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:
Monday, September 9, 2024 6:30 AM ET

Afghanistan
At UN, growing calls for reversal of latest Taliban edict against women (VOA)
VOA [9/6/2024 2:02 PM, Margaret Besheer, 4566K, Neutral]
A dozen U.N. Security Council ambassadors strongly condemned on Friday the Afghan Taliban’s recent “morality law” which further erodes the rights of women and girls in that country and called for its reversal.

“On top of the existing edicts, this new directive confirms and extends wide-ranging and far-reaching restrictions on personal conduct and provides inspectors with broad powers of enforcement, thus deepening the already unacceptable restrictions on the enjoyment by all Afghans of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said Japan’s U.N. ambassador, Yamazaki Kazuyuki.

“Day by day, Afghan women and girls lose their opportunities and hope for their future,” he added. “This is unacceptable.”

Envoys from Ecuador, France, Guyana, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States joined him as he read the statement before reporters.

The only Security Council members not to lend their support to the statement were Algeria, China and Russia.

On August 21, the Taliban announced the ratification of a detailed “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice,” which includes among its restrictions a prohibition on Afghan women using their voices in public and orders them to completely cover their bodies and faces outdoors. Women are also forbidden from interacting with non-Muslims, using public transport alone, and looking at men who are not their husband or blood relative.

The Taliban government, which is officially not recognized by any country, has dismissed U.N.-led foreign criticism of the law as offensive.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesperson, asserted this week that “non-Muslims should first educate themselves about Islamic laws and respect Islamic values” before expressing concerns or rejecting the law. “We find it blasphemous to our Islamic Sharia when objections are raised without understanding it,” he said.

The United States, European Union, United Nations and others have condemned the edict, the latest in a series that have eroded the rights of Afghan women and girls.

“Today, we once again urge the Taliban to swiftly reverse all the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Ambassador Kazuyuki said.

“The Taliban need to listen and respond to the voices of Afghan women and girls by respecting their rights to education and for women to work, as well as the freedoms of expression and movement. It is a prerequisite for a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.”

The Japanese envoy noted that the 15-nation Security Council has repeatedly discussed the worsening human rights situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over in August 2021 and have “raised a united voice on multiple occasions.”

Last year, the council unanimously adopted Resolution 2681 which calls for the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan.

The 12 Security Council members also called on those countries with influence over the Taliban to promote the “urgent reversal” of the policy, which violates Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights treaties to which it is a signatory.

They also urged the Taliban to allow the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan to visit the country. The Taliban have publicly said they will not allow Richard Bennett entry.

The U.N.’s agency for gender equality and women’s empowerment, U.N. Women, warned in a statement on August 28 that the new law is “effectively erasing women from public life and granting broad enforcement powers to the morality police.”

U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo warned last month that the law would only impede Afghanistan’s return to the international fold.

The Security Council plans to next discuss Afghanistan in a meeting on September 18.
G.O.P. Report to Denounce Biden Administration Over Afghanistan Withdrawal (New York Times)
New York Times [9/8/2024 4:14 PM, Karoun Demirjian, 831K, Neutral]
House Republicans are preparing to release an investigative report blaming the Biden administration for what they called the failures of the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, laying out a scathing indictment that appeared timed to tarnish Vice President Kamala Harris in the final weeks before the presidential election.

The roughly 350-page document set to be released on Monday is the product of a yearslong inquiry by Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It accuses President Biden and his national security team of being so determined to pull out of Afghanistan that they flouted security warnings, refused to plan for an evacuation and lied to the American public throughout the withdrawal about the risks on the ground and missteps that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members.

“The Biden-Harris administration prioritized the optics of the withdrawal over the security of U.S. personnel on the ground,” the report states. The document, a draft of which was reviewed by The New York Times, also contends that the administration’s mismanagement resulted in “exposing U.S. Defense Department and State Department personnel to lethal threats and emotional harm.”

Details of the document were reported earlier on Sunday by CBS.

The findings are largely a recitation of familiar lines of criticism against Mr. Biden, offering few new insights about what might have been done differently to avoid the Taliban’s swift march into Kabul and the disastrous U.S. evacuation operation in August 2021. But they come at a critical time in the presidential race, when Mr. Trump has been working to persuade voters that Ms. Harris is unfit to be the commander in chief.

The authors single out Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, for particular condemnation, charging that he failed to coordinate a viable exit strategy and misrepresented the situation on the ground to the public.

They absolve former President Donald J. Trump almost entirely of responsibility for the debacle, even though an inspector general found in 2022 that the deal his administration struck with the Taliban in 2020, known as the Doha Agreement, to orchestrate a rapid U.S. withdrawal, was a major factor in the crisis. The report instead faults Zalmay Khalilzad, then the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, for the shortcomings of that pact.

A number of independent and internal government reviews have found that a series of factors — including that agreement, the Afghan military’s dependence on support from U.S. troops and contractors, and insufficient worst-case-scenario planning — contributed to the harried nature of the withdrawal.

Mr. Trump has gone to great lengths to try to portray Ms. Harris as responsible for the deaths of 13 service members in a terrorist attack near the Kabul airport in the final days of the evacuation. Ms. Harris, in turn, has accused Mr. Trump of trying to score political points off the deaths of those and other troops, after his campaign took photos and video of him in a restricted area of Arlington National Ceremony in defiance of military rules.

The report offers little new information about what role Ms. Harris played in the president’s actions on Afghanistan, though it repeatedly castigates the “Biden-Harris administration” and quotes the vice president’s assertion that she was “the last person in the room” when Mr. Biden made the decision to withdraw U.S. troops.

“Vice President Harris, despite publicly championing Afghan women’s rights, appears to have been working in lock step with President Biden behind the scenes to withdraw all U.S. troops no matter the consequence to Afghan women and girls,” the report says.

Democrats complained that the report ignored Mr. Trump’s role.

“The Republican majority has taken particular pains to avoid facts involving former President Trump,” Representative Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote in a letter accompanying a memorandum countering the G.O.P.’s findings. “Republicans’ partisan attempts to garner headlines rather than acknowledge the full facts and substance of their investigation have only increased with the heat of an election season.”

In their memorandum, Democrats insisted that Biden administration officials pulled off as seamless an evacuation as could have been mustered in a rapidly deteriorating threat environment.

But the Republicans’ report condemns the State Department for failing to put a reliable consular process in place to ensure that Americans and the Afghans who supported U.S. operations would be able to reach the international airport in Kabul and board planes out of Afghanistan.

It metes out scathing criticism for a wide swath of senior State Department and National Security Council officials for failing to draft contingency plans that might have helped mitigate the confusion or scale back the U.S. diplomatic footprint in proportion with the reduction in troops.

And it asserts that many witnesses pointed to Mr. Sullivan as “taking the lead for the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal planning and strategy — and owning many of the failures.”

The White House pushed back against the findings, calling the charges against Mr. Sullivan “false and complete nonsense.”

“Everything we have seen and heard of Chairman McCaul’s latest partisan report shows that it is based on cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations and pre-existing biases that have plagued this investigation from the start,” Sharon Yang, a spokeswoman, said in a statement, referring to the committee’s chairman, Representative Michael McCaul of Texas.

“The White House coordinated a robust policy-planning process ahead of and during the withdrawal that reflected input from departments and agencies across the government, including officials on the ground in Kabul,” she added.

The report also charges that internal State Department risk assessments were watered down and embassy staff members who dared raise safety concerns were reprimanded. Ambassador Ross Wilson, then the top diplomat in Kabul, is described as so “maniacal” about keeping the embassy open that staff members wanting to discuss contingency plans for an evacuation had to meet in secret.

Republicans allege that when Mr. Wilson ultimately fled the embassy, he left some staff behind — and later, after learning he had contracted Covid during the evacuation, had a Foreign Service officer take a test in his stead to procure a negative result, so he could escape quarantine in Qatar and go home.

In an interview, Mr. Wilson categorically denied those claims and said that he “never reprimanded anybody.” He also said that while he was not the last person to leave the embassy, the only staff members who remained stayed behind to destroy sensitive and classified information, and that they arrived at the Kabul airport the next morning.

In interviews with the committee, Mr. Wilson and others also said that evacuation planning was underway in the spring of 2021.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is presented as mostly absent during the crisis, delegating decision making during critical weeks to subordinates. Spokespeople for the department rebutted that characterization.

In a statement, Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the State Department, accused Republicans of having “done a disservice by relying on false information and presenting inaccurate narratives meant only to harm the administration.”

The report is largely sympathetic to the military. But it challenges the Defense Department’s conclusion that the attack at Abbey Gate that killed 11 Marines, one soldier and one sailor was the work of a sole ISIS-K bomber, citing testimony from Marines who referred to gunshots and bullet wounds.

Military officials have explained that ball bearings in the explosive device used in the attack would have caused wounds that appeared similar to gunshot wounds.
McCaul claims ex-ambassador faked Covid test after Afghanistan withdrawal (Axios)
Axios [9/8/2024 1:51 PM, Juliegrace Brufke, 18500K, Negative]
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) alleged that the former acting Ambassador to Afghanistan prioritized his own evacuation ahead of embassy staff.

Why it matters: McCaul’s comments during an exclusive interview with Axios at the Texas Tribune Festival come just ahead of the Foreign Affairs panel’s release of a report on the widely criticized August 2021 evacuation.

The report alleges that the envoy — Ross Wilson — directed an employee to obscure the fact that he’d tested positive for COVID so he could fly back to the U.S. from Doha following the evacuation in violation of US travel restrictions.

"Ambassador Wilson had an employee fake his COVID test so he could fly back to the United States immediately," a portion of the report obtained by Axios states, citing testimony gathered by the Foreign Affairs panel.

Wilson didn’t reply to a request for comment on the fresh allegations.

The big picture: McCaul said the report also found that Wilson went on vacation in July without solidifying evacuation plans, even as the Pentagon and Intelligence community were recommending against a full military withdrawal.

He accused Wilson of ignoring warnings from more than 20 State Department employees "saying, ‘We’re in danger here. The Taliban is coming.’"

"And they were right, because that’s exactly what happened," he continued.

Zoom in: McCaul also took aim at the Biden administration’s overall handling of the withdrawal.

The report states that as late as Aug. 14, when the Taliban surrounded Kabul, the White House still had not determined who would be eligible for evacuation or where evacuees would go.

"So you can imagine the chaos that ensued because there was no plan of evacuation in place, no no operation of evacuation in place at the time," McCaul said.

The handling of Afghanistan "empowered our enemies," McCaul said, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine six months later.

The other side: "Chairman McCaul’s latest partisan report is based on cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and pre-existing biases that have plagued this investigation from the start," White House spokeswoman Sharon Yang told Axios.

"As we have said many times, ending our longest war was the right thing to do and our nation is stronger today as a result," she added.

Wilson told CBS News in August of 2021 that the embassy had "put out repeated warnings" to Americans for months before the withdrawal urging them to "Leave now. Leave immediately."

The White House has repeatedly defended Biden’s decision to withdraw while acknowledging that aspects of the evacuation were flawed.

The bottom line: McCaul said he hoped the report’s findings wold deter the U.S. from moving forward with what he characterized as an ill-advised plan to withdraw troops from Iraq.
The hospital struggling to save its starving babies (BBC)
BBC [9/9/2024 1:30 AM, Yogita Limaye, 67.2M, Neutral]
“This is like doomsday for me. I feel so much grief. Can you imagine what I’ve gone through watching my children dying?” says Amina.

She’s lost six children. None of them lived past the age of three and another is now battling for her life.

Seven-month-old Bibi Hajira is the size of a newborn. Suffering from severe acute malnutrition, she occupies half a bed at a ward in Jalalabad regional hospital in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.

“My children are dying because of poverty. All I can feed them is dry bread, and water that I warm up by keeping it out under the sun,” Amina says, nearly shouting in anguish.

What’s even more devastating is her story is far from unique - and that so many more lives could be saved with timely treatment.

Bibi Hajira is one of 3.2 million children with acute malnutrition, which is ravaging the country. It’s a condition that has plagued Afghanistan for decades, triggered by 40 years of war, extreme poverty and a multitude of factors in the three years since the Taliban took over.

But the situation has now reached an unprecedented precipice.

It’s hard for anyone to imagine what 3.2 million looks like, and so the stories from just one small hospital room can serve as an insight into the unfolding disaster.

There are 18 toddlers in seven beds. It’s not a seasonal surge, this is how it is day after day. No cries or gurgles, the unnerving silence in the room is only broken by the high-pitched beeps of a pulse rate monitor.

Most of the children aren’t sedated or wearing oxygen masks. They’re awake but they are far too weak to move or make a sound.

Sharing the bed with Bibi Hajira, wearing a purple tunic, her tiny arm covering her face, is three-year-old Sana. Her mother died while giving birth to her baby sister a few months ago, so her aunt Laila is taking care of her. Laila touches my arm and holds up seven fingers – one for each child she’s lost.

In the adjacent bed is three-year-old Ilham, far too small for his age, skin peeling off his arms, legs and face. Three years ago, his sister died aged two.

It is too painful to even look at one-year-old Asma. She has beautiful hazel eyes and long eyelashes, but they’re wide open, barely blinking as she breathes heavily into an oxygen mask that covers most of her little face.

