the highest for any factory in Sri Lanka.

The factory is not alone in embracing "green chic."

Many are convinced that greener manufacturing and a commitment to sustainability hold the key to making Sri Lanka’s garment industry more competitive. In turn, a successful green buildup of an industry that already accounts for nearly 50% of Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange income via exports could help put the crisis-plagued economy back on track.

Across the Sri Lankan garment sector -- which commands only a small global market share but supplies big-name brands like Gap, Patagonia, Hugo Boss and Victoria’s Secret -- factories are following a similar pattern. "More and more factories have started on this journey to make up for scale by offering sustainable manufacturing products," said Yohan Lawrence, secretary-general of the Joint Apparel Association Forum, the Sri Lankan garment industry’s top body. "It is becoming the financially correct choice to climb up the value chain by investing in innovation and environmental sustainability."

Doing so is not easy for an industry navigating international and domestic economic storms. The current global slowdown slashed $1 billion off Sri Lanka’s apparel export earnings in 2023, which fell to $4.5 billion, according to JAAF data. This came after the nation of about 22 million suffered a financial meltdown in 2022, when it defaulted on its sovereign debt for the first time. And before that, the employers of an estimated 320,000 workers were forced to adopt strict health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet none of this has quashed Sri Lanka’s motivation to go green. The Board of Investment, the government’s foreign investment promotion arm, has joined the fray by rolling out plans to transform three of its 14 free trade zones into environment-friendly areas.

Hosting an International Climate Change Forum last November, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke of plans to transition to a clean economy and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Recognizing the expertise limitations and financial constraints that stand in the way -- he said it would cost $100 billion -- Wickremesinghe spoke of the need to enhance climate financing capabilities and said the country is "reaching out to multilateral development banks and bilateral partners to obtain the necessary knowledge and support."

For its part, Brandix says it is aiming for net-zero emissions at all 13 of its plants by the first quarter of 2024, with six having already reached the target. "Sustainability is a hot topic globally today, and producing garments to meet sustainable standards is becoming a base requirement," said Hasitha Premaratne, managing director of Brandix.

Sri Lanka’s quest to become a bigger player in sustainable fashion comes as the industry draws closer scrutiny for its environmentally damaging global footprint. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the fashion sector contributes between 2% and 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, releases 9% of the microplastic that enters the ocean and consumes 215 trillion liters of water per year. Activists say this trail of pollution and excessive consumption must be stopped.

"Given the urgency of the climate crisis, we are at a tipping point, not just for the industry but for the planet, and we need to work fast if we are to reverse the worst impacts of climate change," said Angela Ng, a director at the Hong Kong branch of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). "Traditional business models exacerbate social and environmental problems, and we are not doing enough or evolving fast enough to not only mitigate but to improve them."

SAC is a San Francisco-based global nonprofit alliance of 300 leading apparel, footwear and textile brands, retailers and manufacturers. Its Decarbonization Program has set its sights on a global green goal: to drive the sector toward an "ambitious and necessary" CO2 emissions reduction of 45% by 2030.

Asia -- home to some of the world’s largest garment factories, spanning China and Bangladesh to Indonesia and Vietnam -- has taken a cue. Environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund say that the green trend in the apparel business has accelerated ahead of other manufacturing sectors in the region.

International brands have set out annual performance targets for Asian suppliers that include "phasing out coal-fueled boilers, energy and water efficiency," said Hoang Thanh Nga of the WWF’s Vietnam office. "Some brands even set higher ambitions for their key strategic supplies, such as rooftop solar energy, wastewater recycling [and] recycled content in fabric."

This is not just about altruism. Watchdogs of the multibillion-dollar apparel industry say global brands, like the big ones that source from Sri Lanka, are going green because of shifting tastes among consumers. "We see that the garment industry is increasingly listening to concerns in society around its business model," said Christie Miedema, campaign coordinator at the Clean Clothes Campaign, an Amsterdam-based global network that advocates for better labor rights and working conditions in the garment industry.

"We see this happening among brands which start wind farms ... use alternative materials ... or among factories which try to attract brand’s clientele by placing solar panels."

Either way, many Sri Lankan suppliers are attempting to answer the call. A fabric park run by MAS, another leader in Sri Lanka’s apparel industry, is among them.

