SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Monday, October 21, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
3 Die In Clash Between Taliban, Islamic State-Khorasan In Afghanistan (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [10/20/2024 3:23 PM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
Three people were killed in Afghanistan’s central Ghor Province in clashes between Taliban fighters and extremists affiliated with the Khorasan branch of the Islamic State (IS-K), a Taliban source told RFE/RL. The source said the clashes occurred when the Taliban conducted an operation to arrest an IS-K commander near the provincial capital, Firozkoh. During the operation, the commander, a civilian, and a Taliban member were killed, added the source, who said the operation was in response to IS-K fighters killing three Taliban fighters two weeks ago. Since the hard-line Taliban’s seized power in August 2021, deadly rival IS-K has carried out attacks throughout Afghanistan. The Taliban rulers have themselves been accused by watchdog groups of multiple human rights violations in Afghanistan. As heroin in Afghanistan dries up, Europe could face an overdose crisis like the U.S. (Salon)
Salon [10/19/2024 5:15 AM, Niko Vorobyov, 60726K, Neutral]
For anyone living in America, the nightmarish shift in a contaminated drug supply is all too familiar. For roughly two decades, the United States has been gripped by an increasingly deadly overdose crisis, largely driven by the opioid fentanyl, that has killed more than 1 million people since 2000. These deadly trends, experts say, are largely driven by an unstable and unpredictable drug supply made possible by prohibition.
Many people know it began with the overprescription of opioids like Oxycontin, which resulted in a DEA crackdown that shifted many users to street heroin. Demand became so high that illicit drug manufacturers realized they could make more money and traffick drugs easier by shifting to synthetic opioids. Thus came the rise of ultra-potent opioids like fentanyl, which is increasingly mixed with other drugs including stimulants, xylazine, benzodiazepines and nitazenes. If any of these drug names seem unfamiliar to you, just know that what used to be a predictable bag of dope has now become a soup of different substances, some of which provide a buzz or act as fillers, others that can kill.
In Europe, the last few decades have played out differently. Overdose deaths have remained steady, largely thanks to a regular, relatively pure supply of heroin shipped straight from Afghanistan.
"I remember roughly a year or so after the Taliban came into power, good heroin slowly disappeared," a friend living in London recently told me. "I haven’t had any users I know die of heroin overdoses for many years before. I quit last September and it was around the time nitazenes and other synthetic stuff started to appear on the streets regularly. I caught up with an acquaintance around Christmas and was told three people I knew died."
For decades, Europe has avoided the fentanyl crisis plaguing North America through a pure supply of heroin straight from Afghanistan. But following the Taliban’s poppy ban in 2022, there have been fears that a heroin drought will clear the way to even deadlier alternatives.
Unlike synthetic opioids produced using chemicals in a lab, heroin and morphine are refined from the gum extracted from Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. Until the early ‘70s, much of Europe and America’s heroin originated from the poppy fields of Anatolia in Turkey until, under American pressure, the Turkish government shut down the industry.
Poppy fields then reemerged in Iran, until they were eradicated in the Islamic Revolution, and finally Afghanistan, where CIA-backed rebels were battling the Red Army since 1979. Opium was sold to purchase bullets for the guerillas. Warlords such as Mullah Nasim Akhundzada even issued edicts ordering peasants to harvest more poppy, one of the few plants that flourished in the dry, dusty landscape. Plagued by tribal rivalries, war raged in Afghanistan long after the Soviets retreated. By the late ‘90s it was exporting around three-quarters of the global opioid supply.
The Turks remained important middlemen for transporting heroin from the Middle East to Europe, first partnering with the Bulgarian KGB and then, following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe by the early ‘90s, Albanian mobs. This network, known as the Balkan route, has remained robust for the past half-century. The steady stream of smack meant there was no need for traffickers to diversify their product portfolio.
In 1999, the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist movement that emerged triumphant from the Afghan civil war, wanted to legitimize themselves on the world stage as the rightful rulers of this mountainous land. Their treatment of women rightly alienated the Western world, but their war on drugs did not, imposing a brief but effective ban on poppy cultivation that even won praise from then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Good news? Not quite.
Alarm bells first sounded in the Baltics. A heroin shortage in Estonia following the first poppy ban was quickly filled by fentanyl labs in St. Petersburg, and by 2012 the tiny nation in northeastern Europe was suffering one of the worst overdose crises in the world. A massive sweep in 2017 arrested the major players and Russian mafia responsible around Tallinn and Ida-Viru County, near the Russian border, leading to a scarcity as users switched to speed or fentanyl analogues. Since then, however, fentanyl supplies been restored, almost completely supplanting any remaining heroin demand.
The heroin market remained stable throughout the rest of Europe as America and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the Talibs retreating back to guerrilla mode and turning to the dope business to make ends meet. But Uncle Sam’s military might was no more able to subdue Afghans than the Russian Bear - all the Talibs had to do was wait (and occasionally, fire an RPG in the enemy’s direction.)
Immediately after the last U.S. soldier left Kabul two decades later, the Taliban seized power and shortly later, reimposed prohibition. The Students, as their name translates to in their native Pashto, achieved what decades of foreign occupation could not, uprooting poppy fields with tractors and rounding up opioid users into jail-like detox. By 2023, the UN estimated opium gathering in Afghanistan had plunged by 95%.
"The heroin market seemed to have been prepared for the first year of the Taliban ban: there was enough heroin in circulation and stocked up to dampen any supply shocks," explained Andre Gomes, head of comms for the British charity Release, which provides legal advice on drug cases. "Heroin is also highly adulterated in the European market, so a source ban wouldn’t have immediate effects. A second year of [ban on] poppy cultivation will most likely lead to higher prices for dwindling supplies, and more incentives for more potent synthetic alternatives to be explored."
Poland in particular has been troubled by a recent spate of fentanyl deaths. While clandestine fentanyl factories are still extremely rare in Europe and most of what appears on the black market are rediverted medical supplies (in Poland, it is rather easy to obtain an online prescription for fentanyl patches as painkillers, rather like pill mills in the U.S.), this could change if honest-to-God smack becomes more scarce.
"Compared to North America, synthetic opioids play a relatively small role in Europe’s drug market overall, but feature prominently in the opioids market in the Baltic countries," a representative of the European Union Drugs Agency wrote in an email. "There is growing concern about their use in some other EU member states. Despite the difference in scale, and in the nature of the opioids causing harms, concerns are growing that highly potent synthetic opioids are increasingly appearing on the European drug market. Vigilance is crucial."
At the same time, nitazenes and xylazine, have been creeping up in fatal overdose reports in the U.K. since 2023. First developed as painkillers by the Swiss company Ciba Pharmaceuticals in the 50s, nitazenes are synthetic opioids roughly as potent as fentanyl but sometimes demanding more naloxone to revive from an overdose. Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer which has caused chaos on the streets of Philadelphia, is now being found across the pond in bootleg codeine, tramadol, Valium and Xanax. Both nitazenes and xylazine are now banned by the British government but are still being smuggled from China, sometimes hidden in cans of dog food.
"Since nitazenes have come on the scene, we’ve seen spikes in related deaths across the country, particularly in the northeast [of England], that are very concerning," Gomes said. "We fear these spikes are signs of a worrying underlying trend. We know there’s a backlog of reported cases in coroners offices, meaning that real figures for nitazenes deaths are only going to be revealed later this year and the next."
Mat Southwell is a harm reduction worker in Bath, a small city in southwest England where one up-and-coming dealer was recently arrested for selling nitazenes-laced heroin.
"He was selling really good quality crack, which made him attractive … and he bought some nitazenes off the internet," Southwell explained. "Initially, there was this view among local peers [drug consumers] that this is really great, strong heroin, and then people started to go down really hard."
Luckily, ambulances arrived in time to revive them with naloxone.
"I think it’s like a perfect storm," Southwell said of the opioid crisis. "The government is pumping more money into drug treatment, but actually drug users are not coming forward to use it because it’s such a coercive model. Then we’ve got Afghanistan taking out 95% of its opium crop. That’s not going to be impacting now - it takes at least 18 months to two years for that crop to work its way through … At the moment, the police are able to take out [retail nitazenes dealers] pretty quickly, but once it starts to hit higher in the chain, and then once people are suddenly going ‘we’ve got no heroin’ - that’s the moment we’re all looking at with super fear."
When it comes to synthetic opioids, China is the new Afghanistan thanks to its vast, loosely-regulated chemical industry subsidized by Beijing. Although fentanyl itself was banned in 2019, unscrupulous companies still happily ship the raw ingredients (known as precursors) to Mexican cartels and other customers, which are not illegal under Chinese law.
In March, a package of nitazenes was discovered in Holland for the first time, bound for the States. Although the Dutch are major manufacturers of synthetic drugs like MDMA (ecstasy), it’s unclear whether the pills were produced locally or not.
"In Europe, we have the benefit of foresight: we saw what happened in America and can prepare accordingly to avoid the worst outcomes," Gomes continued. "We know that there are potential synthetic opioids in our supply and can implement drug checking systems, safe use sites and prepare treatment systems to support people if and when they need it. Decriminalization and harm reduction interventions will be key to keep people safer and to avoid fatal overdoses."
In some ways, Europe is better-prepared already. Certain countries such as Germany, Switzerland and Holland have either supervised consumption sites - essentially BYOD (Bring Your Own Drugs) shooting galleries where naloxone and medical assistance is right at hand - or even heroin-assisted therapy, a treatment where pure diamorphine (i.e. pharmaceutical-grade heroin) is administered to patients at specialized clinics, removing the risk of a fatal poisoning. (In controlled doses, heroin and indeed even fentanyl can and are ingested safely.) It also helps users avoid unpleasant encounters with either side of the law and diminishes the incentive to commit crime: why trap or steal when you can score every day for free?
This was once known as the "British system," where until the 1970s, free heroin, morphine and cocaine were dispensed to registered users with addiction. Although it had its hiccups, like Lady Isabella Frankau overprescribing from the backseat of her car, overall it had the problem contained. Britain today has largely abandoned this system, although last year the country’s first supervised consumption site was greenlit in Glasgow, Scotland, and is finally due to open this month. Scotland currently suffers the worst overdose crisis in Europe, and the Scottish government has been pushing for reform, including decriminalizing personal quantities, providing safe consumption spaces and widening access to naloxone.
There’s no guarantee yet that Europe will experience an overdose crisis like North America. But the warning signs are all there, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Pakistan
Pakistan’s leader calls on Biden to secure release of a woman serving lengthy prison term (AP)
AP [10/18/2024 6:31 AM, Munir Ahmed, 456K, Neutral]
Pakistan’s prime minister has written to U.S. President Joe Biden to request the release of a Pakistani woman who is serving an 86-year prison sentence in the U.S. for terrorism charges, a government lawyer told a court on Friday.
