SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Wednesday, November 27, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Russia Looks To Remove Taliban From Terror List (Newsweek)
Newsweek [11/26/2024 12:11 PM, Hugh Cameron, 49093K, Neutral]
Russian lawmakers have put forward a bill that could pave the way for the Taliban to be removed from the country’s list of recognized terrorist organizations.
The bill has been submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, by seven senators and five Duma members, the Kyiv Independent reported.
It outlines a new process to remove organizations from the registry if they no longer engage in terrorist activities, despite their past actions.
"The amendments proposed by the bill are aimed at eliminating the defined legal gaps and securing the possibility of temporarily suspending the ban on the activities of an organization included in the list of terrorist organizations by a court decision," the bill reads.
Political scientist Pavel Sklyanchuk said that this "would allow the Taliban (an organization recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation) to be excluded from the relevant register."
Despite being the ruling power in Afghanistan, the Taliban is currently recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., U.K., and many other nations.
It has remained on Russia’s list of "Organizations Recognized as Terrorist" since 2003. At that time, Russia blamed the group for supporting separatists movements in the North Caucasus, and was supportive of the American-led coalition’s efforts to overthrow the movement.
If this legislation is passed, "this would certainly be a victory [for] the Taliban," Vanda Felbab-Brown, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy program, told Newsweek. However, she said that this would fall in line with Russia’s years-long effort to "strengthen relations" with the group.
"It prioritized getting rid of the U.S. from Afghanistan, from its backyard, from its neighborhood as more important than the uncertainties about terrorism, migration and civil war should the Taliban come to power," Felbab-Brown added.
Following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2021, and the ousting of President Ashraf Ghani, Russia has committed to normalizing relations with the group. While it has not yet recognized them as the legitimate representatives of the country, it has sent envoys to the Afghanistan and organized diplomatic meetings aimed at fostering closer ties.
In October, Russia hosted Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, alongside representatives from India, Iran, China, Pakistan and several post-Soviet states at a meeting in Moscow.
During the meeting, the parties "reaffirmed their unwavering support for Afghanistan as an independent, united and peaceful state."
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went on to call for Western countries to lift sanctions on Afghanistan, saying: "We urge Western countries to recognize their responsibility for the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan, lift sanctions restrictions and return the appropriated assets of Kabul."
In October, the Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov also told reporters that the government was "putting finishing legal touches" on the removal of the Taliban from its list of terrorist entities, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
The latest bill follows a visit to the country by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who on Monday met with the Taliban and reiterated his country’s support for trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
"We intend to develop bilateral cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan in many areas," Shoigu said, as reported by Tass. "I confirm our readiness to establish a constructive political dialogue between our countries, including for the purpose of giving impetus to the process of intra-Afghan settlement."
As well as the potential economic benefits of improved ties with Russia, as well as China, Felbab-Brown told Newsweek that the more important aspect of the Taliban’s developing relationship with Moscow was "the greater legitimization of the Taliban regime."
"I think there is an intriguing possibility that Russia might be trying to include Afghanistan, in some form, in its axis of rogues," she said, referring to Moscow’s existing alliances with North Korea and Iran.
"Russia [could] be prosecuting its own agenda here, in trying to build up a set of regimes and countries that are willing to forgive, or do not care, about Russia’s own egregious violations of international law or the international system," she added. Numbers of Afghans, Chinese coming through key migrant crossing surged since 2021: report (FOX News)
FOX News [11/26/2024 4:27 PM, Adam Shaw, 60726K, Neutral]
The number of nationals from countries like Afghanistan, China and Iran coming through a key migrant crossing linking Panama and Colombia has increased dramatically in the last four years, according to a new report by a conservative group.
The report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) - which advocates for lower levels of immigration - looked at the increase in migration through the Darien Gap in the last four years since 2021, compared to 2010-2020. The report was first obtained by Fox News Digital.
Citing statistics from Panama, it found that the number of Afghans passing through increased from 98 between 2010-2020, to 8,294 between 2021 and 2024, a 8,363% increase. Meanwhile, Chinese nationals increased from 299 to 39,921. Iranian crossings increased from 14 to 935, and Syrians increased from 28 to 762.
Overall, numbers increased in the Darien Gap from 115,758 between 2010 and 2020 to 1.18 million in 2021-2024.
There have been widespread concerns about nationals from Afghanistan and China in the US. China is a geopolitical foe of the U.S., and Republicans have expressed concern about the potential for espionage or cyberattacks from CCP members who infiltrate the U.S.
"There have been numerous documented instances of Chinese nationals, at the direction of the CCP, engaging in espionage, stealing military and economic secrets," lawmakers, led by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said last year.
Meanwhile, concerns about Afghan nationals were highlighted when authorities foiled an Election Day terror plot being planned by an Afghan national who was paroled into the U.S. as part of the evacuation after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The report blames the crisis that has hit Panama on "open border policies" in the U.S. that "encourage migrants from all over the world to undertake a long, costly, and dangerous journey to reach the ‘El Dorado’ that is the United States."
"Migrants know that if they can somehow get to the porous borders of the U.S., they will likely be released into the country," it argues.
Overall, it finds that between 2021-2024, at least 760,000 nationals from "special interest" countries were encountered in the Gap - including nationals with links to Hezbollah and other terror groups. The report, citing data from Panama, found that over half of all those who crossed were adult men.
The top nationalities in 2024 to cross were Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Chinese and Haitians.
Numbers rocketed in the area from just over 6,000 in 2020 to more than 520,000 in 2023, and have since decreased to 286,000 in 2024. Panama elected a new president in May who campaigned on ending illegal migration through the area, and has since signed an accord with the U.S. Under that deal, the U.S. government would cover the costs of repatriations of those who entered through the Darien Gap.
The agreement said the U.S. would support Panama with equipment, transportation and logistics to send migrants caught illegally entering Panama back to their countries. Meanwhile, there has been a sharp drop in migrant encounters at the U.S. border this year, including a more than 55% decrease in encounters after President Biden signed a proclamation in June limiting asylum in the U.S.
President-elect Trump, meanwhile, has promised to provide additional border security and to launch a large-scale deportation operation after he is inaugurated.
FAIR says in its report that Panama, even with U.S. assistance, won’t be able to fully rectify the situation at the Darien Gap.
"A permanent solution to the Darién Gap crisis can only come from where the crisis originated, i.e., when American immigration policy stops inducing illegal aliens to make this dangerous trek," it says. After long wrangling, Blinken to testify in Congress on Afghanistan (Reuters)
Reuters [11/26/2024 1:13 PM, Patricia Zengerle, 37270K, Negative]
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has agreed to testify publicly at a House of Representatives committee hearing on the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, the panel said on Tuesday, after a long dispute with the Republican-led committee.House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said Blinken had committed to appear at a public hearing on Dec. 11 to discuss the committee’s investigation of the withdrawal three years ago.The committee and the State Department have been wrangling over Blinken’s appearance for months. Panel Republicans voted in September to recommend Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena.The State Department had contended that the panel was provided with large amounts of information, with Blinken testifying before Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times and the department providing nearly 20,000 pages of records, multiple high-level briefings and transcribed interviews.McCaul released a report on Sept. 8 on the committee Republicans’ investigation of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, blasting Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration for failures surrounding the evacuation.The issue had become intensely politicized before the presidential election on Nov. 5. In his successful bid for a second term, Republican former President Donald Trump drew criticism for shooting video for his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery where he appeared at a ceremony honoring troops killed in the evacuation.Trump also sought to pin blame for the withdrawal on Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent.Democrats have insisted some blame for the messy end of the war - less than seven months into Biden’s presidency - should be laid at the feet of Trump, who began the withdrawal process by signing a deal with the Taliban in 2020.The issue could become even more politicized after Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20, after he spoke during his campaign of firing those responsible for the pullout from Afghanistan. G.O.P. Senator Blocking Promotion of General Who Commanded Afghan Withdrawal (New York Times)
New York Times [11/26/2024 4:14 PM, Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, and Eric Schmitt, 831K, Neutral]
A Republican senator is blocking the promotion of Lt. Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, the commander of U.S. troops in the final days of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, in what could be the first salvo in a Trump administration war against America’s generals.
Senator Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, put a hold on General Donahue’s promotion to four stars, or general, after his nomination was sent to the Armed Services Committee last week, officials said.
Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, told reporters on Monday that the Defense Department was “aware” of the hold.
General Donahue was the last American service member to depart Afghanistan as Taliban fighters took control on Aug. 31, 2021. A decorated former Delta Force commander, Army Ranger and paratrooper with multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, he was recently selected to lead the U.S. Army’s Europe Command as the war in Ukraine heads into its fourth year.
General Donahue has long been seen as a likely candidate to eventually become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military’s most senior position.
Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host whom President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected as his defense secretary, has indicated that he wants to fire Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., an Air Force fighter pilot who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump transition officials have said they plan to go after generals in the Pentagon for a list of perceived crimes, including taking part in the Afghanistan evacuation and promoting diversity in the ranks.
And NBC News reported that the Trump transition team is exploring whether generals who were involved in the Afghanistan evacuation can be court-martialed, although it is unclear how they could be held culpable for following lawful orders from the commander in chief.
But if that purge includes General Donahue, 55, who is known throughout the military as “C.D.” and who led the Army’s successful rush to speed aid to Ukraine in the early days of the Russian invasion, then the American military may soon see a wholesale change in leadership.“I fought alongside C.D. in some of the most dangerous fighting along the Syrian border and can personally vouch for his individual bravery and leadership,” said Doug Philippone, who spent 18 years in the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan and is a co-founder of the venture capital firm Snowpoint Ventures.
General Donahue, Mr. Philippone said, “is one of the few generals that are pushing full steam against the bureaucracy to innovate and modernize our military.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Mullin’s office declined to comment.
The Oklahoma senator has been a vocal critic of the Afghanistan evacuation, a process that began during the first administration of Mr. Trump, who signed an agreement with the Taliban in February 2020 stipulating that American troops would leave Afghanistan by May 1, 2021.
But Mr. Mullin has reserved his criticism for the Biden administration, which carried out the Afghan withdrawal. In 2021, as a GOP congressman, Mr. Mullin posted a photo of himself on Instagram saying he was headed home from “helping get Americans out of Afghanistan.”
He wrote then: “President Biden and his administration are absolutely lying to the American people about Americans and our friends being left behind.”
For his part, General Donahue arrived at Kabul international airport on Aug. 18, three days after the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban. In front of him was an impossible puzzle: a sprawling airport besieged by desperate people trying to flee and not enough troops to carry out an orderly end to America’s longest war.
Days later, on Aug. 26, 2021, a suicide bombing at the airport’s Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and scores of Afghan civilians. General Donahue was not responsible for that part of the airport when the attack occurred.
His soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division held the airport for the final 48 hours of the U.S. mission and managed to evacuate Afghan and American citizens despite limited resources.
