SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Thursday, March 13, 2025 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Veterans Race to Bring Afghan Allies to U.S. Before Trump Travel Ban (New York Times)
New York Times [3/13/2025 5:03 AM, Miriam Jordan, 831K]
The fate of thousands of Afghans waiting to reach the United States after serving with American troops was thrown into limbo after President Trump took office. Now military veterans are scrambling to bring as many of them as possible to the country before the administration introduces a travel ban that could restrict their entry.In an executive order on Jan. 20, Mr. Trump instructed cabinet members, including the secretary of state, to compile a list of countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”The order called for the list to to be completed within 60 days. As that deadline nears, supporters of the Afghan allies have accelerated efforts to bring those eligible to the United States.“We have been engaged in high-intensity, frenetic work,” said Andrew Sullivan, a military veteran and the executive director of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit whose team has been working marathon days to raise money and arrange flights.Amid the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021, the U.S. military helped evacuate 78,000 Afghans who worked as interpreters and in other capacities during the war. Tens of thousands of other who aided U.S. forces are still trying to reach the United States.The wartime allies can apply for a Special Immigrant Visa, which allows them to travel to the United States with their families and receive permanent residence. Many have been waiting for months or longer in neighboring Pakistan and in Albania and Qatar to complete processing by U.S. authorities.In his first term, Mr. Trump barred nationals from seven majority Muslim countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — from entering the United States. This time, Afghanistan is among the countries whose citizens could be categorically blocked, according to U.S. officials. The officials said that Cuba and Venezuela could also be added.If Mr. Trump includes Afghanistan in a new travel ban, Afghans who helped the United States could be stranded indefinitely.After his inauguration, the president also signed an executive order that paused funding for refugee resettlement, suspending travel to the United States for thousands of people around the world who had been screened and approved for entry.Afghans who had obtained Special Immigrant Visas were not barred from relocating to the United States. But in shutting down refugee admissions, the State Department canceled the contracts that had also covered the costs of transporting the Afghan allies. Suddenly they had to pay their own way, and many could not afford the cost.“People with visas in their passports saw their pathway to safety stripped away overnight,” said Sonia Norton, advocacy director for No One Left Behind, which is based in Arlington, Va.The organization’s main role had been to supplement government support by providing Afghan families with loans to buy cars, further their education and adjust to the United States. After the executive orders, it quickly pivoted to an emergency fund-raising campaign.About 37,000 Afghans, and their families, have been issued Special Immigrant Visas since 2009, when the program began. The Taliban, which rules Afghanistan, regards those Afghans as traitors. Thousands have faced retaliatory violence and hundreds have been killed for assisting the United States, according to a 2022 report by No One Left Behind.At the time that Mr. Trump signed the executive orders in January, some 1,000 Afghans and their family members had visas to come to the United States. Returning to Afghanistan is not an option for them, Mr. Sullivan said.“There’s a very real chance that they could get kicked back to the Taliban with a U.S. visa in their passport, and that could be deadly to these allies,” Mr. Sullivan, 38, who was an Army infantry company commander in Afghanistan, said in an interview from Doha, Qatar, where his team was on the ground in recent days.“If we don’t know what’s going to happen with immigration policy, we’re not going to sit idly by,” he said. “We’re going to come and support them.”No One Left Behind, established in 2014, has raised millions of dollars in a matter of weeks from veterans and other Americans to buy airplane tickets for Afghan families who had already been cleared to travel to the United States from Albania, Qatar and Pakistan.Several veteran groups, including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, have voiced concern for the fate of the Afghan allies.Three Republican members of Congress said in a letter to President Trump that his executive orders had resulted in the “immediate shutdown” of Afghan relocation efforts. “These are not random applicants or illegal migrants who’ve crossed the southern border,” said the March 4 letter signed by Michael Lawler of New York, Michael McCaul of Texas and Richard Hudson of North Carolina.“For many Afghans in the pipeline, staying in Afghanistan is a death sentence,” they said.The White House did not respond to request for comments on the impact of the executive orders or the effects of a potential travel ban on Afghans who supported the U.S. mission.Aman Jafari, who interpreted for U.S. Navy Seals, arrived in Portland, Ore., from Albania on March 5 with his wife and four young children.“When Mr. Trump canceled flights, we didn’t have money to book our own flights to America,” said Mr. Jafari, 33. “We just worried terribly what would happen next.”Then No One Left Behind stepped in, he said.On Tuesday, Mr. Sullivan arrived in Los Angeles from Doha to meet potential donors.Evelyn Moore, 67, who has no military connections, said she had donated to the organization’s effort because Mr. Trump’s policies could have “dire consequences” for those who risked their lives for the United States.“We must keep our allies on a path to the U.S., as promised,” she said.By the end of this week, No One Left Behind hopes to have flown to the United States every Afghan who already has a visa.It must also help them get on their feet in their adopted country.Mr. Trump’s executive order halted funding to nonprofits like the International Rescue Committee and HIAS, which used to provide services such as rental assistance and job placement to refugees and Afghan allies for at least 90 days after their arrival.No One Left Behind has partnered with community organizations and volunteers in cities like Portland, Rochester, N.Y., and Sacramento to fill the void.Mr. Jafari’s family is living in an Extended Stay America hotel outside Portland while he waits for an apartment to be leased for his family. Rent will be paid by No One Left Behind and a local group, the Afghan Support Network, until Mr. Jafari becomes self-sufficient.“I am so glad that I arrived in America,” he said. “I want to work hard for my family to have a good and bright future.” Afghans who helped the U.S. military blocked from reaching American soil (CBS News)
CBS News [3/12/2025 7:41 PM, Madeleine May, 51661K]
In August 2021, Tamim Satari raced to the Kabul International Airport to evacuate Afghanistan after working with the American military as an intelligence officer, helping U.S. forces coordinate aerial bomb campaigns against the Taliban. But in the chaos of the U.S. withdrawal, his wife and newborn son were left behind.
"It was so hard, and we didn’t want to lose our small son," Satari said.
He was not alone. Thousands of Afghan families were separated in the rushed withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Babies were passed across throngs of people and over fences, and families scrambled to get through the gates to the airport.
Three years later, more than 10,000 families remain separated, according to Shawn VanDiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, a nonprofit that worked with the State Department to create a path to reunite separated Afghan families.
"There’s all these moms or dads or young children who are stuck here without their family," said VanDiver. "These people are in danger because of us. And the least we can do is help them reunite.".
He says the number of children separated from their parents includes 2,800 unaccompanied refugee minors — children who made it to the U.S. but whose parents did not, or who were left behind as their parents fled.
VanDiver works with the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, known as CARE, a State Department program that was established to assist wartime Afghan allies immigrate to the U.S.
Since 2021, the CARE program has facilitated travel for nearly 200,000 Afghans, according to documents reviewed by CBS News.
This includes those with special immigrant visas who were wartime allies typically paid by the U.S. government. It also includes Afghan refugees who assisted the U.S. mission in military roles, as civil society members, or those who are family members of those who served.
"The truth is, is that every single person in the refugee pipeline and every single person in the [special immigrant visa] pipeline are somebody who took action in our name and are now in danger," said VanDiver.
"And these Afghans deserve everything that we can give to them because they protected us.".
After trying unsuccessfully to bring his wife and son over on his own, Satari connected with CARE in 2023 to get help facilitating their visa process. His wife, Shiba, and their son had escaped to Pakistan after she was threatened by the Taliban for continuing her work as a midwife while her husband was in the U.S.
On Jan. 18, the weekend before President Trump’s inauguration, Shiba and her son were flown to JFK airport in New York and then driven to Newark, New Jersey, for an emotional reunion with her husband. Tamim had not seen his son, now nearly 4 years old, since he was a newborn.The Sataris’ family reunion at Newark Liberty International Airport was one of the last refugee reunions to take place.
Three days later, Mr. Trump signed an executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program, stating "the United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees.".
A federal judge ordered the administration to stop the ban, but since then normal refugee processing has not continued. In a recent court filing, lawyers for the administration said it would take time to restart refugee programs, since agencies have already cut contracts, reduced the workforce and frozen funding.
In addition to Mr. Trump’s executive order, Secretary of State Marco Rubio froze all federal funding for the programs that were providing travel for Afghans who had already been approved to resettle in the U.S. This means that anyone vetted and approved for travel — including those already holding special immigrant visas — cannot leave Afghanistan unless they are able to pay for the trip themselves.
According to government documents reviewed by CBS, more than 40,000 Afghans who have been vetted and approved to leave Afghanistan are now in limbo, with their lives at stake.
"I’ve heard countless horror stories of torture and murder of these allies of the United States," said Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, who voted for the CARE program.
"I would urge the administration to take a look at this and to honor the commitment that we made to [our allies], and not break our promise, but let them know that we are going to protect them.".
But Mr. Trump and other Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that allowing Afghans into the U.S. makes the country more vulnerable to terrorism.
McCaul and others who advocate for the program say the vetting is already extremely effective.
"You want to vet them again? Go ahead. But they’ve already been vetted, and probably the most thorough vetting in American history," McCaul told CBS News.
Afghans who come to the U.S are reviewed by the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. They go through several in-person interviews and their biometrics are checked against government databases, in addition to extensive medical screening.
"Afghans who come to this country via the CARE program are the most vetted immigrant population in our country’s history," said a former State Department official.
Satari remains hopeful he will not be one of the last to be reunited with his family. He has settled in New Jersey and is employed in a mechanical job while he studies for his real estate license.
"I have a lot of hope in the future. I would like to have a great life," Satari said. "I am responsible for taking care of my son, to enroll in school and start lessons over there. I have a big hope.". USAID cuts could be ‘death sentence’ for Afghan women studying abroad (NBC News)
NBC News [3/12/2025 11:47 PM, Dan De Luce, 44.7M]
A group of more than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban regime to study in Oman say they are at risk of imminent deportation to Afghanistan after their U.S.-funded scholarship was canceled as part of the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid.
The female students received an email on Feb. 28 informing them that the scholarship program administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development at the Middle East College of Oman had been terminated along with thousands of other foreign aid initiatives, according to the email obtained by NBC News.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plight of the Afghan students was first reported by the BBC.
In a letter to aid groups, the Afghan women are appealing for urgent help to allow them to continue their studies abroad and avoid returning to a country where, they say, they will face certain persecution and life-threatening risks.“The situation is catastrophic,” the letter says. “Being sent back to Afghanistan would mean the permanent loss of our education and exposure to severe risks, including oppression, insecurity, and a future without opportunities. This is a life-or-death situation for many of us.”
The Afghan students were pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Oman under the Women’s Scholarship Endowment, one of numerous programs eliminated in the Trump administration’s effort to drastically scale back USAID.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that 83% of USAID programs had been canceled after a six-week review and that the remaining programs would be merged into the State Department.“Please don’t let our dreams be shattered and the Taliban decide our fate,” the students’ letter reads. “We have fought very hard to get out of their hands, we won’t be living anymore if we have to go back to Afghanistan.”
The program for female scholars was launched in 2019 with a $50 million endowment from USAID, according to Brian Le, deputy legislative director of With Honor, a nonprofit group that works with veterans in Congress from both parties on bipartisan initiatives. Interest from the endowment has covered the cost of the program, which was administered by USAID, without requiring additional annual funding from the U.S. government, Le said.
Nonprofit groups are in discussions with the government of Oman to try to resolve the situation, he said.“What we’re trying to avoid is their return to Afghanistan, which would functionally amount to a death sentence for these women who have been aided by the United States in pursuing higher education opportunities,” Le said.
While the letter from the Afghan students said 83 women were affected, Le said it now appears more than 120 Afghans had their scholarship funding cut off.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan, they have reimposed draconian restrictions on women, including banning them from secondary school and higher education, prohibiting them from most employment and limiting their freedom of speech and movement, according to human rights groups.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said the elimination of the scholarship program was “shameful” and called on the Trump administration to reverse course.“The Trump administration thinks it’s politically advantageous to villainize USAID, but Americans need to realize that behind the cancelled contracts and mass layoffs are innocent lives now put at risk,” he said in an email.“In this case, these bright young women with the world ahead of them could receive what could amount to a death sentence in a matter of days — simply because they were relying on a US-funded scholarship to get their education abroad.” Pakistan
‘Screams Were Echoing Everywhere’: A Train Hijacking’s 36 Hours of Terror (New York Times)
New York Times [3/12/2025 4:14 PM, Zia ur-Rehman, 831K]
Thirty-six hours after one of the most audacious militant assaults in Pakistan in years, the country’s military declared on Wednesday that it had ended a deadly siege by a separatist group on a passenger train in a restive southwestern province.
The attack, carried out by the Baloch Liberation Army, or B.L.A., unfolded Tuesday afternoon as the Jaffar Express, carrying more than 400 passengers, wound through the province’s rugged and isolated mountains. Gunmen opened fire, forced the train to halt and took hostages.
