epubdos : Afghanistan
SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO:
SCA & Staff
DATE:
Friday, September 20, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan
Taliban in control of 39 Afghan embassies globally (Reuters)
Reuters [9/19/2024 6:46 AM, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, 37270K, Neutral]
The Taliban administration is in control of 39 Afghan embassies and consulates globally three years after it took over Afghanistan and the previous Western-backed government collapsed, the acting foreign ministry said on Thursday.

No international government has formally recognised the Taliban administration, though China and the United Arab Emirates have officially accepted its ambassadors in their capitals.

Many governments, especially Western nations including the United States, have said the path to any formal recognition of the Taliban will be stuck until they change course on women’s rights and re-open high schools and universities to girls and women and allow their full freedom of movement.

The Taliban say they respect rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and that restrictions on its banking sector and a lack of recognition are hindering its economy.

After the collapse of Afghanistan’s republic government in 2021, foreign embassies were thrown into disarray with many issuing documents such as visas and passports that in some cases the Taliban have said should not be recognised.

The Taliban has appointed its own diplomats to head several embassies, including ambassadors accepted in Abu Dhabi and Beijing and a charge d’affaires in neighbouring Pakistan. At some missions, diplomats appointed under the previous government work with Taliban authorities.

"Thirty-nine embassies and diplomatic affairs obey the central authority, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said the Taliban’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at a press conference in Kabul.

He added that his ministry had sent dozens of diplomats to 11 countries in the past year, including Turkey, Russia, Iran and Pakistan.

Muttaqi said Afghanistan would send a new ambassador to Uzbekistan this week and expected Russia to remove the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations "soon".

In July, the Taliban said it was cutting ties with at least 14 Afghan diplomatic missions, adding it would not honour passports and visas issued by those embassies, mostly based in Europe.TOC_BM
State Department accuses House GOP of calling Blinken to testify about Afghanistan when he’s away (AP)
AP [9/19/2024 6:14 PM, Matthew Lee and Farnoush Amiri, 31638K, Neutral]
The State Department lashed out Thursday at House Republicans over a subpoena for testimony about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, accusing them of repeatedly calling for hearings on days they knew Secretary of State Antony Blinken was unavailable to appear.

Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was trying to accommodate Blinken, who faces the threat of being held in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t appear.

The Texas Republican had first set a hearing for Thursday, while Blinken was in Egypt and France. He then changed the date to Tuesday, when Blinken will be at the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders in New York and attending President Joe Biden’s speech at the time of the hearing.

"They have unilaterally selected a date when we have told them in advance that he will be not in Washington, D.C., because he will be elsewhere carrying out important meetings to advance the foreign policy interests of the United States," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

He said the State Department told the committee weeks in advance about Blinken’s schedule, so "it very much does not appear that they’re acting in good faith."

McCaul said the department was being "disingenuous" because it had declined repeated requests to pick a date in September for Blinken to testify. "If we are forced to hold Secretary Blinken in contempt of Congress, he has no one to blame but himself," the Republican committee chairman said Thursday in a statement.

The subpoena for Blinken’s testimony is the latest in a series of moves by McCaul and other House Republicans over the past 18 months to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they have called a "stunning failure of leadership" after Taliban forces seized the Afghan capital far more rapidly than U.S. intelligence had foreseen as American forces pulled out.

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly brought up the disastrous exit from Afghanistan in the campaign, trying to link it to Democratic rival Kamala Harris. Several watchdog reviews and a more than 18-month investigation by House Republicans have failed to pinpoint an instance where the vice president had a particular impact on decision-making on the withdrawal.

Blinken has testified about Afghanistan 14 times, including four times before McCaul’s committee.

Miller said Blinken was willing to testify again if a mutually convenient time could be arranged but noted that Congress will be in recess from the end of next week until after the November election.

Earlier this month, House Republicans issued a scathing report on their investigation into the withdrawal, blaming the disastrous end of America’s longest war on the Biden administration and minimizing Trump’s role.

The partisan review laid out the final months of military and civilian failures, following Trump’s February 2020 withdrawal deal, which allowed the Taliban to conquer the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on Aug. 30, 2021. The chaotic exit left behind many American citizens, Afghan battlefield allies, female activists and others at risk from the Taliban.

The report broke little new ground as the withdrawal has been exhaustively litigated through several independent reviews. Previous investigations and analyses have pointed to a systemic failure spanning the last four presidential administrations and concluded that Biden and Trump share the heaviest blame.

McCaul, who led the investigation, said the GOP review revealed that the Biden administration "had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies."TOC_BM
Taliban using Iranian jammers to stop people watching critical news channels, says TV boss (The Independent)
The Independent [9/20/2024 3:30 AM, Arpan Rai, 53.8M, Neutral]
The Taliban have allegedly purchased satellite jammers from Iran to disrupt the last remaining independent television channel reporting on the regime’s brutal crackdown on human rights.

Iran’s assistance helped the Taliban leaders acquire orbital jammers for the satellite stations of the Afghanistan International Television and shut down broadcast for more than a week, AITV’s executive editor Harun Najafizada told The Independent.

The channel is popular among Afghans for their critical coverage of the country’s hardline Islamist regime.

Taliban officials reportedly sent disruptive signals from a ground station within Afghanistan to the satellite, interfering with its broadcast. Hundreds of people in Afghanistan saw a blank screen from 5 September to 13 September before the channel shifted to a different satellite frequency.

“I had received information in August from inside Kabul that the Taliban had purchased an extremely expensive jammer with the intention of using it against us,” Mr Najafizada, who operates the channel from London, UK, said.

His news channel has consistently reported on the Taliban brutalities on Afghan women, minorities and widespread shutdown of humanitarian work. They have not succumbed to Taliban’s orders of having no female anchors or women appearing on TV with their faces covered.

The AITV, launched on the day the Taliban took over in Afghanistan in August 2021, managed to overtake the popularity of BBC Persian and BBC Pashto in the country, according to a BBC Media Action report on media consumption in Afghanistan.

The Iranian orbital jammers were obtained earlier this year around May and the expensive purchase was confirmed from inside Kabul’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), the intelligence agency of the Taliban, sources told The Independent on the condition of anonymity.

“This interference and shutdown via orbital jammers will not be limited to just AITV but other international news channels which the Taliban doesn’t find fit under their interpretation of Sharia law, they want to implement their own state radio and television broadcast which praise the Supreme leader and his Talib ministers,” sources said.

This is not the first time Iran has been accused of interfering with press freedom in central Asia. During the protests against the morality police following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in custody, AITV’s sister channel Iran International also experienced satellite jamming from a ground station in Karaj near Tehran, according to reports. This impacted the Iranian news channel’s frequencies on Eutelsat and Arabsat satellites.

“The interferences harmfully affect the transmission of several digital TV and radio channels broadcasting in Persian from outside of Iran, as well as other channels,” Eutelsat, one of the world’s largest satellite operators serving Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, said in a statement.

Iran allegedly jammed and disrupted the broadcast services in 2022 during the civil protests caused by Amini’s death, it said.

“This act of orbital jamming not only attacks press freedom but also violates international standards and highlights the Taliban’s increasing efforts to dismantle free expression and restrict Afghan citizens’ access to truthful information,” Mr Najafizada said.

Iran is yet to comment on these allegations.TOC_BM
No country for women’s rights: The Taliban is removing every shred of freedom from women (The Economist)
The Economist [9/19/2024 8:42 AM, Staff, 7430K, Positive]
Last month the Taliban published a new consolidated code of religious laws. It has left Afghan women reeling, with many now searching for ways to leave. It also has implications for the Taliban’s quest for legitimacy and relations with the world. Three years after America’s withdrawal from the country, the situation in Afghanistan looks worse than ever.

Even before the announcement in late August, women were banned from attending secondary schools, universities, parks and female-only spaces such as beauty salons. They were not allowed to work in most professions. Now they are banned from raising their voices or reciting the Koran in public. They are prohibited from looking at any man other than their relatives, and have to cover their faces fully.

Nasiba (not her real name), a 28-year-old midwife in Badghis, in the north-west of the country, says that after three years under the Taliban she feels "a sense of hopelessness, loneliness". When she leaves the house, she does so "with fear, shaking, that someone might say something to me or stop me". Some women have reacted to the latest announcement by reducing how much they go out; others ensure they are never alone outside. Amina, a widow in Kabul, the capital, locks her daughter and son inside. Her children eat once a day, if at all: "If there’s food they eat, if not they wait."

The new religious code is a "pivotal moment", says Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, who is barred from the country by the Taliban. He wants "gender apartheid" to be considered a crime against humanity. Activists want the Taliban to be tried at the International Criminal Court (Afghanistan has signed up to the Rome statute). That seems unlikely. Outrage in the West has been muted, not least as many are distracted by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s choice to be permanent representative to the United Nations, says the new code was introduced to "limit" the powers of the morality police, who have become more present in the country. Mr Shaheen insists that the law banning women from speaking outside had been "misinterpreted". He says that the Taliban has issued thousands of licences for women interpreters. The ban applied to women singing at large gatherings of men, he claims. He adds that women can study midwifery or go to a religious school.

That is of little comfort to many women. Nasiba says that she has started to think about leaving the country, mostly for the sake of her ten-year-old daughter but also of her five-year-old son, who admires the Taliban. "He sees [the Taliban] at the shopping centre, he sees their rangers and wants to take a photo...maybe he’ll become a Talib," she says, with a grim laugh. "When there’s no education...no computer classes, or English, just religious education, what else is he going to become?"TOC_BM
Pakistan
Pakistan, China eye security tie-ups after deadly militant attacks (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [9/20/2024 4:53 AM, Adnan Aamir, 2.4M, Neutral]
Beijing and Islamabad are close to a deal on setting up joint security companies to protect Chinese nationals working in Pakistan, after a string of deadly militant attacks threatened their multibillion-dollar investment ties.

Multiple sources have told Nikkei Asia that the mooted deal would see Chinese security personnel working inside Pakistan, which Islamabad has previously resisted despite mounting pressure from Beijing. The agreement could also lead to Chinese nationals being ferried around in armored vehicles.

Pakistan’s top investor China has grown increasingly wary about future deals after its citizens were targeted in a series of deadly attacks in recent years. Thousands of Chinese nationals are thought to be working on projects in the South Asian nation.

Pakistan is grappling with a rise in militant activity ranging from Islamists aiming to topple the government to separatists seeking to carve out a homeland in southwestern Balochistan, which is home to the port of Gwadar, the centerpiece of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Beijing has pressed Pakistan to take more action to protect its citizens and pushed for armor-protected vehicles during recent negotiations on the second phase of CPEC, a key component of China’s globe-spanning Belt and Road Initiative.

"Under the proposed joint security companies’ framework, Pakistani personnel will be in the outer cordon, and Chinese personnel will be in the inner cordon for protection of Chinese nationals," a source privy to the negotiations told Nikkei on condition of anonymity. "The idea is to ensure minimum contact between Chinese security personnel and common Pakistani citizens."

China, which has linked future investments in Pakistan to cooperation on counterterrorism and better security, has been demanding since 2022 that Pakistan allow Chinese security companies to protect its citizens.

Islamabad repeatedly rebuffed that demand, although it desperately needs more investment for a shattered economy propped up by repeated bailouts from the International Monetary Fund .

Beijing is sweetening the pot for Pakistan with additional investments if it agrees to the joint security deal, including more funding for infrastructure, energy and transport projects under CPEC. Beijing’s negotiators have also hinted at a quick restart on the $7 billion Main Line 1 railway, the largest single CPEC project that would connect Pakistan’s northwestern Peshawar city to southern coastal hub Karachi through a more than 2,600-kilometer railway, Pakistani media have reported.

Historically, China has relied solely on host governments to protect of its people and investments.

Now "with its growing economic footprint across the world, Beijing is willing to assume a proactive role to ensure its overseas interests," said Khuram Iqbal, an Islamabad-based counterterrorism expert and author of "The Making of Pakistani Human Bombs."

But Chinese security boots on the ground will be a problem for Pakistan, warned Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior fellow with the Department of War Studies of King’s College London.

"Allowing Chinese personnel in Pakistan, who are not familiar with local culture and how to deal with people in Pakistan, could result in local backlash against them, which could be counterproductive for Chinese interests in Pakistan," she told Nikkei Asia.

China has also proposed deeper counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan to work against separatists in Balochistan and Taliban militants who have attacked Chinese nationals. The two countries, which have close defense ties, are already cooperating on counterterrorism through personnel training, joint military exercises and China-supplied military equipment.

