SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Wednesday, October 23, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Taliban Searches Houses In Kabul After Rocket Attack Claimed By Freedom Front (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [10/22/2024 3:03 PM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
The Taliban conducted house-to-house searches in at least two districts of Kabul on October 22, local sources quoted by RFE/RL said.A resident of the Khair Khana district in Kabul, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFE/RL that the Taliban carried out the searches in Khair Khana and another district of the capital known as 315.Other media outlets have also reported on the searches, but the Taliban has not commented yet.This searches come after at least two rockets were fired at Kabul Airport on October 19.The Afghanistan Freedom Front, an anti-Taliban group, claimed responsibility for firing the rockets and said the Taliban had suffered "severe casualties and financial losses."The Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed the attack on the military section of Kabul airport began with the launch of several rockets and was followed by an assault by its soldiers.While a Taliban source confirmed the rocket attack on Kabul airport to RFE/RL, no comment was made regarding the claim of responsibility by the Afghanistan Freedom Front.The Afghanistan Freedom Front linked the house-to-house searches in Kabul to its recent attack and said two Taliban members were killed in a fresh attack by its forces on a Taliban intelligence vehicle in the Qalacha district of Kabul on October 22.Radio Azadi could not independently verify the claim. Pakistan
Pakistan Picks Junior Judge as Chief Justice Sparking Protests (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/23/2024 2:56 AM, Kamran Haider, 5.5M, Neutral]
Pakistan’s lawmakers belonging to the ruling alliance picked a junior judge as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a move which may spark another round of political and legal battle in the country that needs stability.
A 12-member committee of legislators selected Yahya Afridi, who was junior-most among the three nominated judges, with a two-third majority to head the top court for three years, law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told reporters in Islamabad on Tuesday evening. The lawmakers from ex-premier Imran Khan’s group boycotted the committee meeting saying by-passing the senior justices was illegal.
Khan’s political party has vowed to challenge Afridi’s appointment in the top court while it plans to calls its supporters to take to the streets in protest, a distraction for the government that has to implement structural reforms for economic stability under the International Monetary Fund’s three-year $7 billion loan program. Khan is in jail for past more than a year on charges of corruption and misuse of power when he was the prime minister and has called on his supporters to protest since he was removed from power in April 2022 in a parliamentary vote of confidence.
The appointment came two days after the ruling alliance led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif backed by coalition partners amended the Constitution to curtail the powers of the judiciary to appoint the senior most judge as the chief justice, a practice that was being followed for at least the past 28 years.
Top government leaders have said the move was critical to maintaining a balance between the powers of the parliament and judiciary, which historically has legitimized military rule and overthrown leaders in the South Asian nation. The army has ruled the country for almost half of its time since independence in 1947.
Afridi will take charge on September 26 when Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa retires. Pakistani parliamentary panel picks a judge third on seniority list to head Supreme Court (AP)
AP [10/22/2024 11:47 PM, Munir Ahmed, 31638K, Neutral]
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended a judge who was third on the seniority list of a panel of judges to head the Supreme Court of Pakistan, government officials said Tuesday, a move which virtually blocked the elevation of the senior-most judge and is likely to further deepen a lingering political crisis.
Under the constitution, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government will now formally send a summary to President Asif Ali Zardari to appoint Yahya Afridi as the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Afridi’s name was third on the list of a three-judge panel that was considered by a committee.The government issued no clarification for ignoring two other judges, Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, for the office of the chief justice.
Azam Nazeer Tarar, the minister for Law and Justice, told reporters that the committee has sent the name of Afridi "with a two-third majority" to the premier.
The party of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, which is part of the parliamentary committee, boycotted Tuesday’s meeting that was held in Islamabad to pick the top judge.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, was in favor of Shah’s appointment as the chief justice.
Tuesday’s government move comes days before the Chief Justice Qazi Faez Esa retires after completing his term. It also came a day after the parliament approved controversial changes to the constitution, empowering a 12-member parliamentary panel to pick a senior judge to replace the outgoing chief justice.
The new amendments to the government have been criticized by Khan’s popular opposition party and many lawyers, who have in recent days had vowed that they would protest if Shah wasn’t appointed as the chief justice.
Ahsan Iqbal, a Cabinet minister who is part of the parliamentary committee that finally picked Afridi, defended the decision. He said the parliamentary committee with a majority vote had decided to appoint Afridi as the chief justice.
But Afridi’s appointment is expected to further deepen a political turmoil, which began in 2022 after Khan was ousted from the power through a no-confidence vote in parliament.
He has been behind bars since 2023 after his conviction in a graft case.
Khan has so far been embroiled in more than 150 cases and has been sentenced in several, including to three years, 10 years, 14 years and seven years to be served concurrently under Pakistani law. Khan’s convictions were later overturned in appeals, but he can’t be freed because of other pending cases against him. Wife of Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail in state gifts case, Geo TV says (Reuters)
Reuters [10/23/2024 3:13 AM, Gibran Peshimam, 5.2M, Neutral]
A high court in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad granted bail to the wife of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case pertaining to the illegal sale of state gifts, local broadcaster Geo TV reported on Wednesday.
Both Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are currently in jail on multiple charges including illegally selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000) received during his 2018-2022 premiership from a state treasury known locally known as the "Toshakhana".It was not immediately clear if Bibi would be freed from prison or kept in jail on other charges she faces. Key Takeaways From the Islamabad SCO Summit (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [10/22/2024 10:17 AM, Namita Barthwal, 1198K, Neutral]
On October 15 and 16, Pakistan hosted the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting. Security was tight due to ongoing protests by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafand recent attacks by Baloch insurgents in Karachi that resulted in the deaths of two Chinese nationals. Over 10,000 paramilitary personnel were deployed to protect the 900 delegates. Islamabad was taking no chances with the summit, which marked the first time Pakistan has hosted a leader’s-level SCO meeting.
Pakistan became a full member of the SCO in 2017, alongside India, as part of the group’s first expansion. The SCO was originally formed in 1996, known then as the Shanghai Five, before officially adopting its current name in 2001. It was initially formed by Russia and China to maintain their influence - and limit the United States’ - in Central Asia. Over the past two decades, the SCO’s mission has significantly expanded beyond its initial focus on border disputes and combating the "three evils" - terrorism, extremism, and separatism. Today, its agenda encompasses economic, scientific, and cultural cooperation.
However, the SCO’s broad and varied scope has raised questions about its effectiveness. Critics argue that the SCO increasingly resembles the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), functioning more as a platform for member states to advance their own foreign policy goals rather than fostering collective action.
Although widely regarded as a Russia- and China-led organization, the SCO has seen a shift in relative influence due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, creating space for China to assert greater sway over the group. This changing dynamic was evident in the Islamabad summit, where Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivered an opening speech that leaned heavily toward China’s interests, also reflecting the Sino-Pakistani "all-weather" friendship.
In his address to the summit, Sharif spoke on the expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). While the BRI remains China’s flagship project, Beijing is increasingly showing interest in the INSTC, which involves SCO members Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Iran, and India, among others. Though not directly involved, China recognizes the potential of the corridor to enhance its influence across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Moreover, the INSTC provides China with an alternative trade route, allowing it to bypass Western-imposed sanctions, particularly in its dealings with Russia and Iran. By promoting trade through these non-Western-aligned routes, China aims to reduce the impact of Western financial dominance, a critical concern following the Ukraine conflict and ongoing tensions with the United States. Chinese Premier Li Qiang echoed this sentiment in his remarks, emphasizing the need to enhance trade, investment facilitation, and connectivity in the region while ensuring stable and efficient industrial and supply chains.
Another critical aspect of Sharif’s speech was his remarks on Afghanistan. He said, "A stable Afghanistan is not just desirable but essential to fully realize these opportunities," urging the international community to provide humanitarian aid while encouraging the Taliban to embrace a more inclusive political approach. Sharif’s remarks closely aligned with China’s stance on Afghanistan, particularly with plans to extend the BRI into Afghanistan and Central Asia.
For China, the SCO is a key platform for advancing the Global Security Initiative (GSI). President Xi Jinping introduced the GSI during the SCO summit in Samarkand in September 2022, where he garnered backing from several Central Asian nations. This move represents a strategic expansion of China’s security influence in Central Asia, an area traditionally dominated by Russia.
While China is expanding its presence, Russia uses the SCO platform to signal to the West that attempts to diplomatically isolate Moscow have not succeeded. Although some narratives suggest Russia feels threatened by China’s growing clout in Central Asia, Russian leadership has not publicly expressed concern over Beijing’s initiatives. Instead, Russia maintains a balanced approach, supporting Chinese initiatives while introducing measures for oversight. The support was evident in Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s statement during the summit, where he proposed the creation of an independent payment system within the SCO to ensure stable business conditions. This proposal aligns with China’s efforts to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. However, checks and balances are evident in India’s opposition to such proposals.
India has long been viewed as the most ambivalent member of the SCO, an organization often described as anti-Western. Over the past decade, India has strengthened its strategic and economic ties with the United States, Japan, and Western Europe. Moreover, India views the SCO as a China-dominated organization. In his recent address to the SCO, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar struck a restrained tone. He largely positioned India as a voice for the Global South as he called for comprehensive reforms of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), advocating for increased representation of developing nations.
Jaishankar urged the SCO to reflect on its founding Charter, specifically Article 1, which emphasizes mutual trust, friendship, and regional cooperation. This subtle remark was implicitly aimed at Pakistan and China. Jaishankar enunciated India’s ongoing concerns about cross-border terrorism without directly mentioning Pakistan. Jaishankar said that regional cooperation cannot thrive without mutual respect, sovereign equality, and recognition of territorial integrity - a reference to India’s territorial dispute with China.
Jaishankar critiqued the selective global practices in trade and transit, alluding to China’s BRI, which India has consistently opposed due to sovereignty concerns. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key element of the BRI, runs through the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which India claims as part of Jammu and Kashmir.
India’s participation in the SCO summit remained strictly focused on multilateral concerns, avoiding any bilateral discussions with Pakistan, despite the wishes of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and many Pakistani business leaders. Jaishankar did have an "informal interaction" with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar. However, the visit would not change the dynamics between India and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan continue to hold mutually exclusive expectations of each other: India demands that Pakistan renounce the use of terrorism as a tool of foreign policy, while Pakistan insists on addressing the Kashmir issue. These positions are fundamentally irreconcilable. With its clear military advantage, India would have little difficulty confronting Pakistan if terrorism were no longer part of Islamabad’s strategic approach.