On Wednesday night, Pakistan’s military said that security forces had carried out a rescue operation that secured the hostages’ release and left 33 militants dead.
Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, the army’s spokesman, told a local broadcaster, Dunya News, that at least 21 passengers had died in the separatists’ assault on the train. He said that no hostages had been killed in the security forces’ rescue operation. The military’s account could not be independently verified.
General Sharif said that four paramilitary soldiers affiliated with the government had died when militants ambushed them near a checkpoint. He provided no details on casualties among other security forces. Some passengers, he said, fled in different directions during the chaos and were being accounted for.
The B.L.A. insisted that it was still holding more than 100 hostages and claimed to have killed dozens of soldiers. That account, too, could not be confirmed. The hijacking took place in an area with little or no cell or internet service, making it difficult to gather independent information.
The train was traveling on Tuesday from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, with scheduled stops in several cities, including Lahore and Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
Noman Ahmed, a steelworker originally from Gujranwala district in Punjab Province, was aboard the ill-fated train, hoping to return home for Eid with his family.
About 100 miles from Quetta, his journey took a terrifying turn. “When we heard the blast, we dropped to the floor and locked the carriage door, hoping to escape the gunfire,” Mr. Ahmed said in a telephone interview.
Moments later, a militant appeared. “He ordered everyone out, threatening to blow up the carriage with a rocket launcher,” Mr. Ahmed said.
The gunmen separated women and the elderly from the rest of the passengers, who were forced to move toward a nearby hillside, Mr. Ahmed said. Some injured passengers remained inside the train, he said.“They ordered them to come out,” Mr. Ahmed said. “When they didn’t, the gunmen went in and shot them all.”
As night fell, the militants began moving hostages in groups of 10 or 12. At dawn, five captives made a daring escape, Mr. Ahmed said.“When the militants entered the train, we ran,” he said. “We ran nearly five miles before reaching a paramilitary checkpoint, where soldiers opened fire on the militants chasing us.”“I escaped with my family’s prayers,” Mr. Ahmed added. “I thank God but grieve for those innocent lives lost.”
Another passenger on the train, Muhammad Ashraf, said that after the militants had taken all of the passengers hostage, they later released parties traveling with women and children.
Mr. Ashraf was among a group of 80 passengers who were freed on Tuesday night. He said he had reached a railway station after walking for hours along the tracks.
He also recounted harrowing scenes on the train. “When the train was attacked, everyone threw themselves to the floor, using luggage and sacks to shield themselves from the bullets,” Mr. Ashraf said by phone after reaching Quetta. “Screams were echoing everywhere.”
Balochistan, a large and sparsely populated province that borders Iran and Afghanistan, has long been plagued by separatist violence and insurgent activity. The province is also home to major China-led projects, including a strategic port.
Ethnic separatist groups have regained momentum, increasingly attacking security forces and Chinese citizens involved in projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s infrastructure investment program. The separatists accuse Pakistan’s government of allowing China to extract the region’s wealth.
The B.L.A. has long sought a separate homeland for the Baloch people, arguing that they have been left behind economically and that they would find greater prosperity with more political control.
Experts say that separatist groups have become increasingly emboldened and sophisticated in their operations, now incorporating tactics such as suicide bombings. That approach was previously associated primarily with Islamist militants, such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or T.T.P., and the regional Islamic State affiliate, ISIS-K, operating in northwestern Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A global terrorism index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an international think tank, ranked Pakistan as one of the countries most affected by terrorism last year, second only to Burkina Faso in Africa.
Along with the T.T.P. and ISIS-K, the Baloch Liberation Army has solidified its position among the 10 deadliest global terrorist organizations on the index, posing a significant challenge to the Pakistani government’s counterterrorism efforts.“The ability of the B.L.A. to hijack a train with such precision suggests an advanced intelligence-gathering network and strategic planning,” said Dost Muhammad Barrech, an academic at the University of Balochistan in Quetta.
Just last week, an alliance of separatist groups, including the B.L.A., announced plans to intensify attacks on Pakistani security forces, infrastructure and Chinese interests in the region.
The B.L.A. has repeatedly targeted Chinese nationals, including a deadly bombing last year near Karachi’s international airport, highlighting the ongoing threat to China’s presence in Pakistan.
The Jaffar Express has been a frequent target of B.L.A. attacks, primarily because many lower-ranking military personnel and law enforcement officers use it to travel to their hometowns, mostly in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province. Baloch separatist groups say that Punjab has an unfair dominance in the central government and the military, fueling tensions in Balochistan.
In November, passengers waiting for the train were targeted when the B.L.A. carried out one of Pakistan’s deadliest terrorist attacks: a suicide bombing at Quetta’s busy railway station. The blast killed at least 25 people, including security personnel.
The Jaffar Express service had resumed only in October after a two-month suspension. In August, B.L.A. militants had blown up sections of the railway tracks, including a colonial-era bridge.
In the same area, B.L.A. militants have forcibly removed passengers from buses and killed them after identifying them as being from Punjab. Just last month, seven laborers were killed in such an attack.“The government was aware that the train is often targeted, yet they still allowed people to travel without adequate security,” said Syed Mustafa, whose mother had been on the train en route to Lahore to attend a wedding. “This is a government failure.” Pakistan’s security crisis deepens as train hijacking ends in bloodshed (Washington Post)
Washington Post [3/12/2025 10:07 AM, Haq Nawaz Khan, Rick Noack, and Shaiq Hussain, 31735K]
Pakistan’s military said Wednesday that a two-day battle with separatist militants over a hijacked passenger train had ended in bloodshed, claiming the lives of at least 25 soldiers and civilians held hostage and dozens of militants.Fighters belonging to a Baluch separatist group, the Baluchistan Liberation Army, or BLA, stopped and boarded the train, the Jaffar Express, in a mountainous part of Baluchistan province on Tuesday. More than 400 people were believed to be on board when the train was seized. About 150 of them were members of the security forces, Pakistani railway officials said.Earlier Wednesday, the BLA claimed it still held 150 hostages and threatened to kill them if a rescue operation was attempted, urging Pakistani officials to negotiate a prisoner exchange instead. The group gave the Pakistani government 48 hours to respond, with the deadline set to expire Thursday at noon. The group said it had already killed more than 100 hostages and security forces.Hours later, Pakistan’s military said its operation to free the hostages has been completed. The army said it had killed all 33 attackers and lost four of its men. The BLA did not immediately respond to that claim.The Washington Post could not independently confirm the death toll or establish how many of the dead were civilians.The Pakistani government, facing a widening security crisis in the country’s restive southwest, appeared to rule out negotiations from the start. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Tuesday that the “cowardly terrorists, who carried out this despicable attack, are not deserving of any leniency,” according to the Express Tribune.Pakistani officials accused the militants of using women and children as human shields on the hijacked train — a claim that the group denied.Mohammad Ashraf, a passenger who was released, said the militants allowed some of them to leave after separating him, other elderly people, and women and children from the remaining passengers. “It was so quiet — everyone was in fear,” he told Pakistani television crews.The Jaffar Express left Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, at about 9 a.m. and was expected to traverse much of Punjab province before arriving in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, more than 30 hours later. It was attacked roughly three to four hours into the trip. Some passengers may have taken the train because, after months of worsening security incidents along Baluchistan’s highways, it was seen as the last safe method of transportation.The train hijacking is a major blow to Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership, which are struggling to realize their plans to integrate the volatile southwestern province into Pakistan’s trade corridor with China. The deepwater Gwadar port in southern Baluchistan is a key component of that plan.Militant attacks in that part of Pakistan surged by more than 80 percent last year, killing more than 320 people, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies. Most attacks have been claimed by the BLA and its ideological ally, the Baluchistan Liberation Front.Their attacks have made parts of the province “ungovernable,” Pakistani security analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said, adding that Tuesday’s train hijacking signals “a grave security challenge for Pakistan.”Dozens of people were killed in a BLA suicide attack at a Quetta railway station in November, which targeted a group of soldiers.There are also Baluch communities in neighboring Iran and Afghanistan, and Pakistani officials have frequently accused the BLA and other groups of exploiting porous borders to evade capture and sustain their insurgency.Pakistan’s military said in its statement late Wednesday that “the attack was orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from Afghanistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident.” The army urged the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to “deny use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan,” it said.The Taliban-led government in Kabul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Analysts warn that Baluchistan’s militancy is at least in part fueled by broader and more widely felt grievances over rampant poverty and neglect. The government and its foreign partners are seen by separatists as exploiting the region’s vast natural resources with little benefit to local communities.“A large share of Baluchistan’s youths feel alienated, marginalized and excluded from their fair share of the province’s economic development,” Rizvi said. “There should be a dialogue to win these people back.”The BLA has claimed at least 10 attacks on Chinese targets since 2017, including a blast in Karachi in October that killed two Chinese workers.Baluch militants have also targeted ethnic Punjabi civilians, whom they view as complicit in the government’s plans for the region. Officials documented at least 15 attacks against non-Baluch workers, travelers or settlers last year. Pakistan’s Army Says Train Hijacking Ends With 21 Passengers Dead (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [3/12/2025 3:10 PM, Waqar Gillani and Tripti Lahiri, 810K]
After more than a day of fighting with separatist militants who hijacked a train carrying hundreds of passengers, Pakistan’s army said it had brought the insurgent attack to an end, but that 21 passengers and four paramilitary personnel had been killed.
The remaining passengers have been freed, while security forces had killed 33 militants in the course of operations to free the roughly 440 people who had been on the train when it was seized on Tuesday.
Militants set off explosives and forced the train to a stop as it was traveling to northern Pakistan from Quetta, the regional capital of southwestern Balochistan province, where China has invested billions of dollars in a port and other infrastructure projects. A significant number of paramilitary and other security forces were among the passengers.“No one can be allowed to kill innocent Pakistanis on the roads, in trains, in buses, or in markets,” said Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, speaking to a Pakistani television channel. “Those who do this will be hunted down and brought to justice.”
Chaudhry said army snipers shot suicide bombers who were placed among groups of passengers, complicating the rescue operations. He said no passengers were killed as a result of security-force operations.
The Baloch Liberation Army, the deadliest separatist group in the restive province, claimed responsibility for the attack. On Tuesday, it said it held more than 214 hostages belonging to various branches of Pakistan’s security forces, and was seeking to exchange them for Baloch prisoners held by the authorities.
It also said it had killed six security personnel in the course of seizing the train.
The group, which has been battling the Pakistan army for decades, blames security forces for human-rights abuses in the regions. Thousands of military personnel are deployed in the province, and rights groups and activists say locals have faced forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
A 27-year-old passenger who was traveling with his relatives to attend a family celebration said the train came to a stop on Tuesday with a sudden jerk that was followed by sounds of firing outside. Two security guards in their compartment, one of the last cars of the train, told the passengers to get under their seats.
Soon, armed men entered the car and began asking the passengers for their identification. “Death was just in front of us,” he said. The passenger’s mother begged the militants not to harm them, and the armed men told the family, as well as others in the compartment, mainly women, children and older men, to leave.
The passenger said he and his family escaped the train in a group of about 80 passengers and walked through rocky terrain for five hours to reach the nearest railway station. The whole way he feared the militants could come after them.“We are thankful to God for saving our lives,” he said.
The Baloch Liberation Army also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in November at the Quetta train station that killed at least two dozen people, most of them soldiers in training.
Attacks linked to the province have also killed Chinese workers in the country, as well as dozens of laborers on construction and mining projects.
Separatist groups in Balochistan say Pakistan—and now China—are exploiting the area’s rich natural resources and that impoverished locals haven’t benefited. Pakistan Train Hijacking Ends With More Than 50 People Killed (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/12/2025 3:23 PM, Kamran Haider, 3973K]
Pakistani security forces killed all 33 insurgents who have been holding a train and its passengers captive since Tuesday, putting an end to an embarrassing security failure for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The government also said 21 of the hostages had been killed by militants.
Four members of the military were killed and 17 hostages were injured in the gun battle, and the remaining passengers - more than 400 people - have now been freed, army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a video released by his office Wednesday. Many of the militants wore suicide vests and used the passengers as human shields, according to security officials familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified speaking about sensitive information.
The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army took responsibility for the attack, and claimed to have killed 20 soldiers in the operation, according to Pakistani media. Militants from separatist groups like BLA have been attacking security forces in mineral-rich Balochistan for decades, but the frequency has increased in the past few years. The attack comes as Pakistan’s government tries to rebuild an anemic economy and lure investment, while struggling to control violence from militants.
The train had left Quetta on Tuesday bound for Peshawar with about 450 passengers aboard, according to Ishtiaq Soomro, the deputy in charge at the railway police control room in Quetta.
Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, said seizing a passenger train appears to be a new strategy for the BLA, which had previously attacked infrastructure.
"This is a tactic to terrorize both common people and security apparatus," Gul said. "They have scaled the ladder.".