Dr Sikandar Ghani, who’s standing over her, shakes his head. “I don’t think she will survive,” he says. Asma’s tiny body has gone into septic shock.

Despite the circumstances, up until then there was a stoicism in the room - nurses and mothers going about their work, feeding the children, soothing them. It all stops, a broken look on so many faces.

Asma’s mother Nasiba is weeping. She lifts her veil and leans down to kiss her daughter.

“It feels like the flesh is melting from my body. I can’t bear to see her suffering like this,” she cries. Nasiba has already lost three children. “My husband is a labourer. When he gets work, we eat.”

Dr Ghani tells us Asma could suffer cardiac arrest at any moment. We leave the room. Less than an hour later, she died.

Seven hundred children have died in the past six months at the hospital – more than three a day, the Taliban’s public health department in Nangarhar told us. A staggering number, but there would have been a lot more deaths if this facility had not been kept running by World Bank and Unicef funding.

Up until August 2021, international funds given directly to the previous government funded nearly all public healthcare in Afghanistan.

When the Taliban took over, the money was stopped because of international sanctions against them. This triggered a healthcare collapse. Aid agencies stepped in to provide what was meant to be a temporary emergency response.

It was always an unsustainable solution, and now, in a world distracted by so much else, funding for Afghanistan has shrunk. Equally, the Taliban government’s policies, specifically its restrictions on women, have meant that donors are hesitant to give funds.

“We inherited the problem of poverty and malnutrition, which has become worse because of natural disasters like floods and climate change. The international community should increase humanitarian aid, they should not connect it with political and internal issues,” Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesman, told us.

Over the past three years we have been to more than a dozen health facilities in the country, and seen the situation deteriorating rapidly. During each of our past few visits to hospitals, we’ve witnessed children dying.

But what we have also seen is evidence that the right treatment can save children. Bibi Hajira, who was in a fragile state when we visited the hospital, is now much better and has been discharged, Dr Ghani told us over the phone.

“If we had more medicines, facilities and staff we could save more children. Our staff has strong commitment. We work tirelessly and are ready to do more,” he said.

“I also have children. When a child dies, we also suffer. I know what must go through the hearts of the parents.”

Malnutrition is not the only cause of a surge in mortality. Other preventable and curable diseases are also killing children.

In the intensive care unit next door to the malnutrition ward, six-month-old Umrah is battling severe pneumonia. She cries loudly as a nurse attaches a saline drip to her body. Umrah’s mother Nasreen sits by her, tears streaming down her face.

“I wish I could die in her place. I’m so scared,” she says. Two days after we visited the hospital, Umrah died.

These are the stories of those who made it to hospital. Countless others can’t. Only one out of five children who need hospital treatment can get it at Jalalabad hospital.

The pressure on the facility is so intense that almost immediately after Asma died, a tiny baby, three-month-old Aaliya, was moved into the half a bed that Asma left vacant.

No-one in the room had time to process what had happened. There was another seriously ill child to treat.

The Jalalabad hospital caters to the population of five provinces, estimated by the Taliban government to be roughly five million people. And now the pressure on it has increased further. Most of the more than 700,000 Afghan refugees forcibly deported by Pakistan since late last year continue to stay in Nangarhar.

In the communities around the hospital, we found evidence of another alarming statistic released this year by the UN: that 45% of children under the age of five are stunted – shorter than they should be - in Afghanistan.

Robina’s two-year-old son Mohammed cannot stand yet and is much shorter than he should be.

“The doctor has told me that if he gets treatment for the next three to six months, he will be fine. But we can’t even afford food. How do we pay for the treatment?” Robina asks.

She and her family had to leave Pakistan last year and now live in a dusty, dry settlement in the Sheikh Misri area, a short drive on mud tracks from Jalalabad.

“I’m scared he will become disabled and he will never be able to walk," Robina says.

“In Pakistan, we also had a hard life. But there was work. Here my husband, a labourer, rarely finds work. We could have treated him if we were still in Pakistan.”

Unicef says stunting can cause severe irreversible physical and cognitive damage, the effects of which can last a lifetime and even affect the next generation.

“Afghanistan is already struggling economically. If large sections of our future generation are physically or mentally disabled, how will our society be able to help them?” asks Dr Ghani.

Mohammad can be saved from permanent damage if he’s treated before it’s too late.

But the community nutrition programmes run by aid agencies in Afghanistan have seen the most dramatic cuts – many of them have received just a quarter of the funding that’s needed.

In lane after lane of Sheikh Misri we meet families with malnourished or stunted children.

Sardar Gul has two malnourished children – three-year-old Umar and eight-month-old Mujib, a bright-eyed little boy he holds on his lap.

“A month ago Mujib’s weight had dropped to less than three kilos. Once we were able to register him with an aid agency, we started getting food sachets. Those have really helped him,” Sardar Gul says.

Mujib now weighs six kilos - still a couple of kilos underweight, but significantly improved.
It is evidence that timely intervention can help save children from death and disability.
Pakistan
Fierce border clashes erupt between Pakistan and Afghanistan (VOA)
VOA [9/7/2024 6:56 PM, Ayaz Gul, 4566K, Negative]
Border security forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan were engaged in intense clashes Saturday, reportedly resulting in several casualties on both sides.

The war zone is located between the southeastern Afghan border province of Khost and the adjoining Pakistani district of Kurram, as reported by security officials and residents on both sides.

The conflict reportedly broke out when Taliban forces attempted to construct a security outpost on the Afghan side, prompting Pakistani troops to open fire to force the other side to stop the activity.

Pakistani officials maintain neither side can construct new posts unilaterally under mutual agreements regarding the nearly 2,600-kilometer border between the two countries.

Multiple sources reported that ongoing heavy clashes had injured at least five Pakistani soldiers, including an officer, and more than four Afghan border guards.

Pakistan and Afghanistan authorities have not commented immediately on the fighting. This is the second time in as many days that the two countries have clashed over the construction of the disputed Afghan border outpost.

The military tensions come amid Pakistan’s persistent allegations that militants linked to the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have taken shelter on Afghan soil and are being facilitated by the country’s Taliban leaders in orchestrating cross-border terrorist attacks.

"We have, on numerous occasions, presented evidence of the activities of these terror groups, which have hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan," Mumtaz Baloch, the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, reiterated Thursday.

"We urge the government of Afghanistan to take action against these terror groups and to ensure that these terror groups do not stage terror attacks against Pakistan," she told a weekly news conference in Islamabad.

Taliban authorities deny foreign militant groups, including TTP, are present in Afghanistan, saying no one is being allowed to threaten neighboring countries from their territory.

However, recent United Nations assessments disputed the Taliban claims and backed Pakistan’s concerns that TTP operatives had intensified cross-border violence with the help of the de facto Afghan government in Kabul, which no country has officially recognized.

Since the Taliban regained power three years ago, bilateral ties have been strained due to increasing TTP attacks inside Pakistan and occasional border skirmishes, significantly undermining trade and transit ties between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan.
Supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned ex-PM Imran Khan rally to demand his release (AP)
AP [9/8/2024 7:09 PM, Staff, 31638K, Neutral]
Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan rallied on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad on Sunday, demanding his release. He has been in prison for more than a year in connection with more than 150 police cases.

Khan, the main rival of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, remains a popular figure despite these cases, which critics and his party say are politically motivated. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Sunday’s rally, one of the biggest this year by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party, or PTI, was held peacefully, though police briefly clashed with some activists.

Khan’s spokesman Zulfi Bukhari denounced the police action against his "peaceful" supporters, in a statement.

Earlier, authorities had blocked key roads by putting shipping containers to prevent his supporters from attending the rally.

"God willing, we will secure the release of Imran Khan soon," said Ali Amin, the top elected official in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, addressing the rally.

He gave an ultimatum of two weeks to the government for his leader’s release.

Khan has been in prison since 2023 when he was arrested after being sentenced in a graft case.
Massive opposition rally in Pakistan calls for release of jailed ex-PM Khan (VOA)
VOA [9/8/2024 5:56 PM, Ayaz Gul, 4566K, Negative]
Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister, Imran Khan, rallied on the outskirts of Islamabad Sunday to denounce his “illegal” incarceration and demand his immediate release.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party organized the public gathering, one of the largest in the Pakistani capital’s history.

The strong turnout came despite the police blocking the officially designated route for rally participants with shipping containers in an apparent bid to restrict convoys from other cities from reaching the venue. The administration also deployed riot police to prevent possible unrest.

Social media videos and images showed PTI workers and leaders from elsewhere in Pakistan marching toward Islamabad. PTI activists were seen successfully removing containers to clear the way at several entry points.

Police briefly clashed with and fired tear gas shells on PTI workers en route to the rally. Authorities later reported injuries to several police personnel due to stone pelting allegedly from Khan supporters, charges party leaders rejected.

“We will continue our efforts until Khan is freed from prison,” Hammad Azhar, a central PTI leader, told the rally.

Critics observed that Sunday’s rally demonstrated once again that the 71-year-old former cricket star-turned-prime minister remains Pakistan’s most popular politician despite facing a series of state-backed criminal prosecutions and lawsuits.

“Strong turnout for PTI rally despite the state’s tactics to limit numbers through roadblocks and containers, and despite the risk of violent crackdowns and arrests,” Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at Washington’s Wilson Center, said on X.

“Its size and popularity ensure its mobilization capabilities remain intact despite relentless attempts to curb it," Kugelman wrote.

Khan completed 400 days in prison on Sunday. The charges against him range from corruption to sedition to stoking violent anti-army protests. He rejects all the allegations as politically motivated and asserts that the powerful Pakistani military is behind them to block his return to power.

Subsequently, appeals courts have overturned or suspended all his convictions for lack of evidence, but authorities quickly launched new charges to prevent him from leaving prison. The United Nations in July declared Khan’s detention arbitrary, saying there was no legal basis for keeping him in prison.

Mushahid Hussain, who recently retired from Pakistan’s Senate, the upper house of parliament, criticized Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government for “barricading Islamabad” through containers and coercion and for creating an “atmosphere of fear & force” in its attempt to block Sunday’s political rally.

Hussain warned through a post on X that such efforts would impede political stability and economic recovery. “‘Common Sense’ can be quite Uncommon!” he wrote.

Sunday’s rally by the PTI in Islamabad was its first since parliamentary elections on February 8. Khan’s convictions at the time barred him from running, but his party candidates emerged winners of most seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, but not enough to form the government.

The PTI alleged the vote was massively rigged to prevent its candidates from sweeping the polls. This allowed military-backed rival political parties to form a coalition administration with Sharif as prime minister.

Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders, including women, have been jailed or under trial on charges defense attorneys reject as baseless and part of the state crackdown on the party.

Khan served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 2018 until April 2022, when he was ousted through an opposition parliamentary no-confidence vote he alleges was planned by the military. Successive Pakistani governments and military officials have denied the allegations.

Last month, his party announced that Khan had formally applied to run for chancellor of the University of Oxford in Britain from his prison cell. The election university website states that the new chancellor will be elected through an unprecedented online ballot process beginning on October 28.

Khan, an Oxford graduate, served as the chancellor of University of Bradford from 2005 to 2014.
Pakistan struggling to seal $7bn IMF bailout for crisis-hit economy (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [9/8/2024 11:18 PM, Adnan Aamir, 2376K, Negative]
Pakistan is struggling to finalize a $7 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund as it falls short in key specifics, observers said.

Islamabad signed a loan agreement with the Washington-based fund at the staff level in the second week of July. Deals must get an official nod from the IMF’s executive board, but the agreement is not on the agenda of the board’s next meeting on Friday.

Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at first said the agreement would be finalized in August, and then said September. In his latest comments on the issue, he said the agreement was in its "advanced stages."

Last year, Pakistan struck a $3 billion loan with the IMF, which got board approval just two weeks later -- one of two dozen bailouts that the perennially crisis-hit nation has struck over the past six decades.

The apparent delay for the latest agreement has raised eyebrows and stoked fears about the future of the deal, seen as crucial for keeping the wobbly economy afloat.

"The board delay is beyond comprehension," said Muzzammil Aslam, the top financial adviser for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which was directly involved in the negotiations.

The IMF did not respond to written questions sent by Nikkei Asia about the loan.

A former government official involved in past IMF loan talks warned that the international lender may demand more stringent conditions before signing off this time.

"The larger the gap between staff-level agreement and board approval by IMF, the more stringent conditions Pakistan will have to fulfill to get the loan," the official told Nikkei on condition of anonymity. "This delay will invariably hurt the performance of Pakistan’s already turbulent economy."

Observers and an official involved in the recent negotiations pointed to multiple hurdles that have yet to be cleared, with the biggest being a failure to roll over $12 billion in debt and win another $2 billion in loans from creditor countries, including top investor China.

"We are struggling to get $2 billion in additional loans, which is the main roadblock for the deal," said the official involved in the recent talks.

In July, Pakistan asked China to push back repayment dates for some $15 billion in debts owed to the power sector, but the official said there has been no response so far from Beijing.

"The inability [of Pakistan] to convince Chinese [power producers] to provide relief in debt repayments has emerged as a significant challenge for Pakistan," said Aqdas Afzal, an associate professor of social development and policy at Habib University in Karachi.

