SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Monday, March 31, 2025 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Taliban Appear to Free American Woman Detained in Afghanistan (New York Times)
New York Times [3/29/2025 4:22 PM, Eve Sampson, 44838K]
An American woman detained in Afghanistan has been released by the Taliban, according to a social media post on Saturday by a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, just days after the United States removed multimillion-dollar bounties from the heads of three senior Taliban officials.Faye Hall, the released American citizen, was pictured sitting on a couch between two men and smiling in a social media post on X by Zalmay Khalilzad, the former ambassador. Mr. Khalizad said that Ms. Hall “is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home.”He also shared what he said was a video of Ms. Hall professing support for President Trump and thanking the president for her release.President Trump reposted the video on Saturday on his social media site, Truth Social, thanking Ms. Hall and adding that he was “so honored” by her words.Ms. Hall was arrested in early February, British media reported, along with a British couple and an interpreter. The couple, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who were both in their seventies, had run educational and training projects in the country for eighteen years, according to British media. Ms. Hall was said to be a friend of the couple.The British couple has not been released, according to British media. A daughter of the Reynolds said that Afghan guards had to use force to separate Ms. Hall from Ms. Reynolds when they removed Ms. Hall from detention because the two women had vowed that all four in their group would be released together.The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Earlier this month, a U.S. hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, made the first known visit by a high-ranking American diplomat to Kabul, the Afghan capital, since the Taliban seized power in 2021. His talks with Taliban representatives led to the release of George Glezmann, an American citizen who had been detained in Afghanistan for more than two years.Days later, the United States lifted multimillion-dollar bounties on three leaders of the Haqqani network, the only wing of the Taliban to be classified by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. Members of the Haqqani network were behind some of the deadliest attacks during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, but they have refashioned themselves as a more moderate voice within the Taliban.Many Taliban officials saw Mr. Boehler’s visit and the bounty lifting as a significant victory for Afghanistan’s government, which was almost totally shut out by the Biden administration. The new measures also benefit a Taliban faction that has pushed to curtail extreme and inflexible policies to achieve more global acceptance.In the video posted by Mr. Trump, Ms. Hall also said other women detained in the Afghanistan jail saw Mr. Trump as a “savior,” adding in her address to him, “they’re waiting for you to come and set them free.”Mr. Trump’s post did not include any details about the release. Taliban releases American woman detained in Afghanistan (Washington Post)
Washington Post [3/30/2025 1:04 AM, Kelly Kasulis Cho, 31735K]
The Taliban released an American citizen, Faye Hall, who was detained in Afghanistan, a former U.S. ambassador said Saturday.Hall “is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home,” wrote Zalmay Khalilzad, who was a U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation until 2021 and the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq.Hall is the fourth U.S. citizen known to be released by the Taliban this year.“Thank you for bringing me home, and I’ve never been so proud to be an American citizen,” Hall said in a video celebrating her release, posted by President Donald Trump on Truth Social.“I just want you to know, all the women in the Afghan jail, they always ask me, ‘When is Trump coming?’” Hall said in the video, addressing Trump. “They are waiting for you to come and set them free. … Don’t want to forget all those women who are still in jail and don’t have any rights,” she added.The State Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment.Earlier this month, Khalilzad announced the release of another American citizen, George Glezmann, who worked as a Delta Air Lines mechanic and had been detained for two years for unknown reasons. Khalilzad called Glezmann’s release a “goodwill gesture” from the Taliban to Trump and the American people and praised Trump for making “the freedom and homecoming of Americans held abroad a high priority.”In January, President Joe Biden secured the release of two other Americans, Ryan Corbett and William W. McKenty III, who were let go as the Taliban announced a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Afghanistan and after what Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, called “intense behind-the-scenes efforts by U.S. officials.”The Taliban at the time identified one freed Afghan prisoner, Khan Mohammed, who it said was arrested in the Afghan province of Nangarhar nearly two decades ago and was serving a life sentence in California.Corbett, a father from New York, ran a social enterprise organization that worked with NGOs to help Afghan citizens start their own businesses. He was detained by the Taliban for nearly two and a half years, according to his family, who say they suspect he was taken into custody to be used as political leverage.Last year, members of Congress called for the release of U.S. citizen and civil aviation engineer Mahmood Habibi, who they said “was wrongfully detained by the Taliban.” In a House resolution, officials said Habibi was arrested in August 2022 because the Taliban “made an assumption” that his employer — a Kabul-based telecommunications company — “might have been involved” in a U.S. drone strike on Kabul that killed an al-Qaeda leader.Habibi has yet to be released. In August, the FBI made a public request for any further information about his disappearance. Taliban release detained US citizen Faye Hall (Reuters)
Reuters [3/29/2025 3:43 PM, Yousef Saba, Lucia Mutikani, Steve Holland, and Andrew Mills, 41523K]
American citizen Faye Hall said on Saturday she had been released by the Taliban administration after being detained in Afghanistan last month.
"I’ve never been so proud to be an American citizen," Hall said in a video posted by President Donald Trump on Truth Social. "Thank you, Mr President," she added. "God bless you.".
Trump responded by thanking Hall for her message, writing "So honored with your words!".
Hall’s release was announced earlier by former U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on X.
A U.S. official said Adam Boehler, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, along with Qatari officials and others, negotiated her release. Hall was arrested in February with a British couple, Barbie and Peter Reynolds.
British media reported that the couple, in their seventies, had been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years, deciding to stay even after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
There was no mention of the couple, whose family has pleaded for their release amid concerns over their health.
A source said earlier that Hall was freed on Thursday following a court order and with logistical support from Qatar in its role as the United States’ protecting power in Afghanistan.
Hall was received at the Qatari embassy in Kabul and confirmed to be in good health after undergoing medical checks, the source said.
Several Americans are still detained in Afghanistan. American woman, detained in February by Taliban, released, source says (CBS News)
CBS News [3/29/2025 5:44 PM, Staff, 52868K]
An American woman was freed by the Taliban after she, two British nationals and their Afghan translator were detained in Afghanistan earlier this year, according to a source with knowledge of the matter and a former U.S. envoy to Kabul.
"American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home," Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been part of an American delegation working on Taliban hostage releases, wrote on X.
Hall was detained in February along with Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who are in their 70s, as they traveled to the British couple’s home in central Bamiyan province. The Reynolds remain in Taliban custody, CBS News learned.
Sources told CBS News that Hall was detained on charges of using a drone without authorization.
American Faye Hall was released by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Hall was released Thursday as part of a deal that Qatari negotiators helped broker, the source said. She was in "good health" after undergoing a series of medical checks.
Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s ambassador in Qatar, told CBS News that Hall was released as a "goodwill gesture.".
"Better for bilateral relations, that such gestures are reciprocated," Shaheen said. "Actually, after (the) liberation of our country, we are in a new phase of reconstruction of Afghanistan. We want to have positive relations with (the) U.S. and other countries. This is an area which needs to be explored.".
Khalilzad posted a picture of Hall smiling with Qatar representatives ahead of her departure from Afghanistan with his announcement.
CBS News has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
The Reynolds, who married in Kabul in 1970, have run school training programs in the country for 18 years. Hall is a friend of the Reynolds and had travelled to Afghanistan in February to visit them and help them with their education training business, a member of the Reynolds family told CBS News.
The Reynolds are parents to two American citizens.
Their daughter has expressed grave fears for her father’s health and appealed to the Taliban authorities to free them. They remained in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 when the British embassy withdrew its staff.
Khalilzad had been in the Afghan capital earlier this month on a rare visit by U.S. officials to meet Taliban authorities, accompanying U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler.
Following their visit, the Taliban government announced the release of U.S. citizen George Glezmann after a deal brokered by Qatar. Glezmann, an Atlanta native, had been in custody after being detained by Taliban authorities while on a tourist visit to Afghanistan in December 2022.
The U.S. government had said Glezmaan had been wrongfully detained by the Taliban. Khalilzad called Glezmann’s release "a goodwill gesture" to President Trump by the Taliban.
Glezmann and Hall are two of several Americans to be released from Taliban custody this year.
Two Americans detained in Afghanistan — Ryan Corbett and William McKenty — were released in January in exchange for a Taliban figure who had been imprisoned in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges.
At least one other U.S. citizen, Mahmood Habibi, is still held in Afghanistan. The U.S. has said Habibi, who holds dual American and Afghan citizenship, has been "unjustly held" since 2022.
In a public notice posted by the FBI in August 2024, the agency said it "believed" that Habibi was taken by Taliban military or security forces and "has not been heard from since his disappearance." The FBI said in its notice that Habibi was working as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecom company when he disappeared.
The Taliban still say they do not have Habibi in custody.
"No, we don’t have him," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News in January.
The government in Kabul is not recognised by any country, but several including Russia, China and Turkey have kept their embassies open in the Afghan capital.
Since Mr. Trump’s re-election, the Kabul government has expressed hopes for a "new chapter" with Washington. ‘They Will Label Us as Spies’: The Afghan Students Abandoned by America (New York Times)
New York Times [3/30/2025 9:15 AM, Aryn Baker, 4K]
When she finds it hard to focus, Nilab jots down her worries on slips of paper and pins them to her wall, a strategy she picked up in a seminar on mental health at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.She makes a mental note to deal with the issues at a scheduled time and then gets back to studying. That kept her sane when the U.S.-backed Afghan government was overthrown in 2021, when the Taliban made it illegal for women to receive an education and when she left in July 2023 to study at the university’s campus-in-exile in Qatar.Now, in Nilab’s dorm room in Doha, the little notes are stacking up. The Trump administration’s shutdown of foreign aid and refugee admissions has left her terrified that she will be forced to return to Afghanistan.There, she would be alone and deprived of any rights as a woman. Her hard-earned American-style education would be all but worthless.She imagines the worst. “How can girls go back to Afghanistan?” said Nilab, 30, who asked that only her first name be used to protect her identity. “What will happen to us? Rape, forced marriage and death.”On Jan. 20, just as Nilab was planning her final project for her cybersecurity degree, President Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee resettlement. The U.S. government had promised refugee status for her and her classmates, but Nilab’s hopes of rejoining her family, who received asylum in the United States after the Taliban took over, were shattered.A month later, her university lost most of its funding when Mr. Trump dismantled American foreign aid programs, to reorient spending in line with the administration’s foreign policy goals. Funding was partly restored on March 16, the university’s leadership said, but only enough to operate into June. If the university closes, students will lose their housing, cafeteria meal plans and Qatari student visas.A third thunderbolt came on March 15, with word that Mr. Trump was considering putting Afghanistan on a list of countries whose citizens would be barred from entering the United States. Nilab does not know when she will ever see her family again, much less resettle with them.As she and other Afghan students find their lives thrown into chaos, they are caught between the infinite possibilities promised by a university education and a crushing sense that there are no doors left to open.“I thought this long journey was finished,” she said. “I was wrong.”With midterms approaching, Nilab has little time for her concerns. She has a presentation on arrays and algorithms due soon.So she writes down her fears and pins them to her bulletin board.Piece of AmericaThe American University of Afghanistan was established in 2006 as a coed liberal arts college, with instruction in English. It was designed to educate the next generation of Afghan leaders and innovators, imbued with Western ideals of justice, freedom and democracy. Students called their campus “Little America.”The U.S. government has invested more than $100 million in the university, and until last month, funding from the United States Agency for International Development, or U.S.A.I.D., covered more than half of its operating costs.(The agency has also provided scholarships for more than 100 Afghan women — including Nilab’s sister — to study at universities in Oman and Qatar, among them the American University, and those students face a similar budget freeze.)When the American military hastily withdrew from the country in August 2021 and the Taliban returned to power, the American University was an obvious target. Militants rampaged through its buildings, scrawling graffiti that derided students as “U.S.-trained infidel spies” and “wolves in sheep’s skin.”Administrators worked to get more than 1,000 students out of the country as quickly as possible. Nearly 700 were evacuated to sister universities in Iraq, Kyrgyzstan and the United States.The government of Qatar agreed to host a temporary campus-in-exile. One hundred students arrived for the term starting in August 2022, and another 100 — Nilab’s group — landed a year later.Most of the students eventually left for the United States on so-called Priority 1 visas. When Mr. Trump took office in January, the remaining 35 were waiting for their final interviews and pre-departure medical checkups. Some already had airplane tickets.They now wander the near-empty halls of their temporary campus in a stunned daze, not knowing what will happen next.“We thought all our traumas were finally coming to an end, so we could start to breathe again,” said Waheeda Babakarkhail, 23, a programmer who dreams of working as a white hat hacker, testing computer programs for security flaws.“I had accepted that I couldn’t stay in Afghanistan,” she said, “but now even the future I thought I would have has been lost.”Aspirations have been derailed across the campus. Abbas Ahmadzai, 24, a business major, had a job in event management lined up in New York. Faisel Popalzai, 23, was hoping to get a job at Microsoft. He developed an A.I.-assisted computer program that can identify potentially fraudulent financial transactions. The app, called Hawks.Ai, won the Microsoft Hackathon last year in Doha.If pathways to the United States are cut, Mr. Popalzai said, the country will lose a valuable investment: “our minds, paid for by the American people.”Sense of DreadIf the university is forced to close in June, the students face an alarming prospect.They will lose their student visas and their right to stay in Qatar within weeks. If they cannot find a Qatari employer to sponsor them, or obtain a job or scholarship offer in another country, they will have to return to Afghanistan.They are keenly aware that “the way we were educated is in contradiction to everything the Taliban represent,” said Hashmatullah Rahimi, 24, a business major. “We were taught to speak freely, to be independent. Not a single person in the Taliban government wants that.”The university’s administrators say there has been no documented persecution of its graduates since the Taliban takeover. But students fear they would be viewed as a threat.“If we go back,” Mr. Popalzai said, “they will label us as spies, sent to infect Afghans against the Taliban with our American ideology.”For female students, the risks are obvious. The Taliban have banned education for women and girls after sixth grade and barred women from most forms of employment. They cannot travel without a male relative, they are required to cover their faces outside the home, and their voices must not be heard in public.“Maybe we won’t be killed if we go back,” said Rawina Amiri, 24, a business major who dreams of becoming a professional volleyball player.“Does that mean we should accept having our rights violated?” she added. “We have the right to learn, to contribute, to work. Do people in the United States expect us to give up those rights because the Americans promised us a visa, then changed their mind?”Nilab remains in limbo in the U.S. visa process. On Tuesday, a U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that the Trump administration must admit thousands of people granted refugee status before Jan. 20, which could include several of the university’s students. But the ruling is preliminary and could be reversed.What has really thrown Nilab for a loop is the potential for Afghans to be included in a travel ban.She has not seen her parents and younger siblings since they moved to Northern Virginia. They were granted asylum because her parents had worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan. But because she was an adult, she was not eligible to join them.Nilab tries to hold on to hope, relying on the coping skills she picked up as a freshman four years ago. She is applying for scholarships in Europe even as she studies for her exams.“The Quran says that when one door is shut, another opens,” she said. “But if you don’t knock, the doors won’t open.” Afghan pilots who fought in 20-year war against Taliban in limbo after Trump blocks US resettlement plans (CNN)
CNN [3/28/2025 8:56 PM, Sophia Saifi, 52868K]
The first time he flew his cargo plane through the clouds over his hometown of Kabul, Tauheed Khan swelled with pride.