General Donahue was the commander on the ground on Aug. 29 when an American MQ-9 Reaper drone shot a Hellfire missile at a white Toyota Corolla in a neighborhood near the airport. The Pentagon at the time said the car was filled with bombs but later acknowledged that 10 civilians had been killed and that the car was carrying water bottles and posed no threat.
General Donahue’s supporters say he was dealt an impossible hand in Afghanistan at a time when civilian leaders had put the American military in an impossible position.
Withholding General Donahue’s promotion is both a “disservice” to him and “a slap in the face to the soldiers that spend their career fighting the wars of the last 25 years,” said Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East.“Politicians and policymakers should be held responsible for their own decisions, not those honor bound to carrying them out,” Mr. Mulroy said. “That hold on Chris Donahue’s promotion should be removed immediately.”
A company commander who was at the airport during the evacuation said it was “nuts” that General Donahue’s promotion was being delayed and that the troops who were on the ground that day should not be punished for what happened.
Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., who was head of U.S. Central Command during the American evacuation of Afghanistan, called General Donahue “one of the finest officers the U.S. Army has ever produced.”
General Donahue is the “commander you want in a tough situation,” General McKenzie said. “In short, he’s the best we’ve got.” Pakistan
Protesters Supporting Former Pakistani Leader Dispersed by Security Forces (New York Times)
New York Times [11/27/2024 3:50 AM, Salman Masood, 831K, Neutral]
Supporters of Imran Khan, the jailed former prime minister of Pakistan, who had marched on Islamabad leading to violent clashes with security forces were dispersed in a crackdown on Tuesday, with many fleeing the city. Four civilians were reported to have been killed by gunfire in the unrest, according to local media reports.
Thousands of protesters, led by Bushra Bibi, Mr. Khan’s wife, had gathered in the capital since Monday night. They vowed to stage a sit-in at a major town square near important government buildings, demanding Mr. Khan’s release. He has been in jail since last August on charges that his party claims are politically motivated.
Pakistan, an impoverished, nuclear-armed nation of 241 million people with a struggling economy, has been in a constant state of political turmoil since Mr. Khan’s removal from office in 2022 following a parliamentary no-confidence vote. Since then, he has accused the powerful military of orchestrating his removal and has led a protest campaign to reclaim power through public rallies.
The political crisis intensified after general elections earlier this year. Mr. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, claimed victory in the elections and accuses the current civilian government of being a puppet of the military.
The crackdown by paramilitary troops and police began shortly before midnight on Tuesday. Authorities turned off streetlights at the protest venue and ordered nearby shops, cafes and markets to close. The protesters, most of whom had come from the neighboring Khyber-Pakhthunkwa province, quickly dispersed as security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets, officials said. Mr. Khan’s supporters claimed that security forces had opened fire on the protesters, which the security officials deny.
By 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi appeared before journalists at the protest venue and announced that the area had been cleared. Officials said at least 500 protesters were arrested.
Ms. Bibi and Ali Amin Gandapur, a political ally of Mr. Khan who has led previous protests, managed to evade arrest and escaped to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is controlled by Mr. Khan’s party. Mr. Gandapur serves as its chief minister.
The protesters’ “hasty retreat,” as described by Dawn, one of Pakistan’s leading English dailies, surprised many and disappointed Mr. Khan’s supporters. For days, Ms. Bibi had vowed not to leave Islamabad unless her husband was released. “I will stay here till my last breath,” she declared in a speech earlier on Tuesday.
Tensions were high in the capital, with security officials ordered to use lethal force, if necessary, to protect key buildings. A day earlier, security officials said that three paramilitary troops had been killed during the unrest after being run over by a vehicle.
After the crackdown, Mr. Khan’s party called off the protest and accused security forces of killing dozens of protesters. The claim could not be independently verified and was denied by officials. Local media, citing hospital sources, reported that four civilians had died from gunshot wounds and dozens had been injured. Dozens of security officials were also injured in the clashes.
The country’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said that protesters had fled in disarray, leaving behind vehicles and even their shoes. “The miscreants had made big claims but failed,” he said.
On Wednesday, the authorities began removing roadblocks. The protest site was strewn with debris and trash, and several vehicles lay damaged. A truck used by Ms. Bibi had been burned to a char.
The political crisis has left Islamabad’s residents frustrated, with frequent protests and blockades disrupting daily life. Anticipating the protest, the authorities blocked major roads and suspended internet and cellular services in parts of the city. Schools, closed since Monday, are scheduled to reopen on Thursday.
Political analysts and rights groups condemned the violence and called for dialogue.“The government and the opposition, the PTI, must immediately engage in purposeful political dialogue — both on the floor of the house and among political parties,” the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement. “It is high time they agree on a peaceful way forward instead of inciting their supporters and bringing the country to a standstill.”
Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a public policy think tank in Washington, echoed the sentiment. He noted that the political crisis had led to repeated conflicts.“The solution to Pakistan’s problems lies in grand reconciliation among political parties and the state’s permanent institutions,” Mr. Haqqani said. Imran Khan’s Party Ends Pakistan Protest After Crackdown (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [11/26/2024 11:22 PM, Ismail Dilawar and Khalid Qayum, 27782K, Negative]
Pakistan’s opposition party of former prime minister Imran Khan ended its protest in the capital Islamabad on Wednesday as the government arrested hundreds of its supporters in an overnight crackdown after two days of deadly demonstrations.The “law enforcement force cleared the main avenue” in Islamabad, according to a statement by the interior ministry early morning. Top leaders of Khan’s party including his wife Bushra Bibi and Ali Amin Gandapur who were leading the protest, escaped from the area, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters after the crackdown.Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has called off the protest after the government’s “brutal action,” Atif Khan, a lawmaker of Khan’s party, said in a text message.The protest that began on Sunday killed at least six people including four security officials and roiled the country’s financial markets on Tuesday. Thousands of Khan’s supporters breached roadblocks and clashed with the police for the past two days to converge in Islamabad, defying efforts by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to stop them from entering the city.The protesters gathered near the so called Red Zone on Tuesday and the party announced to stage a sit-in till the government accepted their demand of releasing Khan from jail. The former cricket star is facing more than 150 cases from corruption to misuse of power when he was the premier for about four years until 2022.The search operation is ongoing and a large number of protesters who started a sit-in in Islamabad to demand Khan’s release from jail have been arrested, information minister Attaullah Tarar told ARY News earlier. The main protest area has been cleared and all the barricades will be removed on Wednesday, Tarar said.The protest is seen as the biggest political challenge since Sharif’s coalition government took power after national elections in February. The premier has said such protests are a distraction to his government, which is trying to reform the country’s weak economy by taking difficult decisions under the International Monetary Fund’s new loan program. Those include taxing agriculture and retail sectors that have resisted attempts in the past. Pakistan ends lockdown of its capital after Imran Khan supporters are dispersed by police (AP)
AP [11/27/2024 2:07 AM, Staff, 456K, Neutral]
Authorities reopened roads linking Pakistan’s capital with the rest of the country, ending a four-day lockdown, on Wednesday after using tear gas and firing into the air to disperse supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan who marched to Islamabad to demand his release from prison.“All roads are being reopened, and the demonstrators have been dispersed,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said.
Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who was leading the protest, and other demonstrators fled in vehicles when police pushed back against the rallygoers following clashes in which at least seven people were killed.
The police operation came hours after thousands of Khan supporters, defying government warnings, broke through a barrier of shipping containers blocking off Islamabad and entered a high-security zone, where they clashed with security forces.
Tension has been high in Islamabad since Sunday when supporters of the former prime minister began a “long march” from the restive northwest to demand his release. Khan has been in a prison for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases that his party says are politically motivated.
Hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested since Sunday.
Bibi and leaders of her husband’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party fled to Mansehra in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the party still rules.
Khan, who remains a popular opposition figure, was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Supporters of Pakistan’s Imran Khan call off protest, his party says (Reuters)
Reuters [11/27/2024 4:28 AM, Charlotte Greenfield and Mushtaq Ali, 5.2M, Neutral]
The party of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan suspended street protests seeking his release, it said on Wednesday, following media reports of hundreds of arrests by security forces in a sweeping midnight raid in the capital.
The sit-in had been called off, Zulfikar Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), confirmed, citing what he called "the massacre".
He was referring to Tuesday night’s raid in Islamabad after the protests resulted in the deaths of at least six people, among them four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters.
Visiting protest sites on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies had successfully cleared protesters from the spot targeted for the sit-in and other areas of the capital.
"I congratulate the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, Islamabad, Punjab, and Sindh police for their courageous role," Naqvi added.
Thousands of protesters had gathered in the centre of Islamabad the previous day, after a convoy led by Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, broke through several lines of security to reach the edge of the city’s highly fortified red zone.
Geo News and broadcaster ARY both said security forces launched a massive raid in pitch-dark central Islamabad, where lights had been turned off and a barrage of tear gas was fired.
The protesters were almost completely dispersed, they added.
On Wednesday, city workers were clearing debris and moving away some of the shipping containers authorities had used to block roads around the capital.
The red zone was empty of protesters but several of their vehicles were left behind, including the remains of a truck used by Bushra Bibi that appeared charred by flames, Reuters witnesses said.
The PTI had planned on staging a sit-in in the red zone, home to parliament, the diplomatic enclave and other key buildings, until the release of Khan, who has been in jail since August last year.
The party had called off the protest, its president for the city of Peshawar in the northern stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said.
"We will chalk out the new strategy later after proper consultation," Mohammad Asim told Reuters.
Khan’s wife and the province’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a key ally of the jailed leader, had returned "safely" to the province from the capital, he added.
Pakistan’s benchmark share index (.KSE) jumped more than 4% in intraday trade on Wednesday, recovering Tuesday’s losses when it closed down 3.6% on the news of political clashes.
"With valuations remaining highly attractive, we expect the positive momentum to continue going forward," said Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited.