Pakistan has also tapped the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for its required $2 billion in additional loans.

"Pakistan is facing challenges in securing additional financing commitments from allied countries, as it has largely exhausted its funding sources after years of relying on debt rollovers," said Naafey Sardar, assistant professor of economics at the U.S.-based St. Olaf College. "Given the ongoing extensions by friendly nations, the prospect of new loans seems unlikely."

The IMF required Pakistan to scrap subsidies. However, Punjab province this summer rolled out a $160 million subsidy for electricity consumers to calm a backlash over high power bills as the region broiled under a severe heat wave.

"The Punjab government’s electricity subsidy plan seems to be one of the key sticking points for the IMF," Sardar said.

Pakistan also fell about $400 million short of a required $5.6 billion in tax collection for July and August. Resistance among retailers to paying more tax has been cited as a key reason.

Islamabad is now trying to borrow money from commercial banks in the Persian Gulf region at higher interest rates.

"The discussions with multiple Gulf banks are underway to secure the required loans," the official involved in the recent talks told Nikkei.

Still, some experts said the deal is likely to win approval, although Pakistan may be forced to agree to even tighter conditions.

"There may be some delay, but Pakistan will be able to get the [loan] from the IMF that has already been agreed," said Habib University’s Afzal.
Alarm In Pakistan As First Polio Case Reported In Capital In 16 Years (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/7/2024 4:34 AM, Staff, 1251K, Negative]
Pakistan plans an emergency vaccination drive after the first polio case was reported in the capital in 16 years amid a surge in other parts of the country, officials said on September 7. More than 33 million children under the age of 5 would be vaccinated in the door-to-door drive starting on September 9, polio chief Ayesha Raza said, as the total new cases this year rose to 17. The southwestern province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has been the worse-affected region this year, with 12 new cases, national data shows.
Pakistani man charged over alleged plot to attack New York City Jewish center around Oct. 7 (Reuters)
Reuters [9/6/2024 7:01 PM, Jasper Ward and Anna Mehler Paperny, 5.2M, Neutral]
A Pakistani citizen living in Canada was arrested on Wednesday and charged with planning an attack in New York City in support of the Islamic State, the Department of Justice said on Friday.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, 2024, nearly one year after Hamas’ attack in Israel.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan, who is also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, aimed to kill "as many Jewish people as possible."

The Department of Justice was not able to confirm if Khan had obtained legal counsel.

Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the United States where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out the attack, according to the indictment.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement Friday they arrested Khan on Wednesday in Ormstown, Quebec, south of Montreal. He is set to appear in court in Montreal Sept. 13.

Khan told two undercover law enforcement officers of his plans to create "a real offline cell" of Islamic State supporters to carry out an attack, the indictment alleged.

He instructed them to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition and other materials to carry out the attacks, and identified specific locations where the attacks would take place.

Khan targeted New York City because it has "the largest Jewish population in America," prosecutors said.

"We are deeply grateful to our Canadian partners for their critical law enforcement actions in this matter. Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack," Garland said in a statement.

Khan faces up to 20 years in prison.

Oct. 7 would be the first anniversary of an attack by Hamas on Israel that left about 1,200 people dead and triggered an Israeli assault, now in its eleventh month, that has so far killed more than 40,000 people.

Communities across North America have since reported increases in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks.
Pakistan’s fragile path to economic stability requires deeper reforms (Nikkei Asia – opinion)
Nikkei Asia [9/7/2024 4:05 PM, Imran Khalid, 2376K, Positive]
After a long hiatus, Pakistan’s economic outlook is showing signs of some optimism. For instance, Moody’s in late August followed Fitch in upgrading the country’s sovereign rating from Caa3 to Caa2, with a notable shift in outlook from stable to positive.

This rare glimmer of optimism suggests growing international confidence in Pakistan’s ability to tackle its financial woes and lay the groundwork for economic stability. The timing is significant. Moody’s upgrade comes just ahead of the IMF’s expected approval of a $7 billion extended fund facility. Analysts see this as a signal that global institutions are beginning to trust Pakistan’s fiscal management once again.

The upgrade has already had tangible effects, with the rupee strengthening -- a clear indicator that foreign exchange availability remains the crux of Pakistan’s economic woes. The stock market has also responded positively to Moody’s renewed confidence.

The Catch-22 is evident: a downgrade raises borrowing costs, exacerbating debt issues, while an upgrade offers a lifeline. The upgraded rating should allow Pakistan to secure loans at more favorable interest rates, a critical development for a nation grappling with high debt sustainability risks.

Yet Moody’s acknowledgment of Pakistan’s reduced default risk is tempered by the stark reality that interest payments will continue to consume nearly half of government revenues over the next two to three years.

Even so, Moody’s stating that the risk of default has receded -- though not vanished -- helps temper alarmist comparisons to Sri Lanka’s recent economic collapse. Some analysts suggest that this upgrade positions Pakistan to reenter international capital markets on more favorable terms. The potential issuance of eurobonds and "panda bonds" at competitive rates could lower borrowing costs, ease debt-servicing pressures and create the much-needed fiscal space for economic recovery.

While the expected IMF loan approval may offer a semblance of relief, it is clear that this won’t trigger another round of upgrades. For the average Pakistani taxpayer, the relief in borrowing costs from global markets comes with a bitter aftertaste -- more borrowing inevitably means more debt, and that burden falls squarely on the taxpayer’s shoulders.

The true measure of economic health would be when a rating upgrade reflected a thriving economy, not a desperate need for better borrowing terms. Yet, Moody’s, like Fitch, has underscored the lingering uncertainties surrounding Pakistan’s ability to sustain and implement necessary reforms.

The caution is warranted, particularly with the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, formed after the February elections. With a fragile electoral mandate, the government might struggle to implement revenue-raising measures without inciting social unrest. This precarious situation could lead to delays in or even the withdrawal of crucial financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners.

Such risks elevate the investment uncertainties that Pakistan faces. Potential delays in reform implementation could jeopardize financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners, raising investment risks.

For decades, Pakistan has been caught in a vicious cycle of debt, with its external debt now standing at a staggering $130 billion. By November, the country faces the daunting task of repaying $27.47 billion in foreign debt, while its foreign currency reserves are at a mere $14.57 billion. The government’s strategy to address this looming crisis involves seeking more loans from the IMF, international institutions and friendly nations.

Compounding the issue is the spiraling circular debt (a chain of unpaid bills) and capacity payments (to energy producers to ensure they have the capacity to generate electricity). The Power Division of the Ministry of Energy reports that circular debt has ballooned to 2.636 trillion rupees (nearly $9.5 billion), and capacity payments for the financial year 2024-25 are projected to reach 2.8 trillion rupees -- higher than the nation’s defense budget. These payments, driven by rising electricity costs, are placing immense pressure on both the economy and the everyday lives of Pakistanis.

Pakistan’s economic woes are further exacerbated by a growth model that is proportionately driven by consumption. This model leads to sharp increases in imports whenever economic growth picks up, deepening the country’s trade deficit. In 2024, despite stringent government policies, Pakistan’s exports stood at $30.65 billion, while imports were $54.71 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $24.06 billion.

As long as the government struggles to balance sustainable growth with the pressures of a widening deficit, Pakistan’s economic stability will remain precarious. Without significant structural reforms, the country risks perpetuating a cycle of borrowing and economic instability, leaving little room for optimism in the near future.

At the same time, Pakistan’s economy faces a crucial test as the government intensifies efforts to expand the tax net to the wholesale and retail sectors. This initiative, part of the reforms agreed upon with the IMF, has sparked widespread protests and strikes among traders. Despite the resistance, the government’s resolve appears firm, driven by the pressing need to improve the country’s dismal tax-to-GDP ratio to below 8.5%.

With a fragile electoral mandate, the government cannot afford to deviate from the IMF’s prescribed reforms, particularly revenue-raising measures. Adherence to these reforms is crucial for securing timely IMF reviews, unlocking essential financing from international partners and bolstering Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.

While Pakistan’s economy has made significant strides over the past year, it remains heavily reliant on external support. This underscores how the path ahead is fraught with risks, and any misstep could jeopardize the fragile progress achieved so far.
India
U.S. Adds India to Its Global Semiconductor Alliance (Foreign Policy)
Foreign Policy [9/8/2024 11:30 PM, Rishi Iyengar, 1.9M, Neutral]
The United States will invest in expanding India’s semiconductor industry as part of a State Department-led initiative to reorient the global technology supply chain in Washington’s favor.

The new partnership, announced in New Delhi on Monday morning local time, “underscores the potential to expand India’s semiconductor industry to the benefit of both nations and the world,” Robert Garverick, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for trade policy and negotiations, said in a statement to Foreign Policy. India is the eighth country with which the United States has signed a similar partnership—joining Costa Rica, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Panama, the Philippines, and Vietnam—through the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund set up last year.

In all eight countries, the United States will focus on building out capabilities for the assembly, testing, and packaging of semiconductors—the final step in the manufacturing process that gets chips ready for use in various electronic devices.

While the exact nature and magnitude of the investments in India will be subject to a review of the country’s ecosystem by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, they are likely to focus primarily on workforce development and skills training, a senior State Department official told Foreign Policy, speaking on condition of anonymity according to ground rules set by the department. “The number of technicians and engineers we need worldwide is astronomical,” the official said. “India is a natural partner in this area, and we’re very excited to explore this opportunity with them.”

Part of ITSI’s resources could also go toward “regulatory reform” in India to help streamline business for the semiconductor industry, the official added.

ITSI is part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, one of the most high-profile pieces of legislation under President Joe Biden, which earmarks nearly $53 billion in government subsidies and investments to entice semiconductor manufacturers back to U.S. shores. But the ITSI Fund looks beyond U.S. borders, with the State Department receiving $500 million over five years to funnel into semiconductor ecosystems in friendly countries around the world that the Biden administration hopes will complement U.S. manufacturing efforts.”For partner countries, there’s a positive signal that’s being sent by this partnership with the United States, and that’s a signal of the potential that the U.S. government sees,” Ramin Toloui, the State Department’s former assistant secretary for economic and business affairs who played a lead role in ITSI before leaving government in June, told Foreign Policy in an interview before his departure.

Semiconductor chips have acquired unprecedented geopolitical importance, with their use in smartphones, cars, ballistic missiles, and much more, making them the lifeblood of the global economy and indispensable to rapidly growing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Chips are also at the heart of a growing technological competition with China that the Biden administration has made a priority, dovetailing its legislative efforts with a series of export controls that ban the sale of advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to Chinese firms.

There is also a long-standing effort to diversify the supply chain from Taiwan. Beijing sees the independent island off China’s coast as its own territory and has committed to eventually annexing it, making Taiwan an increasingly dangerous geopolitical hot spot. The island also happens to manufacture more than 90 percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors.

“We as a world are so dangerously dependent on Taiwan that there’s room for duplication,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Foreign Policy in an interview this year.Governments around the world have had a similar awakening, subsidizing their own chip industries in an effort to build a more self-sufficient and resilient manufacturing base. India is no exception, establishing the India Semiconductor Mission, which provides some $9 billion in government funds to semiconductor manufacturing. The United States has been a key partner in those efforts as well, with Idaho-based chip firm Micron Technology announcing a nearly $3 billion commitment to build a new factory in India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington last year.

The funds available to ITSI are a mere fraction of that—the State Department gets $100 million each year under the initiative, of which $20 million goes to its Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs to disburse across partner countries. But those investments are “designed to be catalytic,” Toloui said, laying the groundwork for the private sector to follow suit. “The proposition of the fund is with some targeted expenditure of public money, it can create more opportunities that are attractive to the private sector—and that’s something which is good for the United States, good for our partner countries, and ultimately good for the resilience of global semiconductor supply chains.”
‘Cow Vigilantes’ Have India’s Muslims on Edge (New York Times)
New York Times [9/7/2024 4:14 PM, Anupreeta Das and Hari Kumar, 831K, Neutral]
A recent series of attacks by Hindus on Muslims in India have highlighted how sectarian violence remains a serious problem, even as the country seeks to define itself on the world stage as a robust democracy with equal rights for all.

Despite a close election victory in June by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that many interpreted as a rebuff, there have been numerous instances of such violence, according to India-focused human rights organizations and a New York Times tally of local news reports. At least a dozen involve so-called cow vigilantism — violence related to the slaughter or smuggling of cows, or the suspicion of such acts.

In August, a group of Hindu men beat up a 72-year-old Muslim man because they believed he was carrying beef in his bag. Also that month, a group that describes themselves as cow protectors fatally shot a 19-year-old Hindu student because they thought he was a Muslim smuggling cows, according to his family.

The cow issue is deeply divisive because it pits the religious beliefs of one group against the diet of another. Cows are sacred in Hinduism, especially among its upper castes, and many Indian states ban their slaughter, as well as the sale or smuggling of beef. But beef is consumed by many Muslims.

Religious violence is not rare in India, where more than one billion Hindus, around 200 million Muslims, 30 million Christians, 25 million Sikhs and other religious minorities coexist, sometimes uneasily.