The park is a privately owned special economic zone stretching over 65 hectares in a wooded area of Thulhiriya, along the banks of the Maha Oya river. With a workforce of about 10,000, it has a state-of-the-art plant to tap the river and purify the water for use, before treating the waste and discharging it back. The process is tracked by a team of vigilant engineers, one of whom insisted that the "investment has been done to meet sustainability standards, not based on the profitability aspect."

MAS acquired the site, where a neglected textile mill once stood, and started a gradual greening process back in 2006. For electricity, the facilities use solar panels and biomass.

Farther south, in the Kalutara district, Sri Lanka’s largest weft-knitted fabric manufacturing plant uses a gauge from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to prove its green bona fides.

SAC’s Higg Index is a combination of five tools to measure and assess social and environmental performance. "We have achieved a 90-plus Higgs Index score (out of 100), because international brands measure us against this score," said Ranga Herath, deputy general manager at Hayleys Fabric, where power is generated through renewable energy such as biomass and solar, contaminated water is treated and waste is recycled. "We also have QR codes in our products for international brands, so you can scan and trace the backstory of a shirt, to trace how sustainable it is."

Yet even the most ambitious environmental endeavors do not bring immediate relief for other problems in Sri Lanka and the industry itself. As the country attempts to pull itself out of bankruptcy, many of the poor face a life in darkness due to electricity cutoffs.

Change in this area has been "easier to implement with a one-off investment without changing the whole business model," observed Miedema at the Clean Clothes Campaign. "These measures might genuinely lower energy use of these factories, however usually do little to nothing for the well-being, safety or alleviating the poverty experienced by the workers."

But over the long term, the hope is that such changes will strengthen the economy and open up new opportunities.

Back at Brandix in Arayampathy, the shift to sustainable production of garments such as Nike shirts for children is seen as a timely answer to Sri Lanka’s limited international market share and scale. "Maintaining green compliance is where the sector is heading," one of the factory’s managers said. "Green-friendly brands are the future."

Central Asia

Kazakhstan: PM heads to Moscow with pledges of deepening cooperation (EurasiaNet)

EurasiaNet [3/4/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
For his first foreign trip since being appointed, Kazakhstan’s new prime minister on March 4 traveled to Russia, where he was showered with plaudits about the robust health of bilateral relations.

If Moscow has any concern about Astana’s loyalty on the economic front, it is not showing any signs of it.

"Despite the turbulence in the global economy, Russian-Kazakh interaction is developing successfully,” Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told his visiting counterpart, Olzhas Bektenov “Russia ranks first among Kazakhstan’s foreign trade partners. Last year, mutual trade turnover amounted to more than 2.5 trillion rubles ($27.4 billion) … and exceeded the record figure set in 2022.”

Bektenov responded with similarly effusive language.

“An important area is industrial cooperation. This has already become a hallmark of successful bilateral cooperation. Our governments will make every effort to implement agreements reached by the leaders of our countries,” he said.

Bektenov’s office developed this theme further by noting that companies from the two countries are currently jointly developing 135 projects with an aggregate worth of $26.5 billion.

“Furthermore, 67 joint projects worth $14 billion are being developed in key sectors of the economy, including in mechanical engineering, metallurgy and in the chemical industry. Thanks to these efforts, more than 11,000 jobs will be created,” Bektenov’s office said in a statement.

Russia prizes its relationship with Kazakhstan on its own terms, but it also sees its southern neighbor as an integral piece of an agenda to pivot its trading partnerships away from Europe and the West in general. Mishustin underscored this point by alluding to Russia and Kazakhstan’s “enormous potential for cooperation in the field of transport and logistics.”

“The most important transit routes in Eurasia pass through the territories of our countries,” he said.

Talks between Bektenov and Mishustin in part addressed the modernization of border infrastructure, and more specifically the need to improve the efficiency of cross-border transit. A plan discussed by the pair aims to see the reconstruction of 29 border crossings by the end of 2027.

"As part of our phased work, by the end of 2027, we will have reconstructed 29 out of 30 identified crossings, taking into account their workload," the Kazakh government statement explained.

Kazakhstan is also, meanwhile, being eagerly courted by the West for its potential to advance a competing agenda known as the Middle Corridor.

In keeping with that vision, European and other international financial institutions in January announced plans to invest 10 billion euros ($10.2 billion) into developing infrastructure enabling the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to expand its potential.

Cultural and humanitarian ties also featured prominently in the discussions in Moscow, with Mishustin pointing out the education of over 60,000 Kazakh students in Russia as a testament to the strong connections between the two countries.