"New [terms of cooperation] may include some formal arrangements for intelligence sharing and expanding the scope of an extradition treaty to include terrorism suspects," Iqbal said.TOC_BM
Police fatally shoot a blasphemy suspect in Pakistan in 2nd such killing in a week (AP)
AP [9/19/2024 3:41 PM, Adil Jawad and Munir Ahmed, 92374K, Negative]
Police in southern Pakistan shot dead a blasphemy suspect during an alleged shootout with armed men, officials said Thursday, the second such apparent extra-judicial killing in a week, drawing condemnation from human rights groups.

Police identified the slain man as Shah Nawaz, a doctor in the Umerkot district in the Sindh province, who had gone into hiding two days ago after being accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and sharing blasphemous content on social media.

Local police chief Niaz Khoso said Nawaz was “killed just by chance” on Wednesday night when officers signaled two men riding on a motorcycle to stop in Mirpur Khas, a city in the southern Sindh province.

He said instead of stopping, the men opened fire and tried to flee, prompting police to return fire. One of the suspects fled on the motorcycle, while the other was killed, he said.

Khoso claimed that it was only after the shootout that officers learned that the slain man was the doctor being sought by them for the alleged blasphemy.

Videos circulating on social media showed local clerics throwing rose petals at police and praising officers for killing the blasphemy suspect. There was no immediate clarification from the Sindh government about the circumstances in which the suspect was killed.

The killing of Nawaz drew strong condemnation from the country’s independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, or HRCH, which said it was “gravely concerned by the alleged extrajudicial killing of two people accused of blasphemy.”

“This pattern of violence in cases of blasphemy, in which law enforcement personnel are allegedly involved, is an alarming trend,” it said in a statement. HRCP also asked the government to conduct an independent inquiry to ascertain who was responsible for Nawaz’s death and ensure those responsible for it were punished.

The killing of Nawaz in Mirpur Khas came a day after Islamists in a nearby city, Umerkot, staged a protest demanding his arrest. The mob also burned Nawaz’s clinic on Wednesday, officials said.

The latest killing comes a week after an officer opened fire inside a police station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, fatally wounding Syed Khan, another suspect held on accusations of blasphemy. Khan was arrested on Wednesday after officers rescued him from an enraged mob that claimed he had insulted Islam’s Prophet.

But he was killed by a police officer, Mohammad Khurram, who was quickly arrested.

However, the tribe and the family of the slain man said they pardoned the officer, saying Khan hurt the sentiments of Muslims by insulting Islam’s Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Though killings of blasphemy suspects by mobs are common, the extra-judicial killings by police are rare in Pakistan, where accusations of blasphemy — sometimes even just rumors — often spark rioting and rampage by mobs that can escalate into killings.

Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death — though authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks on blasphemy suspects in recent years.

In June, a mob broke into a police station in the northwestern town of Madyan, snatched a detainee who was a tourist, and then killed him over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book.

Last year, a mob in Punjab province attacked churches and homes of Christians after claiming they saw a local Christian and his friend desecrating pages from a Quran. The attack in the district of Jaranwala drew nationwide condemnation, but Christians say the men linked to the violence are yet to be put on trial.TOC_BM
Pakistani police kill second blasphemy suspect within a week (VOA)
VOA [9/19/2024 1:29 PM, Ayaz Gul, 4566K, Negative]
Police in southern Pakistan reported Thursday that a doctor facing allegations of blasphemy against Islam was killed in a shootout during a raid intended to arrest him.

The overnight alleged extrajudicial killing of Shah Nawaz in the province of Sindh marked the second instance within a week in which Pakistani police fatally shot a blasphemy suspect.

Nawaz, a Muslim, was an employee at the main public hospital in his native Umerkot district. He was dismissed from his job on Tuesday after area residents accused him of “desecrating” the Prophet Muhammad by sharing "blasphemous posts" on Facebook earlier in the week.

The doctor rejected the charges and disowned the social media account. A police complaint was subsequently filed against him, however, amid citywide violent protests by religious party activists demanding his immediate arrest.

An area police officer, Niaz Khoso, alleged that Nawaz and another “armed” man were fleeing on a motorcycle to evade arrest, refused to stop at a checkpoint and instead opened fire on police. The ensuing exchange of gunfire led to the death of the blasphemy suspect, Khoso said.

Such official claims are often widely disputed by critics, who point to a highly politicized and corruption-plagued Pakistani police force with a history of staged encounters.

Last week, a police officer in the southwestern city of Quetta shot and killed a 52-year-old hotel owner who was being held in custody on blasphemy allegations. The victim, Abdul Ali, a Muslim, was arrested a day earlier for allegedly posting derogatory remarks on social media about the Prophet Muhammad. His killing inside the police lockup triggered outrage and calls for bringing the shooter to justice.

Ali’s family announced at a news conference together with their tribal elders late on Wednesday, though, that they had “forgiven” the police officer and would not press charges "in the name of God.” One of the elders stated that their tribe had decided to disown the slain man for disrespecting the prophet of Islam.

The country’s independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, or HRCP, said that it was “gravely concerned by the alleged extrajudicial” killings of Shah and Ali.

“This pattern of violence in cases of blasphemy, in which law enforcement personnel are allegedly involved, is an alarming trend,” the watchdog stated in a Thursday statement.

The HRCP urged authorities to conduct an independent inquiry to ascertain who was responsible for the doctor’s death in Umarkot and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in majority-Muslim Pakistan, where mere allegations have led to mobs lynching scores of suspects, even some in police custody. Insulting the Quran or the Prophet is punishable by death under the country’s blasphemy laws, although no one has ever been officially executed.

In June, a 73-year-old Pakistani man from the minority Christian community died in a hospital a week after being violently attacked by a mob in Pakistan’s Punjab province following accusations he insulted Islam. Days later, on June 20, a Muslim man from Punjab was visiting the scenic northwestern Swat Valley when a mob violently lynched him for allegedly desecrating Islam’s holy book, the Quran.

The laws are persistently under international scrutiny, with critics blaming them for the recent rise in blasphemy allegations and mob lynching of suspects in Pakistan.

A new report released on Monday stated that the blasphemy laws are being significantly misused, with many defendants facing baseless accusations, protracted legal battles, and lengthy pretrial prison time, as judges tread carefully to avoid offending religious groups.

The findings by the U.S.-based Clooney Foundation for Justice backed long-running local and international rights groups’ concerns that the strict blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal vendettas or to persecute Pakistani minority communities.

Hundreds of blasphemy suspects, mostly Muslims, are languishing in jails in Pakistan because fear of retaliation from religious groups deters judges from moving their trials forward.TOC_BM
India
Modi to mobilize India’s diaspora during US visit (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle [9/19/2024 9:03 AM, Murali Krishnan, 16637K, Positive]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the United States this weekend, with several stops on the agenda including attending the Quad leaders’ summit, addressing the "Summit of the Future" at the UN General Assembly and meeting with CEOs of several leading US-based companies.

And continuing a signature move whenever visiting a foreign country, Modi will meet with members of India’s diaspora.

On Sunday, the prime minister is expected to address an event dubbed "Modi & US Progress Together" at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, New York.

Organizers said the event has received more than 25,000 registrations, although the venue has a capacity of just 15,000.

"These meetings have a huge impact. It builds up morale and confidence among the Indian diaspora in the US and nurtures a connection with India which should never be forgotten," Jeevan Zutshi, founder of the Indo-American Community Federation, an organizer for the New York event, told DW.

Indian PM on US roadshow

Modi’s efforts to deepen ties with the Indian diaspora has become a regular feature when he travels abroad. Attendance at overseas jamborees are well-managed and designed events that can, at times, overshadow the official state visit to a country.

In 2014, Modi’s address to 20,000 Indian Americans at Madison Square Garden in New York City set the tone for his diaspora outreach.

Two years later, Indians lined up to shake hands and take selfies with Modi at a civic reception when he visited Silicon Valley, in California.

In 2019, at the biggest community event yet dubbed "Howdy Modi," the prime minister addressed over 50,000 people in Houston, Texas.

"Prime Minister Modi’s large-scale diaspora events during his foreign visits have become a significant part of his diplomatic toolkit, marking a notable shift in how India engages with its diaspora abroad," Chetan Rana, an associate editor at 9dashline, an online geopolitical consultancy, told DW.

Diaspora as secret ingredient of Modi’s diplomacy

Rana, who has researched how Modi engages with Indian Americans, said the way Modi uses these massive public gatherings is a unique part of his foreign policy.

"These events, akin to political rallies in India, serve multiple purposes beyond just strengthening ties with the Indian diaspora," he said.

Rana said diaspora rallies are carefully choreographed public relations events that elevate Modi’s image as a global leader, and they help fuel the domestic right-wing agenda that supports his growing personal brand.

"Even though Modi’s speeches to the diaspora may tone down the overt Hindutva rhetoric used in India, the underlying nationalistic tones remain evident," he added.

Millions of Indian Americans in US

The Indian diaspora is one of the largest in the world, with an over 35 million people residing outside of India as of May this year, according to India’s External Affairs Ministry.

Indian Americans, now a community of nearly 5 million strong, have emerged as one of the most influential immigrant groups in the US.

Besides the US, the Indian diaspora is prosperous and well-established in the United Arab Emirates, the UK and Australia.

The growing strength of the Indian diaspora is also becoming more visible as Indians take on high-level business positions and government jobs in the US.

Academics point out that Modi’s community events are not just symbolic gestures of engagement, but are designed to activate the diaspora’s transnational identity, turning them into key players in lobbying, investment and technological partnerships.

"Modi’s diaspora outreach in the US has become an annual feature in his US visits. As the Indian diaspora is not a monolith and is multigenerational, his focus is to ensure that the diaspora continues to be an advantage rather than a liability," K.P. Vijayalakshmi, a professor of geopolitics at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in southern India, told DW.

"His fundamental interest is in persuading the diaspora to be part of India’s growth story," she said.

BJP building long-term foreign policy strategy

Strategic expert Raja Mohan told DW that connecting and building bridges with Indian communities abroad has been a major goal of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for decades.

"Modi has taken this outreach to another level and now it is part of the BJP’s playbook that has helped the party’s presence grow around the world, especially Western democracies where a huge chunk of the Indian diaspora is concentrated," said Mohan, a visiting professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies at Singapore’s National University.

Mohan added that other political parties, including the opposition Congress, were also reaching out through the Indian Overseas Congress. The regional DMK party is also making an effort to connect with Tamils living abroad.

Many of these events involves months of planning, money, organizational skills and pulling together disparate groups of the Indian diaspora.

Modi’s outreach builds engagement

Amitabh Mattoo, an international relations expert and professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told DW that Modi’s outreach to the diaspora is best described as an exercise in "extraterritorial nationalism" that serves multiple strategic and diplomatic purposes.

"It is also meant for strengthening bilateral ties, cultural diplomacy, economic contributions, building networks and political engagement," said Mattoo.

According to Rana, by casting Modi as a leader deeply connected with a prosperous diaspora, these events also contribute to marginalizing dissent and focusing the narrative on India’s rise.

"With resistance to Modi marginalized, it also helps foreign leaders to engage with him. For foreign leaders, India remains a key ally, and Modi is the face through which these relationships are brokered, often sidelining concerns about India’s domestic policies in favor of strategic or economic cooperation," said Rana.TOC_BM
India Won’t Buy Russian LNG Sanctioned by the US, Oil Minister Says (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/19/2024 6:41 AM, Ruth Liao and Rakesh Sharma, 27782K, Neutral]
India won’t buy liquefied natural gas from a project in Russia that is sanctioned by the US, Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said.

“If the LNG from Russia is from a sanctioned facility, we won’t buy,” Puri said in an interview on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Houston. “There’s no issue there.”

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 facility, sanctioned by the US last year, is struggling to find buyers, upending Moscow’s plans to expand exports of the super-chilled fuel. The facility has exported five shipments since August on dark fleet vessels, but the fuel has yet to be delivered to any nation.

While New Delhi isn’t buying from the Arctic LNG 2 project, some firms involved in providing support to the shadow fleet exporting fuel from the facility above the Arctic circle are based in India’s western state of Maharashtra.

The minister said he wasn’t aware of the involvement of any Indian firms in ferrying sanctioned Russian LNG cargoes. “We have a very healthy dialogue with America,” he added.

Puri said the South Asian nation didn’t need to buy Russian LNG because it already has long term supply deals with Qatar and the US and its own gas output was also rising.

India continues to lift crude from Russia as it is not sanctioned, Puri said. “I think there is a vested interest in the global community, particularly in the United States, that Russian oil should keep flowing, but it should be within a price cap.”TOC_BM
Modi visits Indian-controlled Kashmir on local election campaign amid massive security (AP)
AP [9/19/2024 8:55 AM, Aljaz Hussain, 459K, Neutral]
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the main city in Himalayan Kashmir on Thursday to campaign for his party in the local election, the first such vote since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy in 2019.

