SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Friday, April 18, 2025 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
US weapons left in Afghanistan sold to militant groups, sources tell BBC (BBC)
BBC [4/17/2025 5:25 PM, Yasin Rasouli and Zia Shahreyar, 33298K]
Half a million weapons obtained by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been lost, sold or smuggled to militant groups, sources have told the BBC - with the UN believing that some have fallen into the hands of al-Qaeda affiliates.
The Taliban took control of around one million weapons and pieces of military equipment - which had mostly been funded by the US - when it regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, according to a former Afghan official who spoke to the BBC anonymously.
As the Taliban advanced through Afghanistan in 2021, many Afghan soldiers surrendered or fled, abandoning their weapons and vehicles. Some equipment was simply left behind by US forces.
The cache included American-made firearms, such as M4 and M16 rifles, as well as other older weapons in Afghan possession that had been left behind from decades of conflict.
Sources have told the BBC that, at the closed-door UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee in Doha late last year, the Taliban admitted that at least half of this equipment is now "unaccounted" for.
A person from the committee said they had verified with other sources that the whereabouts of half a million items was unknown.
In a report in February, the UN stated that al-Qaeda affiliates, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, were accessing Taliban-captured weapons or buying them on the black market.
The BBC put this to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, who told the BBC it took the protection and storage of weapons very seriously.
"All light and heavy weapons are securely stored. We strongly reject claims of smuggling or loss," he said.
A 2023 UN report said the Taliban allowed local commanders to retain 20% of seized US weapons, and that the black market was thriving as a result. These commanders are affiliated to the Taliban but often have a degree of autonomy in their regions.
The UN noted that the "gifting of weapons is widely practiced between local commanders and fighters to consolidate power. The black market remains a rich source of weaponry for the Taliban".
A former journalist in the city of Kandahar told the BBC that an open arms market existed there for a year after the Taliban takeover, but has since gone underground via the messaging service WhatsApp. On it, wealthy individuals and local commanders trade new and used US weapons and equipment - mostly the weapons left by US-backed forces.
The number of weapons recorded by the US body tasked with overseeing Afghan reconstruction projects, known as Sigar, is lower than those cited by our sources, but in a 2022 report it acknowledged it was unable to get accurate information.
The reason given for this was that equipment has been funded and supplied by various US departments and organisations over the years.
Sigar added that there had been "shortfalls and issues with DoD’s [Department of Defense] processes for tracking equipment in Afghanistan" for more than a decade.
It also criticised the State Department, adding: "State provided us limited, inaccurate, and untimely information about the equipment and funds it left behind." The department denied this was the case.
This is very much a political issue, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he will reclaim weapons from Afghanistan. He said that $85bn (£66bn) of advanced weaponry was left there.
"Afghanistan is one of the biggest sellers of military equipment in the world, you know why? They’re selling the equipment that we left," Trump said during his first cabinet meeting of the new administration.
"I want to look into this. If we need to pay them, that’s fine, but we want our military equipment back.".
The president’s figure has been disputed, as money spent in Afghanistan also funded training and salaries. Also, Afghanistan did not feature in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s top 25 largest exporters of major arms last year.
In response to Trump’s comments, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, told Afghan state TV: "We seized these weapons from the previous administration and will use them to defend the country and counter any threats.".
The Taliban regularly parades US weapons, including at Bagram Airfield, which served as the main US-Nato base, and frame them as symbols of victory and legitimacy.
After withdrawing in 2021, the Pentagon claimed US equipment left in Afghanistan was disabled, but the Taliban have since built a capable military using US weapons and gained superiority over rival groups, such as the National Resistance Front and Islamic State Khorasan Province - the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group.
A source from the former Afghan government told the BBC that "hundreds" of unused Humvees, mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAPs), and Black Hawk helicopters remain in Kandahar warehouses.
The Taliban has showcased some of this captured equipment in propaganda videos, but their ability to operate and maintain advanced machinery, such as Black Hawk helicopters, is limited due to a lack of trained personnel and technical expertise. Much of this sophisticated equipment remains non-operational.
However, the Taliban have been able to utilise more straightforward equipment, like Humvees and small arms, in their operations.
While Donald Trump appears determined to reclaim US weapons from Afghanistan, the former head of Sigar, John Sopko, says such an attempt would be pointless.
At a recent event hosted by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, he said that "the cost would exceed its actual value".
Whether Trump will take any action remains to be seen, but, in the meantime, concerns about the spread of weapons in the region and access by militant groups remain unresolved. Trump Admin Tells Afghan Refugees Who Fled Taliban to Self-Deport-Report (Newsweek)
Newsweek [4/17/2025 11:11 AM, Mandy Taheri, 3973K]
The Trump administration has ordered some Afghan refugees who legally entered the U.S. after the 2021 Taliban takeover to leave the country within a week or face deportation and legal action, according to several reported emails.Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment via email on Thursday.Why It MattersThe calls for self-deportation come amid an ongoing immigration crackdown by the President Donald Trump, who pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history and has detained and deported thousands of people since taking office.U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a 20-year military presence that began as part of the War on Terror following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.After the U.S. left, the Taliban quickly regained control of the country, prompting tens of thousands of Afghans to flee, especially those who worked with the U.S. government and feared retaliation.What To KnowMany of those who fled Afghanistan applied for U.S. entry through Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), asylum or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation that shielded them from deportation. Other Afghans have sought refuge in the U.S. from religious and ethnic persecution in their home country.The Trump administration is now moving to end TPS protections for thousands of Afghan nationals, which could result in their deportation back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.In recent weeks, the DHS has been sending seven-day self-deportation notices to a variety of individuals, including those who arrived through arrived through legal programs, such as humanitarian parole.Several local media outlets in Raleigh, North Carolina, have reported that Afghan members of the community received a DHS email asking them to leave the county within seven days or face legal action.WRAL interviewed an Afghan migrant who shared an email titled "Notice of Termination of Parole," stating that his "parole will terminate 7 days from this notice" and warning, "if you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions."The migrant, who requested anonymity in the TV interview but identifies as a member of Apostles Church in Raleigh said, "If we go back to Afghanistan, we are not safe. It is like we are signing the suicide mission for ourselves." He has an I-94 visa and is in the process of seeking asylum.The Taliban is a Sunni Islamist extremist group known for its brutal tactics and severe restrictions on women and girls.Between August 2021 and August 2024, nearly 150,000 Afghans resettled in the United States, according to Congress.Other people have received similar emails, including U.S. citizen and immigration attorney Nicole Micheroni, who says she was told by the DHS: "It is time for you to leave the United States." A senior DHS official previously told Newsweek that emails were sent to those associated with parole cases. Micheroni is not on parole.On Friday, the DHS began enforcing the Alien Registration Requirement (ARR), which means illegal immigrants must register with the government within 30 days or face penalties.What People Are SayingKrish O’Mara Vignarajah, head of the refugee resettlement organization Global Refuge, told The New York Times last week: "For Afghan women and girls, ending these humanitarian protections means ending access to opportunity, freedom, and safety. Forcing them back to Taliban rule, where they face systemic oppression and gender-based violence, would be an utterly unconscionable stain on our nation’s reputation."A senior DHS official previously told Newsweek: "CBP has issued notices terminating parole for individuals who do not have lawful status to remain. This process is not limited to CBP One users and does not currently apply to those paroled under programs such as U4U and OAW."Shawn VanDiver, CEO of AfghanEvac, told NPR on April 16: "Each person who’s here on temporary protected status is somebody that is in danger if they return home because of their relationship to the United States. And in many cases, they’re people who stood with us in our time of need during war...ending temporary protected status for Afghans isn’t just cold. It’s cowardly. We promised them safety. Now we’re pulling the rug out from under these more than 10,000 people who stood with us, and they’re terrified. They’re scared."Julia Gelatt, an immigration expert at the Migration Policy Institute, told The New York Times last week: "Revoking T.P.S. for Afghans would be a stark reversal in the country’s treatment of Afghan allies who fought and worked alongside the U.S. government. Most Afghans in the U.S. have strong asylum cases based on their U.S. affiliation. This is even more true for Afghan women. Revoking their T.P.S. will push thousands of Afghans into our backlogged asylum system—if they can find a lawyer with capacity to support their application."What Happens NextThe current TPS designation for Afghanistan is through May 20 and the Trump administration has signaled it will not renew it. It is unclear how many people have self-deported after receiving DHS emails. Russia’s top court lifts terror group designation on Afghanistan’s Taliban (AP)
AP [4/17/2025 11:26 PM, Staff, 908K]
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a ban on Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, a group that was designated as a terrorist organization more than two decades ago.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the final weeks of withdrawing from the country after two decades of war.
The Russian court’s move was a diplomatic victory for the Taliban, who were put on Moscow’s list of terrorist organizations in 2003, making any contact with them punishable under Russian law.
At the same time, Taliban delegations have attended various forums hosted by Russia as Moscow has sought to position itself as a regional power broker.
The court’s ruling on a request by the Prosecutor General’s Office followed last year’s adoption of a law stipulating that the official designation as a terrorist organization could be suspended by a court.
The former Soviet Union fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Moscow withdrawing its troops in 1989.
Russian officials have recently been emphasizing the need to engage with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan.
In recent years, the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have removed the Taliban from their lists of terrorist groups.
The Taliban initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, but started to enforce restrictions on women and girls soon after the 2021 takeover. Women are barred from most jobs and public places, including parks, baths and gyms, while girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade.
Such measures have isolated the Taliban on the world stage, although their government has established diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.
The UN this year renewed its call for the Taliban to lift the bans.
The group’s decrees limiting the participation of girls and women have affected foreign aid to the country. The Taliban also have brought back their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, including public executions.
Some Taliban want greater engagement with the international community and want to scrap harsher policies to attract more outside support. In recent months, there has been increased engagement between the Taliban and the US under President Donald Trump, mostly because of prisoner exchanges and releases.
Ibraheem Bahiss, a senior analyst with Crisis Group’s Asia Program, said the Taliban’s listing as a terrorist group was a legal impairment for trade and political ties with Kabul and its lifting reflected Moscow’s desire to improve relations.
"However, beyond making it easier for individuals and businesses to engage with Afghanistan, I am not sure what other major benefit this will have," he said.
South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said the Russian move was not ground-breaking because many countries had never formally designated the Taliban as a terrorist organization. At the same time, he called the decision a "win-win" for bilateral relations.
For Russia, he said it would serve as a confidence-building measure helping pave the way for more engagement and enabling Moscow to better protect its interests in Afghanistan, particularly concerns about anti-Russia terror groups like Islamic State-Khorasan.
"Meanwhile, for the Taliban, the court decision is a legitimacy-boosting outcome they can leverage to point to international acceptance of their rule," Kugelman observed. Russia scraps Taliban’s ‘terror’ label amid warming ties (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/17/2025 1:42 PM, Staff, 2923K]
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday removed the Taliban’s designation as a "terrorist organisation", a symbolic gesture aimed at building friendly ties with Afghanistan’s de facto rulers.
The Islamist group seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, when American forces supporting the country’s internationally recognised government pulled out.
Moscow, which called the US withdrawal a "failure", has taken steps to normalise relations with the Taliban authorities since then, seeing them as a potential economic partner and ally in fighting terrorism.
"The previously established ban on the activities of the Taliban — included on the unified federal list of organisations recognised as terrorist — has been suspended," Supreme Court Judge Oleg Nefedov said in a ruling, according to the TASS state news agency.
"The decision enters into legal force immediately," he added.