The security situation in Pakistan is also an economic issue, with China, which has built major infrastructure and energy plants in Pakistan, last year urging Islamabad to provide a safe environment for its projects after militants targeted a convoy of Chinese workers at Port Qasim Electric Power Co. near Karachi. Two Chinese nationals died in the incident.
China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning strongly condemned the latest attack during a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
"China firmly opposes terrorism in any form," Mao said. "We will continue to firmly support Pakistan in combating terrorism, maintaining solidarity and social stability, and protecting the safety of civilians.". Pakistan’s leader to meet with survivors and commandos who ended an insurgents’ train attack (AP)
AP [3/13/2025 2:05 AM, Abdul Sattar, 456K]
Pakistan’s prime minister traveled to restive southwestern Balochistan province Thursday to meet survivors of a train attack and the commandos who rescued over 300 passengers from the insurgents who killed 21 civilians and four troops.
The Baloch Liberation Army, an outlawed group behind multiple deadly attacks in recent months, claimed responsibility for the attack that began Tuesday and ended Wednesday when troops killed all 33 insurgents in an operation that the military said resulted in no further passenger deaths. The train was heading from the Balochistan capital, Quetta, to the northern city of Peshawar when insurgents blew up the track, forcing nine coaches and the engine of the Jafer Express train to stop partially inside a tunnel.
The BLA regularly targets Pakistani security forces and has attacked trains, but had never been able to hijack any train in the past. They have also attacked outsiders such as Chinese workers, thousands of whom are involved in multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects in Balochistan.
Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and least populated province. Members of the ethnic Baloch minority say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was to visit Quetta on Thursday. Authorities said arrangements were made to transport the bodies of victims to their hometowns and people who were wounded were receiving medical treatment.
In an overnight statement, the military said it had “confirmed intelligence” indicating that the assault was “orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from Afghanistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident.”
Pakistan often accuse Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban and BLA, a charge the Afghan government denies.
However, the military in the statement urged the Afghan Taliban government to uphold its responsibilities and deny the use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan.
According to a military statement, the “terrorists, after blowing up the railway track, took control of the train and held the passengers hostage including women, children and elderly, using them as human shields."Most of the survivors said the assailants opened fire on the windows of the train, entered the cars and killed or wounded people before taking them hostage.
Three soldiers who had been guarding the railroad track were also killed, according to military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif. The Balochistan Separatist Movement in Pakistan: What to Know (New York Times)
New York Times [3/12/2025 4:14 PM, Staff, 831K]
Separatist fighters hijacked a train in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday and held passengers hostage for about 36 hours. The Pakistani military on Wednesday declared that it had ended the crisis with a rescue operation that freed passengers and resulted in the deaths of more than 30 militants.
Here is what to know about the group behind the attack, the Baloch Liberation Army.
What is the B.L.A.?
The Baloch Liberation Army, or B.L.A., is a militant separatist group operating in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province, advocating an independent Baloch state. The group has escalated its attacks in recent years, targeting security forces, infrastructure and foreign investments, particularly from China. The B.L.A.’s operations are part of a broader insurgency that has simmered for decades in one of Pakistan’s most volatile regions.
Who are the Baloch people?
The Baloch people are an ethnic group native to the region spanning Pakistan’s Balochistan Province, southeastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. They have a distinct linguistic, cultural and tribal identity, with their own language, Balochi, which belongs to the Iranian language family.
Historically, the Baloch have maintained a seminomadic and tribal lifestyle, with a deep-rooted tradition of autonomy. Many Baloch nationalists argue that their region has been marginalized by national governments, leading to longstanding grievances over economic deprivation, political exclusion and military repression.
The Pakistani city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, has been at the center of the conflict. Its strategic location near the Afghan border makes it a key site for trade, governance and security operations.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land area, covering approximately 44 percent of the country’s total territory. However, it is the least populated province, with only about 6 to 7 percent of Pakistan’s total population.
What are the B.L.A.’s recent attacks?
A dramatic escalation in the B.L.A.’s tactics came with the hijacking of a passenger train carrying over 400 passengers on Tuesday. The militants forced the train to stop in a remote area, seized hostages and set several cars on fire before security forces intervened.
A deadly bombing at Quetta’s railway station in November 2024 killed dozens and wounded many others, marking one of the most devastating attacks in Pakistan in recent years. The B.L.A. claimed responsibility, asserting that it was a response to military operations in Balochistan.
Last year, the B.L.A. claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing targeting a convoy carrying Chinese nationals near the international airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.
In 2022, Shari Baloch, a 30-year-old mother of two children and a schoolteacher, detonated a suicide bomb in Karachi, killing herself and four others, including three Chinese teachers.
The B.L.A. attacked the building of the Karachi Stock Exchange, which is partly owned by a Chinese consortium, in 2020, and the Chinese Consulate in Karachi in 2018.
The B.L.A. has repeatedly targeted Chinese workers and engineers involved in projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Attacks have included gunfire, suicide bombings and ambushes on convoys transporting Chinese personnel.
Why does the B.L.A. oppose Chinese investment projects?
The B.L.A. views China’s investments as exploitative and a threat to Baloch autonomy. It has repeatedly attacked Chinese nationals and projects, particularly those linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Balochistan is home to key CPEC infrastructure, such as the Gwadar port. Attacks on Chinese nationals, construction sites and infrastructure projects are intended to disrupt these economic ventures and send a message to Beijing about the costs of involvement in Balochistan. The B.L.A. has framed its campaign as a fight against “colonial-style” economic extraction.
Is the B.L.A. an Islamist group?
No. Unlike many other militant groups operating in Pakistan, the B.L.A. is a secular separatist movement that seeks independence for Balochistan rather than the establishment of an Islamic state. Its ideology is rooted in Baloch nationalism, and its grievances are primarily tied to political autonomy, economic control over local resources and opposition to what it sees as exploitation by the Pakistani state.
When did the conflict begin?
The Balochistan conflict dates back to 1947 when Pakistan gained independence and incorporated Balochistan, a move opposed by many Baloch nationalists. Since then, the region has seen multiple insurgencies, with major uprisings occurring in the 1950s, 1970s and early 2000s.
The most recent insurgency continues today. By 2020, the Baloch insurgency had been greatly weakened by years of counterinsurgency operations, rifts among separatist groups, fatigue and government incentives for the militants to lay down their weapons.
But the intensity and frequency of attacks started rising sharply in 2021. The number of terrorist attacks in Balochistan nearly doubled in 2021 compared to 2020, according to a Pakistani tally.
How has Pakistan responded to the insurgency?
Baloch separatism is just one of the forces threatening the nation’s already tenuous unity and stability; others include violent insurgencies by the Islamic State affiliate known as ISIS-K and the resurgent Pakistani Taliban.
The Pakistani government has responded to the B.L.A. with a mix of military operations and intelligence crackdowns, attempting to dismantle the group’s networks. The country’s security agencies have cracked down on educated Baloch youth, forcibly “disappearing” suspected militants, sometimes for years, without trial, according to news reports, student advocates and human rights groups.
Pakistani officials have also alleged that India has provided covert assistance to Baloch insurgents. The B.L.A. claims to be an independent nationalist movement, relying on its fighters and sympathizers within Balochistan rather than external support.
What are the regional implications of the B.L.A.’s activities?
Balochistan’s insurgency has implications beyond Pakistan’s borders. The province shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, and cross-border movements of militants have raised concerns about broader regional instability. Iran has at times expressed concerns about Baloch separatist activity near its border, while Afghanistan’s shifting political landscape has introduced new variables into Pakistan’s counterinsurgency efforts. What’s Behind the Surge in Attacks and Train Hijacking in Pakistan’s Restive Southwest? (AP)
AP [3/12/2025 1:03 PM, Munir Ahmed, 24727K]
Pakistan’s neglected southwestern province of Balochistan has been the scene of a yearslong insurgency, with a dramatic uptick in attacks in recent years underscoring the struggles the government in Islamabad faces in dealing with myriad security threats.
The seizure Tuesday of a passenger train by the outlawed Baluch Liberation Army, or BLA, took the insurgency to a new level with the first such large-scale operation by the militant group.
The militants took hundreds of passengers aboard the Jafer Express hostage before Pakistani forces said Wednesday that they had killed all 50 of the attackers. The military said the assailants killed 21 passengers, and that all the remaining passengers were rescued.
Who are the separatists and what are they fighting for?
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province and the country’s least populated. It’s also a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination by the government.
The separatists have fought since the early 2000s for autonomy — if not outright independence — from Islamabad and for a greater share of natural resources that the undeveloped province abounds in, such as natural gas, oil and minerals.
Over the years, the BLA has grown in strength, prompting some analysts to say the group today compares to the Pakistani Taliban in terms of the threat it poses for the country.
The BLA has regularly targeted Pakistani security forces and has also in the past attacked civilians, including Chinese nationals working on multibillion-dollar projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It has also staged attacks beyond Balochistan, including in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.
Although the government insists it has significantly curbed violence, attacks in Balochistan have not abated. Islamic militant groups also operate in the province.
Why now?
The BLA, which both Pakistan and the United States have designated a terrorist organization, is estimated to have around 3,000 fighters, promptly claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday.
The group seeks to establish an independent Baloch state, encompassing territories in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan where the Baloch ethnic group lives.
Islamabad maintains that the BLA is getting support from neighboring India, a rival and like Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation — though New Delhi has dismissed the allegation. The Pakistani government also claims that there is a degree of cooperation between the BLA and the country’s top militant group, the Pakistani Taliban.
Analysts say the BLA has grown more emboldened since the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with the government in November 2022, encouraging more militant attacks across the country.
What’s the bigger picture?
Separately from the rivalry with India, Pakistan has also had a tense relationship with neighboring Iran, contributing to the insecurity in Baluchistan.
The two countries share a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border, which remains largely ungoverned, allowing smugglers and militant groups to move about freely. Both governments accuse each other of harboring or tolerating insurgent groups.
Economic factors also drive the unrest, said Khan, the analyst, adding that it does not bode well for Pakistan’s economy.
"Who will come and invest in Pakistan if we keep seeing such attacks," he said.
Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan but it has also alienated the Baloch minority further. They say Islamabad is exploiting Balochistan’s resources while neglecting the local communities.
However, Syed Muhammad Ali, a security analyst, said that while the train attack may have provided the BLA with "instant public and media attention," the civilian deaths from the attack will likely "weaken their support base" among the province’s population. Does Trump’s Public Praise for Pakistan Signal a Change in US Foreign Policy toward Islamabad? (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [3/12/2025 7:05 PM, Muhammad Murad, 53K]
On March 4, President Donald Trump delivered a joint address to the U.S. Congress. During his hour-and-a-half-long speech, he recapped his work as the 47th president since beginning his second term on January 20, the day he proclaimed "the dawn of the golden age of America." Mostly Trump talked about his efforts related to domestic policies: loosening economic regulations, cutting federal employment, and cracking down on immigration.
Trump also highlighted that the United States was "standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism." He referenced the Kabul airport bombing of August 26, 2021, in which 13 U.S. service members and 169 Afghan nationals were killed by a suicide bomber affiliated with the Islamic State in Afghanistan during the withdrawal of the U.S. forces. Trump criticized the way the withdrawal took place under the Biden administration, calling it "perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country." However, Trump said, he was "pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.".
To the surprise of many who believed that Pakistan no longer was relevant to Washington, Trump then thanked the government of Pakistan for their help in this high-profile arrest: "I want to thank, especially, the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster." Moreover, as per the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz also called Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on the same day and "conveyed President Trump’s appreciation and thanks for Government of Pakistan’s efforts in countering terrorism.".
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to X and thanked Trump for "acknowledging and appreciating Pakistan’s role and support in counter terrorism efforts across the region." He also confirmed that the Islamic State Khorasan Province commander in question, Mohammad Sharifullah, was a national of Afghanistan and was arrested in an operation in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sharif further highlighted that Pakistan has lost 80,000 soldiers and civilians in the fight against terrorism. Stressing the "unflinching" resolve of the country’s leadership and people "to eradicate the menace of terrorism from our country," Sharif added, "We will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability.".
The arrest of Sharifullah had been in the works for months. Reportedly, Trump’s newly appointed CIA director John Ratcliffe raised the issue of the ISKs commander on his second day in office during the first call with the head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Asim Malik. Ratcliffe reiterated the same last month during his meeting with Malik on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. According to official sources, Sharifullah had been under the CIA’s surveillance for some time, but the U.S. agency received specific intelligence about his location in recent days, which was provided to the Pakistani agency. An elite Pakistani unit then captured him near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It is also claimed that Ratcliffe told his Pakistani counterpart that if Islamabad wanted better relations with the new Trump administration, this case should be pursued on a priority basis. Relations between the two countries have been low since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. It seemed that the partners were growing apart after Pakistan’s role in Taliban-U.S. mediation came to an end with the Doha Agreement. It remains to be seen whether, as Ratcliffe had implied, overall relations between Washington and Islamabad will improve owing to the cooperation that led to Sharifullah’s arrest.