Under Mr. Modi, who has pursued a Hindu nationalist agenda since coming to power in 2014, Muslims have increasingly become a target for hard-line Hindu groups affiliated with his Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P. Hundreds of instances of religious violence, including lynching, beating and abuse, occur every year, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau.

Attacks are so common that they have almost lost their capacity to shock, said Harsh Mander, a human rights and peace activist.

Particularly, he said, violence against Muslims. “First it is normalized, second it is legitimized and third it is valorized,” Mr. Mander said. “So it is not only normal to do it, but it is good to do it.”

Cow vigilantism is a subset of religious violence, where squads of “gau rakshaks” (cow protectors) act as a de facto police force. Laws on cattle slaughter are set by states, but Mr. Modi has made cow protection a cornerstone of his national political strategy, emboldening a movement with deep roots in Indian history. He seldom comments publicly on vigilante violence.

From 2019 until just before India started going to the polls in April, more than a fifth of reported attacks by Hindus on Muslims were related to cow vigilantism, the largest single category, according to an analysis by ACLED, an independent nonprofit that monitors crises and analyzes data.

Such episodes are unlikely to become less frequent in Mr. Modi’s third term, despite the narrower-than-projected victory for his party in the election, said Muhammad Akram, a researcher who coauthored a 2021 paper on cow vigilantism.

“Despite expectations that a politically weakened Modi might lead to a reduction in anti-Muslim violence rhetoric, there have been over a dozen incidents of vigilante violence during this term alone,” Mr. Akram said.

In what the victim’s family called a case of mistaken identity, Aryan Mishra, 19, was shot in the state of Haryana after a car chase on Aug. 24. The police arrested five men, one of whom was well known locally as a cow vigilante.

Siyanand Mishra, the victim’s father, told reporters this week that his son did not know the perpetrators, who assumed that his son was a cow smuggler. “We are not fighting with anybody,” he added, explaining that his family was from a top Hindu caste.

One of India’s largest Hindu supremacist groups, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, distanced itself from the recent attacks. “We condemn all sorts of violence and the tendency to take law into one’s hands,” said Alok Kumar, international president of the group. Mr. Kumar said his group trains workers to intervene only if cows are being smuggled and to report such cases to the police.

Mr. Kumar said it was important that Hindus abide by the same laws governing all Indian citizens. He said that the recent instances of violence were more a coincidence than a trend.

On Aug. 28, Haji Ashraf Ali Syed Husain, a 72-year-old Muslim man, boarded a train in Maharashtra State. Mr. Husain said he was traveling to visit his daughter when a crowd of young men began taunting him after identifying him as a Muslim by his beard and skullcap, and accused him of carrying beef in his bag. (According to his son, it was the meat of buffalo, which is generally allowed.)

“I asked them, ‘Who are you to ask?’” Mr. Husain told reporters. With that, the men — who were on their way to take qualifying exams to become police constables — began hitting him. He suffered from multiple injuries, including to the eyes, head and chest.

Four men have been charged with serious crimes including severe beating and looting, said Archana Dusane, a senior police officer investigating the case.

Often, the violence is caught on camera and widely circulated via social media, as in Mr. Husain’s case. “You are creating evidence of a crime under Indian law,” said Mr. Mander, the activist, adding that it was “performative” violence. “It means that you are sure that you will not be punished.”
Ethnic violence in India’s Manipur escalates, six killed (Reuters)
Reuters [9/7/2024 5:08 AM, Tora Agarwala, 37270K, Negative]
Six people, including one civilian, were killed as fresh violence broke out between two warring ethnic communities in the northeast Indian state of Manipur on Saturday, authorities said.

The majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis have clashed sporadically since last year after a court ordered the state government to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by the Kukis to the Meiteis as well.

More than 225 people have been killed and some 60,000 have been displaced.

Saturday’s gunfire incident represents the most number of casualties for a single day in the latest spurt of violence that began a week ago. The attacks earlier this week have also seen the use of drones to drop explosive devices in what authorities have called a significant escalation.

Police say they suspect that the drones were used by Kuki militants - a claim denied by Kuki groups.

"Fighting has been going on between armed groups of both the communities since the morning," said Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner of the state’s Jiribam district where the clash occurred.

According to Indian media reports, the civilian was shot dead in his sleep. "He was fired upon in his room itself," Kumar told Reuters, adding that security forces had been deployed to control the situation.

Manipur has ordered all schools in the state to remain shut on Saturday.

A state of 3.2 million people, Manipur has been divided into two ethnic enclaves since the conflict began in May 2023 - a valley controlled by the Meiteis and the Kuki-dominated hills. The areas are separated by a stretch of no-man’s land monitored by federal paramilitary forces.

On Sept. 1, two people were killed and several injured in the valley district of Imphal West. Later in the week, a 78-year-old man was killed and six were injured when a "long-range rocket" was deployed by militants and fell on the house of a former chief minister in the valley’s Bishnupur district, police said on Friday.
India’s top court orders protesting doctors to resume work by Tuesday (Reuters)
Reuters [9/9/2024 5:24 AM, Sakshi Dayal, 37270K, Neutral]
India’s Supreme Court ordered all doctors protesting over the rape and murder of a female medic last month to resume work by Tuesday, warning they may face "adverse action" if they failed to adhere to the deadline.

Hundreds of doctors nationwide have stayed off work as they demand justice for the woman, whose body was found on Aug. 9 in a classroom at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, in the eastern state of West Bengal, where she was a trainee.

A police volunteer was arrested for the crime and federal police said last week that the former principal of the college had also been arrested for alleged graft.

Doctors have also been demanding better amenities in government-run hospitals, which they say lack security and basic infrastructure such as resting spaces for staff.

The Supreme Court on Monday said that no adverse action would be taken against doctors who returned to work by Tuesday evening.

"The resident doctors cannot be oblivious to the needs of the general community whom they are intended to serve," said Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, heading a three-judge bench of the court.

The court also directed the West Bengal government to take steps to assure doctors of their concerns being addressed, including by providing separate duty rooms and toilets for male and female personnel, and installing CCTV cameras.

Demonstrations over the attack spread beyond India’s borders over the weekend, as thousands of diaspora Indians protested in more than 130 cities across 25 countries, including Japan, Australia, Europe, and the U.S.

The court, which took up the matter of its own accord following outrage over the incident, had earlier formed a hospital safety task force to recommend steps to ensure the safety of medical workers.

Women’s rights activists say the incident has highlighted how women continue to face sexual violence in India despite tougher laws being introduced after the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a woman in a moving bus in Delhi.
Gangs Are Making Millions Helping Indians Cheat on Exams (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [9/9/2024 12:04 AM, Vibhuti Agarwal, 810K, Neutral]
Earlier this year, hundreds of students were bused in for an overnight stay at the Nature Valley Resort, a mid-budget hotel just outside India’s capital.

There wasn’t much partying or communing with nature. Instead, the students pored over an exam paper that they had each paid about $15,000 to $20,000 to have an advance peek at.

Now, many of the people who planned and hosted that cheating holiday have been arrested. Police have filed a 900-page indictment against at least half a dozen suspects—including a police officer with advance access to the exam paper—for gaming an exam to recruit thousands of officers.

India is facing an epidemic of cheating in college-entrance and job-recruitment exams, as the sheer number of people competing for a tiny pool of opportunities creates a lucrative opportunity for people to help students gain an advantage, often at an enormous cost to their families.

“It’s a game of money. Whoever has money can get these question papers,” said Vivek Pandey, an activist who helps students and their families file lawsuits over exam cheating. “The deserving candidates feel shattered and demoralized.”

The money charged for access to exam papers means that even if just a few thousand students cheat on an exam, cheating rings can earn millions of dollars each time, police say.

“Question papers are sold at extravagantly high prices,” said Ashok Rathore, a police officer who investigated cheating linked to India’s medical school exam in two states this year. “It’s a nexus of desperate students, parents, tuition centers and printing presses.”

Unlike U.S. universities, where essays, test scores and interviews are combined to assess if a student should gain admission, the route to a university education in India is largely through competitive testing, making exam scores a make-or-break event. Exams are also the route to many government jobs, which are sought after amid a shortage of good private jobs.

More than four million people took the police exam earlier this year, competing for 60,000 jobs in India’s largest state, while two million people took a medical-school exam for about 100,000 spots that also became embroiled in an investigation.

Harsheen Khera, 17 years old, spent all of her high school years taking extra classes to get into medical school. She felt good about her chances after she took the exam in May. But a month later—when the exam results were released unexpectedly on the same day as India’s election results—her hopes were dashed.

Khera had a good score, but her ranking was pushed down by an unusual number of perfect scores this year. Some of the other high scores were mathematically impossible given the exam’s marking system, exam trackers said. Soon the buzz of disquiet among students exploded into allegations, street protests and lawsuits.

“After studying so hard all we get is cheating and fraud,” said Khera. “Why should I study when some people easily make it to the top just by buying question papers or paying someone else to write the test on their behalf?”

The exam scandals are turning into a major problem for India’s government. In Uttar Pradesh, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party held most of seats, the party came second to an opposition alliance during national elections this year. Several young voters attributed the shock result in part to anger over the police exam, whose results were declared invalid as the cheating allegations grew.

Police officers say people cheat in several ways. In some cases, candidates have had someone else take the exam for them or have smuggled in phones to search for answers during the exam.

But much of the cheating happens well before students get into the exam hall, often organized by cheating rings that operate as exam-coaching centers and that have cultivated an inside person with access to the exam answers. In some cases, according to police investigations, cheating rings have sent people to printing presses to steal exam papers.

Then they gather students who have paid up on the eve of the exam and help them memorize the questions and answers.

In India’s eastern state of Bihar, where cheating scandals are particularly prevalent, police have arrested about two dozen people in connection with the medical exam paper leak, according to investigating officers.

In a confession made to the police, 22-year-old aspiring medical student Anurag Yadav said he was studying in Kota, a hub of coaching centers in northern India for India’s various competitive exams, when he got a message from his uncle that “the medical exam had been arranged.” When he returned home to Bihar, his uncle introduced him to two people who gave him the question paper and answers to memorize.

“When I went to my test center, I found the exam paper was exactly the same as the one I was made to memorize,” said Yadav, who was arrested but not charged.

Awadhesh Kumar, the father of another student who took the exam, said in a confession to the local police that he paid four million rupees—the equivalent of nearly $50,000—to a gang for the medical exam question paper.

Yadav and Kumar couldn’t be reached for comment.

In the case of the police exam, some of the cheaters forgot to stay off social media, which gave investigators helpful clues.

“The candidates were reading the question and answer keys sitting in one of the lawns of the resort,” said Brijesh Kumar Singh, a senior police official on a special task force investigating the police exam. “One or two of them clicked photos and made videos sitting in the lawn of the resort and put them online.”

As some exams become computerized, high-tech cheating is happening too. In 2022, India’s federal investigative agency arrested a Russian national for allegedly hacking the software for the exam to enter the country’s top engineering schools so that some exam takers could give remote access to others who completed their exam for them.

Authorities have tried blocking the internet and installing video surveillance inside exam halls to prevent cheating. A new law implemented this year lays out up to 10 years of prison time for people who enable others to cheat. In June, as allegations of irregularities over the medical school entrance exam grew, New Delhi replaced the head of India’s National Testing Agency, which conducts that exam.

At the end of August, the state of Uttar Pradesh held the police-recruitment exam again, this time with beefed-up security protocols. The state’s police chief, Prashant Kumar, said that officials went to great lengths to ensure the test was conducted fairly.

The security measures included fingerprinting, iris scans and facial-recognition tools to check the identities of the test takers, as well as drone surveillance. Cameras livestreamed feeds from the test-taking centers to a control room and the boxes containing exam materials were monitored at all points, he said.

“We ensured that fairness and transparency passed with flying colors,” said Kumar. “Even a bird couldn’t fly near the exam centers without permission.”
India reports case of mpox in traveller from affected country (Reuters)
Reuters [9/8/2024 7:44 AM, Surbhi Misra, 37270K, Negative]
India had recorded a suspected case of mpox found in a man who recently travelled from a country suffering an outbreak of the virus, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The patient has been isolated in a hospital and is in a table condition, the ministry said.

The ministry did not specify which strain of the mpox virus the patient might have, but tests were being conducted to confirm the infection.

Mpox can spread through close contact. Usually mild, it is fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

"The case is being managed in line with established protocols, and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country," the ministry said.

Last month, The Hindu daily newspaper reported that India had been on alert since a new strain of mpox became virulent in Africa.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified.

India detected 30 cases of an older strain, known as clade 2, between 2022 and March 2024.
India Is Better Off Inside Trade Deals Than Out (Bloomberg – opinion)
Bloomberg [9/8/2024 5:00 PM, Mihir Sharma, 27782K, Neutral]
Indian policymakers have traditionally scorned advice from overseas, especially from multilateral agencies such as the World Bank. Suggestions from the latter’s most recent India Development Update are therefore likely to be ignored.

That would be a mistake. The report’s primary recommendation, that India reconsider its pessimism about plurilateral trade deals, deserves a sympathetic hearing.

The Bank’s concerns are easy to understand. While India’s growth over the past decades has appeared impressive, the contribution of trade to that acceleration has been small and is decreasing.