The Taliban authorities praised the move as a "significant development in relations between Afghanistan and Russia" in a foreign ministry statement.
"With this decision, the only remaining obstacle to further political and economic cooperation between the two countries has been removed," Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a meeting with Moscow’s ambassador to Kabul, Dmitry Zhirnov, according to the statement.
Russia’s Prosecutor General asked the court to remove the group’s "terrorist" designation last month, following several trips to Russia by top Taliban officials.
A Taliban delegation attended Russia’s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg in 2022 and in 2024, and the group’s top diplomat met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow last October.
The decision to suspend the label does not amount to formal recognition for the Taliban authorities, which are seeking international legitimacy.
But it helps avoid embarrassment for Russian officials meeting representatives from the militant group at high-profile events.
Moscow’s attitude toward the Taliban has shifted drastically over the last two decades.
The group was formed in 1994 during the Afghan Civil War, largely by former Mujahideen fighters who battled the Soviet Union during the 1980s.The Soviet-Afghan war, which left thousands of young Soviet men dead and wounded, resulted in a stinging defeat for Moscow that hastened the demise of the USSR.
Moscow put the Taliban on its terrorist blacklist in 2003 over its support for separatists in the North Caucasus.
But the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 has forced Russia and other countries in the region to change tack as they compete for influence.
Russia was the first country to open a business representative office in Kabul after the Taliban takeover, and has announced plans to use Afghanistan as a transit hub for gas heading to Southeast Asia.
In July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban "allies in the fight against terrorism".
Both Russia and the Taliban authorities have been trying to eradicate Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), an Islamist group responsible for deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Russia, including an attack on a Moscow concert hall in March 2024 that killed 145.
Other countries have also sought to foster ties with the Taliban authorities, though no state has yet moved to officially recognise them.
Kazakhstan announced last year that it had removed the Taliban from its list of "terrorist organisations".
In 2023, China became the first country to appoint a new ambassador to Kabul and has forged growing economic links with its new rulers. Russia: Why Kremlin no longer considers Taliban terrorists (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle [4/17/2025 4:03 PM, Alexey Strelnikov, 126906K]
In a closed session on April 17, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation "temporarily" lifted Russia’s ban on the Taliban. The request came from the office of the prosecutor general.
This motion was based on a decree President Vladimir Putin had issued a year ago, making it possible for the Taliban, an ultraconservative political and religious movement in Afghanistan, to be removed from Russia’s list of terrorist organizations. The Taliban regained power in Kabul in 2021 after the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Afghanistan.
According to Russian law, any Taliban member entering Russia must be arrested and could face up to 20 years in prison on charges of engaging in terrorist activity. In practice, though, no Taliban member has been detained on entering Russia since 2016.
That was when the Kremlin opened unofficial negotiations with the Taliban. Since then, Taliban representatives have repeatedly visited Moscow and St. Petersburg and were even in attendance there on the sidelines of the 2024 International Economic Forum.
The Russian media continued to refer to the Taliban as a "terrorist organization, banned in Russia." However, this changed in 2024, when Putin started to describe the Taliban as "allies in the fight against terrorism.".
The United States does not recognize Taliban as a terrorist organization, but has deemed it an insurgement movement.
Taliban supported Chechen fighters
During the second Chechen War, which lasted from 1999 to 2009, the Taliban supported Chechen fighters against Moscow, both financially and with weapons. They established diplomatic ties with the Chechen government of Aslan Maskhadov and recognized the autonomous republic’s declaration of independence from Russia.
Following the terror attacks by al-Qaeda in the United States on September 11, 2001, the Taliban, which had ruled most of Afghanistan since 1996, were ousted by a US-led coalition. NATO allies then deployed the ISAF mission to support the new Afghan government under a UN Security Council mandate.
The Taliban hoped to gain support from Moscow. In a subsequent BBC interview, the then-chief of staff of Russia’s presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, revealed that Afghanistan’s spiritual leader, Mullah Omar, had proposed in 2001 that Russia and the Taliban should join forces "to fight American aggression.".
According to Ivanov, the Kremlin’s response, in English, was: "F--- off." In 2003, Russia officially designated the Taliban a terrorist organization.
However, in 2015, the Kremlin started to establish "channels of communication" with the Taliban. Last year, Putin signed the decree enabling their removal from the terrorism list. This process may also allow Moscow to de-list Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that currently controls the transitional government in Syria.
What changes, in legal terms?
The Supreme Court’s decision apparently allows Russia to finalize comprehensive agreements with Afghanistan directly. Evgeniy Smirnov of the independent human rights group Pervyi Otdel ("First Department") told DW that Russian criminal law stipulates prison sentences of varying lengths for collaborating with organizations designated as terrorists.
Despite this, contracts were signed in 2024 for the supply of oil products, wheat and flour. Smirnov commented that these deals may have been made through business structures with no Taliban representatives directly involved.
Smirnov also noted that Russian law does not clearly define a procedure for reversing a terrorism designation. "The temporary removal means the organization is effectively off the list. From that point on, collaboration with the Taliban no longer has criminal consequences. However, existing convictions cannot be overturned," he explained.
Political immunity in Russia
Middle East expert Ruslan Suleymanov said that, to date, no country has officially recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. But, he added, the Taliban are trying to end their international isolation. They have already convinced Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to remove the group from their respective national lists of terrorist organizations.
However, he cautioned, "they have only gained indirect recognition so far. China, for example, has agreed to accept the Taliban-appointed ambassador, whereas Russia has only accepted a temporary chargé d’affaires.".
In his view, international skepticism toward the Taliban stems from the return of strict, repressive laws in Afghanistan, similar to those that were in force under their previous period of rule, between 1996 and 2001. The human rights situation in the country has deteriorated dramatically, especially for women and girls.
Suleymanov added that Moscow started to establish ties with more moderate Taliban representatives against the backdrop of its worsening relations with the West, as Russia considers itself a key player in the region. This is connected to the political immunity Taliban representatives have enjoyed when traveling to Russia.
According to Suleymanov, when the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, the Kremlin was keen to demonstrate that US foreign policy had failed.
"Russian propaganda applauded the Taliban, and, generally speaking, that continues to this day, amid the ongoing anti-Western rhetoric in Russia.". Afghan teenager charged in Oklahoma plot for Election Day attack pleads guilty (AP)
AP [4/17/2025 6:59 PM, Staff, 34586K]
An Afghan teenager accused of taking part in an Oklahoma plot to carry out an Election Day attack has pleaded guilty, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Abdullah Haji Zada, 18, a citizen of Afghanistan who was living in Moore, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to knowingly receiving and conspiring to receive a firearm and ammunition to be used in a terrorist attack, court records show.
Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, is awaiting sentencing and faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Zada also agreed to be removed from the United States after he is released from prison, court records show.
Telephone and email messages left on Thursday with Zada’s attorney, Jeff Byers, were not immediately returned.
Zada’s co-defendant, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, who previously worked as a security guard for an American military installation in Afghanistan, is currently awaiting trial for conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group.
Prosecutors allege Zada and Tawhedi took steps to obtain AK-47 rifles and ammunition and planned to carry out an attack targeting large crowds on Election Day last year. Afghan man admits to planning Election Day terrorist attack in US (USA Today)
USA Today [4/17/2025 10:58 PM, Krystal Nurse, 33298K]
An Afghan man accepted a plea deal, admitting to his role in acquiring firearms for an ISIS-backed Election Day terrorist attack, the Justice Department announced.
Abdullah Haji Zada, 18, pleaded guilty to "receiving" two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, the department said April 17. Federal prosecutors added that Zada worked with Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who was also charged, to carry out a terrorist attack on Election Day in November 2024 for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a designated foreign terrorist group.
The two were arrested in October 2024 in Moore, Oklahoma, a town about 10 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. At the time, prosecutors referred to Zada as a "juvenile co-conspirator." According to court papers, Tawhedi is Zada’s brother-in-law.
Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said in October that the Justice Department foiled the plot as the men bought the rifles from an undercover FBI employee. The department didn’t detail where the two planned to attack, but said in court papers Zada and Tawhedi were "targeting large gatherings of people" and expected to be martyrs.
Leading up to the attack, prosecutors wrote in court papers that the two worked to liquidate their family’s assets and resettled their family in Afghanistan. The two sent funds to ISIS after receiving proceeds from the liquidation. Federal prosecutors added that a search warrant for Tawhedi’s Google records returned results about his queries on ISIS and acquiring firearms.
"Tawhedi’s Google account also revealed searches on July 25, 2024, for ‘Which US state does not require relations to get a firearm?’; ‘Which US state does not require license to get a firearm?’; and ‘Which U.S. State Have Passed Permitless Carry Gun Laws," prosecutors wrote.
Zada could face up to 15 years in jail at sentencing. As part of the plea deal, Zada agreed to be deported to Afghanistan after he completes his prison term, prosecutors said.
Tawhedi is awaiting his trial for charges on conspiring and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, and conspiring to receive a firearm to commit a felony, the department said. If he’s convicted, he could face a maximum of 35 years in prison.