Modi’s visit to Srinagar city in the Kashmir Valley — the heartland of decades of anti-India rebellion — comes amid strong public opposition there to New Delhi’s changes five years back. That move revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status, annulled its separate constitution, downgraded and split the former state into two centrally governed union territories— Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir — and removed inherited protections on land and jobs.

The region has since remained on edge with civil liberties curbed and media freedoms gagged.

Authorities laid razor wires and erected road checkpoints to close the roads leading to the venue of Modi’s election rally in Srinagar’s main commercial center. Armed paramilitary troops and police in flak jackets patrolled the area, snipers and sharpshooters were positioned atop buildings near the venue.

The multistage election will allow Kashmir to have its own truncated government and a local legislature, called an assembly, instead of remaining under New Delhi’s direct rule.

However, there will be a limited transition of power from New Delhi to the local assembly as Kashmir will continue to be a “Union Territory” — directly controlled by the federal government — with India’s Parliament remaining its main legislator. Kashmir’s statehood must be restored for the new government to have powers similar to other states of India.

“We have said in the parliament that we will restore (the region’s) statehood. Only BJP will fulfill this commitment,” Modi said to a cheering crowd at the rally while referring to his Bharatiya Janata Party, without specifying any timeline for the return of statehood.

He called the ongoing election the festival of democracy in the region. “Jammu and Kashmir is strengthening the democracy of India and I congratulate the people for this,” he said.

Kashmir has been at the heart of a conflict between India and Pakistan after British rule of the subcontinent ended in 1947 with the creation of the two rival countries. Both administer part of it but claim the territory in its entirety.

Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the insurgency is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, a charge Islamabad denies. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting, which many Kashmiri Muslims consider a legitimate freedom struggle.

Kashmir has remained an important part of a muscular rhetoric by Modi and his party colleagues in their outreach to the Hindu support base in India where few issues reach as broad a consensus as that the region must remain a part of the country at any cost.

Modi’s government has repeatedly said the changes would spur investment, bring more development and root out separatism in Kashmir. But critics and many Kashmiris fear this could dilute the region’s demographics.

“It seemed odd to claim that this place is celebrating democracy,” said Siddiq Wahid, historian and former vice chancellor of a university in Kashmir. “For the past five years, it has been led by an unelected administration unfamiliar with the region’s idiosyncrasies, it has been dismantled as a state, and unspecified executive powers of its Chief Minister and assembly transferred” to New Delhi appointed administrators, he added.

“New Delhi’s centralization of power has increased public frustration over political stasis here,” Wahid said.

Thursday’s visit was Modi’s second to the Muslim-majority region to campaign for his party candidates in the ongoing election. Voting began on Wednesday, with a brisk turnout in the first phase.

The vote is the first in a decade, and the first since his Hindu nationalist government’s 2019 move. Kashmir’s pro-India political parties have promised to fight to undo those changes.

Last week, Modi addressed a similar rally in southern Doda district.

The second and third phases of the polling are scheduled for Sept. 25 and Oct. 1. The process is staggered for logistical reasons and to allow troops to move around to stop potential violence in the Himalayan region. Votes will be counted on Oct. 8, with results expected that day.

At the rally in Srinagar, Modi launched a scathing attack on India’s main opposition Congress party and the regional parties, the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, calling them “three families” responsible for “destruction” and bringing “nothing but chaos and fear” to the region.

“I am sincerely working towards restoring peace here,” he said.

India’s ruling BJP has a strong political base in the region’s Hindu-dominated areas of Jammu that largely favor the 2019 changes and has won multiple seats from there in the past elections. But it is weak in the Kashmir Valley where the BJP has never won a seat.

The party has fielded only 19 candidates for the 47 seats in the valley while it is contesting all 43 seats in Jammu.

Modi’s party is not officially aligned with any local group, but many politicians believe it is tacitly supporting some parties and independent candidates in the Kashmir Valley who privately agree with it.

The region’s main pro-India political parties accused the BJP of trying to manipulate the election and fragment the valley’s vote through independents. About 43% of 503 candidates contesting in the Kashmir Valley are independents, in contrast to 35% in Jammu.TOC_BM
India minister blames dam release for flooding (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [9/20/2024 3:00 AM, Staff, 1.4M, Neutral]
A top politician in eastern India on Friday blamed authorities in a neighbouring state for causing a flooding crisis by opening dams after 26 people were killed and 250,000 others were forced to relocate.

Television news images showed rescuers in boats ferrying people to safety in West Bengal state, with a state-run hospital in one village completely inundated.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters that 26 people had been killed this week, with another 250,000 forced to leave their homes and find shelter.

She accused authorities in neighbouring Jharkhand state of needlessly opening dam sluice gates and releasing the waters that had inundated her state.

"The flooding is man-made," she said, adding she had ordered the border with Jharkhand to be closed for three days in response.

Supriyo Bhattacharya, a member of the ruling coalition in Jharkhand, told AFP that his state had no choice but to ease pressure on the dams.

"Holding back the water could have damaged the dams and led to massive floods in both the states," he said.

"Our government will naturally protect the interests of the people of Jharkhand."

The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), which manages dams along the Damodar river that flows through the states, said it had "reduced" the release of water on Friday after rainfall eased.

In West Bengal, railway employee Pradip Maity said most people living in his village of Ghatal had taken shelter in relief camps.

"Boats are now the only mode of transportation in the village," he told AFP.

Typhoon rains cause widespread destruction every year in India, but experts say climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.TOC_BM
Anti-money laundering watchdog urges India to speed up prosecutions (Reuters)
Reuters [9/19/2024 1:00 PM, Manoj Kumar and Nikunj Ohri, 37270K, Negative]
The global anti-money laundering watchdog, the financial Action Task Force (FATF) urged India on Thursday to speed up its prosecutions in financial fraud cases.

The 40-member FATF, established in 1989, rated India "moderately" effective on its parameter of "money laundering investigation and prosecution" in a report, while saying the country was compliant in most areas.

The report urged India to impose strict limits on cash transactions involving precious metals and stones as it posed risks for monitoring.

The task force sets global standards for national authorities cracking down on illicit funds generated through drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, cyber fraud and other serious crimes.

India became a member in 2010. In its report the task force said the country was "compliant" and "largely compliant" on 37 out of 40 parameters evaluated as part of its assessment.

The number of money laundering convictions over the last five years has been impacted by a series of constitutional challenges and by the saturation of the court system, the global watchdog said in its report on India, released on Thursday. India’s courts have huge backlogs of cases, with many left pending for years.

The government is trying to speed up the prosecution process, a finance ministry official told reporters after the release of the report.

"The government has now a system of notifying special courts and we are inducting more prosecutors to expedite trials," said Vivek Aggarwal, additional secretary at Department of Revenue in the finance ministry.

He said the measures taken by India in recent years have helped achieve better ratings.

The Enforcement Directorate, India’s anti-money laundering agency, has seized assets of suspected financial criminals amounting to 9.3 billion euros ($10.4 billion) over the last five years but confiscation based on convictions amounted to less than $5 million, the report said.

"It is critical India addresses these issues in view of accused persons waiting for cases to be tried and prosecutions to be concluded," it said.

The three areas in which there is partial compliance include bank scrutiny of political figures’ source of wealth and oversight of the finances of non-profit organisations and non-financial businesses and professionals.

The country must implement measures to prevent the non-profit sector from being misused for terrorist financing, following a risk-based approach that includes outreach to these organisations about potential risks, it said.

The watchdog also noted that India faced terrorist financing threats from groups active in the Jammu & Kashmir region and money laundering from illegal activities related to corruption, drug trafficking and cyber crime.

"India needs to focus on concluding the prosecutions and convict and appropriately sanction terrorist financiers," the FATF statement said.

As part of the oversight, FATF has placed India under "regular follow-up" requiring a progress report in three years.TOC_BM
NSB
India Lends Maldives Enough Funds for Sukuk Coupon Payment (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/20/2024 4:20 AM, Malavika Kaur Makol, 27782K, Neutral]
India lent the Maldives enough funds for its upcoming Islamic bond payments, easing a default risk for the island nation in the near-term.

The South Asian country gave the Maldives another $50 million loan for emergency financial assistance, the High Commission of India in Maldives said in a statement on X Thursday. The State Bank of India, the nation’s largest public lender, subscribed to Treasury bills issued by the Maldives for another year, following a similar aid in May.

“These subscriptions have been made at the special request of the Government of Maldives as emergency financial assistance,” India said, adding the loan “has been made at zero-cost (interest-free).”

India’s help to the country comes amid investors’ worries over a potential sukuk default, which would be the world’s first. The Maldives has about $500 million in outstanding sukuk debt due in 2026, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The assistance will help soothe nerves as the next coupon payment of $24.6 million is due Oct. 8, followed by a smaller one on Oct. 26.

The aid underscores India’s attempt to gain influence in the region following tensions in their ties earlier this year. Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu had come into power last year on an anti-India platform, pledging to foster stronger ties with China, the biggest lender to the country.

The Maldives Monetary Authority said last month that it is working on signing an agreement for a $400 million currency swap arrangement with India. India is ready to offer support and the matter is likely to be discussed during Muizzu’s visit to India in coming weeks, Bloomberg News reported last week.TOC_BM
A Deepening US-China Rivalry Hangs Over Sri Lanka’s Election (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/19/2024 8:30 PM, Dan Strumpf, 27782K, Neutral]
Sri Lankans go to the polls this weekend for the country’s first election since defaulting on piles of sovereign debt in 2022, when the nation plunged into its worst economic crisis across 70 years of independence.

Off the coast of Colombo, the capital city, round-the-clock construction offers a possible glimpse of the future.

Backed by several hundred million dollars of American funding, a unit of India’s Adani Group conglomerate and two local partners are undertaking a massive expansion of the city’s main port, the busiest in South Asia. The goal is to make Colombo an even bigger shipping destination, while slowly prying away the island nation from China, which has pumped billions of dollars into infrastructure projects across Asia and Africa.

The Colombo West International Terminal is one of Washington’s biggest investments in the region. Backed by a $553 million loan from the US Development Finance Corp., an agency created by the Trump administration in 2019 as an answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the project underscores Washington’s ambitions in a key — if volatile — part of Asia.

“This project in particular serves deeper economic ties for Sri Lanka, India and the United States,” said Chulanee Attanayake, a researcher and expert in Sri Lanka’s foreign relations.

“This is not just an economic venture but it’s also a geopolitical statement,” she added.

Over the past few years, Sri Lanka became emblematic for the wrong reasons: a cautionary tale of a rising economy that mismanaged its finances and went bankrupt as a result. In the chaos that followed, inflation soared, family savings were decimated and street protests toppled the president at the time. The International Monetary Fund stepped in with billions of bailout dollars.

Ensuring the stability of Sri Lanka, an ethnically diverse nation south of the subcontinent, is now of increasing importance to China, India and the US, which are all jockeying for influence with lawmakers and investors.

Over the last decade, a mix of Chinese and Indian developers have transformed downtown Colombo. New hotels, glass skyscrapers and a Chinese-funded “Lotus Tower” adorn the waterfront. A sprawling land reclamation effort adjacent to the port has set aside plots for office towers, luxury villas and a marina — with tax benefits to attract foreign investors.

Much of the development ground to a halt during the 2022 economic crisis, which was brought on by factors including longstanding government deficits, high foreign debt and the devastating effects of the pandemic on tourism. Many critics also blame the overextension of Chinese loans used to fund unworkable infrastructure projects.

Yet Sri Lanka, which for much of its recent history weathered a brutal civil war, has since turned a corner. And candidates in this week’s national election have been busy making their pitches for a rosier future.

The three-way race pits President Ranil Wickremesinghe — the incumbent whose administration negotiated the $3 billion IMF bailout — against two main challengers: the parliamentary opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and the populist Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, also known as AKD.

To secure the 48-month IMF bailout, Wickremesinghe’s administration raised taxes, hiked utility bills, reformed governance and undertook negotiations with creditors. Many of the measures are unpopular in the nation of 22 million, where per capita income is near a decade-low of less than $4,000.

Wickremesinghe’s opponents want to reopen negotiations with the IMF.

“We are a bankrupt country,” Premadasa told Bloomberg News. “We have to make sure that our policies promote national interests.”

While none of the top candidates have proposed pivoting away from China, they’ve all supported a more balanced approach to international relations. Dissayanake’s leftist backers have called for more scrutiny of investment deals with foreign countries.