The letter from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was submitted to a court in Islamabad that was hearing a petition from the sister of Aafia Siddiqui, a U.S.-trained neuroscientist who was convicted in 2010 on charges including attempting to kill U.S. nationals.
Siddiqui became a terrorism suspect after she left the U.S. and married a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. She was wounded during a confrontation with U.S. authorities in Afghanistan in 2008. Witnesses say she shot at the Americans.
According to a copy of Sharif’s letter, dated Oct. 13, seen by The Associated Press, the prime minister informed Biden that the woman had already served 16 years in prison.
He wrote that the matter deserved “to be viewed with compassion.” Sharif said over the years, numerous Pakistani officials paid consular visit to her and raised serious concern about the treatment she received, which severely impacted her already fragile mental and as well as frail physical health.“In fact, they fear that she could take her own life,” Sharif wrote about the assessment of the Pakistani officials.
He asked Biden to accept her sister’s clemency petition and order her release on humanitarian grounds.
Siddiqui’s “family, and millions of my fellow citizens join me in seeking your blessings for a favorable outcome of this request,” he told Biden in the letter.
Siddiqui’s family has long maintained that she disappeared from Karachi in 2003 and blamed the government of former dictator Pervez Musharraf for secretly handing her over to U.S. officials.Musharraf was in power when Pakistan became an ally of the U.S. in the war on terror after the 9/11 attacks. His government arrested dozens of suspects ad handed them over to various governments, including Washington. Pakistan Lawmakers Change Constitution to Strengthen Influence (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/21/2024 3:20 AM, Ismail Dilawar, 5.5M, Neutral]
Pakistan’s ruling coalition approved a set of changes in the Constitution early Monday morning, in a show of strength in parliament by cutting the powers of the top judiciary to appoint its chief.
A parliamentary committee will now choose the chief justice from the three senior most justices of the Supreme Court, law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, said in a speech to parliament’s lower house. Under the earlier law, the senior most judge would become the chief justice without the government’s or parliament’s interference.
The changes were approved by a two-third majority in the lower and upper houses of the parliament separately in sessions that went past midnight. The ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and supported by Pakistan Peoples Party, which is co-chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, met with political parties for weeks to gain support for the changes.
This “essentially signifies a stronger coalition government going forward, Marva Khan, an assistant professor at the law school of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, said. “They now have the power over judicial appointments, which was very much in the hands of the chief justice. “
The changes are seen as a major boost to the government faced with economic challenges and a barrage of protests from the top opposition group led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which opposed the bill saying it will curb the independence of the judiciary.
Many Pakistani top politicians have been jailed for years after court rulings, which were overturned later. Opposition leader Khan has been in jail for more than a year facing multiple legal challenges.
In the past many decades, controversial orders by the judiciary have undermined democracy and strengthened military rulers, Bilawal Zardari said in a speech to the National Assembly, in support of cutting the powers of the chief justice.
Pakistan’s army has imposed four martial laws since the South Asian country won independence in 1947 and the Supreme Court legalized military rule each time. Even when elected governments are in power, the army has a firm sway over all major policies.
The parliament also limited the tenure of the chief justice to three years from the past practice of continuing to serve until the retirement age of 65, Tarar said. The changes come days before Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa is due to retire. Pakistan Passes Constitutional Amendments Aimed At Courts (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [10/20/2024 9:42 PM, Staff, 502K, Neutral]
Pakistan’s government on Monday narrowly passed a package of constitutional amendments it said would stop the country’s courts from issuing rulings that "interfere in parliament".
Tensions between the state and the country’s top courts have deepened since February’s national election, which was marred by allegations of rigging as the country’s most popular politician, Imran Khan, languished in jail.
Under the judicial reforms passed during a late night session of parliament, the chief justice of Pakistan will now be selected by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years.
A new constitutional bench will be also formed.
"The goal of the amendments is to block the judicial verdicts that interfere in parliament," Defence Minister Asif Khawaja said on Saturday as the government courted support from smaller religious groups.
"Everybody agrees that we will not compromise on the supremacy of the parliament."
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party scraped together a two-thirds majority with the backing of its long-time rival turned supply and demand partner Pakistan People’s Party, and a religious party considered an ally of Khan.
The government clinched 225 votes of the required 224 with the crucial support of a handful of rebel MPs from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, state media broadcasting the session showed.
PTI, the largest bloc in parliament, had refused to back the package despite offers to water down the amendments and settle a consensus deal, analysts said.
"These amendments are akin to suffocating a free judiciary. They do not represent the people of Pakistan," said PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, during the session.
"A government formed through rigging cannot amend the constitution."
The amendments come just days before the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Qazi Faez Isa, is due to retire.
Under the previous law, he would have been automatically replaced by the most senior judge behind him -- currently, Mansoor Ali Shah, who has consistently issued verdicts deemed favourable to Khan and his party.
Analyst Bilal Gilani, who heads Pakistan’s leading polling agency, said the amendments have some "wins" - including bringing balance to the activism of the judiciary.
"A more sinister side of this amendment creates a judiciary that is more pliant with the concerns of the government," he added.
Sharif heads a shaky coalition government that has the backing of the powerful military -- despite Khan’s MPs winning the most seats in February’s election.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled that the Election Commission of Pakistan was wrong to have sidelined Khan’s party in the election campaign by forcing its MPs to stand as independents over a technical violation.
It also awarded Khan’s party a handful of non-elected seats reserved for women and religious minorities, which would give Khan’s party a majority in parliament.
Earlier this year, six Pakistan high court judges accused the nation’s intelligence agency of intimidating and coercing them over "politically consequential" cases.
Khan remains wildly popular and continues to challenge the establishment with frequent protests, despite languishing in jail on charges he says are politically motivated.
He was ousted from power in a no confidence vote in 2022 after analysts say he fell out of favour with the generals.
He waged a defiant campaign against the military -- a major redline in a country that has seen decades of army rule -- which was met with a severe crackdown against his leadership and supporters. Polio is rising in Pakistan ahead of a new vaccination campaign (AP)
AP [10/21/2024 2:20 AM, Staff, 456K, Negative]
Polio cases are rising ahead of a new vaccination campaign in Pakistan, where violence targeting health workers and the police protecting them has hampered years of efforts toward making the country polio-free.
Since January, health officials have confirmed 39 new polio cases in Pakistan, compared to only six last year, said Anwarul Haq of the National Emergency Operation Center for Polio Eradication.
The new nationwide drive starts Oct. 28 with the aim to vaccinate at least 32 million children. “The whole purpose of these campaigns is to achieve the target of making Pakistan a polio-free state,” he said.
Pakistan regularly launches campaigns against polio despite attacks on the workers and police assigned to the inoculation drives. Militants falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Most of the new polio cases were reported in the southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh province, following by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and eastern Punjab province.
The locations are worrying authorities since previous cases were from the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan, where the Taliban government in September suddenly stopped a door-to-door vaccination campaign.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two countries in which the spread of the potentially fatal, paralyzing disease has never been stopped. Authorities in Pakistan have said that the Taliban’s decision will have major repercussions beyond the Afghan border, as people from both sides frequently travel to each other’s country.
The World Health Organization has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year, all but two in the south of the country. That’s up from six cases in 2023. Afghanistan used a house-to-house vaccination strategy this June for the first time in five years, a tactic that helped to reach the majority of children targeted, according to WHO.
Health officials in Pakistan say they want the both sides to conduct anti-polio drives simultaneously. India
Facing Murder Plot Accusations, India Aids U.S. but Is Stern With Canada (New York Times)
New York Times [10/18/2024 4:14 PM, Anupreeta Das, 831K, Neutral]
In a week of geopolitical intrigue, in which Canada broadened its accusations that India was plotting to kill Sikh citizens on its soil and the United States provided incriminating evidence in a similar case, one episode caused a furious rift and the other a more judicious response.
Both investigations pose a conundrum for India.
On Monday, with tensions high, Ottawa expelled six top Indian diplomats, accusing them of being part of a broad criminal network to intimidate and harass Canadian Sikhs. The dispute started last year when a Sikh cleric was fatally ambushed in British Columbia, and Canada pointed fingers at New Delhi.
Indian officials vehemently denied involvement, and have steadfastly argued that they cannot respond to Canada’s accusations unless it offers supporting evidence.
Yet India has been far more accommodating of requests from U.S. federal prosecutors to help in their investigation of a plot to kill a Sikh activist in New York. Indian officials said a “high-level” committee was assisting the Americans.
The reason, analysts say, is basic geopolitics.“Justin Trudeau and Canada are relative lightweights the Indian government can afford to take liberties with,” said Bharat Karnad, an Indian national security expert affiliated with the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research.“But there is a price to pay for alienating Washington,” Mr. Karnad said, particularly given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “foreign policy pivoting on close relations with America.”
Both cases involved supporters of Khalistan, an independent nation to be carved out of northern India, and suspicions arose that the plots were part of a bigger one involving the government in New Delhi.
S. Jaishankar, India’s minister of external affairs, called the Canadian accusations “egregious,” and Indian officials suggested that Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was motivated by domestic politics. When Mr. Trudeau testified before a Canadian committee that the accusations were based on intelligence rather than “evidentiary proof,” many Indians considered it a “gotcha” moment.“The point that they need to understand, it’s no longer a world that runs as a one-way street,” Mr. Jaishankar told reporters in May. “Newton’s Law of politics will apply,” he said — every action has an equal and opposition reaction, especially from an India prepared to show a more muscular stance geopolitically.
Detailed accusations provided by the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday build on last year’s case. At the time, federal prosecutors accused an unnamed Indian intelligence official of orchestrating a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh nationalist who is a citizen of the United States and Canada. India considers Mr. Pannun, the lawyer for a group called Sikhs for Justice, a terrorist.
In the latest set of accusations, American officials identify the intelligence official as Vikash Yadav, an employee of India’s external intelligence agency. The U.S. charges unveiled this week also contain references to the Sikh activist killed last year in British Columbia. That attack, on Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in June 2023 set off the fracas between Canada and India that worsened this week.
Indian officials said on Thursday that Mr. Yadav, the intelligence official, was no longer a government employee.
In both cases, India is likely to face increased pressure to explain its actions. Canada and the United States are members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, which also includes Australia, Britain and New Zealand. Mr. Trudeau said that Canada had shared the intelligence it gathered on Mr. Nijjar’s killing with the Five Eyes.