In conclusion, the 23rd meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government highlighted the organization’s evolving dynamics, with China’s growing influence filling the void left by Russia’s preoccupation with Ukraine. Pakistan’s alignment with China’s strategic goals, particularly regarding Afghanistan and trade routes, was evident throughout the summit. However, the SCO’s broad agenda raises questions about its ability to foster genuine multilateral cooperation, especially with India’s cautious participation. How China can prevent terrorist attacks in Balochistan (Nikkei Asia – opinion)
Nikkei Asia [10/22/2024 4:05 PM, Salman Rafi Sheikh, 2376K, Negative]
On Oct. 6, two Chinese nationals working for a Karachi-based power company were killed near the city’s airport in a terrorist attack claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group seeking independence for Balochistan. In 2022, three Chinese teachers were killed in Karachi -- the largest city in Pakistan -- in a suicide bombing carried out by a female member of the BLA’s Majeed Brigade. The rise in such attacks indicates that Baloch militants have expanded their operational capabilities, enabling them to conduct sophisticated assaults against Chinese interests far beyond Balochistan.The key reason for the attacks is the local opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key element of Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, which has worsened the economic situation in the restive province despite promises of rapid development.Since 2021, locals in the Baloch port city of Gwadar have been protesting against Pakistan allowing Chinese trawlers to fish in the Indian Ocean, in which local fishermen have depended on free access for centuries. They now see China’s arrival as the key reason for extremely limited access to the water. This is directly fueling the Baloch anger toward China.Gwadar is located within the Makran division of southern Balochistan. For the past decade or more, southern Balochistan has been the hub of the separatist insurgency. Therefore, when China brought its billion-dollar concept of CPEC to Pakistan and acquired the port of Gwadar on a 40-year lease in 2015, it directly stepped into the separatist war, which is fueled by extreme poverty and the lack of development and control over natural resources. The CPEC’s model is partly to blame.The central body responsible for making decisions related to the CPEC is the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) led by Chinese officials and Pakistan’s federal authorities. However, even though all provinces have stakes in CPEC projects, the JCC itself does not have any provincial representation, let alone any role in decision-making. According to the constitution, ports are supposed to be jointly managed by the federal and provincial governments via the Council of Common Interests (CCI). However, Baloch nationalists claim the decision to hand the port over to China was taken without consulting them. China, therefore, becomes directly complicit in reinforcing the sense of exclusion and deprivation in the province -- inviting attacks.To avoid this, Beijing needs to consider restructuring the JCC to include adequate provincial representation. In other words, instead of solely asking Pakistan to "hunt down the perpetrators" and/or beefing up the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan, its interests will be better served if it paid more attention to the governance model of CPEC with a view to addressing local grievances.However, even pushing for restructuring the JCC to include provincial representation will only be a half measure if Beijing does not simultaneously step away from demanding that Pakistan get rid of its 18th constitutional amendment, which in 2010 made provinces autonomous. But, for the past few years, China has been pushing Pakistan to reverse the amendment. Within Balochistan, this demand carries particular sensitivity insofar as the lack of autonomy has been one of the key drivers of ethnic conflict since 1948. Therefore, China’s demands are not only unreasonable and lack an understanding of local conditions, they are also adding fuel to the fire.To avoid this, and instead of pushing for recentralization of power, Beijing needs to change its course. It should openly support decentralization and provincial rights and powers, taking into account their voices and interests for a smoother implementation of CPEC projects in and beyond Balochistan. So far, its inability to do so has only intensified the insurgency, which seems to have prevented the port from yielding significant revenue for China.If Beijing can openly support provincial rights and simultaneously push Pakistan to find a way to resolve the conflict, it might create an opening for free and fair elections in the province. So far, Beijing’s pressure on Pakistan has led Islamabad to increase its political and military interference in the province as a way to better "manage" nationalist forces and ensure the victory of pro-state elements. But this strategy, which has forced nationalists out of parliamentary politics, has only hardened separatist views amongst the Baloch people. The presence of a genuinely elected and credible provincial leadership in the JCC could significantly alter the way the Baloch see CPEC and China.In other words, Beijing needs to thoroughly revisit its approach. Frameworks of centralized development might be suitable for unitary states like Indonesia. But, for a constitutionally decentralized and federal state like Pakistan with a long history of ethnic conflict, this model is bound to exacerbate existing social, political and ethnic fault lines with deadly consequences for the investors. India
US pressures India for quick accountability in Sikh separatist murder plot (Reuters)
Reuters [10/22/2024 6:09 AM, Trevor Hunnicutt, 37270K, Negative]
U.S. officials have told their Indian counterparts they want a speedy result and more accountability after their investigation into Indian involvement in a foiled murder plot against a Sikh activist in the United States, according to a U.S. official.An Indian Enquiry Committee visited Washington last week to discuss India’s own investigations after the Justice Department alleged an Indian intelligence official had directed plans to assassinate dual U.S.-Canada citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, last year."We’ve communicated really clearly that the U.S. government isn’t going to feel fully satisfied until we see that meaningful accountability takes place," said a U.S. official who declined to be named. "We have been emphasizing that we hope that India will move as quickly as possible through their investigative process."The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Washington’s message to Indian officials has not been previously reported.Last week, an unsealed indictment showed that the United States had charged Vikash Yadav, described as a former officer in India’s Research and Analysis Wing spy service, with directing the plot against a Sikh separatist in New York City.The indictment alleged that beginning in May 2023, Yadav, described as an employee of the Indian government at the time, worked with others in India and abroad to direct a plot against Pannun.The accusations have tested Washington’s relations with India, which the Biden administration sees as a potential counterbalance to China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific."India remains an incredibly important and valuable strategic partner," the U.S. official said. "We also have to have trust and an ability to work through very difficult issues like this transparently."India has labeled Sikh separatists as "terrorists" and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan, which would be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.Pannun, the Sikh separatist, has alleged that Yadav was a "mid-tier soldier" assigned the task of organizing the assassination by higher-level Indian officials.India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 it would formally investigate the allegations, and it has separately continued a diplomatic dispute with Canada over the June 2023 assassination of another Sikh leader.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September his country’s intelligence agency was pursuing credible allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was behind the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist.India has denied involvement in both incidents. Xi, Modi Hail Russia Ties While Meeting Putin at BRICS Summit (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/22/2024 12:16 PM, Henry Meyer, Swati Gupta, and Lin Cheng, 1784K, Neutral]
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi both praised expanding relations with Russia at bilateral meetings with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
Putin is hosting a summit of BRICS countries, the largest gathering of world leaders in Russia since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The heads of 32 countries and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are expected to attend the three-day event in the city of Kazan, highlighting the challenge to the West’s efforts to isolate him over the war.
The gathering of the expanded club offers an occasion for a display of unity between the Russian leader and his counterparts at a time when the Kremlin looks to cast Putin as standing up to the West in attempting to reshape the global order.
Xi said during a meeting on the sidelines of the summit that the "deep friendship" between Russia and China won’t change amid the "chaos" in the world. Modi in turn said his recent visits to Russia demonstrate "our close and deepening" relations, according to televised remarks.
Putin also lauded ties with each country, calling Xi his "dear friend" and describing Russian-Chinese cooperation as "wide-ranging," while touting Moscow’s "strategic partnership" with India at his meeting with Modi.
Xi and Putin earlier met at the July Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Kazakhstan. They also met in Beijing in May during the Russian president’s first foreign visit since his inauguration for a fifth presidential term where they vowed to intensify cooperation against "containment" by the US.
The two leaders declared a "no-limits friendship" just weeks before Putin launched his attack on Ukraine, and have met more than 40 times since Xi came to power in 2012.
While Beijing has sought to portray itself as a neutral actor that can help end the conflict, Kyiv’s US and European allies have accused China of serving as an economic lifeline for the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Xi and Putin spent a significant amount of time on the topic of Ukraine during their meeting, the Interfax news service reported.
India’s friendship with Russia, which has become a major oil supplier to the south Asian nation, has increasingly irritated US President Joe Biden’s administration as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues for the third year. While New Delhi has argued for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, it’s turned into the second-biggest supplier of restricted technologies to Russia, helping to fuel the Kremlin’s war machine.
The US’s ability to pressure India is limited by Washington’s competing strategic priority of nurturing closer ties with the country as a counterweight to China in Asia.
Tuesday’s talks marked the second meeting between Putin and Modi in just over three months. In July, Modi embraced Putin and hailed the Russian leader as a "friend" during a visit to Moscow that coincided with a deadly Russian missile strike on a children’s hospital in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
Despite discomfort in New Delhi over the worst fighting in Europe since World War II, India has avoided censuring Russia for invading Ukraine, abstaining at UN votes on the issue.
"We have been in constant touch regarding the situation between Russia and Ukraine, and as I have said before, we believe that the solution to these issues should be through peaceful means," Modi said, adding that he and Putin would discuss the conflict at their meeting. "We support the resumption of peace and stability as soon as possible."
India’s government has been discussing a long-term crude-supply deal with Russia. Oil Minister Hardeep Puri told reporters Tuesday that Modi will have very fruitful meetings in Moscow but declined to comment on what was expected on the energy front.
The summit hosted by Russia is the first since the group agreed to extend membership to six additional nations at last year’s summit in South Africa. But Argentina pulled out under its new President Javier Milei, and Saudi Arabia has remained non-committal.
Putin also met with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, and is scheduled to sit down with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi later Tuesday. The Russian leader is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday. Modi was set to meet with Pezeshkian late Tuesday. Modi calls for peace in Ukraine as he meets Putin at BRICS summit (Reuters)
Reuters [10/22/2024 3:03 PM, Vladimir Soldatkin and Guy Faulconbridge, 2376K, Neutral]
India’s Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of the BRICS summit that he wanted peace in Ukraine and that New Delhi was ready to help achieve a truce to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.Putin, who ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, wants the BRICS summit to showcase the rising clout of the non-Western world after the United States and its European and Asian allies tried to isolate Russia over the war.Russia is expecting 22 leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping who arrived on Tuesday, to attend the summit meeting of the BRICS, which accounts for 45% of the world’s population and 35% of the global economy.Putin, who is cast by the West as a war criminal, thanked Prime Minister Modi for accepting the invitation to visit Kazan, a city on the banks of the Volga, and said Russia and India shared a "privileged strategic partnership".Modi thanked Putin for his "strong friendship", praised growing cooperation and the evolution of BRICS but also said that India felt the conflict in Ukraine should be ended peacefully."We have been in constant touch on the subject of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Modi said. "We believe that problems should be resolved only through peaceful means.""We fully support the early restoration of peace and stability. All our efforts give priority to humanity. India is ready to provide all possible support in the times to come," he said, adding that he would discuss the issues with Putin.Xi and Putin also discussed the Ukraine crisis, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, though he gave no details about those talks.The BRICS summit takes place as global finance chiefs gather in Washington amid war in the Middle East as well as Ukraine, a flagging Chinese economy and worries that the U.S. presidential election could ignite new trade battles.With BRICS expanding - and a waiting list of potential members - there is anxiety among some about whether expansion will make the group unwieldy.China and India, the top purchasers of Russian oil, have difficult relations, while there is little love lost between Arab nations and Iran.SECURITY INTERESTSWhen asked by BRICS reporters about the prospects for peace, Putin said that Moscow would not trade away the four regions of eastern Ukraine that it says are now part of Russia and that Moscow wants its long-term security interests taken into account in Europe.Two Russian sources said that, while there was increasing talk in Moscow of a possible ceasefire agreement, there was nothing concrete yet - and that the world was awaiting the result of the Nov. 5 presidential election in the United States.Russia, which is advancing, controls about one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea which it seized and unilaterally annexed in 2014, about 80% of the Donbas - a coal-and-steel zone comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - and over 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.Putin said the West had now realised that Russia would be victorious, but that he was open to talks based on draft ceasefire agreements reached in Istanbul in April 2022.On the eve of the BRICS summit, Putin met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for informal talks that went on until midnight at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.BRICSPutin has praised both Sheikh Mohammed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will not attend the summit in Kazan, for their mediation efforts over Ukraine."We are ready to make any efforts to resolve crises and in the interests of peace, in the interests of both sides," Sheikh Mohammed told Putin.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cancelled his trip following medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights after a head injury at home.The acronym BRIC was coined in 2001 by then-Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper that underlined the massive growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China this century.Russia, India and China began to meet more formally, eventually adding Brazil, then South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has yet to formally join.BRICS’ share of global GDP is forecast to rise to 37% by the end of this decade while the share accounted for by the Group of Seven major Western economies will decline to about 28% from 30% this year, according to International Monetary Fund data.Russia is seeking to convince BRICS countries to build an alternative platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions. India and China Reach Border Deal That Could Ease Hostilities (New York Times)
New York Times [10/22/2024 1:38 PM, Anupreeta Das, Hari Kumar, and Vivan Wang, 1756K, Neutral]
India and China have reached an agreement on patrolling their shared Himalayan border, according to the two governments, potentially easing the icy hostility between the Asian giants after a deadly skirmish between their troops four years ago.India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, said during a news conference on Monday that the border agreement had come after weeks of intense talks between diplomatic and military negotiators from both sides. The agreement, Mr. Misri said, was designed to lead to “disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020.”Asked about reports of a border patrol deal, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, said on Tuesday that China and India had been in “close communication.”