"This academic year, the government has allocated an additional 200 places for citizens of Kazakhstan in Russian universities," Mishustin said.

Russia Issues Warrant For Ukraine’s Ex-Ambassador To Kazakhstan (Radio Free Europe)

Radio Free Europe [3/4/2024 8:38 AM, Staff, 223K, Negative]
A court in Moscow has issued an arrest warrant for Petro Vrublevskiy, the former Ukrainian ambassador to Kazakhstan, on a charge of inciting hatred.

The court also ruled on March 4 to add Vrublevskiy to Russia’s wanted list. Earlier, Vrublevskiy was placed on Russia’s registry of terrorists and extremists.

Vrublevskiy found himself at the center of a scandal in August 2022 -- about six months after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine -- after he said in an interview with noted Kazakh blogger Dias Kuzairov that "the more Russians we kill now, the fewer of them our children will have to kill in the future."

Moscow and Russian organizations in Kazakhstan then demanded Astana expel the diplomat for his controversial statement, but the Kazakh authorities refused, though they did ask Kyiv to replace him.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in early October 2022 that Moscow was "outraged" by the fact that Vrublevskiy remained in Kazakhstan, adding that the Kazakh ambassador to Russia had been summoned over the issue.

In response, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said that the tone of Moscow’s request to expel the Ukrainian ambassador was "dissonant to the character of the allied mutual ties between Kazakhstan and Russia as equal strategic partners."

The Kazakh side also said at the time that Astana and Kyiv had a "full understanding" of the situation and that a decision on the diplomat leaving Kazakhstan would be made solely by Kyiv.

The Kazakh Foreign Ministry also said at the time it had summoned the Russian ambassador to Kazakhstan over the situation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fired Vrublevskiy in mid-October 2022.

The Kazakh government under President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has been trying to maintain cooperation with Ukraine, its Western allies, and Russia since Moscow launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

While not openly condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Toqaev has publicly stated that his country would not recognize Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Kazakh businesses last year set up so called "invincibility" yurts (traditional nomadic felt tents) in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and several other Ukrainian cities to provide local residents with food, tea, warmth, and the possibility to charge electronic devices.

Kyrgyzstan: Officials brush aside uranium anxieties over Kyzyl-Ompol field (EurasiaNet)

EurasiaNet [3/4/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
Plans by Kyrgyzstan’s government to develop reserves of uranium and dozens of other rare earth metals around the cherished Lake Issyk-Kul are generating discontent, although few are prepared to express this openly for fear of reprisals.

In an attempt to soothe moods, President Sadyr Japarov traveled last month to the city of Balykchy to meet community representatives from the Issyk-Kul and Naryn regions to offer reassurances about what might happen at the Kyzyl-Ompol field.

“During his speech, the president focused attention on the fact that more than 1,000 jobs will be created there,” said Kubatbek Baiterekov, a resident of the village of Kyzyl-Ompol who attended the encounter. “Japarov gave assurances that this will be a second Kumtor [gold mine], and that all profits from the uranium mine will go directly to the state budget.”

Officials in Japarov’s camp have said that development of the mine will be carried out by a state-run company, and that this should guarantee only safe methods are used. They have moreover insisted that there is little uranium at Kyzyl-Ompol. The mine will focus on extracting titanomagnetite, a different mineral, they say.

Titanomagnetite is an ore that can be used to make steel and extract titanium and has applications that range from aircraft construction to making medical devices.

Concerns around the prospect of the development of Kyzyl-Ompol have been bubbling away for at least five years. In 2019, one year before President Sooronbai Jeenbekov was toppled by Japarov, local activists mounted rallies in protest at exploration work being done by Russian company UrAsia Kyrgyzstan. In the face of that outcry, the authorities revoked the company’s license.

But as one participant of the February 19 meeting with Japarov told Eurasianet, such disagreement is now robustly discouraged. Indeed, dissent across the board in Kyrgyzstan is being steadily suffocated out of existence through repressive measures, rights activists say.

At one stage of the Balykchy consultations, Japarov asked those present to vote with a show of hands to gauge support for the idea of developing the Kyzyl-Ompol field. The result was illustrated in a photo distributed by the presidential press service: everybody raised their hands.