The sharp market rebound was fuelled by hopes of political stability restoring investor confidence, he added. ‘The smog has conquered us’: Children bear the brunt of Pakistan’s pollution crisis (The Telegraph)
The Telegraph [11/27/2024 4:00 AM, Sarah Newey and Arthur Scott-Geddes, 1198K, Negative]As clouds of dense smoke enveloped Lahore in the winter of 2018, Dr Azhar Mukhtar decided it was time to leave.The city was increasingly struggling with toxic pollution, so the paediatrician moved his young family to the capital Islamabad, seeking better air for his children’s lungs.Six years on, the smog that has long choked Lahore is worse than ever. Locals describe being able to taste the fumes in the air, even while indoors, the schools have shut and plummeting visibility has closed motorways.Now, though, the haze is on the move.“It used to be a phenomenon of central Punjab, but this time the smog has conquered the north as well,” says Dr Mukhtar, who works in the OPD department at the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, the bustling city bordering Islamabad. “The smog is chasing us.”For weeks, swathes of Pakistan and parts of northern India have been blanketed by smoke.In Lahore, where more than 13 million people live, the air quality index or AQI – a measure of the concentration of harmful pollutants in the air – has soared well past the 1,000 mark on numerous occasions. A score higher than 100 is considered unhealthy, while anything above 300 is hazardous.The air quality has been similarly dangerous in Delhi, the Indian capital, and the Pakistani city of Multan this week recorded a staggering AQI of 2,553 – almost 190 times higher than the World Health Organization’s safe limit.The smog is clearly visible from space as a grey shroud cloaking the valleys and plains of Punjab. On the ground, it has created a health emergency for tens of millions of people and the effects are being felt across the country.“In the past few days, the number of patients has increased drastically,” says Dr Shahana Ghazil, a senior resident in the emergencies department at Holy Family Hospital, where they set up a ‘smog bay’ for the first time this month.Some 230 miles away in Lahore, officials said last week that 1.9 million people had been to hospital because of respiratory issues, leaving health facilities overcrowded with patients.“My worry is not just that this is causing acute asthma attacks in previously healthy people, or giving everyone a cough – when people are exposed to these triggers for a long time, they can develop chronic conditions,” says Dr Ghazil, who has herself developed a “debilitating” cough she blames on smog.But Dr Ghazil is most concerned about the impact the air is having on Pakistan’s children, including her own.“I do worry about him,” Dr Ghazil says, referring to her 18-month-old son. “How can you think about having a healthy life when you live in a place surrounded by pollution?”According to Unicef, 12 per cent of deaths in children under the age of five can already be attributed to air pollution – in Punjab province alone, 11 million children this age are currently affected by hazardous air.Outside the concrete and red brick hospital, Muhammad Akbar, a 65-year-old fruit seller, fears for his grandchildren’s future – and not only their health.“The [pollution] has been increasing every year. I blame the government for this,” he says. “But I am most worried about our children, who are not going to school… it will affect their education and development.“So we will go behind, rather than forward – I feel hopeless about it,” Mr Akbar says.Almost half of all school pupils, or about 26 million children, were affected when Pakistan’s schools were closed this month, a devastating blow to education after the disruption caused by the pandemic and then the floods in 2022.Prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution can lead to lifelong consequences for children, says Shaheen Chughtai, Regional Advocacy and Campaigns Director for Asia at Save the Children.“The younger you are, the more you’re affected,” he says. “With infants and younger children in particular, their lungs are still developing, their immune systems are still developing, their brains are still developing.”The effects of pollution on brain development can determine “how well they’ll do at school, the kind of jobs that adolescents will then get, whether they’ll go to university or not, and therefore their earning potential,” he says.The threat is “particularly inescapable” for low income families, he adds.“If you’ve got more wealth, then you can live in a cleaner, safer, healthier environment.”But even the richest and most powerful people are not safe from the far-reaching impact of pollution.Earlier this month, for example, Maryam Nawaz, the Chief Minister of Punjab and the daughter of Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, flew to Europe to get treatment for a severe throat infection.Pakistan’s air pollution woes have been blamed in part on the traditional coal and wood-fired brick kilns that pepper the areas around Pakistani cities.It’s estimated that there are as many as 20,000 kilns across the country, collectively producing more than 82 million bricks each year to feed the country’s construction industry.Many of the kilns are unregulated and human rights abuses are rife. The workers at some of them are persecuted Christians living in bonded slavery who work long shifts to meet aggressive production quotas.Just south of Islamabad, hundreds of chimneys vent pillars of smoke into the air around the clock.“We do know [pollution] is a problem, so we have tried to limit the black smoke,” says Naeem Khan, who owns a brick kiln around 15km from the city’s main airport.A combination of smoke blowers and a ‘zig-zag’ brick baking layout has turned the smoke emitted from black to white in line with updated government standards.“There’s now a full ban on brick kilns that ignore this, but I haven’t seen any closed yet and not everyone follows the regulations,” he says.The brick kilns are only one part of the picture, and the haze that descends on eastern Pakistan and northern India each year between October and January is not a new phenomenon.During the winter months, cooler temperatures and calmer winds combine with vehicle emissions, industrial fumes and crop stubble burning to create a perfect storm of pollution.The widespread use of coal for electricity generation is also a major factor. As it races to improve access to electricity, the government has allowed coal power to expand dramatically – two more coal-fired power plants opened in the southern Sindh province last year and there are five more planned.“Unfortunately every year it is getting worse, not better – that is our main concern,” says Dr Javed Akram, president of the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine, who is based in Lahore.“We know that it is a man-made disaster and we have to do something about it. But unfortunately we are failing because we have a weak political system here.”Pakistan, which has been mired in a political crisis since 2022 when Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote, badly needs consistent legislation and stability to help tackle the pollution problem, he says.“The government needs to make unpopular decisions, like moving all the factories emitting toxic fumes to outside of the cities, getting rid of the vehicles and reducing emissions, and also to tackle the stubble burning,” he says.“It’s more important than anything else. We know exactly what to do, but we have to implement it.” India
India suspends parliament again in row over U.S. action on Adani (Reuters)
Reuters [11/27/2024 3:59 AM, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, YP Rajesh, and Chris Thomas, 5.2M, Neutral]
India’s lower house of parliament suspended proceedings for a second day on Wednesday after disruptions by lawmakers demanding a discussion of the U.S. indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani, while stocks of his group’s companies clawed back some losses.
Last week U.S. authorities accused Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green (ADNA.NS) Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading U.S. investors.
The ports-to-power conglomerate denied the charges as "baseless" and vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse".
India’s opposition, especially the Congress party, accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, accusations that have been denied.
Parliament proceedings were disrupted for the second day since the winter session began this week, with MPs shouting slogans and demanding discussion of the Adani allegations.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been a vocal critic of Adani, said Gautam Adani should be arrested.
"The gentleman has been indicted in the United States ... and the government is protecting him," Gandhi told reporters outside parliament.
The government has made no comment on the indictment but the ruling BJP has distanced itself from the controversy.
The BJP had no reason to defend Gautam Adani, a spokesperson said, adding that the party was not against industrialists, but rather considered them partners in nation-building efforts.
"Let him defend himself," the spokesperson, Gopal Krishna Agarwal said on Tuesday, adding that the law would take its own course in case of wrong-doing.
On Wednesday, Adani Green, the company at the center of the indictment, said Gautam Adani had been charged in the United States for alleged violations of securities law and faced potential fines but had not been charged under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green said a complaint by U.S. regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sought "an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties (but) it does not quantify the amount of penalty".
The civil action launched by the SEC runs in parallel to U.S. federal prosecutors’ indictment against Adani and others.
STOCK REBOUND
Shares of 10 listed Adani Group firms recovered about $9 billion in market value on Wednesday, after having shed up to $34 billion since the indictments, up to Tuesday’s close.
Adani Green, the hardest hit by the accusations, jumped 9%, but is still down some $8 billion in value.
The indictments are seen as the biggest setback for Gautam Adani, 62, and his conglomerate.
French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), which has a 20% stake in Adani Green, has said it will not make any more investments in the group, adding that it was not informed of the U.S. bribery allegations against Gautam Adani.
Kenya has also cancelled a procurement process of more than $2 billion that had been expected to give control of its main airport to the Adani Group. Modi’s party distances itself from India’s Adani amid opposition protests (Reuters)
Reuters [11/26/2024 8:55 AM, Krishna N. Das, 37270K, Negative]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party said it had no reason to defend billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday following his U.S. indictment over alleged bribery to secure power deals in India.The main opposition Congress party has accused Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and stonewalling independent investigations into his dealings in the country, charges the ruling party has denied. Congress workers have also held street protests demanding a parliamentary probe.U.S. prosecutors have charged Adani, the ports-to-power group’s founder, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others for their alleged roles in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power supply deals across five Indian regions.The group has denied the charges, calling them "baseless" and adding that it would "seek all possible legal recourse".Federal Indian investigating agencies and the markets regulator have not commented on the indictment and did not respond to Reuters queries."We have nothing to defend him and we are not involved. Let him defend himself," BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said by phone. "We are not against industrialists. We consider them as partners in nation-building. But the law will take its own course if they do something wrong."Agarwal’s comments came after a state ruled by an alliance including the BJP, Andhra Pradesh, said it would explore if it was possible to cancel a power supply contract linked to the Adani Group in the state.Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Andhra was likely to suspend the contract and ask the federal government to investigate the charges.Adani Group and the Andhra government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.U.S. authorities have charged Gautam Adani and the other defendants with agreeing to pay bribes to unnamed Indian government officials to obtain solar power-supply contracts in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh states, as well as the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, between 2021 and 2022.All the states named by U.S. authorities were at the time ruled by parties opposed to Modi’s ruling alliance. Those parties have denied any wrongdoing, saying they had not dealt with Adani but a federal government agency.The Adani Group has businesses across Indian states ruled by different parties, and the BJP’s Agarwal said he expected those to continue."They have exposure in all states. And projects will continue, they will keep running," he said. Japan’s Top Chip Distributor Eyes Acquisitions in China, India (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [11/26/2024 4:00 PM, Takashi Mochizuki and Yuki Furukawa, 27782K, Neutral]
Japanese chip distributor Macnica Holdings Inc. is seeking possible acquisition targets in other parts of Asia, a sign of industry pressures to consolidate.Macnica, which sells chips made by the likes of Intel Corp.’s Altera, is eyeing an overseas acquisition to better hold its own against bigger competitors. Scale is becoming important even for distributors, who need to navigate the technological rivalry between the US and China and the resulting export controls and supply chain snarls, according to Macnica President Kazumasa Hara. China, Southeast Asia, India and South Korea are all areas of interest, he said.“We need to raise our market share as quickly as possible,” Hara said in an interview, adding that Macnica’s market presence remains low in growth regions such as China and Southeast Asia. An acquisition is “one option” and a deal requiring an investment of billions of dollars is “very likely,” he said.Japan’s biggest chip distributor, Macnica holds an estimated 22% share in a country crowded with more than 20 rivals. In April, Macnica bought one such competitor, Glosel Co., and the sector’s also seen the merger of Ryoyo Electro Corp. and Ryosan Co., but Hara said he isn’t eager for another acquisition at home. The company should be able to hit its market share target of 30% or more in 2030 organically, he said, reflecting growing concentration of business seen in chip distribution elsewhere.The Yokohama-based company, which often draws comparisons with factory automation provider Keyence Corp., may also conduct acquisitions to expand into other arenas, such as cybersecurity, Hara said. “When you look ahead, that’s one area that will grow,” he said.The goal is to lower Macnica’s reliance on semiconductors, which account for 90% of its sales. In addition to cybersecurity, it’s exploring arenas that are less capital-intensive than semiconductors, such as self-driving car networks and health care.Macnica’s stock is down about 40% from a February high, in part due to its exposure to industrial equipment chips in China.“It’s important to always be on the lookout for cutting-edge technologies to commercialize, just as we did with semiconductors in the past,” Hara said. India, Japan boost defence ties in bid for ‘free, open Indo-Pacific’ to counter China: experts (South China Morning Post)
South China Morning Post [11/26/2024 7:03 PM, Junaid Kathju, 9769K, Positive]
India and Japan are advancing defence ties with technology transfer agreements and talks on military interoperability, a partnership analysts say is aimed at countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific while upholding a free and open regional order.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani discussed a proposed reciprocal supply and services agreement on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
The pact, if finalised, would allow the militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases for repair and resupply, enhancing defence cooperation. It would also build on a number of other security tie-ups between the two nations.