Pollsters say the race may head to a run-off for the first time in the country’s history. That could delay the result beyond a Sept. 21 vote. On Thursday, the government said it reached an agreement in principle over the restructuring of about $12.6 billion in bonds, following earlier deals with official creditors.

Despite the uncertainty, signs of a broader turnaround are increasingly easy to spot. The Sri Lankan rupee rose more than 10% last year, and the economy has returned to steady growth boosted by improvements in the tourism and agricultural sectors.

A boom in maritime shipping has also turned the Indian Ocean into a hive of activity.

The Colombo West International Terminal will be the fourth major center for receiving container ships in the Port of Colombo — and the only one backed by funding from the US government. Like other local terminals, it will be a center for transshipping, in which mega-vessels dock to swap cargo with smaller ships serving the region. That activity has helped make Sri Lanka an outsized player in global trade.

As regional trade has ballooned, several existing terminals are either at or over capacity, according to Drewry Maritime Research, a shipping research and consulting firm. When the US-backed terminal is complete, it’s set to add as many as 3.2 million container units per year in capacity, up almost 40% from current levels, according to Drewry.

For now, the terminal is little more than a hook-shaped plot of sandy earth. On a recent gusty afternoon, the arrival of a fleet of remote-operated cranes and steady construction on a nearly mile-long jetty offered signs of progress. Project managers say the port is scheduled to begin its first phase of operations at the end of the year.

“Traditionally, the Japanese and the Chinese and the Indians have been here, but we would also like to invite big investment from the Western countries,” Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry said in an interview. The project “shows the growing strategic importance of Sri Lanka,” he added.

China has long dominated global infrastructure financing through its Belt and Road Initiative, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Beijing has spent $11.2 billion worth of grants and loans on ports, highways and other infrastructure in Sri Lanka between 2006 and 2022, according to AidData, a research lab at William & Mary in Virginia. The US, by comparison, spent $97 million in that period.

Beijing’s massive infrastructure loans have led to accusations that it’s an irresponsible lender and drives countries to default. AidData said in a November report, however, that China has been recalibrating its lending drive to be more sustainable. Globally, China spends $80 billion in development finance to low- and middle-income countries, AidData said, compared with $60 billion by the US.

Still, the US has pitched itself as a more transparent alternative. The DFC has said its loan to fund the Colombo port won’t contribute to the country’s sovereign debt but declined to provide specifics on financing terms with the developer — a joint venture majority-owned by Adani, with smaller stakes held by Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings PLC and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Perhaps the most telling example illustrating how China’s infrastructure effort can go awry is located a few hours south of Colombo, in Hambantota. There, the Sri Lankan government used Chinese loans as part of a major development push conceived by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

But the project failed to attract the expected container-ship traffic, said Eleanor Hadland, senior analyst at Drewry. In exchange for $1.1 billion, the Sri Lankan government handed China Merchant Port Holdings Co. a 99-year lease on the port in 2017. With vast storage space on hand, it’s recently become a hub for automobile transshipments.

Last year, AidData said Beijing has spent more money on the port than any other in the world — and that it was a top contender for a Chinese military base. Sabry, the foreign minister, said Sri Lanka would not tolerate a foreign military presence on its soil.

Meanwhile, Colombo remains the site-of-choice for the thousands of ships that dock in Sri Lanka each year. Hadland described the US-backed project as “significantly less risky for the funding agency” given Colombo Port’s established place as a vessel hub.

In an interview, Nisha Biswal, deputy chief executive of DFC, said Sri Lanka is at “the crossroads of all seafaring commerce that transverses the Indo-Pacific,” and expanding the port serves the interests of maritime traffic and the island.

“This is a country that has been struggling economically, struggling with a lot of bad debt, and that has not yielded the economic returns for the country as it should have,” she said.TOC_BM
Protests ousted Sri Lanka’s last president. Ahead of new election, many are still waiting for change (AP)
AP [9/20/2024 1:02 AM, Seikh Saaliq, 456K, Neutral]
Two years ago, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans rose up against their president and forced him to flee the country. As the country prepares for its first election since then, many say they’re still waiting for change.

As Sri Lanka sank into economic collapse in 2022, people from various walks of life rallied to change a long-entrenched government they saw as responsible. The unprecedented island-wide public uprising they led was a moment of hope for the country long been fatigued by war and economic instability.

Days ahead of Saturday’s presidential election, many still complain of corrupt leaders, economic mismanagement, and the entrenched power of the political old guard, but former protesters are having a hard time coming together behind a candidate.

They agree on one thing: Sri Lanka needs a new political system that can take it out of economic and political turbulence.

Days after Rajapaksa fled the country, Sri Lanka’s parliament replaced him with then-prime minister Ranil Wickremensignhe in a vote that many protesters saw as a victory for the status quo.

Many Sri Lankans say the current government is largely made up of the same politicians who have ruled the island nation for decades through a devastating civil war that ended in 2009 to the economic crisis that began during the coronavirus pandemic.

Even though he was later jailed for seven days on charges of violence that saw Sri Lankan dissidents ransacking the presidential palace, 42-year-old physician Pathum Kerner said the protests achieved one goal: bringing in a new leader who could address the country’s economic woes.

The worst of the economic crisis is over, he says, but there’s still a long road ahead. “We wanted to create a new party, a new political culture, and emerging leaders, but we could not do that,” said Kerner, who joined the protests in their first days and helped to start the “Go Home, Gota” slogan that became a rallying cry for Rajapaksa’s foes.

Wickremensignhe has made progress steadying Sri Lanka’s economy, but discontent remains strong as he’s introduced economic policies that have raised the cost of living, like tax cuts and a debt restructuring program.

Meanwhile, many of the protest movement’s political demands remain unmet, from accountability from his predecessors for the economic crisis, to curtailment of president’s powers and a democratic replacement.

Ajantha Perera, an academic and scientist who was part of the protests, said she hoped at first that Wickremeisnghe would work with the protesters to find solutions to the crisis.

Instead, she said, the new president went after civil society leaders who were instrumental in the citizens’ movement, delayed local elections citing lack of funds, and protected the powerful Rajapaksa clan that had ruled Sri Lanka for more than 12 years.

“All of a sudden he turned into something totally different. He was trying to please the Rajapaksas who left,” Perera said.

Like many former protesters, she wants Sri Lanka to strip its presidency of most of its powers, moving them to a more powerful parliament and prime minister.

“Executive presidency is a white elephant for Sri Lanka,” she said, saying that any new president could use it to tighten their grip over the country. “We can’t afford it. We don’t need it.”

The former protesters are finding that they don’t always agree the course their country should take, spurring divisions between one-time allies.

Wickremensignhe’s main challengers — opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and parliamentarian Anura Dissanayake, a surprise top contender who heads a new leftist coalition — have promised major political changes, including renegotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund to win more favorable terms.

Dissanayake has even promised to nationalize the country’s resources to spur growth.

Those promises worry Kerner, who says he’s eager to hold the government to its promises but doesn’t trust leftists with the economy.

“Bringing in a leftist to this crisis,” Kerner said, “is like leaving laxatives to a patient who’s dying from dehydration.”

Human rights lawyer Swasthika Arulingam says that the emerging political splits among former protesters are a sign of healthier democracy.

Arulingam, who offered legal aid to protesters during the uprising, says Sri Lankans have become “politically conscious” after decades of voting on ethnic lines.

“This was the moment when the political status quo broke and people came out to the streets and demanded for systemic change. So definitely there’s a shift in politics in terms of the younger generation,” Arulingam said. “Political parties and candidates can no longer come and say whatever they want. People are asking questions now.”

The 37-year-old, a member of the minority Tamil community that bore the brunt of the civil war — is helping run a campaign for a candidate from the newly minted People’s Struggle Alliance. It’s another leftist political movement that is vying for a place in Sri Lanka’s political landscape.

On a recent afternoon in Homagama, a town which is about 24 kilometers (15 miles) south-east of Colombo, Arulingam spoke in front a small crowd of supporters and urged them to vote for change.

Arulingam admits her party won’t win this election, but she says it won’t hesitate to hit the streets again if the country’s politicians don’t meet demands for change.

“We are gearing up for a political fight, and we are preparing the ground,” she said.TOC_BM
Amid economic distress, Sri Lankans seek change through coming election (VOA)
VOA [9/19/2024 5:46 AM, Anjana Pasricha, 4566K, Neutral]
Two years after massive popular protests in Sri Lanka ousted former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the height of a crushing economic downturn, millions in the island nation will head to the polls Saturday to choose a new president.

The rallying cry at the protest movement, called "aragalaya," or struggle, was for an overhaul of the political establishment that many perceived as corrupt. That anger, which continues to fester, along with economic hardship that millions suffer will influence the vote, according to political analysts.

“They want a change of the system. That means that they don’t want the old ways where there was no transparency, no accountability,” Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo told VOA. “They want an alleviation of the economic hardship they are suffering.”

As they seek to usher in change, the island nation’s 17 million voters will choose among three main contenders. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by Parliament to the top post after Rajapaksa’s exit, is running as an independent candidate. His main challengers are opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and the leader of a Marxist-led alliance, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Wickremesinghe is wooing voters with the promise of building on the country’s fragile economic recovery that he has steered. He secured a nearly $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout, which pulled Sri Lanka back from the brink of bankruptcy, eased severe shortages of food and fuel and lowered runaway inflation.

“Like the Titanic, Sri Lanka could have sunk,” Wickremesinghe told a rally. “There was no captain. I took responsibility for the ship.”

Political analysts say he is attracting the support of people who respect him for restoring stability. “There are those who believe that he has gone to the IMF, he has got a deal with them and that we should continue with him to get out of the terrible mess that we got ourselves in and then start to rebuild again.” Saravanamuttu said.

However, people still cope with massive economic woes. Wickremesinghe slashed subsidies and imposed higher taxes as part of IMF austerity measures, which are hurting millions. Living costs have surged while incomes have stagnated. At least a quarter of the country’s 20 million people are reeling under poverty.

Some also see Wickremesinghe as a part of the “old political guard” which protesters sought to overthrow. He has been accused of protecting the Rajapaksa political family and shielding them from prosecution. Tough measures he took to curb protests, including drafting new security laws, angered many.

“I am voting for systematic change, not just a change of faces or end of the political elite that have run this country to the ground,” said Marisa De Silva, an activist in Colombo who took part in the 2022 protests. “We are proposing socialist policy changes for real change.”

That deep discontent has catapulted left-wing leader Dissanayake, popularly known as AKD, from the margins to the center stage of the political race. A fiery orator, his rallies have attracted huge crowds as he taps into the anger among many voters. He has vowed to work toward ensuring that the rich pay more taxes under the IMF restructuring plan. There are no reliable polls, but he is seen as a frontrunner in the race.

The National People’s Power alliance he heads is made up of different groups that include political parties, youth, civil society, women’s groups and trade unions. It is centered on the working class.

“They have never really been in power themselves, so they are presenting themselves as the party that can come in and sweep out the old guys, particularly corruption which is a big problem in Sri Lanka and which many blame for the current crisis,” Alan Keenan, a senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group, told VOA, “So he is seen as the big change agent,” he added.

Opposition leader Premadasa, who also pledges to ease the burden on ordinary citizens, is also a strong contender. He wants to steer a middle path between the status quo and the radical change that Dissanayake wants to usher in.

Another candidate is Namal Rajapaksa, the nephew of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was president when protesters stormed the presidential palace in 2022 after the economy collapsed. His father, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was also a former president. The Rajapaksas are widely blamed for the country’s financial mismanagement. Although Namal Rajapaksa is not a serious contender for power, his candidacy is a bid by the once-powerful political dynasty to win back their base, according to analysts.

A significant number of uncommitted voters has made it hard to forecast the election.

“The question is do voters want a radical change with someone who is untested, do they want to stick with the current program, which is painful but perhaps might lead somewhere eventually, or do they go want to go with someone who is critical of the current approach but not quite as radical as Dissanayake?” asked Keenan.TOC_BM
‘The hardship is still there’: Sri Lanka prepares to vote as hopes of revolution falter (The Guardian)
The Guardian [9/19/2024 9:00 PM, Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aanya Wipulasena, 92374K, Negative]
Just over two years ago, a mood of both crisis and optimism gripped Sri Lanka. Across the Indian Ocean island, the population of 23 million people was enduring hunger, medical shortages and unemployment as part of the worst economic disaster in its history.

Yet there was also a ripple of hope. A youth-led movement known as the aragalaya (struggle) had successfully toppled the authoritarian president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his powerful family dynasty, who were accused of bankrupting the country through corrupt deals and policies. Protesters overran Rajapaksa’s presidential mansion, lying on his bed, swimming in his pool and working out in his gym.