"This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland," Former FBI Director Christopher Wray said in an October statement. "Terrorism is still the FBI’s number one priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people.". Afghan drone pilot on the run from Taliban after rejection by UK (The Times)
The Times [4/17/2025 3:22 PM, Larisa Brown, 810K]
An Afghan drone technician who helped MI6 spy on the Taliban has been forced to live his life on the run after the foreign intelligence service allegedly abandoned him in the country.The individual, who The Times is choosing not to name, said he worked for MI6 from 2017, first helping to intercept Taliban phone calls, before flying drones alongside British agents.After western forces left the country in 2021 he was approached by the Taliban, who tried to recruit him because his skills were deemed to be so valuable. Although he was penniless and unable to feed his wife and children, he turned them down and, terrified of retribution, has been forced to move regularly ever since.The British government has continued to give him hope that he will be able to go to the UK — but he has been rejected for asylum twice and his case is under review.“The Taliban are searching for me and will kill me,” he said from his hiding place in Afghanistan. He said his situation was “bad”, adding: “Here is poverty and misery. My life is under threat, my children cannot attend school because we don’t have the money, they are sick, we don’t have food and we can’t heat the house. We are living in extreme hardship. I am so worried about my life.” An activist who has been helping him said: “The irony of them leaving him behind is that he’s a drone instructor. He could have been teaching the Ukrainians.”The UK has taken in some 30,000 Afghans, some of whom never worked for the British government, while leaving those who did still waiting to be given sanctuary years on. Under the ill-defined Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap), some citizens thought to be at highest risk of being chased down by the Taliban have still not made it to the UK.The drone technician claimed he worked directly for MI6 for nearly two years. He started working for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) in 2017, where he helped UK spies intercept Taliban phone calls. Before starting the work he had to take a polygraph test to make sure he had no contact with al-Qaeda. At the end of 2018 he transferred to an Afghan drone unit and helped repair and fly the machines, working alongside British MI6 colleagues in Logar province.When the Afghan government collapsed in August 2021, his work ended, and he applied for Arap. He then watched as Afghan colleagues were evacuated to the UK.At one point he was told he did not have enough documentation to prove he worked with the British. His evidence provided to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has included letters from former senior Afghan officers, including a general and deputy director, to confirm his service.Three of those who worked on intercepting communications for MI6 have been rejected for asylum, but the majority of others have been accepted, it is understood. Two of the three worked with the drone unit that supported the so-called “Triples” — elite units of Afghan soldiers which were set up, funded and run by the UK.The individual said that the Taliban were paying a “very good salary for guys having technical knowledge”, but he was living in poverty.His family is reliant on his brother, who works for a French company. A US aid agency sometimes provides his family with 50kg of flour and grain, but the food drops are irregular.The government said: “It is a longstanding policy that the MoD does not comment on individual cases.” However, she confirmed that a review was taking place for applications linked to the Triples, and that the MoD expected 25 per cent of decisions would be overturned among all cases being reconsidered. Afghan refugees need to stay in America (Washington Post – opinion)
Washington Post [4/17/2025 1:10 PM, Editorial Board, 31735K]
Four men accused of murder were executed by gunfire last Friday in crowded sports stadiums across Afghanistan. The Taliban leader defended these public killings as necessary under sharia law.That night, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem announced that the Trump administration would revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for Afghans who evacuated to the United States after their country fell to the Taliban in 2021. This sets the stage for more than 9,000 people to be deported, beginning May 20. A DHS spokeswoman says Noem made this decision based on a “review of the conditions in Afghanistan.”To claim the situation has improved enough for Afghans to safely return is to turn a blind eye to the Taliban’s draconian rule, which is especially barbaric for women and girls. The government does not allow girls to receive education beyond sixth grade. In December, seeking to close what it saw as a loophole, the Taliban banned women from studying to become midwives or nurses. Some provinces bar male doctors from treating female patients, which means denying women any medical care. No wonder Afghanistan has the world’s highest rate of maternal mortality outside Africa.Many women in Afghanistan don’t leave home because they fear the morality police, who enforce strict gender segregation and require that they wear hijabs. Women are not to look at men other than their husbands or relatives. Last year, the Taliban restricted women from even raising their voices in public.In 2023, Alejandro Mayorkas, Noem’s predecessor as DHS secretary, extended TPS for Afghans for 18 months. The people needed protection, he said, because there was a “serious threat posed by ongoing armed conflict; lack of access to food, clean water and healthcare; and destroyed infrastructure, internal displacement and economic instability.” These conditions still exist.Adding insult to injury, as DHS seeks to repatriate Afghans, the Trump administration has cut critical humanitarian assistance to the country. Last week, the White House reversed recent cutoffs in emergency food aid to Somalia, Syria and Iraq but maintained the cuts on Afghanistan. The U.N. World Food Program says this will mean the end of food assistance for 2 million Afghans, including more than 650,000 malnourished children, moms and pregnant women. The country’s total population is about 40 million.Action Against Hunger, an aid agency, warns that the cuts threaten children’s lives. This week, the group is closing its therapeutic feeding unit in Kabul because of earlier cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development. “The children who came to the feeding unit often could not walk or even crawl,” the Associated Press reports. “Sometimes they were unable to eat because they didn’t have the energy.”In pushing to expel Afghan refugees, the United States finds itself aligned with Pakistan and Iran. All three governments say they’re no longer willing to support large migrant populations. Pakistan wants to expel more than 3 million Afghans this year. Iran announced plans in September to send away 2 million.Afghans who can prove that they directly assisted the U.S. war effort are still able to stay in America through the Special Immigrant Visa program. But advocacy groups say TPS has offered a layer of stability to people going through the arduous process of trying to secure the special status, which requires documentation that can be difficult to obtain. Applying for asylum is another option, but this system has a backlog of more than 2.6 million cases, and applicants must credibly demonstrate a specific personal risk if they’re sent home, rather than general fear or systemic oppression.The Taliban craves international recognition. In the interest of “normalizing” ties, the group has freed four Americans from its custody since the start of the year. Last month, the U.S. government lifted bounties on three Taliban leaders, including the interior minister, who organized attacks against the U.S.-based government that fell in 2021.Ideally, U.S. courts will step in before any Afghans are forced onto planes headed back to Kabul. On March 31, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen temporarily paused DHS’s attempt to revoke TPS status for Venezuelans, because letting it take effect could “inflict irreparable harm,” and said the Trump administration had failed to show “real countervailing harm” in letting the program continue.The same is true in the case of Afghans. There is no harm in letting their TPS status continue — and no good that can come from sending them back, subjugating innocent women and children to Taliban abuse. Pakistan
See the massive and deadly hailstorm that struck parts of Pakistan (Washington Post)
Washington Post [4/17/2025 11:44 AM, Ian Livingston, 31735K]
Hail as large as tennis balls and baseballs pelted Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad late Wednesday as severe thunderstorms roared through northern portions of the country. The hail, piling up inches deep in some locations, caused widespread and often significant damage to vehicles and crops across the area.Among thousands of buildings and vehicles that sustained damage from the hail, the national mosque of Pakistan, Faisal Mosque, had some of its glass windows shattered. Photos of the scene showed hail inside the soaked interior of the building.“People caught outside during the storm were stunned by the force and size of the hailstones,” said a Pakistan Meteorological Department spokesperson, according to local media. “The storm was preceded by abnormally high temperatures, creating the conditions for a sudden and violent atmospheric shift.”In addition to the huge chunks of ice falling, torrential rain also caused urban and flash flooding as the storms passed, the worst lasting 30 to 60 minutes in harder-hit locations.To the south, Rawalpindi was also slammed by storms, according to local reports. Numerous people have been reported killed by the storm, with some reportedly crushed as buildings and walls collapsed, including in Rawalpindi. To the north, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, roads were washed out. Widespread power outages have also been reported in the storm’s wake.Thunderstorms percolated in something akin to the weather pattern that delivers the United States its summertime “ring of fire” thunderstorms, or derechos in extraordinary cases.Here, powerful thunderstorms congealed on the northern side of a high-pressure heat dome that transported storm-fueling moisture to the region, in addition to delivering punishing high heat closer to its core.Sparked by a disturbance ejected from a swirling gyre to the west of Afghanistan and Pakistan, a ribbon of speedy air aloft — the jet stream — carried the energy that allowed the thunderstorm complex to rip across the region.The same dip in the jet stream partially responsible for the storminess remains stuck nearby through this coming weekend, and perhaps even into early next week. Trapped between high-pressure areas north and south, it is both slow-moving and somewhat unpredictable.Rain and thunderstorms may be widespread Friday. Pakistan’s Meteorological Department is warning of the potential for additional severe weather in the days ahead, through at least Sunday.April is part of thunderstorm season in the region. The same area was hit by substantial storms almost exactly a year ago.Shifts in available atmospheric ingredients for thunderstorms, as well as large-scale patterns heavily influenced by human-caused climate change, are causing more extreme conditions in a zone already particularly vulnerable to disasters. Leading forecasts for this year’s monsoon call for above-average precipitation across Pakistan. Over 170 arrested for attacks on Pakistan KFC outlets in Gaza war protests (Reuters)
Reuters [4/18/2025 2:55 AM, Ariba Shahid and Mubasher Bukhari, 5.2M]
Police have arrested scores of people in Pakistan in recent weeks after more than 10 mob attacks on outlets of U.S. fast-food chain KFC, sparked by anti-United States sentiment and opposition to its ally Israel’s war in Gaza, officials said.
Police in major cities in the Islamic nation, including the southern port city of Karachi, the eastern city of Lahore and the capital Islamabad, confirmed at least 11 incidents in which KFC outlets were attacked by protesters armed with sticks and vandalised. At least 178 people were arrested, the officials said this week.
KFC and its parent Yum Brands (YUM.N) both U.S.-based, did not respond to requests for comment.
A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said one KFC employee was shot and killed this week in a store on the outskirts of Lahore by unknown gunmen. The official added there was no protest at the time and they were investigating whether the killing was motivated by political sentiment or some other reason.
In Lahore, police said they were ramping up security at 27 KFC outlets around the city after two attacks took place and five others were prevented.
"We are investigating the role of different individuals and groups in these attacks," said Faisal Kamran, a senior Lahore police officer, adding that 11 people, including a member of the Islamist religious party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), were arrested in the city. He added the protests were not officially organised by TLP.
TLP spokesman Rehan Mohsin Khan said the group "has urged Muslims to boycott Israeli products, but it has not given any call for protest outside KFC".
"If any other person claiming to be a TLP leader or activist has indulged in such activity, it should be taken as his personal act which has nothing to do with the party’s policy," said Khan.
KFC has long been viewed as a symbol of the United States in Pakistan and borne the brunt of anti-American sentiment in recent decades with protests and attacks.
Western brands have been hit by boycotts and other forms of protests in Pakistan and other Muslim-majority countries in recent months over Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The war was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities.
Yum Brands has said one of its other brands, Pizza Hut, has faced a protracted impact from boycotts related to Israel’s war in Gaza.
In Pakistan, local brands have made inroads into its fast-growing cola market as some consumers avoid U.S. brands. In 2023, Coca-Cola’s (KO.N) market share in the consumer sector in Pakistan fell to 5.7% from 6.3% in 2022, according to GlobalData, while PepsiCo’s (PEP.O) fell to 10.4% from 10.8%.
Earlier this month, religious clerics in Pakistan called for a boycott of any products or brands that they say support Israel or the American economy, but asked people to stay peaceful and not destroy property. Sparks fly in battle for Pakistan’s K-Electric as military presses for deal (Financial Times)
Financial Times [4/17/2025 11:44 PM, Humza Jilani, 14.6M]
Saudi Arabian and Pakistani investors are battling for control of one of Pakistan’s biggest power companies, a fight that threatens to derail not just reform of K-Electric but also Saudi investment in a country that desperately needs it.
Al Jomaih Power, a Saudi company that with Kuwaiti fund Denham Investment bought a stake in K-Electric during its privatisation in 2005, is pitted against Shaheryar Chishty and his company AsiaPak Investments, which bought a stake three years ago from the liquidator for collapsed private equity group Abraaj.
The Gulf investors want to block Chishty and his allies from taking board seats, according to Cayman court documents seen by the Financial Times, claiming the sale by the liquidator violated a pre-existing shareholder agreement and Pakistani disclosure and security clearance rules.
The row threatens K-Electric’s ability to pull off a $2bn reform plan, said executives, shareholders and analysts. Authorities in Pakistan are particularly concerned at a time when they are keen on more investment from the Gulf. A powerful military-led investment vehicle, set up to attract Gulf investment, is pressing for a swift resolution.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, a lieutenant general and national co-ordinator for the Special Investment Facilitation Council, has discussed with both sides a potential sale of their stake, said three people on or close to members of K-Electric’s board of directors. “SIFC told me, this is a shareholder issue, [so] not our problem. But they also said to sort it out,” said Shan Ashary, who represents Al Jomaih on K-Electric’s board. “Saudi authorities are aware of long-standing issues [at the company] . . . they are watching closely as it impacts Saudi investor sentiment.”
The “government and army are both concerned”, said a person familiar with AsiaPak’s thinking.
The dispute began in 2022, when Chishty, a former banker in Hong Kong, became the largest limited partner in a fund that holds a majority stake in KES Power, a Cayman Islands-based fund that owns 66.4 per cent of K-Electric.
Al Jomaih, which along with Denham is a major partner in KES Power, sought and received a stay order prohibiting changes to K-Electric’s board. With the term of the current board due to expire in the second half of this year, the company has been unable to appoint new board members.“The Gulf investors have big egos and lots of clout in Pakistan,” said a person close to the Al Jomaih family and familiar with their thinking on the matter. “The sheikh [Sheikh Abdulaziz Hamad Aljomaih] is very clear, he says if it takes 100 years to get these cases done, we will do it,” the person said.