“Now both sides have arrived at a resolution on the relevant matter, which China views favorably,” Mr. Lin said. “Going forward, the Chinese side and Indian sides will implement those resolutions.”India made its announcement a day before the opening of a summit of the BRICS nations, a group of emerging-market countries that includes India and China.On Tuesday, Mr. Misri said that Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi would sit down for bilateral talks on Oct. 23. The meeting would be the first interaction between the two leaders since 2019, before the border dispute froze such talks.But the timing of the announcement indicated that Mr. Modi might address the political and economic implications of a military disengagement along the border. Any thaw between India and China could have global implications as the United States courts New Delhi to act as a counterweight to Beijing.Mr. Misri, the Indian foreign secretary, did not specify how patrolling would play out along the Line of Actual Control, the 2,100-mile border between the two nations that was drawn up after India and China went to war in 1962. The border runs through high-altitude, inhospitable and shifting terrain in the Himalayas, making it difficult to define and easy to claim.In June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops clashed in their worst fight in decades. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed. The Chinese government denied reports in the Indian media that more than 40 Chinese soldiers had died. In 2021, the Chinese military’s official mouthpiece acknowledged four deaths, though doubts about the true count remained.The new patrolling agreement will restore relations to where they were before 2020, Indian officials said. At Tuesday’s briefing, Mr. Misri said that the agreement was designed to limit the potential for border clashes, and to ensure that the countries can quickly de-escalate when there are disputes.Troops from the two countries have defended their side of the restive border for decades. While confrontations were once sporadic, they have become more frequent as China and India have constructed roads and other infrastructure along the border. In 2017, they fought over an unpaved road. After the bloody melee in 2020, smaller clashes and incursions took place in 2021 and 2022.Conflicts between India and China have taken on more global significance in the past decade, with the nuclear-armed nations competing more intensely for dominance in South Asia.Although China’s military is mightier than India’s, New Delhi has become more assertive on the global stage, in keeping with Mr. Modi’s ambitions to transform India into a world power. India has also benefited from increasingly frosty ties between the United States and China, building stronger trade and military ties with the West.Analysts and commentators largely welcomed India’s announcement of the border deal.“Restoring patrolling rights is the closest we can get to attempting to reach the pre-2020 situation,” said Deependra Singh Hooda, a retired lieutenant general who led India’s Northern Command, which covers part of the border with China. “It also sets the stage for repairing the ties between the two countries.”Mr. Hooda added that the agreement was a win for India because the government had insisted on normalizing border relations with China before discussing wider ties.But Bharat Karnad, a national security expert affiliated with the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research, said that the deal was not a breakthrough.“China is stringing India along by agreeing in principle,” Mr. Karnad said. “It will take years by the usual Chinese timetable to negotiate the modalities of patrolling.”China appeared to be tightly controlling discussion of the topic on Tuesday. A hashtag about the border agreement, started by a state media outlet, was trending on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, but comments were limited.Song Zhongping, a former Chinese military officer who is now an independent military commentator, said that China and India shared many strategic interests as major developing powers.While the new deal does not mean an end to all border disputes between the countries, he said, it will at least allow them to temporarily put aside the conflict and focus on issues such as their economies.He added that the deal would also allow China and India to avoid being pitted against each other by other countries — especially the United States. The U.S. government “hopes that India can become an important part of America’s Indo-Pacific strategy and to turn India into a bridgehead or important chess piece for containing China,” he said.“To maintain its global hegemony, the United States constantly instigates India to engage in an arms race and buy weapons and equipment to challenge China,” Mr. Song said. India-China Ties May See Thaw Four Years After Border Skirmish Froze Relations (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [10/22/2024 1:26 PM, Rajesh Roy, 831K, Neutral]
India and China have reached a breakthrough in discussions over their disputed Himalayan border, signaling room for improved ties after a high-altitude skirmish froze relations between the Asian giants.
The two countries have arrived at an arrangement to resume patrolling along their de facto border, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Monday. A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday confirmed an agreement related to border issues, without elaborating.
Patrols by Indian and Chinese security forces along the border halted following a June 2020 clash between the nuclear-armed neighbors that saw security forces engage in hand-to-hand combat, resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese personnel.“Over the last several weeks Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums,” Misri said. “We have reached an agreement on the issues that were being discussed.”
Misri said the agreement on patrolling, once implemented, could pave the way for disengagement. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said China would work with India to implement the agreements.
Misri was speaking at a briefing on the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in Russia for the Brics summit—a bloc of emerging nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—which Chinese President Xi Jinping is also attending.
Speaking to reporters in Russia on Tuesday, Misri said that Modi and Xi will have a bilateral meeting Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit. He didn’t elaborate on what the two leaders intend to discuss. Modi and Xi haven’t had formal talks since the border clash.
The standoff severely damaged political and business relations between the two countries.
Following the clash, India retaliated by banning dozens of mobile apps, including widely used video-streaming platform TikTok and the messaging app WeChat. It also made it nearly impossible for Chinese companies to bring foreign direct investments into the country by hardening government rules.
While China was India’s largest trading partner in the year ended in March, Chinese firms operating in India have faced probes over alleged tax evasion, which the companies deny, and India has levied tariffs on many Chinese products as it seeks to build up its own domestic manufacturing and reduce dependence on its neighbor.
Direct passenger flights between the two countries also haven’t resumed.
An Indian security official said the scope of future disengagement is unclear, but noted that if military forces are able to resume patrolling after more than four years, it would signal a “big positive move.”
Still, strategic experts note that China has moved to fortify its border with India, including setting up new villages along parts of the disputed boundary, efforts that are unlikely to be dismantled and that will weigh on Indian security concerns.
Shared concerns about a more assertive China have cemented closer economic and strategic ties between India and the U.S. in recent years. That includes a more than $3-billion deal for India to purchase 31 armed Guardian drones that it will use in part to track Chinese troop movements on its Himalayan border. Diplomatic experts say that a slight normalization of India’s ties with China isn’t likely to fundamentally change the U.S.-India equation, noting the U.S. has also moved to restart some lines of communication with China to manage the risks of a confrontation.
India and China have had a tense relationship since they fought a war in 1962. India also hosts the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing views as a separatist. The Tibetan spiritual leader fled to India in 1959 after China moved to assert its control over the region.
The two countries are separated along their 2,000-mile border by a vague demarcation line known as the Line of Actual Control.
Indian and Chinese security forces often used to bump into each other during patrolling of their perceived areas of control on the borders, leading to heightened tensions. Since the 2020 clash, both countries have deployed tens of thousands of security forces along the Himalayan border along with advanced artillery, weapons and surveillance devices.“Given how difficult it has been so far, India will continue to be mobilized and not take things at face value with China,” said Harsh Pant, vice president for foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based international relations think tank.
In recent months, however, there have been signals that the two countries were looking to break the deadlock. Indian industrial groups have also lobbied for easing the ability to do business with China, including seeking faster visa clearances for specialized Chinese industrial workers.
The meeting between Xi and Modi this week on the sidelines of Brics could make clearer whether there is indeed momentum for improving ties.“We need to wait and watch if there is actually a political agreement between Modi and Xi,” said Pant. Xi, Modi to Hold First Talks in Two Years After Border Deal (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/22/2024 11:37 PM, Staff, 5.5M, Neutral]
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold their first bilateral meeting since 2022 on Wednesday, after the two countries eased a four-year border stalemate earlier this week.
The two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri said Tuesday. Modi and Xi had a brief conversation when they attended the bloc’s meeting in Johannesburg in 2023 and last had a formal sitdown during the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Bali a year earlier.“I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting held between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping” on Wednesday, Misri said in a briefing in Kazan. “The exact time and other logistics are being worked out, but the meeting will take place.”
The meeting comes after Beijing and New Delhi reached an agreement on Monday to allow border patrolling operations in both countries to resume, completing a disengagement process along the disputed Himalayan borders.
Relations between China and India have been frozen since June 2020 when clashes between soldiers along the border left at least 20 Indian and at least five Chinese dead. Since then, India have imposed strict rules on Chinese businesses seeking to invest in the country, banned hundreds of Chinese apps and slowed visa approvals.
Xi visited the southern Indian city of Chennai in 2019, after hosting Modi in the Chinese city of Wuhan a year earlier.
The leaders of the world’s two most populous countries have separately met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the three-day BRICS summit, the largest gathering of world leaders in Russia since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
They both praised expanding relations with Russia in a display of unity at a time when the Kremlin looks to cast Putin as standing up to the West in attempting to reshape the global order.
Xi said during a meeting on the sidelines of the summit that the “deep friendship” between Russia and China won’t change amid the “chaos” in the world. Modi in turn said his recent visits to Russia demonstrate “our close and deepening” relations, according to televised remarks. Young Indians have been making a ‘do or die’ journey to live the American dream (CNN)
CNN [10/22/2024 7:56 AM, Rhea Mogul, Kunal Sehgal, Aishwarya S. Iyer, and Ivan Watson, 24052K, Neutral]
The sun blisters the arid ground in Karnal, a district in India’s northern Haryana state, where empty houses stand testament to an acute problem that’s driving some residents to take unimaginable risks.
There are no jobs here, so young educated locals who dream of a better life are paying thousands of dollars to flee the world’s fastest growing major economy for the United States.
"It is the donkey way," said law student Ankit Chaudhary. "It is a route which is going through many of the countries and then we will jump the wall of the USA."
Chaudhary told CNN he paid an agent more than $50,000 to help him cross multiple borders and traverse the dangerous jungles of Latin America to illegally enter the United States.
But he lost his money and the opportunity to flee when his agent was raided.
The risky journey is part of a worrying new trend in the country of 1.4 billion people, and one that could strain ties between the India and the US, where illegal immigration remains a key issue ahead of November’s presidential vote.
In just four years, the number of Indian citizens illegally entering the US has surged dramatically - from 8,027 in the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year to 96,917 during 2022 to 2023 period, government data showed.
Recent Pew research found that as of 2022, Indians made up the third-largest group of undocumented migrants in the US, behind people from Mexico and El Salvador.
The numbers speak to the desperation faced by Indians in the world’s largest democracy and stand in stark contrast to the powerful and robust image that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to project on the world stage. He’s aiming to turn the world’s most populous nation into a global superpower by 2047.
"Viskit Bharat (Developed India) is a nation where no one is too small to dream and no dream is too big to achieve," Modi said in May. "Viksit Bharat is a nation where social circumstances or birth do not limit anyone’s growth. Everyone, no matter who they are, can aspire to reach the heights of success."
But not everyone is convinced the dream is real.
Chaudhary is planning to apply for a US visa, but if that fails, he says he will have no choice but to take the dangerous illegal route out.
"People have no source of income, no government jobs. Some people are (hungry)," Chaudhary said. "I have no other option but to migrate."
Too few jobs
The meandering alleyways of villages in Karnal were empty when CNN visited in July, the gates of some homes padlocked and collecting dust.
There were no young people in sight. Instead, elderly men sat on the stoops outside some homes, smoking hookahs and shuffling cards.
The homes of parents whose children have settled abroad were easily identifiable; swanky bungalows with SUVs parked outside and tractors that had the American flag painted on them, bought with funds sent back home.During the fiscal year from 2022 to 2023, the unemployment rate of people aged 15 and above in Haryana state stood at 6.1%, according to data released by India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, nearly double the national average for the same period.
But for people age 15 to 24, the number was significantly higher - 45.4% across the country in the same year. Official unemployment rates in developing countries tend to be low because very few people can afford to be unemployed for long, so they take whatever work they can find, however inadequate.
In his home in Mator village in the nearby district of Kaithal, Rajeev Kumar told CNN that his older brother Malkeet, a rice farmer, attempted to reach the US last year.
"He was thinking about it for a long time," Kumar said. "(There are) no jobs here … he wanted to go there and make money so the family could be happy."
The family borrowed $30,000 from relatives and friends to pay an agent to smuggle Malkeet into the US via the now infamous "donkey route," his brother said.
The term is derived from the Punjabi word "dunki" which means to hop from place to place. Journeys vary, but CNN spoke with several families whose members had attempted the trip.
They said it involved taking a flight out of New Delhi and flying via countries with relatively favorable visa requirements, before landing in Latin America, if they are entering via the southern US border.
There, the migrants meet smugglers who then guide them through treacherous jungles to the US-Mexico border, where they wait to be picked up by border enforcement agents and request asylum. When asked, many have been trained to say they do not feel safe in India and that their lives are in danger, the families said.
Malkeet left India in February, first flying to Dubai before continuing to Almaty, Kazakhstan, according to his family. From there, he traveled to Turkey, where he transited in Istanbul airport for 24 hours, before boarding a plane to Panama City and then San Salvador.
There, he met with a smuggler and disconnected his phone before embarking on the toughest, most strenuous leg of the journey: north, towards Guatemala.
India’s population paradox
With an average age of 29 years, India has one of the world’s youngest populations, but the country is not yet able to reap the potential economic benefits of its young workers.
According to a March report by the International Labour Organization, educated Indians between the ages of 15 and 29 are more likely to be unemployed than those without any schooling, reflecting "a mismatch with their aspirations and available jobs."
"The Indian economy has not been able to create enough remunerative jobs in the non-farm sectors for new educated youth labour force entrants, which is reflected in the high and increasing unemployment rate," the report said.
Lawyer Muzaffar Chishti, director at the Migration Policy Institute in New York, said "push factors like these are what matter in the decision for people to make the journey."
Chishti, who has been watching illegal immigration trends into the US, said: "If these young men and women know that there is a good chance, even a 50% chance that they will get into the US … that is a magnet."
Until a recent Biden Administration crackdown on the border, there was reason to believe that embarking on the trip could bring success.