Dr Shubhamitra Das, associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, said the evolving Indo-Pacific framework, championed by countries like the United States and its allies, had provided a strong foundation for India and Japan to deepen their partnership.
The strategy, which spans the vast region from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, emphasises a free, open, and inclusive regional order to foster collaboration among nations to uphold international law and counterbalance China’s growing influence.
"India and Japan have been close since the 1952 peace treaty. Both Japan and India are institution builders, and their partnership is aimed at ensuring a free, open, prosperous, and inclusive Indo-Pacific," Das told This Week in Asia. WHO Africa director-elect dies while receiving treatment in India (AP)
AP [11/27/2024 3:12 AM, Staff, 456K, Negative]
The World Health Organization’s regional director-elect for Africa died while receiving medical treatment in India, Tanzania’s parliament speaker said Wednesday.
Plans to repatriate the body of Tanzania’s Dr. Faustine Ndugulile, 55, were underway, Speaker Tulia Ackson said, adding that funeral plans would be announced later. She didn’t disclose Ndugulile’s ailment.
Ndugulile served as a member of parliament for Kigamboni Constituency in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. He was also the East African country’s health assistant minister between 2017-2020 and the information and communication minister until 2021.
He was elected as the WHO’s African director in August and was set to start his new role in February 2025, following Dr. Matshidiso Moeti who served in the role for two terms. In his acceptance speech, Ndugulile expressed a firm commitment to advancing the health and well-being of people in Africa.
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed condolences on social media platform X, calling his death “devastating,” while WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus wrote that he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by his death.
Several Tanzanian legislators also posted on X, saying Ndugulile was “a humble man.”
Godbless Lema, a former opposition legislator, wrote: “When in parliament, Ndugulile wasn’t as harsh as his colleagues in the ruling party.”
WHO regional directors have a five-year term and are eligible for reappointment only once. Toxic smog fuels debate over shifting India’s capital away from New Delhi (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [11/26/2024 9:47 PM, Kiran Sharma, 2376K, Negative]
The toxic smog cloaking New Delhi in recent weeks has been smothering its 20 million or so residents with dangerous pollution but breathing life into debate about whether the city can remain India’s capital.
For many days this month, the air quality index for the sprawling metropolis has oscillated between "severe" and "severe plus," driving authorities to take emergency steps such as closing schools, banning construction activity, ordering some vehicles off the road and pushing offices to tell half their staff to work from home.
"Delhi is officially the most polluted city in the world, 4x Hazardous levels and nearly five times as bad as the second most polluted city, Dhaka," Shashi Tharoor, senior leader of the opposition Indian National Congress party, recently posted on X."It is unconscionable that our government has been witnessing this nightmare for years and does nothing about it," Tharoor continued. "This city is essentially uninhabitable from November to January inclusive and barely livable the rest of the year. Should it even remain the nation’s capital?"His post came a day after Farooq Abdullah, the leader of northern Kashmir region’s National Conference party, said that "until the capital is moved out of Delhi, the pollution [crisis] won’t be solved."The pollution problem in the Indian capital, which is ruled by the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is not new. Conditions typically worsen in October and November, when farmers in the northern states, including the AAP-ruled Punjab and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-governed Haryana, burn the stubble of harvested crops to prepare their fields for the next season. Fumes from these states, coupled with pollution from other sources such as industry and vehicles, linger over the city amid calm winds and cooler temperatures."Every winter, Delhi braces for hazardous smog, and every winter, AAP fails to protect its citizens," the Delhi unit of Modi’s ruling BJP posted on X on Nov. 19, claiming that one in three residents of the city had recently bought cough syrup, 20% had turned to the pain-relieving drug paracetamol and 13% needed inhalers due to breathing issues. It added that deaths from respiratory diseases doubled in the region -- rising from 4.91% of total institutional deaths in 2005 to 9.93% in 2023.Not unexpectedly, AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi blames the Modi government, claiming that incidents of stubble burning have been rising in states governed by the BJP in northern India, including Uttar Pradesh. "Why [has] the whole of north India ... been pushed toward a state of medical emergency?" she said to reporters on Nov. 18. "Why is the [federal] government engaged only in politics on this issue?"Shifting a nation’s capital in the face of pollution would not be unprecedented -- Jakarta’s air quality was one of the reasons Indonesia started building Nusantara, which is planned to become the Southeast Asian nation’s capital.Meanwhile, during the British rule of India that ended in 1947, the country’s occupiers decided to shift the capital in 1911 from Calcutta (now called Kolkata) to Delhi, where they set up a temporary seat of government the following year.Two leading English architects took 20 years to construct government buildings, bungalows and avenues in the south of what is now called "Old Delhi." The capital city of British India was formally inaugurated in 1931, after being renamed New Delhi in 1927.Delhi continued to be the seat of government after the British left, housing India’s parliament, top court and various ministries. Now its population has grown to nearly 20 million from about 400,000 in 1911, with people from all over the country migrating there in hope of a better life. However, rapid urbanization has helped make the city one of the most polluted in the world.According to Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at environmental think tank Envirocatalysts, the idea of changing the capital city "sounds good as an alarm or as a slogan so that there is more urgency in acting on reducing pollution, but ... it is not a solution [to the problem]."Whenever the crisis escalates during the winter, "we become active, start taking reactionary steps [and] different kinds of restrictions come into force, but as soon as pollution levels go slightly down ... we stop taking systemic actions which should be taken throughout the year," Dahiya told Nikkei Asia.He pointed out the need to improve the city’s polluting transportation and waste management systems along with technology upgrades for its coal-based power plants and industrial sector. "When unfavorable meteorological conditions and episodic events of stubble burning combine [with these factors] we end up in this situation."He added, "Both federal and state governments, the entire system, is failing to respond to the emergency which the people face."Vasanti Rao, director general of New Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies think tank and vice chair for South and Southeast Asia at the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Education and Communication, said it is "illogical’ and "ridiculous" for a developing country to even think about shifting its capital."There are a lot of solutions that have not been explored such as looking at [increasing the cover of] forests [and] wetlands, and curbing the [farm fires] through technology which can help reuse the agriculture waste which is being burnt. Why are we not doing that?" she said. "When there is a will, there is a way, but there is no [political will here to solve the pollution crisis]."Delhi’s air pollution is not a three-week winter problem, that is just the spike, according to Amitabh Sinha, climate and science editor at The Indian Express newspaper. "The problem is the baseline pollution. ... We are fixated with some fancy or high-tech solutions to deal with the spike when the bulk of the problem can be addressed through very simple and mundane means," he said."Our construction happens in the open, our road quality is such that it releases huge amount of coal tar when vehicles move... our sidewalks are not paved or grassed, the road dividers are dust bowls, our trucks are not covered, even the way we clean our roads -- sweeping -- adds to air pollution," Sinha said."None of these require any special interventions. Just normal implementation of municipal rules, adherence to quality standards and the application of common sense. These are the low-hanging fruits which can take care of bulk of the problem."Archana Jyoti, a New Delhi-based health columnist, noted that pollution is now an issue in all India’s big cities. "Wherever [job] opportunities are, more people will move to that place, more construction will happen, that city will become a power hub and pollution will rise. So, moving the capital is not going to work," she told Nikkei. Fear grips Indian city after deadly weekend clashes (BBC)
BBC [11/26/2024 6:30 AM, Dilnawaz Pasha, 60726K, Negative]
Two days after deadly violence in Sambhal left four people dead and many others injured, the city in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh remains gripped by tension.
The violence broke out on Sunday during a court-ordered survey of the centuries-old Shahi Jama Masjid (mosque) that some Hindu groups claim was built at the site of a destroyed temple.
Police said the protesters, most of them Muslims, pelted them with stones and that they fired teargas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. They said 20 policemen were injured.
But family members of the four Muslim men who died on Sunday alleged that they were shot dead by police - a charge the police have denied.
Officials say the situation is now under control but a large number of police and paramilitaries are deployed around the mosque and the rest of the city.
The streets are eerily silent, littered with stones and dotted with ash marks where vehicles were set on fire.
Local authorities have imposed a ban on entry of outsiders, social activists and politicians to the city until 1 December. Internet services have been suspended and schools have been shut.
Police have registered seven cases in connection with the violence and at least 25 people have been arrested.
On Monday, BBC Hindi met the grief-stricken families of the men killed during the violence.
In the Tabela Kot area, Idro Ghazi continues to grieve inconsolably. Her 34-year-old son, Naeem Ghazi, was among the dead.
Her son, she said, was not a part of the protest and had gone to the market to purchase oil. He was surrounded and shot near the mosque, she alleged.
Despite her grief, the devastated mother has decided not to lodge a case against the police.
"We do not have the courage to fight the police and the government," she said, her voice heavy with sorrow.About two kilometres away, in the Baghicha Sarayatrin colony, a silent crowd had gathered outside a mosque. Nafees, who lost his 22-year-old son Bilal in the violence, sat on the steps with his head bowed.
His son, he said, had gone to buy clothes when he was killed. "The police shot him in the chest," he alleged.
The police have denied these allegations. Senior police official Muniraj G told BBC Hindi that the police did not open fire on the crowd during the violence.
The Sambhal police have filed charges against more than 2,700 people - including the local member of parliament Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, who is from the regional opposition Samajwadi Party. They accuse him of provoking the protesters.
Barq strongly denied any involvement and said he was in Bengaluru to attend a meeting at the time of the violence. As evidence, he showed the BBC Hindi team his flight tickets.
Opposition parties in the state have criticised the state’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for trying to polarise people along religious lines.
A politician from India’s main opposition Congress party, Tauqeer Ahmed, said people were so afraid that they were unwilling to even speak out about how the four men had died.
Akhilesh Yadav, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and leader of Barq’s party, accused the state officials of "orchestrating the riot" - a charge they deny.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Yadav also questioned the urgency of conducting the survey at the mosque.
The controversy surrounding the Shahi Jama Masjid is the latest in a series of disputes involving mosques across India, where Hindu groups have claimed that Muslim rulers destroyed temples to build over them.
Tensions in the city first flared on 19 November, when a local court ordered a survey of the mosque site after a petition claimed that the 16th-century mosque had been built on the ruins of a Hindu temple. Hours after the court order, authorities in Uttar Pradesh began the survey.
Sunday’s survey, which took place five days after the first one, turned violent when a large group of protesters gathered near the mosque and began shouting slogans at the survey team. NSB
Bangladesh steps up security, arrests six for lawyer’s killing amid protests (Reuters)
Reuters [11/27/2024 3:19 AM, Staff, 5.2M, Neutral]
Bangladesh stepped up security in the port city of Chittagong on Wednesday as police arrested six people in connection with the murder of a lawyer, who was killed during clashes following the arrest of a leader of the country’s Hindu minority.