"I flew over my childhood home," he told CNN, on a quiet spring morning in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. "And I was so proud, there was so much joy that I can still taste it, still feel it in my heart.".
During the US-led, 20-year war against the Taliban, Afghan Air Force pilots played a key role alongside American counterparts, some carrying out strikes that inflicted heavy casualties on the hardline Islamists.
That coalition ended in August 2021, when foreign troops withdrew and Kabul fell to the Taliban.
Khan now finds himself in neighboring Pakistan with his young family, fearing that they could be killed if they return to an Afghanistan now under the grip of the very forces he fought against.
Worsening their plight, anti-migrant policies in both Washington and Islamabad mean time is running out to find a safe alternative, including a looming deadline at the end of this month.
The war, which began with the US invasion in 2001 following the September 11 attacks, devastated Afghanistan’s civilian population, which is still recovering.
The ousting of the Taliban by the US-led coalition led to profound changes, including a return of democracy and significant improvements for Afghanistan’s women. But war and instability raged across swathes of the nation, especially in rural areas.
Tens of thousands were killed. Civilian losses escalated to 5,183 dead in the first six months of 2021, as the US began to pull out from Afghanistan and depend further on the Afghan military. A five-year study published by the United Nations in 2021 showed that 785 children died from US and AAF airstrikes over that period.
As the US finally pulled out, the Afghan army and government collapsed, allowing Taliban fighters to sweep back into power. Afghans affiliated with the former government are "most at risk" from the new Taliban administration, according to a report published by Human Rights Watch.
HRW and the United Nations have documented "extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, and torture and other ill-treatment" of Afghans who were in the security forces.‘Pilots risk everything’
Due to their high visibility in the local community, many pilots feared revenge attacks after the Taliban takeover. Khan told CNN that in his time in the air force, "eight to 10" of his colleagues were killed in "targeted explosions and shootings" by the Taliban.
Shawn Vandiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, a leading US coalition of resettlement and veterans’ groups, told CNN that "these pilots risked everything for America. Their lives are now on the line because of our failure to follow through on our promises.".
Khan’s friend, 37-year-old Khapalwaka is equally terrified. A trained aviation engineer, he worked as part of the AAF’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance program. His job involved clearing out civilian areas before they were targeted by US drone strikes.
He said he was assigned the task by his superiors, something he had often protested. "I soon became a target of the local Taliban faction," said Khapalwaka, who had to move house every "three to four months" for safety reasons, even before Kabul fell.
Now selling wood by the roadside to feed his family, Khapalwaka – who, like Khan, was speaking under a pseudonym – said he’s concerned the Taliban could reach him in Pakistan too. "I know that they have contacts here, that they could target me here if they wanted… I just want to get out of here, so my daughters have a chance to be educated.".
The Afghan Taliban denied that former pilots were at risk if they returned.
"We don’t have any problem with them," spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid told CNN. "The pilots who want to return to Afghanistan are needed because they are an asset to the country and important military personnel. Some of their colleagues are already at work, serving the nation, and they will also be treated with dignity.".
The US embassy in Islamabad did not respond to a request to comment.
Left in limbo
Khan sat in a small room of his tiny apartment in a non-descript Islamabad building. Bedspreads shrouded windows as makeshift curtains, but slivers of sunlight poked through, making harsh blotches on the faces of his small children, who slept tucked together in frayed blankets on the floor, oblivious to the sound around them.
The youngest child was awake and constantly jumping on Khan’s lap as he spoke of the life he left behind.
In the chaos that ensued after the US withdrawal, Khan got to Pakistan in March 2022. He arrived legally and on foot, following the advice of a US pilot who had been one of his trainers.
Khan told CNN that he had been following the steps of the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and, after two years of waiting, finally made it to the US embassy for an interview in April last year, with a view to resettling in the US.
In the past two months, White House policy has moved in a less predictable, more anti-migrant direction under President Donald Trump, throwing into doubt the prospects for Afghans such as Khan.
Tens of thousands of Afghans have already been caught in limbo due to other Trump administration executive orders suspending the US refugee admissions program and the suspension of foreign aid funding for flights of Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders. According to #AfghanEvac, at least 2,000 Afghans who had previously been approved to resettle in the US are currently in limbo.
And there are fears of a travel ban even bigger than the one the US president imposed during his previous term, with a US official familiar with the situation telling CNN that Afghanistan could be among the countries affected.
March 31 deadline for Afghans in Pakistan
And the days of Pakistan offering at least relative safety may be numbered.
Home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations – most of them from Afghanistan – Pakistan has not always welcomed the foreigners, subjecting them to hostile living conditions and threatening deportation over the years.
According to the UN refugee agency, more than 3 million Afghan refugees, including registered refugees and more than 800,000 undocumented people, are living in Pakistan.
Islamabad has been cracking down on Afghan refugees since October 2023. It had shown leniency towards Afghans awaiting settlement elsewhere, but that changed after an announcement this February that it would repatriate "Afghan nationals bound for 3rd country resettlement," by March 31.
Abbas Khan, Pakistan’s chief commissioner for Afghan refugees, told CNN that his country "simply doesn’t have the resources to support" migrants in transit.
That deadline will arrive on the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, which ends the holy month of Ramadan. It is a time of celebration, feasting and gift-giving, but for Jawad Ahmed, a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the AAF, it feels like "all days are melting into one".
Ahmed, who is fasting for Ramadan, told CNN he "was always afraid something can happen to my family," because of his military past.
"I was known in my hometown as someone who worked with the US military and I was a military man myself," said Ahmed, whose name has also been changed at his request to protect his identity.
He arrived in Pakistan legally and was in limbo for two years. He said he interviewed with US immigration officers in May of 2024 and had his medical interview on January 10 at the US embassy. Since then, like many others including Khan, Ahmad has heard nothing from any US embassy official.
Ahmed spoke of seeing Pakistani police "whisk away" his Afghan neighbors, with an increase in raids over the last two months. His children are "overwhelmed with fear and terror.".‘Death, difficulties and horrors’
But returning to Afghanistan could be even worse, according to Ahmed. "Only death, difficulties and horrors await us there" he said.
Ahmed’s family in Afghanistan have adopted new names and identities for their safety, eking out a life in a new province.
"Nobody knows about me where they are, nobody knows that they had a son, that they had a brother, in their new world it’s as if I never existed.".
He repeatedly asks for his message to be shared with President Trump and the US government.
"You trained us, we were there for you in a difficult time, we stood shoulder to shoulder with you," said Ahmed. "We don’t have options in Pakistan, what can we do, please for the love of God get us out of here. We don’t have a life here; we are choking with fear.".
A serving US air force pilot, who asked to remain anonymous, has been assisting Afghan pilots they served alongside.
"When the country fell apart, I was inundated with calls for assistance. Like many service members in my same situation, I did what I could and attempted to lean into the problem" the pilot told CNN. "I raised money and wrote memos of support.".
While serving soldiers have had some success helping families escape to the US, they still "fear for" their Afghan counterparts stuck in Pakistan and other countries and have "anxiety about their current situation and their future," the pilot said.
Abandoning former partners, according to Vandiver of #AfghanEvac, sends a "chilling message to future US allies – whether in Ukraine, Taiwan, or elsewhere – that partnering with the US is a death sentence once the war ends.".
"China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia are going to eat our lunch because of this.".
A spokesperson for the US embassy said it remains in close communication with Pakistan on the status of Afghan nationals seeking resettlement in America.
As Eid approaches, Tauheed Khan and his friendship group of 27 Afghan pilots and engineers stuck in Islamabad, dream of eating meat to end their fast, of access to education for their children, of new clothes, a better home to live in with proper beds and of a way out.
"We are scared we will be dragged out," says Khan. "We are under too much pressure, we don’t know what’s going to happen.". The Taliban leader says there is no need for Western laws in Afghanistan (AP)
AP [3/30/2025 8:30 PM, Staff, 62527K]
The Taliban leader said Sunday there was no need for Western laws in Afghanistan and that democracy was dead as long as sharia laws are in effect.Hibatullah Akhundzada made the comments in a sermon marking the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Fitr, in the southern city of Kandahar’s Eidgah Mosque. The 50-minute audio of his message was published on X by the Taliban government’s chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.“There is no need for laws that originate from the West. We will create our own laws,” Akhundzada said, speaking in Pashto, while emphasizing the importance of Islamic laws.The Taliban’s interpretation of sharia has led to bans on Afghan women and girls, who have been excluded them from education, many jobs and most public spaces. Such measures have isolated the Taliban on the world stage, although they have established diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.Akhundzada has taken a stronger hand in directing policy since the Taliban seized control of the country in 2021, despite some officials initially promising a more moderate rule.Akhundzada on Sunday criticized the West, saying non-believers had united against Muslims and that the U.S. and others were united in their hostility toward Islam, citing the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.Democracy had come to an end in Afghanistan and sharia was in effect, he said, adding that supporters of democracy were trying to separate the people from the Taliban government.The Taliban have no credible opposition inside or outside the country, but some senior figures within the administration have criticized the leadership’s decision-making process and concentration of power in Akhundzada’s circle.Some Taliban want greater engagement with the international community and scrapping harsher policies to attract more outside support. In recent months, however, there has been increased engagement between the Taliban and the U.S. under President Donald Trump, mostly because of prisoner exchanges and releases. Pakistan
Pakistan plans to expel 3 million Afghans from the country this year (AP)
AP [3/31/2025 4:35 AM, Riaz Khan and Riazat Butt, 456K]
Pakistan plans to expel 3 million Afghans from the country this year, as a deadline for them to voluntarily leave the capital and surrounding areas expired on Monday.It’s the latest phase of a nationwide crackdown launched in October 2023 to expel foreigners living in Pakistan illegally, mostly Afghans. The campaign has drawn fire from rights groups, the Taliban government, and the U.N.Arrests and deportations were due to begin April 1 but were pushed back to April 10 because of the Eid al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramadan, according to government documents seen by The Associated Press.About 845,000 Afghans have left Pakistan over the past 18 months, figures from the International Organization for Migration show.Pakistan says 3 million Afghans remain. Of these, 1,344,584 hold Proof of Registration cards, while 807,402 have Afghan Citizen Cards. There are a further 1 million Afghans who are in the country illegally because they have no paperwork.Pakistan said it will make sure that Afghans do not return once deported.Authorities wanted Afghan Citizen cardholders to leave the capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi city by March 31 and return to Afghanistan voluntarily or be deported.Those with Proof of Registration can stay in Pakistan until June 30, while Afghans bound for third-country resettlement must also leave Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31.Authorities have said they will work with foreign diplomatic missions to resettle Afghans, failing which they will also be deported from Pakistan.Tens of thousands of Afghans fled after the Taliban takeover in 2021. They were approved for resettlement in the U.S. through a program that helps people at risk because of their work with the American government, media, aid agencies, and rights groups.However, President Donald Trump paused U.S. refugee programs in January and 20,000 Afghans are now in limbo.The Taliban want Afghan refugees to return with dignity
“No Afghan officials to be made part of any committee or formal decision-making process,” one of the documents said about the expulsion plans.A spokesman for Afghanistan’s Refugee Ministry, Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, told The Associated Press that Pakistan was taking decisions arbitrarily, without involving the U.N. refugee agency or the Taliban government.“We have shared our problems with them, stating that unilaterally expelling refugees is neither in their interest nor ours,” said Haqqani. “It is not in their interest because expelling them in this way raises hatred against Pakistan.“For us, it is natural that managing so many Afghans coming back is a challenge. We have requested they should be deported through a mechanism and mutual understanding so they can return with dignity.”Two transit stations will be set up in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to help with deportations. One will be in Nasir Bagh, an area in the Peshawar suburbs. The second will be in the border town of Landi Kotal, some 7 kilometers from the Torkham crossing.Afghans are unsure of their future in a country they don’t knowIt is not clear what will happen to children born in Pakistan to Afghan parents, Afghan couples with different document types, and families where one parent is a Pakistani citizen and the other is Afghan. But officials indicated to the AP that social welfare staff will be on hand to help with such cases.Omaid Khan, 30, has an Afghan Citizen Card while his wife has Proof of Registration. According to Pakistani government policy, he has to leave but his wife can stay until June 30. Their two children have no documents, including passports or identity cards from either country.“I am from Paktia province but I have never been there and I am not sure about my future,” he said.Nazir Ahmed was born in the southwest Pakistani city of Quetta and has never been to Afghanistan. His only connection to the country was through his father, who died in Quetta four years ago.“How can we go there?” said Ahmed, who is 21. “Few people know us. All our relatives live in Quetta. What will we do if we go there? We appeal to the Pakistani government to give us some time so we can go and find out, at least get some employment.” Hundreds Of Thousands Of Afghans In Pakistan Brace For Deportations (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [3/30/2025 4:14 PM, Farangis Najibullah and Rashid Khattak, 235K]
More than 800,000 Afghans who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover in 2021 live without papers in neighboring Pakistan.
These undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants face a rapidly approaching deportation order issued by Islamabad requiring them to leave the country by March 31.
Another 1.4 million Afghans who are formally registered with the Pakistani government and who hold a Proof of Residence card issued by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) have until June 30 to return to their homeland. Many have lived in Pakistan for decades.
The fate of an additional 40,000 Afghans who are waiting to be resettled to third countries, mostly in the West, is unclear.
Pakistan initially said these at-risk Afghans, a group that includes activists, journalists, and former members of the defunct Western-backed Afghan government and its armed forces, must leave or face deportation by March 31. But a source at the Pakistani Interior Ministry told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that the deadline for them to leave the country has been extended to June 30.
Among this group are some 15,000 Afghans who are waiting to be resettled in the United States, although their status remains unclear after President Donald Trump’s administration announced that the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) would be suspended for at least three months starting on January 27.“We are left in a deep despair,” said Hina, a 25-year-old Afghan woman who lives with her family in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Her family had been cleared for resettlement in the United States and even booked their flights from Islamabad. But now they are in limbo.“Our dreams of building a safe future [in the United States] have been shattered,” added Hina. “We can’t return to Afghanistan where our lives will be at risk, nor can we build a stable life in Pakistan.”
Growing Fears
Pakistan has already forcibly deported more than 800,000 undocumented Afghans since 2023, when it launched a major crackdown, according to the UN.
The deportees have returned to a country gripped by devastating humanitarian and economic crises, and many have struggled to access shelter, health care, and food and water.
The deportations have coincided with tensions soaring between the unrecognized Taliban government in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Islamabad has accused the Taliban of sheltering Pakistani militants, a claim rejected by the Afghan militant group.
Ahead of the March 31 deadline, Pakistani police conducted night raids and arbitrarily detained and arrested hundreds of Afghan refugees in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby city of Rawalpindi, according to international rights groups.
Videos shared on social media show Pakistani police using loudspeakers to order undocumented Afghans to leave Islamabad.
"The problem is that our children go to school here and we have jobs here,” Obaidullah, an undocumented Afghan refugee living in Peshawar, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “What will we do in Afghanistan?”
Dire Situation
The tens of thousands of Afghans who are awaiting resettlement abroad face a race against time.
Many of them are in a dire financial situation in Pakistan, said Maiwand Alami, who leads an NGO to help Afghan refugees in Islamabad.“They have sold their homes in Afghanistan, but that money has since run out,” Alami told RFE/RL. “But [their] biggest problem is uncertainty about their immigration cases. Everybody is anxious about it.”“Afghans in Pakistan are now required to extend their stay every month. It costs 20,000 rupees [about $71] per person which is a lot of money here, especially if you don’t have any income,” Alami said.
The resettlement of Afghans to the West is uncertain amid increasingly anti-migrant sentiment across Europe and the United States.
Trump said 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.”
He ordered the suspension of USRAP “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.” Pakistan threatens to deport Afghan refugees after Donald Trump’s funding cuts (Financial Times)
Financial Times [3/29/2025 4:14 PM, Humza Jilani, 14.6M]
Pakistan is on the verge of deporting nearly 900,000 Afghan refugees after the Trump administration scrapped funding assistance to the country and froze resettlement programmes.
The country hosts about 3mn refugees from Afghanistan, who fled over the neighbour’s porous border seeking shelter from decades of war and since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021
Pakistan’s interior ministry this month warned 870,000 holders of Afghan citizenship cards, which Islamabad began issuing in 2017, to leave “voluntarily” before it began forced repatriations on April 1.“Declining international assistance was a significant point” in the move to increase deportations, according to one senior Pakistani diplomat who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly.
The US accounted for 42 per cent of the more than $100mn in international aid Pakistan received last year for hosting Afghan refugees, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
But US President Donald Trump’s state department has frozen nearly all foreign aid, including refugee assistance programmes. It has also paused all refugee resettlement in the US except on an individual, case-by-case basis in an executive order signed on January 20.
Both the administration’s foreign aid and refugee resettlement freezes have been challenged in court. But western and Pakistani officials said the aid was unlikely to return to previous levels, and even with US funding, international assistance to Pakistan for Afghan refugees last year was far short of a $368mn target set by the UN.
Qaiser Khan Afridi, a UNHCR spokesperson for Pakistan, said the US funding freeze would “hugely impact” the agency’s operations, adding that its “ability to respond in the event of an emergency is also being severely . . . challenged”.
There are also more than 20,000 Afghan refugees and their families who are awaiting resettlement in the US under special immigrant visas for assisting US and Nato forces.
Vice-president JD Vance told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” in January that the vetting process was too weak to allow refugees from Afghanistan to enter the country.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar told Turkish television channel TRT last month these refugees would also be deported if Washington did not accept them by September.
A spokesperson said the US state department was “continually evaluating all of our programs to ensure strategic alignment with the Administration’s America First policy priorities” and was “in close communication” with Islamabad over “the status of Afghan nationals in US resettlement pathways”.
The spokesperson also said that processing of Afghans special immigrant visas continued, adding that visa-holders “may make their own commercial flight arrangements” to the US.
In late 2023, Pakistan began forcibly deporting Afghan refugees, sparking warnings of a humanitarian crisis. More than 800,000 have returned to Afghanistan since then, according to UNHCR.
These include women who were attending schools in Pakistan — which the Taliban has banned — and those at risk of persecution over their support for Nato forces, UN officials and activists have said.
Pakistan has justified the deportations by pointing to a resurgence of violence in its Afghan border regions since the Taliban takeover in Kabul.
But human rights group Amnesty International has recorded “police night raids, harassment and arbitrary detention of hundreds of Afghan refugees, including women and children” in Islamabad.
Relations between the neighbours have deteriorated in recent months as Islamabad has accused the Taliban — which it supported during the 20-year war — of offering a haven to militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and Balochistan Liberation Army.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson for the Taliban government, said that using the refugees “as a pressure tool will not help solve the issues between our countries”.“It will only widen the gap of mistrust between the two neighbours,” he added.
Analysts warned that Afghanistan, which is suffering a severe economic crisis under pressure from sanctions and the loss of western aid, would struggle to integrate millions of displaced arrivals.“The Taliban are saying, ‘bring it on.’ They don’t want Pakistan to have leverage over them,” said Graeme Smith a senior consultant with Crisis Group.
But the returnees were “walking into a real humanitarian disaster and an economy that cannot grow fast enough”, he added. ‘It means death’: Afghan women’s rights activists face deportation from Pakistan (The Guardian)
The Guardian [3/30/2025 12:00 AM, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, 78938K]
More than 50 prominent female Afghan women’s rights activists sheltering in Pakistan are facing deportation home, where they fear they will be imprisoned or killed under Taliban rule.
Under a draconian policy, the Pakistan government has pledged to deport millions of Afghan nationals, after relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan severely deteriorated and attacks by militants in the border areas surged.
Pakistan government ministers have accused Afghans of being "terrorists" and "traitors" who are fuelling crime and militancy in the country.
Pakistan began deportations of Afghan refugees in September 2023. According to a recent report by Amnesty International, so far at least 844,499 Afghan nationals have been forcibly deported back to Afghanistan where they are at "real risk of persecution by the Taliban".
Among those facing the threat of returning to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are 60 female activists and human rights defenders, who fled persecution after they spoke out for women’s rights and education or attended protests. Many have been forced into hiding in recent weeks, as police have been going door-to-door in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, arbitrarily arresting any Afghans and allegedly demanding huge bribes.
Humaira Alim worked as a women’s rights and education activist in Afghanistan for seven years before the Taliban came back to power in 2021. After women were deprived of the right to work and then attend university under the group’s strict Islamic rule, she was among a group of women who defied the Taliban and helped organise protests on the streets.
But after facing "dire warnings" and then direct threats to her life from the Taliban for her activism when pregnant with her first child, Alim said she had "no choice" but to flee over the border to Pakistan in December 2022.
She has stayed in Islamabad ever since, living with her two young children on a visa that has been given monthly. Alim described her situation as an "awful nightmare", as all Afghan nationals – even those who had lived in Pakistan for decades – were now facing routine persecution and harassment from the police. She and her children were recently forced to hide on the roof of their home as officers came looking for them.
"If they send me back to Afghanistan, it only means death," she said. "The Taliban have records on me and my activism. There is no place for women like me. They only arrest and torture us. I can’t go back there with my children.".
Alim said she knew dozens of other Afghan women like her, who had worked as activists, lawyers and human rights defenders and faced harassment or torture at the hands of the Taliban, who were now in hiding in Pakistan.
Liliana Harrington, senior campaigner for Avaaz, an organisation that has been advocating for the women, said: "Deporting these people to the Taliban is a death sentence. Pakistan would not only abandon these brave people to their oppressors but also abandon its proud legacy of protecting vulnerable Afghans.".
The Pakistan government has given all undocumented Afghan nationals a deadline of 31 March to leave the country, otherwise they will be arrested. Alim said she and other female activists were just asking for more time, to find a third country who might be able to offer them asylum. Currently, they are waiting to see if they get an offer from Brazil or if other countries will offer them a safe haven.
The widespread expulsion drew condemnation from Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for south Asia. "The Pakistani authorities are violating the rights of Afghan refugees with impunity, subjecting them to arbitrary decisions that are shrouded in secrecy, totally lacking transparency and accountability," she said. Pakistan says it killed 10 civilians during an anti-militant operation in the northwest (AP)
AP [3/30/2025 1:09 AM, Staff, 34586K]
Pakistan said it killed 10 civilians during an anti-militant operation in the country’s northwest and promised to investigate the circumstances.
Authorities made the admission Saturday evening about the deaths, which occurred in the early hours of that morning in a remote hilltop area of Katlang, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
It is rare for Pakistan to reveal civilian casualties resulting from anti-militant activities and it was not immediately clear how the Saturday operations were carried out.
According to provincial government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif, reports indicated the location was being used as a "hideout and transit point for terrorist" elements. Subsequent information revealed that some unarmed civilians were present in the vicinity of the site, Saif added.
Locals said 10 bodies, including those of women and children, were recovered from the area where government officials claimed the anti-militant operation had taken place.
They belonged to the Swat region and were nomads with livestock in the Shamozai mountains, the locals added. Their families protested the deaths by placing the bodies on the Swat Highway.
The loss of unarmed individuals was deeply regrettable and the tragic incident occurred as a consequence of targeting terrorists, said spokesman Saif.
"The safety of civilians is always a top priority during such operations. However, due to complex geography, terrorists using civilian populations as cover, and the urgent nature of the operation, unintended consequences can sometimes occur.".
Immediate medical assistance was being provided to the injured and compensation for the families of the deceased was being ensured, he added.
A statement from the provincial government said the operation "successfully neutralized several high-value targets" linked to ongoing militant activities in the region. It also said, "the fog of war can sometimes lead to unintended consequences.". India
India and US making progress towards trade deal, officials say (Reuters)
Reuters [3/29/2025 10:50 AM, Manoj Kumar, 126906K]
Indian and U.S. officials discussed trade issues including the reduction of tariffs and easing of non-tariff barriers, making progress towards a bilateral trade agreement during several days of talks in New Delhi, they said on Saturday.The negotiations, led by officials from India’s commerce ministry and a U.S. trade delegation headed by Brendan Lynch, assistant U.S. trade representative for South and Central Asia, were held from March 26-29.Separately, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau spoke with Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri about efforts to reduce trade barriers and achieve a "fair and balanced bilateral trade relationship", while also strengthening defence and technology cooperation to bolster regional security.Landau thanked India for its efforts in addressing illegal immigration to the United States and urged continued cooperation, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.The talks come as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to impose reciprocal tariffs on multiple trading partners from April 2, with India hoping for an exemption amid the bilateral talks. Both countries aim to sign the first tranche of a bilateral trade deal by autumn."The successful conclusion of the discussions reflects progress in efforts to expand India-U.S. bilateral trade and investment relations to promote prosperity, security and innovation in both countries," a statement by India’s commerce ministry said.Last month, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, India pledged to boost purchases of U.S. energy products and defence equipment, and the two sides agreed to aim for a deal targeting bilateral trade of $500 billion by 2030.Trump has called India a "tariff king", with the U.S. wanting India to reduce levies on products ranging from agricultural goods and alcoholic beverages to automobiles, and seeking greater market access for U.S. companies.Piyush Goyal, India’s trade minister, visited Washington earlier this month for talks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.Sector-specific expert engagements for the bilateral trade agreement will begin virtually in the coming weeks, followed by an in-person negotiating round, the joint statement said.The U.S. currently has a $45.6 billion trade deficit with India. While the U.S. trade-weighted average tariff rate stands at about 2.2%, India’s average tariff is significantly higher at 12%, according to World Trade Organization data. No Sign Of India Tariff Relief As US Trade Mission Ends (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [3/30/2025 2:14 AM, Staff, 931K]
India and the United States have agreed to finalise part of a bilateral trade deal by this year but neither side gave indications of any tariff exemptions for the world’s most populous nation.