“What could we do?” said one meeting attendee on condition of anonymity. “All of us state employees and [local government] representatives were driven from nearby villages and taken to Balykchy. Five years ago, we held a rally, and then the authorities listened to us. Now we are afraid to voice opposition, given that many critics of the government are in prison, including some members of parliament.”

While there may have been limited pushback in Balykchy, some of those present did insist on clarity. One person asked about a 2019 moratorium on geological studies aimed at finding, exploring, and developing uranium and thorium deposits.

“Japarov quickly and curtly replied that the moratorium would be lifted,” Baiterekov said. “The other officials who spoke presented data on the volume of minerals that would be mined: fully [14.8] million tons. What’s interesting is that titanomagnetite is mostly what is being extracted – 95 percent. Uranium is present only in small quantities – 0.17 percent.”

Mining engineer Omurbek Kasymbekov told Eurasianet that a lot of misleading information has been circulating about Kyzyl-Ompol, and that this accounts for the anxiety now. To attract foreign capital, the government has in the past – specifically, in Jeenbekov’s time – offered outside developers licenses indicating that the deposits were rich in uranium, Kasymbekov said.

And it seems the boast may not have been entirely hollow.

“In fact, it is considered a titanomagnetite deposit, but in addition to that, there is … phosphorus, zirconium, thorium and uranium. There are not large amounts. But in quantitative terms, there are at least 25 tons of preliminary uranium deposits at Kyzyl-Ompol,” Kasymbekov said.

Officials are bandying around grand boasts about how much wealth they believe Kyzyl-Ompol can generate for Kyrgyzstan. Akylbek Japarov, the head of the Cabinet (no relation to the president), said in January that the field holds deposits worth $300 billion.

Some in the now-meek parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh, have nevertheless gone on record to stress that they see environmental safety as more important than economic profit.

Elvira Surabaldiyeva said in parliament last month that she has always been against the idea of developing uranium deposits.

“I was surprised that residents who opposed uranium mining in 2019 have suddenly changed their mind and now agree with the position of the current government,” she said.

She couched those remarks in a call for a technical safety evaluation, which she said was imperative to avoid a repeat of an incident like the one that occurred in 1998, where trucks on the road to the Kumtor gold mine spilled around a ton of cyanide into the Barskoon River, which runs into Lake Issyk-Kul.

Government scientists have previously offered negative assessments regarding the wisdom of developing Kyzyl-Ompol. They have cited the precedent of Soviet-era uranium mining in the south of the country, where it is believed that tailings are still seeping into the environment and adversely affecting the health of the local population.

Kyzyl-Ompol is located at an altitude above Issyk-Kul, which means any sediment, dust, and dirt produced there is liable to make its way to the lake. And it does not help that President Japarov has sent contradictory messages on this point.

“The operation of the mine will be safe,” said Bektur Osmonaliyev, a Balykchy resident, relating the president’s pledges. “At the same time, he believes that the land cannot be cultivated there, and the water cannot be drunk either due to the fact that underground wells pass through the uranium.”

Social media is usually where one might find traces of grumbling, but even that relatively lively space has been muted in its positions on Kyzyl-Ompol.

Elnura Tashmatova, a resident of Karakol, a town to the east of Lake Issyk-Kul, said she received warnings from the State Committee for National Security, or GKNB, the successor agency to the KGB, after posting messages against uranium mining. Tashmatova says she complied with demands to delete posts out of fear of prosecution on trumped-up charges.

Her case is not isolated. Activists and residents around Issyk-Kul have told journalists that they have been threatened with arrest if they should try to whip up opposition to the Kyzyl-Ompol project.

As ecologist Kalia Moldogaziyeva told Eurasianet, even if the field contains just small amounts of uranium, that is no assurance that contamination is not possible.

“Even if they mine titanomagnetite, the uranium there is in a fairly high concentration and during mining and transportation it will spread with dust and affect the environment and the population,” she said.

Moldogaziyeva said that if the government is serious about its pledges to safely remove uranium from the field, it is going to have its work cut out.

“If uranium is spread across 43,000 hectares … then the amount of work to completely clear the territory of uranium is going to be enormous,” she said.

Worrying Water Levels at Kyrgyzstan’s Critical Toktogul Reservoir (The Diplomat)

The Diplomat [3/4/2024 11:51 AM, Catherine Putz, 201K, Negative]
Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Minister of Energy Taalaibek Baygaziev has once again called for consumers to be mindful of their electricity usage as water levels in the Toktogul reservoir drop.