This week, the United States backed Canada’s accusations, and Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, urged India to take the accusations “extremely” seriously.“We wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation,” Mr. Miller said during a news conference. “Obviously, they have not chosen that path.” US says Indian government worker led plot to kill US citizen (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/18/2024 1:32 PM, Bob Van Voris and Iain Marlow, 6765K, Negative]
US prosecutors accused an Indian government employee of directing a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist with US citizenship in New York, in a case that has disrupted US-India relations and mirrors a 2023 killing in Canada.Vikash Yadav, 39, was added to the criminal case against Nikhil Gupta, 53. Gupta was charged last year with working with an Indian government agent to kill an attorney described as active in the global movement to carve an independent Sikh homeland out of India.Yadav “resided in India, and directed the assassination plot from India,” according to a superseding indictment filed in the case Thursday. Gupta, who is being held without bail, pleaded not guilty to the new indictment before US District Judge Victor Marrero on Friday.Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic and extradited to the US, was allegedly recruited by an Indian government employee who described himself as a “senior field officer” with responsibilities in “security management” and “intelligence.” That government official, who wasn’t named in the original charges against Gupta, was identified as Yadav in Thursday’s indictment.The case has been awkward for President Joe Biden’s administration, which has continued to court New Delhi in an effort to counterbalance China.Prosecutors said Yadav is employed by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India, which is home to the nation’s foreign intelligence service. Yadav isn’t in custody, Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said in a release announcing the unsealing of charges against Yadav, who allegedly goes by the alias “Amanat.”Yadav and Gupta are charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.Gupta’s attorney, Jeffrey Chabrowe, told the judge Friday that while the government has provided “voluminous” evidence to the defense team, his client has not been able to review some of it, including recordings, while in custody in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.Gupta is also trying to access certain items that were seized when he was taken into custody in Czechoslovakia — including a copy of the novel “The Alchemist” and personal papers and notebooks. Prosecutors said they handed the items over to a team to review them for potential attorney-client privilege.Chabrowe told Marrero that Gupta wants a new lawyer, preferably one who speaks Hindi.Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the attorney who was the alleged target of the murder plot, applauded the charges against Yadav.The attempt on his life is a “blatant case of India’s transnational terrorism which has become a challenge to America’s sovereignty and threat to freedom of speech and democracy,” Pannun said in a statement.India has branded him a terrorist and outlawed his group, which advocates for an independent Sikh homeland to be created out of India’s Punjab state, calling it a threat to India’s territorial integrity. A group of more than a dozen Sikhs attended Friday’s court hearing, seated in the gallery directly behind Gupta.The charges come after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week accused Indian diplomats of backing a pattern of criminal harassment and violence against Canadians, escalating a dispute that began last year when he suggested Indian agents were involved in the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist in British Columbia.Canada expelled six officials on Monday after saying that India had refused to waive their diplomatic immunity for questioning over what Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly called “a number of violent incidents” targeting Canada’s South Asian community, particularly Sikhs.After US prosecutors first made the allegations against Gupta, the Indian government formed a committee to look into the issue. That team visited the US this week and held meetings at the State Department in Washington. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday that the visiting delegation told US officials that the Indian government employee named in the original indictment “is no longer an employee of the Indian government.”The case is US v. Gupta, 23-cr-00289, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). Indian ex-official indicted by US dismisses allegations, family says (Reuters)
Reuters [10/20/2024 2:49 AM, Krishn Kaushik, 37270K, Negative]
An Indian ex-official charged by the U.S. with directing a murder-for-hire plot has dismissed the allegations, his family said, expressing shock that Vikash Yadav was wanted by the FBI.Yadav, 39, described the claims as false media reports when he spoke to his cousin, Avinash Yadav, the relative told Reuters on Saturday in their ancestral village about 100 km (60 miles) from the capital New Delhi.The U.S. Department of Justice charged Yadav with leading an unsuccessful plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun last year. Yadav was an official of India’s Research and Analysis Wing spy service, according to the indictment unsealed on Thursday.India, which has said it was investigating the allegations, said Yadav was no longer a government employee, without saying whether he had been an intelligence officer."The family has no information" about him working for the spy agency, Yadav’s cousin said in the village of Pranpura in Haryana state. "He never mentioned anything about it," despite the two speaking to each other regularly."For us he is still working for the CRPF," the federal Central Reserve Police Force, which he joined in 2009, said Avinash Yadav, 28. "He told us he is deputy commandant" and was trained as a paratrooper.The cousin said he did not know where Yadav was but that he lives with his wife and a daughter who was born last year.Indian officials have not commented on Yadav’s whereabouts. The Washington Post, citing American officials, reported on Thursday that Yadav was still in India and that the U.S. was expected to seek his extradition.His mother, Sudesh Yadav, 65, said she was still in shock. "What can I say? I do not know whether the U.S. government is telling the truth or not.""He has been working for the country," she said.The U.S. accuses Yadav of directing another Indian citizen, Nikhil Gupta, who it alleges paid a hitman paid $15,000, to kill Pannun.But in Pranpura, Yadav’s cousin pointed to the family’s modest, single-storey house, saying, "Where will so much money come from? Can you see any Audis and Mercedes lined up outside this house?"Most of the village’s nearly 500 families have traditionally sent young men to join the security forces, locals said.Yadav’s father, who died in 2007, was an officer with India’s border force till he died in 2007, and his brother works with the police in Haryana, said Avinash Yadav.Another cousin, Amit Yadav, 41, said Vikash Yadav had been a quiet boy interested in books and athletics and was a national-level marksman."Only the government of India and Vikash know what has happened," he said, adding that Indian officials should inform them.If the government "abandons" a paramilitary officer, Amit Yadav said, "then who will work for them?"Avinash Yadav said: "We want the Indian government to support us, they should inform us what has happened. Otherwise where will we go?" Vikash Yadav was earlier arrested in Delhi in an attempted murder case (Reuters)
Reuters [10/19/2024 7:08 AM, Shivam Patel, 37270K, Negative]
A former Indian government official charged in the United States this week for allegedly directing a foiled murder plot had been arrested in New Delhi in December in an attempted murder case, according to court records and a police officer.The U.S. Justice Department unsealed the indictment of Vikash Yadav, 39, on Thursday, alleging he led a plot to murder a Sikh separatist in New York.From May 2023, the U.S. indictment alleges, Yadav, described as an Indian government employee at the time, worked with others in India and abroad to direct a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen.Delhi Police had arrested Yadav on Dec. 18 in the Indian capital, the police officer told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Yadav and an associate were charged with attempted murder and other crimes, according to a filing in a Delhi district court.Yadav’s lawyer, R.K. Handoo, called the Indian charges "fallacious", adding there was "an international plot to bring shame on the government of India and my client".Handoo declined to comment further.He and the police did not respond to questions on Yadav’s whereabouts. The Washington Post, citing American officials, reported on Thursday that Yadav was still in India and that the U.S. was expected to seek his extradition.Yadav’s arrest was based on a complaint by an Indian businessman, who alleged Yadav and an associate kidnapped him in December, assaulted and robbed him, according to details in a Delhi district court order dated Feb. 23."The accused persons tortured and manhandled the complainant and demanded money in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi," said the Feb. 23 court order, summarising the complaint.Bishnoi, in jail in India’s Gujarat state, is an organised crime gang leader, according to India’s National Investigation Agency. Bishnoi’s lawyer says he is contesting more than 40 cases on charges including murder and extortion, with many trials yet to begin.Indian government agents were separately accused by Canada this week of having links to Bishnoi’s gang and running a campaign to target Indian dissidents in Canada. India’s government denies the allegations.In Yadav’s Delhi case, the court order citing the complaint said: "The accused persons also brought bank cheque book from the cafe of the complainant and got his signature on blank cheques and later on dropped him near his car, threatening to remain silent." Expelled Indian diplomat denies involvement in murder of Sikh leader in Canada (AP)
AP [10/20/2024 4:36 PM, Jim Morris, 31638K, Negative]
India’s high commissioner to Canada has denied any involvement in the murder of a Canadian Sikh leader who was killed in British Columbia last year even though the Canadian government has named him as a person of interest in the assassination.
Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was expelled last Monday along with five other Indian diplomats, said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period Sunday that the allegations are politically motivated.
"Nothing at all," Verma said when asked if he had any role in in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed outside a cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. "No evidence presented. Politically motivated."
Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Nijjar’s murder and are awaiting trial.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with their government back home. They said top Indian officials were then passing that information to Indian organized crime groups who were targeting the activists, who are Canadian citizens, with drive-by shootings, extortions and even murder.
Verma denied the Indian government was targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
"I, as high commissioner of India, have never done anything of that kind," he said.
Any action taken by Indian officials in Canada was "overt," said Verma.
In the interview Verma condemned Nijjar’s death.
"Any murder is wrong and bad," he said. "I do condemn."
Verma also pushed back on comments made by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly that compared India to Russia. She said Canada’s national police force has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, death threats and intimidation in Canada.
"Let me see the concrete evidence she’s talking about," said Verma. "As far as I’m concerned, she’s talking politically."
India has rejected the Canadian accusations as absurd, and its foreign ministry said it was expelling Canada’s acting high commissioner and five other diplomats in response.
Verma said "not a shred of evidence has been shared with us" about the Canadian allegations.
The RCMP has said attempts earlier this month to share evidence with Indian officials were unsuccessful.
Verma said the RCMP had not applied for the proper visas to visit India.
"A visa needs to be affixed," he said. "For any government delegation to travel to another country, you need an agenda to go by. There was no agenda at all."
Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee Thursday in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.
In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.
"An indictment is not a conviction," Verma said. "It will follow its judicial process."
India has repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for being soft on supporters of what is known as the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.The Khalistan movement supports the establishment of an independent Sikh state in India.
The Nijjar killing in Canada has soured India-Canada ties for more than a year, but Verma doesn’t expect this will impact business relations between the two countries.
"I don’t see much impact on non-political bilateral relations," he said. Trudeau has wrecked Canada-India political relations, says expelled envoy (Reuters)
Reuters [10/20/2024 10:40 AM, David Ljunggren, 37270K, Neutral]
India’s envoy to Canada, who is being expelled over what Ottawa says are links to the murder of a Sikh leader, insisted in an interview he was innocent and said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had wrecked bilateral political ties.Both countries on Monday ordered out six diplomats in tit-for-tat moves over Ottawa’s allegations that New Delhi was targeting Indian dissidents on Canadian soil.Trudeau specifically tied the six to the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year in British Columbia. Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s envoy to Canada, told CTV that Trudeau had been relying on intelligence rather than evidence."On the basis of intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he did," Verma said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.Asked whether he had had anything to with Nijjar’s murder, Verma said: "Nothing at all. No evidence was presented. (This is) politically motivated."Canada is home to the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab and demonstrations in favor of a separate homeland carved out of India have irked New Delhi. Canada’s foreign minister says India’s remaining diplomats are on notice not to harm Canadians (AP)
AP [10/18/2024 1:39 PM, Rob Gillies, 53826K, Negative]
Canada’s foreign minister said on Friday India’s remaining diplomats were "clearly on notice" not to endanger Canadian lives after New Delhi’s top envoy in the country was named a person of interest in the assassination of a Sikh activist.
