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 27, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan
Fears for US citizen held by Taliban amid reports he has been handed over to al-Qaeda (The Independent)
The Independent [9/26/2024 9:06 AM, Arpan Rai, 53826K, Negative]
The family of one of three Americans held prisonerby the Taliban in Afghanistan is urging Washington to confirm his whereabouts amid online rumours of his impending execution.

Afghan-born US citizen Mahmood Shah Habibi, 39, was working with an American telecommunications company when he was arrested by the Taliban in August 2022 after a drone strike killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Taliban likely assumed Mr Habibi’s employer, the US Federal Aviation Administration, was involved in the strike, but did not charge him.

Sarah Adams, a former American spy employed by the CIA, recently claimed without providing evidence that Mr Habibi had been transferred by the Taliban to al-Qaeda and would likely be executed soon.

His family say they have received no such information from Kabul or the US State Department.

"I don’t agree with reports that the Taliban have handed over my brother to al-Qaeda. As per my information, the Taliban have him. They took him in August 2022 and they still have him. The US government should verify such reports and confirm if the Taliban has handed over my brother to al-Qaeda," Mr Habibi’s brother Ahmad Shah Mahmood told The Independent.

"In the history of the Taliban’s rule, we have not seen any case where they have handed over a detainee to any other group. We have not received any official information from the US government or from the Taliban. I am hoping it is just a rumour."

The FBI last month issued a notice seeking information about Mr Habibi’s disappearance in Afghanistan. "It is believed that Mr Habibi was taken by Taliban military or security forces and has not been heard from since his disappearance," it said.

Mr Habibi urged the US government to redouble efforts to free his brother, noting that the Taliban had indicated a willingness to exchange the American prisoners.

The Taliban claim they only hold two Americans, Ryan Corbett and George Glezmann, allegedly for violating the country’s law. They are keeping them, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid indicated earlier this year, to exchange for Afghans imprisoned by the US in Guantanamo Bay.

The Taliban deny having Mr Habibi in custody.

"I think the Taliban want three people. One is in Guantanamo Bay and two in the US. I don’t know who they are asking for in the US, but the American government has to put in more effort in getting my brother released," Mr Mahmood said.

He said the family has had no communication with Mr Habibi since he vanished in Afghanistan. "I don’t know the reason why they are not acknowledging my brother when they actually detained him on 10 August 2022."

Mr Habibi served as director of civil aviation and deputy minister of civil aviation in the Nato-backed Afghan government that was overthrown by the Taliban in 2021.

"There is a possibility that he was arrested because he worked for the previous regime and also with the US embassy in Afghanistan between 2011 to 2013. We think his work for the US government and his American citizenship put him in trouble," his brother told The Independent.

Mr Habibi’s detention was flagged in March by the US Congress in a resolution seeking his release.

His brother denied that Mr Habibi was in any way involved in the American strike that killed al-Zawahiri. "My brother had nothing to do with that," he said. "When the strike happened, my brother was not even on Afghan soil."

Mr Habibi said some workers of his brother’s company told them they had been interrogated by the Taliban about two towers near the location of the drone strike.

"My brother worked with a telecommunication company with towers all over Afghanistan, around 600 in total. There were cameras installed on the towers for their security and not for civilians. My brother didn’t decide where to install the towers or the cameras. He was just one of the 1,200 employees, working as an adviser."
US Is Leaving Its Best Afghan Allies Behind (Bloomberg – opinion)
Bloomberg [9/27/2024 5:00 AM, James Stavridis, 5.5M, Negative]
Today Afghanistan is on a rocket ride to the ninth century. A victorious Taliban is imposing draconian restrictions on women — denying them education and barring them from even speaking in public. Most forms of Western culture and technology are being suppressed. And the Taliban is also systematically hunting down any Afghans who cooperated with the US and its allies during 20 years of “forever war.”

Many of these Afghans have successfully fled the country, but one group has no clear path to the West and will pay a high price for fighting the Taliban under Western guidance: former Afghan special operations forces. What can be done to help that loyal group escape the horrors of a ruthless regime?

During my four years in command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission to Afghanistan — Operation Enduring Freedom — we struggled to train, equip and organize the Afghan Security Forces. We sent many of the best soldiers and officers from over 50 countries for the mission of training the Afghan army and the Afghan National Police.

We understood that the only path to reducing and eventually eliminating the commitment of 150,000 coalition troops was to train a competent and motivated force of Afghans to take our place in fighting the Taliban.

There were successes and failures. Over time, we built a force of over 300,000 Afghan military and police that was able to hold off the Taliban — albeit with considerable help from our intelligence, logistics, advisers and other support forces. By the time I left command in 2013, we were in the process of reducing our own forces and turning the fight over to the Afghans.

The tragic ending of that story is well known. When the US finally pulled the last support and advisory personnel out of the country in 2021 (having reduced its manpower from a peak of 150,000 to less than 5,000), the Afghan security forces collapsed in spectacular fashion. Ultimately, our training mission was a failure.

But one segment of the Afghan military was highly successful as a tactical fighting force: its special operations fighters, who performed 80% of the offensive combat missions despite representing less than 10% of the total Afghan military. This cohort was hand-picked and trained by the very best of our warriors – Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and Green Berets — and by the Central Intelligence Agency.

I remember observing this training at several of the facilities we had around the country in 2012 and 2013, when the Afghan commandos had been in operation for only a year or so. To my eye, their high-end equipment (satellite radios, night-vision devices, silenced weapons); military bearing and fitness; and tactical prowess appeared comparable to the special forces of many of our allies.

I recall that, after a group of them returned from a successful reconnaissance and apprehension mission deep in Taliban territory around Marjah, I had a chance to talk with a group of a dozen Afghan junior officers on the operation. Through interpreters, I could hear their pride is having captured alive three high-value Taliban leaders who were being interrogated and providing valuable intelligence to support the ongoing “clear and hold” mission deep in Pashtun country of southern Afghanistan. One of them said to me, “We will fight for this country, and we will win.”

Sadly, he was exactly half right. For a variety of reasons — lack of Afghan political leadership, resilience of the Taliban, our own failures both militarily and politically — they lost their fight. But it was a valiant effort, and today thousands of these commandos need to be rescued themselves.

Yet these special-operations troops do not enjoy the automatic access to a Special Immigrant Visa to come to the US, which we offer (appropriately) to other Afghans who served alongside US forces, including interpreters and embassy employees. The commandos have been overlooked, yet in many ways they sacrificed the most in a losing effort. When the Afghan armed forces collapsed in 2021, many of the special forces continued to fight until their ammo ran out.

The US Congress can remedy this situation. The Afghan Adjustment Act, introduced to the Senate (with strong bipartisan support, including from Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lindsey Graham), would provide the appropriate relief to the Afghan special operations forces, allowing them nearly automatic access to visas to come to the US (after a sufficient vetting process, of course).

Many of these well-trained fighters are desperate to immigrate, and might be willing to join the US armed forces. A great number would have relatives and friends already in our country. Several US veterans’ groups are willing to help them on their path to safety and ultimately US citizenship.

In addition to the clear moral imperative of expanding the visa program, the message internationally would be of real benefit: It would send the signal that our nation stands by those who have fought and died alongside us.

When I think of the immense contributions the Vietnamese community has made to the US in the decades since the similar collapse of US efforts in their country, I see the pragmatic benefits of doing the right thing for the Afghan commandos as well. Let’s hope Congress leaves no man behind to face the Taliban’s wrath.
Pakistan
Pakistan wins additional financing assurances from China, UAE, Saudi-IMF official (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 2:50 PM, David Lawder, 37270K, Positive]
Pakistan has received "significant financing assurances" from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates linked to a new International Monetary Fund program that go beyond a deal to roll over $12 billion in bilateral loans owed to them by Islamabad, an IMF official said on Thursday.

IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter declined to provide details of additional financing amounts committed by the three countries but said they would come on top of the debt rollover.

"I won’t go into the specifics, but UAE, China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia all provided significant financing assurances joined up in this program," Porter told reporters on a conference call.

The IMF’s Executive Board on Wednesday approved a new $7 billion, 37-month loan agreement for Pakistan that requires "sound policies and reforms" to strengthen macroeconomic stability. The approval releases an immediate $1 billion disbursement to Islamabad.

The crisis-wracked South Asian country has had 22 previous IMF bailout programs since 1958.

Porter said Pakistan has staged a "really remarkable" economic turnaround since mid-2023, with inflation down dramatically, stable exchange rates and foreign reserves that have more than doubled.

"So what we’ve seen is the benefits of undertaking good policies," Porter said, adding that the challenge now was to build stronger and sustained growth by keeping monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policy consistent, raising more taxes and improving public spending.

Last year, Pakistan achieved its first primary budget surplus in 20 years, and the program calls for growing that to 2% of gross domestic product. Porter said it depends in part on reforms to improve collections from under-taxed sectors such as retailers.

The next review of the loan would likely take place in March or April of 2025, based on end-2024 performance criteria, Porter said.
Pakistan braces for ‘transitional pain’ as IMF approves $7 bn loan (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [9/26/2024 11:56 AM, Staff, 88008K, Neutral]
Pakistan said Thursday it would have to go through "transitional pain" after the International Monetary Fund agreed to a new relief package of $7 billion to bolster its faltering economy.

Although the South Asian nation’s economy has stabilised since it came close to defaulting last summer, it is dependent on IMF bailouts and loans from friendly countries to service its huge debt, which swallows up half of its annual revenues.

"There will be transitional pain, but if we are to make it the last programme, then we have to carry out structural reforms," Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told local broadcaster Geo News.