The degree of India’s participation in global value chains has been similarly disappointing. Meanwhile, other developing countries with less restrictive attitudes toward trade — particularly in Southeast Asia — have seen jobs and prosperity expand thanks to their membership in large trade blocs.

What will raise hackles in New Delhi in particular is the Bank’s suggestion that India could do better by joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the giant trade agreement that spans the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations alongside their partners in East Asia and Oceania.

India took part in RCEP negotiations for years before dramatically pulling out at the last minute. The Japanese, in particular, continue to be disappointed: They were hoping India’s presence in RCEP would help balance out China.

At the time, policymakers thought that signing up to a trade deal that centered the People’s Republic was a mistake. It wasn’t just that India was — and is — paranoid about its manufacturing being relatively uncompetitive compared to the mainland’s.

Back in late 2019, there was simultaneously a certain hubris about India’s ability to replace China in global value chains. And leaders didn’t want to give Washington the impression they preferred to cooperate more closely with Beijing.

Today, those assumptions no longer hold. A US-led move toward greater economic integration seems entirely unlikely. The limited ambition of President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework has driven that point home.

India has also become far more rational about evolving supply chains. Given the sheer heft of Chinese manufacturing, it would be absurd to maintain policies that essentially ignore the gravitational pull of the mainland.

If you intend to offer an alternative to China in global value chains, you first need to participate in them. Every time a new trading power has supplanted another, it has done so with the compliance of the corporations, investors, and traders of the older manufacturing hub. British investment industrialized the US in the 19th century. Japanese companies were pivotal in China’s rise.

Nor can Indian manufacturers continue to be paralyzed by fear of Chinese competition. For one thing, India already has a free-trade agreement with ASEAN — countries that are, in turn, closely integrated with China.

It’s hard to pinpoint, in today’s value chains, where value is being added. It’s doubly hard for slow-moving bureaucracies such as India’s. In other words, local producers are already pretty exposed to Chinese competition through trade with Southeast Asia, but without any of the benefits of participation in RCEP, from increased investment to export markets.

Politically, India is far more distrustful of China than it was five years ago. But it has also begun to reconsider its approach to investment from the mainland and Hong Kong. Some restrictions have already been lifted. Senior policymakers have admitted that setting up manufacturing ecosystems without investment and knowhow from the Chinese private sector might be impossible.

Nobody in government has yet talked about revisiting RCEP. Given grudging acceptance of the role that corporate China will have to play in India’s development, however, that is the logical next step.

Things might be different if India had the kind of surging private-sector investment or job growth that could sustain high domestic demand. Or if it had shown greater enthusiasm for integration with partners in the West, particularly the European Union.

But neither is the case. For India to keep growing, it will need trade. And it will need to become part of value chains that, for the foreseeable future, will have a large Chinese component. If there’s no escaping this fact, then surely being inside RCEP is better for India than staying out?
NSB
Bangladesh calls for faster resettlement process for Rohingya (Reuters)
Reuters [9/8/2024 9:55 AM, Ruma Paul, 37270K, Neutral]
The head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus on Sunday called for a fast-tracked third-country resettlement of Rohingya Muslims living in the south Asian country, as a new wave of refugees flee escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Around 8,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled across the border to Bangladesh in recent months as fighting intensifies between Myanmar’s ruling junta and the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic militia drawn from the country’s Buddhist majority.

The new arrivals add to the more than one million Rohingya refugees already living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, most of whom fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. The Rohingya refugees have little hope of returning to their homeland, where they are largely denied citizenship and other basic rights.

The call to expedite resettlement efforts was made during a meeting with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in which Yunus, Chief Adviser to the interim government, said the "resettlement process should be easy, regular, and smooth."

Abdusattor Esoev, head of the IOM in Bangladesh, said the resettlement of Rohingya to third countries resumed in 2022 after a gap of 12 years, but has only gathered pace this year, a statement from the Chief Adviser’s office said.

Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to resettle thousands of Rohingya in the United States, but the process has not yet been accelerated, the statement said.

The recent surge in violence is the worst the Rohingya have faced since the 2017 Myanmar military-led campaign, which the United Nations described as having genocidal intent.

Bangladesh’s de facto foreign minister, Mohammad Touhid Hossain, told Reuters last month that Bangladesh cannot accept more Rohingya refugees and called on India and other countries to take in more of those fleeing violence.

He also urged the international community to apply more pressure on the Arakan Army to cease its attacks on the Rohingya in Rakhine state.
Fearing reprisals, Hasina’s supporters flee Bangladesh (VOA)
VOA [9/7/2024 1:51 AM, Shaikh Azizur Rahman, 4566K, Negative]
A day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled Bangladesh on Aug. 5, Major General Ziaul Ahsan of the Bangladesh Army was sacked for his suspected role as the mastermind behind scores of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

The same evening, Ziaul boarded a commercial flight in Dhaka, attempting to flee Bangladesh. When the plane was about to take off, it was brought back from the runway to the boarding bridge. The former intelligence chief was taken off the aircraft and detained by the army authorities.

On Aug. 15, the army authority handed him over to the police and he was arrested in a case filed over the death of a shopkeeper who was shot dead during the nationwide wave of protests that preceded Hasina’s resignation.

Ziaul is just one among numerous members of Hasina’s party, police and army officers, judges, other high officials, high-profile businessmen and others who have gone underground or fled the country fearing violent reprisals from mobs and arrest by the authorities.

Immediately after Hasina’s fall, many fled to neighboring India by crossing the porous border illegally. Others flew out of the country and managed to reach the United States, Canada, the U.K., Turkey and other countries, according to news reports and an opposition party spokesperson.

A 34-year-old leader from Hasina’s Awami League party who crossed into India on Aug. 6 told VOA that he was among those Bangladeshis, mostly leaders and activists from the party, who made it to India immediately after Hasina’s fall.

“With three of my party colleagues, I entered India, illegally,” said the man, who requested anonymity for fear of arrest in India or retaliation from the new government in Bangladesh.

“A mob came to my home looking for me,” he said in Kolkata, where he is hiding now. “Somehow, I managed to give them a slip. They could have lynched me if they found me there. I am very lucky to be able to enter India.”The mobs that were attacking us are not there now. But I still fear being arrested if I return to Bangladesh now. Like thousands of others, I have entered illegally. I am afraid of legal action in India, too. ... I am very anxious.”

Years of human rights abuses

Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, who has been documenting rights violations in Bangladesh for more than 15 years, said the attacks on anyone associated with Hasina and the security services were motivated by years of human rights abuses.

“After the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, they are either fleeing Bangladesh or, going in hiding in the country to escape people’s retaliation for the crimes against humanity they committed during her 15-year regime,” said Ashrafuzzaman, who is now with the Australia-based Capital Punishment Justice Project.

“Individually and with command responsibility, Ziaul Ahsan indulged in multiple types of gross human rights violations, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, mostly to help Hasina crack down on her political rivals and other dissidents. After Hasina’s fall, he attempted to flee Bangladesh, trying to escape arrest and prosecution.”

The ire of the mobs was directed most intensely at the police and the Awami League because of their roles in seeking to suppress the wave of student protests that toppled Hasina.

According to an Aug. 16 report from the U.N.’s human rights office, nearly 400 people, mainly protesters, were killed in the three weeks leading up to Hasina’s ouster. It said about 250 people died in the following two days, during which Awami League leaders, supporters, minorities, police personnel and their family members were mainly targeted.

Some attempting to flee Bangladesh were caught by vigilante groups and handed over to police, who now stand accused of perpetuating some of the same tactics against the Awami League leaders that were previously used against their opponents.

Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, recently said in an email to The Associated Press that it was extremely concerning that the justice system “is replicating its abusive and partisan behavior since the fall of the Awami League government of Hasina with arbitrary arrests and failure in due process, merely reversing those targeted.”

“While there is legitimate anger over the abuses under Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian governance, the focus should be on reform, not reprisal, which will only serve to undermine the pledges of the interim government,” she said.

Top officials on the run

Hasina’s law minister, Anisul Huq, and private industry and investment adviser Salman F. Rahman were trying to flee Dhaka by boat on Aug. 13, disguised as common villagers. But private citizens recognized and detained them before handing them over to the police. The two were arrested in connection with the death of two students who had been shot dead during the protests.

AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, a former Supreme Court judge, was caught by Bangladeshi border guards on Aug. 23 while he was trying to cross the land border into India illegally. He was arrested on charges of attempted illegal border crossing.

When Manik was being taken to court, a mob attacked him violently, leaving one of his testicles ruptured and requiring surgery.

Other Awami League officials have faced similar attacks, according to news reports. A Dhaka newspaper, the Daily Star, reported that former social welfare minister Dipu Moni and former deputy sports minister Arif Khan Joy were assaulted on their way into court for a hearing on Aug. 20.

Among the many high-profile Awami League politicians and government officials who have gone underground is former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, who disappeared from his house as soon as Hasina fled Bangladesh.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, who was also Hasina’s minister for road transport, is also on the run. Some say he had fled the country a day before Hasina’s ouster while others say he is hiding inside Bangladesh.

On Aug. 18, military authorities announced that they had provided shelter at an army cantonment to 626 persons immediately after Hasina’s downfall because “they were scared of their lives.”

According to the army statement, those who received protection included 515 police officers, 24 senior politicians and five high-profile judges. Almost all of them left the cantonment voluntarily on Aug. 18, after the violence in the country settled down, the statement said.

Dhaka-based political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman told VOA that key figures in Hasina’s administration and security services had good reason to fear retribution from the mobs once she had departed.

“Awami League party and law enforcement agencies tortured hundreds of thousands of people in many ways during her regime. People became helpless victims of extortion. In the last three general elections, they could not cast their votes. Many close to Hasina amassed massive wealth through illicit means. For many such reasons people were frustrated with the regime,” Rahman said.

“Hasina’s party leaders and other government officials knew they would face violent retribution from the people once Hasina was overthrown. So, as soon as Hasina was ousted, they fled the country or went underground, to escape people’s wrath,” he added.
‘She’s the one who shattered us’: families of slain Bangladesh students want to hold Sheikh Hasina to account (The Guardian)
The Guardian [9/8/2024 4:00 AM, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, 92374K, Negative]
She may not have fired the gun but Mahabubar Rahman knows who killed Shoikot, his beloved only son. "Sheikh Hasina is the criminal responsible for his death," he said. "She is the one who has shattered us."

Bangladesh’s former prime minister fled the country last month, bringing her 15-year regime, dominated by allegations of tyranny, violence and corruption, to a dramatic end. While Hasina was accused of countless human rights abuses during her tenure, nothing would compare with what took place in the last weeks of July and early August, as she desperately clung to power at the cost of more than 1,000 lives.

The protest movement that instigated her unexpected downfall began small, as student protests on campuses. But Hasina, notoriously intolerant of dissent, was rattled; in response, she authorised a campaign of terror and vengeance led by the most feared battalions of police and paramilitary. Protesters were met with batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, metal pellets, beatings, mass arrests, judicial torture and eventually live ammunition, sometimes fired from helicopters. Yet as the crackdown intensified and more bodies lay in the streets, the movement swelled into an all-out revolution.

On 5 August, as almost 1 million people began to defy police barricades and an onslaught of tear gas to march towards the prime minister’s residence in the capital, Dhaka, the army chief refused to issue orders for a massacre of civilians. Instead, he gave Hasina an ultimatum: leave now or likely be killed at the hands of the masses. She jumped on a helicopter with her sister and fled over the border to India, where she still remains.

With Bangladesh now run by an interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel prize-winning economist and former political rival of Hasina, it has since become clear this was one of the bloodiest chapters in Bangladesh’s history. Last week, the death toll was finally confirmed to be more than 1,000 people, while about 400 protesters lost their sight in at least one eye from the police pellet firing.

Many, like Rahman and his family, are determined to fight for justice for the deaths of their loved ones. They are among more than 100 families who have been emboldened to file police cases directly naming Hasina, her top ministers, senior police commissioners and officers as the accused responsible, citing the whole chain of command as culpable. Video footage collected from that day clearly shows armed police firing live ammunition at protesters at the spot where his son was slain, and bullets were found lodged in the walls.

"Previously filing a case was pointless - how can you ask for justice from the killers?" said Rahman. "Now I have hope. But it will never make up for what she took from us."

Mahamudur Rahman Shoikot was never meant to join the protests in Dhaka. The 19-year-old student, described as the baby of the family, was doted on almost overbearingly by his elder sisters and his parents, who all called him Tuna and rarely let him leave their side.

His sister, Sabrina Afroz Sabonti, 22, bought him his first bicycle and baked him cakes. She said she had cried for a week when she found out he had made a Facebook profile, fearing his innocence would be lost.

"He was so tall and so beautiful, we loved him so much," said Sabonti.

As the protests began to erupt in Dhaka, his mother firmly banned him from taking part. Yet Shoikot was furious, secretly ranting on social media that he felt like a coward stuck inside, while his brothers and sisters were dying on the streets, fighting to be free.

On 19 July, he shut up his father’s sweet yoghurt shop and told his mother, who was deep in her prayers, he was briefly going out. He never came home.