India’s high commissioner was expelled on Monday along with five other diplomats, prompting foreign minister Mélanie Joly to compare India to Russia, saying Canada’s national police force has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, death threats and intimidation in the country.Joly said on Friday that Canada won’t tolerate foreign diplomats putting the lives of Canadians at risk.
"We’ve never seen that in our history. That level of transnational repression cannot happen on Canadian soil. We’ve seen it elsewhere in Europe. Russia has done that in Germany and the UK and we needed to stand firm on this issue," she said in Montreal.
Asked if other Indian diplomats will be expelled, Ms Joly said: "They are clearly on notice. Six of them have been expelled including the high commissioner in Ottawa. Others were mainly from Toronto and Vancouver and clearly we won’t tolerate any diplomats that are in contravention of the Vienna convention."
Prime minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with their government back home. They said top Indian officials were then passing that information along to Indian organized crime groupswho were targeting the activists, who are Canadian citizens, with drive-by shootings, extortions and even murder.
India, for its part, has rejected the Canadian accusations as absurd, and its foreign ministry said it was expelling Canada’s acting high commissioner and five other diplomats in response.
Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The US Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee Thursday in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.
In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.
US authorities have said the killing of the American Sikh man was to have taken place just days after Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activist who was shot and killed outside a cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June 2023. Prosecutors say the goal was to kill at least four people in Canada and the US by 29 June 2023, and then more after that.
The Nijjar killing in Canada has soured India-Canada ties for more than a year, and despite Canada’s assertion that it has forwarded evidence of its allegations to Indian authorities, the Indian government continues to deny it has seen any.
India has repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for being soft on supporters of what is known as the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
Trudeau said Wednesday that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi underlined to him at a G-20 summit in India last year that he wanted Canada to arrest people who have been outspoken against the Indian government. Mr Trudeau said he told Modi that he felt the actions fall within free speech in Canada.
Trudeau added that he told Modi his government would work with India on concerns about terrorism, incitement of hate or anything that is unacceptable in Canada. But Mr Trudeau also noted that advocating for separatism, though not Canadian government policy, is not illegal in Canada.
The RCMP said they uncovered evidence of an intensifying campaign against Canadians by agents of the Indian government.
Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot last year in his pickup truck. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.
Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Nijjar’s murder and are awaiting trial. Drive-by shootings, arson and murder: is the Indian government trying to silence Canada’s Sikh activists? (The Guardian)
The Guardian [10/19/2024 7:00 AM, Leyland Cecco, 92374K, Negative]
On one summer night in Ontario, a Canadian Sikh activist received a panicked call from his wife: police had come to the family home and warned her that his life was at risk.
Two weeks later and thousands of kilometers away, a gunman in the province of British Columbia filmed himself firing a volley of bullets into the home of a prominent Indo-Canadian singer as two vehicles burned in the driveway.
Both instances - together with a string of arsons, extortion schemes, drive-by shootings and at least two murders - are now believed to be part of a wide-ranging and violent campaign of intimidation across Canada orchestrated by India’s government.
Last September, the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, suggested there were "credible allegations potentially linking" Indian officials with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh activist, who was shot dead in British Columbia.
Until recently, the scope and depth of those allegations were not clear. This week, however, Canadian police made the explosive accusation that Indian diplomats had worked with a criminal network led by a notorious imprisoned gangster to target Sikh dissidents in the country.
India rejected the allegations as "strange" and "ludicrous".
But Canadian officials point to a string of cases over the past few years they suspect are part of a broader, India-sanctioned campaign to intimidate, coerce and kill.
In September 2023, only two days after Trudeau’s initial suggestion of a link to the Indian government, a fugitive Indian gangster called Sukhdool Singh Gill was killed in a hail of gunfire in a Winnipeg home.
Gill, a member of the Bambiha gang, was wanted in India on charges of extortion, attempted murder and murder. But Indian officials also said he was also linked to the separatist Khalistan movement, which aspires to establish a Sikh homeland in Punjab.
Inderjeet Brar, who lived nearby, says he and his wife heard nearly a dozen shots fired that morning and footage from a security camera facing his backyard captured three men fleeing Gill’s house.
A year later, police on Vancouver Island were called to the house of AP Dhillon, a prominent singer and producer who was born in Punjab and grew up Canada. The building had been peppered with gunfire, and two vehicles were charred ruins.
Footage of the attack - apparently filmed by one of the assailants - was later posted online and shared widely in India. The British Columbia public safety minister called the attack "absolutely outrageous".
Both attacks were claimed by members of a notorious gang run by India’s most feared crime boss, Lawrence Bishnoi, whose network has been linked to some of the most high-profile crimes in the country - despite the fact that Bishnoi has been imprisoned since 2014.
Canadian police say the government of Narendra Modi has been using organized crime syndicates such as the Bishnoi gang, as part of its strategy to pursue opponents and rivals.
"There can be overlapping motivations to target certain people or groups," said Harjeet Singh Grewal, an assistant professor of Sikh studies at the University of Calgary. "And I think that’s what we’re seeing right now: overlapping interests for both the gangs - who might want to settle scores and gain an ‘economic benefit’ - and [the Indian government, which is] targeting activists."
In the case of Dhillon, whose stardom spans multiple countries, a recent decision to feature Bollywood star Salman Khan in a music video apparently angered Bishnoi, who has pledged to kill the actor over a longstanding feud.
Grewal says Dhillon also lent his support to Punjabi farmers during their months-long protestin 2021, with Indian media suggesting his song Farmer spread "pro-Khalistan" messages that angered the Modi government.
"There’s a deep tradition in Punjabi music and lyrics that speak to the powers that be about disenfranchisement," said Grewal. "Some of these artists [in India] who spread these messages are now dead - and their deaths are connected to crime syndicates."
A 2022 report from Canada’s intelligence agency flagged a growing concern over organized crime, warning gangs with entrenched operations represented a "significant" public safety and societal threat.
"Their structure and membership are increasingly fluid, often creating opportunistic criminal relationships with national and international networks and associates," the report said.
Trudeau made an explicit connection between Bishnoi and the Indian government during his testimony at a commission investigating foreign interference this week.
But for those living close to the violence, links between the Indian government and organized crime doesn’t come as a surprise.
"I think there’s a way in which Modi helps the Bishnoi gang and the Bishnoi gang helps Modi," said Brar. "If Bishnoi is giving interviews and overseeing his gang from a jail cell, it means the government is likely involved in some way. Otherwise, how could he do this?"Brar turned his video footage over to the police, but now worries his family could face recriminations when they visit India.
"We’re just trying to go about our lives and yet we worry if we too will pay some cost for speaking up," he said.
India has long accused the Canadian government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India but is more prevalent among the diaspora in Canada. New Delhi has argued that Canada has for decades failed to confront what it says are Sikh militants and failed to extradite gang members for prosecution at home.
But experts say that India’s rapid rise from developing nation to global superpower has also come with a growing sense it can act with relative impunity - both domestically and outside its borders.
Earlier this year, the increasingly pugnacious Indian prime minister made an extraordinary public boast that he was able to extract retribution for dissent, saying: "Today, even India’s enemies know: this is Modi, this is the New India. This New India comes into your home to kill you."
In the case of its covert Canada operation, agents working out of India’s high commission in Ottawa and consulates in Vancouver and Toronto are alleged to have used a mix of diplomatic pressure and coercion to compel Indians living in Canada to spy on the Sikh community.
Canadian officials have long known of India’s efforts to threaten and coerce diaspora population. And given Delhi’s mounting frustration with Ottawa’s refusal to crack down on pro-Khalistan groups, officials suspected vocal figures like Nijjar were targets for intimidation.
"People in the Sikh community, who have lived experiences of violence and intimidation in the Punjab, are aware of these patterns and can read and understand them quickly," said Grewal. "More quickly, perhaps, than our law enforcement and intelligence officers."
This week Trudeau said his government acted "to disrupt the chain of operations that go from Indian diplomats here in Canada to criminal organizations, to direct violent impacts on Canadians right across this country".
Canadian police have arrested at least eight people, including three believed to have killed Nijjar, in connection with homicide cases and nearly two dozen in connection with extortion investigations.
On Friday, Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, warned the country would "not sit quietly as agents of any country are linked to efforts to threaten, harass or even to kill Canadians".
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme said police had uncovered "well over a dozen credible and imminent threats to life" leading police to issue "duty to warn" notices, including to the brother-in-law of New Democratic party leader Jagmeet Singh.
The Guardian has spoken with four people who have received such warnings, all of whom describe tightlipped police operating on "credible" evidence of possible attempts on their lives.
Inderjeet Singh Gosal, a close friend of Nijjar, received a panicked call form his wife while he was traveling: police were at their house, with a message that his life was in danger.
Gosal, who took over efforts to hold a global, non-binding referendum as part of an effort to create the Sikh homeland of Khalistan after his "brother" Nijjar was killed last year, says there is little doubt India is behind the threats.
"When I stepped into this role and over this activism, I knew there was a moment when they’d come after me," he said. "It’s never going to stop. But this is what I signed up for. I’m not afraid of death at all."
Months earlier, a property owned by Gosal was struck with a bullet, which he took as a warning sign.
When US prosecutors revealed on Thursday that they had charged a former Indian intelligence officer for co-ordinating a foiled murder-for-hire plot targeting a prominent Sikh activist in New York, the unsealed indictment laid out in black and white the extent to which Indian officials were allegedly involved in the scheme.