The IMF said in a statement it would issue an "immediate disbursement" of around $1 billion.

"This past year has seen a very welcome return to economic stability in Pakistan," IMF Pakistan mission chief Nathan Porter told reporters on Thursday.

"The challenge confronting Pakistan now is to move beyond this renewed sense of stability and towards stronger and sustained growth, with its benefits shared more broadly and evenly across society," he added.

Pakistan in July agreed to the deal -- its 24th IMF payout since 1958 -- in exchange for unpopular reforms, including cutting back on power subsidies and widening its chronically low tax base.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the deal came through thanks to the "tremendous support" of Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates.

"In the final phase (of negotiations), the IMF’s conditions were related to China. The way the Chinese government supported and strengthened us during this time is something I am truly grateful for," he told reporters shortly before the deal was announced.

Last month, Aurangzeb had said Pakistan was negotiating a $12 billion loan reprofiling from bilateral lenders.

The amount comprised $5 billion from Saudi Arabia, $4 billion from China and $3 billion from the UAE for a three- to five-year period.

Porter said all three countries had "provided significant financing assurances," beyond these commitments to rolling over the $12 billion in existing loans.

Reacting to the news, Pakistan’s stock exchange briefly reached a new record high before losing ground in later trade.

- ‘Formidable’ vulnerabilities -

Kaiser Bengali, a Pakistani economist, said the deal "will help us pay back our immediate debts, but nothing more."

"The only economic reforms that we are required to implement is more taxes. There is no progress on reducing government expenditures," he told AFP.

At the end of 2023, Pakistan -- long locked in a cycle of overlapping political and economic crises -- had amassed a total debt of more than $250 billion, or 74 percent of GDP, according to the IMF.

About 40 percent of its debt is owed to external creditors in foreign currencies. Its biggest single foreign creditor is China and Chinese commercial banks, at just under $30 billion, followed by the World Bank at more than $20 billion, according to the report.

Last year the country came to the brink of default as the economy shrivelled amid political chaos following catastrophic 2022 monsoon floods and decades of mismanagement, as well as a global economic downturn.

It was saved by last-minute loans from friendly countries as well as an IMF rescue package.

Islamabad wrangled for months with IMF officials to unlock the latest loan, which came on the condition of reforms including hiking household bills to remedy a permanently crisis-stricken energy sector and raising pitiful tax takings.

In a nation of more than 240 million people where most jobs are in the informal sector, only 5.2 million filed income tax returns in 2022.

The IMF said Pakistan "has taken key steps to restoring economic stability with consistent reforms". But "despite this progress, Pakistan’s vulnerabilities and structural challenges remain formidable", it warned.

"A difficult business environment, weak governance, and an outsized role of the state hinder investment, which remains very low compared to peers," it added.
Pakistan inks $7bn IMF bailout with big concessions; challenges lie ahead (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [9/27/2024 4:08 AM, Adnan Aamir, 2.4M, Neutral]
Pakistan’s leader is hailing a new $7 billion IMF loan as his country’s last bailout, but Islamabad was forced to make major concessions to get the deal done, including scrapping China-backed special economic zones.

The Washington-based fund’s board approved the 37-month loan on Wednesday, after an unusually long delay that had raised fears over the deal’s future, following an initial agreement in July.

"We are committed to ensuring this is the last time we seek such financial support from the IMF," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told journalists after the deal was approved.

Last year, Pakistan struck a $3 billion loan with the IMF as it grappled with a crisis in its foreign exchange reserves and an economy beset by soaring inflation that hit a record 38% -- one of two dozen bailouts that the South Asian nation has struck over the past six decades.

Nathan Porter, the IMF’s chief of mission for Pakistan, said economic stability is returning. GDP expanded 2.38% in the fiscal year that ended in June, although it missed the official target of 3.5%.

"Growth has resumed. Inflation has declined dramatically," Porter told reporters on Thursday evening. "[The] exchange rate has been stable and foreign exchange reserves have more than doubled."

A Pakistani official involved in the talks earlier told Nikkei Asia there were multiple hurdles to clear, including boosting taxes and scrapping subsidies as well as securing another $2 billion in loans from creditor countries, including top investor China.

Sharif told Pakistani media this week that those conditions had been met with help from China and Saudi Arabia, but he did not give details.

"This [deal] will allow Pakistan to seek more loans from multilateral organizations. This will [subsequently] improve the foreign exchange reserves, which will bring credibility in the exchange rate policy," said Aadil Nakhoda, an assistant professor of economics at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi.

The long delay in finalizing the deal highlighted the IMF’s caution, another observer said.

"Pakistan took some time in addressing the IMF’s concerns about meeting its fiscal deficit targets, and the IMF took time in reviewing whether Pakistan’s assertions about macroeconomic performance were reasonable," Husain Haqqani, a scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, told Nikkei.

Pakistan was forced to accept an IMF demand that it would not establish any new special economic zones (SEZs) or export processing zones.

The investment vehicles are entitled to have facilities and incentives designed to encourage businesses to establish clusters of activity where investors can win tax exemptions for several years.

Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the $50 billion Pakistan component of Beijing’s globe-spanning Belt and Road Initiative, nine SEZs were to be built in Pakistan. Only two have been built so far.

The IMF’s Porter defended the demand to scrap SEZs, saying the fund still supports bilateral and foreign direct investment in Pakistan.

"What’s important is that the investment comes without undermining, say, the tax base, but also that it is a productive activity that contributes to Pakistan’s economy," he said.

The second phase of the CPEC is, however, largely focused on developing SEZs, so the concession could limit future China-linked deals.

"The demand to end incentives to SEZs practically closed the door for the Chinese relocation of industries under the second phase of CPEC," said Ikram ul Haq, a lawyer with expertise in economics and taxation

Haqqani, a former Pakistani diplomat, pointed to problems with Pakistan’s SEZs.

"[They] were seen as sources of massive leakage in potential tax revenue without bringing a proportionate advantage in adding productivity or growth. [The IMF’s] insistence on scrapping SEZs shows that IMF has become tougher in negotiations with Pakistan after 23 bailout programs," he told Nikkei.

Islamabad has vowed to boost tax revenue but fell about $400 million short of a required $5.6 billion in tax collection for July and August. Resistance among retailers to paying more was cited as a key reason.

"The imposition of additional taxes or squeezing more taxes from existing taxpayers will be detrimental to the economy and would create more hardships for salaried-class and middle-income groups," said Haq, the tax expert.

Nakhoda, the assistant professor, pointed to rising electricity prices as a major challenge for the government, which can no longer roll out consumer subsidies under the IMF deal.

"A second challenge will be rising import costs as economic activity improves with better stability," he added.

The IMF loans will only help if they lead to "long-overdue and much-needed" structural changes, Haq said.

"The monstrous size of the government, wasteful expenses and tax-free benefits must end, as the people of Pakistan can no longer fund it from taxes," he added.
IMF loan offers Pakistan relief but long-term reforms remain a challenge (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [9/26/2024 6:21 AM, Abid Hussain, 25768K, Neutral]
After days of uncertainty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $7bn loan programme for Pakistan on Wednesday, a move analysts welcomed for its potential to stabilise the South Asian nation’s economy. However, they also cautioned that it places significant responsibility on the government to pursue reforms for long-term stability.

Pakistan had reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF in July for the 37-month loan - its 25th since 1958 - but delays in securing a final approval created market uncertainty.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, currently attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, hailed the decision, insisting that the government was committed to implementing reforms demanded by the deal. He said he also hoped that this would be "Pakistan’s last IMF programme".

Economic analyst Uzair Younus said that while Pakistan has stabilised after a prolonged period of volatility, much work needs to be done.

"The agreement, in the short term, will create space for the government, but if the medium-term outlook is to improve, then the government needs to pursue structural reforms that create both fiscal space for Islamabad and assuage concerns about debt sustainability," the Washington, DC-based analyst told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan’s debt, which poses the biggest strain on its $350bn economy, requires $90bn in repayments over the next three years, with the next major tranche due in December.

Foreign reserves with the central bank currently stand at $9.5bn, sufficient to cover just over two months of imports.

Sajid Amin Javed, a senior economist at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad, said that the loan primarily aims to ease Pakistan’s debt repayments.

"While much needed, a programme built around rollovers, expensive borrowing from commercial banks to fill in financing gaps is hardly to bring any sustainable solutions to Pakistan’s economic and financial challenges," he added.

Pakistan is the IMF’s fifth-largest debtor, owing more than $6bn as of September 25, according to the lender’s data, after Argentina, Egypt, Ukraine and Ecuador.

Analysts say one challenge before Pakistan will be to build a broad political consensus around the reforms needed under the IMF deal: including taxes, raising energy tariffs and allowing market forces to determine the Pakistani rupee’s value.

"Political stability will define the fate of the programme and the economy. Implementation of the reforms agenda outlined in this programme, such as no subsidies from provinces, taxes on the agriculture sector, privatisation - they all demand a very high level of commitment from different political parties ruling in respective provinces," Javed said.

Over the last 30 months, Pakistan has faced political turbulence, including the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in 2022. Under Khan, the Pakistani government faced accusations of breaching the previous IMF agreement by drastically cutting fuel prices.

Government policies, including artificially protecting the value of the rupee, as well as a catastrophic flood in the country in late 2022 meant that by May 2023, inflation soared to as high as 38 percent, while foreign reserves fell to $3bn.

Pakistan, under the first tenure of Sharif as prime minister, narrowly avoided default last year after securing a nine-month $3bn standby arrangement with the IMF.

The 2024 election, which was marred by vote-rigging allegations, resulted in a coalition government led by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) but heavily reliant on allied parties.