Many who have attempted the journey have vlogged about it, amassing tens of thousands of views on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all while selling the idea of "the American Dream."
Ankush Malik, whose YouTube channel has close to 60,000 subscribers, is among those who have successfully crossed into the US via Mexico. He now works as a truck driver and often flaunts his wealth to his fans, boasting of buying $95 perfume, living in a large house and visiting multiple cities as a trucker.
But not every video paints a rosy picture.
Malik documented his entire journey from Haryana to the US, flying via Qatar and Amsterdam, before reaching Panama to begin his jungle trek. In one of the videos, the men appear weak and tired, dripping in sweat, with bug bites on their legs and arms, while staying on the lookout for other critters as they stop to rest for the night.
One of the migrants looks at the camera with sullen eyes and a rugged beard. Pale and hungry, he says: "10 lakh rupees ($12,000) has gone to waste. They’ve made a donkey out of us."
Claiming asylum
If they make it to the US, the migrants’ unpredictable journey begins to follow a typical routine as they wait for Customs and Border Protection officers to pick them up, according to Chishti.
"The customs official first must determine whether the person is in physical danger or not. Whether they’re malnourished or not," he said.
"They give them a bottle of water. At that point, the person (who just crossed into the US) says ‘I’m here to seek asylum.’"
According to US law, if someone claims asylum, they must be given a hearing to make their case. While they wait, the customs official takes them to a processing facility, where they’re given a medical screening. Security checks are conducted, and the migrants are interviewed.
Following the screening, the official decides whether to consider their asylum application, which could take years to process.While in the US, asylum applicants can apply for employment authorization and must wait at least 180 days for a work permit.
In 2023, 46% of asylum claims from Indian nationals were approved, according to the Justice Department.
Earlier this summer the Biden Administration issued an executive order largely barring migrants from seeking asylum at the US southern border and levying harsh consequences on those illegally crossing.
US Border Patrol have since reported a dramatic drop in illegal cross border traffic. In September, Border Patrol officers reported around 54,000 encounters, the lowest number recorded since 2020.
A 35-year-old farmer and father of two from a Haryana village, who CNN has agreed not to name, said he attempted the journey in 2019. It took about six months for him to reach the US border from India.
Once he did, he told CNN he was sent to a San Diego prison, where he stayed in a single cell with about 60 to 70 asylum seekers from South Asia while their cases were being reviewed.
But contrary to his claims, US authorities found he faced no persecution in India, and he was eventually sent home.
The man wanted to remain anonymous as he is attempting to make the trip yet again. "I don’t earn enough while farming here," he said.
An agent from Haryana, who did not want to be named for legal reasons, said he has sent between 150 to 200 people via the "donkey route" to the US.
When CNN first interviewed him in July, he said all his clients had "safely" reached the US, and none had been sent back.
But this month, the agent said conditions for migrants had changed dramatically.
"There has been an increase in the number of people being deported for certain," he said. "This has caused fear in those going illegally and the agents involved in the donkey route."
The agent said he has completely stopped his work.
His account matched that of another smuggling agent CNN spoke to in Haryana.
"Most people are now holding off going to the United States via donkey," the second agent said. "They do not want to spend thousands of dollars for nothing."
As he campaigns for a return to the White House, Trump has made clear his views on immigration, blaming migrants for everything from rising crime to eating people’s pets."Our country is being lost, we’re a failing nation," Trump said in September’s presidential debate with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
But even if Trump wins the November election, smugglers CNN spoke to in India predict an eventual revival of the "donkey" route.
"In my opinion the donkey route will never completely stop," said the first agent.
"Even earlier during Trump’s time, we sent people. There will be newer routes, networks, and ways one may have to devise to get there."‘It has become do or die’
Kumar waited anxiously at home in India as his brother Malkeet embarked on the donkey route from India last year.
Malkeet sent images of his plane tickets and selfie videos along the way before setting off on the riskiest leg, the trek north through Guatemala.
Kumar had hoped for news that his brother had made it. Instead, he received videos that confirmed he hadn’t.
"We got videos (of his dead body) via many WhatsApp groups. Someone showed it to us and asked if it was my brother and we identified him," Kumar said.
The family learned Malkeet had been shot and killed by criminals on a riverbank on the El Salvador-Guatemala border.
Malkeet’s body was returned to them nearly five months later.
"It is impossible to fill the loss of my brother," said Kumar, who now toils on his family’s fields alone.
But despite the tragedy, people remain undeterred. Kumar says young people in his village still dream of smuggling themselves somewhere overseas
"People here know they will die from unemployment, so they think it is better to go and take the risk," he said. "For people here it has become do or die." India’s Main Challenge Is Skills Gap for Young, Sitharaman Says (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/22/2024 6:26 AM, Ruchi Bhatia, 1784K, Neutral]
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the nation faces a significant challenge skilling its vast young workforce to meet the requirements of the job market.
"The biggest challenge that we had is the employability level or the skill set which is so required," Sitharaman said at an event hosted by The Economic Club of New York on Monday. Businesses often feel that graduate students don’t have the appropriate skills for the job at hand, she said. "For being employed, they need something more and it is that gap that the government of India is trying to now fill," she added.
Sitharaman highlighted a problem that economists have often warned as a long-term threat to India’s economic growth, currently the fastest among major economies. While India’s young population - more than half of its 1.4 billion people are below the age of 30 - is seen as a driver of growth, poor schooling means the economy won’t benefit fully from that demographic dividend. An International Labour Organization report shows educated youth in India are nine times more likely to be unemployed than for those who can’t read or write.
Sitharaman said upgrading industrial training institutes and equipping youth with skills in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence will help bridge the skills gap.
Joblessness, especially among young people, emerged as a key concern for voters in India’s election this year, contributing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s worse-than-expected showing at the polls. Sitharaman pledged in her post-election budget to spend $24 billion over five years to boost skills and train 2 million people. India plans to punish people making hoax bomb threats against flights (AP)
AP [10/22/2024 8:48 AM, Staff, 31638K, Negative]
The Indian government plans a new law to punish those making hoax bomb threats against flights, which disrupt the schedules of airlines and cause massive inconvenience to thousands of passengers.
In less than two weeks, more than 120 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan said on Monday that the government is planning to introduce legislation that would put offenders on a no-fly list and amend the 1982 Civil Aviation Act so that they can be arrested and investigated without a court order.
On Tuesday, IndiGo, a private Indian airline, said nine of its flights destined for Jeddah and Dammam in Saudi Arabia and some flights from Turkey had received such hoax calls. The flights were diverted to the nearest airports for security checks.
"We worked closely with the relevant authorities and followed standard operating procedures," the airline said in a statement.
The hoaxers have largely gone untraced so far. The Mumbai police said they detained a 17-year-old boy from eastern Chhattisgarh state on Wednesday for allegedly posting bomb threat messages on the social media of various airlines.
Police officer Maneesh Kalwaniya said the boy’s motive was to implicate another person involved in a business dispute with him.
The Press Trust of India said 30 domestic and international flights operated by Indian airlines, including IndiGo, Vistara, and Air India, received bomb threats on Monday night alone.
"Even though bomb threats are hoaxes, things cannot be taken non-seriously," Rammohan said. Indian Women Advised To Have at Least Two Children To Tackle Birth Rate (Newsweek)
Newsweek [10/22/2024 12:09 PM, Chloe Mayer, 49093K, Neutral]
Indian women have been urged to have a minimum of two children in a bid to reverse plummeting birth rates and boost the population.N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is the chief minister of the Andhra Pradesh state, warned of a ticking timebomb as the region is currently failing to reach the "replacement level" for fertility. Fewer children being born now means an increasingly elderly population with a reduced working-age demographic in the future. Having larger families would be "for the greater good," Naidu said, according to India’s Hindi-language news channel ABP Live.India is far from alone in grappling with the thorny population problem. Europe is similarly concerned, with the European Union discussing a report last month that laid bare the strain being placed on welfare systems and public finances with a sharp fall in working-age citizens and a hike in older citizens. The U.S. is facing the same issue, with experts warning of a "silver tsunami" after figures suggested that by 2035 older adults will outnumber children—a first in American history. In the U.K., annual deaths have just outnumbered births for the first time in 50 years (excluding the COVID-19 pandemic).China’s population is also shrinking, while Japan’s birth rate continues to nose-dive. North Korea reportedly issues punishments to retailers who sell contraceptives in a bid to tackle its own declining population.Some countries are bucking the trend, however, with a population surge forecast for Africa. The population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double by 2050, according to the United Nations.The average Indian woman is expected to have 2.0 children in her lifetime, according to Pew Research Center analysis in 2023, much lower than India’s birth rate of 3.4 children in 1992. Nevertheless, India overtook China as the most populous country in the world last year, when it reached the threshold of 1.4 billion people in April, according to the U.N.Naidu is trying to appeal to families living in the state of Andhra Pradesh to have more children. The state’s birth rate currently stands at 1.6 live births per woman, well below the replacement level of 2.1."South India is witnessing an aging problem," Naidu said, according to news agency PTI cited by ABP Live. "If you give birth to more than two children, then the population will increase."This work I am doing [appealing for larger families] is not only for you but also for the nation, for the greater good. We can earn money by doing any work, but we will work only when we have children or when there is a population."Naidu admitted his appeal was something of an irony, having previously called for smaller families to protect finite resources and build prosperity. He had even barred people with more than two children from standing in local body elections, a policy he abolished in August."I recall my past call for population control, stressing the finite availability of land, water, and air resources," Naidu said this week. "People heeded my word and reduced Andhra Pradesh’s birthrate within ten years, which now risks the danger of its population falling down completely. We want to go for population management, instead of population control. Now the time has come; every family has to think about how to manage the population, then there will be a future."Naidu’s critics pointed out Naidu himself has not done much to build the population. According to ABP Live, YSRCP leader Jupudi Prabhakar Rao reportedly said of the chief minister: "What about himself? He has only one son, and his son also has only one son. He is a visionary, right?"Newsweek has reached out to Naidu’s office by email seeking further information and comment. NSB
Fresh tension grips Bangladesh as student protesters demand president’s resignation (AP)
AP [10/23/2024 3:48 AM, Julhas Alam, 456K, Negative]
Political tension in Bangladesh was growing anew on Wednesday after a leading student group called for the country’s figurehead president to resign over comments he made that appeared to call into question former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in August.The interim government was expected to hold a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday.The student group, known as the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, set a two-day deadline for President Mohammed Shahabuddin to step down. Hundreds of protesters rallied in the capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday while hundreds of others attempted to storm the presidential palace, Bangabhaban.Police and witnesses said security officials charged at protesters with batons and used stun grenades to disperse people late Tuesday. Media reports said at least two protesters were injured by bullets.The new political turmoil began after Shahabuddin told a Bengali-language newspaper earlier this week that he had not seen Hasina’s resignation letter as she fled to India in August amid a student-led uprising. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took power and formed a government after Hasina stepped down on Aug. 5.Political tension in Bangladesh was growing anew on Wednesday after a leading student group called for the country’s figurehead president to resign over comments he made that appeared to call into question former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in August.The interim government was expected to hold a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday.The student group, known as the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, set a two-day deadline for President Mohammed Shahabuddin to step down. Hundreds of protesters rallied in the capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday while hundreds of others attempted to storm the presidential palace, Bangabhaban.Police and witnesses said security officials charged at protesters with batons and used stun grenades to disperse people late Tuesday. Media reports said at least two protesters were injured by bullets.The new political turmoil began after Shahabuddin told a Bengali-language newspaper earlier this week that he had not seen Hasina’s resignation letter as she fled to India in August amid a student-led uprising. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took power and formed a government after Hasina stepped down on Aug. 5. Will India extradite Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh? (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle [10/22/2024 10:16 AM, Murali Krishnan, 16637K, Negative]
Months after deadly unrest in Bangladesh forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to leave office and flee to India, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has issued an arrest warrant for the veteran leader.
Prosecutors claim the 77-year-old Hasina is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of students and protesters this summer.
She has been ordered to appear in court on November 18. Citing alleged crimes against humanity, the tribunal directed the new Bangladeshi government to produce Hasina and 45 others charged along with her before this date.
It was reported that more than 60 complaints have been filed against Hasina and other leaders of her Awami League party for alleged enforced disappearances, murder and mass killings.
Bangladesh to activate extradition treaty
Hasina fled to India in a military helicopter on August 5 amid escalating violence that ended with more than 1,000 dead. The transitional government in Dhaka revoked her diplomatic passport soon after her escape.