There are some promising signs. Last month, the Trump administration released $397 million to Pakistan for a U.S.-backed program that monitors Pakistan’s use of F-16 fighter jets to warrant that these jets are used for operations against terrorists and not against Pakistan’s arch-rival India. The decision to exempt this program from a broader freeze on U.S. foreign aid shows the shift in Washington’s Pakistan policy vis-à-vis its F-16 program.
For Pakistan, it was a welcome shift, especially as its defense relations with the United States have been quite low since the mid-2010s. In 2016, the U.S. Congress blocked a subsidy sought by Pakistan to purchase eight additional F-16C aircraft under the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program. Islamabad was forced to either walk out of the deal or pay for the full price for the fighters; it opted for the former.
The recent engagements between Islamabad and Washington are seen as a normalization of ties between the two countries, which have had lukewarm relations since the early 2010s. Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, Maleeha Lodhi, believes that the joint effort to arrest Sharifullah indicates strong counterterrorism cooperation between the United States and Pakistan – and a sign that they maintain strong military-to-military ties despite the dearth of adequate engagement at the political level.
It is of utmost importance for both countries to maintain military-to-military ties due to growing terrorist attacks in the region, particularly after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. The Islamic State and the Pakistani Taliban have both stepped up attacks since August 2021, making it essential for both Pakistan and the United States to maintain or even grow their military-to-military relations. Trump’s public praise for Pakistan is an opportunity for both to mend and reset their political relations, which Pakistan would certainly desire given its growing economic woes. Yet Trump’s unpredictable approach to political and diplomatic dealings makes it hard to come to any conclusion with regards to bilateral relations between the two, at least for the time being. India
At US request, India arrests crypto administrator accused of money laundering (Reuters)
Reuters [3/12/2025 9:36 PM, Kanishka Singh, 62527K]
Indian authorities arrested at Washington’s request a cryptocurrency exchange administrator accused of money laundering conspiracy and violating sanctions, India’s top crime fighting bureau said on Wednesday.The United States, Germany and Finland took down the online infrastructure used by the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, the U.S. Justice Department said last week, adding that two administrators of the exchange were charged.One of those administrators was Aleksej Besciokov, a Russian resident and Lithuanian national who was charged with money laundering and also faced accusations of violating sanctions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, the Justice Department said on Friday.Besciokov was arrested in the southern Indian state of Kerala, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation said, adding he was wanted by U.S. authorities. The CBI said that at Washington’s request, India’s foreign ministry had a provisional arrest warrant issued.It added Besciokov was planning to flee India. It was not immediately clear why he was in India. Washington is expected to pursue Besciokov’s extradition. His representative could not immediately be reached."I can confirm Aleksej Besciokov, one of the administrators of Garantex, was arrested in India at the request of the United States," a U.S. Justice Department spokesperson told CNN.The exchange has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since April 2019, the U.S. Justice Department said last week.Garantex was sanctioned by the U.S. in April 2022.Blockchain research company TRM Labs said in a blog post last week that the takedown of Garantex "marks a major milestone in the fight against illicit finance" but cautioned that sanctioned exchanges often attempt to evade restrictions by creating new entities. India arrests man accused of running $96 billion crypto exchange at request of US (CNN)
CNN [3/12/2025 5:47 PM, Sean Lyngaas, 52868K]
Indian authorities have arrested a Lithuanian man wanted by the US for allegedly running a $96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money.
The arrest caps an intense US-led manhunt for Aleksej Besciokov, that escalated last week with the seizure of the crypto exchange, the freezing of $26 million in assets and the unsealing of an indictment against Besciokov and an alleged accomplice.
The US is expected to pursue Besciokov’s extradition to the US Eastern District of Virginia in what would be a big win in the yearslong battle against money laundering services that allegedly fuel global crime and terrorism. The arrest shows that while the Trump administration has eased up pressure on Russia in some areas, such as offensive cyber operations, the Justice Department is still aggressively pursuing accused criminals with a connection to Russia.
Besciokov had been living in Russia, according to the Justice Department. It is unclear why Besciokov traveled to India.
Police in the southwest Indian state of Kerala arrested Besciokov this week, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that referred to Besciokov as a "fugitive.".
This screenshot shows the Garantex website which the US Justice Department, in coordination with Germany and Finland, disrupted and took down. The cryptocurrency exchange website allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations — including terrorist organizations — and sanctions violations, according to the US Justice Department. - From Garantex.org.
"I can confirm Aleksej Besciokov, one of the administrators of Garantex, was arrested in India at the request of the United States," US Justice Department spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman told CNN in an email. She declined to comment further.
CNN has been unable to reach a lawyer representing Besciokov.
The arrest comes less than a week after the Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Besciokov and Aleksandr Mira Serda, a Russian man, for allegedly running Garantex. Besciokov was in charge of keeping Garantex online and running its infrastructure, while Mira Serda was the exchange’s co-founder and "chief commercial officer," according to the Justice Department.
The Besciokov case is an example of how putting accused money launderers in handcuffs is the surest way to disrupt their activity. The US Treasury Department sanctioned Garantex in 2022. In response, Besciokov and others "redesigned Garantex’s operations" to evade sanctions and dupe US businesses into working with Garantex, according to the Justice Department. The exchange processed $96 billion in transactions between 2015 and 2019, according to the indictment. US tariffs on India will be a bitter pill to swallow (BBC)
BBC [3/12/2025 7:54 PM, Archana Shukla and Nikhil Inamdar, 52868K]
With Donald Trump’s tit-for-tat tariffs on India looming next month, millions of Americans may have to brace for steeper medical bills.
Last week, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal made an unscheduled trip to the US for discussions with officials, hoping to strike a trade deal.
It followed Trump’s announcement that he would impose tariffs - which are government taxes on foreign imports - on India by 2 April, in retaliation to India’s tariffs on American goods.
Goyal wants to stave off tax increases on India’s critical export industries like medicinal drugs.
Nearly half of all medicines taken in the US come from India alone. Generic drugs - which are cheaper versions of brand-name medications - imported from countries like India make up nine out of 10 prescriptions in the US.
This saves Washington billions in healthcare costs. In 2022 alone, the savings from Indian generics amounted to a staggering $219bn (£169bn), according to a study by consulting firm IQVIA.
Without a trade deal, Trump’s tariffs could make some Indian generics unviable, forcing companies to exit part of the market and exacerbating existing drug shortages, experts say.
Tariffs could "worsen the demand-supply imbalances" and the uninsured and poor will be left counting the costs, says Dr Melissa Barber, a drug costing expert from Yale University.
The effects could be felt across people suffering from a range of health conditions.
Over 60% of prescriptions for hypertension and mental health ailments in the US were filled with Indian-made drugs, according to the IQVIA study funded by the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA).
Sertraline, the most prescribed antidepressant in the US, is a prominent example of how dependent Americans are on Indian supplies for essential drugs.
Many of them cost half as much as for those from non-Indian companies.
"We are worried about this," says Peter Maybarduk, a lawyer at Public Citizens, a consumer advocacy group fighting for access to medicines. One in four American patients already fail to take medicines due to their costs, he adds.
Trump is already reportedly facing pressure from US hospitals and generic drugmakers because of his tariffs on Chinese imports.
The raw materials for 87% of the drugs sold in the US are located outside the country and primarily concentrated in China which fulfils around 40% of global supply.
With tariffs on Chinese imports rising 20% since Trump took office, the cost of raw materials for drugs have already gone up.
Trump wants companies to shift manufacturing to the US to avoid his tariffs.
Big pharma giants like Pfizer and Eli Lily, that sell brand name and patented drugs, have said they are committing to move some manufacturing there.
But the economics for low-value drugs do not add up.
Dilip Shanghvi, chairman of India’s largest drugmaker Sun Pharma, told an industry gathering last week that his company sells pills for between $1 and $5 per bottle in the US and tariffs "do not justify relocating our manufacturing to the US".
"Manufacturing in India is at least three to four times cheaper than in the US," says Sudarshan Jain of the IPA.
Any quick relocation will be next to impossible. Building a new manufacturing facility can cost up to $2bn and take five to 10 years before it is operational, according to lobby group PhRMA.
For local pharma players in India, the tariff blow could be brutal too.
The pharmaceutical sector is India’s largest industrial export according to GTRI, a trade research agency.
India exports some $12.7bn worth of drugs to the US annually, paying virtually no tax. US drugs coming into India, however, pay 10.91% in duties.
This leaves a "trade differential" of 10.9%. Any reciprocal tariffs by the US would increase the costs for both generic medicines and specialty drugs, according to GTRI.
It flags up pharmaceuticals as one of the sectors that is most vulnerable to price increases in the US market.
Indian firms which largely sell generic drugs already work on thin margins and won’t be able to afford a steep tax outgo.
They sell at much lower prices compared to competing peers, and have steadily gained dominance across cardiovascular, mental health, dermatology and women’s health drugs in the world’s largest pharma market.
"We can offset single-digit tariff hikes with cost cuts, but anything higher will have to be passed down to consumers," the finance head of a top Indian drugmaker who didn’t want to be identified, told the BBC.
North America is their biggest revenue source, contributing a third of the earnings and profitability of most companies.
"It is the fastest growing market and most crucial. Even if we increase exposure to other markets, it will not adjust for any loss in the US market," the finance head said.
Umang Vohra, CEO of India’s third-largest drug firm Cipla, said at a public gathering recently that tariffs should not ultimately dictate what businesses do, "because there is a risk that four years later, those tariffs may go away".
But four years is a long time, and could make or break the fortunes of several companies.
To avoid any of this, "India should just drop its tariffs on pharma goods", Ajay Bagga, a veteran market expert told the BBC. "US drug exports into India are barely half a billion dollars, so the impact will be negligible.".
The IPA, which consists of India’s largest drug makers, has also recommended zero duty on US drug exports so that India isn’t negatively impacted by reciprocal levies.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government recently added 36 life-saving drugs to the list of medicines fully exempted from a basic customs duty in the budget, and President Trump dropped a hint last week that India could be yielding to his pressure.
India has agreed to cut tariffs "way down", he said, because "somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done".Delhi has not responded yet, but pharma players in both countries are nervously waiting to see the specifics of a trade deal that could have a bearing on lives and livelihoods.
"In the short term, there may be some pain through new tariffs, but I think they’ll make significant progress by the fall of this year for a first tranche [trade] agreement," Mark Linscott, former assistant US trade representative, told the BBC, adding that neither country could afford a breakdown in pharma supply chains. India, Mauritius upgrade strategic ties with eye on China (VOA)
VOA [3/12/2025 10:44 AM, Anjana Pasricha, 2.9M]
India and Mauritius have upgraded their ties, say leaders of both countries — a move analysts say is aimed at increasing New Delhi’s influence in the Indian Ocean as it seeks to counter China’s expanding footprint in the region.
The announcement of upgraded ties came during a two-day visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mauritius, an island nation that sits along vital seaways in the western Indian Ocean.
Modi, who was chief guest at Mauritius’s National Day celebrations on Wednesday, said that the countries had elevated ties to the status of “enhanced strategic partnership.”
Following talks with Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, both leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a "free, safe, secure and open Indian Ocean.”
Mauritius conferred the country’s highest civilian honor on Modi, and the prime ministers signed eight pacts to boost cooperation in several sectors including maritime security.
Modi announced that New Delhi would invest about $11 million in several community development projects and that India will cooperate in building a new parliament for Mauritius, calling it a gift “from the mother of democracy.”
China trade with Mauritius on rise
While India has long enjoyed good relations with Mauritius, where 70% of the population is of Indian origin, analysts said Modi’s visit came amid a recognition that India needs to step up its engagement with a country that is called the gateway to the Western Indian Ocean and Africa, and where Beijing’s presence has grown.“China’s rise in the island has been quite phenomenal and it is now one of the most important economic players in Mauritius,” according to Harsh Pant, the vice president of studies at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. “So, to offset that, it is necessary for India to have constant engagement with Mauritius and help them build capacities in areas such as health, education, and maritime capabilities to demonstrate that it can assist in meeting such challenges."
In 2019, China signed a free trade agreement with Mauritius that went into effect in 2021. A page for Mauritius on China’s Foreign Ministry website that outlines relations states that the two have a strategic partnership. Bilateral trade between the two countries hit $1.1 billion, a 10.1% increase from the previous year, according to the website.
As the region becomes a hotspot for geopolitical competition, India and China have stepped up efforts to build ties with Indian Ocean countries.
Underlining India’s naval cooperation with Mauritius, an Indian navy contingent participated in the National Day parade and an Indian warship — the INS Imphal, a stealth guided-missile destroyer — paid a visit to the capital, Port Louis.