The Hindu leader, Chinmoy Krishna Das, associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, was arrested at Dhaka airport on Monday on multiple charges, including sedition.
His arrest sparked widespread protests in Dhaka and Chittagong, where his supporters clashed with security forces.
A Muslim lawyer was killed amid protests outside the court in Chittagong, police said.
The six suspects were identified through video footage, according to a statement from the interim government’s press office.
Police also detained 21 others for vandalism and assaulting police officers during the unrest on Tuesday. Among those arrested were six members of the Awami League, the party of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who police said were found in possession of homemade, improvised explosives.
The interim government, which was established after Hasina fled to India in August following deadly protests, has ordered an investigation into the lawyer’s killing and called for increased security in Chittagong.
Das, who faces sedition charges for allegedly disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag during a rally in October, was denied bail by a Chittagong court on Tuesday.
Hindu-majority neighbour India condemned Das’s arrest, expressing concern over attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh. New Delhi urged that those responsible for the violence against minorities be brought to justice.
In response, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said that the government does not interfere in the judiciary’s work, and the matter was being dealt with by a court of law. One killed in Bangladesh as Hindu protesters clash with police (Reuters)
Reuters [11/26/2024 6:11 PM, Staff, 4566K, Negative]
At least one person was killed in Bangladesh in clashes between security forces and Hindus protesting the arrest of a religious leader, police said, even as neighboring India urged that the safety of Hindus and minorities be ensured.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu leader associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, was arrested at the Dhaka airport on Monday on several charges, including sedition.
His arrest sparked protests by his supporters in both the capital Dhaka and Chittagong city.
"A Muslim lawyer defending Das was killed amid protests outside the court [in Chittagong]," said police officer Liaquat Ali.
A probe has been ordered into the alleged killing, the caretaker government said in a statement, adding that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus had directed law enforcement agencies to step up security in the port city.
"The interim government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost," the government said.
Das faces sedition charges filed in October after leading a large rally in Chittagong, in which he was accused of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag and was denied bail by a court in Chittagong on Tuesday.‘Rampage’
When Das was being escorted back to prison from court, more than 2,000 supporters surrounded the van, blocking it for over two hours, said Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Hasib Aziz.
"They went on a rampage, throwing bricks at us. To disperse the crowd, we had to fire tear gas. No one was seriously injured, but one of our constables was hurt," Aziz said.
India condemned the arrest of Das, saying in a sternly worded statement that the perpetrators of documented vandalism and arson against minorities as well as those who desecrated deities remained at large.
Hindu-majority India has strong cultural and business ties with its neighbor, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has expressed concern over a spate of attacks on Hindus.
"It is unfortunate that, while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings," the Indian foreign ministry statement said.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, responding to India, said the government does not interfere in the judiciary’s work, and the matter was being dealt with by the court of law.
"The Government of Bangladesh is also committed to upholding communal harmony in the country," the ministry said. Bangladesh police clash with protesters as Hindu leader detained (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [11/26/2024 8:14 AM, Staff, 25768K, Neutral]
Police in Bangladesh have used tear gas against Hindus protesting against the arrest of a religious leader as neighbouring India called for ensuring the safety of Hindus and minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, also known as Krishna Das Prabhu, was arrested at Dhaka airport on Monday on charges including sedition.
A court in the port city of Chittagong on Tuesday denied bail to the priest associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), widely known as the Hare Krishna movement.According to the city’s police, more than 2,000 supporters surrounded the van and blocked its path for some time when Das was being escorted back to prison from court.
The demonstrators threw bricks at the police and officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowds, said Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Hasib Aziz, who added no one was seriously hurt.
Das’s arrest set off protests by his supporters in both Chittagong, the country’s second-largest city, and the capital, Dhaka.
India noted the arrest and denial of bail with "deep concern". The neighbouring Hindu-majority country’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the incident follows attacks on Hindus and other minorities, along with places of worship, by "extremist elements in Bangladesh".
It said the perpetrators of those incidents remain at large while Bangladeshi authorities pressed charges against "a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings".
Sedition charges were filed against Das in October after he led a large rally in Chittagong, during which it is accused he disrespected Bangladesh’s national flag.
The rally was aimed at demanding justice for Hindus facing targeted attacks in Bangladesh and seeking better protections for minorities.
The interim government, which took over in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s flight from the country on August 5 amid a mass uprising against her rule earlier this year, has said the threat to Hindus is being exaggerated and they are working on the issue.
While there was large-scale looting and the ransacking of national monuments and government buildings in the wake of Hasina’s overthrow, student leaders who spearheaded the protests had also asked supporters to guard Hindu temples and churches.
More than 90 percent of the population in Bangladesh is Muslim, with Hindus - many of who support Hasina’s Awami League party - making up almost all of the rest.
"We urge Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression," the Indian ministry said. Bhutan Studying Green Financing for $23 Billion Hydropower Plan (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [11/26/2024 10:55 PM, Ishika Mookerjee and Aaron Clark, 1784K, Neutral]
Bhutan is studying plans to fund a potential $22.5 billion buildout of hydropower generation capacity with a mix of blended finance and green bonds, as the Himalayan nation seeks to revive its floundering economy.Nestled between India and China, the nation of less than 800,000 people wants to add a further 15 gigawatts of hydro capacity by 2040, said Ujjwal Deep Dahal, chief executive officer at Druk Holding and Investments Ltd., Bhutan’s sovereign wealth fund, and which controls the country’s only power generation utility. Hydropower is Bhutan’s primary source of electricity generation and a driver of export earnings. The nation has existing capacity of about 2.4 gigawatts and an additional 3.1 gigawatts already under construction. Further developments would be in addition to those projects.The plan to rapidly boost the hydro sector is part of Bhutan’s efforts to lure foreign investments to rejuvenate a faltering economy that’s been challenged by high unemployment and weak growth. Officials have wider aspirations of developing a sprawling 1,000-square-kilometer (386 square miles) technology and finance hub where it’s seeking to attract data center investments and bolster job creation. Given the scale of the proposed hydro expansion, Bhutan needs to consider financial instruments that the country hasn’t used before, Dahal said. “Until now we have gone very simplistic with debt from banks and financial institutions,” he said in a video call. “The classical mode of financing will not work.”The country, which has mostly met its financing needs through a combination of concessional loans and grants from long-time allies such as India, recently saw a flurry of investment interest from entities including the Adani Group, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group and the OPEC Fund for International Development to develop clean power projects.Bhutan currently exports most of its surplus energy to India, though the nation is yet to fully exploit its enormous hydro potential, according to Dahal. According to the nation’s own estimates, it can host as much as 33 gigawatts of generation capacity.Still, hydro projects in the nation have been marred by delays in the past, said Kalyani Honrao, an Asia analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit in Mumbai. Turning to private investors could “add to issues around their debt treatment” as the terms will likely not be as favorable as with the Indian government, she added.Bhutan wants to work with the World Bank on technical assistance for structuring blended finance deals, Dahal said. The so-called blended finance is a model that uses public sector backstops to attract private investors. The government is also examining issuing green bonds, though would need to set up the market infrastructure to issue and trade these instruments. Both these instruments would also be considered for financing 5 gigawatts of solar power capacity as well, Dahal said. “We are on a drawing board right now”. It’s expensive to visit the Maldives. Now it’s more expensive to leave, too (CNN)
CNN [11/26/2024 10:44 PM, Lilit Marcus, 24052K, Neutral]
The Maldives, with its sprawling white sand beaches and dazzling coral reefs, is one of the world’s most expensive holiday destinations.
Now, though, this Indian Ocean archipelago nation has just increased the price it costs to leave.
From December 1, exit fees for those flying out of the country will increase as much as four times.
The departure tax is broken down per passenger based on the class of service they’re using to fly out of the Maldives. Passengers in economy class will pay $50 (up from $30), business class $120 (from $60), first class $240 (from $90) and private jet travelers $480 per person (up from $120).
This departure tax applies to all non-Maldivian visitors regardless of age or passport, and it also doesn’t take the length or duration of the flight into account, meaning a traveler will pay the same to take a four-hour flight to Delhi or an 11-hour one to London.
The Maldivian Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) announced the tax increases in November. According to MIRA, revenue from this tax goes toward maintenance and upkeep of Velana International Airport (MLE), the country’s primary transit hub.
However, some tourists may not even notice the new charges. These fees are generally added to the price of airline tickets, so travelers don’t have to fork over cash when they go through passport control.
Beond, a startup all-business-class airline that flies to the Maldives, has posted a note on its website advising customers to buy their tickets before November 30 to avoid the new departure tax.
Located off the coast of India, the Maldives has a population of about 525,000 across more than 1,000 islands and atolls. The majority of citizens are concentrated in the capital city of Malé.
Its most profitable industry is tourism, but the country has struggled to balance the money brought in by international luxury tourists with the needs of its population. Geography makes the Maldives an easy sell for high-end brands, as hotels and resorts can easily have their own private island.
The Ritz Carlton, Six Senses, and St Regis are among the international hotel chains present in the Maldives, with many rooms and villas costing thousands of dollars per night.
The average Maldivian earns about $12,000 a year, according to the US State Department. Sri Lanka Streamlines Monetary Policy to Single Benchmark Rate (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [11/26/2024 12:01 PM, Anusha Ondaatjie, 27782K, Positive]
Sri Lanka’s central bank said it will start using a single benchmark interest rate to manage monetary policy, starting from its next update on Wednesday, replacing its current system of two rates.The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said in a statement Tuesday that its introducing the Overnight Policy Rate as its primary tool to “signal and operationalize its monetary policy stance.”
“This marks another significant improvement in the flexible inflation targeting framework implemented by the central bank,” it said in the statement. “This transition is expected to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of monetary policy signaling and transmission to the financial markets and the broader economy.”The central bank has been employing two benchmark rates. One is the standing lending facility, which is the maximum it charges to inject overnight liquidity into the banking system. The second is the standing deposit facility, which is the minimum it paid to adsorb excess liquidity overnight. At the last policy review Sept. 27, they were left unchanged at 9.25% and 8.25%, respectively.A mid-corridor may be ideal as a policy rate and would improve the central bank’s ability to steer market rates toward a desired level, Ankur Shukla of Bloomberg Economics wrote in a report earlier this month.The International Monetary Fund, which has a loan program with the country, has recommended that the South Asian island move to a single benchmark to improve policy transmission.Last week, Sri Lanka secured initial approval for a $333 million tranche out of a $3 billion IMF bailout. The funds from the multilateral lender have helped stabilize Sri Lanka’s economy and boosted activity.The central bank added in its statement Tuesday that it will maintain its so-called flexible inflation target, which aims for a headline figure of 5%.The central bank will announce the new single rate Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. in Colombo. Eight people including 6 children missing as heavy rains trigger flooding in Sri Lanka (AP)
AP [11/27/2024 1:20 AM, Bharatha Mallawarachi, 456K, Negative]
Eight people, including six children who were returning from school, have gone missing in Sri Lanka when the farm tractor they were traveling on was swept away by floods triggered by heavy rains, police said Wednesday.