In a March 4 press conference, Baygaziev warned that the Toktogul reservoir – which supplies hydropower stations that provide around 40 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s electricity – is approaching dangerously low levels.

Toktogul’s capacity is 19.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of water. It is considered “dead” at a level somewhere between 6.5 and 5.5 bcm – that is, when there is too little water to turn the turbines and produce electricity.

24.kg reported in early March that the water level at Toktogul was falling rapidly, comparing the first two months of 2024 to the previous year’s levels. For example, on February 1, 2023 there was 9.35 bcm in the reservoir and a year later that measure was 9.25 bcm. On average, the reservoir lost 45.7 million cubic meters each day in February. 24.kg forecasted that if the present pace of water loss continues, the “dead” mark may be reached sometime in April.

The report noted circumstances that affected both water usage and inflows into the reservoir, namely the accident at the Bishkek thermal power plant in early February and low temperatures that have kept water locked up in snowpack. In his March 4 press conference Baygaziev noted that after the accident at the Bishkek power plant some residents of the Kyrgyz capital switched to electrical appliances for heat, increasing consumption.

24.kg, which is under pressure from the state, also reported on public complaints about recent waves of blackouts. Energy officials say the outages are the result of equipment overload; customers are less convinced, with some telling 24.kg that the outages come at specific times, day after day.

In the March 4 press conference, Baygaziev urged people to limit electricity usage during peak demand times in the morning and in the evening. He noted that daily electricity consumption had recently increased to 69-70 million kilowatt-hours per day and that it needed to drop to 54 million kilowatt-hours or risk the reservoir’s operations.

He also noted that two units at Kyrgyz hydropower plants – one at Toktogul and another at Uch-Korgon – will be taken offline for repairs. He said that the current capacity of the country’s power plants would decrease by 290 MW while rehabilitation work was underway. The two projects, financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), are scheduled for competition in November and December 2024.

In December 2023, the energy ministry called on Kyrgyzstanis to conserve energy by using energy efficient light bulbs and unplugging electrical appliances when not in use. At the time, the Toktogul reservoir’s level was around 11.5 bcm, 1.2 bcm less than in 2022. Deputy Minister of Energy Atabek Abylgaziev told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, Radio Azattyk, that “citizens should not worry” about power outages.

In the same report, Kyrgyz energy expert Rasul Umbetaliev warned that “By April 1, 2024, 6.5 billion cubic meters of water may remain in the Toktogul reservoir. And such a low level is dangerous because at 6 billion cubic meters, water will stop reaching the units and the hydroelectric power station may stop.”

In August 2023, Kyrgyz authorities declared a three-year energy emergency to “bring the Kyrgyz Republic out of the energy crisis associated with climate challenges, low water inflow in the Naryn River basin, [and a] lack of generating capacity in the face of rapidly outstripping growth in energy consumption.” The ministry tried to moderate the declaration by saying that there was no immediate emergency but that urgent action needed to be taken and that the declaration would help clear bureaucratic hurdles.

Uzbekistan: Dozens repatriated after illegally traveling to U.S. (EurasiaNet)

EurasiaNet [3/4/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
Media in Uzbekistan reported on March 3 on the return of 47 Uzbek nationals who were deported from the United States after making it into the country unlawfully.

Uzreport, a private but typically on-message broadcasting outlet, carried interviews with some of the returnees in a pointed effort to discourage others from attempting the same trip.

One said he had spent $10,000 on getting to the United States.

“I left home in July and arrived in the States in August. But I couldn’t find a job,” the interviewee said. “My advice to those who want to go is don’t. It’s just advertising. The only thing you will get is an illness. It is all a lie.”

Getting to the United States was described as a harrowing ordeal. An account shared with Uzreport described a group of around 400 Uzbeks getting stranded in Madrid without their luggage – a situation that culminated with them being deported to Turkey. Some then somehow made it to Guatemala, from where they made their way on foot, at times through the jungle, all the way to the U.S. border.

This set of deportations is the result of a now well-worn pattern of Uzbek nationals seeking to enter the United States illegally through Mexico. The U.S. government has said 13,000 Uzbeks were detained trying to do that very thing between 2021 and 2023.

There is sparse information about how many are being repatriated. Uzreport reported in December on another 119 people who entered the United States illegally being repatriated.

That development was greeted with strong approval from the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.