Chishty and his allies have said in court documents that Al Jomaih and Denham were in violation of the shareholder agreement themselves by continuing proceedings in Pakistan despite a Cayman court ruling establishing exclusive jurisdiction in the islands. They also said it was “highly inappropriate” to suggest their acquisition was non-transparent.The dispute speaks more broadly to the fraught attempts at privatisation of a sector that is key to Pakistan’s development.
Private equity group Abraaj, which made an investment of $360mn in 2008, halved transmission and distribution losses to 15.3 per cent, helping power generation keep up with the demands of Karachi’s ballooning population.
But then “Abraaj went belly up, and now there’s no clear ownership”, said Ammar Habib Khan, an assistant professor at the Karachi-based Institute for Business Administration. “K-Electric has become the antithesis of privatisation, which was supposed to improve governance and efficiency, but in this case we are stuck at an impasse.”
Shareholders and executives said the dispute threatened efforts to raise the $2bn needed to scale up renewable energy capacity and bring down transmission and distribution losses.“If [the] shareholder issue remains unresolved, international financing will be a challenge,” said Ashary.
Chishty told the FT: “No one wants to invest in a company with no plan.”
Imran Rana, K-Electric’s spokesperson, said “the company categorically rejects” allegations that the shareholder litigation and three board vacancies were affecting the utility’s core business.
Since the 2022 stay order, K-Electric’s existing board has approved plans for the $2bn transmission and distribution overhaul and a new generation tariff, which was approved by Pakistan’s electricity regulator in October, he said.
The SIFC and Saudi Arabia-based Al Jomaih Holding Company did not reply to requests for comment.“Lawsuits aren’t going to be the answer, but there do appear to be irreconcilable differences. One side has to buy the other out,” said the person familiar with AsiaPak’s thinking. India
Vance to meet Modi in India as U.S.-China tariff war rages (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [4/18/2025 12:48 AM, Kiran Sharma, 1.2M]
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is set to hold key talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a four-day visit to the South Asian nation beginning on Monday, with the two leaders expected to discuss pressing issues such as Washington’s sweeping "reciprocal" trade tariffs and mounting geopolitical tensions in the region and beyond.
Vance will touch down for his maiden trip to India as vice president following a visit to Italy, accompanied by his wife Usha, the first Indian American and Hindu second lady of the United States, and their three children. He is due to meet with Modi in New Delhi on Monday, before traveling on to Agra, famous for the iconic Taj Mahal, and Jaipur, often referred to as the "pink city" due to the vibrant color of many of its historic buildings.
The inclusion of popular tourist destinations marks a sharp contrast to Vance’s brief trip to Greenland late last month, where he visited a U.S. Space Force base some 1,500 kilometers from the North Pole and argued that Denmark, to which the world’s biggest island belongs, has not done its job in keeping that region safe.
Modi visited Washington in February, when he and Trump resolved to deepen ties and expand bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, from around $200 billion now. The two sides plan to negotiate the "first tranche" of a trade agreement by the fall, with Indian media reporting that would likely cover the trading of goods, with a second and final phase potentially dealing with topics like the transfer of manufacturing technology.
Vance arrives in India as an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing dominates global headlines, with the White House saying on Tuesday that China "faces up to a 245% tariff on imports to the United States as a result of its retaliatory actions." Trump also announced 27% tariffs on Indian exports on April 2 before the measure was paused for 90 days.
"The timing of Vance’s visit amid the tariff turmoil allows the Trump administration an opportunity to portray itself as a strategic maverick and dealmaker by engaging one of the Asian giants, while doubling down pressure on the other one," Prerna Gandhi, an associate fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation think tank in New Delhi, told Nikkei Asia.
Asked whether the reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump would be an important part of the Vance-Modi talks, Randhir Jaiswal, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, told reporters on Thursday that the meeting would "cover all bilateral issues between India and the United States."
"Regarding the issue of tariffs, we are in continuous discussions with the U.S. government so that the ongoing talks about a bilateral trade agreement can be concluded at the earliest," Jaiswal said in response to another question.
Vance’s office said on Wednesday that the vice president would discuss "shared economic and geopolitical priorities."
Pointing to Vance’s recent overseas trips, Gandhi from the Vivekananda International Foundation said that the vice president "is acknowledged as an articulate leader compared to his predecessor, but his strong conservative leanings as well as staunch loyalty to the Trumpian agenda have also raised criticism."
But Gandhi noted that the Indian heritage of Vance’s wife could offer him the chance to use so-called soft power to bolster his image in the South Asian nation by emphasizing cultural connections.
"Under Trump, trade and other economic agendas have assumed more importance than regular geopolitics," she said, underlining that these issues are expected to figure prominently in the Modi-Vance talks.
Shamshad Ahmad Khan, an assistant professor of international relations at BITS Pilani Dubai Campus, UAE, expects Modi and Vance to take stock of progress on a joint statement issued during Modi’s U.S. visit, with the aim of deepening ties in both defense and energy security. "Other issues of strategic concern such as the situation in the Middle East will also likely surface in the bilateral meeting."
"India will definitely seize the opportunity to raise the tariff issue as this is the first face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and Indian leadership post Trump’s tariff [announcement]," Khan said.
He said America’s reciprocal tariffs are expected to curb India-U.S. trade, delaying both countries’ commitment to more than double their trade in the next five years. "India should seek concessions considering that a weak economic [relationship] will [hit] the strong strategic ties."
Khan added that Vance’s India visit is particularly significant as India "is an important player in [Washington’s] Indo-Pacific strategy" amid China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
Along with Australia and Japan, India and the U.S. are members of the Quad grouping, which calls for "a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific" -- a euphemism for containing Chinese influence in the region. JD Vance set for first official visit to India with wife Usha and family (The Independent)
The Independent [4/17/2025 7:04 AM, Arpan Rai, 44838K]
US vice-president JD Vance is set to visit India on a four-day official tour, during which he will meet the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and discuss the terms of a bilateral trade deal.
Mr Modi enjoys warm relations with Mr Vance’s boss Donald Trump, but the US president has also called India the "tariff king" and a "big abuser" and targeted the country with a blanket 26 per cent levy as part of his now-paused tariff programme.
Mr Vance is set to meet the Indian leader on 21 April in Delhi, where the pair are expected to hold discussions on economic, trade and geopolitical ties.
India’s foreign ministry welcomed the upcoming visit by Mr Vance, who will be accompanied by the second lady, Usha Vance, their children and other senior members of the US administration. Ms Vance is a daughter of Indian immigrants, who migrated to the US from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
"The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review the progress in bilateral relations and the implementation of the outcomes of the India-US joint statement," the ministry said. "The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest.".
Mr Vance is also expected to visit Jaipur and Agra, where he is likely to see the Taj Mahal with his family.
This marks Mr Vance’s first visit to India since taking office, at the helm of an important diplomatic mission on behalf of the Trump administration. The US sees India as an important strategic ally in combating the influence of China in the Asia-Pacific, and the visit coincides with a rapidly intensifying trade war between the world’s two largest economies.In February, shortly after Mr Trump took office, India and the US agreed to work on the first phase of a trade deal to be concluded later this year with a view to reaching bilateral trade worth $500bn (£429bn) by 2030. The US is already India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at $190bn (£144bn) until recently.
India had pre-emptively cut tariffs on a number of categories of US imports even before Mr Trump announced his tariff regimen on 2 April, and the scope for wider-ranging cuts is expected to form part of the discussion during Mr Vance’s trip.
On Tuesday, India’s trade secretary announced that the country has decided to pursue a path of trade liberalisation with the US and that the terms of reference for the first part of the bilateral trade deal were set to be signed soon. For thousands of Indians working in the US, JD Vance’s visit is crucial (The Times)
The Times [4/17/2025 8:46 AM, Amrit Dhillon, 810K]
A fortnight ago Ashish Gupta, who works for the US technology company Qualcomm, was about to book his ticket for a visit home to introduce his American girlfriend to his parents in Delhi.Gupta, a software engineer, lives in Michigan and has worked for Qualcomm for six years on an H-1B visa — the permit US tech companies use to hire specialist workers.At the last minute, Gupta cancelled. “I was nervous I might not be able to re-enter America, despite my valid visa, given all the uncertainty created by Trump. I consulted an immigration lawyer and he told me it was too risky,” Gupta said.He is not the only one. Indians account for 70 per cent of all H-1B visas — just over 200,000 of them were issued to Indians last year — and anecdotal evidence suggests that many others like Gupta are cancelling or postponing trips home.The H-1B visa issue is likely to be on the agenda when Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, hosts JD Vance, the US vice-president, in Delhi on Monday.“I’d expect him to say we’ll play ball on America deporting illegal Indian immigrants but in return Modi may ask for more H-1B visas to be issued. At the very least, no curtailment,” Vivek Mishra, the deputy director of the strategic affairs programme at the Observer Research Foundation, said.Vance’s four-day visit is aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations by focusing on economic and geopolitical priorities. The tone is likely to be warm. At their last meeting in France in February, Vance described Modi as “gracious and kind” and thanked him warmly for gifts the Indian leader gave his three children.Public interest in the trip will be high, given the Indian origins of Vance’s wife, Usha. Her parents left the southern state of Andhra Pradesh for America in the 1970s. Tens of thousands of engineers and software specialists have left the state for the US over the years and today Telugu ranks as the fastest growing language in America.Though it is largely a semi-private family trip, both sides will see the visit as a chance to push forward the talks which are under way for a comprehensive trade agreement. The target is boosting bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.Amartya Lahiri, a professor of economics at the University of British Columbia in Canada, wrote in The Indian Express that India will have no choice but to agree to lower its tariffs on American goods. “The caveat here is that just lowering tariffs may not be enough to satisfy the US since it wants balanced bilateral trade,” he wrote.Nonetheless, some observers believe the first part of the agreement might be finalised in the next three months.Delhi may also convey its concern about being deluged with Chinese goods as an outcome of China having to find other export markets for products that used to go to the US but which will now face 245 per cent tariffs.The latest figures, released on Wednesday, show India’s trade deficit with China surging to record levels, almost touching $100 billion. India has set up a monitoring mechanism to check for Chinese goods being dumped in the country.At the same time India will reassure Vance that even if the EU might contemplate pivoting towards China — as some reports suggest — Delhi has no intention of teaming up with the country, an arch rival, in standing up to Trump’s tariffs.A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in India said recently that the two countries should work together to overcome the challenges posed by Trump’s tariffs.However, Piyush Goyal, the commerce minister, rebuffed the suggestion, saying that India preferred trade relationships with developed countries.“Our effort is to integrate our economy with the developed world, who believe in fair play, who believe in honest business practices and where we get an equal opportunity to do business and invest,” he said. U.S. Arrests Man Wanted in India for Grenade Attack (New York Times)
New York Times [4/18/2025 1:42 AM, John Yoon and Alex Travelli, 831K]
The F.B.I. said on Thursday that it had arrested a man who it said was wanted in India in connection with terrorist activities.
The man, Harpreet Singh, had entered the United States illegally and had been evading capture by using disposable phones and encrypted applications before his arrest in Sacramento on Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
Mr. Singh is suspected of collaborating with Pakistan’s intelligence agency and with a terrorist group linked to a Sikh separatist movement, the agency said.
India’s National Investigation Agency in January announced a cash reward for the capture of Mr. Singh, saying he was wanted in connection with a grenade attack against a retired police officer in the Indian city of Chandigarh in September.
The Indian authorities said that Mr. Singh had provided logistical support, funds and ammunition to operatives in India as part of Babbar Khalsa International, the terrorist group.