Both countries held trade talks in New Delhi this week days out from the start of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal trade tariff regime, which includes punitive import levies against India, from April 2.
India’s protectionist policies and its trade surplus with the United States leave it open to potential retaliatory tariffs from the Trump administration.
Officials from both sides had "broadly come to an understanding on the next steps towards a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with the goal to finalize its first tranche by fall 2025," India’s commerce ministry said in a statement late Saturday.
Both countries "exchanged views on deepening bilateral cooperation in priority areas including increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers and deepening supply chain integration".
There was no suggestion in the statement however that any action on those barriers would be taken ahead of Tuesday, when new US tariffs on its worldwide trade partners are slated to start.
Credit rating agency India Ratings and Research projects that the proposed tariffs could see the country’s exports to the United States decline by up to $7.3 billion in the next fiscal year.
The world’s fifth-largest economy has over the last two months sought to reduce trade tensions with Washington by cutting tariffs on a few products, including high-end motorcycles and bourbon whiskey.
Before this week’s trade mission, Indian media reports had suggested the government might offer to scrap a levy on online services such as advertising.
The reports also said New Delhi was willing to cut tariffs on cars, electronics and medical services.
The Indian Express newspaper, quoting an unnamed government official, reported Sunday that the counterparts had "substantial convergence on the contours of a trade deal".
They had not however finalised terms of reference to clearly define the scope of a trade agreement, the report said.
The US decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on nations that purchase oil from Venezuela will also affect India, which has been a buyer of the Latin American country’s crude.Trump, after calling out India as "one of the highest tariffing nations in the world", later hinted that "it’s going to work out very well" with New Delhi, without giving further details. India, others look to lower trade barriers to avoid Trump reciprocal tariffs (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [3/30/2025 4:50 PM, Staff, 1191K]
With U.S. President Donald Trump set to announce reciprocal tariffs this coming Wednesday, India and the European Union are considering steps to lower trade barriers. But such moves are not guaranteed to lead to relief.The reciprocal tariffs are designed to increase American tariffs to the same levels as those of trading partners. In addition to the target countries’ tariffs, the Trump administration is expected to consider nontariff barriers, tax rates and other policies when determining reciprocal tariff rates.The reciprocal tariffs are expected to target markets that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls the "dirty 15" -- a set of around 15% of trading partners that impose high tariffs and nontariff barriers. This has prompted those believed to be on the list to review their tariffs and nontariff barriers.Among countries that have large trade surpluses with the U.S., India is scrambling to draw up measures to deal with the prospective reciprocal tariffs.India, which aims to sign a trade deal with the U.S. by year-end, is reportedly looking to lower tariffs on a majority of goods than it imports from the country.The U.S. had a 2024 goods trade deficit of $45.7 billion with India -- a protectionist economic powerhouse that had an average tariff rate of 17% in 2023. A White House official has described India as the "maharaja of tariffs," using a word for a Hindu prince.When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. in February, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly asked him at dinner why India does not buy a bushel of American corn if India’s economy is so great.Ahead of Modi’s visit, India had already lowered tariffs on large motorcycles, luxury automobiles and bourbon. Reductions could be made for agricultural products, autos and other goods.European Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic met with U.S. officials including Lutnick last Tuesday. Sefcovic called the talks "substantive," yet he could not dissuade the U.S. from announcing tariffs on European and other imported autos the following day.The European Commission has since reportedly begun considering compromises, such as tariff cuts and deregulation. It wants to avoid getting hit with reciprocal tariffs on top of the auto tariffs.Vietnam, with which the U.S. had its third-largest goods trade deficit by country in 2024, announced on Tuesday that it will lower its tariff on American liquefied natural gas from 5% to 2%. Tariffs on autos, currently between 45% and 64%, are to go down to 32%.Some governments are considering a revision to digital services taxes on U.S. tech giants. Countries in Europe and the Global South have introduced such taxes, but the Trump administration has objected on the grounds that they target American companies.The BBC has reported that the U.K. is considering a revision of its 2% digital services tax. India will soon scrap its 6% digital services tax on online advertising under a budget passed last week.Brazil is reportedly leaning toward shelving a bill that would have taxed Big Tech companies.Meanwhile, Japan has fewer cards to play. Tokyo basically imposes no tariffs on industrial products and does not have a digital services tax. Japan and the U.S. began working-level talks on Thursday, but there are no prospects for getting Japan excluded from auto tariffs and the proposed reciprocal tariffs."We’re going to make it all countries, and we’re going to make it very lenient," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this past Wednesday. "I think people are going to be very surprised. It’ll be, in many cases, less than the tariff that they’ve been charging us for decades."But it is unclear how the administration will evaluate efforts by the trading partners to lower trade barriers. In particular, the severity of nontariff barriers can change, depending on the interpretation, so there are concerns that the Trump administration will use them as an excuse to impose high reciprocal tariffs. Trump wants India to buy US corn - but here’s why it probably won’t (BBC)
BBC [3/30/2025 6:37 PM, Soutik Biswas, 69.9M]
Why won’t India buy even a single bushel of American corn?
That’s the question US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised recently while criticising India’s trade policies, taking a swipe at its market restrictions.
In another interview, Lutnick accused India of blocking US farmers and urged it to open its agricultural market - suggesting quotas or limits as a possible approach.
Agriculture is a key battleground in US President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, with tit-for-tat or reciprocal tariffs set to kick in on 2 April.
Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries.Trump has repeatedly branded India a "tariff king" and a "big abuser" of trade ties.
For years, Washington has pushed for greater access to India’s farm sector, seeing it as a major untapped market. But India has fiercely protected it, citing food security, livelihoods and interests of millions of small farmers.
To be sure, India’s transformation from a food-deficient nation to a food-surplus powerhouse is one of its biggest success stories.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, the country relied on food aid to feed its population, but a series of agricultural breakthroughs changed that. India became self-sufficient in staples, and became the world’s largest milk producer. Rapid growth in horticulture, poultry and aquaculture expanded its food basket.
Today, India is not just feeding its 1.4 billion people but, as the world’s eighth-largest agri-produce exporter, also shipping grains, fruits and dairy worldwide.
Yet, despite such major gains, Indian agriculture still lags in productivity, infrastructure and market access. Global price volatility and climate change add to the challenge. Crop yields lag far behind the global best. Small landholdings worsen the problem - Indian farmers work with less than a hectare on average, while their American counterparts had over 46 hectares in 2020.
No surprise then that productivity remains low, even though farming remains India’s backbone, supporting over 700 million people, nearly half the country’s population. Agriculture employs nearly half of India’s workforce but accounts for just 15% of GDP. In comparison, less than 2% of the US population depends on farming. With limited manufacturing jobs, more people are stuck in low-paying farm work, an unusual trend for a developing country.
This structural imbalance also shapes India’s trade policies. Despite its farm surplus, India keeps tariffs high to shield its farmers from cheap imports. It maintains moderate to high tariffs - ranging from zero to 150% - on farm imports.
The weighted average tariff - the average duty rate per imported product - in India on US farm products is 37.7%, compared to 5.3% on Indian agricultural goods in the US, according to the Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
Bilateral farm trade between India and the US is modest, at just $8bn (£6.2bn).
India mainly exports rice, shrimp, honey, vegetable extracts, castor oil and black pepper, while the US sends almonds, walnuts, pistachios, apples and lentils.
But as the two countries work on a trade deal, experts say Washington now wants to push "big-ticket" farm exports - wheat, cotton, corn and maize - to narrow its $45bn trade deficit with India.
"They’re not looking to export berries and stuff this time. The game is much bigger," says Biswajit Dhar, a trade expert from the Delhi-based Council for Social Development think tank.
Pushing India to lower farm tariffs, cut price support and open up to genetically modified (GM) crops and dairy ignores the fundamental asymmetry in global agriculture, experts argue.
The US, for instance, heavily subsidises its agriculture and protects farmers through crop insurance.
"In some cases," says Ajay Srivastava of GTRI, "US subsidies exceed 100% of production costs, creating an uneven playing field that could devastate India’s smallholder farmers."
Abhijit Das, former head of the Centre for WTO Studies at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, says "the key thing to remember is that agriculture in the two countries is entirely different".
"The US has commercial agriculture, while India relies on intensive, subsistence farming. It’s a question of the livelihoods of millions of Indians versus the interests of US agribusiness."
But India’s agricultural challenges aren’t just external. Mr Dhar says much of the sector’s struggles are "its own doing". Farming has long been underfunded, receiving less than 6% of India’s total investment - funds meant for infrastructure, machinery and other long-term assets crucial for growth.
To protect millions of livelihoods, the government shields key crops like wheat, rice and dairy with import duties and price support. "But even that doesn’t inspire confidence," he says.
Four years ago, tens of thousands of farmers held protests demanding better prices and legal guarantees of minimum government support-price for staples, mainly wheat and rice.
"Even relatively well-off farmers selling surpluses don’t see a turnaround anytime soon. And if they feel that way, imagine the plight of subsistence farmers," says Mr Dhar.
Beyond domestic discontent, trade negotiations add another layer of complexity.
Mr Das says the real challenge for India will be how "to have an agreement with the US that takes into account US export interest in agriculture while balancing India’s interests in the farm sector".
So what’s the way forward?
"India must not yield to US pressure to open its agriculture sector," says Mr Srivastava. He warns that doing so would disrupt millions of livelihoods, threaten food security and flood local markets with cheap imports.
"India must prioritise its national interest and protect its rural economy. Trade cooperation should not come at the cost of our farmers, food sovereignty or policy autonomy."
In the long run, experts say India must modernise its agriculture, making farming more remunerative, and become more competitive to boost exports. Unupom Kausik of agri-business Olam estimates that with top global yields, India could generate a surplus of 200 million metric tonnes of paddy - enough to supply global trade and combat hunger.
"In a way, Trump is holding up a mirror to us. We’ve done little to invest in agriculture’s productive capacity," says Mr Dhar. "For now, buying time is the best strategy - maybe offering the US cheaper imports of industrial goods as a trade-off."
But for the best outcome, he says, India will have to "play hardball. Basically, tell the US - we’re open to negotiations on other fronts, but don’t destabilise our agriculture".
Clearly India’s challenge is to negotiate from a position of strength - offering just enough to keep Washington at the table while safeguarding its rural backbone. After all, in global trade as in farming, timing and patience often yield the best harvest. The jury is out on whether Trump is willing to wait. India signs $7 billion deal for 156 combat helicopters in modernisation push (Reuters)
Reuters [3/28/2025 11:57 AM, Shivam Patel, 5.2M]
India will buy 156 combat helicopters for its air force and army in a deal worth over $7.3 billion, the defence ministry said on Friday, marking one of the biggest purchases this financial year in the country’s drive to modernise its military.
The dual-engine ‘Prachand’ helicopter manufactured by Indian warplane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HIAE.NS) is powered by engines co-developed with France’s Safran (SAF.PA) and can operate at an altitude of 5,000 metres and above.
India has been making efforts to boost its domestic defence production to achieve self-reliance and shield itself from disruptions in global supply chains after being the world’s top arms importer for years, with Russia as its main supplier.
New Delhi’s recent defence purchases are driven by its aim to modernise its armed forces by gradually weaning them off their Soviet-origin weapons and boost their capabilities in the face of arch-rival China’s growing military strength.
India’s defence ministry said it signed two contracts for 66 helicopters for its air force and 90 for its army, and that the supply is expected to begin after three years.
"This decision marks a major boost to India’s combat capabilities and self-reliance in defence," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote in a social media post. "Helicopter ‘Prachand’ is a powerful machine."
The Indian Air Force first began inducting the helicopter into its fleet in 2022. Indian defence officials have previously said that nations in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America have shown interest in buying it from India. At least 4 police, 3 suspected militants killed in Kashmir fighting (AP)
AP [3/28/2025 4:11 AM, Staff, 456K]
At least four police officials and three suspected militants were killed in a protracted gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Friday.
The fighting began on Thursday after police counterinsurgency officials and soldiers cordoned off a forested area in Jammu region’s southern Kathua district on a tip that anti-India insurgents were hiding there, police said.
In the fierce fighting in which combatants used guns, grenades and rockets, three police officials and three suspected rebels were killed while at least six police and two soldiers were injured on Thursday, police said. The body of another policeman was spotted on Friday.