Last year, India helped Mauritius build an airstrip and a jetty in Agalega — two tiny islands covering 25 square kilometers that are located north of the main island. Although Mauritius has said that the facilities are not for military use, they give India a foothold to monitor traffic in the western Indian Ocean, say analysts.“India’s construction of logistics infrastructure on Agalega Island underlines both Mauritius’s enduring geopolitical significance in the Indian Ocean and Delhi’s growing maritime stakes in regional security,” political analyst C. Raja Mohan wrote in the Indian Express newspaper.
India backs Chagos handover
Indian officials have also said that New Delhi would support a planned deal between Britain and Mauritius to hand over control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius that is being finalized. One of the islands on the archipelago, Diego Garcia, has been home to a joint U.K.-U.S. military base since the 1970s. British media have reported that Britain will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands and lease back Diego Garcia from Mauritius to allow the military base to remain.“We support Mauritius in its stance on its sovereignty over Chagos, and this is obviously in keeping with our long-standing position with regard to decolonization and support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries,” Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said Saturday while announcing plans that Modi will soon also visit the Maldives.
Although officials have made no comment, analysts point out that India backs the continuation of the military base in Diego Garcia. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “inclined” to go along with the deal between Mauritius and Britain over the future of the base.“From New Delhi’s standpoint, it helps if there is some American presence there because it balances out the strategic realities of the region,” said Pant. India respects Mauritian sovereignty over Chagos Islands, Modi says (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [3/12/2025 8:46 AM, Kiran Sharma, 1191K]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday backed Mauritius’ claim over the Chagos islands -- home to a U.S.-U.K. military base -- amid efforts to reach a formal treaty to resolve a decades-old dispute between London and Port Louis."A free, open, secure and safe Indian Ocean is our shared priority," Modi said in Hindi during a joint media appearance with Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, against a backdrop of China’s expanding influence in the region. Modi is in the Mauritian capital for a two-day state visit through Wednesday."In the context of Chagos, we fully respect the sovereignty of Mauritius," he added. "We will enhance our cooperation through forums such as the Colombo Security Conclave, Indian Ocean Rim Association and Indian Ocean Conference."Whether it is the Global South, the Indian Ocean or the African continent, Mauritius is our important partner," Modi said.Mauritius was a French colony for nearly a century before it was captured by the British in 1810. While it gained independence in 1968, the British retained control of Chagos archipelago, a group of seven atolls with about 60 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean.The U.K. leased Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, to the U.S. to set up a strategic military base. In the process, up to 2,000 islanders were displaced by force.There has been a long-running dispute between Mauritius and U.K. over Chagos, and India has always supported Mauritius’ rights over the islands.India established diplomatic relations with Mauritius in 1948 even before the latter gained independence. About 70% of the Mauritius’ 1.2 million population is of Indian heritage.The U.K. and Mauritius reached an agreement in October last year for the return of Chagos to Port Louis control. As part of that deal, Mauritius would allow the operation of the U.S.-U.K. military base for an initial period of 99 years. India welcomed the October agreement.However, that agreement has yet to be finalized, given that the current Ramgoolam government only took charge in November and U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office in January.During British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington late February, Trump indicated that he would back the deal."We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well," Trump said then. "They’re talking about a very long-term powerful lease, a very strong lease ... I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country. It’s a little bit early, we have to be given the details, but it doesn’t sound bad."Ramgoolam on Wednesday expressed "deep gratitude for India’s unflinching support to the long-standing struggle of Mauritius to exercise its full sovereignty over its entire territory."Away from Chagos, he said he and Modi have agreed to a Mauritius-India joint vision document to enhance strategic partnership."Our shared vision is to increase our cooperation in existing and emerging sectors such as space research, artificial intelligence, digital health, ocean economy, pharmaceuticals, ICT, fintech and cyber security," Ramgoolam said, adding there are plans to increase cooperation in the maritime sector as well.An analyst said that maintaining close ties with Mauritius is key for India."From an Indian Ocean perspective, from an Africa perspective, from neighborhood perspective, from maritime security perspective, this relationship is important for India to nurture," said Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank in New Delhi.Pointing to China’s growing presence in the region and the fact that it is has a trade agreement with Mauritius, Pant said, "That’s why I do think that India understands that the economic game with Mauritius has to be enhanced [too]."He said also that maintaining the U.S.-U.K. military base in Diego Garcia is in India’s interest.It is "certainly keen that it continues to work with its partners to create a favorable balance of power in the wider Indian Ocean," he added. India holds talks with Congo for pact to source cobalt, copper, sources say (Reuters)
Reuters [3/12/2025 6:55 AM, Neha Arora, 1187K]
India is holding talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo to sign an initial agreement securing supplies of critical minerals such as cobalt and copper, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The world’s fastest-growing major economy, India has launched efforts to secure critical minerals from resource-rich nations such as Congo, Mongolia and Zambia to help energy transition efforts and fill growing demand from its industries.
As part of New Delhi’s increasing efforts to scout for mineral assets abroad, the mines ministry will seek clearance from the foreign ministry to send a team of geologists to Congo, said one of the sources.
"The memorandum of understanding is under process, and both countries are interested," said the second source. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as the discussions are not public.
The mines ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
New Delhi plans to send officials to attend a mining conference in Congo this year, the sources added, following a visit by a senior official in July 2024 to explore opportunities for sourcing supplies of cobalt and copper.
Congo is the world’s top producer of cobalt, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones, while copper is used widely in power generation, electronics and construction.
But strife in Congo could complicate matters for India as the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 and pro-Congo militias have battled since the start of the year for control of its mineral-rich eastern regions.
"In African countries, the challenge would be geopolitics and that is what delays projects," said Ritabrata Ghosh, vice president and sector head for corporate ratings at ICRA Ltd.Additionally, since the processing of critical minerals is a technologically intensive process, commercialisation would require time after the discovery of copper and cobalt deposits, Ghosh said.
India is also preparing to send a team of geologists to Zambia within the next two months, the sources said.
On Monday, Reuters reported that the United States was open to exploring partnerships with Congo on critical minerals, after a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.
Last month Congo suspended exports of cobalt for a period of four months to disperse a glut in production. India’s War Over Words (Wall Street Journal – opinion)
Wall Street Journal [3/12/2025 5:03 PM, Sadanand Dhume, 810K]
If you think language is an emotive issue in America, wait until you see India. This month, President Trump designated English the official language of the U.S., evoking criticism from those who see the action as discriminatory against Spanish speakers. But considering everything else that’s going on, Mr. Trump’s proclamation barely made a splash.
In India, by contrast, a political dispute over language is making waves. The spat, between the federal government in New Delhi and the opposition-ruled southern state of Tamil Nadu, underscores that linguistic grievances still have the power to move emotions—and potentially votes.
Since last month, the government of Tamil Nadu, population 77 million, has been in a war of words with New Delhi over the state’s refusal to implement a national education policy that mandates that children must learn three languages, two of which must be native to India.
Students in Tamil Nadu’s state-run schools are only required to learn two languages: Tamil and English. The state’s chief minister, M.K. Stalin, says adopting the national policy would push the state “backward by 2,000 years.” (Yes, Mr. Stalin is named for the Soviet dictator, who died four days after his Indian namesake’s birth.) Another prominent party leader says Tamil Nadu is resisting “imperial arrogance and cultural oppression.” In response, the federal government is withholding some federal funding from the state, citing its unwillingness to comply with the policy.
At the heart of the conflict is the state’s resistance to the “imposition” of the Hindi language. Politicians like Mr. Stalin believe the federal government’s three-language policy will smuggle in the teaching of Hindi, long a flashpoint in Tamil Nadu politics. Decades ago, violent protests in the state forced the federal government to shelve plans to make Hindi the sole official language of India by 1965.
In 1960, American journalist Selig Harrison observed that “the North-South cleavage” was “the fundamental challenge to would-be unifiers of India throughout history.” During India’s fight for independence from Britain, Mohandas Gandhi promoted the idea of making a form of Hindi the national language. After independence, the county’s leaders realized that made little sense.
The current brouhaha misses how much has changed since the heyday of anti-Hindi agitations in the 1950s and ‘60s. Hindi has grown both more pervasive and less threatening to non-Hindi-speaking states. According to the most recent census, taken in 2011, roughly 43% of Indians speak Hindi as their native tongue, and another 13% as a second or third language. Only 8% of Indians claim Bengali, the second-most-spoken native language, as their mother tongue.
Hindi’s demographic heft gives it many advantages. It dominates in entertainment—from Bollywood to YouTube. In politics, the road to national power passes through large Hindi-speaking states like Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a native Gujarati speaker, but his fluency in Hindi enabled him to win three consecutive parliamentary elections from Uttar Pradesh. A non-Hindi-speaking politician may dominate in a particular state but would struggle to communicate with voters in the Hindi heartland.
Hindi will have even more advantages if after the next census, expected next year, India redraws its parliamentary constituencies to reflect changes in the population. The Indian government has frozen each state’s parliamentary representation for more than 50 years, during which time the population of Hindi-speaking states has grown much faster than the more-educated south, largely due to higher birth rates.
The freeze could end as soon as next year. The Carnegie Endowment estimates that if parliamentary seats are reapportioned using 2026 population estimates, the Hindi-speaking states and federally administered territories would gain at least 33 seats in the 543-seat Parliament. The five southern states would lose 26 seats. Should that happen, it would make the current kerfuffle over Hindi look like a picnic.
Despite its advantages, Hindi’s appeal remains limited, making it less threatening to non-Hindi speakers. The states where Hindi dominates are much poorer. Per capita income in Tamil Nadu ($3,600) is nearly 3.5 times that of Uttar Pradesh. About 1 in 5 Tamils speak English. Less than 2% speak Hindi. Each year, tens of millions of people from the Hindi belt head to southern and western India seeking jobs; traffic is much lighter in the other direction.
If the threat of Hindi imperialism has diminished over time, English deserves much of the credit. It acts as both a unifying language for elites and a means of upward mobility for the middle class. Hardly anyone in India claims English as his mother tongue, but at least 130 million Indians speak it, which makes it the country’s second-most-spoken language.
English makes the north-south division manageable. The poor and populous Hindi-speaking states may be politically dominant, but they haven’t become overbearing. A smart kid from a non-Hindi-speaking background can excel in English and math and get a well-paid job in the private sector or emigrate. Unless you want to be a national politician or a Bollywood star—and sometimes not even then—not knowing Hindi isn’t debilitating. By contrast, you can’t expect to be a successful scientist, lawyer, accountant or public intellectual in India without a good grasp of English.
India shouldn’t take managing one of the most linguistically diverse countries on earth—17 languages are printed on each currency bill—for granted, but English thus far has helped keep the precarious balance between language groups. And knowing English, whether you live in the U.S. or India, is a stepping stone to success. NSB
Acute malnutrition surges to worst level in Rohingya refugee camps amid UN’s food cuts (The Independent)
The Independent [3/12/2025 7:08 AM, Shweta Sharma, 44838K]
Malnutrition has reached its worst levels in Rohingya children at the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh, the United Nation’s children fund said, amid alarm over likely drastic cuts in food assistance.
The number of children of the ethnic Rohingya minority needing emergency treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in Cox’s Bazar camps has increased by 27 per cent in February 2025 compared to the same period last year, the Unicef said on Tuesday.
Over 15 per cent of children in the camps are now malnourished – the highest recorded level since the 2017 mass displacement of Rohingya refugees.
Since 2017, over 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled massive-scale violence in Myanmar, joining approximately 300,000 already in Bangladesh from previous displacements, culminating in the world’s largest refugee settlement.
However, the already overcrowded camps have been witnessing a new surge since the civil war deepened in Myanmar after the 2021 coup and nearly one million more refugees have arrived in the camps.
In the camps, the majority of the population consist of children and women, who have been the worst affected by the recent cuts in humanitarian aid due to the ongoing worldwide crunch in funding after the Donald Trump administration suspended the USAID programme.
Unicef said nearly 500,000 children live in the world’s largest refugee settlement and the families are facing emergency levels of malnutrition.
It comes as The Independent reported that the UN’s World Food Program, which provides rations in the camps, has decided to slash its food rations to half from April due to "severe funding shortfalls".
WFP said rations would be halved from $12.5 to $6 per person beginning from April, marking a significant reduction in rations which charities say were already insufficient.
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s chair for the agency overseeing the refugee camps, warned of "grave consequences for the community" as the previous budget for ration was already not enough for the families.
"Even $12.50 was not sufficient, as food inflation in Bangladesh is very high at the moment. This will have an enormous impact on public health and nutrition," he said.
Charities across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, are scrambling for critical funding after the Trump administration announced a spending freeze and the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The move has sent shockwaves through the development community, which is deeply reliant on US funding.
Unicef said the cases of malnutrition among children rose from 819 to 1,021 cases, marking a 25 per cent jump.