Sharif, in his current stint, picked Muhammad Aurangzeb - a political outsider and veteran banker - as his finance minister, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the standby arrangement. The term of that agreement ended in April, and by August 2024, inflation had dropped to 9.6 percent, its lowest since October 2021, aided by falling global fuel prices.

However, Ali Hasanain, an associate professor of economics at Lahore University of Management Sciences, expressed scepticism about the reforms.

"Without addressing fundamental dysfunctions, the country will almost certainly falter. Long-term possibilities are immense, but they remain untapped," Hasanain said, referring to the political schisms in the country and the risks they pose to a unified approach towards reforms.

Javed echoed this sentiment, emphasising that the ruling coalition must "rise above politics" to ensure the programme’s success.

"It will be important to see to what extent the ruling coalition shares the responsibility and burden of the programme," he said. "A politics-led approach, as we have seen in the last seven and half decades, can jeopardise this programme," Javed added.

While some argue that Pakistan should seek to restructure its debt, Younus believes the external debt burden is manageable, "provided Pakistan’s ruling elites pursue a sustained roadmap of structural reforms that bolsters creditor confidence".

However, Javed warned that without such reforms, the country’s economy could face a repeat of the crisis that engulfed the country in 2022 and 2023, which would harm the populace.

"The government needs to protect people from side-effects of stabilisation through creating livelihood opportunities in agriculture, and other similar sectors, expanding social protection and safety nets and better administration and governance at a local level," he said.

"Stabilisation should not come at the cost of poor people."
Pakistan Signs Contract To Sell JF-17 Fighter Jets To Azerbaijan (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 9:38 AM, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, 1251K, Neutral]
Pakistan’s military said on Thursday that the country has signed a contract to sell JF-17 Block III fighter jets to Azerbaijan.

The aircraft is co-produced by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and developed jointly with China, with whom Islamabad has grown increasingly close as ties with traditional military ally the United States have weakened over the last few years.

The military did not provide the cost or quantity of jets agreed to, but said in a statement that the sale was part of Islamabad’s efforts to enhance defence cooperation with friendly countries and bolster the air power capabilities of Azerbaijan.

Pakistan is also a close ally of Turkey, which backed Azerbaijan in its standoff with Armenia when clashes erupted between the two South Caucasus countries last year, resuming decades-old hostilities.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev was in Pakistan in July on a state visit where the two countries agreed to enhance cooperation in a number of areas, including defence.

Following the visit, Pakistan deployed an air force contingent at Baku to participate in the Azerbaijan defence exhibition to showcase the aircraft, Pakistan’s military said.

The aircraft "is capable of undertaking a wide array of combat missions providing contemporary airpower employment options," the statement added.
Pakistani police are responsible for killing a doctor held in a blasphemy claim, the government says (AP)
AP [9/26/2024 11:38 AM, Asim Tanveer and Munir Ahmed, 24052K, Negative]
Pakistan’s government said Thursday that police had orchestrated the killing of a doctor who was in custody after he was accused of blasphemy. Officers then lied about the circumstances of his death, claiming he was killed in a shootout between police and armed men, a provincial minister said.

The statement marks the first time the government has accused security forces of what the doctor’s family and rights groups have said amounted to an extrajudicial killing carried out by police.

The doctor, Shah Nawaz, from the southern Sindh province, had given himself up to police last week in the district of Mirpur Khas, following assurances that he would be given a chance to prove his innocence.

Days earlier in the city of Umerkot, a mob claimed he insulted Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and shared blasphemous content on social media, and demanded his arrest. The mob also burned Nawaz’s clinic.

According to the provincial Interior Minister, Ziaul Hassan, a government probe concluded that Nawaz was killed shortly after he gave himself up to authorities in what was a staged "fake encounter" engineered by the security forces.

There was no shootout with armed men as police had claimed, Hassan told reporters at a news conference in the southern port city of Karachi, and added that Nawaz’s family will be able to file murder charges against police officers who killed him.

Hours after Nawaz was fatally shot and his body handed over to his family, a mob snatched it from Nawaz’s father and burned it.

Hassan’s statement backed up Nawaz’s family allegations earlier this week.

Accusations of blasphemy, sometimes even just rumors, can spark riots and mob rampages in Pakistan. Although killings of blasphemy suspects by mobs are common, extrajudicial killings by police are rare.

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.

Nawaz’s father thanked the government for backing the family and demanded that his son’s killers face justice under the eye-for-an-eye concept under Sharia, or Islamic law.

"We have only one demand: Those police officers who staged the killing of my son … must also be killed in the same manner," said Nawaz’s father, Mohammad Saleh.

Saleh told The Associated Press over the phone that he was grateful for all the support the family was given and to all those who condemned extremist clerics who had enraged the mob with calls for his son to be killed.

"Those who killed my son should be punished quickly so that others learn a lesson and not indulge in extrajudicial killings in the future," said Nawaz’s mother, Rehmat Kunbar.

She added her son can no longer come back to her but that she wants to save the children of other parents from the hands of extremists.

Nawaz’s killing was the second case of an extrajudicial killing by police this month in Pakistan.

A week before, an officer opened fire inside a police station in the southwestern city of Quetta, fatally wounding Syed Khan, a suspect held on accusations of blasphemy.

Khan was arrested 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 later said they had pardoned the officer.
Pakistan inquiry finds doctor accused of blasphemy was killed in fake police shootout (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 10:39 AM, Asif Shahzad, 37270K, Negative]
An inquiry found that a doctor accused of blasphemy was killed in a fake police shootout last week in Pakistan after violent protests by Islamists, a government minister said on Thursday, ordering criminal proceedings against the officers involved.

It was the second such killing in police custody in a week.

Shah Nawaz, a doctor working in the town of Umerkot in southern Pakistan, went into hiding after local clerics accused him of blasphemy over a Facebook post, which he said in a video statement was posted on one of his old accounts that had been hacked long ago, according to his family.

The clerics then led violent protests in the area, attacking police stations and burning police vehicles.

His family said Nawaz had surrendered to police after receiving assurances from investigators that he would have a chance to prove his innocence. Instead, they said, he was killed in a shootout.

"An inquiry has found that it was a fake shootout," southern Sindh province home minister Zia Lanjar told a news conference. "It was a custodial death," he said, reading from what he said was a 31-page inquiry report.

The accused officers include a deputy inspector general of police, two other senior officers and their subordinates, Lanjar said.

Local clerics and some politicians feted the accused officers, garlanding and showering them with rose petals at red-carpet events, according to human rights groups and pictures and videos posted on social media.

Reuters has not been able to independently confirm these reports or the authenticity of the social media posts, but Lanjar said his government was against all forms of extremism.

Thousands of human rights activists have rallied against the killing in Umerkot, demanding justice and chanting slogans against Islamist extremism.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in predominantly Muslim Pakistan. No one has been executed by the state for the crime, but the issue is so sensitive that dozens of people accused of blasphemy have been lynched by mobs before a trial could begin.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says the South Asian country is one of the world’s strictest and most frequent enforcers of blasphemy laws.
At Least 15 Injured In Blast Inside Police Station In Pakistan (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/26/2024 2:15 PM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
At least 15 policemen were injured, two of them seriously, in an explosion inside a police station in northwestern Pakistan. The evening explosion on September 26 took place in the arms storage of the police station in Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, one officer told RFE/RL by phone. But another officer, who was at the scene, said the number of injured policemen could be as high as 30. There was no claim of responsibility. In April 2023, 17 people were killed in two explosions inside the office of the counterterrorism police in the Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The province has experienced a rise in attacks tied to Islamic militarism.
India
Dozens, Mostly Children, Drown During a Hindu Festival (New York Times)
New York Times [9/26/2024 4:14 PM, Sameer Yasir, 831K, Negative]
At least 46 people drowned in the eastern Indian state of Bihar as millions of Hindu devotees were celebrating a three-day festival for the well-being of children, officials said on Thursday.

Thirty-seven of those who died were children and seven were women, according to a statement released by the government of Bihar State.

As part of the annual festival Jivitputrika Vrat, celebrated mostly in northern India and some parts of Nepal, women fast for 24 hours and offer special prayers for the long life and good health of their children. During the hours when they are fasting, mothers travel to rivers and ponds in their neighborhood to bathe, sometimes accompanied by their children.

Across northern India during the festival, the authorities typically deploy police officers and divers to monitor devotees as they go into the water. It was unclear on Thursday what safety measures had been taken in Bihar.

Deadly stampedes during religious festivals are common in India, but widespread drownings are not. Officers of the Bihar Disaster Management Authority did not respond to repeated calls and messages. A local police officer said the deaths were reported from different rivers and ponds across the state.

Residents in Aurangabad District, where eight minors died in two villages while bathing in a pond, said that water levels in rivers and ponds had increased in recent days because of persistent rains.

The bodies of seven children there were retrieved as of late Wednesday, but one was still missing, according to Saurabh Kumar, a police officer.
Dozens of children drown while bathing during 3-day Hindu festival in eastern India (AP)
AP [9/27/2024 12:33 AM, Indrajit Singh, 456K, Negative]
Dozens of children drowned while bathing in rivers and ponds in rituals that were part of a three-day Hindu festival in eastern India’s Bihar state, officials said.

Heavy monsoon rains recently had raised the levels of waterways across the state.

At least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in separate incidents across the state’s 15 districts, a statement from Bihar’s disaster management department said. Authorities have recovered 43 bodies so far, and the three missing people are presumed to be dead.

During the annual festival, mothers fast for 24 hours for the well-being of their children. The women are sometimes accompanied by their children when they visit rivers and ponds for cleansing rituals. The festival concluded Thursday.