Still, Indian officials continue to shelter Hasina under tight security in a safe house in the outskirts of New Delhi. Even her daughter Saima Wazed, who works in Delhi as the regional director for Southeast Asia in the World Health Organization, has not been able to see her.
India has shown no inclination to extradite Hasina to its neighbor to the east.
In Bangladesh, the interim government’s legal adviser Asif Nazrul said Dhaka would strongly protest if India tried to refuse the extradition, saying New Delhi is obligated to do so under a criminal extradition treaty signed in 2013.
"India is certainly bound to return Hasina [to Bangladesh] if India honestly interprets this," Nazrul told the media last week.
However, the treaty does allow for extraditions to be refused if the offense is of "political nature."India pursuing ‘diplomatic strategy’
Officials in India’s Foreign Ministry have been sidestepping questions on extradition, pointing out that the former Bangladeshi premier traveled to India for "safety reasons."
"On the stay of the former prime minister, I had earlier mentioned that she had come here at short notice for safety reasons and she continues to be here," Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry, told reporters.
The issue has forced New Delhi into a balancing act. The Indian government realizes Hasina’s presence could hamper its efforts to build strong diplomatic ties and trade relations with the new interim administration in Dhaka, but Hasina had also built up excellent ties with India during her time in office.
"India’s decision regarding Sheikh Hasina must balance legal obligations, humanitarian principles and strategic interests. The key considerations include legal assessment, human rights obligations and diplomatic strategy," Karan Thukral, an Indian Supreme Court lawyer specializing in extradition matters, told DW.
Fight between law and diplomacy
According to Thukral, India has the option to refuse the extradition request, especially if there are credible concerns about charges being politically motivated and potential judicial proceedings in Bangladesh being unfair.
"In matters of extradition, especially involving political figures, it’s imperative that we uphold the sanctity of legal principles over expedient diplomacy," said Thukral.
"India’s response to Sheikh Hasina’s situation will not only affect bilateral relations but will also reflect the country’s commitment to the rule of law and the protection of fundamental human rights," said Thukral.
Hasina could challenge extradition request in court
Sreeradha Datta, a professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs, believes India will not react immediately if Bangladesh presents it with an extradition request.
"These issues take time, as technical and judicial processes are involved. But more importantly, India will have to weigh in on the political considerations surrounding such a request," Datta told DW.
India’s former ambassador to Bangladesh, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, pointed out that Hasina has legal tools of her own to fight the extradition process.
"Hasina will have the option of challenging it in court, which will take its own time," Chakravarty told DW. "Moreover, there are clauses in the treaty related to political offenses which are not extraditable. I am unsure what will finally happen but my guess is that government can refuse to extradite," he said.
Can Bangladesh afford to alienate India?
Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia, with bilateral trade estimated at $15.9 billion (\u20ac14.55 billion) in the fiscal year 2022-23. Under Hasina, India emerged as the foremost development partner and before her ouster, both sides were due to start negotiating a free trade deal.
In return for economic support, India was able to rely on Hasina’s administration to control security risks like human trafficking, infiltration and terrorist activities along the shared border.
Since the regime change in Dhaka, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with interim leader Muhammad Yunus and pledged that New Delhi will continue implementing its development projects across the border.
Yunus is now facing a balancing act of his own - pursuing what Hasina’s critics see as justice for hundreds of victims, while at the same trying to preserve India’s support as well as economic and political stability while moving toward new elections, which Bangladesh hopes to hold next year. Bangladesh Seeks to Tame Inflation With Fifth Rate Hike in 2024 (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [10/22/2024 6:31 AM, Arun Devnath, 27782K, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s central bank increased the key policy rate for the fifth time this year to cool prices as high inflation remain a key concern for the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.Bangladesh Bank raised the overnight repurchase agreement rate by 50 basis points to 10%, effective from Oct. 27. The rate hike decision is part of “efforts to continue a contractionary monetary policy to bring inflation down to a desired level,” the central bank said in a statement Tuesday.Consumer prices in the South Asian nation rose 9.9% in September, from a year earlier, amid political turbulence and floods. Despite the recent easing from double-digit levels, inflation continues to be uncomfortably high with food price surge persisting above 10% levels.The central bank also raised the standing lending facility rate by 50 basis points to 11.50%, while the standing deposit facility rate was increased to 8.50% from 8%.Consumer price inflation has averaged 9.7% in the 2023-24 fiscal, and 9% in the previous year, even after an interest rate targeting framework was introduced in FY23. High prices of food and energy, as well as expensive imports due to a depreciating currency are contributing to the price surge, according to a World Bank report last week.The monetary transmission mechanism was weak due to a cap on lending rates, which was removed in May, the World Bank had said. Maldives to focus on managing debt bilaterally, ends work with Centerview (Reuters)
Reuters [10/23/2024 3:31 AM, Uditha Jayasinghe, 5.2M, Neutral]
The Maldives has "phased out" its brief engagement with U.S.-headquartered Centerview Partners on debt matters and will now focus on managing debt bilaterally, the deputy finance minister told Reuters.
Hassan Miras said the government had engaged Centerview to conduct an analysis of the island nation’s debt portfolio, but was now focused on managing debt repayments bilaterally.
He said it had also been holding talks with multilateral partners to get additional funding and that "appropriate fiscal adjustments" to help it manage debt would come in the budget in November.
The country’s dwindling foreign currency reserves sparked fears that it could become the first country to default on Islamic sovereign debt as it has a $500-million sukuk maturing in 2026. Sri Lanka police raise security at popular surf site over threat to Israelis (AP)
AP [10/23/2024 3:35 AM, Krishan Francis, 456K, Negative]
Police in Sri Lanka have raised security around a popular surfing destination after receiving information about a possible threat to Israeli travelers, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa said special security measures had been put in place at Arugam Bay in the country’s east.
The police statement came after the U.S. embassy in Sri Lanka alerted Americans to avoid Arugam Bay area until further notice due to “credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area.”
Thalduwa said the regional police had stepped up security over the past days increasing road blocks and vehicle checks and police will be putting in place security measures around the country to protect tourists who will be visiting Sri Lanka for the oncoming year-end tourist season.
Sri Lanka is slowly emerging from its worst economic crisis and the tourism industry has been a main driver of its recovery.
Simultaneous suicide bomb attacks on three tourist hotels and three churches on Easter Sunday in 2019 caused a downturn in the industry and contributed to an economic collapse three years later. US Embassy in Sri Lanka issues attack alert after ‘credible’ threat against tourists (ABC News)
ABC News [10/22/2024 2:59 AM, David Brennan, 31.6M, Negative]
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, issued a warning to citizens late on Tuesday based on "credible information" warning of an attack in the southeast of the country.
The embassy said in a post on its website that the threat was related to "popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area," an area of famous and well-visited beaches known for its surfing.
"Due to the serious risk posed by this threat, the embassy imposed a travel restriction on embassy personnel for Arugam Bay effective immediately and until further notice," the embassy wrote.
U.S. citizens, it added, "are strongly urged to avoid the Arugam Bay area until further notice."
The embassy did not offer any more information about the nature or source of the threat.
The notice urged citizens to report all suspicious activity to local authorities, keep a cell phone or other form of communication close by and monitor local media for updates.
The State Department lists Sri Lanka as a "Level 2" nation in its risk advisory guide, meaning Americans there should "exercise increased caution."
The State Department’s latest advisory for Sri Lanka was issued on Oct. 2 and noted that protests relating to the "economic and political situation in Sri Lanka can erupt at any time."
"In some instances, police have used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters," it added. "U.S. citizens are reminded to avoid all gatherings, even peaceful ones, that could turn violent with little or no warning."
"Terrorist attacks have occurred in Sri Lanka, with little or no warning," it added, targets having included tourist hotspots, transportation hubs, shopping areas, government facilities and entertainment venues, among others.
"The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in remote areas," the advisory said. Central Asia
Kazakhstan In Dubai: Will Ex-Officials Face Greater Scrutiny Over U.A.E. Holdings? (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [10/23/2024 4:10 AM, Manas Qaiyrtaiuly, 235K, Neutral]
It’s no exaggeration to say that if you took all the former and current Kazakh officials whose relatives are known to have owned property in Dubai, you could form a new government with plenty of well-known names.
But how many will have declared or will declare those holdings with officials back home? And with what money were the properties purchased?
These are two questions RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service has been asking notables whose wives, children, and siblings appear as Dubai property owners in data held by the U.S.-based nonprofit Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) since 2020.
In some cases, the telephone conversations didn’t get further than the word "Dubai."
In others, ex-office holders justified the acquisitions by pointing to their careers before their relatively modestly paid government jobs or their spouses’ successes in business.
To be clear, there are a lot of reasons higher-net-worth individuals from Kazakhstan would want to own property in Dubai, and many of them are perfectly legal.With Kazakhstan 28 places behind the United Arab Emirates in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law rankings, a Palm Jumeirah apartment overlooking the Persian Gulf might be considered a safer investment for a publicly known person than its equivalent in Astana -- and Dubai also has a far more temperate winter than the world’s second-coldest capital.
But with 1,550 Kazakh citizens shown by the C4ADS registry as owning more than 2,700 properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars -- and others possibly unknown -- surely the U.A.E. should be a key focus for Kazakh officials who say they are committed to repatriating assets that may have been obtained illegally.
In any case, don’t expect to hear too much about it.
Journalists inquiring about the government’s work in this direction receive a consistent message: That information is classified.
2022 Turning Points?
Throughout its decades of independence, Kazakh authorities have bemoaned capital flight, offering grace periods for anyone seeking to repatriate wealth of questionable origin and threatening punishments for those who ignore the offer.
The spokesman for this stop-start campaign was usually former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, whose exhortations on the topic were justifiably viewed with cynicism.
After all, of all the families in Kazakhstan, it is unlikely any of them owned more assets abroad than the Nazarbaevs.
But following the bloody unrest in January 2022 that left more than 230 people dead and effectively forced the former president from public life, Nazarbaev successor Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has gone further in the fight against capital flight.
Faced with public pressure for systemic change, his government set up parallel commissions to return illegally obtained assets held at home and abroad later that year.
A law on asset returns entered into force the following year.
The U.A.E.’s role in what C4ADS calls "global patterns of tax avoidance" and money laundering due to the jurisdiction’s commitment to financial secrecy needs no explanation.
But there, too, officials are experiencing fresh scrutiny after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- an intergovernmental organization setting global standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing -- included Dubai on its list of jurisdictions with weak measures to counter money laundering in 2022.
The U.A.E. responded by announcing steps to tighten the real estate buying process, with FATF in February acknowledging "significant progress" and pledging to ease its restrictions.
The scores of properties that featured in Kazakhstan In Dubai, a six-part report by RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, belong to some of the spouses and relatives of more than 100 former Kazakh officials, according to the government data.
The Kazakh State Revenue Committee says 40 people serving as government officials declared 60 properties in the U.A.E. registered to themselves and their spouses during the first stage of a universal declaration of assets that began in 2021. Some of the former officials that featured in Kazakhstan In Dubai were still serving at the time.
Starting in January, the latest stage of the universal asset declaration will be introduced, mandating declarations for all citizens and nonresidents living in Kazakhstan.
But the declarations -- even for public persons -- are not currently available to ordinary Kazakhs.
Along with RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, journalists from the independent Vlast.kz news site also worked on the C4ADS cache.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service for the Dubai investigation, Vlast.kz founder Vyacheslav Abramov stressed that he was "very happy" for anyone who had earned their way to property, whether in Dubai, Kazakhstan, or New York.
"The only problem is when they all try to hide it," he said.
"Because [looking through the data] we [journalists] see dozens if not hundreds of names that don’t mean anything to us [and it is] very possible they are people we cannot identify because they are drivers, security guards, or low-ranking government staffers in whose names these properties were registered, because [higher-ranking officials] didn’t want to register it in their own."
The Elite Of The Elite
The law on asset return that Toqaev signed last year targets individuals worth $100 million or more for potential scrutiny by law enforcement, while anyone with a smaller net worth would only face inquiries under Kazakhstan’s current laws.
But even for an oil-rich country like Kazakhstan, $100 million is quite a high bar.
One family that multiple media investigations have suggested is worth far more than $100 million is the family of Nazarbaev, whose relatives and common-law wife appear multiple times in the data provided to RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service and other media outlets by C4ADS.
Analysts and independent media have repeatedly noted the lack of pressure the former first family’s foreign-held wealth is facing from the Kazakh government.