As their Dhaka neighbourhood became a war zone, thick with smoke, acrid tear gas, the sounds of police firing guns and people screaming, Shoikot’s family desperately tried to reach him on the phone. Finally, a stranger picked up and delivered devastation to his father. This boy has been shot dead, he said, go straight to the hospital or you won’t even get the body back.

Sabonti, knowing only that her brother had been hit with a bullet, arrived at the hospital, screaming down the corridor, "Is he alive, is he alive?". But as they took her not to the medical ward but the morgue, she moaned in despair.

There was Shoikot, cold and still and covered in blood from a gunshot wound to his head. Other bodies hit with bullets in their heads and chest lay by his side. "It was a shot to kill, nothing else," she said. The morgue door was shut before she had a chance to touch him for a final time.

After hours spent navigating the dangers of Dhaka’s streets to get home, she finally delivered the news to her mother, who, engulfed in grief, ran outside to the streets, screaming amid the sound of gunfire: "Whoever killed my son, kill me too. I don’t want to live."

A nationwide curfew meant they could only bury him the next day. From then, until 5 August, the terrified family locked themselves inside their apartment, never leaving even as police were going door-to-door ransacking houses as they searched for students.

The day the news broke that Hasina had fled, millions began to flood the streets in jubilation and many flocked to run riot over Hasina’s Dhaka residence. But for Sabonti and her father, they headed in the other direction. "It was the first time we could visit the graveyard," she said. "We were all crying, but as we stood over my brother’s grave we could finally tell him, ‘Now it’s OK, now we are free’."

Yet even with Hasina gone, the pursuit of justice has been complex. For weeks the hospital doctors refused to write gunshot on Shoikot’s death certificate, and the police initially refused to register their case. Many other families of those who died in the protests still haven’t got the bodies back after they were disposed of en masse by the police.

The prospect of Hasina returning to face justice in Bangladesh is also uncertain. While Yunus pledged last week that Hasina "has to be brought back to face trial", she remains in India where analysts say her close relationship with the government makes her extradition unlikely. While it is reported Hasina has requested asylum in the UK, which is where her son lives, experts say it is very unlikely to be granted given the mounting criminal cases against her, including for crimes against humanity.

For many in Bangladesh, the country’s weakened judicial system - which lost all semblance of independence under Hasina - is not even fit for purpose to put her on trial and instead many believe it will be a case only suitable for the international courts. "We must try her for crimes but it is not possible to hold her accountable in domestic courts," said Zahed Ur Rahman, a political analyst. "The international criminal court is our only hope."

Sabonti is willing to wait years to claim justice for her brother’s death. While her mother still weeps in her arms at home every morning, her father refuses to break down in front of his family. Instead, she watches him on the CCTV as he sobs quietly in his shop all day.
Weight, speed of Nepal plane in July crash did not match guidelines, probe finds (Reuters)
Reuters [9/6/2024 9:24 AM, Tanvi Mehta and Shilpa Jamkhandikar, 37270K, Negative]
The small passenger plane involved in a crash that killed 18 people in Nepal in July was carrying a load and travelling at a speed that did not match guidelines at the time of the accident, a government-led investigation team said in a preliminary report on Friday.

The aircraft owned by Nepal’s Saurya Airlines crashed shortly after taking off from the capital Kathmandu on July 24, killing all 17 passengers and the co-pilot, with only the captain surviving.

The report said the airline had not complied with the "load weighing, loading and securing of load requirements" and that the plane speed given in the "operation flight plan of the event flight, as well as recorded in the FDR, were inconsistent with the Quick Reference Handbook".

"We found problems with the plane’s speed and the load it was carrying. Also, proper, secure latching of load was absent," Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, chairman of the probe team, told Reuters by phone.

The panel said that guidelines on baggage and cargo weighing, its distribution and latching should all be adhered to.

The 50-seater CRJ-200 plane carrying two crew members and 17 technicians was heading for regular maintenance to Nepal’s new Pokhara airport, which has aircraft maintenance hangars that are unavailable in adequate numbers at Kathmandu airport.

Those on board were Nepali citizens except for one engineer from Yemen.

Nearly 360 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in the country since 2000.

Nepal has been criticised for its poor air safety record, where many airlines fly to small airports in remote hills and near mountains shrouded in cloud. Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountain peaks.

The country’s main airport is ringed by mountains, affecting wind direction and intensity and making takeoff and landing a challenge for pilots.
Central Asia
Russia doesn’t like growing US economic role in Central Asia, but seems powerless to stop it (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [9/6/2024 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K, Neutral]
Russia’s top diplomat has expressed grudging acceptance of expanding US involvement in improving Central Asia’s trade infrastructure. But, curiously, he sidestepped commenting on China’s growing economic influence in the region.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during a question-and-answer session with students at Moscow’s MGIMO University in early September, noted that “a growing number of extra-regional actors,” including the United States, has taken an interest in fostering trade via the so-called Middle Corridor, a route connecting Asia to Europe via Central Asia, thus bypassing Russia.

Rising US interest in Central Asia’s economic future is far from a welcome development for Russia, but Lavrov offered a measured assessment during his MGIMO appearance. He stressed that Russia maintains “warm and allied” relations with Central Asian nations, which are bound to Russia economically and strategically via a number of agreements, including the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States. He then went on to acknowledge that Russia “cannot prevent anyone from forging deeper ties with other partners.”

At the same time, Lavrov couldn’t restrain himself from taking a swipe at the United States, saying US officials’ motives in Central Asia aren’t magnanimous. “When our partners and allies in Central Asia expand their relations with the West, I do not have the slightest doubt that they understand perfectly well that apart from pursuing its noble and transparent objectives, the West also seeks to undermine the Russian Federation’s influence there,” Lavrov said before launching into a non-sequitur.

“Why has the United States suddenly expressed concern about Russia’s relations with Nicaragua? This seemed to come out of nowhere,” he said. “They use every pretext to voice their far-fetched concerns as long as there is a Russian presence.”

US engagement with Central Asia is occurring within a framework dubbed the B5+1 process, which encourages Western investment by fostering reforms that lower intra-regional trade barriers and systematize customs procedures. In recent months, Central Asian states have concluded a bevy of bilateral agreements to better regulate trade. Washington has also assisted individual states in making infrastructure upgrades.

In August, for example, the United States provided Kazakhstan’s Customs Service with advanced Dell Technologies Inc. servers to help make border procedures more efficient. “Adopting innovative technologies will streamline processes, enhance accuracy, improve transparency, and foster a business-friendly environment, attracting more investors and boosting economic growth,” US Ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Rosenblum said in a statement.

The Russian-Ukraine war is limiting the Kremlin’s ability to exert pressure on Central Asian states to adhere to its wishes. Russia currently relies heavily on back-door trade via Central Asia to circumvent sanctions and obtain goods needed to keep its war effort in Ukraine going.

China is using Central Asia to funnel so-called dual-use technologies to Russia. And in a broader sense, China has eclipsed Russia as the main trade partner for Central Asian states. In his MGIMO comments, Lavrov called China “a reliable partner.” And when listing all the countries active in developing trade and diplomatic ties in the region, he completely omitted mention of China as a player in Central Asia’s emerging great trade game.
Kazakhstan expects significant oil output cut during Kashagan maintenance (Reuters)
Reuters [9/6/2024 9:42 AM, Anastasia Teterevleva, 37270K, Neutral]
Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said on Friday it expects a significant reduction in oil production during planned maintenance at its giant Kashagan oilfield in October.

The ministry said Kazakhstan reaffirmed its commitment to the OPEC+ agreement and was taking measures to fully fulfil its obligations and comply with a compensation plan submitted to the OPEC Secretariat.

Sources told Reuters this week the ministry had earlier asked Kashagan operators to delay the maintenance due to concerns about possible shortages of natural gas, which is also produced at Kashagan.

But delaying the maintenance could make it harder for Kazakhstan to meet its OPEC+ commitments after the country exceeded its quota in the first half of this year and planned to start offsetting that overproduction.

"Delaying maintenance was only one of the options considered during internal discussions, but it was never adopted," the ministry said in a statement.

"The ministry confirms that the maintenance of the Kashagan field will proceed as scheduled starting Oct. 3, as explained during (its) call with secondary sources as well as during the visit of OPEC Secretary General to Astana last week."
Kyrgyzstan follows regional trend, takes Taliban off terrorist list (VOA)
VOA [9/7/2024 6:53 AM, Masood Farivar, 4566K, Neutral]
Shunned by the West for over three years, Afghanistan’s Taliban scored a diplomatic victory of sorts this week when the small Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan quietly removed the group from its list of banned terrorist organizations.

The move underscores warming ties between the Taliban, in power since August 2021, and the countries of Central Asia. While the United States has led an international campaign to deny the Taliban government legitimacy, over a dozen regional countries, led by China and Russia, have embraced the self-styled "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

"It fits with the broader trend of governments in the region and internationally warming up to the idea of having to work with the Taliban," said Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism and a research fellow at the Soufan Center. "Generally, there is a recognition that the Taliban is not going anywhere, so you have to work with whoever is ruling Afghanistan for economic and security reasons."

Taliban reaction

The government of Kyrgyzstan, once considered a close U.S. ally in the region, did not publicize its decision to delist the Taliban, but the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry quickly seized on it as the latest breakthrough in its regional diplomacy.

"Aligning with actions of other countries, the step taken by Kyrgyzstan signifies a growing political recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on both regional and international levels, and removes a barrier to strengthening bilateral relations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan & other countries," it said Thursday in a statement.

The Taliban, which first ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 before waging a 20-year insurgency, has appeared on various international terrorist lists over the years. While the U.S. has not officially labeled them a "foreign terrorist organization," it considers members "specially designated global terrorists."

Kyrgyzstan is the second Central Asian country to delist the Taliban in recent months. In December, Kazakhstan took the group off its own terrorist list as part of its growing economic engagement with the Taliban. In May, Russia said it, too, was considering such a move as it decides whether to recognize the Taliban’s government.

Although no country has extended official recognition to the Taliban, more than a dozen, including all six of Afghanistan’s neighbors, have allowed Taliban diplomats to take charge of Afghan embassies or consulates. Among them, three have accepted accredited Taliban envoys: China in January, followed by Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates last month.

In pursuing ties with the Taliban, Central Asian countries are taking their cues from Russia and China, both of which have deepened their engagement with Afghanistan’s de facto government in recent years.

"They’re pursuing practical policies, and they’re also given a kind of umbrella by two of the major great powers — Russia and China — who are working with the Taliban quite closely," Webber said.

A ‘necessary evil’

In a report on the Taliban’s regional diplomacy, analysts at the International Crisis Group noted how various countries pursue disparate agendas.

Afghanistan neighbors such as Iran, Pakistan and Uzbekistan view dealing with the Taliban as a "necessary evil if they are to address core concerns," the analysts wrote. Those concerns include extremist threats as well as trade. For Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, a planned project designed to carry surplus power to Afghanistan and Pakistan is a priority.

Regional powers China, India and Russia use engagement to contain "any spillover" from Afghanistan, the analysts said. Russia regards the Taliban as a bulwark against the Islamic State’s local branch. And while China has signed lucrative investment deals with Afghanistan, it, too, is motivated by fear of terrorism.

Countries farther afield, such as the UAE and Qatar, aim "to challenge the Taliban’s Islamic exceptionalism but [are] also spurred by the need to balance their own regional rivalries," they wrote.

Strategic interests vs. human rights

Significantly, none of the countries that have established diplomatic ties with the Taliban were classified as "free" by Freedom House, the freedom and democracy advocacy group. All but two are labeled "not free," according to a VOA review. Only Pakistan and Turkey are designated as "partly free."

This suggests that the Taliban can ward off international isolation if enough countries prioritize strategic interests over human rights and democracy, according to experts.

While human rights haven’t always been a U.S. foreign policy priority, the Biden administration, along with its Western allies, have made Taliban recognition contingent on respect for human rights, women’s rights and an inclusive government.

"Given the issues related to the treatment of women and other human rights issues, it’s more difficult for liberal democratic governments to recognize and work with the Taliban than it is for less democratic governments or nondemocratic governments, where they can be more practical in terms of pursuing their national interests solely and then working with the Taliban on this basis," Webber said.

The implications for Afghanistan’s future and U.S. diplomacy are immense. Increased political and economic engagement could embolden the Taliban to keep their harsh policies, such as their ban on girls’ education after sixth grade, experts say.

It could also force Washington to reassess its dual policy of engaging and isolating the Taliban. Since the Taliban takeover, U.S. and European diplomats have held ongoing talks with Taliban officials in Qatar, where they maintain their Afghanistan embassy operations.

Biden administration officials have also reportedly weighed working with the Taliban to combat the Afghan-based Islamic State Khorasan terror group, even while refusing to establish diplomatic ties.

"There is going to be pressure as more governments recognize that this kind of resistance to working more closely with the Taliban doesn’t hold up," Webber said. "But it will be hard to do so publicly and officially, given the humanitarian violations and problems that we see with the Taliban government."