The state government has announced a compensation of 400,000 rupees ($4,784) for the families of each of the dead.

Deadly accidents like drownings and stampedes during religious festivals are common in India.

In July, at least 121 people were killed after severe overcrowding and a lack of exits contributed to a stampede at a religious festival in northern India.
Dozens of children drown during Hindu festival in India (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 10:17 AM, Saurabh Sharma, 37270K, Negative]
At least 46 people have drowned, most of them children, while bathing in rivers and ponds swollen by recent floods during the observance of a Hindu religious festival celebrated by millions in north India, authorities said on Thursday.

The dead include 37 children and seven women who drowned on Wednesday in the eastern state of Bihar in scattered incidents across 15 districts, a statement from Bihar’s disaster management department said.

India has seen deadly stampedes during religious events in the past but widespread drowning incidents
during festivals are rare.

Local media reported that some of the rivers and ponds in the state had been swollen by floods following heavy rains.

Devotees were celebrating the annual festival of Jivitputrika Vrat, during which women fast for 24 hours and offer prayers for the wellbeing of their children. They also travel to rivers and ponds in their neighbourhood to bathe, sometimes accompanied by their children.

The state government has announced compensation of 400,000 rupees ($4,784) for the families of each of the deceased, the statement said.
China Says More Consensus Reached With India on Troop Removal (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/27/2024 3:36 AM, Josh Xiao and Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 5.5M, Neutral]
China and India have reached more consensus on withdrawing troops from some parts of the disputed border between the two countries, Beijing said, in a further sign that tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors are easing.

A spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry, responding to a question at a media briefing on Thursday about disengagement at the border, said the two sides have “further narrowed differences and broadened consensus.”

Chinese and Indian officials have maintained close dialog and exchanged opinion on the border issues via diplomatic and military channels, spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said, according to a transcript of the briefing. “The two sides agreed to strengthen dialog and consultation, accommodate each other’s legitimate concerns and reach a mutually acceptable solution at an early date,” Zhang added.

Ties between the two countries have been frozen since June 2020 when clashes between soldiers along the disputed Himalayan border left at least 20 Indian and an unknown number of Chinese dead. Since then, there have been incremental progress in resolving the border crisis in more than 50 rounds of diplomatic and military talks.

The latest remarks from Beijing follow meetings between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Laos in July, and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting in Russia earlier this month.

In a speech on Wednesday in New York, Jaishankar said China and India have resolved 75% of disengagement of troops in the eastern Ladakh region.

“The main issue right now is the patrolling,” he said. “How do we, both of us, patrol up to the Line of Actual Control?” he added.
Indian-ruled Kashmir election officials report over 50% turnout (VOA)
VOA [9/26/2024 9:11 AM, Muheet Ul Islam, 4566K, Neutral]
Voter turnout of just over 56% was reported Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir, the disputed, Indian-controlled territory holding its first legislative elections in ten years.

Two hundred thirty-nine candidates ran for 26 assembly constituencies in Wednesday’s voting, part two of the three-phase elections. More than 2.5 million adults were eligible to cast ballots.

The elections took place under tight security arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of the polls.

"The polls ended peacefully in all the six districts. However, some stray incidents like arguments et cetera occurred at a few places but there is no need for re-poll anywhere," Pandurang Kondbarao Pole, J&K Chief Electoral Officer, told reporters in a press conference.

Jammu and Kashmir is experiencing its first elections since the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party revoked its limited autonomy in 2019, downgrading its status to that of a union territory.

Some locals see the elections as a battle between the BJP and the people of Kashmir, saying the government has systematically snatched away their rights over the last decade.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. I have boycotted elections ever since I became eligible to vote. Today I feel it’s necessary to cast a vote and send a message to New Delhi," Ikhlaq Shah, a resident of Qamarwari, told VOA. "If we fail to act now, I believe the BJP government will impose its hazardous agenda against us."

India, he said, is more interested in exploiting Jammu and Kashmir’s resources than caring for its people.

Shah expressed disappointment that regional political parties, particularly the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, are competing against each other in the elections despite sharing the common goal of throwing BJP out of J&K.

Muzamil Maqbool, a political analyst, told VOA that the parties have fragmented because their leaders are prioritizing personal interests.

"Most of these mainstream parties were once colleagues of each other in the past. Now they have sprouted and formed their own separated parties to fight under different names and banners," Maqbool said.

The result, he predicted, is that none of them will win a majority in the J&K legislature.

"It’s too early to say, but J&K may see a large coalition formed to govern after the October 2024 elections," he said.

Shameem Ahmad Baba, a resident of old Srinagar, said voters are confused about the parties, who are accusing each other of being hidden allies of the BJP.

"There is a mass confusion among the people about who supports us and who stands with the government, as so many candidates are running this time," Baba told VOA. "I wish the regional political parties had agreed on seat-sharing, as this would have helped keep New Delhi’s influence at bay."

Muzaffar Shah, vice president of the Awami National Conference, or ANC, said that if all regional parties worked together under the banner of the now-dissolved Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, PAGD, it would have strengthened the movement of the local population.

PAGD was a coalition of major parties created to press the demand that India revive J&K’s special status.

"PAGD was recognized almost throughout diaspora of Kashmir and throughout the world," Shah said. "Unfortunately, political parties in the alliance, they gave much more weightage to their organizational matters and power politics than the interests of people of region. That fact unfortunately led to the breakup."

Meanwhile, a 16-member delegation of foreign diplomats from countries like the U.S., Mexico, Singapore and Norway visited Kashmir at the invitation of the Indian government.

Former Chief Minister of J&K, Omar Abdullah, lashed out at the central government for inviting foreign diplomats to observe the elections.

"If these diplomats comment on J&K the Government of India immediately says it’s an internal matter and they don’t want outside interference. If that’s the case, why are they inviting them now?" Abdullah said.

The third phase of the J&K elections takes place October 1.
India cuts target for fast-track sex crime courts as states fall short (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 10:20 PM, Krishna N. Das, Saurabh Sharma, Subrata Nag Choudhury, and Arpan Chaturvedi, 37270K, Negative]
The Indian government has slashed its goal to create thousands of new tribunals to try sex crimes speedily after states like West Bengal, where the recent brutal rape-homicide of a doctor shook the nation, fell far short of targets, according to three federal government officials and an internal document seen by Reuters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government moved to establish fast-track special courts (FTSC) in 2019 to try exclusively sex crimes, after the Supreme Court that year criticised state governments for being slow to deliver justice to victims. The court singled out Bengal and Uttar Pradesh for taking too long to reach judgment on cases involving child victims.

Most sex crimes are tried by India’s heavily burdened state courts, but Modi’s government planned to incentivise state governments to establish 1,023 FTSCs by March 2021 by funding 60% of costs. Each FTSC is staffed by one judicial officer and seven support staff.

The government had projected 2,600 FTSCs by 2026 but has now revised its target to 790 due to low interest from states and a lack of judges, according to the officials and the document, an undated summary from this year of progress on the FTSC project.

Just 752 FTSCs have been established nationwide as of August, according to publicly available government data.

The Indian government has slashed its goal to create thousands of new tribunals to try sex crimes speedily after states like West Bengal, where the recent brutal rape-homicide of a doctor shook the nation, fell far short of targets, according to three federal government officials and an internal document seen by Reuters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government moved to establish fast-track special courts (FTSC) in 2019 to try exclusively sex crimes, after the Supreme Court that year criticised state governments for being slow to deliver justice to victims. The court singled out Bengal and Uttar Pradesh for taking too long to reach judgment on cases involving child victims.

Most sex crimes are tried by India’s heavily burdened state courts, but Modi’s government planned to incentivise state governments to establish 1,023 FTSCs by March 2021 by funding 60% of costs. Each FTSC is staffed by one judicial officer and seven support staff.

The government had projected 2,600 FTSCs by 2026 but has now revised its target to 790 due to low interest from states and a lack of judges, according to the officials and the document, an undated summary from this year of progress on the FTSC project.

Just 752 FTSCs have been established nationwide as of August, according to publicly available government data.

India’s strained judicial system has a backlog of tens of millions of cases. State courts of first instance are short of about 5,000 judicial officers, roughly 20% of the judges they have been allocated by state authorities, government data show.

In one notable instance of delay, a district court in Ajmer this August sentenced six men to life imprisonment for their role in mass rapes that occurred in the early 1990s.

One of the Ajmer victims, who cannot be named under Indian law, said she was abandoned by her husband after he learned of the assault and the sentence from a traditional court had come way too late for her: "I am of a grandmother’s age now and have no expectations or hope left."

By contrast, FTSCs focus on specific crimes and can try them speedily. They are also allowed to hire judges on contract, including retired judicial officers.

In 2022, the last year for which comprehensive data is available, FTSCs passed judgement on 83% of cases on the docket. By contrast, Indian courts overall ruled on just 56% of the sex-crime cases taken on that year.

The original FTSC targets were set by the federal law and justice ministry using a formula that took into account the number of outstanding cases in each state and a target for each tribunal to conclude 165 cases annually, one of the officials said. Like his colleagues, the official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to media.

In a country where cases can drag on, FTSCs "have particular relevance in cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses," said G.S. Bajpai, vice chancellor of the National Law University Delhi, who has advised the government on criminal law reforms.

Senior lawyer Shobha Gupta, who has represented many rape victims, said FTSCs can be useful but that appeals still go through the slow traditional court system.

"What is needed is fast tracking until the last court and final verdict and execution of the final verdict in a strict time-bound manner," she said.

There is no publicly available data on how many FTSC cases are appealed but two of the government officials said it was common for sentences from lower courts and tribunals to be appealed. Nearly 42% of the 1.7 million criminal cases pending in India’s high courts are appeals.