While authorities have made no mention of foreign-held assets owned by Nazarbaev’s three daughters being investigated, one Nazarbaev whose property portfolio they have mentioned in detail is Qairat Satybaldy.
In the fall of 2022, Satybaldy was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption and extortion, becoming the first and only blood relative of the former head of state to serve time in the aftermath of the Bloody January violence that year that coincided with a power struggle within the government.
Despite this, the businessman and former national security Major General Satybaldy was released from jail in September and is now serving a probation-like sentence.
Part of the justification for his early release were the illegally acquired assets worth more than $1.5 billion that the government says he has returned to the state.
But the properties the government mentioned in that handover did not include at least seven apartments worth more than $4 million in the SHAMS-4 residential complex near the Dubai marina.
Names that the properties were registered to as of 2022 included Saida Qanatbekqyzy, Asel Baqtiyarqyzy, Satybaldy’s mother, Svetlana Nazarbaeva, and a series of young people with the surnames Qairatqyzy (literally, daughter of Qairat) and Qairatuly (son of Qairat).
Kazakh media have described both Qanatbekqyzy and Baqtiyarqyzy as common-law wives of Satybaldy.
Correspondents of RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service were able to knock on the doors of two of the SHAMS-4 apartments, but nobody answered.
In August, Kazakh authorities said "two villas in the U.A.E." valued at around $40 million were in the final stage of being handed over to the state.
RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service did not find the villas in the C4ADS data. And the SHAMS-4 apartments have not been mentioned in any official government communications.
Spouses And Their Business Success
Many of the people who appear in the data set are the spouses of political figures who have spent the vast majority of their career in government service, where official salaries are modest.
While that does not mean their foreign property portfolios were acquired with illegal income, it raises questions about exactly how and when the families acquired the money needed to buy those properties.
Nurlan Nigmatullin, a former parliament speaker, chief of staff, and provincial governor, spent only a few years working in the private sector during a political career that spanned three decades.
Given that his last post ended in 2022 -- just weeks after the turmoil that led to a purge of Nazarbaev’s top allies -- Nigmatullin might well have filled in a declaration of his assets.
But because these declarations are a secret, it is unclear whether any of the 50 properties registered in the C4ADS data as being owned or co-owned by Nigmatullin’s wife, Venera Baimurzaeva, appear on it.
While RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service was able to reach Baimurzaeva, she hung up the phone shortly after answering.
In Kazakhstan, Baimurzaeva’s name appears on the articles of incorporation of a number of companies, the largest of which is involved in real estate.
It is a similar story for Elizaveta Ermukhanova, the wife of Mirlan Mukhambetov, whose most recent posting was as the point man for Kazakhstan’s anti-corruption service in the western province of Aqtobe in 2020.
According to the data, Ermukhanova owns five apartments in the Safeer Tower 2 residential complex in Dubai, with a combined approximate value of just under $1 million.
In Kazakhstan, Ermukhanova has businesses that own, build, and rent out properties.
Ermukhanova’s husband began his nearly 30-year career in government service with a post as a customs inspector.
The Mukhambetovs did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
Maksut Nurimanov, who served as deputy chairman of the National Security Committee from 2001 to 2010, credited his wife’s business acumen for the purchase of their apartment adjacent to the Dubai Marina Yacht Club that is worth an estimated $750,000.
"She bought it with honestly earned income, having paid all the taxes that bribe takers in our country don’t pay," Nurimanov told RFE/RL.
The most notable company registered in Kazakhstan under the name of his wife, Zhibek Nurimanova, is the tourism company Aspan Line. Its zero tax declarations from recent years suggest the company is inactive.
Career military man Nurimanov told RFE/RL in a written reply that his wife is currently seriously ill and reiterated he had documents confirming the legality of the funds used to purchase the property.
Nurimanov did not attach copies of the documents or state when the property was purchased.
Responding to questions from journalists in the parliament about C4ADS data on Kazakh Dubai property holders earlier this month, Deputy Prosecutor-General Ghalymzhan Qoigeldiev said Kazakh officials are working with their U.A.E. counterparts on a number of cases but results can "sometimes take years."
"I will tell you one thing: Those people who left the country are trying to steal their millions. They will be constantly wanted," said Qoigeldiev during an October 2 appearance in parliament, reminding journalists that access to the list of individuals suspected of holding illegal assets abroad is "restricted." Perspectives: Kazakhstan working to lift Cold War-era trade restrictions (EurasiaNet – opinion)
EurasiaNet [10/22/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
The Biden Administration and Kazakhstan are both eager to boost mutual trade and investment. But an antiquated vestige of the Cold War known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment remains an impediment to stronger US-Kazakh economic ties.
Kazakhstan is a keen supporter of a US initiative launched earlier this year known as the B5+1 process, under which Central Asian states strive to lower trade barriers to attract higher levels of Western investment. At the same time, Kazakh officials complain that the ability to trade with the United States is clouded by Kazakhstan’s Jackson-Vanik status.
The amendment was adopted in a bygone era to address bygone geopolitical issues, designed to give the United States leverage in its dealings with the formerly communist countries of Central Europe and Eurasia by conditioning trade relations on a willingness to permit the freedom of movement and emigration. In passing the measure in 1974, congress gave the president the authority to waive Jackson-Vanik restrictions for any given country on a yearly basis. Removing a country permanently from the Jackson-Vanik list requires an act of Congress.
Since the collapse of communism, Congress has scrapped Jackson-Vanik restrictions for most formerly communist nations, granting them permanent normal trade relations status (PNTR). Five formerly Soviet republics – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – remain subject to Jackson-Vanik and require annual reviews to be exempted from the amendment’s provisions. Today, Jackson-Vanik restrictions are imposed only on four states: Belarus, Cuba, North Korea and Russia.
The need for yearly certification doesn’t sit well with Kazakhstan, whose diplomats in Washington are working assiduously to secure PNTR status.“Jackson-Vanik is a major focus of Kazakhstan’s engagement with Congress,” a background report published by the Congressional Research Service in August stated. “The Biden Administration supports lifting Jackson-Vanik for Kazakhstan, arguing that doing so would signal US commitment to economic engagement at a time when the United States is seeking to help Kazakhstan diversify away from Russia [and China].” “In light of the issue’s significance for the government of Kazakhstan, …repeal would potentially have an outsized positive impact on overall bilateral relations,” the CRS report added.
At an investment forum held this summer in Washington, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the United States, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, characterized Astana’s removal from the Jackson-Vanik list as “low-hanging fruit.”
For some reason, though, congressional representatives have left the matter untouched. Multiple bills introduced in previous years have never made it out of committee. A similar bill introduced in the current Congress, H.R. 3611, appears likely to endure the same fate, even though it has gained 43 co-sponsors, including Republican and Democratic congressional representatives.
Daniel Witt, president of the Washington, DC.-based International Tax and Investment Center, believes that denying Kazakhstan PNTR status is detrimental to US strategic interests in Central Asia. “The most important steps that the US government can take to improve the investment climate in Kazakhstan are the lifting of various restrictions on investments, such as the long-outdated Jackson-Vanik amendment,” Witt said in July during a roundtable on regional trade developments. Mystery of downed airplane in Sudan deepens as Kyrgyzstan insists aircraft had been de-registered (AP)
AP [10/22/2024 8:33 AM, Jon Gambrell, 31638K, Negative]
The mystery surrounding a crashed cargo plane in Sudan purportedly downed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces deepened Tuesday as authorities insisted the aircraft had been de-registered in Kyrgyzstan.
Just who was flying the Ilyushin Il-76 at night over war-torn Darfur remains in question. The aircraft previously was linked to an effort by the United Arab Emirates to arm the paramilitary force known as the RSF, something the UAE has strenuously denied despite evidence to the contrary.
But the plane’s crash early Monday highlights the chaos gripping Sudan since April 2023, when the RSF and Sudan’s military went to war. Their conflict has killed over 24,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and has left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country.
Mobile phone footage posted online showed RSF fighters among the plane’s burning wreckage, claiming they shot it down with a surface-to-air missile. Identity documents shown included a Russian passport and an ID that linked to a UAE-based company, whose phone number was disconnected.
The Russian Embassy in Sudan since Monday has been investigating.
A crumpled safety card, also purportedly from the aircraft, identified the plane as flown by New Way Cargo of Kyrgyzstan. However, Zuurakan Kadyrova of New Way Cargo told The Associated Press on Tuesday that her firm’s lease of the aircraft expired at the end of 2023.
"Since that time, we have no records regarding the aircraft," she said. "We are saddened by the news of the incident that occurred in Sudan and express our condolences to the crew and their families."
Kyrgyzstan’s state-run Kabar news agency separately reported, citing the country’s Foreign Ministry, that the plane had been removed from its aircraft registry in January this year "and transferred to the registration of the Republic of Sudan." No Kyrgyz nationals died in the crash, the report said.
For its part, the RSF maintained the aircraft belonged to the Sudanese military and had been operated by "jihadist militia groups." It said it collected the aircraft’s black box "along with crucial documents and intelligence revealing the aircraft’s operations" that it did not publish.
Sudan has been unstable since a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The short-lived transition to democracy was derailed when the army’s chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo of the RSF joined forces to lead a military coup in October 2021. They began battling each other in 2023.
Al-Bashir faces charges at the International Criminal Court over carrying out a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s in the western Darfur region with the Janjaweed, the precursor to the RSF. Rights groups and the U.N. say the RSF and allied Arab militias again are attacking ethnic African groups in this war.
The group Conflict Observatory, which is funded by the U.S. State Department and has been monitoring the war in Sudan, linked New Way Cargo’s Ilyushin Il-76s to arming the RSF in a report this month.
It said the airline had facilitated UAE arms transfers through flights to Aéroport International Maréchal Idriss Deby in Amdjarass, Chad - flights the UAE has claimed have been for supporting a local hospital.
Amdjarass is just across the border from Malha, where the shoot-down reportedly happened.
It’s unclear who would have taken control of the aircraft in Sudan. Officials with Burhan’s government, largely based at Port Sudan in the east as the capital, Khartoum, remains a war zone, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Meanwhile, across Sudan, more than 25 million people - about half the population - are in need of aid, aid group Save the Children said Tuesday.
"Sudanese children are surviving bombs and bullets, only to risk dying from starvation and disease," said Mohamed Abdiladif, its interim country director in Sudan. Tajik ISKP Escalates Threats to Iran and Israel Amid Intensifying Gaza War (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [10/22/2024 9:37 AM, Uran Botovekov, 1198K, Negative]
The intense military confrontation between Iran and Israel, sparked by the assassination of key Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and followed by Tehran’s large-scale missile strikes on Tel Aviv, has led to a notable increase in anti-Shia and anti-Jewish propaganda efforts by the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISKP).
ISKP’s Uzbek and Tajik wings are exploiting the Iranian-Israeli military escalation to recruit, raise funds, and incite violence. Amid Israel’s devastating war with Iran’s "Axis of Resistance" forces, the Islamic States’ Khorasan branch has launched a propaganda offensive targeting both Iran and Israel, branding them as "enemies of the Islamic Ummah, equally dangerous to the Ahlus Sunnah (Sunni Islam)."
Shortly after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks and the subsequent destructive Israeli invasion of Gaza, ISKP’s official multilingual propaganda arm, Al-Azaim Media Foundation, initiated a media campaign targeting Iran and Israel through its English-language magazine, Voice of Khurasan (Issue 35), under the headline "Sibling Quarrel." The editorial expressed satisfaction, noting how two sworn enemies of Islam were destroying each other in the Middle East.
The article spins an elaborate conspiracy theory, contending that despite the depiction of the Iran-Israel conflict, Shias are historically descended from Jewish Sabaeans, and both groups actively undermine the Islamic Ummah by opposing the true faith of Allah. It further claims that the "enmity" between Iran and Israel is a contrived narrative, sustained by "orchestrated, mutually coordinated missile strikes" intended to foster the illusion of a protracted conflict. Additionally, it argues that Iran’s "Axis of Resistance" has done nothing to advance the freedom of Palestinian Muslims but has instead corrupted both their religion and society.
ISKP’s propaganda asserts that Israel aims to establish a Jewish state from the Nile to the Euphrates, while Iran aspires to form a Shia crescent extending from Tripoli to Mecca, unified in its hostility toward Sunni Muslims. The publication further insists that only the Islamic State can thwart the dangerous schemes of both Israel and Iran, purging the Middle East of Jews and Shias.