In recent years, India has issued warrants against at least 10 Indian nationals living in the United States, including Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, whom Indian agents were charged with plotting to assassinate in New York. US YouTuber remains in custody in India after visiting restricted island with a Diet Coke can (AP)
AP [4/18/2025 12:43 AM, Rajesh Roy, 456K]
A 24-year-old American YouTuber who was arrested after visiting an off-limits island in the Indian Ocean with hopes of establishing contact with a reclusive tribe was further detained in custody on Thursday.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov will next appear before a local court in Port Blair -- the capital of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands -- on April 29, police said.
Polyakov, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was arrested on March 31, two days after he set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel Island in a bid to meet people from the reclusive Sentinelese tribe.
He left a can of Diet Coke and a coconut as offering for the tribe this time after he failed to contact the Sentinelese. He shot a video of the island on his camera and collected some sand samples before returning to his boat.“It may be claimed to be an adventure trip, but the fact is that there has been a violation of Indian laws. Outsiders meeting Sentinelese could endanger the tribe’s survival,” said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity as he isn’t authorized to speak about the case under investigation.
Polyakov is suspected of violating Indian laws that carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine.
Visitors are banned from traveling within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of North Sentinel Island, whose population has been isolated from the rest of the world for thousands of years. The inhabitants use spears and bows and arrows to hunt the animals that roam the small, heavily forested island. Deeply suspicious of outsiders, they attack anyone who lands onto their beaches.
In 2018, an American missionary who landed illegally on the beach was killed by North Sentinelese Islanders who apparently shot him with arrows and then buried his body on the beach. In 2006, the Sentinelese killed two fishermen who had accidentally landed on the shore.
An official from the U.S. consulate visited Polyakov in jail earlier this week. “We take our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad seriously and are monitoring the situation,” the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi said in a statement, while declining to divulge further details due to privacy considerations.Police said Polyakov had conducted detailed research on sea conditions, tides and accessibility to the island before starting his journey. He stayed on the beach for about an hour, blowing a whistle to attract attention but got no response from the islanders.
On his return he was spotted by local fishermen, who informed the authorities and Polyakov was arrested in Port Blair, an archipelago nearly 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) east of India’s mainland. India’s Modi, Musk discussed potential collaboration in technology (Reuters)
Reuters [4/18/2025 3:36 AM, Harshita Meenaktshi, 5.2M]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Elon Musk and talked about "various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year," he said in a post on X on Friday, without saying when the conversation took place.
Modi said that they discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation. India and China to Resume Annual Pilgrimage Soon as Ties Improve (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [4/17/2025 8:20 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Santosh Kumar, 16228K]
India and China have agreed to resume an annual pilgrimage to the Tibet Autonomous Region, in another sign of improving ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.The religious journey to Mount Kailash — a sacred site in Hinduism and Buddhism — is expected to restart soon, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said on Thursday. “We will soon issue a notice to the public on the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra,” he said.The pilgrimage, which is organized by India’s foreign ministry, was suspended five years ago when border clashes between soldiers of the two nations left at least 20 Indian and an unknown number of Chinese troops dead. Diplomatic and economic relations between the world’s two most populous nations had plunged after the dispute.Thursday’s announcement comes six months after Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met at the BRICS summit in Russia and agreed to stabilize relations. It also comes at a time when Xi is attempting to win over regional allies, in an apparent effort to counter US pressure on nations to limit trade ties with Beijing.In recent months, India and China have agreed to resume direct flights and facilitate visas. Officials from the two sides had also been discussing the pilgrimage issue since last year.The world’s second-largest economy has said it’s willing to buy Indian products to balance trade. However, New Delhi retains a hardline stance on Chinese investments, saying that it will restrict market access to China’s BYD Co. IMF sees US-China trade grievances, welcomes India tariff cuts (Reuters)
Reuters [4/17/2025 4:42 PM, David Lawder, 23K]
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday that the U.S. and China both have trade grievances, but the world’s two largest economies needed to reduce uncertainty and agree on a fairer, rules-based trading system.
Georgieva, speaking at an event in Washington ahead of next week’s IMF and World Bank spring meetings, also welcomed India’s decision to reduce trade barriers and said that tariffs elsewhere could also drop amid negotiations over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Georgieva refrained from directly criticizing Trump’s tariff assault on its trading partners, noting that an increase in tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers were feeding negative perceptions of the multilatersl system.
"This feeling of unfairness in some places fits the narrative, ‘we play by the rules while others game the system without penalty,’" Georgieva said. "Trade imbalances steer trade tensions.".
She said that the U.S. had grievances around China’s intellectual property practices and non-tariff barriers, while China is seeking U.S. engagement that would put both economies on a solid footing.
"We would like to see a reduction in uncertainty, and it is hard to get there if the two largest economies are still finding their footing and when, obviously, from the perspective of the world economy, it is important that the result of all this is a more, fairer, rule-based system," Georgieva said.
The IMF chief said that India was uneasy with reducing tariffs and trade barriers, but "India is now doing it." She added that this would be helpful for the country’s growth prospects.
She said it was possible that tariffs and other trade barriers also could come down in the European Union as well and could encourage more bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements.
"Well, in injecting this moment, yes, it is bilateral discussions, but I expect this to lead to some action around reducing, eliminating barriers that could have broader benefit for the world," Georgieva said. India plans to ease nuclear liability laws to attract foreign firms, sources say (Reuters)
Reuters [4/18/2025 1:00 AM, Sarita Chaganti Singh, 5.2M]
India is planning to ease its nuclear liability laws to cap accident-related penalties on equipment suppliers, three government sources said, in a move mainly to attract U.S. firms that have been holding back due to the risk of unlimited exposure.
The proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is the latest step to expand nuclear power production capacity by 12 times to 100 gigawatts by 2047 as well as provide a fillip to India in trade and tariff negotiations with the U.S.
A draft law prepared by the department of atomic energy removes a key clause in the Civil Nuclear Liability Damage Act of 2010 that exposes suppliers to unlimited liability for accidents, the three sources said.
India’s atomic energy department, the prime minister’s office and the finance ministry did not respond to requests seeking comment.
"India needs nuclear power, which is clean and essential," said Debasish Mishra, chief growth officer at Deloitte South Asia.
"A liability cap will allay the major concern of the suppliers of nuclear reactors."
The amendments are in line with international norms that put the onus on the operator to maintain safety instead of the supplier of nuclear reactors.
New Delhi is hoping the changes will ease concerns of mainly U.S. firms like General Electric Co (GE.N), and Westinghouse Electric Co that have been sitting on the sidelines for years due to unlimited risks in case of accidents.
Analysts say passage of the amended law is crucial to negotiations between India and the U.S. for a trade deal this year that aims to raise bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from $191 billion last year.
Modi’s administration is confident of getting approval for the amendments in the monsoon session of parliament, set to begin in July, according to the sources.
Under the proposed amendments, the right of the operator to compensation from the supplier in case of an accident will be capped at the value of the contract. It will also be subject to a period to be specified in the contract.
Currently, the law does not define a limit to the amount of compensation an operator can seek from suppliers and the period for which the vendor can be held accountable.
LAW GREW OUT OF BHOPAL DISASTER
India’s 2010 nuclear liability law grew out of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, the world’s deadliest industrial accident, at a factory owned by U.S. multinational Union Carbide Corp in which more than 5,000 people were killed.
Union Carbide agreed to pay an out-of-court settlement of $470 million in damages in 1989.
The current liability law effectively shut out Western companies from a huge market, and also strained U.S.-Indian relations since they reached a deal on nuclear cooperation in 2008.
It also left U.S. firms at a disadvantage to Russian and French companies whose accident liability is underwritten by their governments.
The draft law also proposes a lower liability cap on small reactor operators at $58 million, but is unlikely to alter the cap for large reactor operators from the current level of $175 million, the three sources said.
India is betting big on nuclear power to meet its rising energy demand without compromising on net-zero commitments, for which it proposes to allow private Indian companies to build such plants.
Indian conglomerates like Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), Tata Power (TTPW.NS), Adani Power (ADAN.NS), and Vedanta Ltd (VDAN.NS) have held discussions with the government to invest around $5.14 billion each in the sector. ‘A law unto itself’: India’s unaccountable tax service targets multinationals (Financial Times)
Financial Times [4/17/2025 8:45 PM, Chris Kay, Krishn Kaushik, and Andres Schipani, 14.6M]
Indian tax authorities have levied a series of huge tax bills against multinationals, undercutting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to bolster the ease of doing business in the country and promote India as a manufacturing alternative to China.
In recent months, Volkswagen, Kia and Samsung were issued or have legally contested notices totalling more than $2bn, in an outstanding instance of what critics say are predatory practices by Indian tax authorities against foreign companies operating in the country that threaten to undermine business confidence.
The salvo also comes as Modi’s government has sought to improve the business environment in India, with moves such as cutting corporate tax rates and streamlining the country’s complex and often unpredictable revenue collection system.
But India’s unaccountable revenue officials remain steeped in a “socialist-era” culture where “businessmen were seen as crooks”, said Mohandas Pai, chair of Bengaluru-based venture fund Aarin Capital.“We have a broken assessment system where tax officers can do what they want without proper reviews,” Pai added, noting that a proposed income tax bill would allow collectors to access emails, social media and cloud storage platforms without prior judicial approval. “There’s no check and balance.”
A senior tax lawyer who requested anonymity added: “The tax department is a law unto itself.”
India’s treatment of foreign companies has long been a sore point, with multinationals seeking to invest in the world’s most populous country and fastest-growing large economy having to fight red tape, onerous regulations and unanticipated tax bills.
New Delhi in particular is notorious for levying retrospective taxes. Vodafone and Cairn Energy spent years contesting one such multibillion-dollar claim, which they eventually won through international arbitration.
Part of the problem is “badly written laws and regulations open to interpretation,” said Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, practice head for south Asia at Eurasia Group. “Our laws are simply not up to the mark.”
A senior Mumbai-based tax lawyer and arbitrator, who also declined to be named for fear of antagonising tax officials, said India’s revenue system “red-flagged” certain cases for investigation but it was “completely opaque as to how and when they choose them”.In the recent cases against Volkswagen, Kia and Samsung, Indian officials have accused the companies of evading import duties. One executive at a foreign carmaker grumbled that the “rules are not clear”.
The biggest battle is against Volkswagen, which is locked in a $1.4bn legal wrangle in Mumbai’s high court over whether it misclassified imports of car components as individual parts, rather than “completely knocked down” units for reassembly, in order to evade higher duties over a 12-year period.
The carmaker’s local arm has called the dispute a “matter of life and death”.
In court documents seen by the Financial Times, Škoda Auto Volkswagen India, the local subsidiary, insisted that it followed tax authority guidance, and argued that government officials “cherry-picked” evidence.
The company also warned that the tax demand “would lead to uncertainty” among multinationals by suggesting “that imports can remain provisional till eternity”.
Legal submissions by India’s government last month said the automaker’s attempt to dismiss the demand was “devoid of any merit” and could “have a cascading and potentially catastrophic impact on revenue collection”.
Škoda Auto Volkswagen India told the FT that it was “actively pursuing all legal remedies available to us under the law” and “remains committed to conducting business responsibly and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations”.
Samsung earlier this year was also hit with about $600mn in backdated levies and fines on individual executives over imported telecoms equipment. The South Korean conglomerate was likely to contest the claims, according to a person familiar with the matter who said the “confusion” was based on “a classification issue”.“Tech is changing rapidly and globally, which leads to changes in nomenclature, changes in interpretation, but the customs commissioner in India hasn’t kept the technological changes in mind,” the person added.