As Sri Lanka heads to the polls on Saturday to vote in a new president for the first time since the fall of Rajapaksa, many say the economic crisis continues to devastate lives - while much of the optimism of the aragalaya has faded away.

As a country that endured more than 26 years of civil war and still remains heavily divided along ethnic lines, Sri Lanka’s past elections have always been dominated by issues of race, religion and war. Most of the power and wealth continues to be held by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority, while the Tamil minority remain persecuted and economically and politically neglected.

Yet this time, it is an election primarily about the economy. Standing at her shuttered food stall in a suburb of Colombo, Seelavathi Nona, 42, said her family was struggling to survive and her only means of feeding her two children was microfinance loans. At the end of every day, she hands over all her earnings to pay back her debts, leaving her nothing to take home.

"The aragalaya movement didn’t achieve much," she said. "The only thing they did was remove the Rajapaksas. There is still no business and everything is expensive."

For the first time in recent history, analysts say widespread disenchantment with traditional politics means Saturday’s election is unlikely to deliver an overwhelming majority to any one candidate.

Three have emerged as frontrunners: the current president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was installed after Rajapaksa; Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition; and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, whose leftwing coalition has recently surged in popularity. Should a clear winner fail to emerge, there are concerns it could plunge Sri Lanka into further turmoil.

"Whoever wins faces daunting challenges," said Alan Keenan, a senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the NGO Crisis Group. "The economy is unlikely to get better any time soon, and to have a president without strong popular support could present a very tricky situation."

Wickremesinghe, the six-time former prime minister who took over as president in the last two years of Rajapaksa’s term is pushing himself as the face of economic stability, having negotiated a $2.9bn (\u00a32.1bn) bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as bolstering foreign currency reserves and bringing down inflation.

Yet while long queues outside petrol stations have disappeared and vital foreign imports have returned, levels of poverty have doubled in the past two years, affecting 25% of the country. Wickremesinghe’s unpopular policies have been blamed and are seen to have hit the poorest the hardest.

Many have questioned the strict conditions of the IMF loan, including high taxes, and the little long-term debt relief it provides, with some analysts accusing Wickremesinghe of having negotiated a flawed deal.

"As it stands - even in the best case scenario, even if Sri Lanka does absolutely everything that the IMF asks of it, does all the austerity measures and all the structural reforms which put huge pressures on the citizens - they will still be in a very precarious position," Keenan said.

While the aragalaya movement ignited a desire for change and a move away from the corrupt dynastic politics that has dominated Sri Lanka for decades, many see Wickremesinghe as part of the crooked old guard. As an unelected president with neither a popular mandate nor a parliamentary majority, he has relied heavily on support from the Rajapaksas’ party to get his measures passed.

Meanwhile, none of the Rajapaksas or their close associates have faced investigation or reprisal under Wickremesinghe’s government, despite widespread allegations of misappropriated state assets and human rights abuses. In a sign of how little has changed, Namal Rajapaksa - the nephew of the former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is among those accused of corruption - is also running for president.

Aththatage Lalitha, 72, said she hoped the election would bring about a much-needed political transformation. "We are hoping for a complete change to this system," she said. "How can we keep living this way? The cost of living has skyrocketed."

Lalitha said she would be voting for Premadasa, who as leader of the opposition for the past five years has cultivate an image of being a champion of the poor, running on a generous welfare agenda. "At least he is concerned about the poor man," she said.

For swathes of others, the appetite for a split from the past has led to a surge of support for a previous outsider, the leftwing leader Dissanayake, who heads the Marxist National People’s Power (NPP) coalition.

Dissanayake’s party won just 3% of the vote in 2019’s presidential election but this time they have mobilised support through a vast grassroots operation. Large numbers have been flocking to his rallies, drawn in by punchy campaigns pledging to go after those who stole Sri Lanka’s assets, and promising deep systemic change and an end to corruption, which were core demands of the aragalaya.

Chathuranga Abeysinghe, an executive committee member of NPP, said an awakening had occurred after the economic crisis and political protests of 2022 and claimed NPP was the party that had "best captured the spirit and demands of the aragalaya".

"The people have realised that the mandate they gave to consecutive governments over the past few decades has been repeatedly misused," said Abeysinghe. "They are fed up with family-based politics, they want to know where all the misappropriated assets have gone and they want a better economic outlook. We are the only party speaking about these demands."

Abeysinghe gave assurances that if the NPP gained power, it would finally hold past leaders, including the Rajapaksas, accountable for any corruption. However, many have voiced concern over the murky past of Dissanayake’s Marxist party, which in the 1980s led a bloody armed revolt against opponents using guerrilla forces and is still widely viewed with suspicion.

Abeysinghe said there had been a complete evolution of the party, and it now "steered away from violence at any cost". "There has been no complaint for 30 years, people know we have transformed and we stand for progressive democracy," he said.

Yet not all who took to the streets as part of the aragalaya two years ago were convinced their demands were being represented in this election. While the movement had spoken about the need for ethnic reconciliation and better representation for the Tamil minority, few believed that any of the frontrunners would be likely to address their concerns.

Chanu Nimasha, an activist who was part of the movement, said they believed it had ultimately been "hijacked" by political parties and those seeking power and influence.

"In the end, the aragalaya didn’t achieve much," said Nimasha. "People realised the power they had when they sent Gota [Gotabaya Rajapaksa] home. But what happened was not what we expected. The crisis took a new direction and the economic hardships are still there."TOC_BM
As Sri Lanka votes, a $2.9bn IMF loan looms large (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [9/19/2024 11:03 PM, Alexander Kozul-Wright, 25768K, Neutral]
Ahead of Sri Lanka’s presidential election, no issue is more central than the economy.

With the South Asian country still struggling from its worst financial crisis in decades, Saturday’s ballot amounts to a referendum on austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year.

In a crowded field of 38 candidates, all eyes are on three men: incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his two closest rivals, Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa, both of whom want a new deal with the Washington, DC-based lender.

A six-time prime minister, Wickremesinghe represents the old guard.

His United National Party (UNP) has been one of Sri Lanka’s dominant political forces since the country’s independence in 1948.

While Wickremesinghe’s supporters commend his $2.9bn IMF loan – and subsequent debt restructuring deals – Sri Lankans experienced a cost-of-living crisis on his watch, with inflation peaking at nearly 74 percent in 2022.

After the end of its civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka borrowed heavily to fund infrastructure-led growth.

Then, in 2019, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa introduced unfunded tax cuts. Fiscal pressures were compounded when the COVID-19 pandemic led tourism and remittance inflows to dry up.

In 2022, a surge in oil prices and rising US interest rates tipped Sri Lanka into a balance of payments crisis. To maintain imports, Colombo was forced to prop up its plunging currency – the rupee – by running down scarce international reserves.

Rajapaksa’s government faced an increasingly stark choice – continue servicing its international debt or pay for critical imports like food, fuel and medicine. In April 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted on $51bn of external debt.

By July, with the country facing shortages of essential goods and power blackouts, inflation was hovering at 60 percent. Anger over the government’s handling of the crisis led to mass street protests, forcing Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.

As Rajapaksa’s successor, Wickremesinghe was tasked with reversing Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.

With few options on the table, he turned to the IMF. In March 2023, Colombo agreed to a 48-month emergency loan. As with all IMF deals, it came with strict conditions.

In exchange for funds, Wickremesinghe was forced to remove electricity subsidies and double the rate of value-added tax (VAT).

“Wide-ranging austerity also included a sovereign debt restructuring,” Katrina Ell, director of economic research at Moody’s Analytics, told Al Jazeera.

Refinancing operations typically involve exchanging old debt instruments for new, more affordable ones. Sri Lanka’s foreign and domestic lenders had to accept equivalent losses of 30 percent as part of the IMF agreement.

“All these measures do not offer a quick fix,” Ell said.

Still, “Sri Lanka’s economy has shown meaningful signs of improvement” since 2022, she said.

The rupee has stabilised and inflation has come down sharply from its 2022 peak. The World Bank forecasts the economy to expand 2.2 percent in 2024, following two straight years of negative growth.

On the other hand, real wages remain significantly below pre-crisis levels and the country’s poverty rate has doubled, according to the World Bank.

Presidential contender Premadasa, whose Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party splintered off from Wickremesinghe’s UNP in 2020, has criticised the IMF deal.

Premadasa has argued that boosting export markets and strengthening the rule of law are the way forward.

Yet he is not the main candidate for change, according to Jayati Ghosh, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“That mantle falls to Anura,” Ghosh told Al Jazeera.

Dissanayake’s political stock has risen dramatically in recent months.

Though his far-left Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) secured just three seats in the last parliament, it has since re-branded itself to project a more mainstream image.

Today, the JVP represents a coalition of leftist groups. And while it receives strong support from young voters, those over 50 still recall the JVP’s attempts at insurrection in the late 1980s – a period of terror in southern Sri Lanka that led to between 60,000 and 100,000 deaths.

“Dissanayake has distanced himself from his party’s past and his old Marxist leanings,” Ghosh said. “And though he’s inched towards the centre, he’s still the progressive in the race.”

Dissanayake has pledged to increase Sri Lanka’s income tax-free threshold and exempt some health and food items from the 18 percent value-added tax to make them more affordable.

“Anura wants to change the Fund’s insistence on treating external and domestic debt equally,” Ghosh said.

“On top of regressive VAT increases, public pension funds bore a big brunt of the restructuring. Teachers and nurses had their pensions slashed. It’s criminal,” she added.

“Dissanayake would try and push the IMF to shift the burden away from ordinary Sri Lankans onto external creditors. Poor people’s livelihoods have already been badly hit. He has been far more critical on the debt issue than Premadasa.”

Following a $4.2bn debt restructuring with China’s Ex-Im Bank in October, Sri Lanka completed a $5.8bn restructuring with a number of countries including India and Japan in June.

In a last-minute agreement before the election, the country on Thursday clinched a deal with private investors to restructure $12.5bn of international bonds, clearing the way for the release of its fourth tranche of IMF bailout funds.

But, according to Ahilan Kadirgamar, a Sri Lankan economist, “it’s far too favourable to the creditors”.

“In theory, restructuring operations are meant to lower debt costs and free up public resources for things like education and healthcare. That’s not what’s happening in Sri Lanka,” Kadirgamar told Al Jazeera.

Sri Lanka’s debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio is expected to fall from 128 percent of GDP in 2022 to just above 100 percent by 2028, according to IMF forecasts. Debt servicing costs – the percentage of tax revenues needed to pay creditors – will also remain elevated.

“Recent financing deals were linked to the IMF’s 2023 debt sustainability analysis, which was flawed,” Kadirgamar said. “It didn’t provide enough debt relief, and it requires debt to be paid down through high budget surpluses, meaning less spending on public services.”

Sri Lanka’s fiscal balance went from a deficit of 3.7 percent of GDP in 2022 to a surplus of 0.6 percent in 2023.

“In part, that came from less spending on infrastructure projects … which may well result in lower growth, making future debt dynamics worse,” Kadirgamar said.

Sri Lanka’s fiscal position is also hindered by a low tax base.

According to the World Bank, tax revenue collection as a share of GDP is typically in the range of 15-20 percent in low and middle-income countries. In Sri Lanka, it is about 8 percent – among the lowest in the world.

Kadirgamar said that “years of liberal free-market policies” and the “disastrous 2019 budget” had undermined fiscal stability.

“Whoever wins the election should focus on overhauling the IMF deal and introducing a wealth tax,” he said.

Kadirgamar said the country also continues to be too dependent on imports.

“I think we should build out industries linked to Sri Lanka’s natural resources,” he said, pointing to the country’s “enormous oceanic resources” including seafood and off-shore wind.

Elsewhere, investing in Sri Lanka’s coconut and dairy industries could “expand the rural tax net and reduce foreign exchange constraints”, Kadirgamar said.

“Sri Lanka’s recovery is still fragile. Trying to alter the terms of the IMF package may cause short-term pain,” he added.

“But on the current trajectory, I fear Sri Lanka will enter repeated defaults in the future. It’s time to get our house in order.”TOC_BM
As Sri Lanka Heads to the Polls, Economy Takes Center Stage (Foreign Policy)
Foreign Policy [9/19/2024 3:14 PM, Amita Arudpragasam, 1851K, Positive]
On Sept. 21, 17 million Sri Lankans will cast their vote to select the country’s next president. This is the first popular election since the country defaulted on its sovereign debt payments in 2022 and spiraled into its worst economic crisis since it gained independence in 1948.