“Uzbekistan’s partnership to facilitate the return of its nationals subject to removal from the United States shows its commitment to international obligations,” the Embassy said in a statement. “Persons who cross the U.S. border unlawfully will be barred from legal re-entry for a minimum of five years.”

U.S. law enforcement appears particularly alarmed at the role that transnational militant organizations like the Islamic State may be playing in the illegal border-crossing industry.

CNN reported in August on how the FBI was conducting investigations into how more than a dozen migrants, including from Uzbekistan, had made it into the United States and sought asylum with the assistance of people-smugglers with ties to the Islamic State. The report was later confirmed by the White House.

According to the CNN report, the link was discovered during a screening by Department of Homeland Security officers of migrants from Uzbekistan, who were described as being among an expanding cohort of Central Asians seeking asylum in the United States in recent years.

Twitter

Afghanistan

Jahanzeb Wesa
@Jahanzi12947158
[3/5/2024 1:30 AM, 2.5K followers, 2 retweets, 4 likes]
900 days since the Taliban banned girls from going to school. Afghanistan is the only country in the world that prohibits girls from going to school. In the past 2 years, the Taliban has restricted women’s lives with more than 50 regulations, and has not dismantled any of them.

Jahanzeb Wesa
@Jahanzi12947158
[3/4/2024 2:14 PM, 2.5K followers]
Congratulations to Benafsha Yaoobi for winning the big award. She is so active and inspiring in her women rights activities in Afghanistan. Best wishes. @HeatherBarr1 @Amnesty @SR_Afghanistan @tomas_niklasson #LetAfghanGirlsLearn

Shaharzad Akbar
@ShaharzadAkbar
[3/4/2024 12:50 PM, 175.1K followers, 9 retweets, 26 likes]
As we near March 8, International Women’s Day, below is some of d many ways in which Taliban limited, policed, harassed & erased Afghan women since March 2023. Need 4 persistent global solidarity 4 reopening of schools, return of women 2 work & reversal of all bans @rawadari_org

Pakistan

Anwaar ul Haq Kakar
@anwaar_kakar
[3/4/2024 7:32 AM, 143.6K followers, 1K retweets, 3.6K likes]
As my tenure as Caretaker Prime Minister of #Pakistan comes to an end, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone. It has been an honor to serve our nation during this critical time. I am proud of the progress we’ve made together. 1/2

Anwaar ul Haq Kakar
@anwaar_kakar
[3/4/2024 7:32 AM, 143.6K followers, 69 retweets, 453 likes]
Wishing the incoming government success and prosperity as they lead Pakistan into the future. Farewell, and may Pakistan continue to prosper and thrive. Amen 2/2

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[3/4/2024 10:23 AM, 209.7K followers, 10 retweets, 21 likes]
I spoke to @diaahadid about Shahbaz Sharif-why he is the next Pakistan PM, and what are the challenges he could face on the economic reforms front? https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1235731903/pakistans-new-prime-minister-is-also-the-countrys-old-prime-minster

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[3/4/2024 10:53 AM, 209.7K followers, 617 retweets, 1.7K likes]
Many of Pakistan’s key partners and donors-China, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the U.S.-have congratulated new PM Shahbaz Sharif as he assumes office. Not for the first time, Pakistan’s government is poised to earn more legitimacy from foreign capitals than from its own populace.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/4/2024 4:43 PM, 42.5K followers, 7 retweets, 92 likes]
The most important decision facing Pakistan’s new govt is the appointment of the finance minister. For the country’s sake, the evidence is clear: it cannot be Dar.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/4/2024 4:21 PM, 42.5K followers, 6 retweets, 8 likes]
Interest payments take up 57% of govt revenues in Pakistan this year; highest relative to other Asian economies (source: https://ft.com/content/fbdf57c2-cce4-4c35-827a-1528899f5fb7)

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/4/2024 10:52 AM, 42.5K followers, 9 retweets, 43 likes]
Notably - nothing so far from the State Dept or White House for new PM Shehbaz, but likely that a statement will follow soon given the ambassador’s congratulations. Will be interesting to see how congressional calls for investigations into alleged election fraud are addressed.

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/4/2024 10:54 AM, 42.5K followers, 2 likes]
(Those investigations, of course, are likely to get nowhere in Pakistan given that its legal system and election commission are compromised.)