Samsung and India’s finance ministry, which oversees the country’s tax and customs agencies, did not respond to requests for comment.
Kia said it was also fighting tax bills, adding that it was “committed to uphold all regulatory requirements”.
Maruti Suzuki, the Indian-listed arm of the Japanese automaker, said last month it would object to an additional $346mn bill for the financial year ending in March 2022.
The flurry of tax action flies in the face of the Modi administration’s recent efforts to ease off Delhi’s historic heavy-handedness against foreign corporates.
Amid growing concerns, the government in November ordered all new customs investigations to be wrapped up within a year. Tax disputes, some more than a decade old, rose 27 per cent to Rs15.4tn ($180bn) in the two years to March 2024, according to finance ministry data.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also pushed for reforms to cut regulatory burdens and simplify the income tax code, proposing in February to cut half of the 500,000-word 1961 income tax manual to improve “ease of doing business by providing a tax framework that is simple and clear”.
But at the same time, New Delhi is seeking to bulk up its coffers while cutting its fiscal deficit, estimated at almost 5 per cent of GDP. Many domestic companies have also been subject to tax penalties.
In recent weeks, India’s biggest airline IndiGo announced it would dispute a $110mn tax demand. Household goods majors Tata Consumer Products and Dabur India, along with food delivery platform Swiggy, also received notices totalling more than $60mn, which they planned to appeal against, the companies said.“There’s always a tendency for such cases to increase when the government is pushing really hard for tax revenue,” said Chaudhuri. “The guys who raise that get a promotion.” NSB
Bangladesh Model Accused Of Blackmailing Saudi Envoy (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/17/2025 7:15 AM, Staff, 931K]
Bangladesh police said Thursday a former beauty queen arrested this month had attempted to honey-trap the former Saudi ambassador in an attempt to extort $5 million from the envoy.
Meghna Alam, 30, was initially held without charge under the South Asian nation’s controversial law which permits indefinite detention of suspects.
Police spokesman Muhammad Talebur Rahman told AFP that Alam had now been charged with extortion over the alleged blackmail scheme.
Another senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Alam and others hatched a plan to coerce the diplomat into handing over the money.
"Bangladesh has the highest number of expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia. The government doesn’t want to jeopardise diplomatic ties," the officer added.
Saudi Arabia is a constant donor of financial and humanitarian aid to Bangladesh and its more than two million Bangladeshi workers are the largest cohort of foreign labourers in the kingdom.
Alam appeared without legal counsel during a court hearing on Thursday and rejected the allegation brought against her, urging her arrest to be nullified.
The Daily Star newspaper reported Alam as saying she had been contacted by the diplomat, who had asked her to commence a relationship.
Her father, Badrul Alam, has also said "the ambassador and Meghna were in a relationship".
"My daughter refused his marriage proposal because he already has a wife and children," he told AFP following the arrest.
The Saudi embassy in Dhaka did not respond to queries Thursday.
Police said after Alam’s arrest on April 9 that the model, a former winner of the Miss Earth Bangladesh beauty pageant, had been accused of "disrupting state security" and "prejudicing the country’s financial interests".
Her detention under the Special Powers Act was criticised by rights groups.
"We call on the authorities to either charge Meghna with an internationally recognizable crime or release her," Amnesty International wrote Friday on social media platform X. Sri Lankans Throng To Kandy For Rare Display Of Buddhist Relic (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/18/2025 2:04 AM, Staff, 931K]
Thousands of pilgrims camped overnight outside Sri Lanka’s holiest Buddhist temple in anticipation of Friday’s display of a prized relic that will be shown to the public for the first time in 16 years.
Around 10,000 police have been deployed to safeguard the Temple of the Tooth as it launches a 10-day exhibition of what Sri Lankan Buddhists believe to be Buddha’s left canine.
Police said armed troops will reinforce security at the 16th-century temple in Kandy, which was targeted by Tamil separatists in a 1998 suicide attack that killed 16 people.
"We expect about two million devotees to visit Kandy during the 10-day exhibition," a police officer told AFP.
"There will be airport-style security at the entrance," he added, warning that bags and cameras would be prohibited.
Classes in Kandy have been cancelled as the schools have all been repurposed to house the large number of security forces sent to the city.
Queues to enter the temple stretched over two kilometres (1.2 miles) before the exhibition was due to open on Friday afternoon, according to a live map updated by police.
Over a million people were estimated to have visited the UNESCO-designated temple when the tooth relic was last displayed in March 2009.
The 1998 bombing of the temple destroyed walls and windows, and in the process revealed 18-century murals that had been plastered over several times in the course of the site’s history.A section of the exposed murals is displayed in the temple’s tightly guarded museum, which says they date back to between 1707 and 1739, a period when Kandy was the seat of the monarchy that ruled over the island. Central Asia
Interview With Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister Of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko (Eurasia Review)
Eurasia Review [4/17/2025 12:25 PM, Derya Soysal, 206K]
On the occasion of the Central Asia Media Forum held in Astana on April 16, Roman Vassilenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, gave an exclusive interview to this author. In this conversation, Vassilenko shared insights into Kazakhstan’s vision for regional media cooperation, the strategic goals behind President Tokayev’s initiative, and the broader importance of strengthening dialogue and understanding among Central Asian countries.
What steps is Kazakhstan taking to strengthen bilateral relations with the European Union?
Vassilenko: This year, we mark 32 years of our relations.
Since their establishment, we have built strong ties that have remained stable and resilient, even in the face of drastic global changes.
Our partnership is based on robust trade, significant investment, and shared interests in key sectors such as transport, logistics, and trade.
We are also united by our commitment to common values — democracy, the protection of human rights — and our support for the United Nations as the only truly universal international institution, with principles enshrined in the UN Charter.
Today, we believe we are at a very important juncture in our relationship.
At the most recent summit, Kazakhstan acknowledged the increasing importance of commercial and economic cooperation with the European Union. We strongly support intra-regional cooperation, as reflected in President Tokayev’s Autumn 2022 initiative, as well as in discussions with the President of the European Council.
In October 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed European Council President Charles Michel in Astana.
During the Samarkand meeting, Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the importance of closer collaboration.
It is encouraging to see that both sides have adopted a joint agreement that lays the groundwork for deeper cooperation.
The agreement will be implemented over the next years, with an investment potential of €12 billion from the EU. There is common interest like the CRM (Critical Raw Materials).
This reflects a new era of cooperation. Kazakhstan remains the only Central Asian country to have signed and ratified the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), signed in 2015.
Geopolitical factors have also brought Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and the European Union closer together. EU leaders in Brussels increasingly recognize the strategic value of closer ties with Kazakhstan.
Recently, two Commissioners visited Kazakhstan, Kaja Kallas and Josef Síkela, and we expect many more developments in the coming years.
What steps is Kazakhstan taking to strengthen bilateral trade relations with the European Union, and what prospects are there for the development of new areas of cooperation in the future?
Vassilenko: Kazakhstan is actively working to strengthen bilateral trade relations with the European Union, reflecting the strategic importance of the EU as one of our country’s key trade partners. Under the framework of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), we are focused on deepening economic cooperation and removing barriers to trade. We are also improving logistical infrastructure and digital connectivity, which should contribute to further growth in trade and investment.
Looking ahead, Kazakhstan sees strong prospects in expanding the export of agricultural and food products. On February 24, 2025, the European Union officially recognized Kazakhstan as a honey-exporting country. This decision marks an important step in expanding trade relations between Kazakhstan and the EU and will allow us to continue harmonizing a range of Kazakh agricultural products for exports to the EU. Specifically, we are currently working on enabling the export of aquaculture products to the EU market. Additionally, Kazakhstan aims to attract European investment into key sectors such as energy and industry. We are confident that the development of these areas will strengthen bilateral cooperation with the EU and generate mutual benefits.
Our trade has grown to a record high-level, reaching almost 50 billion dollars last year, 17% increase compared to 2023, representing 80% of EU trade with Central Asia. We believe there is room for further growth of the trade as we identify new avenues of the cooperation.
Over 3,000 companies from EU countries such asEni, Total, Alstom, Siemens, and Carlsberg and others maintain a strong and successful presence in our country.
How do you assess the outcomes of the first EU–Central Asia Summit in Samarkand?
Vassilenko: The Central Asia – EU Summit in Samarkand marked a new chapter in our long-standing relations, upgrading regional cooperation to the level of strategic partnership.
It underscored the strong mutual trust and growing strategic interest between our regions in building a resilient, comprehensive, and long-term partnership. The high-level participation of the Heads of State from Central Asia and the leaders from the European Union gave the meeting significant political weight.
The summit addressed a broad range of priorities – from sustainable development and climate cooperation to energy, transport connectivity, and regional security. We particularly welcome the balanced and substantive Joint Statement, which reflected key initiatives and priorities, including the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, green transition, water security, and cooperation on critical raw materials.
Importantly, the summit demonstrated that Central Asia is increasingly acting as a coherent regional partner. This unity is crucial in today’s complex international environment. We believe the outcomes of the summit will open new opportunities for practical cooperation and the launch of mutually beneficial projects with the EU.
We welcome the announcement of the new Global Gateway Investment Package for Central Asia worth of 12 billion euros.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put forward a number of initiatives aimed at further enhancing our multifaceted interaction, including establishing Regional Centre on CRM as well as Central Asia – EU Innovation Campus in Astana, launching "Erasmus + for Central Asia" educational program and others.
Kazakhstan is fully committed to implementing the agreements reached and looks forward to injecting new momentum into the interregional dialogue. We also hope this summit format becomes a regular platform for strategic coordination between the EU and Central Asia.
The EU recently launched a €12 billion Global Gateway Investment Package focused on transport, critical raw materials, clean energy, and digital connectivity. How does Kazakhstan plan to leverage this initiative to advance its sustainable development goals and solidify its role as a key transit and investment hub in Central Asia?
Vassilenko: Kazakhstan welcomes the Global Gateway Investment Package and views it as a transformative opportunity to deepen our strategic partnership with the European Union. Our approach to effectively leveraging these funds is multi-faceted:- Joint Project Identification and Institutional Coordination: We are working closely with the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and other financial institutions to identify priority projects.- Enhancing Transport and Transit Connectivity: Strengthening the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route remains a primaryobjective. By collaborating with regional partners and EU stakeholders, we aim to expand port capacity, modernize railway infrastructure, and optimize customs procedures. These measures will help further position Kazakhstan as a major logistics and transit corridor bridging Europe and Asia, in line with the objectives of the Global Gateway initiative.- Advancing Sustainable Resource Development: Kazakhstan’s extensive reserves of critical raw materials, combined with the EU’s focus on sustainable supply chains, offer significant mutual benefits. We continue to promote responsible extraction and processing methods, supported by research and innovation. This includes the establishment of specialized research facilities—such as the proposed Regional Research Centre for Rare Earth Metals in Astana—to ensure we meet environmental standards while providing stable access to essential minerals for European industries.- Promoting Green Transition and Climate Resilience: In light of the Global Gateway’s substantial investment in clean energy and climate initiatives, Kazakhstan is accelerating renewable energy projects, including wind, solar, and green hydrogen ventures in partnership with European firms. We also plan to expand the Regional Project Office on Climate Change and Green Energy in Astana and actively collaborate with EU experts to develop best practices for emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and sustainable infrastructure.- Fostering Digital Innovation and Human Capital: A portion of the Global Gateway funds is dedicated to digital connectivity and innovation. Kazakhstan will use these resources to advance AI research at the Alem.AI Center, scale up the Astana Hub for startups, and invest in digital literacy programs. Through close coordination with European partners, we aim to diversify our economy, create high-value jobs, and cultivate the next generation of IT specialists.