Officials said the bodies of the fallen combatants were yet to be retrieved as the fighting raged in the area.Security officials believe the group engaged in the fighting is likely the one that escaped a security cordon after a brief exchange of gunfire some 30 kilometers (19 miles) away from the area on Sunday.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
But since 2019, the territory has simmered in anger when New Delhi ended the region’s semi-autonomy and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms while intensifying counterinsurgency operations.
While Kashmir Valley, the heart of the anti-India rebellion, has witnessed many militants killed in counter-rebel operations, remote areas of Jammu region including Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua have seen deadly attacks against Indian troops in the past few years. At least 60 soldiers have been killed in such attacks. Indian security forces kill 16 Maoist rebels in firefight (Reuters)
Reuters [3/29/2025 2:14 AM, Jatindra Dash, 62527K]
Indian security forces killed at least 16 Maoist rebels in a gun battle in the central state of Chhattisgarh, police said on Saturday.
The extreme left-wing rebels have waged a guerrilla offensive against the government, especially in central and eastern India, for decades, leading to intense clashes and casualties on both sides.
In Friday’s incident, security forces found a variety of guns during a search in Sukma in southern Chhattisgarh, police said in a statement.
The rebels say they are fighting to give poor Indian farmers and landless labourers more control over their land and a greater claim to minerals being exploited by major mining companies.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has vowed to eliminate the insurgency, and clashes between security forces and Maoists have intensified since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power for a third term last year. At least one passenger dead as 11 carriages derailed in India train accident (The Independent)
The Independent [3/30/2025 8:01 AM, Shweta Sharma, 44838K]
At least one passenger has died and seven others were injured as 11 coaches of an express train derailed in the Indian state of Odisha on Sunday.The train was travelling from southern India’s Bengaluru city towards the city of Kamakhya, its destination, when it derailed mid-journey at 11.54am local time.
The coaches came off the tracks near Cuttack, Odisha, where hundreds of passengers were stranded on the railway tracks as the authorities scrambled to arrange a substitute train.
Odisha Fire Service director-general Sudhansu Sarangi confirmed seven passengers were injured and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. However, officials have yet to confirm any fatality in the accident.
An eyewitness on the scene told The Independent one person died and eight were rushed to a hospital while dozens were injured in the accident.
Footage from the scene showed passengers climbing out of the derailed coaches of the train with their luggage as workers tried to look through the damaged section of the train.
Enraged passengers who were left stranded for hours said there was no drinking water as they waited for help.
East Coast Railway spokesperson Ashok Kumar Mishra said: "Arrangements are being made to help the affected passengers reach their destinations. Our priority is to restore the line at the earliest and accordingly, other trains will be diverted," he said.
Three trains have been diverted so far because of the train derailment.
This is the latest derailment on the country’s vast and essential rail network, raising concerns over the safety of a network on which millions of people depend each day.
The incident in Odisha comes almost two years after the state saw one of the deadliest accidents in modern Indian history, when a collision between three trains killed nearly 300 people with over 1,000 injuries.
"We do not know why train mishaps are frequently occurring in Odisha. We are hearing that some work was going on and it was not done properly for which the mishap occurred," a passenger told OTV news.
On 22 January this year at least 13 people were killed after passengers disembarked from a train following rumours if fire and were killed after being hit by another high speed train in in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district.
On 30 July last year, 18 coaches of the Mumbai-Howrah Mail derailed near Jamshedpur in Jharkhand after colliding with a goods train. At least two people died in the accident.
According to a latest report by the Commission of Railway Safety, the number of railway accidents increased from 35 in 2021-22 to 48 in 2022-23, with serious accidents doubling in successive years. NSB
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh welcome $73 million in new U.S. financial aid (AP)
AP [3/28/2025 9:26 AM, Shafique Rahman, 456K]
The U.S. government has confirmed it would provide $73 million in new financial aid for Rohingya refugees through the United Nations’ food agency, easing worries among more than 1 million refugees that essential food rations would be cut.
Aid agencies, the U.N. and refugees have voiced concerns after the World Food Program warned it may be affected after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was cutting international aid.
The World Food Program said earlier this month that if it is not able to raise funds, it will have no option but to halve food rations to $6 a month from previous $12.50 in Bangladesh’s southern coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, where the Rohingya live in sprawling camps.
Bangladesh government’s Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, told reporters that he received confirmation from the WFP on Thursday that refugees in Cox’s Bazar — as well as the thousands who have been relocated to Bhashan Char island — will continue to receive $12 to $13 a month each in aid.“This food and nutrition support through WFP will provide critically needed food and nutrition assistance for more than one million people,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.“It is important that our international partners engage with sharing the burden with life-saving assistance such as this,” Bruce added.
The U.S. had been the largest provider of aid to the Rohingya refugees, contributing nearly $2.4 billion since 2017 and providing the U.N. with emergency food and nutrition assistance, according to the State Department. The U.S. provided about $300 million in humanitarian aid for the Rohingyas in 2024.
Refugees in Cox’s Bazar welcomed the announcement that aid will continue.“I am glad that the President of America is donating the money, which will help (provide food) our grandchildren. We are very happy,” said 60-year-old Hussain Bahar.
Forid Alam, a 36-year-old refugee at Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp, said the announcement was a gift coming days before Muslims’ largest festival Eid al-Fitr.“We are grateful to the people of Bangladesh, its government, and the donors who are donating. We are so thrilled after hearing the news ahead of Eid that we don’t have words to express our gratitude. We are praying from the bottom of our hearts and are truly glad,” he said.
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, who visited Bangladesh recently, said Cox’s Bazar is “ground zero for the impact of the budget cuts on people in desperate need.”Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya reside in Bangladesh, including more than 700,000 who arrived in 2017 fleeing persecution in Myanmar. About 70,000 others crossed the border from Myanmar in 2024 when, during fighting with the military junta, the opposition force known as the Arakan Army effectively took over the Rakhine state where Rohingya were displaced.
Bangladesh says repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar is the ultimate solution, but complexities over verification and other diplomatic and political issues have made the refugees’ return uncertain. Bangladesh’s main opposition warns of instability if elections delayed beyond December (Reuters)
Reuters [3/30/2025 9:03 PM, Krishna N. Das, 5.2M]
Bangladesh’s main opposition party has warned of instability and "strong resentment within the people" if elections are not held by December, after the country’s de facto prime minister said the poll could be delayed until 2026.
An unelected interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been running the South Asian country of 173 million since August, after deadly student-led protests forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a long-time India ally, to flee to New Delhi.
The country’s two biggest parties, Hasina’s Awami League and rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had both wanted elections to be held last year, but Yunus said in a speech on Tuesday that a vote could be held between December 2025 and June 2026.
That would give time for reforms to conduct "the most free, fair and credible elections in Bangladesh", Yunus said. The opposition and some Western countries alleged widespread rigging in the previous elections by Hasina, which she denied.
Earlier this month, a former ministerial colleague of Yunus, student leader Nahid Islam, said elections this year would be difficult as policing and law and order have not yet been fully restored.
But the opposition BNP wants a return to democracy this year, said Abdul Moyeen Khan, a member of the party’s highest decision-making body and a former minister of science and information technology.
"We will try to convince them that the best way for them is to call an election as soon as possible and go for an honourable exit," Khan told Reuters in an interview on Saturday, referring to the interim government.
"December is a generally agreed-upon schedule. Beyond December would make things more complicated," said Khan, speaking from Washington D.C. where he is seeking meetings with U.S. officials to discuss Bangladesh.
"There will be strong resentment within the people of Bangladesh. That means some instability maybe... Time will decide."
Khan is the first senior BNP figure to warn of consequences if elections are not held this year.
NO PRE-POLL COALITION FOR BNP
Hasina’s Awami League has largely disintegrated with the prime minister and other senior leaders out of the country or on the run.
BNP’s main rivals in the next election are likely to be Islam’s newly launched students outfit, Jatiya Nagorik Party or the National Citizen Party. Student leaders have said Bangladeshis are tired of the two established parties and want change.
But Khan said internal BNP surveys show the party would win an easy majority in any election held within the next year and that acting party chief Tarique Rahman would return to Dhaka from his self-imposed exile in London when elections are announced.
Several court orders against him and his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, have been overturned in recent months, potentially allowing him to return.
BNP chairperson Zia, who suffers from liver cirrhosis and heart problems and has been recovering in London since January, is "far better now than how she was in Bangladesh", but unlikely to return to active politics, Khan said after a recent meeting with her.
Khan said the BNP had no plans yet to contest the election as part of any coalition, but once elected it would be open to working with other parties, including the students’ Jatiya Nagorik Party.
"After the election, we’d be happy to form a government with everyone who is in favour of democracy," he said. ‘My target is those who have looted my banks’: Bangladesh’s bank governor chases vanished assets (The Guardian)
The Guardian [3/29/2025 4:00 AM, Rob Davies, 78.9M]
Diminutive and softly spoken, Dr Ahsan Mansur does not project the image of a man able to strike fear into the hearts of hardened kleptocrats.
Yet Bangladesh’s central bank governor has rattled someone powerful, if the events of recent days are anything to go by.
Mansur, 74, has been in London this month, meeting Foreign Office minister Catherine West, NGOs, lawyers and experts in tracing assets.
They have promised to help him track down tens of billions of dollars in funds allegedly stolen from the south Asian country’s banking system under the regime of Sheikh Hasina, the autocrat deposed in last year’s student-led revolution.
In advance of his visit, several MPs were sent emails attempting to discredit Mansur.
It is not clear who is behind the campaign, which one MP termed “disinformation”. But Mansur is in little doubt. “The asset recovery effort … is to go after those people who have diverted massive amounts of resources from Bangladesh and, in particular, from the banking system,” he told the Observer.“We know the names, we all know the names, and they or their operators are putting it together [the alleged disinformation campaign].“The sole purpose is to diminish my reputation and show that ‘whatever he says is not what he is’.”
The emails linked to articles written by “journalists” whose names turned out to be fake and whose pictures the Observer found to be stock images. They focused particularly on the expensive clothing and apparent financial comfort of Mansur’s daughter, Mehreen.
If Mansur was investigating the unexplained wealth of Bangladeshis, they suggested, why was his own family excluded? “She is an American citizen, she has little to do with Bangladesh,” he said.“Why [does] her dress code have to be different from an American? My advisers tell me to ignore it. Or I can quit. But if I quit, they win.”
The most bemusing part was an email sent by one British reputation management firm that accused him of being “prepared to impugn” Tulip Siddiq, the UK’s former City minister and niece of Sheikh Hasina.
Siddiq resigned from the ministerial role, which included oversight of anti-corruption, earlier this year after Dhaka’s anti-corruption commission filed a criminal case against her. She has denied all wrongdoing.
Mansur may be leading Bangladesh’s asset tracking endeavour, but he says he is not involved in the accusations against Siddiq. “I’ve never said anything to do with her situation,” said Mansur. “My primary target is those who have looted my banks.”
London may be the key to that mission. The Trump administration’s decision to gut USAID has choked off one funding stream for the transitional government in Dhaka, as it tries to put the country’s economy on a sound footing.
That leaves the UK as the friendliest major economy, albeit one with a potentially less savoury role to play in hunting Bangladeshi assets.
As investigations by the Guardian, Financial Times and Al Jazeera have shown, some of the allies of the Hasina regime now being investigated for corruption have poured hundreds of millions of pounds into London property.“It’s one of the favoured destinations for these kleptocrats, not just from Bangladesh but from other countries. It’s a haven, no question about it,” said Mansur.“How much has been repatriated ever from Britain? Not much.”But the UK, he says, is very supportive of Bangladesh’s plan to recoup misappropriated assets, a notoriously difficult and time-consuming task.
Experts from the National Crime Agency have flown out to Dhaka to advise investigators there, while private companies are helping too.
Earlier this month, Mansur hosted a meeting of dozens of law firms, litigation funders and asset trackers who are keen to help out, albeit more in the hope of a fee than out of a moral imperative. So oversubscribed was the summit that late sign-ups had to join via a spillover Zoom call.“We consider that British law has a lot of strong provisions against these kinds of activities,” said Mansur. “The [English] legal system has a reputation and if we can have some victories here, we can achieve similar victories in other jurisdictions.“We are all newcomers in this game. I’ve never had experience dealing with these kinds of kleptocrats and asset recovery issues.”
Back home in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi authorities are hoping to secure legal judgments against a clutch of major business and political figures accused of corruption.
The next step, according to Mansur, would be a formal request to the British government to impose freezing orders against assets held in the UK. “It’s part of the sanctions process,” he said. “We are trying to accelerate it. We’d like to see significant action on that front this year.”
He acknowledges that the ball is now in Dhaka’s court, with evidence-gathering key to ensuring that the UK and the wider international community can trace, freeze and repatriate allegedly misappropriated assets.“This is the money of the common people who deposited [it] in banks and it’s been taken out with complete disregard to the law of the land,” said Mansur.
Plugging the resulting holes in the banking system is the starting point for stabilising the Bangladeshi economy long term, he said.
Getting that process right is one reason why he came out of retirement in his 70s. “It’s very bad for my health because my blood pressure is up and down. The doctor says take a rest and here I am doing 15 meetings a day.”
But Mansur, who spent more than 25 years working at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, could not resist being there at the start of Bangladesh’s next chapter.“During Sheikh Hasina’s time, the government offered me the governorship. I politely refused.“I could not accept because I knew she’d fire me in three months and then I’d have to keep my mouth shut or leave the country. I didn’t want to do either.”