Following the publication of Voice of Khurasan, the Tajik and Uzbek media wings of ISKP’s Al-Azaim Media Foundation, specifically al-Azaim Tajiki and al-Azaim Uzbeki, initiated a propaganda campaign directed against both Iran and Israel. A pro-IS Tajik Telegram channel, Sadoi Khuroson, stated that "Rawafidhs [a derogatory term for Shia Muslims] are the donkeys of the Jews," employing profoundly offensive language.
Weaponizing Sectarian Hatred: ISKP’s Anti-Shia and Anti-Semitic Ideology
Notably, ISKP propaganda frequently targets both Shias and Jews simultaneously, reflecting the group’s broader ideological goals. Violent anti-Shiism and antisemitism are core principles of the hardline Salafi ideology embraced by the Uzbek and Tajik wings of ISKP.
Before the emergence of ISKP in Afghanistan in late 2014, al-Qaida-linked Central Asian jihadi organizations espoused a less severe form of anti-Shia and antisemitic ideology and did not perceive Iran and Israel in a unified context. But over the past decade, local ISKP ideologues have effectively transformed their Central Asian militants, Tajiks in particular - who share deep cultural, linguistic, and historical ties with the Persians of Iran - into fervent anti-Shia and anti-Jewish Salafi jihadists. Today, vitriolic rhetoric against Jews and Shia Muslims dominates publications such as Xuroson Ovozi, Sadoi Khuroson, and Khurasan Ghag magazines, as well as the al-Azaim Tajiki and al-Azaim Uzbeki Telegram channels.
Despite the apparent enmity between Iran and Israel, the Uzbek and Tajik wings of ISKP nevertheless perceive Jews and Shias as allies. Their anti-Shiism is deeply intertwined with the group’s antisemitism within the framework of Central Asian Salafism. After October 7 conspiracy theories have gained traction within Central Asian Salafi circles accusing Shias of acting as agents of the Jews in a coordinated effort to undermine Sunni Islam.
In addition to its goal of liberating the sacred lands of Bayt ul Maqdis (Jerusalem) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s three holiest sites, anti-Shia and anti-Semitic ideology has now become a core element of ISKP Tajik and Uzbek unit’s media strategy.
In line with directives from its parent organization, pro-ISKP Telegram channels in Cyrillic, operated by Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik jihadi propagandists, often claim that "the Jews and the Rawafidh are two sides of the same coin." These platforms exploit the global Jewish-Shia conspiracy narrative to boost recruitment, fundraise, incite violence, and expand ISKP’s ideological reach throughout the post-Soviet Central Asian region.
Anti-Shia Doctrine Propelled Tajik ISKP to Strike Iran
Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, ISKP’s hardline anti-Shia and antisemitic ideology has undeniably played a pivotal role in expanding its propaganda reach and internationalizing its operational agenda. The group has relentlessly criticized the Taliban - its chief adversary - accusing them of deviating from religious purity, colluding with Shia Iran, and aligning with U.S. interests, thereby reinforcing its narrative as the sole legitimate defender of the faith of Allah.
Over the past three years, ISKP has evolved from a provincial branch of the Islamic State, focused primarily on fighting the local Taliban regime, into one of the world’s most notorious and dangerous terrorist organizations. This shift toward regionalization and internationalization has been propelled largely by post-Soviet Tajik and Uzbek militants, who orchestrated high-profile attacks in Iran, Turkey, and Russia between 2022 and 2024.
Since 2021, ISKP has successfully formed a Shaheed (martyrdom) unit comprised of Tajik fighters, specifically tasked with targeting Iranian Shias. These militants are celebrated as exemplars of bravery, devotion, and self-sacrifice in the quest for the Islamic Caliphate. Driven by a potent blend of anti-Shiism and antisemitic ideology, ISKP’s Tajik fighters have elevated the group’s external operations to new global heights, significantly broadening its transnational reach and influence.
The first external operation conducted by ISKP’s Tajik wing - extending beyond its traditional areas of operation in Central Asia and Afghanistan - took place on October 26, 2022, in Iran’s southwestern Fars province. In this attack, a Tajik militant opened fire at the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and over 40 injuries. Shortly after, ISKP claimed responsibility through its Amaq News Agency, stating that the purpose of the attack was to "remind the Rawafidh that the companions of the Prophet Muhammad have descendants who inherit revenge generation after generation." Amaq also referenced its 2018 attack during a military parade in Ahvaz Province as further evidence of its continued commitment to avenging the Shia.
A few days later, Islamic State’s Al-Naba (#363) published a photo and video of a Tajik fighter, codenamed Abu Aisha al-Omari, holding a rifle in front of an Islamic State flag, pledging allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State. Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence identified the shooter as Subhan Kamroni, also known by his alias as Abu Aisha, a citizen of Tajikistan. The ministry further reported the arrest of 26 Islamic State Takfiri militants, all foreign nationals from Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan.
The second high-profile external operation by ISKP’s Tajik wing, which garnered significant international attention and caused extensive casualties, occurred on January 3, 2024. A twin bombing targeted a gathering of Iranians commemorating former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani, at his grave in Kerman, Iran. The devastating attack claimed 96 lives and injured 284 others. The Islamic State, through its Amaq News Agency, claimed responsibility, releasing a video of two Tajik fighters pledging allegiance to Islamic State leader Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi before carrying out the operation.
Following the attack, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, through the state-run Tasnim News agency, identified the two ISKP Tajik suicide bombers as Abdollah al-Tajiki and Israeli Bazirov, a 24-year-old Tajikistani citizen. The ministry disclosed that Bazirov, who had undergone jihadi training at an ISKP camp in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, had illegally entered Iran through a smuggler’s route in the Sistan and Baluchistan province.
ISKP’s Tajik wing attracted further international attention following its highly coordinated attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22, 2024. Executed by four Tajik militants, this operation marked the wing’s third and most significant external attack to date.
The appeal of ISKP for Tajik and Uzbek recruits lies in its compelling ideological doctrine and sophisticated propaganda strategy, which have successfully targeted the most vulnerable and disillusioned segments of Central Asian society, often unemployed and impoverished youth. In their desperation, many find solace and direction in radical Salafism.
Amid Israel’s devastating military campaigns in Gaza and southern Lebanon, which have resulted in significant civilian casualties, ISKP’s multilingual Al-Azaim Media Foundation continues to amplify and weaponize its hardline anti-Shia and anti-Jewish ideology for strategic gain. Voice of Khorasan, Al-Naba, and pro-ISKP Tajik, Kyrgyz, Russian, and Uzbek Telegram channels are all filled with sectarian hostility and inflammatory dawahs from prominent Salafi imams, targeting both Israel and Iran under a unified ideological framework.
The headlines from ISKP’s Voice of Khorasan articles, such as "Message to Our Brothers and Sisters in Palestine: Join the Caravan of Izzah" (issue #33), "Why IS Mujahideen Target Rawafidh and Turn Their Cities into Cemeteries" (issue #38), "Sufyani’s Army is Gathering" (issue #38), "Palestine: The New War on Tyrants Has Begun" (issue #32), and "Reality of Rawafidh" (issue #32), along with their Dari-language book "The Rawafidh and Bait al-Maqdis," reveal the group’s strategic exploitation of the Israel-Hezbollah-Hamas conflict to advance its jihadi goals. These publications blend anti-Shia and antisemitic ideologies, promoting conspiracy theories that depict Shia Muslims as long-standing allies of Jews in a unified campaign to annihilate Sunni Islam.
ISKP: A Terrorism Threat to the West
ISKP’s sophisticated anti-Shia and antisemitic ideology is strategically crafted to expand the scale of both local and global attacks, while also inciting lone-wolf terrorists in Europe and the United States to commit high-profile acts of violence. The recent arrests of ISKP sympathizers - including a Tajik national in Italy and Uzbek and Tajik migrants in Russia, Germany, and Turkey - underscore the influence of its calls for attacks against the "Crusaders," Jews, and Shias.
ISKP Tajik and Uzbek wings’ ability to exploit the suffering in Gaza raises the real possibility that Central Asian migrants in the West could become radicalized by its ideological messaging. The prominence of the Palestinian conflict further amplifies the risk of lone-wolf attacks inspired by ISKP. This makes vigilance by Western counterterrorism and intelligence agencies critical. Kremlin moves to silence Russia war critics in Central Asia (VOA)
VOA [10/22/2024 2:35 PM, Staff, 4566K, Negative]
For Lev Skoryakin, a fugitive Russian political activist on the Kremlin’s wanted list for staging anti-government protests, luck ran out in June 2023.
Having fled to Kyrgyzstan the previous summer, he managed to keep a low profile for more than a year before Kyrgyz authorities, acting on a Russian government request, found him in the capital, Bishkek. In October of that year, they extradited him to Russia.
Skoryakin, who emigrated to Germany early this year after spending three months in a Russian prison, told VOA that Kyrgyz authorities figured out where he was by using a novel facial recognition system, which they launched in June 2023 with the help of the Russian government.
"Russian emigre dissidents [in Central Asia] should be really vigilant, and they should follow basic safety rules. … The facial recognition system is still operating in Bishkek," Skoryakin said.
The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry reported in January that the system had facilitated the arrests of more than 800 people through the end of last year, mostly common criminals, including more than 100 who were put on the international wanted list by Interpol.
Since 2022, scores of Russian anti-war activists such as Skoryakin have fled political repression in Russia and found temporary refuge in the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. But after a series of arrests, abductions and extraditions, these dissidents are no longer safe in those countries.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, there was an exodus from Russia of mainly conscription-age men. According to regional media reports, approximately 400,000 Russian citizens arrived in Kazakhstan in 2022 and around 445,000 Russian citizens went to Kyrgyzstan.
Critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, such as Skoryakin, saw these countries as transit points on the way to exile in the West. While he was in Kyrgyzstan, Skoryakin applied for a temporary travel document to allow him to emigrate to Germany.
Kyrgyz authorities initially welcomed the Russian dissidents. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said in an October 2022 New York Times interview, "We don’t see any harm; on the contrary, we see more benefits" from Russian immigrants.
Moscow had a different view. Since 2022, the Kremlin has used a range of measures to force Kazakh and Kyrgyz governments to act against Russian dissidents, including arrests and the banning of public protests against Russia.
Russia also relied on extradition treaties with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to silence its critics. Acting on Russia’s request, between 2022 and 2024, Kazakhstan arrested at least seven Russian dissidents.
Kyrgyz media reported on four arrests of anti-Kremlin activists in Kyrgyzstan, all of whom have been handed over to Russian authorities.
According to Kazakh media, the extradition cases against the Russian dissidents in that country are still pending a final resolution.
The Kremlin has also encouraged Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to reveal information about Russian activists. In June 2023, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on sharing "information on the residence status, citizenship, migration registration, visas, property, criminal records and identity documents of individuals living within their borders."
As part of the agreement, Russia reportedly provided data about 85,000 Russian citizens to the Kyrgyz authorities. According to Kyrgyz media, Kyrgyzstan used this data for its facial recognition system, which helped identify and arrest four Russian dissidents, including Skoryakin, shortly after the data-sharing agreement was signed in June 2023.
Zhanar Akaev, the chair of the parliamentary committee in charge of international affairs, has said Russian security services are exerting pressure on Kyrgyzstan.
"Political immigrants from Russia should avoid coming [to Kyrgyzstan]. This is because Russian security services have strong influence. If they will ask, our security agencies will not say no. As far as I know, the FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] works freely here," he said.
In Kyrgyzstan, Akaev is part of a handful of Kyrgyz political activists who are publicly critical of the Kyrgyz government. International human rights watchdogs indicate that Kyrgyz authorities have become increasingly intolerant of political dissent and have silenced most government critics.
A Kyrgyzstani human rights activist, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity for fear of official retribution, said that "criticizing the treatment of Russian dissidents" can land human rights defenders in trouble with the Kyrgyz government.
"In return for getting the Russian [dissidents]," the activist said, "Moscow handed over Kyrgyz activists in Russia who were critical of the Kyrgyz government."
The Russian government action against Russian dissidents in Central Asia has paid off.
As of early 2024, Rapid Response Unit, a nonprofit organization that assisted hundreds of Russian dissidents to flee from Russia, stopped sending people to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
In an August 2023 interview with Kazakh journalists, Evgenii Zhovtis, a Kazakhstani human rights defender, said that most of the arrested Russian activists were in legal limbo in Kazakhstan.
"There are no legal grounds to prosecute them, but letting them out of the country is also difficult. Their identification documents are about to expire. To obtain new documents, they need to go to the [Russian] consulate," Zhovtis said.
With anti-Kremlin activists in Central Asia silenced, the Russian government is shifting its focus to unfriendly Central Asian nongovernmental organizations.