By aligning Global Gateway investments with our national reforms and regional ambitions, Kazakhstan seeks to deliver tangible benefits for our citizens, strengthen our position as a reliable transit and investment hub, and contribute to sustainable growth in Central Asia. This integrated approach will reinforce the trust and collaboration we share with the European Union, paving the way for increased economic prosperity and shared progress in the years ahead.
Most importantly, we must begin the practical implementation of projects. It is essential to adopt a holistic approach and turn our commitments into concrete actions.
As Kazakhstan and the EU deepen collaboration beyond economic matters, what are the key political priorities they seek to advance, and how do these efforts align with Kazakhstan’s vision for regional stability and global cooperation?
Vassilenko: Both Kazakhstan and the EU place paramount importance on joint policy initiatives that reinforce the rule of law, advance institutional reforms, and uphold shared commitments to international norms. From Kazakhstan’s perspective, promoting good governance and transparent administration is a core component of sustaining domestic reforms and strengthening public trust in government. President Tokayev’s emphasis on a "balanced foreign policy" aligns closely with the EU’s approach, particularly regarding peaceful conflict resolution and support for the principles of the UN Charter.
These political priorities also extend into the broader regional arena, where the promotion of people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges, and educational programs fosters mutual understanding. By championing initiatives such as a dedicated Erasmus+ program for Central Asia and targeted investment in youth skill-building, both Kazakhstan and the EU aim to strengthen the region’s human capital. Additionally, advancing climate action and sustainable development—exemplified by the Samarkand International Climate Forum and the upcoming UN-backed Regional Climate Conference—demonstrates a shared ambition to tackle global challenges through diplomatic consensus and multilateral frameworks. Collectively, these endeavors strengthen Kazakhstan’s standing as a forward-looking state that actively contributes to the stability and progress of Central Asia, while also underscoring the EU’s broader commitment to constructive political engagement and global cooperation.
During a recent official meeting with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, announced the launch of the procedure to conclude a visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Kazakhstan. What steps has Kazakhstan taken to advance visa facilitation for its citizens?
Vassilenko: It is worth noting that, in line with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy Concept, one of the key priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the EU is the protection of the rights and interests of Kazakhstani citizens abroad. A central component of this work is ensuring freedom of movement for Kazakh citizens, including through the simplification of visa procedures with the EU.
On 27 March 2025, the Council of the European Union approved the mandate to begin negotiations with the Republic of Kazakhstan on the conclusion of a Visa Facilitation Agreement. This decision marks an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations and enhances cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union.
With the Council of the European Union officially approving the mandate, the path is now clear for the start of substantive negotiations. Kazakhstan has become the only country in Central Asia with which the EU plans to conclude a Visa Facilitation Agreement—clearly highlighting the importance of Kazakhstan’s multifaceted partnership with the European Union.
The negotiation process will address key aspects of simplifying visa procedures, including shorter processing times, reduced visa fees, expanded categories of preferential applicants, simplified documentation requirements, and increased opportunities for obtaining multiple-entry visas with longer validity periods. It is expected that the agreement will enable citizens of Kazakhstan to obtain visas to EU countries under more streamlined and accessible conditions.
The EU’s decision to launch visa facilitation negotiations with Kazakhstan reflects its recognition of Kazakhstan as a reliable and key partner in the region, while also strengthening bilateral cooperation and opening new avenues for engagement, and fostering business-to-business and people-to-people ties.
We hope that these negotiations will start soon and we will be able to witness happy faces of the people receiving visas in a simplified manner.
What are the anticipated goals of the upcoming Astana International Forum scheduled for May 29–30, 2025, and why is it significant for fostering regional cooperation in Central Asia?
Vassilenko: For us, this forum is an opportunity to contribute to the revival of diplomatic efforts and to promote multilateralism, as well as a return to normal and constructive international relations.
This is why our President launched the initiative in 2022.
This year’s edition will gather high-level participants, including presidents and prime ministers from Croatia, Albania, Rwanda, Togo, and others.
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as representatives from the United Nations and many international experts, will also be in attendance.
This forum is our contribution to international dialogue in an increasingly interconnected world.
Cooperation is always better than confrontation.
What is the significance of the Astana Media Forum for regional cooperation and information exchange among Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan?
Vassilenko: The Central Asia Media Forum is an initiative launched by President Tokayev. During 30 years of independence and development, the countries of Central Asia have gradually grown distant from one another. In response, President Tokayev proposed the creation of this forum, along with the establishment of a Central Asian media channel.
As announced by Aida Balayeva, Minister of Culture and Information, this morning at the Forum, this channel will be jointly developed by the countries of the region. Supported by President Tokayev and the Kazakh government, the initiative aims to strengthen mutual understanding, promote regional cooperation, and remove barriers.
This forum is particularly significant because it also addresses broader themes such as artificial intelligence, fake news, and the future of media.
Now in its second edition, the forum is taking place in Astana and gathers experts from across Central Asia to foster dialogue and regional unity.
It reflects Kazakhstan’s broader efforts to bring the countries of Central Asia closer together. Indo-Pacific
Bangladesh and Pakistan resume talks after 15 years, seek to mend strained ties (AP)
AP [4/17/2025 12:41 PM, Julhas Alam, 34586K]
Foreign ministry officials from Bangladesh’s interim government and Pakistan resumed talks on Thursday after a 15-year gap, as the two South Asian Muslim-majority nations attempted to ease strained relations.
Under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in August in a students-led mass uprising, Bangladesh expanded relations with neighboring India in every sector.
But ties with India have become increasingly tense. Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has criticized India for sheltering Hasina in the country and sought her extradition without any positive response from India.
Yunus has meanwhile sought to improve relations with Pakistan, India’s rival. In recent months he met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif several times, and a high-level Bangladeshi military delegation made a rare visit to Pakistan in January and held talks with Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir. In February, Bangladesh’s navy took part in a multinational maritime exercise organized by Pakistan off the Karachi coast.
After Hasina’s exit, Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed direct trading for the first time in years. Direct flights between the countries are expected to resume soon and visa procedures have been eased while India stopped visas for Bangladeshis, except for medical emergencies.Earlier this month, India cancelled a transshipment facility that allowed Bangladesh to export its primarily garment products to third countries using Indian airports and other Indian infrastructure.The move is expected to impact Bangladesh’s roughly $39 billion annual readymade garment exports by increasing trade costs with the European Union, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Bangladesh is the world’s second largest garment producer after China.After Thursday’s talks in Dhaka between Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin and his Pakistani counterpart, Uddin said Bangladesh raised historically “unsettled issues” with Pakistan, including a formal public apology for atrocities allegedly committed by Pakistani troops in 1971 during Bangladesh’s war of independence.India helped Bangladesh win independence through a nine-month war against then West Pakistan, now Pakistan. Hasina’s Awami League party regularly criticizes Pakistan for alleged atrocities during the war, when Bangladesh says about 3 million people were killed and about 200,000 women were raped by Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan rejects the claims and has never officially apologized.Local media reported earlier that Yunus’ government was preparing to formally raise its demand for $4.52 billion in financial compensation from Pakistan.Uddin said the issue of the compensation was raised in Thursday’s meeting.“These issues need to be resolved for having a solid foundation of our relations,” Uddin said Thursday. The two sides also discussed expansion of trade and commerce and increasing cooperation in agriculture and other sectors, he added.Yunus’ office said in a statement late Thursday that he held a separate meeting with the Pakistani foreign secretary and emphasized “strengthening ties with Pakistan to boost mutual cooperation and explore trade and business potentials.”
“There are certain hurdles. We have to find ways to overcome those and move forward,” Yunus told Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.The last such consultation between the two countries was held in Islamabad in 2010 after Hasina came to power in a 2008 election with a landslide victory.Baloch said Bangladesh and Pakistan must find ways to “harness the potentials between the two countries,” the statement said. Twitter
Afghanistan
UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett@SR_Afghanistan
[4/17/2025 2:17 PM, 43.5K followers, 42 retweets, 81 likes]
Together with other UN experts, I urge the Taliban to immediately stop their capital & corporal punishments, including floggings (210+ people since start of 2025). Turning executions into public events is indefensible. See full statement below #Afghanistan
Malala Yousafzai@Malala
[4/17/2025 2:12 PM, 1.8M followers, 256 retweets, 882 likes]
I am devastated to see thousands of vulnerable Afghan refugees deported from Pakistan to live under the Taliban’s brutal regime of gender apartheid. Girls and women will be deprived of all human rights, including going to school, working and speaking freely. Pakistanis have always welcomed Afghans, many of whom have lived in the country for decades, into their communities. They have treated families fleeing war and violence with kindness and hospitality. Right now, Afghanistan is not safe, especially for girls and women. Forced returns will only deepen their trauma and put them in great danger. The government must halt these deportations, protect vulnerable families and ensure girls can go to school. The international community must also step up: open resettlement pathways and put maximum pressure on the Taliban by recognizing gender apartheid as a crime against humanity. Until then, the world must offer refuge, not rejection.
Yalda Hakim@SkyYaldaHakim
[4/17/2025 6:19 AM, 217.7K followers, 123 retweets, 281 likes]
1306 days since the Taliban banned teenage girls from school. 846 days since the Taliban banned women from going to university. #LetAfghanGirlsLearn Pakistan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan@ForeignOfficePk
[4/18/2025 1:55 AM, 481.4K followers, 5 likes]
Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s former PR to the UN, called on Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50. They discussed the global political landscape and Pakistan’s upcoming Presidency of the UNSC. DPM/ FM appreciated Amb. Munir’s exemplary diplomatic service and contributions to Pakistan’s multilateral diplomacy.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan@ForeignOfficePk
[4/17/2025 11:51 AM, 481.4K followers, 14 retweets, 50 likes]
Afghan Acting Minister for Commerce and Industries, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, called on Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 today. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing cooperation in trade, transit, and regional connectivity. They also underlined the importance of maintaining high-level political engagement between the two neighbouring countries.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan@ForeignOfficePk
[4/17/2025 8:44 AM, 481.4K followers, 34 retweets, 184 likes]
6th round of Foreign Secretary Level Consultations took place at Dhaka today after a hiatus of 15 years. Pakistan side was led by Foreign Secretary, Ms. Amna Baloch, while Foreign Secretary MD. Jashim Uddin led Bangladesh side. Both sides had a constructive and forward-looking engagement in a cordial environment where entire spectrum of Pakistan -Bangladesh bilateral relations came under discussion, including political, economic and trade relations, cooperation in agriculture, environment and education, cultural exchanges, defence relations and people to people contacts. Also, new avenues of cooperation were explored by the two sides.
Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch later called on Advisor on Foreign Affairs, MD. Touhid Hossain and inter alia discussed regional issues, including revival of SAARC and trade and economic relations between the two countries. During the Foreign Secretary’s call on the Chief Adviser, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, inter alia, trade and investment opportunities, youth linkages, regional integration, and revival of SAARC remained the focus of discussion. Dr. Yunus also shared his vision for Pakistan-Bangladesh bilateral relations. While thanking Prof. Yunus, Ms. Amna Baloch conveyed best wishes to him from the Pakistani leadership. 7th round of FSLC will take place in Islamabad in 2026.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan@ForeignOfficePk
[4/17/2025 8:02 AM, 481.4K followers, 15 retweets, 36 likes]
Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Ryabkov called on Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50. The DPM reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment to its ties with Russia. It was agreed to pursue a long-term, multi-dimensional partnership spanning trade, energy, security, culture, education & people-to-people exchanges.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/17/2025 6:10 AM, 3.1M followers, 8 retweets, 50 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif received a briefing regarding the construction of Jinnah Square Murree Road Underpass.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/17/2025 6:03 AM, 3.1M followers, 4 retweets, 26 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif unveiled the plaque of groundbreaking of Jinnah Square Murree Road Underpass in Islamabad today.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/17/2025 4:50 AM, 3.1M followers, 5 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired a review meeting regarding eradication of Polio in Islamabad today.