"But for Sikhs here, we know what India is capable of: we’ve seen it for years," said Gosal. "We have no illusions. We know they have vast resources and no mercy." Canada-India relations are at a new low. Why China could be the winner. (Christian Science Monitor)
Christian Science Monitor [10/18/2024 4:49 PM, Sara Miller Llana and Aakash Hassan, 658K, Negative]
Canada’s expulsion of six Indian diplomats this week, amid accusations involving homicide, extortion, intimidation, coercion, and harassment of Indian diaspora on Canadian soil, is more than a spectacular breakdown in bilateral relations between two countries.It comes at a time when Canada’s Western allies see India, the world’s most populous nation, as a critical counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific. And while the West has been shoring up economic and strategic ties with India, critics say it has looked away from evidence of increasing authoritarianism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“In many respects, the Canada-India issue right now is almost standing as a warning beacon to the entire Western alliance,” says Vincent Rigby, a McGill University professor and a former national security and intelligence adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “How do you manage this kind of relationship with an emerging global power that we want to cooperate with and that we want to be on good terms with but who’s doing these kinds of things to their friends?”Ottawa’s allegations that Indian government agents are linked to widespread violence against a Sikh minority in Canada, which India vehemently denies, are unprecedented. It’s not that transnational repression, in which governments reach beyond their borders to try to silence dissidents and which watchdog groups say is on the rise, hasn’t occurred in democracies. A former Russian spy and his daughter were found poisoned in Salisbury, England, in 2018 in a botched assassination attempt. But it’s much more likely to be executed in authoritarian or repressive states, and it’s even rarer to occur between two countries generally seen as friends.Sikh activist killedThe Canadian dispute began with the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an Indian-born Canadian citizen who was shot dead in the parking lot of a Sikh temple he ran in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. At the time of his killing, he was an active campaigner in a movement for an independent Sikh nation, known as Khalistan, which its supporters say will be carved out of India’s Punjab state. Mr. Trudeau publicly claimed that “agents of the government of India” had been linked to the killing, drawing denial and outrage from the Indian government.On Monday, with India failing to cooperate with Canada’s investigation, the government announced it was expelling India’s high commissioner to Canada and five other diplomats – with Canadian police alleging a much wider criminal campaign that they deemed so serious they went public.“These are probably the gravest allegations against India made by another country ever,” says Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group in New Delhi.India called the allegations “preposterous.” The government expelled six senior Canadian diplomats in return, sinking the bilateral relationship this week to historic lows.But the charges are not isolated. On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department filed murder-for-hire charges against a former Indian intelligence agent in connection with a foiled assassination attempt of a Sikh activist in New York City.The case prompted a global Washington Post investigation that detailed “an escalating campaign of aggression by RAW [India’s spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing] against the Indian diaspora in Asia, Europe, and North America.”The public revelations could now force the West into a tricky balancing act with India, and come amid a worrying growth in transnational repression more globally, say watchdog groups.A fundamental disconnect – and double standards?Freedom House research director Yana Gorokhovskaia says that increasingly, governments are engaging in transnational repression to silence dissent for two main reasons. Global migration has led to much larger diasporas, and governments who commit it have faced very little accountability.She cites the case of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi columnist for The Washington Post, who was assassinated in Turkey in 2018. The United States promised to turn Saudi Arabia into “a pariah state,” she says. “But relations are more or less normal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.”Sophie Duroy, a law lecturer at the University of Essex who specializes in intelligence and international law, says a precedent has been set by the U.S. and Israel, two states that have “normalized assassination” as a tool of statecraft. But she sees a double standard, depending on “who practices it, who is the victim, and on whose territory this happens on,” she says.In this case, for example, Mr. Nijjar was deemed a terrorist by India in 2020. The Khalistan movement is banned in India, and its active advocates are mostly the Punjabi diaspora overseas. Canada hosts the largest Sikh population outside India, with Sikhs making up about 2% of the population.Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, says the relationship between Canada and India has been strained in recent years. Ultimately, there stands a fundamental disconnect between the two countries when it comes to the notion of Khalistan. “What India regards as a really serious potential threat, Canada regards as essentially activism protected by free speech,” he says.Allies react to Canada’s investigationWestern allies – particularly the Five Eyes intelligence group that includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. – have publicly supported Canada’s investigation.But Canada could find itself lonelier than it did when it raised the ire of China after it arrested Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou, given that India is seen as a strategic partner that countries such as the U.S. and Japan need to counter China’s influence in the Pacific.India also stands to lose, as it remains dependent on Western allies to continue its rise on the global stage, says Mr. Donthi, the analyst. Delhi has cooperated with the U.S. investigation, but its denials in the Canada investigation generated global headlines this week in what Mr. Trudeau called a “horrific mistake” to interfere with Canada’s “sovereignty.”
“This mishap will cast doubts on the nature of the Indian state and affect relations” with the West, Mr. Donthi says. “The favorable external climate India enjoyed so far might not be the same after this.”That is something opposition parties in India are watching, too.Sagarika Goshe, an Indian parliamentarian from the Trinamool Congress party, says the opposition rarely pushes against Mr. Modi on issues of foreign policy, and the same is true now, with opposition leaders criticizing Canada’s allegations as hypocritical. But she adds that the prime minister should call a confidential, all-party meeting – as is typical in times of crisis – to “inform the leader of the opposition as to what is the truth.”Senior opposition leader Jairam Ramesh agrees, writing on the social platform X that “Safeguarding India’s global standing is a shared responsibility.”The bilateral dispute has not derailed India’s partnerships, but, depending on how it is resolved, it could force some inward thinking by those allies. “If the allegations are true, and a country you are supposed to be trusting and that’s your partner is carrying out acts of transnational repression on their soil, that is a very sobering thing to process,” says Mr. Kugelman. India seeks critical mineral agreement with US, hopes for a trade pact, minister says (Reuters)
Reuters [10/19/2024 9:00 AM, Shivangi Acharya, 37270K, Positive]
India’s trade minister on Saturday said the country has sought a critical mineral partnership agreement with the United States as he hopes for talks on a broader trade pact between the two nations."I had suggested that critical mineral MoU (memorandum of understanding) to be converted to a critical mineral partnership and become a starting point to become an FTA (Free Trade Agreement)," Piyush Goyal told reporters at a press briefing in New Delhi.Earlier this month, India and U.S. signed an initial pact to cooperate on strengthening supply chains in the two countries for lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals used in electric vehicles and clean energy applications.The MoU fell far short of a full critical minerals trade deal that would allow India to benefit from the $7,500 U.S. electric vehicle tax credit.Minerals-focused trade deals are one way that the U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration hopes to open up access for trusted allies to a $7,500 per vehicle EV tax credit introduced in last year’s climate-focused Inflation Reduction Act. Modi Touts Stability as Key States Prepare to Vote in India (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/21/2024 3:20 AM, Preeti Soni, 5.5M, Neutral]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recent election wins show voters are choosing political continuity in the country as two key states prepare to go to the polls in coming weeks.
His party’s victory in the national election that ended in June was a “message of stability,” Modi said in a speech at an event broadcast by NDTV on Monday. “People of India further strengthened the sentiment of stability during Haryana election.”
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won a surprise victory in elections in the northern Haryana state earlier this month, giving it a boost before voters in Maharashtra state, home to India’s financial capital Mumbai, and resource-rich Jharkhand go to the polls next month to choose local legislators. In the national elections, the BJP failed to win a majority on its own and formed a coalition with smaller regional parties in order to govern.
The prime minister also touted India’s economic progress and reiterated his ambition to make the country a developed nation by 2047. India was a “ray of hope” amid global uncertainties, he said. “The world knows that the growth and development of India will benefit everyone,” he added. India, China arrive on border patrolling pact to resolve conflict, Indian official says (Reuters)
Reuters [10/21/2024 5:44 AM, Krishn Kaushik, 37270K, Negative]
India and China have arrived on a patrolling arrangement along their disputed frontier in the Himalayas and it can lead to disengagement and resolution of a conflict that began in 2020, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday.News of the pact comes on the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia for the BRICS summit where he could hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.Ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours have been strained since clashes between their troops on the largely undemarcated frontier left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead in 2020.Misri, the top diplomat in the foreign ministry, said diplomatic and military negotiators of the two countries had held several rounds of talks over the past few weeks.These talks have resulted in an agreement on "patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had risen in these areas in 2020", he said.Over the past four years, slow progress on diplomatic and military talks to end the standoff hurt business relations between the world’s two most populous nations with New Delhi tightening scrutiny of investments from Chinese firms and halting major projects. Bomb hoax threats to Indian airlines spark chaos (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [10/20/2024 12:59 AM, Staff, 88008K, Negative]
More than 90 fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian airlines this week, Indian media reported Sunday, sparking fear among passengers and global delays.All flights landed safely, but the spate of threats has resulted in planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort aircraft in the skies above Britain and Singapore.India’s government and civil aviation authorities have warned that "very strict action" will be taken.New Delhi’s civil aviation authorities have not said how many threats have been received in the past week, but the Times of India and broadcaster News18 reported more than 70 hoaxes targeting both domestic and international flights since October 13.At least 30 hoax threats were made on Saturday alone, and at least 20 more threats were made to different airlines on Sunday.India’s IndiGo airline confirmed threats were made against six of its flights on Sunday.Two were on domestic routes, and four were international -- linking Indian cities to Saudia Arabia’s Jeddah and Dammam, as well as two separate flights to Istanbul in Turkey."The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority," IndiGo said in a statement."We are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions."The global impact of delays and diversions has been heavy on airline schedules and costs.At least one person -- a minor -- has been arrested in India, but the threats have continued."All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted," India’s aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said after the arrest on Wednesday.A report in The Indian Express said that an anonymous account on X, formerly Twitter, was suspended after posting bomb threats to at least 40 flights on Friday and Saturday.This included both Indian and international airlines, including from the United States and New Zealand."There are bombs placed onboard... No one will make out alive. Hurry up and evacuate the plane," read the identical messages from the suspended account, the newspaper reported.Among the recent flights impacted was an Air India plane heading from Mumbai to New York, with US security officials sweeping the aircraft after its safe landing on Saturday.Other flights that were impacted include an Air India plane from New Delhi to Chicago, which was forced to make an emergency landing in the far northern Canadian city of Iqaluit on Tuesday.Canada’s airforce had to fly the passengers onward.The same day, Singapore scrambled fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane.On Thursday, British RAF fighter jets escorted an Air India Boeing 777-300 after a threat was made against the plane, which landed safely in London. Demonstrators beat effigy of India’s prime minister outside courthouse after hearing (AP)
AP [10/18/2024 6:06 PM, Larry Neumeister, 31638K, Negative]
Demonstrators who blame the Indian government for a murder-for-hire scheme targeting a prominent Sikh separatist leader living in New York City beat an effigy of the country’s prime minister outside a Manhattan courthouse on Friday after a hearing for an man charged in the plot.
The demonstration by more than a dozen Sikhs came one day after a rewritten indictment in the case charged an Indian government employee in connection with the foiled plan. The India-based employee, Vikash Yadav, remains at large.
Across the street from the courthouse, the demonstrators put a shackled effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside a makeshift jail cell. Another cardboard likeness of Modi was pounded in the face and kicked around on the sidewalk.
Nikhil Gupta, who has previously charged, pleaded not guilty during the hearing, which alleges that Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the assassination.Gupta, 53, has been held without bail since he was extradited to the United States in June from the Czech Republic, where he was arrested in Prague in 2022.
U.S. authorities announced in November 2023 that the plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had been thwarted that June after a sting led by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Pannun, 57, advocates for the creation of a sovereign Sikh state and is considered a terrorist by the Indian government.
Prosecutors say Yadav recruited Gupta, an associate, in May 2023 after Gupta described his involvement in international narcotics and weapons trafficking in various communications to Yadav and others.
Yadav directed Gupta to contact an individual whom Gupta believed to be a criminal associate to help him find a hitman, according to the indictment. It does not identify Pannun by name, only referencing him as the "victim."
The man Gupta thought was a criminal associate was actually a DEA informant, the indictment says.
Yadav told Gupta that $150,000 could be offered for the killing, according to the document, and "the offer will go higher depending upon the quality of the work ... and if it’s done as soon as possible."
The indictment said Gupta also promised the informant that "they have more jobs, more jobs," referring to more targeted killings, two to three a month.