BLAME GAME?

Opposition-led states have generally been slower to set up FTSCs, according to government data.

Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, both ruled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, have met their targets, according to the three officials and justice department data.

But the western state of Maharashtra, governed by a coalition that includes the BJP, has only established 14 of its target 138.

The three officials said the federal government had repeatedly urged laggard states like Bengal to sign up, but often received no response.

The Aug. 30 summary seen by Reuters said the justice department had written to Bengal on Dec. 12, 2023, advising it to hire contractual staff "in the event of an insufficient workforce."

In 2021, then-minister of law Kiren Rijiju also wrote a letter to Banerjee, seen by Reuters, in which he said his department had sent previous reminders seeking her consent to establish FTSCs.

The three officials said they received no response to the letters.

One opposition-ruled state that has met its target of 22 FTSCs is Jharkhand.

But the state of 33 million has since told the federal government it will pull out of the FTSC program, the three officials said.

Jharkhand’s top law bureaucrat Rajesh Sharan Singh said officials have been conferring about running FTSCs that are entirely funded by the state, one of the poorest in India, but declined to say why.

"If the state government funds it, we will exit the central government funding," he said.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s office didn’t respond to Reuters’ questions.
India’s CDSCO flags quality issues with over 50 widely used drugs (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 11:54 PM, Rishika Sadam, 37270K, Neutral]
India’s drug regulator has found more than 50 drugs, including some batches of widely used antacids and paracetamol, to be substandard or fake, according to government documents.

The regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, releases a monthly list of substandard or fake medicines sold in the country after routine tests across the country by multiple agencies.

The regulator found some drugs as "not of standard quality", including a batch each of Alkem Laboratories’ (ALKE.NS) popular antacid Pan-D, Hetero’s anti-infective Cepodem and Shelcal, a vitamin and calcium tablet brand made by privately-owned Pure & Cure Healthcare, and several antibiotics, according to the lists for August.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (SUN.NS) separately informed the regulator of a fake batch of Pantocid, a popular Indian brand of an antacid called pantoprazole. The agency said it is investigating the matter.

Fake, or "spurious", batches of Sun’s drug Pulmosil, used to treat high blood pressure in the lungs, and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals’ (GLEN.NS) anti-hypertension drug Telma H, among others, were also notified by the companies to the regulator and were being investigated.

"When a medicine is found to be below quality standards, the drug regulator sends a notice to the manufacturer to check and recall that batch of product. Companies too conduct their own tests on leftover samples to check for the possibility of counterfeit," said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of drug retailer body All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists.

The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Gastrointestinal, anti-diabetic, vitamins and nutraceutical drug sales were one of the top contributors to the domestic pharma market growth in August, according to research firm Pharmarack.

India, one of the world’s largest drug producers and exporters, is working to restore confidence after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to the deaths of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan, and Cameroon.
India hikes minimum wages as living costs surge (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 10:43 AM, Ainnie Arif, 37270K, Neutral]
India is hiking minimum wages marginally for workers employed in informal sectors including construction, mining and agriculture, from October 1, a government statement said on Thursday.

"This adjustment is aimed at helping workers cope with the rising cost of living," the statement said, referring to the 2.40-point rise in consumer price index (CPI) for industrial workers.

After the hike, the unskilled workers in the upper-most band can expect a daily minimum wage of 783 rupees ($9.36), semi-skilled workers a rate of 868 rupees, and highly skilled workers 1,035 rupees.

The wages are revised twice a year according to inflation, based on the six-month average rise in CPI for industrial workers.

Earlier this week, thousands of workers held protests across the country, seeking an increase in wages and demanding the repeal of four labour codes which they say favour multinational corporations.
India Keeps Markets Guessing Over Key Central Bank Positions (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/26/2024 10:30 PM, Anup Roy, 27782K, Neutral]
India’s central bank watchers are getting anxious about who will decide interest rates in two week’s time, a crucial meeting as a wave of global easing kicks off.

The contracts of three external members of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee will expire on Oct. 4, just days before the MPC is expected to meet and make its rate decision on Oct. 9. A government-appointed selection panel hasn’t disclosed who the likely candidates are or when they will release the names of the new MPC members.

A delay in the appointments risks a repeat of 2020, when the RBI had to postpone its rate decision because the new committee members hadn’t been appointed in time. Looming in the background is also uncertainty over who will lead the RBI from next year, with the contracts of both Governor Shaktikanta Das and his deputy in charge of monetary policy, Michael Patra, coming to an end in coming months.

“Extensions and reappointments should be concluded and announced well ahead avoiding last minute delays. Unwarranted suspense in critical appointments is unsettling and distracting,” said Shubhada M Rao, founder of QuantEco Research, based in Mumbai. “This becomes relevant especially for the financial markets that seek signals around policy continuity,” she said.

The RBI’s policy committee is made up of three external members — usually well-known economists from the academic or finance worlds — and three RBI officials, comprising the governor, the deputy governor in charge of the monetary policy, and another official, typically the executive director of the monetary policy department.

Das’s contract — already extended once by three years — comes to an end on Dec. 9 and Patra finishes his term on Jan. 14. Neither the government nor the RBI have signaled if they will remain in their posts.

MPC Doves

The external MPC members who end their terms next month have been more dovish than their RBI counterparts in recent rate meetings. Both Goyal and Varma voted for rate cuts in the past two meetings. Bhide raised concerns about the impact of high rates on economic growth, even though he voted in line with RBI officials.

Analysts say India should follow other central banks in having a more transparent process in selecting key candidates. At the Bank of England, for example, four external MPC members are appointed through an open and public process where the applicants are known before the selection is made.

“Why would there be so much of secrecy” about the appointments at the RBI, asked Amol Agrawal, who teaches economics at Ahmedabad University. “They are external members, they cannot be appointed like insiders. What is the big deal in not naming the members, and not following an open, transparent process?”

A selection panel — led by Das, Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan and Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth — chooses the external MPC members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office has final sign-off on the positions.

The RBI and prime minister’s office didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking further information.

Appointments of key RBI officials are typically made ahead of time, aside from the 2020 debacle, which was partly due to disruptions over the pandemic period.

“While clarity is always welcome, I think as long as candidates are being vetted properly and being announced with a reasonable window, we do not feel there is any material impact on decision making,” said Rahul Bajoria, an economist at Bank of America Corp.

Before the MPC was appointed in 2016, interest rates were decided by the governor alone. While policymaking is more consensus-based now, the governor still has veto power to break a deadlock in the six-member MPC.

Change in the leadership of the RBI can bring sweeping monetary policy shifts. Urjit Patel, who was RBI governor before Das took over in December 2018, was a policy hawk, rejecting calls to cut interest rates even when inflation tumbled to a record low of 1.46% in June 2017. In Das’s first MPC meeting in February 2019, he promptly cut rates in a surprise move.

Das is now facing calls to cut interest rates as global central banks pivot and the economy shows signs of moderating. The governor has repeatedly said he’s not considering a cut yet and wants to see inflation easing to the 4% target and staying there.

If the new MPC members are appointed before the October MPC meeting, analysts don’t expect they will have enough time to acquaint themselves with the issues to call for a rate cut. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict the RBI will likely ease in December.

“The MPC is unlikely to make a sharp pivot in October as the internal RBI members remain the same for now and Governor Das has the casting vote in case of any tie,” said Shumita Sharma Deveshwar, an economist at GlobalData.TS Lombard.
NSB
Bangladesh’s Makeshift Government Confronts Looming Water Crisis (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/27/2024 12:59 AM, Lou Del Bello, 5.5M, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s interim administration is mulling measures to tackle an impending water crisis that threatens to stifle its economic progress.

Groundwater in the climate-vulnerable country is depleting faster than ever before, according to new research from WaterAid, falling by as much as three meters per year in some places. Consumption is set to reach 55 billion cubic meters per year by 2040, a 37% increase from 2020 levels.

Despite the recent political upheaval, Bangladesh has great economic potential, said Jonathan Farr, director at WaterAid’s Resilient Water Accelerator. “It has a very skilled, highly educated population,” he said, but too much of the country’s growth is fueled by increasing demand for water, in particular for rice cultivation and industries such as textiles.

Climate change is an added risk. Bangladesh experiences flooding from a web of tributaries feeding into the Ganges river, saline intrusion from sea level rise and seasonal cyclones, all of which will be exacerbated by global warming. This complex hydrology compounds water contamination from industrial activities. Despite achieving annual economic growth above 6%, nearly half of the country’s population still lacks reliable access to clean water, the WaterAid report showed.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the adviser in charge of water and environment within the newly formed government, acknowledged that Bangladesh will have to reduce water extraction to prevent desertification. Officials are “working to develop a time-bound action plan to clean up rivers, so that the country can switch to surface water,” she said in an interview.

Currently, groundwater is used to irrigate more than 70% of Bangladesh’s cultivated land and it meets over 98% of its industrial demand, according to WaterAid.

Hasan said the environment ministry is working on regulations to govern groundwater extraction and guidelines for industrial water use. The recommendations will eventually become a legally binding framework on the reuse and recycling of water by companies, though a timeline for implementing the measures hasn’t been determined.

For agriculture, which currently accounts for 80% of total water demand, the government intends to promote drought resistant crop varieties, Hasan said. “Groundwater will not be free for commercial interests and for those who can pay.”