Imran Khan@ImranKhanPTI
[4/17/2025 10:50 PM, 21.1M followers, 9.5K retweets, 16K likes]
Message from Former Prime Minister Imran Khan via his Legal Team - "I have not authorized anyone to engage in negotiations with the establishment. I have never struck a deal in the past, nor will I entertain one now. Had I been interested in making a deal, I would have accepted the offer made two years ago, an offer that proposed complete immunity from legal action in exchange for two years of silence. I rejected it then, and I reject any such notion now.
Ali Amin Gandapur and Azam Swati may have expressed a desire for talks, but in my view, such negotiations are pointless. The opposing side is not interested in resolving issues, they only seek to buy time. Ali Amin and Azam Swati wished to pursue discussions of their own accord. I have always maintained and reiterated that as a political party, we have no objection to dialogue. The doors to negotiations were never closed. But let me be clear: any talks must be grounded in the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the interests of the people, not in any personal arrangement for myself or my wife.
Regarding the Mines and Minerals Bill: no further action will be taken until Chief Minister Ali Amin and the senior political leadership of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa deliver a comprehensive and transparent briefing. Without that, the matter will not move forward.
For the past seven months, my close associates and for the past month, even my sisters and legal counsel have been denied their legal right to meet me. While Nawaz Sharif was granted daily visitation, I am denied this right even on court-mandated days under false pretexts. This shows the sheer extent of the fear my presence commands. I am not allowed phone calls with my children, and even my personal physician is barred from access. I have now directed the legal committee to file a contempt of court petition without delay against the prison administration.
The ongoing treatment of Afghan refugees is nothing short of disgraceful. The ruling mafia, desperate to cling to power, will stop at nothing. The current anti-Afghanistan policy will only breed more resentment and escalate terrorism. Our innocent citizens and security personnel are already paying the price with their lives on a daily basis. A formal resolution must be tabled in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly demanding an extension in the repatriation timeline for Afghan refugees. Furthermore, the federal government must grant KP the authority to engage directly with the Afghan administration—KP has borne the brunt of terrorism and must be allowed to address it proactively. The matter must be resolved through statesmanship and common sense instead of fueling this fire.
The election tribunals have become completely dysfunctional. Rather than fulfilling their constitutional obligations, their energies are solely focused on protecting the corrupt. A resolution must be passed in the KP Assembly urging the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court to instruct election tribunal judges to immediately deliver verdicts on all pending PTI election petitions.
Public airing of internal disagreements only serves the interests of our opponents. Such matters must be dealt with responsibly and resolved strictly through internal party forums. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is the only truly national political force that can, without external support, mobilize a countrywide movement at any time. A political party only weakens when it loses public support and right now, the entire nation stands firmly with PTI. Still, we are open to alliances on shared principles. I instruct our political leadership to move swiftly: complete consultations with current and prospective allies, formalize these alliances, and announce our roadmap. Every option including mass protests is on the table. Our strategic response will be declared soon."
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[4/17/2025 8:53 AM, 219K followers, 52 retweets, 129 likes]
Minerals might appear to be a new sweet spot for a US-Pakistan relationship that’s struggled to find anchors for partnership since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. In reality, this would be a dangerous gamble. This week @ForeignPolicy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/16/pakistan-mineral-reserves-investment-trump-security/ Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK
[4/17/2025 6:00 AM, 8.6M followers, 100 retweets, 438 likes]
The case of missing justice. Islamabad High Court Reserved decision on my petition 8 months ago. No announcement yet. Justice delayed justice ……. https://pakistanpressfoundation.org/islamabad-high-court-reserves-decision-on-petition-for-judicial-commission-in-arshad-sharif-murder-case/ India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/18/2025 3:18 AM, 107.6M followers, 1.9K retweets, 11K likes]
Spoke to @elonmusk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year. We discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation. India remains committed to advancing our partnerships with the US in these domains.Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/18/2025 2:49 AM, 107.6M followers, 121 retweets, 647 likes]
On the auspicious Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji, I pay my humble tributes to one of the greatest spiritual torchbearers of our land. His life epitomises courage and compassionate service. He was unwavering in fighting injustice. May his teachings continue to inspire us all in building a society he envisioned.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/17/2025 12:58 AM, 107.6M followers, 3.9K retweets, 17K likes]
A proud moment for every Indian across the world! The inclusion of the Gita and Natyashastra in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register is a global recognition of our timeless wisdom and rich culture. The Gita and Natyashastra have nurtured civilisation, and consciousness for centuries. Their insights continue to inspire the world. @UNESCO
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/17/2025 12:44 PM, 107.6M followers, 5.4K retweets, 29K likes]
Yesterday, chaired a meeting on cleaning and rejuvenating the Yamuna as well as addressing drinking water related issues of Delhi. Centre will work closely with the Delhi Government to ensure world class infrastructure and ‘Ease of Living’ for my sisters and brothers of Delhi.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/17/2025 10:28 AM, 107.6M followers, 8.3K retweets, 52K likes]
Had a wonderful meeting with members of the Dawoodi Bohra community! We talked about a wide range of issues during the interaction. @Dawoodi_Bohras
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[4/17/2025 3:14 AM, 3.4M followers, 29 retweets, 116 likes]
A true recognition of India’s documentary heritage and rich culture. Inscription of the Gita and Natyashastra in @UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register is indeed a proud moment as it recognizes the importance of preserving and sharing India’s knowledge with the world. Congratulate our teams who have meticulously worked on this project.
Richard Rossow@RichardRossow
[4/17/2025 10:24 AM, 29.9K followers, 1 retweet, 9 likes]
It’s official- Vice President J.D. Vance will travel to India April 21-24. https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/39423/Visit_of_Vice_President_of_the_United_States_of_America_to_India_April_2124_2025
Richard Rossow@RichardRossow
[4/17/2025 10:22 AM, 29.9K followers, 91 retweets, 262 likes]
In terms of big economic reforms, this is the slowest start of the Modi government’s three terms. Of the 30 big reforms we track, not a single one has seen meaningful movement yet. Hope things pick up... it’s a once-in-a-generation chance. NSB
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/17/2025 9:58 AM, 144.4K followers, 130 retweets, 1.2K likes]
Chief Adviser calls for stronger ties with Pakistan Dhaka, April 17, 2025: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday put the emphasis on strengthening ties with Pakistan to boost mutual cooperation and explore trade and business potentials. The Chief Adviser made the call when Pakistani foreign secretary Amna Baloch called on him at the State Guest House Jamuna. “There are certain hurdles. We have to find ways to overcome those and move forward,” the Chief Adviser told Baloch, who led the Pakistani side in the Foreign Secretary level bilateral consultations between the two countries in 15 years.
Referring to the past, Baloch said Bangladesh and Pakistan must find ways to “harness the potentials between the two countries.” “We have huge intra regional markets on our own rights. We should use it,” Baloch said. “ "We can’t miss the bus every time.” She said that there is a need for a regular B2B ( business to business) interaction between the private sectors of two countries and exchange visits at all levels.
In January 2025, a delegation of the Pakistan’s apex business chamber FPCCI visited Bangladesh and signed an MoU with the FBCCI. The Pakistan foreign secretary hoped that the upcoming visit of the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar at the end of April would further strengthen relations between the two countries.
The Chief Adviser said he always preferred closer ties with neighboring countries, including Pakistan, in the framework of SAARC. He said that Bangladesh and Pakistan should exchange more youth and cultural programs between the two countries to increase the people-to-people bonding. “We kept missing each other for a long time as our relationship was frozen. We have to overcome the barriers,” he said.
The Chief Adviser recalled his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA in September 2024 and in Cairo on the sidelines of the D-8 Summit in December 2024, saying that they were key in making progress in bilateral relations. He said that Bangladesh and Pakistan will continue to work closely at multilateral and regional forums like SAARC, OIC, and D-8. Senior secretary on SDG affairs Lamiya Morshed and Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof were among others present.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/17/2025 9:32 AM, 144.4K followers, 55 retweets, 529 likes]
US expresses support for the government’s reform agenda Dhaka, April 17, 2025: A visiting US delegation called on the Chief Adviser on Thursday and expressed support for the reform agenda of the Interim Government. They also discussed regional issues of peace, security, and development. The delegation includes Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State Nicole A. Chulick and Andrew Herrup. Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Dr. Khalilur Rahman, the head of US mission in Dhaka Tracey Ann Jacobson were present at the meeting.
The US officials expressed deep appreciation for the generosity of Bangladesh by hosting 1.2 million Rohingyas and thanked the leadership of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus for making progress on this issue. The Chief Adviser termed the recent identification by Myanmar government of 180,000 Rohingyas as fit for return to Rakhine as an important progress. "We appreciate your vision of looking at the Rohingya issue not in isolation but in the context of Myanmar as a whole," said Chulick.
The US officials also appreciated the Chief Adviser’s approach to enhance regional cooperation, connectivity, and people-to-people contacts. The Chief Adviser underlined the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries and reaffirmed the commitment of the interim government to work closely with the Trump administration on the entire range of bilateral relations. He thanked the US President Donald J. Trump for resuming aid for the Rohingyas and ninety-day pause in the application of reciprocal tariffs. "We are continuing our work to support his trade agenda," he said.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[4/17/2025 2:20 PM, 149.6K followers, 9 retweets, 96 likes]
Today, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in the ‘Outcome is clear - Victory is ours!’ public rally in Jaffna. Your presence and support have been vital in uniting our community and reinforcing our collective journey toward progress and renewal. Together, we stand for a brighter future!
Namal Rajapaksa@RajapaksaNamal
[4/17/2025 2:01 PM, 436.4K followers, 2 likes]
Met with candidates from Kinniya, Thambalagamuwa, Kantale, Morawewa, and Gomarankadawala who are contesting the 2025 local government elections from Trincomalee under the #SLPP #LGE2025 #NRWayForward
Namal Rajapaksa@RajapaksaNamal
[4/18/2025 1:58 AM, 436.4K followers, 4 likes]
The Youth and Women’s Candidate Meeting of the #SLPP in the Anuradhapura District took place in Thalawa. #LGE2025 #NRWayForward #SLPP #Youth #Women Central Asia
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[4/17/2025 10:05 AM, 24.2K followers]
The increasing number of lawsuits—defamation, slander, and others—against journalists and bloggers in Uzbekistan reflects the establishment’s growing anxiety over transparency and accountability. These cases fundamentally challenge the judiciary—especially those judges who strive for independence—as well as lawyers and legal experts who yearn for greater freedom, and the media community, which is undoubtedly sharpening its legal knowledge and expertise. As everywhere, the fight for justice is a complex process. But what Uzbekistan is experiencing now is unprecedented and educational in many ways—something we often forget or choose to ignore. For this struggle to succeed, these cases must foster greater resilience, confidence, and the will to drive positive change. https://facebook.com/share/p/1Vr9MHeZVQ/ {End of Report} To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.