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/4/2024 10:58 AM, 42.5K followers, 8 likes, 38 likes]
Tallying the messages of congratulations so far to Shehbaz Sharif, who was elected prime minister yesterday by Pakistan’s new parliament:
- Chinese president Xi Jinping and premier Li Qiang
- UK foreign secretary David Cameron
- US ambassador Donald Blome

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/4/2024 10:58 AM, 42.5K followers, 4 likes]
- Turkish president Erdogan
- Iranian president Raisi

Madiha Afzal
@MadihaAfzal
[3/4/2024 10:27 AM, 42.5K followers, 13 retweets, 35 likes]
Despite all the calls for investigations of alleged election fraud in Pakistan, these claims are likely to get short shrift in the country, where the legal system has worked largely in concert with the establishment this election cycle (as in the past). https://www.brookings.edu/articles/pakistans-surprising-and-marred-2024-election-and-what-comes-next/

Brahma Chellaney
@Chellaney
[3/4/2024 1:39 PM, 262.5K followers, 29 retweets, 141 likes]
The military’s preferred candidate has returned as the PM of crisis-torn Pakistan but the government he heads lacks popular legitimacy, with its survival dependent on the generals. Meanwhile, the country’s economy, teetering on the brink of collapse, needs another IMF bailout.

Hamid Mir
@HamidMirPAK
[3/4/2024 11:47 PM, 8.4M followers, 899 retweets, 2.2K likes]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) will release its World Press Freedom Index soon. Detention of two Pakistani journalists @AsadAToor & @ImranRiazKhan is a big story now. Their detention may drop the ranking of Pakistan on Press Freedom Index. @RSF_inter

Hamid Mir
@HamidMirPAK
[3/4/2024 12:25 PM, 8.4M followers, 61 retweets, 433 likes]
JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman is planning to start a movement against the new government after Ramzan. His meeting with Nawaz Sharif never produced any positive results but Attaullah Tarar is still hopeful that Maulana sahib will come back in the fold of new government.

India

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/5/2024 1:27 AM, 95.9M followers, 1K retweets, 3.3K likes]
BRS and Congress lack vision for the development of Telangana. BJP is fully committed to diligently serving the people of the state. Addressing a rally in Sangareddy.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/5/2024 1:03 AM, 95.9M followers, 9.3K retweets, 21K likes]
Prayed for the good health, well being and prosperity of all Indians at the Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthanam, Secunderabad.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/4/2024 1:07 PM, 95.9M followers, 3.8K retweets, 19K likes]
Earlier today, witnessed the commencement of “core loading” of India’s first and totally indegenous fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam, which produces more fuel than is consumed. This will pave way for eventual utilisation of India’s vast thorium reserves and thus obviate the need for nuclear fuel import. It will help India achieve both energy self reliance and progress towards net zero goal.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/4/2024 12:40 PM, 95.9M followers, 3.4K retweets, 21K likes]
Dr. HV Hande, respected statesman, intellectual and former Minister in the Tamil Nadu Government came to bless me at the public meeting in Chennai. I am grateful to him and told him that we will keep working to build a Viksit Bharat. @DrHVHande1

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/4/2024 10:46 AM, 95.9M followers, 10K retweets, 75K likes]
A very special interaction! At Chennai airport, one of our Karyakartas, Shri Aswanth Pijai Ji was there to welcome me. He told me that his wife had just given birth to twins but he hadn’t met them yet. I told him he shouldn’t have come here and also conveyed my blessings to him and his family. It is heartening to see that our party has such dedicated and devoted Karyakartas. Seeing such love and affection of our karyakartas makes me emotional.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[3/4/2024 5:16 AM, 95.9M followers, 2.8K retweets, 10K likes]
Today is a very special day for the growth trajectory of Telangana. Works worth Rs. 56,000 crore were either inaugurated or their foundation stones were laid. I congratulate the people of Telangana!