Sri Lanka has experienced heavy downpours and strong winds over the past two days that have flooded homes, fields and roads and forced authorities to suspend train services in tea-growing mountain areas.
In the worst incident, a farm tractor carrying 11 school children was swept away Tuesday evening in the eastern region of the country, police said.
Five children were rescued while six other children along with the driver and another adult are still missing in the incident near the town of Karaitivu. A search operation is underway, police said in a statement.
Separately, a woman died when a brick wall collapsed on her in the mountainous region of Badulla in the central part of the country. Eight people were injured in various other weather-related incidents, the Disaster Management Center said.
As of Wednesday, over 3,000 people had been moved to evacuation centers and nearly 600 homes were damaged,
Army and navy troops were deployed to rescue victims and provide food and other essentials to those affected.
The Meteorology Department attributed the severe weather to a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal and warned it is likely to move closer to Sri Lanka and intensify into a cyclonic storm on Thursday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with severe weather since May, mostly caused by heavy monsoon rains. In June, 16 people died due to floods and mudslides. Central Asia
Putin to talk energy ties on visit to Kazakhstan, Kremlin says (Reuters)
Reuters [11/26/2024 8:53 PM, Lidia Kelly, 37270K, Neutral]
Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss energy ties on a visit to Kazakhstan this week, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, a trip that comes amid trade tensions with the Central Asian nation, which exports most of its oil through Russia.
Kazakhstan, which has tried to distance itself from Moscow’s war in Ukraine, remains highly dependent on Russia for exporting oil to Western partners and for imports of food, electricity and refined oil products.
"Our countries are ... constructively cooperating in the oil and gas sector," Putin wrote in an article "Russia – Kazakhstan: a union demanded by life and looking to the future" for the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper and published on the Kremlin’s website late on Tuesday.
Putin’s article came after Kazakhstan’s energy minister on Monday said his country could sharply increase its crude oil exports out of Turkey’s port of Ceyhan, a move that would reduce the share of flows it currently sends via Russia.
Underscoring that more than 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil is exported to foreign markets through Russia, Putin, who starts his visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday, said he and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev always focus on "a specific result" in their talks.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists on Tuesday, without providing further detail, that Putin and Tokayev will sign a protocol on extending an agreement on oil supplies to Kazakhstan.
Putin also said in his article that Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom - already involved in some projects in Kazakhstan - "is ready for new large-scale projects".
In October, Kazakhstan, a nation of 20 million, voted in favour of constructing its first nuclear power plant, under a Tokayev-backed plan that faced public criticism and concerns that Russia would be involved in the project.
Putin’s visit also comes amid agricultural trade tensions following a Russian ban on imports of grain, fruit and other farm products from Kazakhstan in October.Moscow imposed the ban after Kazakhstan refused to join BRICS, the bloc of emerging economies which Putin hopes to build as a powerful counterweight to the West in global politics and trade. Single time zone in Kazakhstan messing with citizens’ circadian rhythms (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [11/26/2024 4:14 PM, Almaz Kumenov, 57.6K, Neutral]
Albert Einstein proved that time can warp. But officials in Kazakhstan are facing lots of complaints over efforts to make time bend to their will.
A presidential decree issued in early 2024 established a single time zone across Kazakhstan, a country that stretches almost 2,000 miles from west to east. Previously the country had been divided into two times zones, with major cities including Almaty and Astana six hours ahead of GMT/UTC, and the western energy-producing region five hours ahead.
Now that winter is setting in, with its short days and long nights, the unification of time is causing a lot of grousing in the most populated parts of the country. The time change means that darkness descends extra early these days in eastern Kazakhstan, around 3pm. During the summer, the complaint was just the opposite: sunrise came too early, at around 3am.
Photos and videos taken recently at the same time are circulating these days on social networks: when, for example, night has fallen in the city of Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), the administrative center of the East Kazakhstan region, at the same time the sun is shining brightly in Aktau, a city on the Caspian Sea.
Easterners are feeling particularly aggrieved by the subtraction of daylight, offering a variety of reasons for discontent. Older people complain about feeling unwell, with many citing a loss of strength and a growing sense of apathy. Meanwhile, parents of schoolchildren who attend school in the afternoon fear for the safety of their children, since they now return home in the dark, along unlit or dimly lit streets. In addition, teachers in Oskemen report a decrease in attention spans among students in the afternoon.“They stole daytime from us,” complained Almaty blogger Sergazy Toktarbek, who claimed he fell into a depression because of the time change. Another social network commentator said officials had committed a “crime against millions of Kazakhstanis.”
Officials contend that they were motivated to make the time change to rectify an historical injustice. According to the Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev, Kazakhstan existed with the current, unified time zone of +5 UTC until the 1930s. “During the Soviet period, Kazakhstan changed its natural time zone eight times by order in the interests of the command-planned economy,” Shakkaliyev said during a recent government meeting, referring to Stalinist central planners in Moscow. “As a result... we lived in time zones that did not correspond to the natural cycle.”
The time transition is having negative economic consequences for small business owners, especially in eastern sections of the country. For example, Rustam Adamov, the head of the Restaurateurs’ Association of the East Kazakhstan Region, said there has been a notable decline in the number of people eating out or going to entertainment venues at night.“People get more tired at work and go home to rest, rather than to restaurants,” Adamov, who owns a chain of restaurants in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, told Eurasianet. The number of customers has fallen by about a third, he added.
In addition, businesses’ costs are mounting: the early onset of darkness means higher electricity bills. Adamov said a crisis is brewing for the hospitality industry in Kazakhstan, and some restaurants and cafes are starting to close. “This has never happened before, not counting the pandemic,” he said.
The government has so far rejected two citizens’ petitions to reverse the time change. The initiator of one of the rejected petition, activist Kazbek Beisebaev, suggested on social media, citing an unnamed source in Astana, that officials want a single time zone because it makes the country easier to manage.
Judging by the social media mood, activists seem intent on pressing ahead with efforts to turn back the clock to a two time zone era. One blogger from Oskemen, Kristina Dautova, found a “simple” way to protest by manually changing her phone, pushing time forward by an hour. Indo-Pacific
Rising Violence Threatens Chinese-Funded Projects In South And Central Asia (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [11/27/2024 4:02 AM, Bashir Ahmad Gwakh and Frud Bezhan, 235K, Negative]
Scores of multimillion-dollar Chinese-funded development projects dot South and Central Asia.
But rising violence is threatening to derail China’s investments in the region, which is key to Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
In Pakistan, militants have killed seven Chinese workers so far this year. In Tajikistan, a Chinese worker was killed this month in the first attack of its kind.
The killing of Chinese nationals has highlighted the growing fighting capabilities of extremist groups in the region, which has long been a hotbed of militancy.‘The Chinese Are So Frustrated’
Thousands of Chinese nationals work in Pakistan, which is home to the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an integral part of the BRI.
To protect Chinese workers, Islamabad has created a special police force, installed hundreds of checkpoints, and erected numerous barriers around the megaprojects. But the measures have failed to curb the rising number of attacks on Chinese workers in recent years.
Experts have put that down largely to Pakistani security and intelligence lapses as well as the increasing capabilities of the Baloch Liberation Army, the largest armed group in the southwestern province of Balochistan.“China believes in safe investments, meaning they do not like conflicts around their projects,” said Jalal Bazwan, a researcher at China’s Zhejiang University.“The Chinese are so frustrated because of the inability of the Pakistan government to provide security that they will not invest in further projects,” he added.
Balochistan, an impoverished but energy-rich region, is the site of dozens of Chinese-funded infrastructure, energy, and trade projects. The vast province borders Afghanistan and Iran and is home to Pakistan’s Baluch ethnic minority, who accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural wealth.
In October, the BLA killed two Chinese citizens in a bombing outside the airport in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi. In March, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into a bus carrying Chinese workers in northwestern Pakistan, killing five of them. No group claimed responsibility.
The fighting capabilities of the BLA, a separatist militant group, have increased in recent years.
Estimated to have around 5,000 fighters, the BLA has been boosted by the influx of U.S. weapons to Pakistan since the Taliban takeover of neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
The BLA has also evolved in recent years, adopting tactics used by militant Islamist groups like suicide bombings. The BLA has also boosted its ranks by recruiting women.
Besides attacking Chinese nationals, the BLA has also rapidly increased its attacks against Pakistani security forces.“Generous donations, tax and extortion of local projects, and the purchase of modern weapons have helped the BLA carry out more attacks with precision,” said Bahoot Baloch, a researcher on armed groups in Balochistan.
Experts say China is concerned that rising violence in Balochistan could disrupt its projects in Pakistan.
In a sign of Beijing’s worries, China said on November 19 that it will send troops to Pakistan later this month for their first joint counterterrorism military exercise in five years.
Pakistan on November 19 announced plans to launch a new military offensive against militants in Balochistan.“No doubt that the attacks have increased,” said Abdullah Khan, managing director of the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies think tank. “However, this will not deter China or make it wind down its projects and leave Pakistan. The billion dollars investment is too big to pause. China is here to stay.”
First Known Attack In Tajikistan
On November 18, one Chinese national was killed and four others injured in a cross-border attack in Tajikistan’s south, sources told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service.
The sources said the attackers crossed from Afghanistan. But it was unclear if they were criminals possibly involved in drug trafficking, a crime that is common in the area, or members of a militant group.
The Chinese nationals were reportedly working at a gold mine in the Zarbuzi Gorge.
Significantly, the attack marked the first known incident resulting in the death of a Chinese national in Tajikistan, home to major Chinese-funded energy and transport projects.
The deadly attack underscored the persistent security concerns along Tajikistan’s southern frontier. Dozens of extremist groups are active inside Afghanistan, including the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and Jamaat Ansarullah, which is comprised mainly of Tajik citizens.
Edward Lemon, a Central Asia expert at Texas A&M University, said China has long been concerned over the security of its operations in Tajikistan and it has invested significantly in bolstering the Tajik military and law enforcement.“Rather than derailing China’s investments in the country, I think this attack will only strengthen China’s role in security in the country,” he said. “We can expect further military aid, training, and potentially an expanded role for Chinese private security companies operating in the country to protect Chinese investments.” Can Climate Break the Ice for India and Pakistan? (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [11/26/2024 8:18 AM, Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, 1198K, Neutral]
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit last month was the most high profile Indian diplomatic engagement in Pakistan since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise pit-stop in Lahore in 2015. Jaishankar’s visit mirrored then-Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s participation in the SCO summit at Goa last year, which was the first major diplomatic trip to India undertaken from Pakistan since then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s attendance at Modi’s inauguration ceremony in 2014.