Cases further surged from 836 to 1,062 cases, making up 27 per cent of cases.
The surge is driven by multiple factors, such as the impact of intermittent food ration cuts over the previous two years, prolonged monsoon rains in 2024, and a growing number of families fleeing violence and seeking shelter in the camps in recent months, according to the agency.
It said the ration cuts contributed to poor-quality diets among children, deteriorating their health further.
"For now, we can provide the services that Rohingya mothers come seeking, and that very sick children need, but as needs keep rising and funding declines, families are telling us they are terrified of what will happen to their babies if there are further food ration cuts and if lifesaving nutrition treatment services stop," said Unicef representative in Bangladesh, Rana Flowers.
Amid a deepening crisis in the camps, UN chief Antonio Guterres and Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus are set to visit the camps on 14 March as part of the annual Ramadan solidarity tour.
Mr Guterres would take part in iftar, the breaking of the fast, with refugees and members of the Bangladeshi host community, and promised continued support to the crisis.
Last week, the UN migration agency said it slashed its aid to the refugees in Indonesia. The cut directly affected healthcare and cash assistance to 925 Rohingya refugees sheltering in Pekanbaru "due to resource constraints". However, it was reversed earlier this week. Central Asia
OPEC+ Oil Production Surges as Kazakhstan Further Breaches Quota (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [3/12/2025 9:00 AM, Grant Smith, 16228K]
OPEC+ crude production surged last month as Kazakhstan, which has long flouted the cartel’s output quotas, further breached its agreed limit.The alliance’s output climbed by 363,000 barrels a day to just over 41 million barrels a day in February, according to a report from OPEC’s secretariat on Wednesday, preempting the group’s supply revival by two months.Last week, the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia surprised oil traders by announcing it would press on with long-delayed plans to restore halted output amid pressure from President Donald Trump to reduce fuel prices.Some OPEC+ delegates have privately said that exasperation among the group’s leaders with persistent quota-cheats like Kazakhstan was a factor in the decision. Kazakh Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev said on Friday that he has asked international oil companiesincluding Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. to cut their output this month, but the nation has a poor track record of delivering on its commitments.Kazakhstan’s production soared by 198,000 barrels a day in February to 1.767 million barrels a day, at least 300,000 barrels a day above its OPEC+ ceiling. Astana has consistently violated this target as it starts new projects such as the expansion of the giant Tengiz oil field. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners have been restraining output since late 2022 in a bid to stave off an oil surplus and shore up prices. Their decision on March 3 to finally green-light a series of production increases surprised traders, who had expected that faltering Chinese demand and brimming American supply would require yet another pause.Oil futures declined after the move and have continued to weaken on concern that Trump’s tariffs will ignite a global trade war. Brent briefly sank to the lowest since 2021, but has since recouped some of its losses to trade near $70 a barrel in London.OPEC+ has said it can “pause or reverse” the scheduled series of output increases depending on market conditions, and has just under a month to consider the next hike. Kazakhstan says it will adjust quickly to comply with OPEC+ quota (Reuters)
Reuters [3/12/2025 11:21 AM, Maria Gordeeva, 2456K]
Kazakhstan will quickly adjust its oil output in order to get back in line with its OPEC+ quota after exceeding the limit in February, the Energy Ministry said on Wednesday.OPEC said earlier that Kazakhstan was the biggest contributor to a sizeable jump in February crude output by OPEC+. The Central Asian country produced 1.767 million barrels per day in February, up from 1.570 million bpd in January. Its OPEC+ quota is 1.468 million bpd."The Republic of Kazakhstan has taken the necessary measures to compensate for the temporary increase in production. In the near future, the volumes will be adjusted in such a way as to fully comply with the established limits," it said.In a statement, it reiterated Kazakhstan’s full commitment to its agreement with OPEC+."At the same time, the current exceeding of quotas in February is due to technological processes within the Future Growth Project at the Tengiz field. This project is long-term and is aimed at ensuring stable supplies of energy resources, as well as fulfilling our medium-term commitments," it said.U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N) has been expanding output at Tengiz, the country’s largest field.The Kazakh energy ministry played down the country’s influence on the global market, saying it accounted for just 1.5% of world oil output and about 3% within OPEC+."These indicators demonstrate that Kazakhstan does not have a critical impact on the global balance of supply and demand, however, despite this, our country remains a reliable partner and fulfils its obligations."Kazakhstan will implement its future production plans "exclusively in strict accordance with the country’s international obligations and taking into account the situation on the world market", the statement said. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sign deal to end long-running border dispute (Reuters)
Reuters [3/13/2025 5:42 AM, Aigerim Turgunbayeva, 5.2M]
The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed a deal on Thursday on demarcating their shared frontier, seeking to end a long-running border conflict that has seen dozens killed in skirmishes in recent years.
The two sides clashed repeatedly over the border around the Kyrgyz town of Batken in 2021 and 2022, culminating in a six-day conflict in September 2022.
The deal, signed by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek, also provided for the reopening of road, rail and air transport links between the two that had been suspended since the battles of September 2022.
Disputes over the two countries’ 970 km (600 mile) shared border date from Soviet times, when Moscow first drew up frontiers in ethnically mixed parts of Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan both host Russian military bases and maintain warm relations with Russia, where many of their nationals migrate for employment. Kyrgyzstan And Tajikistan’s Border Agreement: Deal Of The Century? (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [3/13/2025 5:14 AM, Chris Rickleton, 235K]
While the world has been watching talks aimed at ending Russia’s three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine, two Central Asian countries have been quietly working to consign a long and sometimes bloody border dispute to the past.Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s agreement over their roughly 1,000-kilometer frontier seems to deserve the “historic” billing given to it by both countries’ presidents -- and not just because the disagreement dates back to early Soviet times, when the two countries were ultimately Moscow-controlled entities.Instead, the scale of the achievement lies in the fact that just under half of the frontier was disputed as recently as three years ago, with the worst clashes between the two countries happening in 2021 and 2022, leaving scores dead on both sides and a lasting mark on the national psyches.Weeks after the second conflict, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his Kyrgyz counterpart, Sadyr Japarov, did not even shake hands at a meeting mediated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who seemed barely interested.But on March 12, there was both a long handshake and three hugs between the two men after Rahmon touched down in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, where he was greeted by traditional dancers and musicians, as well as a billboard bearing his image and welcoming “his excellency” in the warmest terms.The two leaders signed the agreement the following day, as two border crossings connecting the countries were reopened for the first time in nearly four years.With ratification expected to be a formality in both parliaments, despite signs of unease in Kyrgyzstan, it is now a question of how life changes on the ground for long-suffering communities in a water-scarce, densely populated stretch of the region.Bridging The GapsPrior to 2021, incidents at the border were mostly low-level conflicts. They occasionally blew up between the Kyrgyz and Tajik communities over perceived trespassing and access to water resources, drawing the young border guards of the two countries into hostile engagements.But incidents before 2021 were mere shoot-outs.The use of heavy artillery and then foreign-made drones -- Kyrgyzstan boasted of its acquisition of the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2, for instance -- in the 2021 and 2022 conflicts raised both the stakes of the dispute and its death toll.In a review of the four-day conflict in 2022 that saw over 100,000 people displaced in Kyrgyzstan alone, the New York-based Human Rights Watch cited “serious violations of the laws of war by both sides.”Incidents highlighted in the report included attacks on civilian vehicles and ambulances, the “indiscriminate” use of explosives, extrajudicial killings by military forces, and arson attacks on homes and civilian infrastructure, culminating in dozens of civilian deaths.The growing devastation, allied with the prospect of a mini-arms race with no decisive victory in sight for either party, might have given added impetus to talks between the region’s two poorest countries.But that does not make them easy, especially given the hazy nature of frontiers between republics that the Kremlin never intended to become independent.So far, the information on the agreement has come from Kyrgyzstan, where officials tend to say more.In a detailed rundown in parliament last month, Kyrgyz national-security chief Kamchybek Tashiev said that talks building up to the February 21 protocol that he signed with opposite number Saimuddin Yatimov had been “very difficult.”The amount of pasture land to allocate to Tajikistan in the surroundings of the Vorukh -- a chunk of Tajikistan de facto surrounded by Kyrgyz territory -- had been one sticking point, he said.Another was the status of a strategic bridge just 20 meters in length, which allows for unimpeded movement between two districts in Kyrgyzstan’s southwestern region of Batken.That took fully six months to resolve in Kyrgyzstan’s favor, Tashiev revealed.A Village Called ‘Friendship’Kyrgyzstan was also able to persuade Tajikistan not to use maps from the 1920s -- when Stalinist border-drawing in Central Asia was at its peak -- as a negotiating position, Tashiev said.But Bishkek has made some pretty big concessions at the same time.The village of Dostuk, translating as "friendship" is a case in point.Under the agreement, this Kyrgyz village has been completely transferred to the Tajik side.In the Kyrgyz parliament, lawmaker Sultanbay Aizhigitov said the transfer would bring Tajikistan a step closer to its long-held goal of joining troublesome Vorukh -- a territory which Tajik authorities never considered to be an "exclave" -- with Tajikistan proper.“If it was only the road that was neutral, with the land remaining ours, that would be one thing,” said Aizhigitov, homing in on another concession that he said had benefited Vorukh and its population of some 40,000 people.“But [under the agreement] the road will be neutral and the land will be neutral. And neutral land can be taken by whoever is stronger,” he warned.Aizhigitov was subsequently expelled from his pro-government party, Yiman Nuru, whose leader Dinara Ashimova said his comments were not her party’s line.President Japarov accused Aizhigitov of demagoguery in remarks to state media.But what of the roughly 70 households that lived in Dostuk?In the 2021 conflict, about a dozen houses in the village were destroyed before being rebuilt.In 2022, the village was hit even worse.Both the houses and vital social infrastructure, however, were rebuilt again.Talks between residents and Batken governor Aibek Shamenov proved to be tense, especially after Shamenov responded irately to a request for more land per household in Buzhum, the village where Dostuk residents are getting relocated to.Japarov has since reprimanded the governor, and Shamenov has apologized, pledging that Dostuk residents will get extra land.Sharing Water, Boosting TradeEnsuring that any dissatisfaction over the agreement is contained will be a key priority of the Kyrgyz government ahead of ratification.But it has had some practice on this front.In 2022, opposition to a theoretically less contentious border deal with Uzbekistan marked the first real challenge to Japarov’s regime, which took a decidedly authoritarian turn thereafter.Dozens were arrested in that crackdown, demonstrating a new “red line” for political opposition.In Tajikistan, a challenge to the ruling Rahmon family over something like a border agreement seems almost impossible. Over the last decade, political opposition there has been completely wiped out.But if deepening authoritarianism is one trend in Central Asia, an increasing emphasis on cooperation between the region’s countries is a more positive one, generally occurring without any outside assistance.Along with “neutral roads” in no-man’s-land, the Kyrgyz-Tajik border agreement has created a framework for sharing water from the Golovnoi intake facility that draws water from a river known as Ak-Suu by Kyrgyzstan and Isfara by Tajikistan.Tajiks and Kyrgyz already share water from the sluice, but it was another site of contention, most notably during the three-day border war of 2021. Under the new agreement, each side will have a gate each at the intake and split the third one.How these and other shared infrastructure are managed in practice remains to be seen.But the intent is there, and the two countries’ transition from foes to friends is likely to be further cemented at an unprecedented trilateral summit with Uzbekistan in the Tajik city of Khujand on March 31.For both countries, Uzbekistan was once a nightmare neighbor.That has completely changed ever since President Shavkat Mirziyoev replaced the late Islam Karimov as leader of the region’s most populous country, viewing the neighborhood through the prism of opportunities, rather than threats, and moving quickly to end his own country’s border disputes.Calling the summit an “important step in strengthening regional cooperation” at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov paid tribute to a “historic triumph of diplomatic and political will” on the part of his country and Tajikistan.For once, in regional diplomatic speak, that doesn’t seem like an exaggeration. Emmanuel Macron welcomes Shavkat Mirziyoyev for state visit to boost Franco-Uzbek relations (Euronews)
Euronews [3/12/2025 1:24 PM, Evelyn Ann-Marie Dom and Andreas Rogal, 126906K]
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Paris on a state visit to France for his third trip to the French capital, after October 2018 and November 2022.
The official welcoming ceremony for the president was held at the Invalides monument in Paris on Wednesday, where he was greeted by Emmanuel Macron, who will host him until Thursday.
The two leaders and their delegations later met at the Elysee Palace to discuss Uzbek-French relations, with an emphasis on trade and economy. Discussions also touched on encouraging the cooperation with French companies and businesses.
As a first outcome, Mirziyoyev and Macron signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership, the Uzbek president’s press service’s statement said on social media platform X.