Pannun, who did not attend Friday’s hearing, said in a phone interview afterward that the demonstrators surely focused their anger on Modi because "the directive to kill has come from the prime minister’s office."
The indictment’s addition of charges against a single Indian government employee "is not going to stop Modi’s violent transnational repression," Pannun said, adding that New Delhi continues to have a "strong spy network in America still loyal to Modi’s ideology." Gunmen kill 7 people working on a strategic tunnel project in Indian-controlled Kashmir (AP)
AP [10/21/2024 2:41 AM, Staff, 456K, Negative]
Gunmen fatally shot at least seven people working on a strategic tunnel project in Indian-controlled Kashmir and injured at least five others, officials said on Monday.
Police blamed militants who have been fighting against Indian rule for decades for the “terror attack” at a camp for construction workers near the disputed region’s resort town of Sonamarg. No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility.
Police said at least two gunmen fired “indiscriminately” at officials and workers associated with the construction, leaving two dead on the spot. At least 10 others were taken to hospital, where five more died. The attack came shortly after workers returned to their lodgings on Sunday night. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the attack.
The dead included five non-local laborers and officials, one Kashmiri worker and a Kashmiri doctor.
Reinforcements of police and soldiers launched search operations in the area to nab the attackers.
Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, condemned the attack in a post on social media platform X, calling it “dastardly & cowardly.”
A key Kashmiri resistance leader said he was “deeply saddened by the outrageous killings.”“Another grim reminder of the unending cycle of violence and uncertainty we are suffering for decades,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq wrote on X.
Hundreds of people, mostly non-local laborers, are working on the ambitious tunnel project that aims to connect the Kashmir Valley with Ladakh, a cold desert region that is isolated for half the year because of massive snowfalls. Experts say the tunnel project is important to the military, which will gain significantly improved capabilities to operate in Ladakh.
The strategically important region shares de facto borders with Pakistan and China, and Indian and Chinese soldiers have been engaged in a military standoff there since 2020. Both countries have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers there, backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.
Sunday’s attack was the second attack on a non-local worker in the region since a largely powerless local government was sworn into office Wednesday, following the first local elections since India stripped the region of semi-autonomy five years ago.
On Friday, body of a worker from eastern Bihar state, riddled with bullet wounds, was recovered from a maize field in southern Shopian district, police said. They blamed militants for the killing.
Kashmir has witnessed a spate of killings, many targeting workers from other parts of India, since 2021. Police say the killings, which have also included local Muslim village councilors, police officials and civilians, have been carried out by anti-India rebels.
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the territory since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists that Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict. NSB
Floods destroy 1.1 mln tons of rice in Bangladesh (Reuters)
Reuters [10/20/2024 6:04 AM, Ruma Paul, 37270K, Negative]
Floods in Bangladesh have destroyed an estimated 1.1 million metric tons of rice, according to data from the agriculture ministry, prompting the country to ramp up imports of the staple grain amid soaring food prices.Floods brought by heavy monsoon rains and torrential upstream runoff struck the country in two major waves in August and October, claiming at least 75 lives and affecting millions, particularly in the eastern and northern regions where crop damage has been the most severe.The agriculture ministry said this year’s flooding has resulted in a substantial loss of rice production. In response, the government is moving quickly to import 500,000 tons of rice and is expected to permit private sector imports soon, a food ministry official said.The interim government, which took power in August after deadly protests forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India, has been struggling to stabilize food prices that have surged nearly 20% in recent months.Higher imports by Bangladesh could lift shipments from neighbouring India, the top global rice exporter, which last month cut the duty on parboiled rice exports to 10%.The floods have also severely impacted other agricultural products, including more than 200,000 tons of vegetables. Total nationwide agricultural losses due to the flooding are estimated at around 45 billion taka ($380 million).Bangladesh, the world’s third-largest rice producer, typically produces nearly 40 million tons of rice a year to feed its population of 170 million. However, natural disasters often disrupt production and lead to increased dependency on imports.The floods this year have underscored Bangladesh’s vulnerability to climate change. A 2015 World Bank Institute analysis estimated 3.5 million people in Bangladesh are at risk of annual river flooding, a risk scientists say is worsening due to global climate change."To ensure food security in the face of increasing climate challenges, it is essential to develop more flood- and drought-tolerant crop varieties, along with short-duration varieties," said Khandakar Mohammad Iftekharuddaula, chief scientific officer at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute.He said investing in agricultural research is crucial for developing these resilient crops."By focusing on flood- and drought-resistant traits, we can help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns and stabilize yields even in difficult conditions." Post-revolution Bangladesh protests cost garment industry $400m (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [10/20/2024 6:45 AM, Staff, 4566K, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s vital garment industry lost $400 million due to unrest following the student-led revolution that ousted the country’s autocratic premier, industry leaders said Sunday, insisting the situation was now "stable."
The South Asian nation’s 3,500 garment factories account for around 85% of its $55 billion in annual exports, but the unrest caused significant disruptions to the linchpin industry.
After months of deadly protests, ex-leader Sheikh Hasina fled by helicopter to neighboring India on August 5.
An interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus took over, but protests in a string of garment factories continued with workers demanding jobs and better pay.
Such demonstrations sometimes spiraled into violence. On September 30, a garment worker was killed and 20 were injured in clashes between protesters and the police.
Kalpana Akhtar, president of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation, said Sunday that there had to be "a drastic change in the attitude" of factory owners and the government.
"The discussion about pay raises only takes place when the workers take to the streets," Akhtar told AFP.
She said changes were needed "to ensure stability in this sector," warning that "otherwise, the calm situation might not last."
Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest exporter of clothing by value after China and supplies many of the world’s top brands, including Levi’s, Zara and H&M.
Khandaker Rafiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that the "industry is currently stable after going through a challenging period."
Islam, speaking to reporters on Saturday, estimated losses since August to total around $400 million, and said security forces needed to continue protecting the industry.
"The army formed a task force to protect the factories, and they are conducting regular patrols to ensure security at the garment hubs," Islam said.
"The buyers have regained their trust in Bangladeshi apparel, but uninterrupted law and order is essential to maintain stability." Nepal protesters clash with police over politician’s fraud charges (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [10/20/2024 8:45 AM, Staff, 8537K, Negative]
Nepali police fired tear gas Sunday at thousands of protesters loyal to a former deputy premier once seen as a rising political star, as he appeared in court on charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Rabi Lamichhane faces charges of fraud and organised crime related to the alleged embezzlement of funds from a financial cooperative prior to his entry into politics, a case that has garnered national attention.Lamichhane rejects the charges, which his angry supporters say were trumped up.Lamichhane is well known for his career as a television host in the Himalayan republic, making his name as an anti-corruption crusader through aggressive interviews with public officials.He shot to political power in November 2022 with his Rastriya Swatantra Party tapping into widespread discontent at Nepal’s elderly political leadership, becoming the deputy premier and interior minister.But he was sacked in January 2023, after Nepal’s top court barred him from office for failing to regain citizenship after giving up his US passport.He was arrested in the capital Kathmandu on Friday, and transferred to the city of Pokhara, where he was remanded in custody for a further six days, "for further investigation," Kaski District Court information officer Suraj Adhikari said.Police said thousands of people took part in the protests Sunday, with baton-wielding officers blocking off areas around the district court and spraying crowds with water cannon and tear gas.Protesters chanted slogans against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, claiming the charges against Lamichhane were politically motivated.The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported that a parliamentary committee had accused Lamichhane of embezzling millions of rupees from multiple cooperatives while running the Gorkha Media Network, before his entry into politics."We have been supporting the investigation but this is a political vendetta to finish a new party that is working for the betterment of people," RSP party member Toshima Karki said."They think they can finish our party by attacking an individual, this is wrong," she added."We are doing a peaceful protest and we are committed to fight against this injustice." Central Asia
Kazakh Journalist Jailed For 4 Years Amid Press Crackdown (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [10/18/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 235K, Negative]
A court in Astana on October 18 sentenced Kazakh journalist Daniyar Adilbekov to 4 1/2 years in prison on charges of making and disseminating false information through a Telegram post that accused an energy official of corruption. Co-defendant Erlan Saudegerov received a three-year suspended sentence and probation on related charges. Both men rejected the charges. Their lawyers cited procedural violations and a lack of evidence. In May, over a dozen journalists appealed to President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev for Adilbekov’s release and a fair investigation. Adilbekov also reported being tortured by National Security Committee officials, a claim denied by authorities. His case and the imprisonment of other Kazakh journalists in recent months have sparked concerns about press freedom and the treatment of journalists in Kazakhstan. Journalists In Kyrgyzstan Pay Heavy Price For Uncovering ‘Family-Clan’ Nepotism (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [10/20/2024 3:17 AM, Chris Rickleton, 1251K, Negative]
When Kyrgyz journalist Bolot Temirov’s wife and their colleague were sentenced to multiyear prison terms last week in Kyrgyzstan, the forcibly exiled investigative reporter was not surprised.
"At the beginning of this month I received information that the government is readying an operation to kill me," he said. "At the time I didn’t pay any attention to it. But now it is clear that this government is capable of anything."
Temirov -- who was stripped of his Kyrgyz passport and expelled to Russia in 2022 -- said that after a Bishkek court on October 10 gave his wife, Makhabat Tajibek-kyzy, and reporter Azamat Ishenbekov, six- and five-year jail sentences, respectively, on charges of "creating an organized criminal group" and "calling for mass riots." Both worked with Temirov for the anti-corruption investigation group Temirov Live.
It probably wasn’t just those sentences -- described as "retaliatory" and "arbitrary" by international media watchdogs -- that Temirov had in mind when he wrote those words.
Because in addition to the harsh punishment meted out to two of his colleagues, the judge also ruled to commit the 12-year-old child that Temirov shares with his spouse to the care of the state.
Tajibek-kyzy’s lawyer has insisted that decision will not stand, since the couple have relatives in Kyrgyzstan who can act as the child’s guardian.
But it is just one of a number of details from the detention, prosecution, and judicial treatment of Temirov and his current and former colleagues pointing to the Kyrgyz authorities’ vindictive streak regarding the country’s most relentless investigative journalist.
And that treatment in turn points to a consistent theme in the extended crackdown on independent media under President Sadyr Japarov: the more intense a media outlet’s focus on graft and nepotism, the more forceful the state backlash.
The Kids Are Alright!
Just over a week before the journalists received their sentences, Japarov was on the defensive.
In comments published by state media outlet Kabar on October 2, Japarov justified the involvement of top ally and national security chief Kamchibek Tashiev’s son in the construction of Kyrgyzstan’s first private toll road, which is being built in the south.
Far from reflecting nepotism, Japarov said people should "thank" 30-year-old Tai-Muras Tashiev and his company for building a road that other businesses did not want to build because the road would not be immediately profitable.