With regional rhetoric calming in the aftermath of both Pakistan and India holding elections earlier this year, 2025 is prognosticated to bring about a change in bilateral relations, which have been on a standstill since 2019.
India and Pakistan were on the brink of war following an aerial dogfight in February 2019. New Delhi’s revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status six months later reaffirmed the diplomatic impasse between the nuclear-armed states. Bilateral trade has remained largely suspended, with even regional bodies becoming inactive, as exemplified by the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) not holding a summit since 2014.
Now, with Pakistan’s all-powerful army suffering a dip in public support and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) losing its single-party majority in India, the power centers of hypernationalism are facing local resistance, paving the ground for a bilateral thaw.
The Diplomat spoke with well-placed diplomats in both New Delhi and Islamabad, to gauge the mood for reconciliation. While there isn’t overenthusiasm on either side, both hint at the possibility of a breakthrough, albeit with contrasting perspectives. In Islamabad, for instance, the focus remains on bilateral parity, while New Delhi now envisions Pakistan as one of several regional players. Pakistan is more public in its acknowledgement of its desire to rebuild ties, while India remains more circumspect - a policy that has played out on the cricket field in recent years. India refuses to reciprocate Pakistan’s participation in the India-hosted 2023 Cricket World Cup by deciding against traveling to the country for the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Even so, amid the diplomatic skirmishes, senior government officials confirm that a backchannel understanding has remained. For instance, Islamabad had been informed in advance of New Delhi’s plans to revoke Articles 370 and 35-A in India-administered Kashmir, while the Pakistani state has been working on formalizing the borders of its own administered Kashmir, which has been increasingly erupting in protests. Moreover, officials on both sides have confirmed that while a similar understanding over the eventual resumption of ties exists, the timing would have to be carefully measured for domestic consumption, with Pakistan’s military working on rebuilding its credibility among the masses and the BJP seeking to regain its lost voters.
With neither power center being able to afford any show of weakness at home, official bilateral engagement would require the political climate to be right. Ironically, both countries have found an opening in the literal climate being wrong.
At COP29, the U.N. Climate Change Conference held in Baku last week, both India and Pakistan echoed subcontinental concerns over global warming and its impact on South Asia, especially the Himalayan region. Similarly, the rivals were on the same page with regards to holding the developed world more accountable in terms of the finances needed to address disproportionate impact of climate change.
While the developing world is collectively affected by global policies, both India and Pakistan are also hit by environmental crises of their own doing. Immediately following Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad, northern India and eastern Pakistan, most notably New Delhi and Lahore, were engulfed in toxic smog, making them the two most polluted cities in the world over the past month. Smog, the most toxic addition to longstanding subcontinental poetic clichés over entities not bound by the border, might provide the pretext for environmental cooperation, and climate change, to break the ice between India and Pakistan.
In addition to the dearth of any political or nationalistic baggage, what made climate change a regular feature of SAARC declarations is the multipronged impact it has on the entire region and not merely one particular power. For India and Pakistan, the effects of climate change extend beyond air pollution - and are frequently exacerbated by the lack of a functioning bilateral relationship. Examples range from the aggravation of the plight of fishermen captured on the other side of the maritime borders to the food crises jarring flood victims in the absence of bilateral trade.Even so, despite the environmental opening, and the backchannel understanding, the primary contention between the two countries - security issues, along with the correlated ideological baggage and religionist supremacism - would need to be addressed.
"India is a more functioning democracy than we are. So addressing these challenges is only realistic if people of India put pressure on the government. Now that the Maharashtra elections are over, the policy will become clearer, especially with the Champions Trophy coming up," former Pakistan Cabinet Secretary Syed Abu Ahmad Akif told The Diplomat.
Veteran political analyst Anil Maheshwari, author of "Polarised Times," believes religionist forces continue to have decisive sway in the power corridors of both New Delhi and Islamabad. "The leaders in both the countries are wary of hostile reactions from the religious extremists. They fail to understand that these conservative forces, smarting under the religious garb hardly have any significant electoral impact in both the countries," he told The Diplomat. "But the political leadership in both the countries is hostage… to the bureaucracy in India and the army in Pakistan."
Given that the will of the people is likely to be a key determiner in the ice-breaking, Maheshwari warned that environmental issues still don’t resonate with the people, whose attention is absorbed by economic crises - even if climate change might be exacerbating those very issues. "The common man is busy in making ends meet. [For the masses] climate is just a fancy and catchy slogan. Why do we forget [former Pakistan finance minister and economist] Mahbub-ul-Haq’s words that ‘poverty is the biggest polluter’?" Maheshwari added.
Since fiscal considerations would inevitably be at the heart of any India-Pakistan reconciliation, many experts have cited a merger of environmental and economic concerns to create a more convincing narrative for collaboration.
"Such collaboration could also be useful in getting funding for mitigation and adaptation measures… providing funding to developing countries. Together, India and Pakistan can be in a better position for such negotiations," noted the U.K.-based Royal Society for the Environment’s Saima Baig while talking to The Diplomat.
Baig added that since India and Pakistan share vulnerabilities to floods, droughts, and heatwaves, cooperation in important common areas like water management, disaster management, and renewable energy can be decisive. "All of these can not only help the countries to prepare for extreme events but also provide a neutral platform, bypassing political disputes. Collaboration in climate related matters could help to build trust and could be the first step in broader diplomacy. The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could be a good neutral place to start," she maintained.
Signed in 1960, the IWT divided the eastern and western rivers across the border between India and Pakistan. While the treaty has survived wars, it has become vulnerable to climate change, highlighting the need for India and Pakistan to collaborate on water management. The IWT also underlines the significance of international brokers in India-Pakistan negotiations.
"Collaboration between India and Pakistan can be mediated by world powers, just as the Indus Waters Treaty was done by the World Bank," said Akif, the former Pakistani government official.
"But with the right-wing in power the world over, including President Donald Trump’s government [in the United States], there is unlikely to be any press for a global agenda on climate change," he added. Twitter
Afghanistan
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[11/26/2024 4:24 AM, 94.6K followers, 76 retweets, 102 likes]
The Taliban’s campaign of gender persecution is of such magnitude, gravity and systematic nature, that cumulatively the acts and policies form a system of repression which aims to subjugate and marginalize women and girls across the country. The international community must actively promote justice by holding Taliban members suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law accountable. Join our call by signing our petition: https://amnesty.org/en/petition/break-the-silence-end-human-rights-violations-in-afghanistan/ #Endgenderpersecution #16DaysOfActivism
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[11/26/2024 4:40 AM, 62.5K followers, 43 retweets, 63 likes]
This #16Days we need to talk about women’s rights in Afghanistan & the Doha process. The Doha process is the @UN approach to the crisis in Afghanistan. But it has become the most shocking example of the UN’s failure to uphold women’s rights.
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[11/26/2024 4:41 AM, 62.5K followers, 3 likes]
There have been three meetings so far. At all three, Afghan women were severely sidelined. The June 2024 meeting was a new low, w/the UN caving to Taliban demands by not only excluding Afghan women but also excluding human rights from the meeting agenda...
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[11/26/2024 4:43 AM, 62.5K followers, 1 like]
...with complete disregard for the fact that the Taliban have, in Afghanistan, created the most serious women’s rights crisis in the world. The Taliban did a victory lap for the cameras at the meeting. Afghan women were nowhere to be seen.
Sara Wahedi@SaraWahedi
[11/26/2024 7:35 AM, 96.7K followers, 30 retweets, 174 likes]
A majority of Afghanistan’s older generations, traumatized by 40 years of war, are a liability—obsessed with ethnicity, division, and borders. Their leadership has failed. The youth must reject these traps of division and build a united future, free of the Taliban.Sara Wahedi@SaraWahedi
[11/26/2024 7:40 AM, 96.7K followers, 14 likes]
If you review most of their posts or Twitter Spaces, they go in circles. Primarily fueled by trauma. Constructive, forward thinking ideas are rarely the topic at hand. It’s essentially a desire to keep an echo chamber intact.
Sara Wahedi@SaraWahedi
[11/26/2024 7:51 AM, 96.7K followers, 1 retweet, 16 likes]
What infuriates them, even more, are Afghan youth who refuse to associate with each other on strictly ethnic/tribal paradigms. We grew up in the 2000s, shaped by the "idea" of a republic, fair, representative and balanced for every Afghan.
Sara Wahedi@SaraWahedi
[11/26/2024 7:51 AM, 96.7K followers, 1 retweet, 14 likes]
Why did it fail? Because, again, it was led by older generations who did not believe in a republic, although they were tasked to lead it. I truly believe the next generations of Afghan youth would have been able to successfully implement a true, Afghan republic,
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[11/26/2024 11:04 PM, 244.8K followers, 17 retweets, 75 likes]
For the first time, the United Nations invited the Taliban to a conference on climate, instead of holding them accountable for gender apartheid, the killing of innocent Afghans, and imposing their regime on the people of Afghanistan.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[11/26/2024 10:37 PM, 244.8K followers, 8 retweets, 34 likes]
The ongoing Shia-Sunni conflict in Parachinar, Pakhtunkhwa, has killed over a hundred, including women and children. Locals blame the Pakistani military for the violence in Pashtun lands and for exploiting their resources.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[11/26/2024 4:25 PM, 244.8K followers, 4 retweets, 25 likes]
The division between the Taliban is widening. In a recent conversation about Haibatullah, Sirajuddin Haqqani compared him to Dr. Abdullah, referencing the election rejection during the republic and saying, “Gul Marjan doesn’t accept it”, while many in Kabul support reforms.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[11/26/2024 1:07 PM, 244.8K followers, 23 retweets, 70 likes]
Afghan women are urging the international community not to trust or support the Taliban and to hold their leaders accountable for their crimes.Jahanzeb Wesa@JahanzebWesa
[11/27/2024 1:12 AM, 4.7K followers, 13 retweets, 17 likes]
Under Taliban rule and despite threats, Afghan women are protesting inside Afghanistan for their freedom, rights, and education. Their courage and resistance are a symbol of pride for women worldwide. These heroic women call on the world not to forget them.
Jahanzeb Wesa@JahanzebWesa
[11/26/2024 1:37 PM, 4.7K followers, 9 retweets, 27 likes]
FemenaNet shared powerful video showing Afghan women and men united against the Taliban’s Vice & Virtue law, which bans women’s voices in public. Hazara family singing in Pashto to protest this oppressive law. Let’s voice of Afghan women & share our solidarity to support campaign
Freshta Razbaan@RazbaanFreshta
[11/26/2024 7:45 PM, 5K followers, 2 retweets, 11 likes]
20 years of standing side-by-side with the U.S. Now it’s time for America to honor its commitments and ensure the safety of its loyal Afghan allies, especially the prosecutors who risked everything. Their lives depend on it. Save the former Afghan prosecutors! @TheDemocrats @SenateDems @HouseDemocrats @SenateGOP @HouseGOP @GOP Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[11/26/2024 7:26 AM, 6.7M followers, 702 retweets, 2.5K likes]
Witnessed the signing of 15 pivotal MoUs/agreements between Pakistan and Belarus today. These MoUs/Agreements pave the way for enhanced cooperation in vocational education, disaster management, environmental protection, science and technology, halal trade, exchange of information, among others. Appreciate President Aleksandr Lukashenko and the Belarusian delegation for their commitment to deepening ties with Pakistan. Together, we are forging pathways for a stronger, more resilient partnership for the future.