The speed with which Hasina’s Awami League regime fell surprised Mansur. The fact of the regime’s demise did not. “I never thought I’d see this revolution in my lifetime. She used to control everything in the country, it was like the Hitler regime.“But I knew one thing: their economic mismanagement was going to bring them down.“Everything happened much faster than what anybody could have thought. It’s a major relief, hopefully for much better things to come.” A New Chapter in Dhaka-Beijing Ties? Why Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus Is Visiting China (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [3/28/2025 7:18 PM, Md Obaidullah, 53K]
The visit of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, to China from March 26 to 29 is more than a regular diplomatic visit. It represents the beginning of a new chapter in Dhaka-Beijing ties in a geopolitical environment characterized by rapid change, uncertainty, and regional competitiveness.
After years of stable and robust political ties with China and India during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, Dr. Yunus’ four-day official visit coincides with a period of political transformation in Bangladesh. The regional status quo has been visibly disrupted by the fall of the Awami League government, Hasina’s departure, and India’s apparent diplomatic uneasiness, which is visible in its stringent visa policies for people of Bangladesh.
Is Bangladesh attempting to reorient its foreign alliances at this time?
On the surface, Yunus’ visit appears to be a continuation – China has long been Bangladesh’s biggest trading partner and an important ally for development. Hasina herself visited China less than a month before she was forced from office.
However, underneath that, there may be an indication of a change in direction or, at the very least, a rebalancing. The fact that Dr. Yunus’ entourage includes advisers on infrastructure, energy, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implies that the visit is more than a mere symbolic effort. The interim government is looking to broaden collaboration with China in a variety of fields, including infrastructure, renewable energy, health, and trade and investment.
China seems keen to take advantage of the occasion. Chinese officials view the visit as a foundation for more extensive strategic collaboration rather than just a ceremonial exchange – especially as the two countries mark 50 years of diplomatic ties in 2025.
There are several pressing factors that explain the timing and urgency of the visit.
First is the quickly shifting regional geopolitical landscape. India’s apparent displeasure with the current government – which is demonstrated by restricts on visas and a decline in diplomatic warmth – has left a vacuum. China, which has never been a spectator in South Asian affairs, is filling this void by presenting itself as a reliable partner with no political demands. This strategic patience was demonstrated by Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen’s recent remark that China maintains a consistent foreign policy despite shifts in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs.
Accelerating economic recovery and change during a politically volatile period is the primary objective of Yunus and the interim government. Even though the government is only temporary, this administration is expected to lead Bangladesh through the reconstruction process after the political crisis. Because of this, the nation requires infrastructure development, employment creation, and foreign investment. China is an obvious choice because of its substantial financial resources and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework.
The Rohingya issue is a persistent political and humanitarian problem for Bangladesh. China’s enduring influence over Myanmar and its past attempts at mediation offer Dhaka a potential channel to revive stalled repatriation efforts. That Yunus has included the Rohingya issue on his agenda in China is a calculated move to leverage Beijing’s regional leverage.
The Dhaka-Beijing economic relationship suffers from major asymmetry, though there has been a robust trade volume. Last year, according to OEC data, China exported $22.9 billion worth of goods to Bangladesh, while Bangladesh just exported $677 million in return. Reducing this trade imbalance appears to be one of Yunus’ objectives.
There are signs of progress. The interim government has announced China’s interest in importing Bangladeshi agricultural products such as mangoes, jackfruit, and guava – niche markets that can create rural income and smallholder empowerment.
Furthermore, talks about China’s Longji establishing a solar panel factory in Bangladesh signal industrial cooperation beyond just imports. Besides that specific project, there have been discussions more broadly around the relocation of Chinese manufacturing units to Bangladesh. With rising labor costs and geopolitical tensions like the trade war with the United States affecting China’s own production efforts, Dhaka’s low-cost labor, access to maritime routes, and good access to markets such as the EU offer real promise.
An overlooked yet significant component of Yunus’ visit is health cooperation. India has long been the main destination for Bangladeshi patients seeking better service at affordable costs. However, with India limiting visas, many Bangladeshis in immediate need of medical care have turned to China as an alternative.
In response to that, China has designated three top-tier hospitals in Yunnan Province for Bangladeshi patients. This is a good example of soft power diplomacy, where humanitarian assistance intersects with strategic influence.
Moreover, it is symbolic. Previously, regional health tourism was dominated by India. Now, China is competing in this sector as well. This shows Beijing’s growing readiness to provide comprehensive partnerships – from ports to patients, from bridges to bilateral trust.
Political Neutrality or Strategic Realignment?
Still, the visit should not be interpreted too broadly. Keep in mind that Yunus hosted U.S. Army Pacific deputy commander Lt. Gen. Joel P. Vowell just one day before his flight to China. During the exchange, Bangladesh and the United States reiterated their dedication to strategic communication, interoperability, and military cooperation.
By keeping both major powers – China and the United States – involved, Bangladesh is only hedging its risks as it seeks to protect national interests.
That said, the interim government is establishing the stage for a long-term strategic realignment, even though it is still referred to as "transitional." This entails expanding collaborations outside a traditionally India-centric framework and granting China greater influence in Bangladesh’s energy, infrastructural, and educational sectors.
Yunus had originally intended to visit India before China, but Dhaka is now moving toward Beijing as a result of New Delhi’s lackluster greeting. Whether intended or not, this trend could have a big impact on South Asian regional politics.
The visit will conclude on March 29 after Yunus speaks to Peking University students and takes part in the Boao Forum for Asia, which has as its topic "Asia in a Changing World: Towards a Shared Future." At the Boao Forum, Yunus will speak about innovation, inclusive globalization, and sustainable development alongside CEOs and world leaders.
Importantly, this engagement highlights Bangladesh’s desire to position itself as a participant in regional and international discussions rather than merely as a recipient of aid or investment.
Yunus’ visit to China is unquestionably an assertion of Bangladesh’s foreign policy agency, even though it does not explicitly represent a shift away from traditional allies like the United States or India. Countries must manage during tumultuous times with practicality rather than sentiment and populism. In this multipolar world, it appears that Yunus is merely looking for opportunities and constructing bridges where they are needed.
One thing is certain as Bangladesh undergoes political change: legacy ties will no longer be the sole defining factor in foreign relations. Instead, Bangladesh’s foreign relationship will be influenced by economic vision, diplomatic ability, and strategic demands. Yunus’ visit to China serves as both an early test and possibly a turning point for this new diplomatic approach. Protests Demanding Restoration of Monarchy in Nepal Turn Deadly (New York Times)
New York Times [3/28/2025 4:14 PM, Bhadra Sharma, 831K]
At least two people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Nepal on Friday as protesters calling for the restoration of the monarchy in the Himalayan nation clashed with security forces, officials said.
The protesters are calling for the return of Gyanendra Shah, the last royal ruler of Nepal before the monarchy was dissolved in 2008 in favor of a secular republic. They are demanding a constitutional monarchy that declares Nepal a parliamentary democracy with a Hindu identity.
The two dead were identified as a protester and a television journalist, according to Dinesh Kumar Acharya, a spokesman for the Nepali police. The protester died of bullet wounds, while the journalist died after protesters set fire to a building from which he was filming, Mr. Acharya added. He said that at least 30 civilians and 40 police personnel were among the injured.
The government declared a curfew in large parts of the capital city, Kathmandu, and deployed the army to help restore order.
Monarchists have begun a fresh wave of protests in recent months, accusing established political parties, including that of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, of being corrupt and of failing to lead the country out of poverty and political chaos.
Earlier this month, Mr. Oli rejected the idea of returning to a monarchy and said that the former king could instead run in the next elections in 2027, according to Nepali media.“If he wants to rise to power, let him contest elections in the mountains, hills or Tarai,” the lowland region, Mr. Oli was reported as saying. “Our constitution does not recognize kings, and no one should dream of reinstating monarchy.”
A day after consulting with the former king, the protesters on Thursday gave the government an ultimatum: Restore the monarchy or face intensifying protests. They then called for a large protest on Friday in Kathmandu, and thousands heeded the call.
To disperse the protesters, the police deployed a large number of officers, some of whom fired tear gas. The protesters retaliated, vandalizing and setting fire to government offices, shopping malls, private houses and the offices of political parties and news outlets.
As the clashing protesters and police moved toward the international airport, authorities briefly halted flights, and the army was deployed to help restore control.
Mr. Shah, the 77-year-old former monarch, remains deeply controversial in Nepal. He stepped down in 2008 in the face of protests, ending approximately 240 years of dynastic rule over the small nation. Much of his family had been wiped out in 2001 by a troubled prince in a court massacre.
Power has frequently changed hands among a small number of parties in Nepal, and its governments have been short-lived. In the chaos of this young democracy, Mr. Shah’s supporters cling to the hope of his return.
Political analysts, however, see little chance of a restoration. It would require the Constitution to be amended by parliament, where the monarchists hold very few seats.“Constitutionally, there’s no quick fix,” said Bipin Adhikari, a law professor at Kathmandu University, adding that continued political uncertainty will only open the way for the military to try to play a more central role in a country that is already struggling with poverty and deeply vulnerable to effects of climate change. At least 2 dead in Nepal after pro-monarchy supporters clash with police during rally (AP)
AP [3/28/2025 11:19 AM, Binaj Gurubacharya, 456K]
A television cameraman was among two people who died on Friday when supporters of Nepal ‘s former king clashed with police during a rally in the capital to demand restoration of the Himalayan nation’s abolished monarchy.
Several protesters and police officers were injured in the clashes. The Home Ministry said an injured protester died while getting treatment at a hospital, while a local TV station said one of its staff was killed when a building he was filming from was set on fire.The government imposed a curfew in the areas where the clashes happened in Kathmandu after the police in riot gear used tear gas, batons and water canon against the protesters.
Thousands of supporters of former king Gyanendra Shah had gathered at the eastern edge of Kathmandu for the rally organized by an alliance of groups supporting the ex-monarch.
The gathering near the airport had been planned as a peaceful rally, but trouble began when some protesters in a white pickup drove at a police barricade, colliding with several officers. Police responded by shooting tear gas shells and spraying the crowd with water canon.
On the other side of the capital, thousands of people who support the present republican system of government gathered Friday for a counter rally. The rally participants were from the opposition parties led by the Maoists, a group that fought an armed rebellion from 1996-2006 to oust the monarchy.“It is impossible for the monarchy to come back. It is ridiculous to even think that something that is already dead and cremated could come back to life,” said Ram Kumar Shrestha, a Maoist supporter.
There has been growing demand in recent months for Shah to be reinstated as king and Hinduism to be brought back as a state religion. Royalist groups accuse the country’s major political parties of corruption and failed governance and say people are frustrated with politicians.“We need the country to return to monarchy and the king to come back, because the political parties and system have failed in the country,” said Rajendra Bahadur Khati, one of the participants at the pro-monarchy rally. “When the source is so polluted the entire system has gotten rotten.”
Massive street protests in 2006 forced Gyanendra to give up his authoritarian rule, and two years later the parliament voted to abolish the monarchy.
Gyanendra, who left the Royal Palace to live as commoner, has not commented on the calls for the return of monarchy. Despite growing support, the former king has little chance of immediately returning to power. Nepal investigates deadly violence in pro-monarchy rally (Reuters)
Reuters [3/29/2025 1:19 AM, Gopal Sharma, 62527K]
Nepal’s government is investigating deadly violence that occurred during a rally by the supporters of the former king seeking the restoration of constitutional monarchy, a minister said on Saturday.
Two people were killed on Friday and at least 112 injured, including 77 security officials, authorities said, after police used force to stop the stone-throwing crowd from marching towards the parliament building in the capital Kathmandu.
Protesters vandalised homes, shops, a hospital, a political party office, vehicles and a shopping mall and snatched a weapon from the police, the authorities in the Himalayan nation said."This is sheer vandalism, arson, looting and anarchy. It cannot be a protest," cabinet spokesman Prithvi Subba Gurung, the minister of communication and information technology, told Reuters.
Rishiram Tiwari, Kathmandu’s chief district officer, said 105 protesters including some pro-monarchy leaders were taken into custody.
Nepal’s 239-year-old monarchy was abolished in 2008 by a specially elected assembly as part of a deal with Maoist former rebels, ending an insurgency that killed 17,000 people between 1996 and 2006.
The last king, 77-year-old Gyanendra, lives as a commoner with his family in a private house in Kathmandu.
Political instability has rocked Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries, with 14 governments since the abolition of the monarchy, hampering economic growth and discouraging investment.
Public frustration has risen over the failure of successive governments to deliver on commitments to develop the economy of the country, a natural buffer between Asian giants China and India. Three Years After A Revolution, Sri Lanka’s Impressive Recovery (Forbes – opinion)
Forbes [3/30/2025 2:16 PM, Vasuki Shastry, 91738K]
On May 9, 2022, Sri Lanka’s embattled Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned in the face of massive anti-government protests. His brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, attempted to stay on but had to resign and flee the country two months later. The ouster of the seemingly invincible Rajapaksa dynasty was a revolution like no other in South Asia, until similar "people’s power" protests led to the ouster of Bangladesh strongwoman Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
Yet as Bangladesh struggles to determine a democratic path forward, the interim government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus could perhaps learn valuable lessons in political, economic, and social cohesion from Sri Lanka. In a word, Sri Lanka has defied the odds and emerged significantly stronger from the dark days of the 2022 revolution.