"In front of leaders documents were exchanged, including agreements on specialist and student mobility, mutual visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders, and a cooperation program for implementation of projects worth 6.5 billion euros," the statement read.
Further agreements on "education, finance, technology, healthcare, culture and other spheres" were also concluded, according to the statement.
While retaining traditionally close ties with Moscow, Tashkent has turned to reform and closer relations with the West under President Mirziyoyev in recent years. Will Uzbekistan’s 31-Year Effort to Join the WTO Finally Pay Off? (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [3/12/2025 6:21 PM, Niginakhon Saida and Oybek Saidkhodjaev, 53K]
Uzbekistan hopes to finalize its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2026, bringing to a close a 31-year effort that envisions an open, competitive, and resilient economy.
Following the WTO’s General Council meeting on February 18-19, Uzbekistan’s chief WTO negotiator Azizbek Urunov said that the WTO’s director general had "kindly proposed to focus on Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ethiopia’s accessions as a target for" the 14th Ministerial Conference scheduled to take place in Cameroon in March 2026.
Neighboring Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan – became WTO members long ago. Kyrgyzstan was the first to gain membership, not only in Central Asia but also among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), joining in 1998. Remarkably, Bishkek completed the accession process in just two years after its initial application.
Although Uzbekistan applied for WTO membership in 1994, its bid was suspended in 2005 before being revived in 2020.
In 2023, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the country’s plan to double the volume of goods exports by 2026 and called accession to the WTO "the only way" to achieve this goal. Serious efforts to accelerate the accession process began with the appointment in 2023 of Urunov as special representative of the president of Uzbekistan on WTO issues.
Tashkent has aimed to finalize the accession process by 2026, a deadline that looms just a year away.
In December 2024, Mirziyoyev said that the country was entering "the final stage" of this process and called the accession "a thoughtful and far-sighted choice, and an integral part of the reforms.".
If Tashkent succeeds in its efforts, Uzbekistan will become the ninth CIS country to join the organization.
Uzbekistan has been moving toward economic liberalization by aligning its tariffs and duties with WTO standards, signaling a move away from protectionism. As of January 2025, for example, a number of companies operating in the fields of metallurgy, chemistry, energy and telecommunications lost their special rights. Starting in July 2026, UzGasTrade will no longer have exclusive rights as the sole operator for natural gas exports and imports. Similarly, Uzenergosotish, established in 2023 to manage the centralized purchase and sale of electricity within Uzbekistan, will lose its monopoly on the electricity trade.
"From now on, no one will have exclusive rights – whether it is a state-owned strategic enterprise, a private company, or a foreign investor. Everyone in the economy must operate under equal conditions," said Mirziyoyev in a 2024 meeting with local entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of joining the WTO.
Saida Mirziyoyeva, the president’s daughter and first assistant, has overseen the interdepartmental commission working with the WTO and the negotiating group responsible for the WTO accession. In January, she noted in a Telegram post that 20 pieces of legislation had been passed to enhance the transparency of business practices and competition.
WTO membership will arguably open doors for Uzbekistan’s economy, facilitating increased trade, attracting foreign investment and technological know-how, and enhancing productivity.
"All WTO members have the right to conduct bilateral negotiations with any country that joins the organization. However, in practice, not everyone does this," Urunov explained last year as Uzbekistan signed market access protocols with Japan, Israel, and the Dominican Republic and finalized negotiations with Thailand, as an outcome of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Abu Dhabi.
"The number of countries interested in bilateral trade depends on the economy of the country that joined the WTO and its trade relations with other member states. For example, African countries have almost no trade relations with Uzbekistan and are not showing much interest," he said.
From a theoretical perspective, Uzbekistan’s transition toward economic liberalization is expected to lead to a sharp increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), a greater variety of goods with a higher share of high-quality products and services, stronger competition, as well as a short-term increase in market supply, expanding consumer choices.
While economic theory suggests that WTO accession should lead to a surge in FDI, the reality can be quite different. FDI inflow velocity is likely to be moderate in the medium term, which means that a healthy competitive environment and an increased share of high-quality goods and services will depend heavily on the actual volume of investments. Several factors contribute to this cautious outlook. Many investors remain hesitant about Central Asia due to economic and non-economic risks, like corruption. Despite the fact that Uzbekistan has improved in many rankings over the last few years, progress is not guaranteed to be linear into the future and by some metrics, Uzbekistan has experienced a backslide. This may influence an investor’s decision to invest in the country.
Investors, whether individuals or companies, allocate available funds to promising projects. With multiple opportunities across different countries, they naturally prioritize those that are more profitable, sustainable, and low-risk in the long run.
In addition to market analysis, due diligence plays a crucial role, as investors must assess financial and operational risks before acquiring business stakes. Another challenge is talent acquisition, as securing qualified professionals remains a key concern for foreign companies. Finally, large-scale investments often require top-level approvals within investor organizations, adding another layer of complexity to Uzbekistan’s investment climate.
These hurdles suggest that while WTO accession may open new economic opportunities, the anticipated transformation may take longer than expected to eventuate.
New business incorporation via FDI typically takes one to three years.
As Uzbekistan enters the final stretch toward WTO accession, local manufacturers face a final opportunity to improve their standing before the world comes to compete in Uzbekistan. Local companies will need to build consumer trust by improving the quality of their products and services. Otherwise, they risk losing their market position to more experienced foreign companies and investors that offer superior products.
It is expected that major international firms will implement various pricing strategies when entering the Uzbek market. Some may use penetration pricing – that is, the setting of low prices initially to quickly gain market share – while others may opt for perceived quality pricing – setting high prices to create a premium brand image. Price discrimination could also be applied, with different prices set for the same product in different markets, such as peak versus off-peak rail fares. Additionally, companies may use going rate pricing by aligning their prices with competitors, or price skimming, where a new product is introduced at a high price before gradually decreasing. Captive product pricing is another possible approach, requiring customers to purchase two related products together, such as printers and ink cartridges.
Alongside these methods, other pricing techniques will likely be employed as foreign businesses seek to gain a competitive foothold in Uzbekistan’s evolving market.
While Uzbekistan’s WTO accession will introduce a greater variety of goods at competitive prices to local consumers, it will also give foreign markets easier access to Uzbek products, particularly agricultural goods. This increased demand could drive up food prices for local consumers. However, the government has policy tools to protect domestic interests. For instance, when potato prices surged in Kazakhstan due to high external demand, the government imposed a six-month export ban, clarifying that "this measure does not apply to EAEU member states, although exports in this direction will be monitored.".
In the long run, WTO accession is expected to have a positive impact on the country’s trade balance as well as other positive outcomes.
For example, joining the WTO may lead to a reduction in Uzbekistan’s unemployment rate. According to official figures, 5.8 percent of Uzbekistan’s working-age population is unemployed. Currently, almost 15 million of Uzbekistan’s 37.5 million people are considered employed, with 48 percent working in the formal sector, 38 percent in the informal sector, and the remaining 13 percent or 1.9 million working abroad as part of labor migration.
Uzbekistan’s large and growing population will provide foreign investors with a ready, relatively cheap, workforce. Hundreds of thousands of people enter the job market each year in Uzbekistan. And then there are the nearly 2 million who are engaged in labor migration who could arguably be attracted back to Uzbekistan for jobs at home. In addition, Uzbekistan’s growing consumer market of over 37.5 million people, with an average age of 29, makes the country an attractive investment destination.
Since Uzbekistan is a double landlocked country, it will be more beneficial for investors to establish factories and plants within Uzbekistan to reduce logistics costs, rather than exporting these goods into the country. By doing so, they would reduce logistics expenses, import duties, and other costs. Moreover, opening a factory means hiring local workers, which in turn helps lower the unemployment rate.
However, the creation of new positions does not necessarily translate to local workers filling them, as a shortage of specialists might result in many local employees occupying junior or, at best, mid-level positions, with senior roles being taken by foreigners.
Harmonization trade tariffs among WTO members will allow small businesses in Uzbekistan to benefit from imports and exports in the short run, potentially enhancing the prosperity of local producers. However, failing to invest in improving product or service quality could lead to the demise of these business structures in the longer term. Companies that are able to survive in a competitive market will expand, while those that are not able to will fail.
Market saturation will be accompanied by an increase in supply, and the market will strive to establish more democratic prices for products. However, a decline in the profitability rate of small business entities will hinder their ability to quickly reinvest funds into business expansion.
The share of exports is expected to exceed current levels. An increase in exports will contribute to the strengthening of the local currency, leading to its revaluation, which is unfavorable for exporters but beneficial for importers.
With all these risks and potential benefits, Uzbekistan’s WTO accession could be a turning point in building a stronger economy. Decades of protectionist policies that once helped local companies thrive are now being dismantled, leaving some businesses not only skeptical about the benefits of WTO membership but also frustrated over losing their special privileges. However, if Uzbekistan successfully implements key reforms and attracts strategic investments, its 31-year effort to join the WTO may finally pay off — paving the way for a more open, competitive, and resilient economy. Social networks in Uzbekistan buzzing with criticism of Chinese economic practices (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [3/12/2025 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K]
Anti-Chinese sentiment is rising in Uzbekistan. The government is sufficiently concerned about the animosity directed at the country’s largest trading partner that officials are mounting a media campaign to tamp down public expressions of loathing for Beijing.
Influential social media channels stoked anti-Chinese sentiment in February with reports that Chinese entities and individuals were buying up properties in major Uzbek cities, including the capital Tashkent, as well as buying choice parcels of land to engage in mining and agricultural ventures. Many social media commentaries, including a post on the Demokrat UZ YouTube channel that received over 1 million views, contained a menacing underlying premise that China’s growing economic presence posed a threat to Uzbekistan’s sovereignty.
The Demokrat UZ report was headlined: “The Chinese are not just coming in, they’re taking over.” Another YouTube commentary by Fazliddin Shahobiddin, an influencer who reflects on current affairs from a pious Islamic perspective, flatly stated that “Uzbekistan is being bought up by China.” That post generated over 1.8 million views; a solid majority of the 12,000 comments it received echoed Shahobiddin’s anti-Beijing message, with some calling on fellow Uzbeks to “wake up” to the perceived Chinese threat.
China is Uzbekistan’s largest trading partner, although Tashkent ran up a large deficit in 2024. Total turnover last year amounted to $13.8 billion, with the value of Uzbek exports to China ($2 billion) dwarfed by the $11.8 billion in Chinese imports. In addition, China is Uzbekistan’s largest single creditor: President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s administration, which is taking on lots of debt to fund an economic modernization drive, owes Beijing at least $3.8 billion.
Given Tashkent’s economic reliance on China, the government wants to maintain a sense of strong domestic support for what officials have described as an “all-weather strategic partnership” with China. Accordingly, state-aligned media outlets responded quickly with reports striving to counter the social media swarm of comments about Chinese encroachment.
Such reports emphasized that all foreigners, including Chinese citizens, are not allowed by law to own real estate. Foreigners and foreign entities are only able to lease property, as well as land.“There has been a lot of discussion on social networks about Chinese citizens allegedly starting to buy up land in Tashkent,” stated one commentary. “Those who publish such posts on social networks do not seem to know how the system of providing land to foreigners in the country actually works.”“Such rumors can not only confuse people, but also harm trust in the country’s laws,” the commentary added.
Observers note that Uzbekistan is routinely ranked by watchdog organizations as having an authoritarian-style political system. Freedom House, for example, in its most recent survey of global democratic practices rated Uzbekistan as “not free,” adding that “the legislature and judiciary effectively serve as instruments of the executive branch.”
The initial state media effort to reassure Uzbeks did not appear to stem the social media-driven discontent, prompting the government to escalate its PR campaign. On March 11, the Uzbek government’s press secretary, Beksod Khidoyatov, gave interviews strongly endorsing the country’s close economic ties with China.“Don’t give in to provocations,” read a headline of an item published by Kun.uz, which cited Khidoyatov as saying “China is a historical and strategic partner of Uzbekistan, which respects our territorial integrity and sovereignty. ... Thus, there is no reason to panic.”“Thanks to the efforts of our president, the economy of Uzbekistan is developing, an open and pragmatic policy is being implemented,” Khidoyatov added. “Many investors invest in the country, and this is a natural process for a developing state.” Twitter
Afghanistan
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[3/13/2025 1:12 AM, 247.7K followers, 35 retweets, 109 likes]
An educated woman will not raise supporters of the Taliban, which is why the Taliban has denied girls their right to education in Afghanistan. It has now been 1,272 days since teenage girls were barred from attending school under their regime.