"If Tai-Muras wanted to harm the state, why would he have used his own company? Since he knows very well that if this were to happen it would quickly become publicly known," Japarov argued.
This is the kind of shrug-of-the-shoulders logic that the Kyrgyz president uses regularly in his comments to Kabar, safe in the knowledge that there won’t be any follow-up questions.
But he would not have been raising the topic at all had the younger Tashiev’s involvement in the project via two companies of which he was listed as an ultimate beneficiary not been the subject of a Temirov Live broadcast the day before.
"Allocating projects of state importance to your children -- this is the reality of our times," said Temirov in the October 1 report that has been viewed nearly 300,000 times on YouTube.
Japarov did not address the reporting in the same video about the involvement of Tai-Muras Tashiev’s co-owned company in the construction of mini-hydroelectric plants.
But curiously, he did use the Kabar commentary to disclose that his own son, Rustam Japarov, was currently seeking investors to build Central Asia’s biggest golf course.
And he credited both young men for their actions in what he deemed the public interest.
"When did the children of previous presidents ever help out? Instead, they said, ‘Give!’ didn’t they? The main thing is that [children of leaders] don’t cause damage to the state."‘Family-Clan Rule’
Rustam Japarov is 27. Ironically, that is the same age as Temirov’s colleague, Ishenbekov, a journalist who combines historic Kyrgyz bard traditions with modern-day hip-hop to tell stories about corruption.
Ishenbekov has been behind bars since January. So has Tajibek-kyzy, who complained in April that she was physically assaulted by prison guards -- a claim Kyrgyzstan’s ombudsman backed up.
Rustam Japarov has been central in a number of Temirov Live investigations, as have his friends, whose rising business careers were the subject of a joint investigation involving independent outlet Kloop Media and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in September 2023.
None of this constitutes "interference in the affairs of state," Sadyr Japarov said.
And the president has not commented on something that certainly would meet that definition -- a shocking interview by Temirov with a Kazakh businessman who admitted being forced to pay bribes worth tens of thousands of dollars every month to Sadyr Japrov’s brother and nephew for the right to import and reexport the IQOS Heated Tobacco Products manufactured by Phillip Morris.
Eventually, the businessman said, he was squeezed out of the business completely and forced to import via other countries.
Those revelations go against the government’s claims to have cleaned up the Customs Service, a long-lasting source of graft in Kyrgyzstan.
And while it was not possible to verify them independently, RFE/RL spoke to several people in Kazakhstan who knew Temirov’s interviewee and confirmed his line of work.
National security boss Tashiev is often seen as one-half of a ruling "tandem" with the president.
It was around the time of the release of a January 2022 Temirov Live investigation into the Tashiev family’s de facto capture of a state-owned oil refinery in the south of the country that the group and its founder began experiencing serious problems.
Temirov was initially charged with narcotics possession after a dramatic armed raid on Temirov Live’s office in January 2022.
That caused a public outcry, and he was subsequently acquitted by a court that took the unusual step of admonishing the security services deployed to detain him for their conduct.
But later that year, another Bishkek court found him guilty of forging his Kyrgyz passport, and Temirov was bizarrely deported to Russia, where he also held citizenship. Temirov now resides in Europe.
Since his first arrest, Kyrgyzstan has fallen around 50 places in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.
During that time, the authorities have attacked multiple media outlets, including RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, Radio Azattyk, which was blocked for several months, and Kloop Media, which remains blocked inside Kyrgyzstan, where its legal entity was forcibly liquidated.
Then there is the matter of the Russian-style "foreign agents" law, signed by Japarov in April, which is set to make life more and more complicated for any media receiving funding from abroad.
But arguably no other journalist has done more to expose what he calls Kyrgyzstan’s return to "family-clan rule" under Japarov than Temirov.
For that reason alone, he might be right to fear for his life. As a river and a sea die, Uzbekistan learns to live with less water (VOA)
VOA [10/18/2024 6:59 PM, Navbahor Imamova, 4566K, Neutral]
The Amu Darya, one of two main rivers that for millennia fed the now rapidly shrinking Aral Sea, no longer does.
Reporting by VOA along the length of the river in Uzbekistan has confirmed that every drop of water from the Amu Darya - formed by the convergence of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers in the mountains between Afghanistan and Tajikistan - is now diverted for human use.
"The Amu Darya is now fully utilized for agriculture and other economic needs," said Rustam Saparbayev, deputy chairman of the parliament of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan’s northwestern part, where the river ends its journey to nowhere.
Saparbayev told VOA that all the river’s water is directed into five canals in southern Karakalpakstan, lamenting that there isn’t enough water for both the sea and the population.
"This is the hardest decision for us. Our priority is the immediate needs of our people. We rely on the Amu Darya to grow our crops and livestock. Water is extremely scarce in this environment, and we must prioritize food and water security," he emphasized.
In a region already strapped for water, Karakalpakstan faces the most severe environmental challenges and the devastating impact of climate change. The Aral Sea, located largely within its territory, has dramatically shrunk over the past few decades.
Over 30,000 people live in Muynak, which was once a bustling Aral Sea port with a thriving fishing industry, but it now lies a dusty several-hour drive from the water. Since the 1970s, many residents have left because of the environmental disaster.
Nevertheless, VOA noted significant construction and business growth in the area, which the central government in Tashkent cites as evidence of increased investment in the region.
"The conditions here have improved," said Murod Jumaboyev, Muynak’s deputy mayor. "We have been adapting to the climate challenges.
"We still face enormous difficulties with the sea essentially deserted, but we are trying to preserve what remains. With help from our government and the international community, we are revitalizing the area, hoping to turn it into sustainable groves, adopt alternative crops and create a new ecosystem - both environmental and economic," Jumaboyev said.
There is a local "artemia season," during which aquatic crustaceans living in the extremely salty waters of what remains of the Aral Sea are harvested for pharmaceutical use. Locals skilled at collecting them sell them to Chinese firms for several hundred dollars per pack.
Muynak residents told VOA that their situation has slightly improved but said they rely heavily on remittances from relatives working abroad.
"We are the people of the Aral Sea. The sea may have largely left us, but this is still our land. It may be harder here, but I know it’s not easy anywhere," said Maksudbek, who works for a travel firm but declined to give his last name.
According to Muynak officials, more than 20,000 tourists visited last year, marking a significant increase over previous years.
What used to be the shores and shipyards of the Aral Sea are now more than 200 kilometers from the remaining water. It took VOA about four hours in a special jeep to reach the sea.
No population inhabits the area - it is too dry and salty even for most wildlife. A couple of campsites, powered by solar energy, have been built in recent years.
Workers there told VOA that the water receded by about 50 meters over the past year. Very few tourists make it to the sea; most only tour the former Muynak port, particularly the "graveyard of ships," where rusting vessels sit on a desert landscape.
The Aral Sea appears passive and eerily calm at night. No fish are left, with only a few birds, visible mainly at sunrise and sunset. The gray mud is thought to have therapeutic properties, but the sea’s remoteness makes it difficult to access.
Kazakhstan has succeeded in reviving parts of the sea’s northern shores, but from the perspective of the Karakalpaks, who oversee most of it, the Aral Sea is rapidly vanishing.
"We can still save the Aral Sea, but it will require a global effort. No matter what we hear from the U.N. and other organizations, and despite current assistance, there won’t be significant change without concrete action," said Saparbayev.
"There are international missions to save exotic animals and historic sites. The Aral Sea needs similar attention. In our view, the solution is bringing water - but from outside our region, as it can no longer come from the Amu Darya," he said.
Further upstream, water from the Amu Darya is drawn off for use in the Bukhara, Khorezm and Surkhandarya regions, which have a combined population of 9 million. Farmers and officials there told VOA that water availability currently meets their basic needs.
But Afghanistan’s construction of a canal off the Amu Darya is cause for concern. Local leaders hope that the governments of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan can persuade the Taliban to join a water-sharing agreement, something a regional working group is expected to draft.
"We trust that our government is doing everything possible," said Umid Akhmedov, Surkhandarya’s lead specialist on water resources. "We haven’t felt the impact of the Afghan canal yet, but if and when it draws more water, we will have to adapt. We are already implementing new water-use and preservation methods."
The Amu Zang canal is the first channel formed as the Amu Darya enters Uzbekistan. Speaking to VOA from this area, Akhmedov explained that Surkhandarya depends on this water.
"We don’t use it for drinking since it’s very muddy, but for everything else, it’s a critical resource."
In Khorezm, with its desert climate, summers are cooler along the Amu Darya and traditional tea houses and restaurants - sometimes on boats - are popular, particularly around the regional capital, Urgench, and the historic city of Khiva.
VOA saw a similar scene in Karakalpakstan, specifically in Amu Darya District, where a new bridge over the river has eased transit and expanded business opportunities.
However, fishermen told VOA that fish are now scarce in the river, with most of what is sold as "Amu fish" coming from the farms drawing water from the river.
Scarcity, extreme depletion, and decline - these words dominate every conversation about water in Uzbekistan, reflecting a challenging reality and growing concern about the future. People blame Soviet-era irrigation and emphasize the need for regional cooperation to produce solutions.
"We are doing our part by using the water for our most critical needs. The Amu Darya still reaches us, but it no longer feeds the Aral Sea. We hope the world will help us save it," said Saparbayev. Indo-Pacific
Iran hosts joint naval drills with Russia and Oman in Indian Ocean, state media reports (Reuters)
Reuters [10/19/2024 4:39 AM, Alex Richardson, 37270K, Positive]
Naval drills hosted by Iran with the participation of Russia and Oman and observed by nine other countries began in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, Iran’s state TV said.The exercises, dubbed "IMEX 2024", are aimed at boosting "collective security in the region, expand multilateral cooperation, and display the goodwill and capabilities to safeguard peace, friendship and maritime security", the English-language Press TV said.Participants would practice tactics to ensure international maritime trade security, protect maritime routes, enhance humanitarian measures and exchange information on rescue and relief operations, it said.The exercises coincide with heightened tensions in the region as Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza rages and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels retaliate by launching attacks on ships in the Red Sea.In response to regional tensions with the United States, Iran has increased its military cooperation with Russia and China.In March, Iran, China and Russia held their fifth joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman. Countries observing the current drills include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand. Twitter
Afghanistan
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[10/20/2024 2:39 PM, 238.2K followers, 186 retweets, 442 likes] Afghan women remain determined and stand strong against Taliban oppression, demanding freedom and fighting for their rights to work, study, travel, and receive an education. Afghan women’s rights are indeed human rights.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[10/20/2024 1:54 PM, 238.2K followers, 20 retweets, 128 likes]
It took the Taliban years to regroup and challenge the U.S.-backed republic after 2001, with the initial years being quieter than now. In contrast, anti-Taliban resistance groups have rapidly gained strength, now outpacing the Taliban’s resurgence three years after their fall.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[10/20/2024 12:57 PM, 238.2K followers, 18 retweets, 86 likes]
Three rockets hit Taliban’s Kabul airport, with no casualties reported. This comes amid intensified attacks by anti-Taliban resistance groups targeting Taliban forces across provinces.