Faced with widespread food, fuel, and medicine shortages, commentators were quick to judge the country as a failing state. The economy was hobbled by a $35 billion debt burden and the hastily installed interim President Ranil Wickremesinghe, a wily political figure tainted by his association with the Rajapakasas, faced the daunting task of building economic and political stability in the face of deep public anger and scepticism.
In retrospect, Sri Lanka’s political class and the international community — in particular, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and bilateral donors like India — got three things right to steady the ship and build conditions for economic recovery. These have implications for other countries emerging from political and economic crises as well.
The foundational lesson is that any interim government has to be short-term in tenure and set a timetable for elections. At moments, it appeared that President Wickremasinghe would hesitate and stall the electoral process. However, he relented because the signal from the street was that the public preferred early elections. In presidential elections held last September, Wickremasinghe was handily defeated by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who despite his Marxist revolutionary credentials has continued to implement reforms, and complied with IMF conditions in exchange for financial support.
The support of the IMF and Sri Lanka’s bilateral creditors like India was critical in ensuring that Sri Lanka’s dangerous descent was reversed. In a recent article published in Sri Lankan media, the IMF’s staff team writes that in the two years since the program was introduced, "much needed reforms were undertaken with significant gains." The economy has rebounded strongly and quickly — it grew 5 % in 2024 and in only 18 months recovered just under half of the output lost from the peak in 2018 to the nadir in 2023. This is an impressive achievement, which demonstrates that strong national ownership of difficult economic reforms, when combined with timely international support, can deliver positive results. At a time when multilateralism is under threat, the international support for Sri Lanka shows that the system, despite its many flaws, still has the ability to deliver.
The final lesson from Sri Lanka has been its success in negotiating difficult debt restructuring with bilateral official and private creditors. This was never going to be easy as the bruising experience of several low-income African nations has shown. China and private creditors have often held up the restructuring process and groupings like the G20 have been helpless bystanders. In Sri Lanka’s case, it helped that the country was placed in a different category of a middle-income, emerging nation, which provided the incentive for private creditors to reach agreement on outstanding bonds of around $12 billion. China was also motivated to show flexibility due to the competitive presence of rival India, which had provided a much needed line of credit in the immediate aftermath of the revolution.
I hasten to add that Sri Lanka is by no means fully recovered from the 2022 crisis. The government needs to do much more in terms of building sustained economic growth, combating corruption, and in healing North-South wounds from the devastating civil war. While Sri Lankans appear pleased with the performance of the current government, their continued support is contingent upon the expansion of economic opportunity. The ball is now firmly in the hands of President Dissanayake to move beyond the recovery phase with ambitious reforms. However, for the moment, Sri Lanka can take a well-deserved victory lap, and I hope Bangladesh is taking notes. Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to hold 1st trilateral summit (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [3/31/2025 4:07 AM, Paul Bartlett, 1.2M]
Connectivity is all the rage in Central Asia as the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet on Monday to sign off on a deal to demarcate their borders, allowing the leaders to focus on cooperating in several areas.
The presidents will gather in Khujand, Tajikistan, for their first trilateral summit. Their agenda includes regional security, stability and prosperity, boosting trade and diversifying trade routes.
On March 13, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed a historic deal settling their borders more than 30 years after the countries became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The agreement is a remarkable achievement given that it was only three years ago the neighbors were drawn into fighting that left scores dead.
"The border had been a serious flashpoint, resulting in the most serious inter-state fighting between Central Asian countries since independence," Edward Lemon, president of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and a research assistant professor at Texas A&M University, told Nikkei Asia.
"Reasons for addressing the border issue include the need to focus on other issues, the high cost of military spending for the region’s two poorest states and the desire to boost trade," Lemon said.
The agreement drew praise from many quarters. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lauded the "leadership, determination and political will to bring the decades-long negotiation process to a successful conclusion."
The deal is notable as it was achieved with little influence from regional powers Russia and China.
"The recent border deal, which had minimal external mediation, is a great example of Central Asian states taking the initiative," Lemon said.
At the heart of the previously disputed territory is the Fergana Valley, a fertile region with excellent conditions for agriculture that is shared by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The valley is a key producer of cotton, wheat, raw silk and fresh and dried fruits. It is also Central Asia’s most densely populated area, leading to frequent clashes over access to precious arable land and water resources.
With the borders finally settled, regional trade could expand. At a meeting earlier this month, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan outlined a goal to increase trade to $500 million by 2030.
"It is very ambitious," Lemon said. "Trade in 2019, before the major border clashes and closures due to COVID, stood at $50 million." In 2023, bilateral trade fell to $12 million.
In 2023, Kyrgyzstan’s trade with Uzbekistan exceeded $1 billion, while trade between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan exceeded $500 million.
Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, a common market of Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Kyrgyz want to act as a gateway for Tajik products to reach those markets, a move that would considerably increase trade.
Another potential income generator is CASA-1000, a project to create the infrastructure to send 1,300 megawatts of energy from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During the summer, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have a surplus of hydroelectric power. Afghanistan and Pakistan, meanwhile, suffer from acute electricity shortages.
"Should the primary consumer of the electricity, Afghanistan, be able to afford it, then trade turnover will certainly rise," Lemon said.
Diversifying trade corridors is also on the agenda. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a scramble to find new routes that avoid Russia.
At the end of last year, work began on a railroad linking China with Uzbekistan via Kyrgyzstan. This will optimize the flow of goods between the three countries and ultimately link China and Kyrgyzstan with South Asia. Uzbekistan recently started work to establish new rail links with Afghanistan and onward to Pakistan and its Arabian Sea ports.
"Central Asia’s states want to avoid reliance on any single external power," Lemon said, "and regionalism forms a strategy through which they can try to enhance their independence by taking ownership over regional issues." Uzbekistan: Free Blogger from Forced Psychiatric Detention (Human Rights Watch)
Human Rights Watch [3/31/2025 12:30 AM, Staff, 1.6M]
The Uzbekistan government should immediately release and compensate the blogger and activist Valijon Kalonov who has been forcibly detained in a psychiatric hospital since December 2021, the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch said today.
On February 28, 2025, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued an opinion regarding the legality of Kalonov’s detention under international human rights law. It found that he had been “arbitrarily detained” and urged the government “to release him immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.”“Valijon Kalonov’s forced psychiatric detention is nothing more than retaliation for his criticism of government policies,” said Umida Niyazova, director of the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights. “Kalonov did not call for violence, threaten violence, or say or do anything that posed a threat to anyone.”
Kalonov is a 55-year-old blogger from Jizzakh city, in Central Uzbekistan, who has criticized the government of Uzbekistan and in 2021 called for a boycott of the presidential elections. He had also spoken out against China’s discrimination against the Uyghurs.
In August 2021, the authorities placed him under arrest and charged him with “threatening public safety” and “insulting the president online” on the basis of statements he posted on social media. The authorities alleged the statements contained ideas of “religious fundamentalism,” as well as public insult and slander against Uzbekistan’s president.
Kalonov was placed in a psychiatric hospital in the Jizzakh region after a court, in December 2021, ruled that he could not be held criminally liable and should undergo compulsory psychiatric treatment. Those who know Kalonov say he does not have any mental health disability, which also would not be justifiable grounds on which to detain him.
In its 2021 ruling, the court cited a state-commissioned psychiatric assessment of Kalonov, which had concluded that “Kalonov Valijon suffers from a chronic mental illness in the form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and a violation of logical thinking. At the time of the crime, he did not understand and was not fully aware of his actions. The crime committed by Kalonov, his mental state and illness can be dangerous for society.”
This is not the first time the Uzbek authorities have used bogus psychiatric assessments and forced psychiatric treatment to silence and discredit critics, the rights groups said. Kalonov’s detention follows a pattern of similar cases in which activists have been falsely diagnosed with mental illness based on state-ordered forensic examinations.
The veteran rights activist Elena Urlaeva was forcibly detained in a psychiatric hospital five times between 2001 and 2016. While she was in the hospital, officials tied her to her bed for hours and forcibly administered psychotropic drugs, which have had a lasting physical and emotional impact.
Michael Perlin, professor emeritus at New York Law School, is founding director of the International Mental Disability Law Reform Project. He was co-petitioner of the complaint filed to the UN working group and told the rights groups that “[f]orced psychiatric detention is a barbaric abuse of the medical profession that dates back to Soviet times. In circumstances such as those in this case, it is a violation of the prohibition on improper treatment and should be immediately prohibited.” He also underscored that “[b]ecause forced psychiatric treatment is often administered in institutions far from any third-party oversight, patients, whether they have a mental disability or not, are extremely vulnerable to abuse.”
In its February 28 opinion, the UN working group concluded that Kalonov was arbitrarily detained in violation of articles 2, 7, and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2, 19, and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The working group urged the Government of Uzbekistan “to ensure a full and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Kalonov’s arbitrary deprivation of liberty” and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.
Uzbekistan’s international partners should urge Uzbekistan to immediately release Kalonov and provide reparations, in accordance with the working group’s decision. They should also call on Uzbekistan to implement fully another working group decision in February 2023 concerning the blogger Otabek Sattoriy. In that decision, the working group concluded that “the basis for the arrest and subsequent detention of Mr. Sattoriy was in fact his exercise of freedom of expression” and to release him immediately and provide reparations. In February 2024, Sattoriy was granted early release from prison, but he has not been given any reparations.
The government of Uzbekistan celebrated the recent election of its National Center for Human Rights director, Akmal Saidov, to the UN Human Rights Committee, as an expert in his individual capacity. Yet Uzbekistan has a demonstrably poor track record when it comes to implementing decisions of UN human rights bodies, including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The Uzbekistan government should respect all UN human rights bodies and experts and act in accordance with their decisions, the groups said.“The government of Uzbekistan needs to release Kalonov immediately, but they also owe him reparations and should investigate how he ended up in psychiatric detention in the first place,” said Mihra Rittmann, senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Kalonov shouldn’t have to spend another day unlawfully and abusively locked up.” Twitter
Afghanistan
Abdul Qahar Balkhi@QaharBalkhi[3/29/2025 5:46 AM, 256.2K followers, 69 retweets, 208 likes]
Interview with @CBSEveningNews @ImtiazTyab regarding Afghan-US relations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gNktqmQRdU
Abdullah Ibrahim@iAbdIbrahim[3/30/2025 9:50 AM, 3.3K followers, 10 retweets, 43 likes]
The latest updates on relations between Afghanistan and the United States of America 1. Diplomatic Path Forward in US-Afghan RelationsAbdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, said that the best path forward in US-Afghan relations is diplomatic engagement and addressing shared concerns and interests.2. Speculation Surrounds US Weapons Left in Afghanistan
This comes amid speculation about a possible deal with the Trump administration regarding leftover US weapons in Afghanistan.3. Firm Rejection of Assets-for-Weapons Proposal In an interview with CBS News, Balkhi responded to remarks by former President Trump, who suggested that Afghanistan’s frozen central bank assets could be exchanged for US weapons. Balkhi firmly rejected this, saying the funds belonged to the Afghan people and were unjustly frozen. “Those assets are the assets of the state of Afghanistan and states don’t give away their assets to other states. People don’t make deals on the assets of the states; they make agreements through long, long conversations through dialogue and engagement … we had it with the Trump administration previously and we would like to have that dialogue continue in the future,” he said.4. Desire to Resume Bilateral Dialogue and DiplomacyBalkhi emphasized that if normal relations are established, both sides could cooperate on mutual interests. He stated that the Islamic Emirate has no objection to the US reopening its embassy in Kabul, and in turn, wishes to reopen its embassy in Washington and consulate in New York, citing the need for consular services for the Afghan diaspora. “We would like to reopen our embassy in Washington, and we have no objection to the US reopening theirs in Kabul,” he said.5. Reassurance on Security and Regional StabilityOn the topic of security, Balkhi stressed that Afghanistan poses no threat to other nations and that ISIS has no stronghold in the country. He emphasized continued engagement with the US on security, humanitarian aid, and other areas to ensure that mutual commitments are honored.6. Openness to Resource-Based CooperationIn response to a question about potential cooperation with the US government on Afghanistan’s natural resources, Balkhi said: “Our doors are open to all, we seek to open a new chapter with everyone including the United States of America.”7. Position on Women’s Education and SovereigntyWhen asked about the educational restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan, Balkhi responded that “It’s the sovereign prerogative of states on how they pursue these issues.” “It’s the sovereign prerogative of states on what laws and rules they decide,” he said.