Imran Khan@ImranKhanPTI
[11/26/2024 10:25 AM, 21M followers, 24K retweets, 44K likes]
Message to the Pakistani nation by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, from Adiala jail, Rawalpindi: I commend the Pakistani nation and PTI’s political workers, who are fighting for their rights by participating in this peaceful protest, and resolutely standing before the mafia that has imposed itself upon our country, to demand their rights and genuine freedom. My message for my team is to fight until the last ball is bowled. We will not back down until our demands are met!
On Mohsin Naqvi’s instructions, paramilitary Rangers and police relentlessly fired teargas shells and even shot at our political workers, resulting in the martyrdom of and injuries to peaceful, unarmed citizens. Let me tell you, they will have to answer for this! The protesters were not only peaceful, but they even assisted the very police officers and Rangers who were shooting and firing teargas shells at them (when they were in need of help).
My thanks go to overseas Pakistanis around the globe, who are not only mobilizing Pakistanis and contributing funds, but also holding historic protests in their respective countries. Social media warriors around the globe should continue to vigorously reiterate our demands and show the world the ongoing oppression in Pakistan! To those threatening to try me in military court: Do what you must; I will not back down from my stance. Those who haven’t yet joined the protest must also head to D-Chowk. All Pakistanis participating in the protest must remain peaceful, stay united, and stand firm until our demands are met. Remember, this is a struggle for Pakistan’s survival and true freedom!
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[11/26/2024 7:47 AM, 94.6K followers, 7.6K retweets, 12K likes]
PAKISTAN: The government must fully protect and ensure the rights of protesters and immediately rescind the ‘shoot-on-sight’ orders that provide undue and excessive powers to the military. In response to protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Islamabad, the authorities must exercise maximum restraint, aiming to prevent and de-escalate violence and to avoid the use of force. Any use of force must be lawful and no more than is necessary and proportionate and the authorities must take all necessary measures to prevent arbitrary deprivation of life, including by ensuring that law enforcement actions are adequately planned to minimize the risk to life. There must also be effective accountability for any unlawful use of force. The severe restrictions on assembly, movement and mobile and internet services as well as arbitrary detentions of thousands of protesters across Pakistan, particularly in Islamabad, are a grave violation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, movement and expression.
As protesters enter the capital, law enforcement officials have used unlawful and excessive force including tear gas, live ammunition and rubber bullets against PTI protesters. Even if protests become non-peaceful, the authorities must respect and ensure the protesters’ rights to life and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment. The Pakistani authorities have obligations under international human rights law to provide an enabling environment for the protesters. @amnesty urges the government to ensure that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is respected and protected. Those detained solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly must be released immediately.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[11/26/2024 11:53 PM, 216.1K followers, 970 retweets, 2.9K likes]
Today the gulf between Khan and the rest of the PTI leadership came into sharp relief. Khan mobilized & galvanized. He said, fight to the end. And then PTI’s other leaders angered the base for not showing up or abandoning the cause. There’s a problematic disconnect at play here.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[11/26/2024 11:34 PM, 216.1K followers, 1.7K retweets, 4.3K likes]
Pakistan’s protests had no winners. The mil/govt made the public even angrier at them. PTI faced the wrath of the state and retreated. Khan’s "final call" changed little. And Pakistan on the whole is burdened by a worsening confrontation that distracts from econ, security crises.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[11/26/2024 10:40 AM, 216.1K followers, 6.7K retweets, 14K likes]
You can’t keep crushing public sentiment and the public will. It’s an untenable policy. And with Pakistan increasingly resembling a train wreck in slow motion, it’s also irresponsible and dangerous. The current confrontation badly needs a political resolution. India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[11/26/2024 7:41 AM, 103.8M followers, 3.6K retweets, 14K likes]
Addressing a programme marking #75YearsOfConstitution at Supreme Court.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[11/26/2024 4:04 AM, 103.8M followers, 3.6K retweets, 24K likes]
This Constitution Day is even more special because we mark 75 years since our Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly. At 5 PM this evening, will take part in the Constitution Day programme at the Supreme Court.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[11/26/2024 4:03 AM, 103.8M followers, 5.3K retweets, 36K likes]
Joined the programme to mark Constitution Day in Samvidhan Sadan. Rashtrapati Ji delivered an insightful address, highlighting the importance of our Constitution and its role in shaping national progress @rashtrapatibhvn
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[11/26/2024 2:05 PM, 3.3M followers, 224 retweets, 1.5K likes]
Pleased to attend the G7 FMM Outreach Session with Indo-Pacific partners today in Fiuggi. Thank FM @Antonio_Tajani of Italy for the welcome and hospitality. Noted that the Indo-Pacific is experiencing significant changes including new convergences & partnerships as well as anxieties, frictions & stresses. The evolution of Quad has been a notable development and the Indo-Pacific landscape today creates a compelling argument for a wider collaborative approach.
Highlighted six key responses required in the Indo-Pacific region:
1 More collaborations in areas like maritime, semiconductors, supply chains, etc.
2 More resources, both to support greater activities and projects as well as to avoid bad borrowing and unsustainable debt.
3 More capacities in fields like governance, health, technology, disaster resilience and natural resource management.
4 More inter-operability and burden sharing to service the global commons and contribute to global good.
5 Respect for international law as well as for mutuality of benefits.
6 More options so that Indo-Pacific policy makers are able to make the right choices.
In an era of collaborative endeavours, the Indo-Pacific will require practical solutions, nimble diplomacy, greater adjustment and more open conversations. The G7 can be one such partner.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[11/26/2024 11:02 AM, 3.3M followers, 415 retweets, 4.5K likes]
Always good to meet @SecBlinken, this time in Fiuggi, Italy. Discussed the state of the world and India-US partnership, which continues to move forward. NSB
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[11/26/2024 12:12 PM, 9.7K followers, 218 retweets, 884 likes]
Can someone explain #India’s strategy vis a vis #Bangladesh? How do destabilizing the Interim Government, demonizing student leaders, and inflaming communal tensions benefit India? Hasina is not coming back, the Army can’t rule, and BNP and others will be forced to cater to an increasingly anti-Indian electorate. Indian actors and proxies are endangering the Hindu community while using them as pawns. If India wants to be treated like a great power it needs to act responsibly in its own neighborhood. India’s interests are best served if @ChiefAdviserGoB and his government succeed.
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[11/26/2024 7:39 AM, 9.7K followers, 33 retweets, 226 likes]
With the increasing war of words between #Bangladesh and #India, now would be a good time for @ChiefAdviserGoB and @narendramodi to pick up the phone and talk. They should commit to an in-person meeting to discuss mutual concerns. A Cold War serves neither country.
Derek J. Grossman@DerekJGrossman
[11/26/2024 7:58 PM, 94.6K followers, 56 retweets, 449 likes]
Unfortunately, Bangladesh has reached a critical inflection point: it’ll either stabilize or descend further into chaos. Student protest leader: “Please stay patient and calm. Do not take the law into your own hands or create any kind of unstable environment…Our Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. We will not allow anyone to disrupt this harmony under any circumstances." https://t.co/q7FUuUtp76
Derek J. Grossman@DerekJGrossman
[11/26/2024 1:22 PM, 94.6K followers, 1 like]
Rohingya refugees who have been staying in Bangladesh are downtrodden, but remain unbroken. Some are planning to help the Burmese resistance take Myanmar back. Good. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/worlds-largest-refugee-camps-rohingya-mobilise-fight-myanmar-2024-11-25/
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[11/26/2024 1:10 PM, 268.5K followers, 708 retweets, 1.8K likes]
The military-installed, US-backed Bangladesh regime, while mollycoddling Islamists, has been making large-scale arrests of critics and opponents, sparing not even scholars and journalists. The country’s Editors’ Guild today expressed concern over growing attacks on press freedom.
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[11/26/2024 9:21 AM, 268.5K followers, 864 retweets, 2.3K likes]
The arrest on a sedition charge of a Hindu monk who had led peaceful protests against atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh has turned into a flash point, given the Yunus-led regime’s nexus with radical Islamist groups. The military-backed regime change has fostered lawlessness.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives@BDMOFA
[11/26/2024 10:13 AM, 59.2K followers, 1.9K retweets, 6.4K likes]
Government is firm to uphold religious #harmony in #Bangladesh, irrespective of religious affiliation, and uphold rule of law for every Bangladeshi, without distinction, under the laws of the land. Central Asia
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[11/26/2024 11:28 PM, 5K followers, 1 like]
The signing ceremony of the Agreement on the exemption of visa requirements between Tajikistan and Maldives https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/16208/the-signing-ceremony-of-the-agreement-on-the-exemption-of-visa-requirements-between-tajikistan-and-maldives
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[11/26/2024 8:48 AM, 5K followers, 3 likes]
Online Meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs with the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences @UNESCO https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/16207/online-meeting-of-the-minister-of-foreign-affairs-with-the-unesco-assistant-director-general-for-natural-sciences
MFA Tajikistan@MOFA_Tajikistan
[11/26/2024 4:59 AM, 5K followers, 1 like]
Meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan with the Head of the Regional Mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/16202/meeting-of-the-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-the-republic-of-tajikistan-with-the-head-of-the-regional-mission-of-the-international-committee-of-the-red-cross-icrc
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[11/26/2024 1:11 PM, 206.3K followers, 2 retweets, 11 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev reviewed the transformation of state-owned railway and aviation companies, highlighting the need to diversify transport routes, expedite shipments, and lower costs. Plans include privatizing airports in #Namangan, #Andijan, #Bukhara, and #Urgench, doubling airport services, and boosting revenues. The President instructed to accelerate digitalization, update development strategies, and improve efficiency within the companies.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[11/26/2024 10:39 AM, 206.3K followers, 1 retweet, 14 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev addressed improving investment climate, business environment, and living standards in #Namangan region. Plans include expanding industrial zones and launching projects in industrial sectors and agriculture to reduce poverty to 8% and create 100,000 jobs for returning migrants. He emphasized supporting entrepreneurs, investing in infrastructure, and accelerating project execution to promote economic growth and employment.
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[11/26/2024 10:31 PM, 23.8K followers]
Uzbekistan, Nov 2024: Bukhara graduates of @USAGMgov #SolutionsJournalism course (2 modules) - journalists and bloggers from Karakalpakstan, Khorezm, Bukhara, Samarkand, Navoi, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya. More here: https://facebook.com/share/p/18FhXzj8WD/ {End of Report} To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.