Sri Lanka’s new leader will take the reins of a country still grappling with economic hardship. In 2022, lines for fuel, daily power cuts, severe inflation, and a shortage of drugs and essential goods led to mass protests that forced the resignations of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, then-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Since poverty levels doubled in 2022, more than 27 percent of Sri Lanka’s population remains below the poverty line, and more than 30 percent of households continue to face food insecurity.

Sri Lankans now have 38 presidential candidates to pick from, reflecting the country’s uncertain political environment. Many are unsure about which presidential aspirant, if any, can provide the leadership required to lift the country out of its economic predicament. Sri Lanka has a ranked-choice voting system. It’s possible that none of the top contenders will secure the 50 percent majority required to win office in the first round of vote counting and that voters’ second preferences will help determine the winner.

Still, some candidates can be ruled out from the list of likely winners, including Namal Rajapaksa, the son of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is heir to the political dynasty that is widely blamed for Sri Lanka’s economic mismanagement and collapse. Though he is not a serious contender for president, his campaign is likely an attempt to rebuild the image of his family’s now-fragmented party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

The top contenders are incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of a Marxist-Leninist communist party.

Wickremesinghe, who is running as an independent candidate after his United National Party (UNP) was split and weakened in 2020, markets himself as the only leader who can better the country’s economic situation. As evidenced by his choice of symbol-the gas cylinder-his campaign has relied on negative marketing by stoking fears about the return of gas shortages, fuel lines, and other hardships. Although both Dissanayake and Premadasa have served as government ministers before, Wickremesinghe’s campaign has emphasized his experience as a six-time prime minister and claims that only he can make the lives of Sri Lankans better.

However, while the country has seen some necessary economic progress under Wickremesinghe, including the creation of a fuel distribution system and an end to gas and food shortages, he remains unpopular for carrying out austerity measures in the wake of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout last year. Voters across the country are beginning to feel the burden of higher taxes, poor social protection mechanisms, and increased electricity and water tariffs.

Wickremesinghe’s legacy is also tainted by his use of state violence to suppress dissent. In 2022, the newly appointed president deployed the police and military to violently dismantle protest camps, despite announcements from protesters that they planned to leave. His government also arrested key protest leaders using Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, which both Premadasa and Dissanayake have pledged to abolish if elected.

Under Wickremesinghe’s watch, an anti-drug and anti-organized crime operation called Yukthiya has raised concerns among human rights groups for carrying out arbitrary detentions and intimidating lawyers, according to human rights advocate and attorney Ambika Satkunanathan. Despite Wickremesinghe’s efforts to distance himself from the deeply unpopular Rajapaksas, some Sri Lankans may want a leader who can offer them a fresh start.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leftist leader, most closely reflects the system overhaul that Sri Lankan citizens once yearned for. In the 2020 general elections, the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance-which is led by Dissanayake’s Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-secured just three of 225 seats. Dissanayake, who is more charismatic and a better orator than his rivals, has seen his popularity surge in the wake of the economic crisis.

Dissanayake’s manifesto demonstrates that his policy approach-routinely mischaracterized by his rivals-departs from what one might expect of a Marxist-Leninist leader. Notably, he has not only agreed to work with the IMF, but he has also pledged to increase market competitiveness, transparency, and efficiency; to increase Sri Lanka’s share of foreign trade through export diversification; and to increase foreign direct investment.

Unlike some revolutionary leftist figures, Dissanayake does not appear to be either a protectionist or an isolationist. Still, he faces resistance from older voters, primarily because of the violent history of his party in the 1970s and 1980s, when JVP insurrections against the government led to the killing of thousands of people.

Meanwhile, Sajith Premadasa, Wickremesinghe’s former deputy who now leads the main opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), has taken a different strategy: putting forward a comparatively more articulate economics team. Though Premadasa is not a powerful orator himself, his team has prioritized its policy proposals and convincingly communicated the SJB’s economic vision in public debates, including the critical question of how to raise revenue to implement its policy plan.

Premadasa also starts with a more substantial voter base in this election: He earned 5.5 million votes in the 2019 presidential election, compared to Dissanayake, who earned around 419,000. Yet his affiliation with lawmakers who were once part of the Rajapaksa regime makes him less representative of the system change that voters may seek. Where Wickremesinghe represents complete stability and Dissanayake represents a sharp change, however, Premadasa may strike the right balance with voters.

Premadasa and Dissanayake have both promised to shift the burden of austerity away from poorer Sri Lankans. Both candidates have also repeated their pledge to abolish the executive presidency, which concentrates state power in the office of the president with minimal checks and balances, in a bid to promote transparency and accountability; this was a key demand of protesters in 2022.

While the executive presidency allows for decisive action, it also creates a culture of servility and space for incompetent decision-making. In 2021, for example, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was empowered to introduce a synthetic fertilizer ban overnight that would devastate agricultural yields. Of the three main contenders in this election, Wickremesinghe is considered least likely to abolish the executive presidency-which was introduced by his relative and former president, J. R. Jayewardene, in 1978.

Dissanayake and Premadasa have both also pledged to establish a public prosecutor’s office and promised to take swift legal action against the perpetrators of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks that killed more than 300 people. Critically, both Premadasa and Dissanayake have much stronger anti-corruption pledges in their manifestos, including proposing plans or legislation for recovering stolen public assets. Wickremesinghe and his close political affiliates are still tainted by old and new corruption scandals alike.

There is a silver lining to this campaign season despite Sri Lanka’s economic woes. Regardless of how the election unfolds, broader discourse in Sri Lanka has been far more positive than in previous years. During the 2019 election, anti-minority rhetoric and ultranationalism were a large part of political campaigns. And too often in Sri Lanka’s history, presidential candidates have tried to secure victory by depicting minorities as the public enemy and appealing to the Sinhala Buddhist majority. The notable absence of such ethnic outbidding in this election cycle may be a result of candidates trying to secure minority votes.

In a bid to attract undecided voters, the main presidential candidates have made highly publicized visits to the country’s Northern Province, which is dominated by Sri Lankan Tamils, who make up 11 percent of the country’s total population. All three candidates have promised to devolve more powers to regional governments, though Dissanayake has done so in less precise terms. Wickremesinghe has apologized for the government’s policy of forced cremations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that denied Muslims their religious rights; Premadasa has actively opposed this anti-minority policy.

Finally, economic policy discourse in the country has improved dramatically since the 2022 crisis, with think tanks, media, and civil society organizations reporting on and educating citizens about the economy as well as on politics. As a result, there is greater pressure on all the candidates to justify their economic policies-whether they propose tax cuts, increases in public-sector salaries, or particular visions for economic growth. Two years since economic collapse, Sri Lankan citizens are headed to the polls better informed and actively debating the hows and whys of the country’s economic recovery and growth.TOC_BM
Sri Lanka’s elite face voters’ judgment in first poll since plunge into economic crisis (Financial Times)
Financial Times [9/19/2024 7:15 PM, John Reed, Mahendra Ratnaweera, and Joseph Cotterill, 14.2M, Neutral]
Sri Lanka will on Saturday hold its first election since it suffered a default and a political uprising in 2022, a vote seen as a referendum on the ruling elites who steered the south Asian country into economic crisis.

The presidential poll comes as Sri Lanka seeks to complete a $3bn IMF bailout agreed last year and to finalise the restructuring of the island nation’s multilateral and bilateral debt.

While dozens of candidates are on the ballot, the limited opinion polling available suggests Anura Kumara Dissanayake, 55, of the leftist National People’s Power coalition is the frontrunner in a three-way race against candidates backed by parties that have long dominated Sri Lankan politics.

Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, served as prime minister under former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country in July 2022 as protesters angered by fuel shortages and power cuts over-ran his palace. Centre-right candidate and current opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, 57, is the son of a late former president.

Namal Rajapaksa, 38, a nephew of the president ousted in 2022, is also running, but his chances are seen as slim.

At a rally in the capital Colombo ahead of the close of campaigning on Wednesday night, Dissanayake vowed to crack down on corrupt politicians, abolish value added tax on essential items and cut electricity tariffs and fuel prices.

“We will reopen all cases of crime and corruption and punish everyone involved,” he said to cheers from crowd members clad in NPP’s red colours. “We know how to bring in dollars to the country and how to protect dollar reserves.”

While all the leading presidential candidates accept the need for the IMF bailout, Dissanayake’s NPP has pledged to renegotiate its terms and called for Sri Lanka’s bondholders to accept bigger write-offs than previously agreed.

Wickremesinghe, who took over as acting president after Rajapaksa was toppled, was able to put a stop to the protests and ease shortages and power cuts. He has cast himself on the campaign trail as the guarantor of financial stability who has “now completed” Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring.

“I took charge of a country that was sinking like the Titanic and guided the economy back on course,” he told a rally in the south-western city of Galle on Wednesday. “On September 21, I seek the people’s mandate to steer the ship to port and bring victory to the nation.”

However, Sri Lanka has yet to fully deal with the fallout of its April 2022 default, which came after it ran out of foreign currency to pay commodity import bills sent soaring by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The default — the first of a series of emerging market debt crises during the pandemic — was the culmination of years of poor economic policymaking, including the launch of huge infrastructure projects funded by heavy borrowing from the country’s biggest sovereign creditor, China.

On Thursday, the government said it had reached a draft agreement with holders of $12.5bn in defaulted bonds after the IMF objected to a restructuring deal it had reached within them in June.

The revised agreement with bondholders “almost completes” the restructuring, but still required a formal sign-off from the IMF and creditors, the government said.

Sri Lanka’s foreign currency bonds had fallen to trade at just over 50 cents on the dollar after the June deal, as investors grew concerned that a final agreement might be delayed until after the election. The bonds rallied slightly on Thursday on news that the deal was at least progressing.

The IMF has forecast that Sri Lanka’s public debt will still roughly equal its gross domestic product by 2027, signalling that the country’s finances will remain precarious for years.

While austerity has pushed more Sri Lankans into poverty, economic growth has rebounded to an annual rate of about 5 per cent in the past two quarters.

Economic analysts warned that Sri Lanka’s next leader would also face the scrutiny of an IMF review before the end of the year and would still have to implement the deal with bondholders.

“The way out is tough,” said Dhananath Fernando, chief executive of Advocata, a research think-tank. Another IMF programme, which would be Sri Lanka’s 18th, would be needed “if we can’t grow the economy and make the debt sustainable”, Fernando said.

The restructuring process could be complicated by the calls from Dissanayake and Premadasa for changes to some of the targets agreed with creditors.

Dissanayake has since 2014 led the People’s Liberation Front or JVP, a Marxist party that led bloody rebellions in 1971 and from 1987-80.

The JVP captured only a small portion of the vote in past elections, but has attracted a larger following since forming the NPP in coalition with other parties and groups in 2019, softening its political rhetoric and adopting the struggle against corruption in public life as its primary cause.

Under Sri Lanka’s presidential election rules, a candidate who takes more than 50 per cent of the vote wins outright. If none do, then optional second and third preference votes are added to the tally of the two leading candidates to decide the winner.

“It’s incorrect to describe the NPP as a Marxist grouping,” said Nishan de Mel, chief executive of Verité Research. “However, it represents something significantly more leftwing than anything Sri Lanka has had since the 1980s.”

Yasiru Rasanga, a 21-year-old university student who attended Wednesday’s rally, said he supported Dissanayake because “other politicians want only to get our money, but they do nothing”.

Viduri Pabasara Wickramasingha, a lecturer in nursing, said the leftist candidate had “all the experience” to remedy Sri Lanka’s economic pain. “We have this little bit of sunshine,” she said. “The NPP would make this country a better place than it was yesterday.”TOC_BM
Sri Lankans Want Change. They Deserve Continuity (Bloomberg – opinion)
Bloomberg [9/19/2024 5:00 PM, Mihir Sharma, 27782K, Neutral]
For decades, power in Sri Lanka alternated between two main parties. The fact that there are now three candidates with a legitimate shot at victory in Saturday’s election underscores how thoroughly the old political system has fractured. The winner’s first task must be to maintain some semblance of stability.

Once a model of development, Sri Lanka has suffered a turbulent few years. In 2022, it fell into default for the first time thanks to some seriously questionable economic policies. Protests in Colombo forced the then-president out of office. His prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was eventually appointed his successor.

Wickremesinghe moved swiftly to stabilize the economy and reach an agreement with Sri Lanka’s lenders, including the International Monetary Fund. He can claim some success: Inflation declined to 1.3% in September 2023 compared to 69.8% a year earlier, while foreign exchange reserves rose to $3.1 billion, or over two months of imports, from $500 million during the crisis.