The Biden administration defends its Afghanistan policy. Asked about the Taliban’s growing diplomatic footprint, a State Department spokesperson noted that no country has said that it recognizes the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

"The Taliban seek recognition as Afghanistan’s government," the spokesperson said in a statement to VOA. "The United States and the international community have been clear with the Taliban that our ability to take meaningful steps toward normalization will be based on the Taliban’s own actions."

These include respecting the rights of women and minorities, fulfilling anti-terror obligations and starting a political process for inclusive governance, the spokesperson said.
Struggling to Stem Extremism, Tajikistan Targets Beards and Head Scarves (New York Times)
New York Times [9/8/2024 4:14 PM, Valerie Hopkins, 831K, Neutral]
People in Tajikistan were expecting a government crackdown after Tajik men were arrested and charged with a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall in March.

But it still seemed excessive to Nilufar, a 27-year-old education professional, when she saw local authorities with scissors outside a K.F.C. in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, trimming beards that were deemed too long.

Excessive, but not so surprising. In the span of a month, Nilufar herself had been stopped three times by the authorities for wearing a hijab in public.

“Nowadays, as soon as you go outside, you can actually feel how the raids have intensified,” Nilufar said in a recent interview in Dushanbe, providing only her first name because of fear of retribution.

With a population of 10 million, the vast majority of whom are Muslim, Tajikistan has many challenges that counterterrorism experts say make it an incubator for extremism: poverty, poor education, high unemployment and grievances against an autocratic government that severely restricts the practice of religion.

In the face of these challenges, critics say, Tajikistan has continued to restrict how Islam can be taught and practiced and increasingly implemented superficial policies regulating head scarves and beard lengths.

The country came under global scrutiny after four Tajik men were charged as the assailants in the worst terrorist attack in Russia in two decades, which killed 145 people and injured more than 500 at the Moscow concert hall. Other Tajiks were later arrested in connection with the attack.

American officials have said that Islamic State Khorasan Province, a branch of ISIS known as ISIS-K, was responsible for the attack, and radicalized Tajiks have in recent months caught the attention of governments and counterterrorism experts around the world.

Tajik adherents of the Islamic State have also been involved in terrorist attacks in Iran and Turkey, as well as thwarted plots in Germany, Austria and elsewhere. Last month two Tajiks helped stage a mutiny at a Russian prison, the state news agency TASS reported, adding that they claimed to be motivated by radical Islam.

The attacks have tarnished the country’s image abroad, especially in Russia, where about one million Tajiks — 10 percent of Tajikistan’s population — toil in low-skilled jobs to send money home.

The government’s response, overseen by President Emomali Rahmon, an authoritarian leader who has been in power for more than three decades, has been to crack down.

“In Tajikistan, authorities are getting frustrated by the international stigma they’re receiving and the blame they’re getting for all these attacks,” said Lucas Webber, the co-founder of Militant Wire, whose research focuses on the Islamic State. “So they’re just doubling down, being heavy-handed.”

Tajiks have long been accustomed to restrictions that would surprise many Westerners, with legislation governing conduct at weddings, birthdays and even funerals (“extravagant emotions” are banned at memorials). Hijabs — head scarves that cover a woman’s neck and generally don’t reveal any strands of hair — have been banned in schools since 2007 and public institutions since 2009.

But in June, the Parliament passed a law banning “clothes alien to Tajik culture,” a term the government often uses for clothing it considers Islamic. Hijabs are a target.

The law imposes fines of between 7,000 and 15,000 somoni, or about $660 and $1,400, in a country where the average monthly salary is just above $200.

The rationale appears to be that stamping out public signs of conservative Islam will help tamp down conservative Islam itself — and potentially reduce Islamic extremism.

But Mr. Webber said the government’s reaction only added fuel to the fire.

“The terrorists who planned the Moscow attack could not have asked for better responses from the Tajik government,” he said. “Because they want to stoke tensions, they want backlash.”

Several Tajik government bodies responsible for implementing the laws declined to meet with The New York Times in Dushanbe or respond to emailed requests to comment.

Tajikistan is a mountainous country in Central Asia bordered by Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It is heavily reliant on Russia economically and its leaders maintain a very close relationship.

Outside the K.F.C., several women who were with the men trimming beards approached Nilufar and a friend. The women said they were from the Committee on Women and Family Affairs, a government body that advises on and implements state policy. They asked the two women to remove their head scarves.

Nilufar tried to explain that she did not normally wear a head covering, but was mourning her mother’s death.

“The women told me, ‘All this is being done for a reason,’” Nilufar said. Many Tajiks had been involved in terrorist attacks, they told her, adding that fundamentalists from Afghanistan had come to the country.

“They sport long beards and their wives wear head coverings,” she said the women told her, and it had become difficult for the authorities to catch them, “because we also dress like them, and it’s hard to tell the difference.”

The women wanted to fine Nilufar. She called an uncle with government connections, who told them to leave her alone.

But when she was stopped in June a third time, she said, this time by the police, she had to spend the night in a cell because she refused to sign a document accepting that she had broken the law.

“When I got to the station, there were already about 15, even 17 women wearing head scarves sitting in the cell, including an older woman who was at least 50,” she said.

In the morning, the station chief arrived — an acquaintance from her university course — and released her. “My husband was angry with me, and worried,” Nilufar said. But he understood what she had been through: He had previously spent five nights in jail before agreeing to trim his beard.

After the experience, Nilufar finally decided to stop wearing her hijab, because she was worried that a stain on her record could hinder her ability to work.

That kind of policing has been a focus of ISIS-K propaganda published in Tajik, among other languages, said Riccardo Valle, the research director of The Khorasan Diary, a research and media platform about the terrorist group.

The propaganda also makes much of crackdowns on Tajiks in Russia, where the authorities have conducted raids on migrant dormitories that house Central Asian guest workers, and have requested documents from people in public places, effectively racially profiling them.

Experts interviewed by The Times said that the strategy of strictly monitoring physical appearance was not an effective way to combat extremism, because it bred resentment. It was also ineffective, they said, arguing that radicalized extremists might try to remain inconspicuous by avoiding outward signs of religiosity.

Family members of two of the men accused of carrying out the Moscow attack said neither had shown any external signs of religiosity.

“My son was never a practicing Muslim,” said Gulrakat Mirzoyeva, 59, the mother of Dalerjon Mirzoyev, one of the men charged in the assault. “Sometimes he prayed, but not really.”

All four of the accused attackers had been working in Russia for at least several months, some making repeated trips in and out. Many experts say that it is not only crushing poverty at home but degrading experiences of migration that drive Tajik citizens into the hands of militants.

Tajiks who join groups like ISIS-K “are almost all Tajiks who were migrant laborers and were radicalized outside Tajikistan via social networks,” said Bruce Pannier, a Central Asia fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.

Mr. Mirzoyev had done four stints of six to eight months working in Russia to provide for his wife and their four children. Their home, in a dusty village on the Tajik steppe, has no running water.

Shamsidin Fariduni, another man accused in the attack, had become an observant Muslim after time in prison. His mother, Muyassara Zargarova, insisted he was not an extremist.

He went to work in Russia repeatedly because of financial pressure, she said. First he needed to pay for his wedding, then for medical help when his wife developed pregnancy complications. And when the baby was born with breathing problems, he and his brother went back to look for work once more.

In the aftermath of the concert hall attack, the Tajik authorities have increased security cooperation with Moscow. Mr. Rahmon has also increased ties with Beijing, though China has denied media reports that it is building a base in northwestern Tajikistan.

The United States and Tajikistan signed an agreement in May to use software that will notify U.S. authorities in real time if travelers who are considered suspicious enter Tajikistan.

But the state needs to be doing more, said Larisa Aleksandrova, a Dushanbe-based expert on human rights.

Instead of tackling substantive problems like corruption, poverty, and social inequality, she said, the state was focusing on “where to put a comma in a sentence, what to name a particular ministry or what clothes, for example, women or men should wear.”

“It distracts us by talking about problems which, in my opinion, are not so relevant,” she said.
Uzbekistan’s Increasingly Influential First Daughter Seen As Successor To President Mirziyoev (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [9/7/2024 3:08 AM, Staff, 1251K, Neutral]
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev amended the country’s constitution last year to pave the way for him to potentially stay in power for another 14 years.

Critics say the authoritarian Mirziyoev may be planning to keep the presidency in the family for decades, grooming his 39-year-old daughter, Saida Mirziyoeva, as a possible successor.

Mirziyoeva, the eldest of three children, joined the government in April 2019 as the deputy head of the Agency for Information and Mass Communications, a position that also automatically made her a deputy presidential adviser.

Despite no prior experience in politics, Mirziyoeva rapidly rose through the ranks: In 2023, she was appointed the first assistance to the president, the second-highest position in the presidential administration after the head of state.

"It’s been a meteoric career rise for Mirziyoeva," says independent Uzbek journalist Jahongir Muhammad. ‘A literally unknown person got the second-highest post in Uzbekistan out of the blue."

Mirziyoeva has become one of the most visible politicians in Uzbekistan, frequently attending official meetings, greeting foreign dignitaries, touring the country’s regions, and making diplomatic visits abroad.

In a foreign trip last month, Mirziyoyeva visited neighboring Kazakhstan where she held an official meeting with President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev -- ahead of the arrival of her father.

Experts say Mirziyoeva’s rising profile not only means the Uzbek president is increasingly relying on his family to run the country but also signals he is preparing his offspring for the top job.

Keeping the presidency in the family could provide a security guarantee for members of Mirziyoev’s clan, many of whom have amassed vast fortunes since he took office in 2016. In the absence of democracy in Uzbekistan, the president’s power is unchecked.

Uzbek political experts say Mirziyoev is likely to follow the example of the first family in neighboring Turkmenistan, where strongman leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov handed over the presidency to his son, Serdar, in a managed election in 2022.

Prior to taking office, Serdar Berdymukhammedov held several high-ranking government positions.

"Uzbekistan is a dictatorship where the government is being run by the first family, who control everything," said Alisher Taksanov, a former Uzbek diplomat.

"Almost all of Mirziyoev’s relatives are in power -- either in ministries or other state agencies. The family also control the security services and businesses," the Switzerland-based Taksanov added.

Mirziyoev -- who styled himself as a reformer -- has opened up the isolated Central Asian country, improved ties with its neighbors, released many political prisoners, and ended the notorious child labor in the cotton industry.

However, he did not deliver true democratic reforms. There is no official political opposition or independent media in Uzbekistan, which with 37 million people is the most populous in Central Asia. The government also brutally crushes free speech and dissent.

Taksanov predicts that under Uzbekistan’s current conditions a transfer of political power from father to daughter could take place without any real opposition or public outcry.

"Mirzioyev will announce: ‘I have prepared a successor for you,’ and the people will accept everything and vote for it as usual," the former diplomat said.

Nadezhda Ataeva, head of the Paris-based Association of Human Rights In Central Asia, said Mirzioyeva’s government work is a rehearsal for her taking the reigns of the presidency.

"Recent videos indicate that Mirziyoeva is quite comfortable in the public arena. Her service in official positions increasingly resembles an internship before a career leap," Ataeva said. "Mirziyoeva commands much more power than was afforded her predecessors or any other official in the presidential administration."

‘Another Contender’

But not everyone believes Mirziyoeva’s path to succeed her father would be as smooth as predicted.

According to Alisher Ilhomov, head of the London-based research center Central Asia Due Diligence, there is another powerful contender for the presidency within the first family: Otabek Umarov, the president’s trusted personal bodyguard who also happens to be married to his younger daughter, Shahnoza.

The deputy head of the president’s State Security Service, Umarov "has his own levers of influence, is close to the president, and accompanies him on trips and events," Ilhomov said.

RFE/RL investigations indicate Umarov, 40, has accumulated enormous wealth through his family ties and is also widely seen as a behind-the-scenes power broker among the country’s political and economic elites.

Ilhomov said Umarov "acts more as a personal bodyguard than as an official who manages the entire presidential Security Service…[and holds] a very influential position" [with great access to the president]."

He added that there is a "certain rivalry" between Umarov and Mirziyoeva. Two separate sources with knowledge of the situation spoke to RFE/RL about what they described as a conflict between Umarov and Komil Allamjonov, a close associate of Mirziyoeva.

One of the sources claimed Umarov suspected Allamjonov was behind the exposure of an "unofficial office" that put pressure on businesses and officials working on Umarov’s behalf.

Uzbek authorities did not respond to RFE/RL’s requests for comment.

Security Service’s Role

Any transfer of power in Uzbekistan must have the backing of the powerful security service, Ilhomov and other experts say.

Mirziyoeva can currently count on the support of her father-in-law, Botir Tursunov, who is the deputy chairman of the State Security Service, Ilhomov said. But he does not rule out Umarov making a move to the security service in the future, effectively becoming a "kingmaker."

"In such a scenario, Umarov would have more chances to become president, unless Mirziyoeva manages to install her own person [in the security service] since Tursunov is getting old," the analyst said.

The first family have never publicly hinted at any succession plans or rivalry and continue to present a united front.

In the meantime, as Mirzioyeva’s public profile continues to rise, Uzbeks draw a parallel to former first daughter Gulnara Karimova, whose involvement in massive corruption led to a falling out with her father, late President Islam Karimov.