Addressing a Russian government meeting in February, former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, "Against the backdrop of the special military operation [against Ukraine], these NGOs significantly increased their anti-Russian activities in order to reduce military-technical, economic and cultural cooperation between the Central Asian states and the Russian Federation."
He added that that Russia needs to take "special preventive measures" against such NGOs. Indo-Pacific
Cyclone Dana set to barrel into eastern India, Bangladesh (Reuters)
Reuters [10/23/2024 3:46 AM, Jatindra Dash, 5.2M, Neutral]
Authorities cancelled trains, warned fishermen not to venture out to sea and prepared to evacuate people in vulnerable locations on Wednesday, a day before a severe cyclonic storm was set to barrel into the eastern coast of India and Bangladesh.
Cyclone Dana, currently over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds gusting up to 120 kph (74 mph), and is likely to make landfall late on Thursday, hitting the eastern coast of India and the southern coast of Bangladesh, India’s weather office said.
More than 200 trains were cancelled in India’s Odisha, a state prone to cyclones, and officials said preparations were being made to evacuate people who live in vulnerable areas.
"We are making announcements and will begin evacuations after lunch hours," Dilip Routrai, an administrative officer in one of the districts likely to be affected, told Reuters.
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is expected in Odisha over the next three days, the weather office warned, adding that the storm could damage homes, roads, crops, and power lines, leading to flooding and landslides.
Schools in the state are closed until Friday and fishermen have been advised not to venture out to sea.
In neighbouring Bangladesh, the weather department issued a warning to fishermen and asked ports along its southern coastline to stay alert.
India’s West Bengal state, which shares a border with Bangladesh, has posted disaster relief teams equipped with tree cutting machinery and restoration equipment, officials said. Twitter
Afghanistan
Frud Bezhan@FrudBezhan
[10/22/2024 8:59 AM, 34K followers, 6 retweets, 6 likes]
Under Taliban rule, #Afghanistan has become a pariah state. In 2021, it became the only country to ban teenage girls from going to school. Now, the country has become the first to outlaw any depictions of humans and animals.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[10/22/2024 9:50 PM, 238.2K followers, 4 retweets, 25 likes]
The Taliban are converting seven white Christian tourists to Islam at Torkham, eastern Afghanistan.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[10/22/2024 2:58 PM, 238.2K followers, 360 retweets, 1K likes]
Traditional attire of Afghanistan’s ethnic Pashtun, Tajik, and Hazara women contrasts sharply with the Taliban’s imposed burqa, showcasing the vibrant cultural identities of Afghan women against a backdrop of oppression.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[10/22/2024 12:48 PM, 238.2K followers, 115 retweets, 313 likes]
1,132 days and these teenage Afghan girls remain locked out of their education. This blockade on their future must end. #LetHerLearn https://x.com/i/status/1848768512954704241 Pakistan
Imran Khan@ImranKhanPTI
[10/22/2024 5:14 AM, 20.9M followers, 12K retweets, 22K likes]
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview from 14 years ago, after the 18th constitutional amendment, had highlighted how it is against the very spirit of democracy and an attack on the independence of judiciary if govt/politicians appoint judges. What he said back then rings true and is very pertinent even today as the same characters are again trying to make the judiciary subservient to the executive. As he rightly asks: "Collective wisdom or collective interest? Self interest?” The nation knows that they have done this draconian 26th amendment for their own political interests, not for Pakistan or democracy.
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[10/22/2024 1:21 PM, 74.1K followers, 7 retweets, 39 likes]
Air Chief of Iran’s Airforce Hamid Vahidi has arrived in Pakistan today as part of his annual bilateral visit to Pakistan — He will be meeting his Pakistani counterpart — The last time Irani airforce chief visited Pakistan was in October 2022. #Pakistan #Iran - Pic Credits: IRNA.
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[10/22/2024 11:49 AM, 74.1K followers, 27 retweets, 204 likes]
BIG: Pakistan and India through diplomatic channels have through diplomatic channels agreed to extend the agreement on #KartarpurCorridor for a period of 5 years, the initial agreement for 5years was signed in October 2019. #Pakistan #IndiaHabib Khan@HabibKhanT
[10/22/2024 12:59 PM, 238.2K followers, 15 retweets, 51 likes]
The Pakistani Taliban have deployed quadcopters in the battlefield of Pakhtunkhwa, gaining a tactical advantage. Meanwhile, the Pakistani military, facing dwindling local support is rapidly losing ground to the group. India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/22/2024 12:28 PM, 103M followers, 6.9K retweets, 51K likes]
Had a very good meeting with the President of Iran, Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian. We reviewed the full range of relations between our countries. We also discussed ways to deepen ties in futuristic sectors. @drpezeshkian
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/22/2024 9:03 AM, 103M followers, 12K retweets, 81K likes]
Had an excellent meeting with President Putin. The bond between India and Russia is deep-rooted. Our talks focussed on how to add even more vigour to our bilateral partnership across diverse sectors.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/22/2024 7:03 AM, 103M followers, 13K retweets, 75K likes]
A connect like no other! Thankful for the welcome in Kazan. The Indian community has distinguished itself all over the world with their accomplishments. Equally gladdening is the popularity of Indian culture globally.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/22/2024 6:41 AM, 103M followers, 5.9K retweets, 29K likes]
Sharing my remarks during meeting with President Putin. https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1YqGovWVqelKv
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[10/22/2024 4:46 AM, 103M followers, 11K retweets, 80K likes]
Landed in Kazan for the BRICS Summit. This is an important Summit, and the discussions here will contribute to a better planet.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[10/22/2024 11:46 AM, 3.3M followers, 1.2K retweets, 7.2K likes]
India and Pakistan have renewed the agreement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for the next five years. PM @narendramodi’s government will continue to facilitate our Sikh community’s access to their holy sites.: https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/38445 Tanvi Madan@tanvi_madan
[10/22/2024 9:59 PM, 90.4K followers, 20 retweets, 61 likes]
Fmr Indian amb. to China @GBambawale says - low trust cld affect disengagement timeline- "GOI will be far-sighted if it takes Parliament...[and] public into confidence"- says can’t go back to business as usual w 🇨🇳, incl on econ/tech/telecom (& has strong views on Econ Survey)
Tanvi Madan@tanvi_madan
[10/22/2024 9:48 PM, 90.4K followers, 10 retweets, 36 likes]
Outlining below some things I’ll be watching as Modi & Xi meet for the 1st time in 5 years and are expected to signal their approval of agmts reached. Also re-capping some key points Indian officials have made thus far re what the agmts w/ China entail, and what lies ahead. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GaigJ9eX0AAdAZs?format=png&name=medium
Tanvi Madan@tanvi_madan
[10/22/2024 9:50 PM, 90.4K followers, 1 retweet, 1 like]
2/ and yes, I mean Modi-Xi’s first *bilateral meeting* in 5 years. They obviously met in Indonesia and South Africa on the sidelines of multilateral summits in last couple of years. NSB
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[10/22/2024 1:59 PM, 8.2K followers, 15 retweets, 70 likes]
The students in #Bangladesh have the right to demonstrate peacefully in support of their political views. This does not mean that they get to dictate the interim government’s response. The best way forward is for the students’ voices, along with others, to be heard in the reform commissions and subsequent implementation process. The path forward requires patience, compromise and consensus. Apologists of the previous regime will be quick to say “we told you so.”. From my perspective a messy proto-democracy is infinitely preferable to a return to dictatorship and “stability.”. I have faith that the people of Bangladesh will get through this challenging period and the country will emerge stronger. In the meantime, I would urge the security forces to exercise restraint and be aware that partisans of the departed dictator will try to provoke violence. A light touch would be a sign of the government’s strength and not one of weakness.
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[10/22/2024 6:19 AM, 8.2K followers, 23 retweets, 186 likes]
While the right wing Indian media and associated trolls may engage in slander against him, the truth remains that noone in Washington did more in recent years to promote democracy in #Bangladesh than @MushfiqulFazal. He will be an outstanding Ambassador for the country and will be able to speak first hand about the recent changes in Bangladesh. At the present moment, Bangladesh’s representatives abroad need to effectively tell the story of the July revolution, engage with the diaspora, and move beyond the traditional role played by diplomats. All these roles play to Mushfique’s strengths. While we will be sad to lose Mushfique at @rtoforg, we are all very excited for this new chapter in his career. For our part, we will continue to advance the cause of freedom throughout South Asia.
Ashok Swain@ashoswai
[10/22/2024 2:22 PM, 617.9K followers, 64 retweets, 359 likes]
Students in Bangladesh have started demanding the resignation of the President. Country is instead of moving towards democracy fast transiting towards mobocracy. A free and fair election must be the first and only priority of the interim government.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv
[10/23/2024 1:56 AM, 110.5K followers, 70 retweets, 71 likes]
At the Commonwealth Business Forum: Island Nations Leaders Round Table organised by @CWEICofficial, Vice President His Excellency Uz @HucenSembe discussed strategies for long-term resilience and sustainable development, sharing three key recommendations: attracting private sector investment, focusing on sustainability, and strengthening the private sector.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv
[10/22/2024 9:57 PM, 110.5K followers, 143 retweets, 153 likes]
Vice President His Excellency Uz @HucenSembe attends CHOGM Climate Breakfast: Building Consensus for Climate Finance Targets in the Commonwealth. The Vice President advocated for a unified response to the climate crisis, emphasising the need for increased and sustainable climate finance, especially for vulnerable nations. He also called for a new collective goal on climate finance, addressing loss and damage, mitigation, and adaptation.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives@MoFAmv
[10/23/2024 2:41 AM, 54.9K followers, 5 retweets, 6 likes]
Maldives to co-chair the Commonwealth Ministerial Meeting on Small States in 2026 Press Release | https://t.ly/dMyRI
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[10/22/2024 9:11 AM, 133.1K followers, 27 retweets, 233 likes]
Today (22), during a meeting with rice millers and officials from the Department of Agriculture, I reaffirmed that no changes will be made to the controlled price of rice. We are working on a long-term plan to benefit farmers while ensuring consumers can buy rice at a fair price. Tackling artificial inflation and supporting small rice mills is a priority.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[10/22/2024 4:47 AM, 133.1K followers, 27 retweets, 269 likes]
Had a productive meeting with the Governors this morning (22). I instructed them to submit a proposal to rationalize the operations of Provincial Councils. We must focus on improving the living conditions of our people and building a new political culture through effective governance.M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc
[10/23/2024 10:59 AM, 7.5K followers, 5 retweets, 20 likes]
Pleased to see the engagement with IMF continues despite change of government. Policy consistency is a must if we are to attract serious foreign investment! Central Asia
Javlon Vakhabov@JavlonVakhabov
[10/23/2024 12:19 AM, 6.1K followers, 3 retweets, 6 likes]
5 takeaways from President Tokayev’s (@TokayevKZ, @aqorda_press) address at the Astana Think Tank Forum (@AstanaIntlForum):- Kazakhstan is absolutely committed to the regional policy, to having close cooperation with all its immediate neighbors in Central Asia. - The more cooperation we do have here, the better it will be for the interests of Kazakhstan as well as for the interests of other countries of Central Asia.- We have active cooperation, multifaceted ties on so many issues. Here in Central Asia, we hold regular meetings of the heads of states. These meetings are also very much helpful.- This basic policy of enhancing the strategic balance and responding to the challenges must be growing in strength, and there should be a joint or collective response to what is happening outside of the region. In these terms, Central Asia is becoming very much visible, conspicuous on the world map.- We will be doing our best in order to enhance the capabilities of this very much important region.
Javlon Vakhabov@JavlonVakhabov
[10/22/2024 2:12 PM, 6.1K followers, 2 likes]
Last week, we @IICAinTashkent were delighted that a group of students from Turkmenistan currently studying at the Uzbekistan National University graced us with their presence at the Symposium marking the 300th anniversary of Magtymguly Pyragy’s legacy. I was glad to learn that almost 800 Turkmen students are now studying at the Uzbekistan’s topnotch educational institutions to earn their degrees at professions highly needed back at home. And most of them are female students.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[10/22/2024 1:52 PM, 202.1K followers, 1 retweet, 11 likes]
Today President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev held a meeting on development of public-private partnership, attraction of foreign investment and #localization. Special attention was paid to manufacturing of export-oriented competitive products both in price and quality. It’s emphasized to create necessary conditions for wide involvement of foreign investors in developing new projects and ensure implementation of joint initiatives.{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.