While the human cost has been high, and the economic turnaround is not complete, the relatively swift return of economic normalcy should logically make the incumbent the front-runner. Instead, the 75-year-old Wickremesinghe, who heads the venerable, center-right United National Party, is running an increasingly distant third.

As the US learned this year, voters don’t always look kindly on septuagenarians unwilling to leave the political scene. Wickremesinghe’s desire to hold onto power — he was first elected prime minister in 1993, but had never previously been president — has proved to be fatal for the UNP.

The question is whether the economy can survive his departure. His administration has built a platform for recovery and even growth. Even so, the country remains heavily indebted. Any fresh shock could tip it back over the edge.

The two leading candidates have cast themselves as change agents. The frontrunner, Sajith Premadasa, was long Wickremesinghe’s rival for power within the UNP and is the son of a former president. (Wickremesinghe is the nephew of another. Sri Lanka is a country with long-lived political dynasties.)

When he left the UNP in 2020, Premadasa seems to have taken most of its voters with him. Many worry he has also abandoned its economic liberalism. While he may not scupper the reform plan entirely, relations with the IMF will undoubtedly become more complicated if he wins.

His closest rival, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, heads the left-wing Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party. He’s defined himself as an insurgent outsider, seeking to harness the energy of the anti-government protests of two years ago, and is running as the candidate of a coalition of parties and not of the JVP alone.

Typically for such makeovers, there is a dark past Dissanayake wants voters to overlook. The JVP platform is a classically Sri Lankan mixture of Maoism, ethnic supremacism, and economic populism. The island is dominated by the Sinhala ethnic group, and the left of its political spectrum has always had a tinge of Sinhala majoritarianism about it.

Dissanayake has sought to present himself as having moderated on economics and accepted the need to grow exports to pay for imports. But he has clearly sought the votes of those who blame Wickremesinghe’s reforms for a decline in living standards — when, in fact, the rise in poverty is largely due to scarring from the crisis, particularly the lingering effects of high inflation.

Certainly, political reform is important. Wickremesinghe has had a hard time pursuing accountability for past corruption since he depends for support on the parties and personalities who were in power before the crisis.

But the end point of any reform program must be the restoration of general prosperity and growth. Achieving that will require both political and policy stability. The country has already seen what instability and impulsiveness can deliver: The last crisis was entirely driven by ill-advised policy.

Sri Lanka has painstakingly managed this July to work out a preliminary deal on $12.6 billion of its total foreign debt of more than $40 billion. But that’s now been put in jeopardy, and investors are worried about the increased political uncertainty.

Without a good deal on debt, investment and growth will not return to the island, and living standards will remain depressed. That will only feed the cycle of anger and disillusionment that leads to political crises.

Sri Lanka’s new leaders must demonstrate they are more responsible than the old guard they revile. Otherwise, a presidential election that should bring years of turbulence to a close might precipitate a new crisis.TOC_BM
US delegation visit: A new chapter in Bangladesh-US relations? (The Daily Star – opinion)
The Daily Star [9/20/2024 1:00 AM, Shamsher M Chowdhury, BB, 27782K, Neutral]
As expected, the recent visit to Dhaka by the US delegation led by Brent Neiman, assistant secretary for international finance at the US Department of Treasury, accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and USAID and trade officials, was the subject of much speculation by all and sundry here, both prior to their arrival and since their departure.

The symbolic value of the visit and its timing cannot be overemphasised, this being the first such visit from any country since the change of guards in Dhaka on August 5—that, too, from Washington. Added to this is the fact that Donald Lu, a key figure in Bangladesh-US relations, landed in Dhaka after spending four days in Delhi attending the 2+2 dialogue, a regular event in the framework of Indo-US bilateral strategic relations, in which the confluences outweigh the divergences—or more appropriately, the diversions.

Official comments from both sides following the meetings between the US delegation and Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur, and the foreign secretary focused, among other things, on an "expression of strong commitment [from the US] to work with the interim government." The US embassy in Dhaka posted on its Facebook page, "Our delegation met Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, affirming our dedication to fostering inclusive economic growth, institution building, and development to benefit the people of Bangladesh. As Bangladesh looks to chart a more equitable and inclusive future, the US stands ready to support those efforts."

On the face of it, the emphasis was on Washington’s readiness to provide economic, technical and financial support for reforms in areas such as the banking sector, which has been weakened as a primary vehicle for large-scale corruption and money laundering over the last decade and a half. The signing of an agreement under which the US would provide $200 million to Bangladesh as development support was possibly the first step in this journey.

For his part, Prof Yunus highlighted his administration’s goals to quickly "reset, reform and restart" the economy, initiate financial sector reforms, and strengthen institutions. He then spelt out the steps taken so far in this pursuit, including the formation of six separate commissions to address reforms in key areas and state institutions, the most important of which was amending, or refixing, the country’s constitution. The US delegation, in response, praised the chief adviser’s leadership and expressed Washington’s willingness to support his reform agenda.

In remarks to the media, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin noted that the US side also brought up the recent developments in Myanmar and humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya in Bangladesh. He said, "We spoke about eliminating the root causes of the Rohingya crisis." The significance of talking of the "recent developments in Myanmar" and linking that to "eliminating the root causes of the Rohingya crisis" cannot be lost, because implicit in this is a possible assessment of the role of military junta in Myanmar. Were they alluding to a regime change in Myanmar to facilitate the return of the Rohingya? One can only speculate.

In reviewing the public language from the US delegation, three words that should stand out are "support," "equitable," and "inclusive." It appears that Washington is focused on helping Prof Yunus and his team advance a process of political, social, and economic reforms, emphasising that sustainable and durable economic development is best achieved in a truly democratic environment—one that involves all segments of society. To achieve that, setting an arbitrary time frame for the interim government’s tenure may not be the best path forward.

This aligns with comments made by US deputy secretary of state for management and resources, Richard Verma, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, where he said, "It is in everyone’s interest to support a democratic, peaceful, and lawful transition in Bangladesh," adding that "the timing of fresh elections and the duration of the interim government is for the people of Bangladesh to decide." Verma’s remarks should be viewed within the broader context of the US position on the dramatically changed situation in Bangladesh.

It is perhaps necessary to try and discern, if at all possible, what the hard political content of the discussions with the chief adviser was and what, if anything, was discussed in Delhi regarding the current situation in Bangladesh. Understandably, there were no public statements by either side on this. The US delegates’ meeting with the chief adviser lasted at least an hour, and it is reasonable to assume that this time was not solely spent discussing the reform process, which is already publicly known.

Further inquiry should focus on the political talking points, as well as the immediate, mid-term and long-term implications for Bangladesh on the broader geopolitical stage, especially given Washington’s visible support for the interim government in Dhaka. In the prevailing global political climate, relations between states, large and small, do not remain confined to the bilateral frame only—they spread wider into the region and beyond. Similar visits, therefore, from others including Washington’s allies before the year is over cannot be ruled out. It will also be of great interest to watch what transpires at the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof Yunus on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this month in New York, assuming such a meeting takes place.

Observers believe the visit signals a retooling of Bangladesh-US relations, which have been noticeably strained in recent times. The imposition of sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and some of its officials by the US Department of Treasury, along with a visa restriction policy affecting certain officials, did not go down well in Dhaka. At the same time, repeated public references by the former prime minister to the US seeking a military base in St Martin’s Island in exchange for Washington’s support were cases in point. Washington’s open criticism of the non-participatory and severely flawed national elections, particularly in 2018 and 2024, further strained the relationship.TOC_BM
Central Asia
‘Russian NATO’ Loses Ground In Moscow’s Former Backyard (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [9/20/2024 4:13 AM, Bruno Kalouaz, 1.4M, Neutral]
Even as Russia stages a series of military drills with its allies in Central Asia, Moscow’s hold over a region it considers its own backyard appears to be growing increasingly tenuous.

Bogged down by its all-out war on Ukraine, now dragging through a third year, Russia is visibly losing its historic role as the key power broker in both Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The fate of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a military alliance of ex-Soviet states, highlights the challenges facing the Kremlin as it seeks to maintain and advance its geopolitical sway across Eurasia.

Often referred to as a "Russian NATO", the alliance was formed in 1992 to fill the security vacuum left by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But three decades on, the bloc is struggling with "serious issues of competitiveness and viability," Armenian analyst Hakob Badalyan told AFP.

Yerevan is boycotting the organisation, though it has remained a formal member.

It accuses the CSTO -- and therefore Moscow -- of abandoning it amid conflict with arch-foe Azerbaijan.

It is not the first membership challenge faced by the CSTO, which comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, alongside Russia and Armenia.

Baku left in 1999, alongside Caucasus neighbour Georgia. Uzbekistan followed suit in 2012.

Both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan ignored calls to rejoin the alliance last year.

Russia’s difficulties across Central Asia and the Caucasus stand in contrast to its successes in forging and deepening alliances with the likes of China, India, Iran, North Korea and several African countries amid its invasion of Ukraine.

Badalyan sees those developments as connected.

"At war with Ukraine, Russia has far fewer resources to fully play its role as the CSTO’s military-technical leader," he said.

The CSTO still has a role to play in the region, others suggested -- though the idea of it acting as a powerful Russian alternative to NATO is questionable.

For instance, the alliance intervened in Kazakhstan in 2022, where predominantly Russian "peacekeeping forces" helped quell deadly anti-government riots and stabilise President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s regime.

At the time, Russia and the CSTO positioned themselves as guarantors of stability for allied authoritarian regimes -- a scenario that now seems impossible to replicate.

The CSTO’s role in the region has also shifted following the Taliban’s military takeover in Afghanistan in 2021.

According to Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Russian Institute of CIS Countries, the group has helped by "ensuring the stability of Central Asian countries bordering Afghanistan" over the last three years.

"If there haven’t been any serious conflicts involving Afghanistan and Central Asian nations, it’s largely due to Russian military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan," he said.

Moscow and its closest ally Minsk hope military drills in Kyrgyzstan last week, and Kazakhstan next week, will show the alliance still has geopolitical relevance.

"By holding these exercises, we show the international community and all our enemies that we are ready to face any threat," Belarusian official Gennady Lepeshko said in the Kyrgyz town of Balykchy, where last week’s drills took place.

But the alliance appears split even on the definition of who those "enemies" are.

While Russia sees the West as an existential threat, Central Asian states and Armenia are strengthening ties with the United States and Europe.

Aside from Belarus, none have backed Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

And even Minsk -- financially, politically, economically and militarily reliant on Moscow -- does not recognise Russia’s territorial claims over eastern Ukraine.

Western countries are not blind to the possible geopolitical opening in the region.

This week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Central Asia, where his hosts urged him to invest in energy and transport infrastructure to connect the region to Europe, bypassing Russia.

In July, Central Asian states held their first joint military exercises without Moscow, while Armenia hosted joined military drills with the United States.

The region is also being courted beyond the West, including militarily.

Kazakhstan hosted special forces from Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey for drills in September, held under the banner of "limitless friendship."

China is expanding its security influence in Central Asia, both through bilateral agreements and its own regional bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Drawing on cultural ties with fellow Turkic-speaking nations, Ankara has also boosted arms supplies.

Sensing the challenge, there is little chance of Russian President Vladimir Putin simply accepting his country’s diminished influence in a region it ruled over for decades.

"The time has come to begin a broad discussion on a new system of collective security in Eurasia," he said back in June.TOC_BM
Tajik migrants with suspected ISIS ties planned to attack a LGBTQ spot in Philadelphia: sources (New York Post)
New York Post [9/19/2024 6:48 PM, Jennie Taer, 62652K, Negative]
The group of Tajik migrants with suspected ties to ISIS had been planning an attack on an LGBTQ establishment in Philadelphia and looked to target "infidels" before they were pinched in June, The Post has learned.

The eight terror suspects from Tajikistan crossed the southern border, some using the Harris-Biden administration’s CBP One phone app, and federal agents didn’t uncover any information suggesting terrorism ties, sources said.

They were nabbed as part of a multi-state sting that spanned New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles - with one of the suspects caught on wiretap talking about bombs, sources previously said.

But it later emerged that the group had also planned the attack in the City of Brotherly Love, a Congressional source told The Post, without elaborating. A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement source also said that the group had been discussing targeting "infidels" in the US.

It is not clear how the group planned to carry out the attack or its exact location.

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the FBI responded to The Post’s requests for comment.

Months before the arrests, FBI Director Chris Wray warned of the possibility that ISIS could be exploiting an open southern border.

He had also expressed concerns to lawmakers of the possibility of a "coordinated attack" that could take place on US soil following an ISIS-K attack on a concert hall in Moscow - carried out by citizens of Tajikistan - that killed 145 people and wounded hundreds more.

ISIS-K, which stands for Islamic State Khorasan, a region in South Asia, is an offshoot of the Islamic State terror organization.