Bangladesh’s current water plans would require an investment of nearly $50 billion through 2030, but less than 20% of that has been currently allocated, according to the report. The International Monetary Fund has offered assistance to the new administration over the past few weeks, but Hasan said that the water plans have yet to be discussed externally.
How Can Bangladesh Recover Assets Stolen During Awami League Rule? (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [9/26/2024 4:13 AM, A K M Wahiduzzaman, 1198K, Neutral]
In late September 2022, Bangladesh’s foreign reserves dwindled, compelling former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to seek budget support of around $4.7 billion.

Around the same time, the U.K. daily, The Financial Times, was drafting a story featuring a Bangladeshi watch collector, Ahmed Rahman. Ahmed Rahman is the nephew of Salman F. Rahman who used to be a powerful adviser of Sheikh Hasina. Salman is now in custody.

The story published in The Financial Times pointed out that apart from expensive watches, Ahmed’s family owns numerous properties in the U.K. worth millions of U.S. dollars. Another news site, Netra News, published previously that Sheikh Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana lives in one of the houses owned by the Rahman family in the U.K.

How Ahmed and his family transferred this large amount of money to the U.K. remains a puzzle as Bangladeshi law restricts the amount of money sent abroad.

However, it’s public knowledge that the ruling elites under Hasina’s Awami League-led regime in Bangladesh used many dark methods to siphon money abroad. According to Al Jazeera’s investigative desk, for example, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, a former land minister in the Hasina government, whose global wealth portfolio is over $500 million, siphoned most of his money out of Bangladesh.

With Hasina’s resignation and the exit of the AL government, a new interim government under Mohammad Yunus has taken charge. This government needs to bring back Bangladesh’s stolen assets.

The Yunus government has already taken some bold steps to revive the economy. It is, for example, implementing financial sector reforms by reshuffling boards of controversial banks, and seeking debt support from the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Despite these efforts, Bangladesh’s exchequer remains strained.

Hence, in addition to seeking loans, the interim government must explore avenues to repatriate the laundered money, which will not only boost the economy but also help reduce the debt burden.

There are four ways that Bangladesh can recover its stolen assets.

Firstly, Bangladesh is part of the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR), a partnership between the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), but is yet to utilize its full potential as the Hasina regime used it as a tool to harass opposition leaders instead of using it to recover the assets. Under this initiative, the U.K. government helped Bangladesh to get back around $1.5 million.

Secondly, the interim government can work with other governments to impose targeted sanctions against suspected money launderers and freeze their assets, forcing them to return to Bangladesh and surrender.

Thirdly, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) can be a game-changer if the laundered money is invested in or transacted through the U.S. financial systems. Bangladesh can learn from the FIFA corruption scandals and use the knowledge to target Bangladeshis accused of corruption and now living in the U.S. One notable example is Manmath Ranjan Baroi, an aide to former Minister for Education Nurul Islam Nahid, who was accused of corruption and fled to the U.S. in April 2020. Another is the ex-land minister Saifuzzaman, who is said to have invested in the U.S., according to Bloomberg.

Finally, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) must work with the governments of countries considered the destination of money laundering by Hasina’s cronies and enhance financial intelligence sharing about the suspected individuals. Government-to-government partnerships should be initiated regarding legal assistance to prevent money laundering and to repatriate funds, particularly with the U.S., U.K., Canada, UAE and Singapore, known to be popular destinations for money launderers, as an immediate step.

While Bangladesh needs to step up and act fast to explore the options and build global partnerships, the governments in the West, Middle East, and Southeast Asia should also cooperate and show goodwill in helping Bangladesh to recover the laundered money.
Sri Lanka Keeps Rates Steady in First Meeting After Elections (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [9/26/2024 11:27 PM, Anusha Ondaatjie, 27782K, Negative]
Sri Lanka’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rates unchanged in its first meeting since a new president was elected and uncertainty over the International Monetary Fund loan program looms.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka held the standing lending facility rate at 9.25% on Friday — in line with the forecasts of most economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The deposit facility rate was also left unchanged at 8.25%.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a leftist political outsider, won Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Sept. 21 in a stunning rebuke of the political elite, who voters blamed for leading the island nation into a historic economic crisis two years ago. His National People’s Power is a coalition of leftist political parties and groups backed by protesters responsible for ousting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.

Inflation has been below the central bank’s target of 5%, giving it room to keep rates low. The bank said on Friday that inflation is likely to remain well below target over the next few quarters, “potentially recording deflation in the immediate future driven by changes to administratively determined prices and easing of supply conditions.”

The bank also said that the “robust growth outcome” recorded in the first half of 2024 is likely to continue through the remainder of the year, resulting in a higher growth for 2024 than initially projected.

The South Asian nation’s economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, data showed ahead of the polls. After sliding Monday, Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds have rebounded following Dissanayake’s call for an early parliamentary election and that he’d seek new talks with the IMF. Local shares have also extended gains since the election.

The new president has vowed to reopen negotiations with the multilateral lender over its $3 billion bailout, which may cause delays in the disbursement of funds. He said this week he’ll also start discussions with creditors over debt restructuring deals.

“The continuation of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement with the IMF and early finalization of the debt restructuring process will support the strengthening of external sector buffers further,” the central bank added.
Sri Lanka holds rates steady, sees rosy inflation, growth outlook (Reuters)
Reuters [9/26/2024 11:17 PM, Uditha Jayasinghe, 37270K, Neutral]
Sri Lanka’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Friday in line with expectations, citing domestic and global uncertainties, but said inflation was likely to remain low and growth was doing better than initially expected.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept the Standing Deposit Facility Rate at 8.25% and the Standing Lending Facility Rate at 9.25%. The decision comes in the wake of the election of a new president to steer the island out of its worst financial crisis in decades.

"The Board observed that inflation is likely to remain well below the target of 5% over the next few quarters, potentially recording deflation in the immediate future driven by changes to administratively determined prices and easing of supply conditions," CBSL said in the statement.

CBSL cut rates by 25 basis points in July as part of an easing cycle that has seen rates drop by a total 7.25 percentage points since June 2023, partially reversing the 10.50 percentage points of increases following the financial crisis.

CBSL said the latest economic indicators suggested the robust economic expansion seen in the first half of 2024 was likely to continue through the year, resulting in higher full-year growth than initially projected.

"Growth and credit growth are currently at decent levels. Given premiums have gone up on government securities due to political uncertainty, CBSL would want to see that reduction first," said Udeeshan Jonas strategy head at Colombo-based equity research firm CAL.

Jonas said inflation in the second half of the year could pick up although the fiscal easing expected to be announced by the president in the upcoming budget could impact prices.

Last Saturday, Sri Lanka elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as president, drawn by his pledges to slash taxes, fight corruption, and reduce the cost of living.

Dissanayake dissolved parliament on Tuesday and is hoping to strengthen his hand in the 225-member house with a general election on Nov. 14. His coalition held just three seats in the parliament elected in August 2020.

On Wednesday he said he plans to begin negotiations immediately with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to take forward the country’s $2.9 billion bailout programme, which has helped cool inflation, steady the rupee and rebuild reserves.

"We are discussing the next steps for engagement" IMF Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer said in an email late on Thursday, reiterating the fund was looking forward to working with the country’s new president.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan launches program to reintroduce tigers to lost habitat (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [9/26/2024 4:14 PM, Almaz Kumenov, 57.6K, Neutral]
Following up on their success in reviving the threatened saiga antelope population, authorities in Kazakhstan are attempting to reintroduce tigers to an area near Lake Balkhash.

Caspian tigers, also known as Turan tigers, roamed the Kazakh steppe until disappearing about 70 years ago. To launch the revival program, Kazakh authorities announced September 23 that two Amur tigers, a male and female, were brought in from the Netherlands. In 2025, up to four more Amur tigers are expected to be procured from Russia.

Ecology Minister Yerlan Nyssanbayev said Amur tigers are preferred for the program because they, like Turan tigers, are accustomed to severe cold, while other tiger species thrive in warmer climates. Citing standards developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, “Amur” and “Turan” are not considered separate subspecies of tigers, so the animals being reintroduced to Kazakhstan can be classified as the Turan (Caspian) breed.

“For Kazakhstan, this is not only an ecologically important project, but also a symbol of joint efforts to restore the natural heritage,” said Nyssanbayev.

The Kazakh government first expressed a desire to reintroduce tigers in 2010. Eight years later, with support from the United Nations Development Program, the “Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve” Republican State Institution was created to serve as the tigers’ future habitat. The reserve features thousands of hectares of forested territory near Lake Balkhash and “preserves the unique biodiversity of steppe ecosystems, including rare and endangered species such as saiga antelope, marbled polecat … [and] pallas sand grouse,” according to the UNDP.

Presently, the tigers are undergoing an acclimatization process in a small enclosure near the protected area before moving into a more spacious area, the department said in a statement. Their descendants will live in the wild in the national park, which is projected to accommodate up to 100 tigers, officials say. Turan tigers tend to be larger than other tiger types, featuring powerful legs, small ears and a more yellowish than orange coat with black stripes.

Turan tigers’ preferred habitat was among the reed thickets and forests along the banks of the Ili and Syr Darya rivers in southern and southeastern Kazakhstan. During the late Tsarist and early Soviet periods, tigers increasingly caused trouble for local residents, killing cattle and occasionally attacking humans, prompting concerted efforts to exterminate them. According to official data, the last Turan tiger was killed in 1948.

Officials stress that the new tiger population won’t pose a threat to humans or livestock.

“Improving the tiger’s natural food supply and the remoteness of the reserve will help avoid a conflict between the tiger and humans,” Nyssanbayev told reporters. The main food source for the tigers will be wild boars and saigas, of which there are now more than enough in the country.

An Ecology Ministry statement cited Gert Polet, a wildlife expert at World Wildlife Fund Netherlands, as saying the restoration program “gives hope” that similar revival efforts for endangered or disappeared species could succeed elsewhere.