NSB

Awami League
@albd1971
[3/5/2024 12:46 AM, 636.3K followers, 15 retweets, 26 likes]
#Bangladesh exported goods valued at $5.18 billion in February, witnessing a 12.04% increase compared to the same month in 2023, as per the latest data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). In January, the country earned $5.72 billion, marking an 11.5% year-on-year growth. https://daily-sun.com/post/737673 #Export #ExportEarning #Trade #MadeInBangladesh

Awami League
@albd1971
[3/4/2024 6:10 AM, 636.3K followers, 38 retweets, 93 likes]
HPM #SheikhHasina said the #AwamiLeague government adopted the ‘Border Guard Bangladesh Vision-2041’ in a bid to develop the BGB as a world-class border guard force. During the BGB #NationalParade Day, PM appreciated their roles in protecting #Bangladesh’s borders, combating different border crimes, and standing beside the people during any crisis. https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/bgb-being-equipped-smart-technology-protect-frontiers-pm-802978

Sabria Chowdhury Balland
@sabriaballand
[3/5/2024 1:42 AM, 5.1K followers, 1 retweet, 3 likes]
A group of Bangladeshi influencers and political activists launched an "India out" campaign after the January elections, claiming that the Modi government has not only been ignoring its neighbor’s democratic backsliding but also actively backing Sheikh Hasina to stay in power for its own self-interest. #IndiaOut #Bangladesh Does India influence Bangladesh politics? https://p.dw.com/p/4d8Rl?maca=en-Twitter-sharing

Sabria Chowdhury Balland
@sabriaballand
[3/5/2024 12:35 AM, 5.1K followers]
What does de facto single-party rule mean for #Bangladesh? While unchecked dominance is an ostensibly enviable political position for a ruling party, past and present examples of dominant-party systems around the world illuminate common but not uniform challenges with unresponsive governance, corruption, abuse of authority, clientelism and economic stagnation — but also the function that meaningful competition and freedom in politics, government and the economy serve in blunting these harmful dynamics. https://usip.org/publications/2024/03/perilous-moment-bangladeshs-democracy

Sabria Chowdhury Balland
@sabriaballand
[3/4/2024 10:32 PM, 5.1K followers, 1 like]
In the 15 continuous years that Sheikh Hasina’s regime has been in power by rigging “elections”, it has done absolutely nothing for climate change, pollution, clean air & respiratory disease control. This is “development” & “smart #Bangladesh” to the corrupt regime. Dhaka sees rise in air pollution and related diseases in February https://en.prothomalo.com/environment/pollution/1bhnhw62mn

Sabria Chowdhury Balland
@sabriaballand
[3/4/2024 2:26 PM, 5.1K followers, 2 retweets, 14 likes]
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, called for a swift review of the cases filed against opposition leaders and activists in #Bangladesh on Monday and urged political dialogue and reconciliation. Addressing the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, the UN rights chief highlighted rights concerns across the world, according to a press statement by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. UN rights chief calls for review of cases against opposition in Bangladesh https://newagebd.net/article/227025/un-rights-chief-calls-for-review-of-cases-against-opposition-in-bangladesh

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[3/5/2024 1:31 AM, 107.2K followers, 57 retweets, 59 likes]
Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the People’s Republic of China pays a courtesy call on President Dr Muizzu https://presidency.gov.mv/Press/Article/30330

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[3/4/2024 10:26 AM, 107.2K followers, 71 retweets, 81 likes]
President Dr @Mmuizzu met with the Island Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) members of Kudarikilu Island in South Maalhosmadulu Atoll, where discussions centered on the Island’s most pertinent issues.

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[3/4/2024 10:21 AM, 107.2K followers, 80 retweets, 86 likes]
President Dr @MMuizzu met with the Island Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) members of Kamadhoo Island in South Maalhosmadulu Atoll, where discussions centered on the Island’s most pertinent issues.

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[3/4/2024 8:14 AM, 107.2K followers, 76 retweets, 85 likes]
President Dr @MMuizzu arrives in Kendhoo Island in the South Maalhosmadulu Atoll. This is the last stop on his trip to the islands of Raa and Baa Atolls.

Central Asia

Joanna Lillis
@joannalillis
[3/4/2024 2:03 AM, 28.7K followers, 2 retweets, 1 like]
What’s going on with #Kyrgyzstan’s Kyzyl-Ompol uranium mine? Japarov wants to get mining going, locals "are afraid to voice opposition, given that many critics of the government are in prison, including some members of parliament” - @eurasianet reports https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-officials-brush-aside-uranium-anxieties-over-kyzyl-ompol-field

Joanna Lillis
@joannalillis
[3/4/2024 3:54 AM, 28.7K followers, 4 retweets, 6 likes]
Nearly 200 Uzbeks deported from #USA to #Uzbekistan in last couple of months after illegally crossing from #Mexico - that route is a trend, and it’s notable how many seem to be using it despite risk of deportation

{End of Report}

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