Nilofar Ayoubi@NilofarAyoubi
[10/20/2024 12:28 PM, 68K followers, 3 retweets, 10 likes]
#BREAKING: Kabul airport hit by at least 3 rockets. According to people in the area, at 20:00 local time, three rockets hit the airport no casualties reported yet. @TajudenSoroush
AAN Afghanistan@AANafgh
[10/21/2024 1:35 AM, 168.6K followers, 1 like]
Our new report delves into the Taleban use of poetry for PR and how taranas, poems sung without instruments, are now the only legal music. Creatives have responded by reversioning Pashto, Dari and Hindi songs, accompanied by beatboxing. https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/context-culture/the-poetry-of-the-emirate-from-insurgent-war-propaganda-to-state-sponsored-pr/
Kate Clark@KateClark66
[10/20/2024 8:31 AM, 31.5K followers, 17 retweets, 38 likes]
Must-read report uncovers the Taleban’s use of poetry to inspire fighters during the insurgency and now to promote their state. After banning all other music, they deploy taranas, poems sung without instruments, as state propaganda. @AANafgh @Sabawo_on https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/context-culture/the-poetry-of-the-emirate-from-insurgent-war-propaganda-to-state-sponsored-pr/
Yalda Hakim@SkyYaldaHakim
[10/21/2024 2:48 AM, 202.7K followers, 51 retweets, 100 likes]
1130 days since the Taliban banned teenage girls from school. 670 days since the Taliban banned women from going to university. Education is not a privilege but a basic right and Afghan girls and women are denied it. #LetAfghanGirlsLearn Pakistan
Madiha Afzal@MadihaAfzal
[10/20/2024 3:37 PM, 42.9K followers, 7 retweets, 38 likes]
The four years of the Biden presidency have been a low point for US-Pakistan relations — precipitated, more than any other factor, by disinterest from the White House. The relationship fell several rungs on a ladder.
Madiha Afzal@MadihaAfzal
[10/20/2024 4:19 PM, 42.9K followers, 1 retweet, 14 likes]
Looking back at some previous research - and struck again by this from the Jamaat-e-Islami’s 1951 manifesto: "Any effort directed towards turning this country into a secular state or implanting herein any foreign ideology amounts to an attack on the very existence of Pakistan."
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK
[10/21/2024 1:11 AM, 8.5M followers, 143 retweets, 657 likes]
History in the making. Roles changed. Grandson of Pakistan’s first elected Prime Minister @BBhuttoZardari shaking hands with grandson of Pakistan’s 1st military dictator @OmarAyubKhan in the National Assembly where 26th constitutional amendment was passed at 5 am Monday morning.
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK
[10/19/2024 4:55 AM, 8.5M followers, 278 retweets, 2.5K likes]
Nice to see young and energetic cadets from Nepal, Palestine, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Sudan Yemen and Madives who were graduated today from Pakistan Military Academy Kakul. Great to see many intelligent lady cadets of 24th lady cadets course who will serve Pakistan in future.
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[10/20/2024 7:58 PM, 74.1K followers, 7 retweets, 33 likes]
Pakistan’s National Assembly(Lower House of the Parliament) PASSES 26th Constitutional Amendment with 225 votes as 2/3rd majority. #Pakistan
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[10/19/2024 4:18 AM, 74.1K followers, 14 retweets, 116 likes]
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to visit Pakistan in the month of November 2024, per sources -- If this visit materialises, this will be the first visit by Lavrov to Pakistan since April 2021 and the third high level visit from Russia to Pakistan in 3months
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[10/20/2024 9:57 AM, 214.2K followers, 1 retweet, 28 likes]
On October 23, we’ll be hosting a conversation with Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb. More info here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/pakistans-economic-outlook-conversation-finance-minister-muhammad-aurangzeb India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/21/2024 2:44 AM, 103M followers, 258 retweets, 1.3K likes]
Today, we mark #8YearsOfUDAN, an initiative that has transformed India’s aviation sector. From an increase in number of airports to more air routes, this scheme has ensured crores of people have access to flying. At the same time, it has had a major impact on boosting trade and commerce and furthering regional growth. In the times to come, we will keep strengthening the aviation sector and focusing on even better connectivity and comfort for the people.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/20/2024 2:51 AM, 103M followers, 100 retweets, 695 likes]
Today, on Police Commemoration Day, we honour the bravery and sacrifice of our police personnel. Their unwavering dedication ensures the safety of our people. They exemplify courage and determination. Their proactive efforts and assistance during humanitarian challenges are equally commendable.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/21/2024 12:42 AM, 103M followers, 5.3K retweets, 4.3K likes]
Addressing the #NDTVWorldSummit. @ndtv https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrXgngYAJX
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/20/2024 7:57 AM, 103M followers, 3.5K retweets, 13K likes]
Speaking at the launch of infrastructure projects in Varanasi. These development initiatives will significantly benefit the citizens, especially our Yuva Shakti.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/19/2024 10:37 AM, 103M followers, 3.8K retweets, 17K likes]
Inaugurated the ‘Karmayogi Saptah’ - National Learning Week today. The learnings and experiences from this initiative will help us improve our work systems and realise our goal of Viksit Bharat. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2066376
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/19/2024 10:37 AM, 103M followers, 996 retweets, 2.4K likes]
Discussed in detail the steps we have taken to change the mindsets of the working of government over the last ten years, whose impact is being felt by people today. This has become possible due to the efforts of the people working in the government and through the impact of initiatives like Mission Karmayogi.
Derek J. Grossman@DerekJGrossman
[10/18/2024 1:36 PM, 93.7K followers, 45 retweets, 381 likes]
Modi will welcome another Russian bear hug from Putin at BRICS in Russia. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ahead-of-brics-summit-vladimir-putin-lauds-pm-modis-efforts-to-resolve-ukraine-conflict-101729263492087.html
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[10/18/2024 12:06 PM, 214.2K followers, 187 retweets, 512 likes]
In light of Yadav indictment, many asking today why David Headley wasn’t extradited to India. He pled guilty to all charges & signed a plea agreement that stipulated he not be extradited. He is now serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US for his role in the Mumbai attacks.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[10/18/2024 8:32 AM, 214.2K followers, 27 retweets, 103 likes]
If you read through the highly detailed 18-page indictment attached here, then it should be easy to understand why India’s reaction to US allegations re the Pannun case have been so different compared to Canada’s allegations in the Nijjar case. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-charges-against-indian-government-employee-connection-foiled NSB
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh@BDMOFA
[10/20/2024 9:32 AM, 53.9K followers, 10 retweets, 95 likes]
HC of India Pranay Verma met FS Md. Jashim Uddin today @BDMOFA. They discussed key bilateral issues including return of Indian workforce to LOC projects, visa operations, renewal of Revised Travel Arrangement (RTA), consular access for detained fishermen, holding FOC etc.
Sabria Chowdhury Balland@sabriaballand
[10/20/2024 4:26 PM, 7.3K followers, 1 like]
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has proposed opening a country office in #Bangladesh following recent political changes. Officials said the issue will be discussed during High Commissioner Volker Türk’s visit this month. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/362585/how-might-a-un-human-rights-country-office
Sabria Chowdhury Balland@sabriaballand
[10/20/2024 9:11 AM, 7.3K followers, 2 retweets, 4 likes]
As #Bangladesh intends to achieve 40 percent renewable energy by 2041, discussants said #China’s development experiences in renewable energy can help Bangladesh achieve its goals. Bangladesh eyes bolstering green energy cooperation with China
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[10/20/2024 2:16 PM, 214.2K followers, 58 retweets, 121 likes]
What a misguided decision by Bangladesh’s interim government. The politics of retribution are one of the biggest obstacles to the restoration of democracy. https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/govt-bar-al-political-participation-3731591
Derek J. Grossman@DerekJGrossman
[10/20/2024 1:16 AM, 93.7K followers, 28 retweets, 152 likes]
Bangladeshi law adviser to interim govt: "India is certainly bound to return Hasina if India honestly interprets this...if India interprets the law honestly, it must repatriate Hasina.” https://www.opindia.com/2024/10/bangladesh-law-adviser-says-india-must-extradite-sheikh-hasina/
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[10/20/2024 1:40 PM, 132.9K followers, 21 retweets, 273 likes]
We extend our sincere gratitude to the thousands who demonstrated their unwavering support for Malima’s victory by attending the victorious rally (‘Building the Nation Together—We are for Malimawa!’) held this evening (20) in Katunayake.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[10/20/2024 4:14 PM, 132.9K followers, 39 retweets, 328 likes]
A heartfelt gratitude to the thousands who attended the inaugural victorious public rally series (‘Building the Nation Together—We are for Malimawa!’) held this evening (20) in Homagama. Your unwavering support is truly appreciated.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[10/19/2024 10:19 AM, 132.9K followers, 82 retweets, 568 likes]
A heartfelt gratitude to the thousands who attended the inaugural victorious public rally series (‘Building the Nation Together—We are for Malimawa!’) held this evening (19) in Tangalle. Your unwavering support is truly appreciated.
Karu Jayasuriya@KaruOnline
[10/20/2024 10:10 AM, 53.7K followers, 2 retweets, 2 likes]
Sri Lanka’s expression of solidarity with countries seeking a rule-based world order by signing the letter against Israel naming the UN Secretary-General a persona non-grata must be welcome. The UN system, despite all criticism against it, remains the centrepiece of world peace.
Karu Jayasuriya@KaruOnline
[10/20/2024 6:36 AM, 53.7K followers, 6 retweets, 10 likes]
Most presidential candidates have submitted their campaign expenses, marking the start of a new era in accountable politics. Yet, it’s crucial to keep updating legal frameworks to ensure transparency and fairness and the non-compliance must not go unnoticed. Central Asia
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[10/19/2024 10:52 AM, 23.8K followers, 4 retweets, 7 likes]
Reporting by VOA along the length of the river in Uzbekistan has confirmed that every drop of water from the Amu Darya — formed by the convergence of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers in the mountains between Afghanistan and Tajikistan — is now diverted for human use. https://voanews.com/a/as-a-river-and-a-sea-die-uzbekistan-learns-to-live-with-less-water-/7828125.html
Nilofar Ayoubi@NilofarAyoubi
[10/20/2024 2:23 PM, 68K followers, 22 retweets, 101 likes]
I have a deep appreciation for our Afghan-Uzbek and Turk communities. Even though they have faced marginalization throughout history, they have consistently remained loving, kind, and talented members of society. They have always upheld national values and aspired to contribute to the prosperity of our country and its culture. Happy National Day of Uzbeki Language.{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.