Karimova, who was once seen as a possible heir to her father, is currently serving a prison sentence on money laundering, extortion, and other crimes. She had reportedly accumulated more than $1 billion and held a vast portfolio of real estate abroad through illegal business practices.

Taksanov claims some of Karimova’s illicitly gained assets "have quietly passed to the ownership of the Mirziyoev family" in recent years.
Twitter
Afghanistan
Jahanzeb Wesa
@JahanzebWesa
[9/8/2024 5:39 PM, 3.6K followers, 10 retweets, 23 likes]
Afghan women erased by the Taliban as the international community looks on—Western countries – led by the US and EU – have condemned the new laws but also seem resigned to the Taliban regime, which offers some stability in the region: https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240831-afghanistan-women-erased-taliban-international-community-looks-on

Jahanzeb Wesa
@JahanzebWesa
[9/8/2024 3:53 PM, 3.6K followers, 53 retweets, 69 likes]
The situation of Afghan people and girls who are prohibited from matriculation have faced forced marriages! In this report published by CNN Network, it shows that a father sells his daughter to an old man due to the economic problems of the girl’s family through money.

Jahanzeb Wesa
@JahanzebWesa
[9/8/2024 7:55 AM, 3.6K followers, 827 retweets, 1.7K likes]
Free Afghan Women’s Famous female singer, Sonita Alizadeh, has singing for the freedom of and basic rights of Afghan women’s and girls they banned from education, freedom, and from speaking in public in Afghanistan. https://x.com/i/status/1832749555911434594

Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[9/8/2024 12:52 PM, 236.1K followers, 2.1K retweets, 5.1K likes]
Today, on the Global Day of Literacy, it has been 1,088 days since the Taliban criminally deprived millions of Afghan girls of their education. For over a thousand days, girls have been barred from schools, while the world stands by, busy normalizing this oppressive regime.

Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[9/7/2024 4:04 PM, 236.1K followers, 317 retweets, 1.3K likes]
In American mosques, discussing Palestine is encouraged, but talking about Afghanistan is deemed too political. This man talking about Afghanistan was interrupted and told he was being too political. How is Palestine not political, but Afghanistan is?
Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/8/2024 11:41 PM, 6.7M followers, 279 retweets, 1K likes]
On Navy Day, I extend my heartfelt felicitations to all members of the Pakistan Navy. Their steadfast commitment to protecting our maritime boundaries exemplifies their unwavering dedication to duty and passion for the country. Regardless of the challenges they face, their determination and spirit remain resolute. We deeply value their service and sacrifices, and their contributions to safeguarding our maritime borders.

Shehbaz Sharif
@CMShehbaz
[9/7/2024 1:22 AM, 6.7M followers, 329 retweets, 1.2K likes]
I salute our courageous air warriors and their families on Air Force Day. Pakistan takes pride in the courage, dedication, and commitment demonstrated by its Air Force. Their exceptional service and prowess ensures that our skies are safe and their determination and valor contributes to a stronger Pakistan.

Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[9/8/2024 9:13 AM, 3.1M followers, 2 retweets, 9 likes]
Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif addresses the inaugural ceremony of countrywide Special Anti-Polio Campaign.

Government of Pakistan
@GovtofPakistan
[9/8/2024 9:13 AM, 3.1M followers, 4 retweets, 7 likes]
Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif administering polio vaccination to children to kickstart countrywide Special Anti-Polio Campaign.

Michael Kugelman
@MichaelKugelman
[9/8/2024 11:11 AM, 213.3K followers, 6.7K retweets, 15K likes]
Strong turnout for PTI rally despite the state’s tactics to limit numbers through roadblocks and containers, and despite the risk of violent crackdowns and arrests. Its size and popularity ensure its mobilization capabilities remain intact despite relentless attempts to curb it.

Hamid Mir
@HamidMirPAK
[9/9/2024 1:25 AM, 8.5M followers, 285 retweets, 916 likes]
She is Masooma Baloch. Daughter of Jahanzeb Baloch missing from Quetta since May 2016. She is spending most of her childhood time on roads for the release of her father. One day she will be declared anti-state and her name will be included in no fly list. #ReleaseJahanzebBaloch

Habib Khan
@HabibKhanT
[9/8/2024 11:48 AM, 236.1K followers, 49 retweets, 201 likes]
Pakistan has long been profiling, harassing, and abducting Baloch activists. Pakistani authorities harassed Baloch activist Sammi Deen at Karachi airport, barring her from traveling to Oman. https://x.com/i/status/1832808161092260081

Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office
@amnestysasia
[9/7/2024 2:53 AM, 91.2K followers, 9 retweets, 8 likes]
Today, 7 September, marks 50 years since Ahmadis were declared “non-qpMuslims” in 1974 through the Second Amendment to Pakistan’s Constitution. The last 5 decades have been marred with discrimination, violence, and marginalization of the Ahmadi community in Pakistan.

Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office
@amnestysasia
[9/7/2024 2:53 AM, 91.2K followers, 4 retweets, 1 like]
This 7th September should be a reminder for the Pakistani authorities to correct the historical discrimination against Ahmadis by upholding its international human rights obligations and the rights of religious freedom and equality enshrined in its Constitution.
India
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
[9/8/2024 4:25 AM, 101.7M followers, 3.6K retweets, 25K likes]
Nuakhai Juhar! My best wishes on the special occasion of Nuakhai. We express gratitude to our hardworking farmers and appreciate their efforts for our society. May everyone be blessed with joy and good health.

Dr. S. Jaishankar
@DrSJaishankar
[9/6/2024 8:50 AM, 3.2M followers, 130 retweets, 581 likes]
Speaking at CII India Mediterranean Business Conclave 2024 in Delhi.
NSB
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
@BDMOFA
[9/8/2024 2:28 AM, 46.4K followers, 30 retweets, 383 likes]
The 78th UNGA has unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming July 6 as World Rural Development Day! Initiated by Bangladesh & co-sponsored by 43 Member States. It underscores our nation’s commitment to rural development which was adopted by consensus on 6 Sept 2024.

Brahma Chellaney
@Chellaney
[9/9/2024 1:21 AM, 265.8K followers, 46 retweets, 99 likes]
More evidence that under Yunus, the civilian face of military rule, Bangladesh’s interim regime remains not only focused on political vendettas but also is carving out increasing political space for Islamists and their allies.

Awami League
@albd1971
[9/8/2024 5:55 PM, 645.9K followers, 11 retweets, 66 likes]
A monthlong failure by @ChiefAdviserGoB to stop politically motivated #arson attacks on #AwamiLeague affiliated industries, succumbing to #mobviolence and unleashing heavy handed responses to protesting labours instead of listening to their demands hurting the prospects of garment sectors badly. Workers at several factories have yet to be paid their wages for July. This is a major reason for the unrest. The advisors and responsible authorities should admit their failure and course correct rather than keep repeating denial drama that their every action is good for the country and people. Read More @dailystarnews https://thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/unrest-hit-rmg-exports-3697116 #Bangaldesh #BangladeshCrisis

Awami League
@albd1971
[9/8/2024 7:00 PM, 645.9K followers, 41 retweets, 206 likes]
Mass #killing of Awami League activists @bdbnp78 leaders, at #Panchashar union unit in #Munshiganj, hacked to death #Musa, a leader of #AwamiLeague’s youth front. With one month elapsed, denial and impunity of attackers dashed the pursuit of justice for his family members signaling reliance of judiciary and legal system on political biasness. #Bangladesh #SaveBangladesh #SaveBangladeshiPeople #BangladeshCrisis

Sajeeb Wazed
@sajeebwazed
[9/8/2024 7:55 PM, 465.8K followers, 52 retweets, 209 likes]
Abdullah Al Masud, a former leader of Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League at Rajshahi University, has been beaten to death. https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/b9qo0rfh30

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[9/7/2024 11:55 PM, 109.8K followers, 195 retweets, 208 likes]
Vice President @HucenSembe concludes his visit to Maaungoodhoo Island in North Miladhunmadulu Atoll and returns to Malé. The Vice President’s visit to the island was to participate in the festivities marking National Day at the atoll level.

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[9/7/2024 12:22 AM, 109.8K followers, 170 retweets, 178 likes]
Vice President @HucenSembe attends the cultural evening held to commemorate National Day at the atoll level. The cultural evening showcased the rich cultural history and early lifestyle of Maldivians.

The President’s Office, Maldives
@presidencymv
[9/7/2024 8:09 AM, 109.8K followers, 156 retweets, 159 likes]
Vice President @HucenSembe attends the official function to commemorate this year’s National Day at the atoll level. At the function at Maaungoodhoo School, the Vice President presented the “Maares” award to the three most active Women’s Development Committees in Shaviyani Atoll.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maldives
@MoFAmv
[9/8/2024 1:52 PM, 54.7K followers, 18 retweets, 21 likes]
Tomorrow, the Ministry and @UNMaldives will jointly host an event: A Vision for an Intelligence-Driven Future for Maldives This event will reflect on how digital transformation can address the unique challenges faced by the Maldives #FutureIntelligenceMaldives #SummitOfTheFuture

Eran Wickramaratne
@EranWick
[9/8/2024 5:49 AM, 69.1K followers, 3 retweets, 10 likes]
A Disability Rights Commission (DRC), a new state entity chaired by the president, will be established by the future SJB government. This is to ensure that the highest level of government is responsible for disability rights, as recommended by the UN OHRC. We announced at the National Summit on Disability Inclusion that a programme of work with such dimensions can be implemented and coordinated only through such a powerful entity.

Eran Wickramaratne
@EranWick
[9/7/2024 6:26 AM, 69.1K followers, 11 retweets, 41 likes]
The future SJB govt will establish a Ministry of Planning and Plan Implementation. Many capital expenditure projects in Sri Lanka have had no project evaluation whatsoever. That is one of the main reasons Sri Lanka is in this situation. The Ministry of Planning and Plan Implementation will ensure that capital expenditure projects will be sent for cabinet approval only after they are independently vetted and approved by professionals.

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[9/8/2024 2:46 AM, 6.4K followers, 9 retweets, 57 likes]
Welcome to this week’s SC Securities Weekly Market Recap - 7th September 2024. Today, we’ll be delving into the following top stories:
1. Sri Lanka Inflation Slows to 0.5%
2. Imports Surge as Economy Recovers
3. Tax Appeals and Collections in Sri Lanka
4. Corporate News
4.1. Commercial Bank’s 50 Million Green Bonds
4.2. Sri Lanka’s NDB to raise upto Rs10bn in debenture issue
4.3. HNB’s Strategic Partnership with Wonrich Dairy
5. Treasury Bills Auction Results
6. Technical
https://youtu.be/r1fU1ycPxF8

M U M Ali Sabry
@alisabrypc
[9/8/2024 8:42 AM, 6.4K followers, 9 retweets, 47 likes]
Director General of Customs, Sarath Nonis, announced that for the first time in the history of the Customs Department, it has achieved a custom revenue of Rs. 1 trillion so far this year. He also expressed confidence in meeting the Rs. 1.5 trillion target set by the IMF for 2024 – PMD

Namal Rajapaksa
@RajapaksaNamal
[9/9/2024 2:47 AM, 436.3K followers, 3 likes]
Mahinda Chinthana laid the groundwork for unparalleled progress. Now, with #NamalDakma, we will take it even further. By combining modern approach with a commitment to all Sri Lankans, we can build a developed nation, for you! #Namal2024 #NamalVision

Namal Rajapaksa
@RajapaksaNamal
[9/7/2024 10:49 PM, 436.3K followers, 1 retweet, 11 likes]
The next golden decade with #NamalVision: revolutionizing transport, elevating train services, expanding hotels and malls with global partners, and improving aviation. Let’s build a brighter future with visionary, energetic leadership. #JayaJayaSriLanka
Central Asia
MFA Tajikistan
@MOFA_Tajikistan
[9/6/2024 8:45 AM, 5K followers, 3 likes]
Meeting with Secretary of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Waters and International Lakes of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)https://mfa.tj/en/main/view/15648/meeting-with-secretary-of-the-convention-on-the-protection-and-use-of-transboundary-waters-and-international-lakes-of-the-un-economic-commission-for-europe-unece

Javlon Vakhabov
@JavlonVakhabov
[9/7/2024 1:59 AM, 6K followers, 1 retweet, 7 likes]
Wonderful time chatting with @Navbahor over the past Independence Day long weekend. Her sober and candid thoughts on current dynamics in Uzbekistan and across the region have offered a more nuanced perspective that invites deeper contemplation.

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[9/7/2024 9:36 AM, 23.6K followers, 2 retweets, 10 likes]
Checked out @IICAinTashkent, catching up with @JavlonVakhabov, former UZ ambassador to US-Canada, who now heads this institute promoting regional integration, connectivity, and research and academic cooperation across Central Asia. 1/3

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[9/7/2024 9:36 AM, 23.6K followers, 2 likes]
Solid structure housing a young institution representing Uzbekistan’s vision for regional unity, which also includes Afghanistan. @IICAinTashkent also focuses on initiatives within C5+1 2/3

Navbahor Imamova
@Navbahor
[9/7/2024 9:36 AM, 23.6K followers, 3 likes]
Central Asians portrayed @IICAinTashkent launched by @president_uz in 2021.

{End of Report}
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