Jahanzeb Wesa@Jahanzeb_Wesa
[3/12/2025 3:13 AM, 5.6K followers, 1 retweet, 5 likes]
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a meeting with civil society on the occasion of the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York that Afghan women are facing “terrible decisions.” He issued a “red alert” in this regard. Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[3/12/2025 10:45 AM, 6.7M followers, 513 retweets, 1.7K likes]
Spoke with Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti who briefed me on the latest developments in the heinous terrorist attack on Jaffar Express. The entire nation is deeply shocked by this dastardly act and saddened by the loss of innocent lives—such cowardly acts will not shake Pakistan’s resolve for peace. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyrs. May Allah grant them the highest ranks in Jannah and bless those injured with a swift recovery. Dozens of the terrorists have been sent to hell.Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[3/13/2025 1:21 AM, 3.1M followers, 6 retweets, 23 likes]
Ambassador of Uzbekistan, Mr. Alisher Tukhtaev called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. The Prime Minister expressed his complete satisfaction at the excellent progress made between the two countries during his recent visit to Tashkent which included the formation of a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, as well as the signing of several important agreements and MOUs in various fields.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan@ForeignOfficePk
[3/13/2025 1:34 AM, 481.2K followers, 6 retweets, 12 likes]
Iftar Dinner scheduled to be hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 for the Dimplomatic Corps on 13 March 2025 is postponed in solidarity with the victims of terrorist attack on Jaffar Express.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan@ForeignOfficePk
[3/12/2025 9:32 AM, 481.2K followers, 7 retweets, 22 likes]
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 chaired the 4th meeting on Medical Education today. The meeting was attended by the National Coordinator to the PM on Health, Federal Secretary Health, President PM&DC, Vice President CPSP, SAPM Mr. Tariq Bajwa, and heads of leading medical institutions. DPM reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving healthcare through enhanced medical training & regulation. The meeting’s discussions focused on accreditation, fee regulation & rationalization in private medical colleges while ensuring fairness for the students as well as the medical colleges. A sub-committee was directed to present its recommendations on fee rationalization in the next meeting scheduled for 17th March.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[3/12/2025 12:41 PM, 218.9K followers, 184 retweets, 691 likes]
Pakistan, with an eye toward the Trump administration, is ramping up efforts to attract foreign investment in its critical minerals-many of which are in Balochistan. It’s hosting a big investor forum next month. The BLA attack is a reminder of just how tough a sell that will be.
Ashok Swain@ashoswai
[3/13/2025 2:38 AM, 621.7K followers, 13 retweets, 27 likes]
When there is a terror attack in India, they blame handlers in Pakistan; when there is a terror attack in Pakistan, they blame handlers in Afghanistan. Blaming so-called handlers is to deflect the blame from failures of regimes to provide peace and security to the people.
Jalil Abbas Jilani@JalilJilani
[3/12/2025 8:54 AM, 26.8K followers, 22 retweets, 71 likes]
The entire nation stands united against the enemies of Pakistan. We pay tributes to our valiant armed forces for thwarting a terrorist attack by BLA, aided and abetted by India. We have solid evidence of the nexus between BLA and India which need to be exposed and made public.
Bashir Ahmad Gwakh@bashirgwakh
[3/12/2025 4:06 PM, 90.8K followers, 73 retweets, 290 likes]
Interesting that #Pakistan mainstream media ignored #BLA’s #JaffarExpressAttack for 2 days but are now active after the DG ISPR claim that the operation is over. Meanwhile officials at Pakistan Railway have told BBC that at least 200 coffins/caskets are sent to Bolan.
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[3/12/2025 4:10 PM, 76.2K followers, 4 retweets, 34 likes]
Pakistan’s Prime Minister @CMShehbaz will visit Balochistan on Thursday where he will address a high level meeting on security situation in the province following the terror attack on Jaffar Express which resulted in the killing of all 33 terrorists of the terror outfit BLA.
Anas Mallick@AnasMallick
[3/12/2025 4:04 PM, 76.2K followers, 17 retweets, 65 likes]
Pakistan’s Military in its statement says that the terrorist of BLA involved in the Jaffar Express attack were "In direct communication with their ring leader in Afghanistan", adding that, "Pakistan expects the Interim Afghan Government to uphold its responsibilities and deny use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan." #Pakistan India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/12/2025 6:53 PM, 105.8M followers, 3.5K retweets, 22K likes]
Highlights from the second day of my Mauritius visit… I thank PM Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, the people and Government of Mauritius for the warmth. @Ramgoolam_Dr
Rahul Gandhi@RahulGandhi
[3/12/2025 9:37 AM, 27.6M followers, 3K retweets, 10K likes]
Today marks 100 years since Mahatma Gandhi and Sree Narayana Guru came together to eradicate the evils of untouchability and lay out an inclusive vision for society. In a nation fractured by discrimination, they stood for justice, empathy, and unity—facing resistance but reshaping history with their courage. Their legacy is not just to be remembered but carried forward. A century later, the struggle remains. As we honour this milestone, we must reaffirm our duty to build the just, humane, and inclusive society they envisioned. NSB
Sabria Chowdhury Balland@sabriaballand
[3/12/2025 6:53 PM, 7.9K followers, 1 retweet, 5 likes]
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will arrive in Dhaka on Thursday with a packed schedule for Friday and Saturday, featuring a series of meetings and greater engagements in Cox’s Bazar #Rohingya camp, before his departure on Sunday morning. #Bangladesh
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[3/12/2025 9:36 PM, 14.2K followers, 12 retweets, 57 likes]
The international community’s support for Bangladesh’s post-August 5 journey has been consistent, strong and visible. @ChiefAdviserGoB and his colleagues have traveled the world and welcomed visitors who have been eager to express their solidarity with the Bangladeshi people. There is a broad international consensus behind the effort to implement long overdue reforms leading to free and fair elections. This international support stands in stark contrast with the previous regime, whose increasingly autocratic rule alienated traditional friends and partners. As its reputation for brutality, intolerance, venality, and capriciousness grew, Hasina’s Bangladesh found itself isolated diplomatically. When the people of Bangladesh regained their freedom in July/August, most of the world rejoiced. This is the necessary context to understand the increasingly desperate disinformation campaign being waged by the apologists for the Hasina dictatorship. This has reached an apogee with the visit of @antonioguterres. In the days leading up to the visit, we saw a concerted effort to malign the UN system, focusing on @volker_turk and @UNinBangladesh. While the main attacks come from @albd1971 mouthpieces, these have been amplified by Hasina and Modi cultists in India and around the globe. Scenes of the UNSYG in Bangladesh with @ChiefAdviserGoB are likely to send the Hasina/Modi cult into a frenzy. Fortunately, their motives and tactics have been exposed, and the lies that they spread cannot compete with the truth about the many positive developments in Bangladesh. While important challenges remain, I am confident that the world will continue to stand with Bangladeshi people and not the deposed tyrant.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv
[3/12/2025 4:12 PM, 112.4K followers, 103 retweets, 104 likes]
First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed attends the opening of the “‘Mahrajan Al-Qur’an Al-Kareem 1446’“. This is an annual event organised by the Faculty of Quran and Sunnah of the @official_ium to coincide with the holy month of Ramadan. #RoadhaigeRoohu
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv
[3/12/2025 10:30 AM, 112.4K followers, 127 retweets, 124 likes]
President and First Lady host foreign diplomats for Iftar https://presidency.gov.mv/Press/Article/33290 #RoadhaigeRoohu
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv
[3/12/2025 10:20 AM, 112.4K followers, 149 retweets, 146 likes]
His Excellency President Dr @MMuizzu and First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed hosts resident high commissioners, ambassadors, and representatives of international organisations for Iftar today. #RoadhaigeRoohu
MOFA of Nepal@MofaNepal
[3/12/2025 10:43 AM, 262.3K followers, 5 retweets, 11 likes]
H.E. Mr. Askar Beshimov, Non-Residential Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Nepal paid a Courtesy Call on Foreign Secretary Mr. Amrit Bahadur Rai at the latter’s Office this afternoon. @amritrai555 @krishnadhakal07
MOFA of Nepal@MofaNepal
[3/12/2025 10:43 AM, 262.3K followers]
During the Call On they discussed matters relating to the bilateral relationship between Nepal and the Kyrgyz Republic. Issues about forging collaboration in areas of tourism, agriculture, energy, climate and education sector also surfaced during the meeting.
MOFA of Nepal@MofaNepal
[3/12/2025 10:43 AM, 262.3K followers]
Foreign Secretary Mr. Rai also handed over the Ambassador the original of the invitation of Hon. Foreign Minister to her Kyrgyz counterpart to attend the “Sagarmatha Sambaad “ being scheduled to take place in Kathmandu on 16-18 May 2025.
MOFA of Nepal@MofaNepal
[3/12/2025 10:43 AM, 262.3K followers]
Earlier today, the Kyrgyz Ambassador paid a courtesy call on Mr. Ram Kaji Khadka, Joint Secretary and Head of CAWAA Division.
MOFA of Nepal@MofaNepal
[3/12/2025 7:15 AM, 262.3K followers, 4 retweets, 31 likes]
The Ministry organized today an orientation/ interaction program with officials of all Ministries of the Government of Nepal on conduct of foreign relations. FS @amritrai555 addressed the program.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[3/12/2025 10:26 AM, 146.3K followers, 28 likes]
I convened a productive meeting with Urban Development Authority officials today (12) at the Presidential Secretariat to review ongoing projects and ensure effective budget utilization. Discussed strategies to strengthen the national economy through systematic urban planning while streamlining approvals with digital solutions.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[3/12/2025 4:45 AM, 146.3K followers, 3 retweets, 60 likes]
Yesterday (11), I had an insightful meeting with officials from the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment at the Presidential Secretariat. We discussed our government’s commitment to building a prosperous society where development benefits are shared equitably. We’re focusing on providing loan funds for economic empowerment and enhancing legal frameworks for social security. Together, we can uplift vulnerable groups and align with national and international standards.Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[3/12/2025 4:40 AM, 146.3K followers, 37 likes]
Yesterday (11), I had a productive meeting with officials from the Excise Department at the Presidential Secretariat. We focused on tackling existing challenges and achieving our revenue targets through better integration with the Inland Revenue Department. Together, we’re committed to enhancing regulation in the alcohol and tobacco industries while supporting economic growth. Central Asia
Emomali Rahmon@EmomaliRahmonTJ
[3/13/2025 3:06 AM, 3.3K followers, 1 like]
After the official welcoming ceremony, negotiations between the President of the Republic of #Tajikistan and the President of the #Kyrgyz Republic were held with the participation of official delegations.
Emomali Rahmon@EmomaliRahmonTJ
[3/13/2025 3:05 AM, 3.3K followers]
On March 13, an official welcoming ceremony of the President of #Tajikistan #EmomaliRahmon, was held in the complex of new buildings of the #Government of the #Kyrgyz Republic. The President of Tajikistan was warmly and sincerely welcomed by the #SadyrJaparov.
Emomali Rahmon@EmomaliRahmonTJ
[3/12/2025 1:04 PM, 3.3K followers, 2 retweets, 12 likes]
On March 12, the President of the Republic of #Tajikistan #EmomaliRahmon, arrived in Bishkek, the #Kyrgyz Republic, on a state visit. At the #Bishkek International Airport, the distinguished guest was warmly and sincerely welcomed by the head of the host country #SadyrJaparov.
Emomali Rahmon@EmomaliRahmonTJ
[3/12/2025 5:30 AM, 3.3K followers, 2 retweets, 12 likes]
On March 12, the President of the Republic of #Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, left for a state visit to the #Kyrgyz Republic.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[3/12/2025 5:28 PM, 213.7K followers, 2 retweets, 16 likes]
Continuing his program in #Paris, President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev met with over 60 leaders from major French and Uzbek businesses, banks, and financial institutions. Priority cooperation areas for expanding Uzbek-French business ties include the development of key mineral deposits, deep processing of resources, and joint production in construction materials, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics and agriculture. To enhance collaboration it was proposed to establish an UZ-FR Investment Council, with its first meeting scheduled for June during Tashkent International Investment Forum.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[3/12/2025 3:10 PM, 213.7K followers, 6 retweets, 13 likes]
Following Paris talks, Presidents Shavkat #Mirziyoyev and @EmmanuelMacron signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership. In front of leaders documents were exchanged, including agreements on specialist and student mobility, mutual visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders, and a cooperation program for implementation of projects worth 6.5 billion euros. Agreements were also signed in education, finance, technology, healthcare, culture and other spheres.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[3/12/2025 12:51 PM, 213.7K followers, 1 retweet, 15 likes]
During his state visit to France, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with @UNESCO Director-General @AAzoulay. They discussed strengthening cooperation and practical aspects of holding the 43rd General Conference in Samarkand this autumn, marking the first time in 40 years that the event will take place outside UNESCO’s Paris headquarters, coinciding with the organization’s 80th anniversary.
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[3/12/2025 9:58 AM, 24.2K followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
.@SecRubio and Kazakhstan DPM/FM Murat Nurtleu discussed strategic partnership. @statedeptspox: "The United States looks forward to working with Kazakhstan to deepen economic ties in the energy, telecommunications, and critical minerals sectors."{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.