The Turan tiger experiment hopes to emulate the success of the saiga population restoration. At the outset of the 21st century, saigas were listed as critically endangered. Two decades of well-coordinated conservation efforts among international organizations, Kazakhstan government agencies and local stakeholders have helped restore the population to roughly 2 million today from just 39,000 in 2005. Saigas are presently considered to be a “near threatened” species.
Rights Groups Decry Harsh Sentences Sought For Kyrgyz Reporters (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/26/2024 9:28 AM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
Kyrgyz prosecutors have asked a court in Bishkek to sentence to six years in prison each of 11 former and current reporters for the Temirov Live investigative group on charges the journalists and rights groups have rejected as politically motivated.

Prosecutor Adilet Ubukeev asked the Lenin district court to convict and sentence the journalists on September 26.

Kyrgyz human rights defender Rita Karasartova decried the move, calling the prosecutors’ demand "ridiculous."

"They demand six years in prison for each journalist. For what? Is journalism a crime?" she said after the court hearing.

"Is it a crime to compile journalistic materials, investigate, publish the investigation results, write about it? Is it a crime to criticize authorities?" Karasartova added while calling for the immediate release of all 11 journalists.

The journalists went on trial on June 7.

Four of them -- Makhabat Tajibek-kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov, Aktilek Kaparov, and Aike Beishekeeva -- have been held in pretrial detention since January 16.

The other seven, Maksat Tajibek-uulu, Akyl Orozbekov, Jumabek Turdaliev, Joodar Buzumov, Saparbek Akunbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, and Tynystan Asypbekov, were transferred to house arrest amid an outcry from domestic and international human rights groups over the case.

The Austrian-based International Press Institute also condemned the prosecutors’ request and called on the Central Asian nation’s authorities to "immediately release the journalists."

Rights groups and watchdogs have also decried the treatment of the journalists while in detention.

In April, the Kyrgyz Ombudsman’s Institute said guards physically attacked Tajibek-kyzy and two of her cellmates in detention center No.1 in Bishkek.

Prosecutors said at the time that they launched a preliminary investigation into Tajibek-kyzy’s complaint.

Tajibek-kyzy is the wife of prominent investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, the founder of Temirov Live who was deported to Moscow in November 2022 after a court ruled that he illegally obtained Kyrgyz citizenship.

Temirov, who held Kyrgyz and Russian passports, rejected the accusation and insisted the probe against him was launched after he published the results of an investigation suggesting corruption among top Kyrgyz officials.

Kyrgyzstan’s free press and civil society have traditionally been the most vibrant in Central Asia, but that has changed amid a deepening government crackdown.

In early April, President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a controversial bill that allows authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives," which critics say mirrors a repressive Russian law on "foreign agents" similar to one Moscow uses to muzzle independent journalism and NGOs.
Language Incident At Uzbek School Leads To Heated Exchange With Moscow (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/26/2024 11:07 AM, Staff, 1251K, Neutral]
A recent incident at a school in Uzbekistan between a teacher and a sixth-grader who asked her why she didn’t speak Russian in a Russian class has led to heated statements between Russian and Uzbek officials.

The incident took place at a school in the capital, Tashkent, on September 23. A female teacher in a Russian class pulled a student’s ear and slapped his face after he asked her why she was not speaking Russian.

A video of the incident went viral on the Internet and sparked strong reactions from Russians on social media.

On September 25, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview that Russia "has requested official explanations from the Uzbek side" regarding the incident.

"An urgent request has been sent to the Uzbek side to legally assess the material in the media and, if the case if proven, to undertake measures against the person for the cruelty imposed on the child," Zakharova said.

Alisher Qodirov, deputy chairman of the Uzbek parliament and leader of the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party, on September 26 wrote on Telegram that "it would be better for [Russia] to deal with their own affairs full of problems than to deal with our internal issues."

"The violation of rights of an Uzbek child at a school in Uzbekistan will be investigated in accordance with Uzbek laws. There is no advantage to stir up noise out of the blue," Qodirov wrote.

Although only about 2 percent of the 35 million people in Uzbekistan are ethnic Russians, the Russian language is still taught in schools across the country.

Uzbekistan and other former Soviet republics have been cautious about the Russian language in their countries after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

One of Moscow’s main justifications for its aggression has been the "protection of Russian-speaking population of Ukraine" from the "Nazi government." Ukraine’s government was democratically elected and does not include any far-right parties.

In early September, Qodirov proposed banning all Soviet symbols and ideology in his country in response to a court decision in the southeastern Uzbek city of Samarkand to hand a parole-like sentence to a local man after he worked with a pro-Soviet Russian group in calling for the restoration of the Soviet Union.
Twitter
Afghanistan
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office
@amnestysasia
[9/26/2024 8:48 AM, 91.7K followers, 75 retweets, 155 likes]
GOOD NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN: Education activist Ahmad Fahim Azimi is released after 11 months in prison. He should never have been jailed for promoting girls’ right to education. Thank you to all who worked tirelessly calling for his release, including those who campaigned through our Urgent Action.

Sara Wahedi
@SaraWahedi
[9/26/2024 8:19 AM, 94.8K followers, 332 retweets, 4.9K likes]
First day at @UniofOxford, but the work doesn’t stop. Just wrapped up a meeting with some ICJ members on evidence collection in Afghanistan. On the tech side, we’ll support member states in holding the Taliban accountable for crimes against Afghan women and girls.

Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[9/26/2024 10:26 PM, 236.6K followers, 69 retweets, 183 likes]
The women of Afghanistan call on all governments and international organizations to take decisive action to hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against women and humanity. https://x.com/i/status/1839491682691088811

Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[9/26/2024 10:45 PM, 236.6K followers, 4 retweets, 15 likes]
Afghanistan’s woman lawmaker envisions a day when her homeland will be governed by women. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/taliban-international-court-on-gender-discrimination/104401192

Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[9/26/2024 10:10 PM, 236.6K followers, 12 retweets, 55 likes]
I hope that countries pursuing legal action against the Taliban for violating women’s rights in Afghanistan at the International Criminal Court will also open their borders to Afghan women and girls. Anyone with a sense of justice should stand by those enduring gender apartheid.
Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/26/2024 3:41 PM, 6.7M followers, 274 retweets, 1.1K likes]
Pleased to meet my brother Dr.Masoud Pezeshkian @drpezeshkian, the Iranian President on the sidelines of 79th session of the #UNGA .We agreed to strengthen our collective efforts to fully realize the potential of our bilateral ties and we have prioritized the areas of trade, investment, agriculture & power for the roadmap of future cooperation.

Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/26/2024 10:13 AM, 6.7M followers, 294 retweets, 886 likes]
Had a productive meeting with @IMF Managing Director Ms. Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of #UNGA79 . Thanked her for her support for Pakistan in successfully securing an EFF package worth USD 7 billion for the next 37 months. We also agreed on the urgent need to mobilise financing for Climate Resilience. I am confident that, with the assistance and support of IMF and other friendly countries, Pakistan’s economy is now back on the road to recovery.

Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/26/2024 9:58 AM, 6.7M followers, 264 retweets, 1K likes]
Pleasure to meet President @WorldBank Ajay Banga, on the sidelines of the 79th #UNGA .We discussed the World Bank’s long standing partnership with Pakistan and its role in supporting our development priorities, economic reforms & innovative financing solutions. Our shared commitment to achieving #SDGs & Vision 2025 was also reaffirmed.

Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/26/2024 9:49 AM, 6.7M followers, 277 retweets, 936 likes]
Had the pleasure of meeting President of EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen on the margins of the 79th #UNGA session in NY. Congratulated her on re-election as EU Commission’s President and emphasized the importance of continued dialogue and cooperation b/w Pakistan & the EU to further strengthen our partnership, including through the GSP Plus Scheme.

Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/26/2024 9:09 AM, 6.7M followers, 219 retweets, 741 likes]
Delighted to have a constructive and useful meeting with Mr. Bill Gates, Co-Chair of BMGF, on the sidelines of 79th UNGA session. Expressed deep appreciation for BMGF’s continued support to Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts, as well as cooperation in the fields of immunization, nutrition & financial inclusion. Also acknowledged the instrumental role played by BMGF in post-flood recovery, and reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening our partnership with BMGF for Pakistan’s socio economic development.

Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/26/2024 9:06 AM, 6.7M followers, 590 retweets, 2.2K likes]
In my meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, I strongly condemned the Israeli genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza and West Bank as well as ongoing decimation of mosques and churches in Gaza. Reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for Palestinian cause and underscored importance of two-State solution based on pre-1967 borders under the relevant UNSC resolutions for sustainable regional peace.
India
Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[9/26/2024 6:57 PM, 3.2M followers, 63 retweets, 289 likes]
Always a pleasure to speak with @UN Secretary General @antonioguterres. Discussed the Pact for the Future, reforming multilateralism, AI, climate action, West Asia and Ukraine. #UNGA79

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[9/26/2024 4:25 PM, 3.2M followers, 50 retweets, 295 likes]
Pleased to meet new @un_pga Philemon Yang today in New York. Assured him of India’s full support to his vision of Unity in Diversity, Peace, Human Sustainability and Dignity for everyone everywhere. #UNGA79

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[9/26/2024 2:33 PM, 3.2M followers, 246 retweets, 1.4K likes]
Just concluded the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of #UNGA79. Underlined its significance for multi-polarity and global diversity. Focused on reforming multilateralism and strengthening development. Also discussed achieving SDG targets, addressing debt, promoting fair trade and overcoming poverty. Thank FM Mauro Vieira for convening and chairing the meeting.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[9/26/2024 10:02 AM, 3.2M followers, 120 retweets, 977 likes]
Nice to see @FMBhutan D.N. Dhungyel at the L-69 meeting. #UNGA79

Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
[9/27/2024 2:14 AM, 27M followers, 1.9K retweets, 5.4K likes]
The frustration in the eyes of a young startup owner from J&K reflects the struggles of most entrepreneurs and small-business owners in India. ‘Modi ji’s monopoly model’ has taken away jobs, devastated MSMEs and deprived people of opportunity. The systematic attack on small and medium industries through incompetent policies like a bad GST and demonetisation has turned India from a producing economy to a consuming one. At this rate we can neither compete with China nor ensure prosperity for all Indians. India deserves better. We must simplify GST and open up the banking system to small businesses to promote widespread opportunity and job creation.
NSB
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[9/26/2024 11:40 PM, 50.6K followers, 3 retweets, 44 likes]
@ChiefAdviserGoB HE Prof Muhammad Yunus discussed with @UNDP Administrator @ASteiner current and future programming in #Bangladesh e.g. ending corruption, digitizing public procurement & public service, civil service reform. Also discussed various aspects of #Rohingya crisis.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[9/26/2024 11:29 PM, 50.6K followers, 14 retweets, 180 likes]
@ChiefAdviserGoB HE Prof Muhammad Yunus discussed with DG @ilo @GilbertFHoungbo ways to improve industrial relations in longterm interest of #manufacturing in #Bangladesh. @USDOL

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[9/26/2024 11:13 PM, 50.6K followers, 40 likes]
Chief Adviser HE Prof Muhammad Yunus discussed with @Refugees (UNHCR) High Commissioner @FilippoGrandi matters relating to enhanced support for #Rohingyas sheltered in #Bangladesh and possible ways to reach a durable political soln to the endemic crisis.@ChiefAdviserGoB

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[9/26/2024 11:02 PM, 50.6K followers, 11 retweets, 141 likes] In NY, Chief Adviser HE Prof Muhammad Yunus discussed with @IntlCrimCourt Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC matters relating to #Rohingyas and realization of the Rome Statute. Mr Khan lauded #Bangladesh for coopn in the ongoing Case in #ICC.@ChiefAdviserGoB #CrimesAgainstHumanity

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[9/26/2024 4:13 PM, 50.6K followers, 21 retweets, 151 likes]
Chief Adviser HE Prof Muhammad Yunus, at interaction with @ChamberGlobal @USBanglaTrade called for #USA business to engage in #Bangladesh vigorously than even before e.g. #energy #digital #agriculture. Full txt #USBDpartnership @ChiefAdviserGoB @USAmbKeshap @StateDept

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[9/26/2024 12:14 PM, 50.6K followers, 75 retweets, 742 likes]
Chief Adviser HE Prof Muhammad Yunus & US@StateDept (Secy of State) HE @ABlinken had fruitful discussions on advancing #Bangladesh|#USA ties, deepen long-term economic-political engagements in "shared interests". Applauded Prof Yunus’ leadership. @ChiefAdviserGoB @WhiteHouse

Brahma Chellaney
@Chellaney
[9/27/2024 2:36 AM, 266.2K followers, 140 retweets, 341 likes]
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: When Hasina visited Washington in May 2023 for IMF-World Bank meetings, not one US official met her. Now US executive and congressional leaders, from the president down — exulting over the military-backed regime change in Bangladesh — have coddled and cosseted the unelected Yunus. It won’t be long before the power behind the throne, the Islamist-leaning Gen. Zaman, is feted in Washington. Meanwhile, the extrajudicial killings, systematic attacks on minorities, purges, curtailment of civil liberties, release of terrorists and Islamists from jail, arbitrary arrests and other abuses under the military-installed regime are going essentially unreported in the Western media.

K P Sharma Oli
@kpsharmaoli
[9/26/2024 8:30 PM, 858.6K followers, 34 retweets, 141 likes]
Addressed the General Debate of the 79th Session of the #UN General Assembly today. We firmly believe that stronger multilateralism, with the United Nations at its core, is the only way forward to tackle the numerous global crises we face. #Partnerships #UNGA79

K P Sharma Oli
@kpsharmaoli
[9/26/2024 6:16 PM, 858.6K followers, 16 retweets, 70 likes]
A just, inclusive, and equitable world order as well as sustained prosperity are attainable when we collaborate effectively. Nepal is committed to playing its role to secure our shared aspirationof enduring peace, progress, & prosperity whileleaving no one behind.

K P Sharma Oli
@kpsharmaoli
[9/26/2024 6:14 PM, 858.6K followers, 21 retweets, 106 likes]
Firmly advocate for the reform of the UN System to make it more effective, democratic, transparent, & accountable. We also call for substantial reform of the global financial system. The voice and representation of countries in special situations must be ensured.

K P Sharma Oli
@kpsharmaoli
[9/26/2024 6:14 PM, 858.6K followers, 6 retweets, 19 likes]
Nepal firmly upholds the belief that all human rights are universal, inalienable, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. We are fully committed to promoting gender equality and ensuring equal rights for women. Protection of the rights of migrant workers is our priority.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/27/2024 2:09 AM, 123.5K followers, 26 retweets, 222 likes]
We are committed to creating a law-abiding nation and fostering a disciplined society while ensuring the social security of all citizens. This revives the principle that ‘everyone is equal before the law.’

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/27/2024 1:28 AM, 123.5K followers, 110 retweets, 922 likes]
The Japanese government has committed to initiating the construction of 11 projects in Sri Lanka that are currently halted and has also pledged its full support for the new government’s program.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/26/2024 3:03 PM, 123.5K followers, 78 retweets, 920 likes]
Thank you @POTUS for your kind good wishes which I appreciate. Sri Lanka under my leadership will be working closely with the US for strengthening our long-standing friendly relations. I also reiterate my government’s commitment to a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/26/2024 10:53 AM, 123.5K followers, 385 retweets, 2.6K likes]
The government has officially reinstated the previous visa issuance system, effective from 12.00 midnight today.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/26/2024 5:51 AM, 123.5K followers, 121 retweets, 1.3K likes]
Today (26), I convened a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Power and Energy at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the meeting, I emphasized the following key points:
01. The importance of maintaining adequate fuel reserves to ensure uninterrupted supply for the public.
02. The need to develop a plan for the swift allocation of 800 solar panels received as part of Indian aid to the Ministry of Power and Energy.
03. The urgency of accelerating projects under the Ministry of Power, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and foreign loans, along with the formation of a committee to approve foreign-funded projects within three months.
04. The significance of expediting rural development projects and promptly establishing a mechanism for funds to reach the villages.
Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, Professor Udayanga Hemapala, and other officials also participated in the discussion.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/26/2024 8:24 AM, 123.5K followers, 121 retweets, 1.2K likes]
I advised the Treasury to increase the fertilizer subsidy for paddy farmers in the 2024/25 Maha season from Rs. 15,000 per hectare to Rs. 25,000 from October 01st.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/26/2024 8:40 AM, 123.5K followers, 109 retweets, 1.1K likes]
Advised the Treasury to implement a fuel subsidy for Fisheries starting from October 1st.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake
@anuradisanayake
[9/26/2024 10:45 AM, 123.5K followers, 162 retweets, 1.4K likes]
Advised to allocate luxury vehicles used by previous administrations to essential services.

Namal Rajapaksa
@RajapaksaNamal
[9/26/2024 11:53 PM, 436.6K followers, 11 retweets, 162 likes]
Glad to hear the subsidies for farmers and fishermen. Hope there’s a clear plan in place to increase government revenue alongside these efforts.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[9/26/2024 12:22 PM, 213.5K followers, 4 retweets, 6 likes]
Dissanayake can count on public support in his ambitious effort to clean up politics. But his status as the change candidate presents him w/obstacles in his dealings w/the opposition, business community & religious minorities. For @ForeignPolicy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/09/25/sri-lanka-election-president-dissanayake-challenges/
Central Asia
MFA Kazakhstan
@MFA_KZ
[9/26/2024 4:14 AM, 52.9K followers, 5 retweets, 7 likes]
On the margins of the 79th session of the UNGA, Kazakh FM Nurtleu held meetings with the High Representative of the @UNAOC, with the foreign ministers of India, Cambodia, Cyprus, Rwanda, Finland, and with the VP of the investment company Cerberus https://gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/853012?lang=en

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[9/27/2024 12:09 AM, 5K followers, 1 retweet]
Participation of the Minister in the Annual Meeting of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15816/participation-of-the-minister-in-the-annual-meeting-of-the-group-of-landlocked-developing-countries

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[9/26/2024 6:41 AM, 5K followers]
Meeting with the Representative of the World Bank https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15811/meeting-with-the-representative-of-the-world-bank

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[9/26/2024 5:43 AM, 5K followers]
Meeting with the UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the UNDP https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15810/meeting-with-the-un-under-secretary-general-and-associate-administrator-of-the-undp

MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[9/26/2024 5:01 AM, 5K followers, 2 likes]
Meeting with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15809/meeting-with-the-un-under-secretary-general-for-economic-and-social-affairs

Bakhtiyor Saidov
@FM_Saidov
[9/27/2024 1:21 AM, 8.8K followers, 3 retweets, 8 likes]
Hosted the high-level panel discussions titled Promoting Peaceful and Inclusive Societies for Sustainable Development through Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue. Grateful to @UNAOC, all the speakers and participants for the support. Reaffirm Uzbekistan’s strong commitment to advancing a culture of peace, dialogue, and inclusivity in the interest of common security and prosperity.

{End of Report}
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