"Our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home," Wray told a House Appropriations subcommittee.

"But now, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia concert hall a couple weeks ago."

Wray had also earlier disclosed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that a human smuggling operation with ties to terrorists from ISIS-affiliated groups was operating at the southern border.

"I want to be a little bit careful how far I can go in open session, but there is a particular network that, where some of the overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ISIS ties that we’re very concerned about and that we’ve been spending enormous amount of effort with our partners investigating," the FBI director said in response to a question from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

"Exactly what that network is up to is something that’s, again, the subject of our current investigation," he added.

The FBI was also probing a smuggling ring where a Turkish smuggler tied to ISIS helped dozens of migrants from Uzbekistan cross the US-Mexico border, CNN reported last August.

Border Patrol agents have caught a record number of migrants crossing the southern border illegally whose names appear on the terror watchlist in recent years, with such encounters jumping from 11 in the financial years 2017 through 2020 to 382 between financial years 2021 and August 2024, according to federal data.

As migrants poured across the southern border in unprecedented numbers under the Harris-Biden administration, federal authorities accidentally allowed several migrants with known or suspected terror ties to slip through the cracks.

One of them was Mohammad Kharwin, 48, who crossed the California border illegally in March 2023 and was freed into the US before the feds realized his suspected terror ties.

It took nearly a year for the FBI to notify ICE that Kharwin was a suspected member of the US-designated foreign terror group Hezb-e-Islami.

He was then arrested in February, but let go a second time by a judge who was unaware of the alleged terrorist’s background before authorities scrambled and rearrested him yet again.

Border agents also released a 27-year-old Somali national, who has not been identified by name, despite him being a "confirmed member of al Shabaab," a designated terror organization, ICE earlier admitted.

The man who was said to be "involved in the use, manufacture or transportation of explosives or firearms," was released after crossing the border in California illegally in March 2023.

ICE didn’t nab him for almost a year in Minnesota.

Border Patrol agents themselves have said they are releasing terrorists and criminals into the country because they don’t have enough time or background information to effectively vet border crossers.

"What you’re seeing now is only gonna get worse," one Border Patrol agent previously told The Post.TOC_BM
Indo-Pacific
Biden, ‘Quad’ leaders to talk maritime security as China tensions grow (Reuters)
Reuters [9/20/2024 1:07 AM, Trevor Hunnicutt, 5.2M, Neutral]
Tensions brewing in Asia’s trade-rich waters top the agenda as U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes leaders from Australia, India and Japan to his Delaware hometown for a diplomatic push to counter China in the waning months of his presidency.

Biden heads to Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday ahead of the Quad Leaders Summit, where the leaders are expected to speak about conflict between Beijing and its neighbors in the South China Sea who have repeatedly clashed over disputed territory, U.S. officials told Reuters.

On the agenda: stepped-up security cooperation in the Indian Ocean and progress to track illegal fishing fleets operating in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, most of which were Chinese.

Biden is set to hand over the presidency after a Nov. 5 election that will deliver the White House to his vice president, Kamala Harris, or Republican Donald Trump, who has vowed a confrontational approach with China and voiced skepticism about traditional U.S. alliances.

Whether the Quad can survive Biden’s presidency and keep tensions at bay is an open question. In addition to the handover at the White House next year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will step down this month.

"You’ll see a number of different signs throughout this meeting and the deliverables that the Quad is a bipartisan institution that is here to stay," a senior U.S. official said.

The Quad is also expected to discuss health security, cancer treatment, technology and infrastructure measures.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including territory inside exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. It also claims territories in the East China Sea contested by Japan and Taiwan. China also views self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory.

Biden has vowed to compete with China without letting their differences veer into conflict, and he is set to speak again soon with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But his desire to focus on the relationship with China has been sidetracked by conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

Xi has objected to the Quad grouping, seeing it as an effort to encircle Beijing and ramp up conflict.

"It’s no secret that this is a partnership that, although it is not against China, seeks to offer alternatives to China," the senior Biden administration official said.

"A new Quad maritime security initiative would send a very strong signal to China, that its maritime bullying is unacceptable, and that it would be met with coordinated action by this coalition of like-minded nations," said Lisa Curtis, an Asia policy expert at the Center for a New American Security and former U.S. administration official.

Such a move, which could involve the Coast Guard, would demonstrate that there is a security element to the Quad, despite Indian sensitivities on the need for the grouping to avoid the defense domain, Curtis said.

"China’s recent maritime aggression, could be changing the equation for India, and could be prompting India to become a bit more open to the idea of Quad security cooperation," she said.

Trump has said he plans to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week. India plans to host the next Quad meeting, an early expected stop for whoever wins the United States election in November.TOC_BM
Twitter
Afghanistan
Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[9/19/2024 3:27 PM, 236.6K followers, 135 retweets, 401 likes]
“We tried, we failed, we turned our backs. This is no option,” MEP Hannah Neumann says in a powerful address to the Europeans Parliament , urging all those who supported the intervention in Afghanistan to take responsibility for the disaster.

Jahanzeb Wesa
@JahanzebWesa
[9/19/2024 7:22 PM, 236.6K followers, 6 retweets, 9 likes]
Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, the situation for #AfghanWomen and girls has dramatically deteriorated. While there has been little international action, a recent case at the ICC may provide a legal roadmap to prosecute the Taliban: https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/09/what-icc-case-mali-means-prosecuting-taliban-gender-crimes
Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[9/19/2024 2:09 PM, 3.1M followers, 42 retweets, 170 likes]
Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif attends a ceremony in connection with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[9/19/2024 2:11 PM, 3.1M followers, 4 retweets, 5 likes]
Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif addressing a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy as part of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[9/19/2024 2:12 PM, 3.1M followers, 6 retweets, 5 likes]
Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Pakistan Mr Jiang Zaidong cutting a cake to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[9/19/2024 8:32 AM, 3.1M followers, 8 retweets, 17 likes]
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Alexei Overchuk called on the Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif today. “Pakistan is keen to expand trade, economic, energy, connectivity and security cooperation with Russia.” ~ Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Both leaders also witnessed signing of a MoU between Russia and Pakistan, which signifies the shared understanding and desire of the two countries to further strengthen mutually advantageous cooperation in all areas of shared interest, especially trade, investment, energy, IT, agriculture, science & technology and education.

Anas Mallick
@AnasMallick
[9/19/2024 11:07 PM, 73.6K followers, 4 retweets, 17 likes]
Pakistan’s Ambassador in the US, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh meets President Biden, presents his credentials - President Biden said that he looked forward to working to advance common agenda and deepen bonds between the two countries. #Pakistan #USA
India
Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[9/19/2024 11:34 AM, 3.2M followers, 210 retweets, 1.2K likes]
An evening of devotion and spiritual unison. Paid tributes to Padma Bhushan Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan, founder of Ganesh Natyalaya, for her immense contribution to the spread of Bharatnatyam across the world. Witnessed enthralling performances celebrating #SwarnaSaroja - marking 50 years of Ganesh Natyalaya.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[9/19/2024 6:43 AM, 3.2M followers, 135 retweets, 1K likes]
Spoke with the new Ukrainian FM @andrii_sybiha today. Congratulated him on his appointment. Look forward to working with him.
NSB
Sabria Chowdhury Balland
@sabriaballand
[9/20/2024 1:47 AM, 7.2K followers]
In the last one and a half months, over 150 cases have been filed against Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted on August 5, following a student-led mass uprising. Of these, 140 are murder cases, while 10 involve charges of attempted murder, threats, harassment & assault. #Bangladesh

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[9/19/2024 4:23 AM, 109.9K followers, 143 retweets, 148 likes]
The President conveys Constitution Day Greetings to the President and Prime Minister of Nepal https://presidency.gov.mv/Press/Article/31633

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives
@MoFAmv
[9/19/2024 10:08 AM, 54.7K followers, 24 retweets, 36 likes]
Government of India extends budgetary support to the Government of Maldives Press Release | https://t.ly/e1DH1

Moosa Zameer
@MoosaZameer
[9/19/2024 10:06 AM, 13.9K followers, 107 retweets, 239 likes]
Sincere gratitude to External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar and the Government of #India for extending crucial budgetary support to the Maldives with the rollover of USD 50 million Treasury Bill. This generous gesture reflects the enduring bonds of friendship between #Maldives and #India. @HCIMaldives @MEAIndia

Abdulla Shahid
@abdulla_shahid
[9/19/2024 12:28 PM, 118.5K followers, 197 retweets, 956 likes]
Delighted to hear that India has subscribed the $50 million T-Bills issued by the Government of Maldives for one more year, as emergency financial assistance. India continues to prove time and time again, that it is a time tested friend, and an unwavering ally - despite this Government’s mismanagement of the economy and its questionable foreign policy. I thank India for its special consideration extended towards the people of Maldives. Friendly, cordial relationships with all countries is essential for progress and prosperity.

Harsha de Silva
@HarshadeSilvaMP
[9/19/2024 4:07 AM, 356.7K followers, 44 retweets, 223 likes]
Looks like #SriLanka ISB deal is done to be announced anytime. If so, that will end JVP/NPP’s key (misleading) promise of an alternate DSA to renegotiate with @IMFNews and bond holders. If story true, we will be ready to discuss (as new gov) w bond holders on issuing new bonds.

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[9/19/2024 7:14 AM, 6.5K followers, 25 retweets, 145 likes]
Sri Lanka has reached agreements with external commercial creditors to restructure approximately USD 17.5bn of external debt, achieving a 40.3% Net Present Value (NPV) concession. This provides significant debt relief & reduces interest payments, strengthening the country’s financial stability - PMD- http://adaderana.lk

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[9/19/2024 10:42 PM, 213.2K followers, 3 retweets, 4 likes]
South Asia’s fifth and final election of 2024 is on Saturday in Sri Lanka--the first since the country’s catastrophic economic crisis in 2022. My assessment for @ForeignPolicy of the top three candidates (out of 30+) in what’s expected to be a close race: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/09/18/sri-lanka-election-president-wickremesinghe-economy-crisis/

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[9/19/2024 10:46 AM, 213.2K followers, 1 retweet, 4 likes]
Much is at stake in Sri Lanka’s upcoming election: The direction of one of the world’s most battle-scarred economies hangs in the balance. But it’s also a referendum on the fundamental nature of Sri Lankan politics. This week for @ForeignPolicy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/09/18/sri-lanka-election-president-wickremesinghe-economy-crisis/
Central Asia
Yerzhan Ashikbayev
@KZAmbUS
[9/19/2024 7:51 PM, 2.7K followers, 4 likes]
Had a genuine conversation with @SenGaryPeters on the future of KZ-US relations. We discussed our shared commitment to establishing a strong framework for trade&business coop’, Kazakhstan’s dedication to inclusive national dialogue&the importance of coop’ on non-proliferation.

Bakhtiyor Saidov
@FM_Saidov
[9/19/2024 8:22 AM, 6.3K followers, 3 retweets, 20 likes]
The President of #Uzbekistan (@President_Uz) H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev awarded the Ambassador of #Kazakhstan H.E. Beibut Atamkulov with the Order #Dustlik (#Friendship) for his personal contribution to bringing the relations of mutual respect, trust, good neighborliness and strategic partnership between UZ and KZ to a new level, filling political, socio-economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation with practical content and important initiatives, expansion and comprehensive development of relations in priority areas, active promotion of joint projects, as well as for outstanding services in further strengthening the centuries-old friendship of the peoples of our countries. Glad to present the award today at the Ministry. Sincerely congratulate H.E. Beibut Atamkulov and his team!

Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service
@president_uz
[9/19/2024 11:19 AM, 200.2K followers, 1 retweet, 10 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev reviewed ongoing agricultural reforms focused on enhancing productivity and efficiency. Key topics included innovations in cotton farming, horticulture, and viticulture, with emphasis on new seed varieties and modernized irrigation systems. The President underscored the importance of advanced technologies and fostering competition in the sector.

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[9/19/2024 10:40 AM, 23.7K followers, 2 retweets, 14 likes]
What a miss for Uzbekistan … @steveswerdlow —Central Asia, students advocate for human rights amid geopolitical tensions https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/central-asia-human-rights-maymester/

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[9/19/2024 9:43 AM, 23.7K followers, 2 retweets, 4 likes]
Ambassador Henick @UsAmbUzbekistan @usembtashkent : “Broadly speaking, we support anything that helps ordinary Afghan people and contributes to stability along the border. We recognize that Uzbekistan has legitimate economic concerns...” https://www.voanews.com/a/uzbekistan-opens-free-economic-zone-on-afghan-border/7789564.html

{End of Report}
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