8. Willingness to Engage Despite International CriticismBalkhi reiterated the Islamic Emirate’s desire to negotiate with the Trump administration on shared interests, including human rights and trade, signaling a willingness to engage with the international community despite criticism over internal policies. @MoFA_Afg @QaharBalkhi @HafizZiaAhmad @marcorubio @StateDept @USEmbassyKabul
Zalmay Khalilzad@realZalmayMK[3/29/2025 3:13 PM, 259.4K followers, 166 retweets, 790 likes]
The recently released American Prisoner Faye Hall in a very nice statement thanks @POTUS for his leadership and her freedom. #USA
Zalmay Khalilzad@realZalmayMK[3/29/2025 12:31 PM, 259.4K followers, 659 retweets, 3.5K likes]
American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home. Thank you, #Qatar, for your ongoing and steadfast partnership. #USA #Afghanistan
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman[3/29/2025 1:57 PM, 219.2K followers, 8 retweets, 30 likes]
Another US citizen has been released by the Taliban, and again with assistance from Qatar. Soon after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the US designated Qatar to represent its interests in Kabul. That decision has been paying off in quite visible ways in recent weeks. Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz[3/30/2025 10:24 AM, 6.7M followers, 219 retweets, 776 likes]
I extend my warmest felicitations on the blessed occasion of Eid al-Fitr, as we conclude the holy month of Ramadan , a time in which Allah Almighty granted us the honor and privilege of fasting, prayer, and spiritual renewal. On this blessed day, I pray that Allah continues to bless our nation with lasting security, stability, and prosperity, and grants peace and tranquility to the Islamic world and all of humanity. Eid Mubarak, and may the year ahead brings abundant joy, health and lasting happiness. (Ameen)
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz[3/30/2025 8:23 AM, 6.7M followers, 91 retweets, 401 likes]
It was a pleasure to speak with my dear brother H.E. Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev and extend Eid-ul-Fitr greetings to him and the people of Uzbekistan. President Mirziyoyev warmly reciprocated the sentiments for me and the people of Pakistan, and conveyed his Eid felicitations to President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to further strengthening Pakistan-Uzbekistan relations, particularly in light of my recent visit to Tashkent. I also reiterated my invitation to President Mirziyoyev for an early visit to Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz[3/30/2025 8:44 AM, 6.7M followers, 142 retweets, 531 likes]
Had the pleasure of speaking with my brother President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan today. Conveyed my heartfelt Eid greetings to him and the brotherly people of Tajikistan. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to deepening Pakistan-Tajikistan ties, that have grown stronger since my visit to Dushanbe last July. Congratulated him on the recent Kyrgyz-Tajik border treaty. I look forward to participating in the High-Level Event on Glaciers’ Preservation in Dushanbe this May. Also, reiterated my invitation for President Rahmon to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience. India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/30/2025 11:15 PM, 107M followers, 3.3K retweets, 28K likes]
Greetings on Eid-ul-Fitr. May this festival enhance the spirit of hope, harmony and kindness in our society. May there be joy and success in all your endeavours. Eid Mubarak!
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/30/2025 6:04 AM, 107M followers, 3K retweets, 20K likes]
I visited the Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited facility in Nagpur and inaugurated the Loitering Munition Test Range. This will significantly boost self-reliance in the defence sector.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/30/2025 2:44 AM, 107M followers, 2.1K retweets, 6.9K likes]
Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Madhav Netralaya Premium Centre in Nagpur. https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1jMKgkDDWnlKL
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/30/2025 2:07 AM, 107M followers, 3.9K retweets, 21K likes]
Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur stands tall as a symbol of social justice and empowering the downtrodden. Generations of Indians will remain grateful to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar for giving us a Constitution that ensures our dignity and equality. Our Government has always walked on the path shown by Pujya Babasaheb and we reiterate our commitment to working even harder to realise the India he dreamt of.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/30/2025 1:21 AM, 107M followers, 7.2K retweets, 38K likes]
Visiting Smruti Mandir in Nagpur is a very special experience. Making today’s visit even more special is the fact that it has happened on Varsha Pratipada, which is also the Jayanti of Param Pujya Doctor Sahab. Countless people like me derive inspiration and strength from the thoughts of Param Pujya Doctor Sahab and Pujya Guruji. It was an honour to pay homage to these two greats, who envisioned a strong, prosperous and culturally proud Bharat.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/29/2025 6:29 AM, 107M followers, 4.7K retweets, 27K likes]
I will be in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh tomorrow, 30th March to attend various programmes. Upon landing in Nagpur, I will go to Smruti Mandir and thereafter to Deekshabhoomi. After that, will lay the foundation stone for Madhav Netralaya Premium Centre at Nagpur. I will also have the opportunity to visit Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited’s ammunition facility. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2116076
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/29/2025 6:29 AM, 107M followers, 771 retweets, 2.2K likes]
In a big boost to Chhattisgarh’s progress, projects worth Rs. 33,700 crore will either be inaugurated or their foundation stones will be laid. These projects cover the power, oil and gas, rail, road, education and housing sectors.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/28/2025 9:08 AM, 107M followers, 3.1K retweets, 17K likes]
Boosting Bihar’s progress! Cabinet’s approval for a 4-Lane greenfield and brownfield Patna-Arrah-Sasaram corridor is great news for the people of Bihar. It will encourage economic growth and reduce traffic congestion as well. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2116186
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[3/28/2025 9:07 AM, 107M followers, 2.7K retweets, 13K likes]
A strong impetus to self-reliance and making India a hub for electronics component manufacturing! The Cabinet approval for Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme will attract investments and boost job creation. It will encourage innovation as well. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2116172 Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar[3/31/2025 2:52 AM, 3.4M followers, 34 retweets, 342 likes]
Glad to meet Shehzada Husain Burhanuddin and representatives of the Dawoodi Bohra community, alongside MP @milinddeora today. Conveyed Eid greetings and spoke about their inspirational community work.Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar[3/30/2025 9:47 AM, 3.4M followers, 272 retweets, 1.7K likes]
#OperationBrahma continues. @indiannavy ships INS Karmuk and LCU 52 are headed for Yangon with 30 tonnes of disaster relief and medical supplies.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar[3/28/2025 9:26 AM, 3.4M followers, 171 retweets, 946 likes]
Significant decisions taken by Union Cabinet today :- Approved the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme of Rs.22,919 crore to make IN Atmanirbhar in electronics supply chain. Will attract greater investments in electronics manufacturing sector, generate employment and integrate Indian companies into global value chains. - The construction of 4-lane access controlled greenfield and brownfield Patna – Arrah – Sasaram corridor will boost connectivity, enhance infrastructure and foster greater socio - economic development of Bihar.- Inclusion of the Kosi Mechi Intra-State Link Project of Bihar under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana – Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (PMKSY-AIBP). Will ensure irrigation water availability and flood - mitigation in the region.- Approved Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Kharif, 2025 on Phosphatic & Potassic (P&K) fertilizers. A major step to ensure fertilizer availability to nation’s Annadata at subsidised and affordable prices. - Release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 01.01.2025. This decision will benefit about 48.66 lakh Central Government employees & 66.55 lakh pensioners. #CabinetDecisionsRahul Gandhi@RahulGandhi[3/29/2025 5:25 AM, 27.7M followers, 3.1K retweets, 11K likes]
Yesterday, I met with Congress leaders from different communities of Manipur in Parliament. It’s deeply concerning that after nearly two years of violence and now President’s rule, PM Modi has still not visited the state. The people of Manipur deserve peace and stability. Every Indian stands united in wanting a lasting solution to this crisis. Resolving this conflict must be our national priority.
Rahul Gandhi@RahulGandhi[3/28/2025 10:54 PM, 27.7M followers, 5K retweets, 14K likes]
The BJP government has written off ₹16 lakh crore in loans for their billionaire friends. Cronyism, coupled with regulatory mismanagement has pushed India’s banking sector into crisis. This burden is ultimately borne by junior employees, who endure stress and toxic work conditions. On behalf of 782 ex-ICICI Bank employees, a delegation met me in Parliament yesterday. Their stories reveal a disturbing pattern—workplace harassment, forced transfers, retaliation for exposing unethical lending to NPA violators, and terminations without due process. In two tragic cases, this led to suicide. The BJP government’s economic mismanagement has a human cost. This is a matter of utmost concern which affects thousands of honest working professionals around the country. The Congress party will take up this issue in full earnest to fight for justice for these working class professionals and end such workplace harassment and exploitation. If you are a working professional who has faced similar injustice share your story with me at https://rahulgandhi.in/awaazbharatki
Rahul Gandhi@RahulGandhi[3/28/2025 9:48 AM, 27.7M followers, 3.7K retweets, 11K likes]
Across India our youth are falling prey to drugs. India has 2.3 crore opioid and almost 1 crore inhalant users - more than the entire population of Haryana. The government seems unwilling or unable to address this devastating crisis that threatens to destroy an entire generation. While fighting soaring drug-related crimes is urgent, we must also tackle the root economic, social, and mental health related factors driving our youth towards drugs - such as unemployment, hopelessness and societal pressure to conform. I met a delegation of doctors and influencers today from Kerala, where the drug menace is poisoning thousands of young people - leading to a rise in crime, medical emergencies and mental health issues. They talked to me about the immediate need for awareness campaigns, de-addiction centres and counsellors to tackle the increasing drug problem in the state. It is imperative that we work together as a society to address this epidemic, before it destroys even more lives. #NammalJayikkumLahariTholkkum
Abdulla Shahid@abdulla_shahid[3/29/2025 7:20 AM, 119.6K followers, 33 retweets, 65 likes]
As we think about a new world order, I propose three features that I think must be part of it: 1 The developing countries should play a more dominant and decisive role. India has shown the way during the pandemic and through its G20 Presidency that the developing world is ready, and able to do so! 2 The solutions we propose for today’s multi-faceted, multi-dimensional, transboundary issues must be the same - holistic, multi-dimensional, multi-faceted and shared. We cannot think of them as singular problems anymore. 3 Which is why a commitment to multilateralism is still necessary. There is no “going at it alone” @News9Tweets #TV9WITT2025 #WhatIndiaThinksToday #News9GlobalSummit NSB
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB[3/31/2025 12:01 AM, 131K followers, 79 retweets, 994 likes]
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus offers Eid prayers at the National Eid Ground in Dhaka on Monday.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB[3/30/2025 10:25 AM, 131K followers, 177 retweets, 3.2K likes]
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus returned home around 8:10pm on Saturday after a successful tour to China.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB[3/29/2025 5:10 AM, 131K followers, 95 retweets, 1.3K likes]Hong Lei, Assistant Minister, ministry of foreign affairs and also the Chief Protocol Officer of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, sees off CA Muhammad Yunus on Saturday at the Beijing Capital International Airport at the conclusion of his historic 4 day official visit to China.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB[3/28/2025 12:21 PM, 131K followers, 332 retweets, 3.3K likes]
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Friday sought a fifty-year masterplan from China to manage the river and water system in Bangladesh, which is crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv[3/30/2025 8:48 AM, 112.5K followers, 117 retweets, 112 likes]
President Dr @MMuizzu, accompanied by the First Family, attends the “Eid Haveeru 1446” celebrations organised by the @MNDF_Official.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv[3/30/2025 11:41 AM, 112.5K followers, 95 retweets, 99 likes]
President Dr @MMuizzu, accompanied by the First Family joins children gathered for the celebrations at Izzuddin Jetty to cut a specially prepared cake to mark Eid ul-Fitr.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv[3/30/2025 9:28 AM, 112.5K followers, 88 retweets, 88 likes]
Vice President, Uz @HucenSembe, his spouse Aishath Afreen Mohamed, Cabinet members, senior Government officials attend the “Eid Haveeru 1446” held to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv[3/30/2025 1:31 AM, 112.5K followers, 125 retweets, 125 likes]
President Dr @MMuizzu and First Lady Madam @sajidhaamohamed meets members of the public to extend Eid al-Fitr greetings. The gathering was held at Mulee’aage, the official residence of the President. Cabinet Ministers, senior Government officials, Members of Parliament, foreign diplomats, and members of public attended the gathering.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake[3/30/2025 2:34 PM, 146.7K followers, 16 retweets, 150 likes]
As we celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, I extend my heartfelt wishes to all Sri Lankan and global Muslim communities. This festival reminds us of the values of self-discipline, generosity & unity. May it bring peace, reconciliation & prosperity to all. Eid Mubarak!
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake[3/30/2025 8:02 AM, 146.7K followers, 8 retweets, 77 likes]
Today, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in the ‘Outcome is clear - Victory is ours!’ public rally in Deiyandara. Your presence and support have been vital in uniting our community and reinforcing our collective journey toward progress and renewal. Together, we stand for a brighter future!
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake[3/29/2025 2:44 AM, 146.7K followers, 17 retweets, 127 likes]
Just wrapped up a productive meeting with officials from the Transport and Urban Development Ministries yesterday (28). We’re pushing to expedite the Mirigama-Kadawatha section of the Central Expressway and tackle traffic congestion in Colombo. Excited about the proposed pilot project to enhance our railway system!
M U M Ali Sabry@alisabrypc[3/30/2025 3:51 AM, 8K followers, 13 retweets, 46 likes]
Setting the Record Straight: The Legal Reforms Undertaken Between August 2020 – March 2022 In recent times, there appears to be a concerted attempt to overlook or understate the serious work carried out to reform Sri Lanka’s justice system between August 2020 and March 2022. While it may be politically expedient for some to engage in the familiar blame game, facts deserve to be placed on record especially when reform was hard-earned through consultation, commitment, and collaboration. When I assumed office as Minister of Justice, the system was burdened with inefficiencies, outdated laws, procedural delays, and infrastructural neglect. But rather than pointing fingers, we got to work.A Structured, Evidence-Based Reform PlanWith Cabinet approval, we established a comprehensive Legal Reform Task Force built on five clear pillars: 1. Civil Law Reforms 2. Criminal Law Reforms 3. Commercial Law Reforms 4. Digitization of Justice 5. Infrastructure DevelopmentThis was not an ad hoc effort. We appointed 28 subcommittees comprising judges, senior lawyers, academics, and professionals from across the legal spectrum. Each subcommittee was led by subject-matter experts. Among them: - Arbitration – Justice Saleem Marsoof - Civil Pre-Trials – Dr. Justice Ruwan Fernando - Criminal Pre-Trials – Justice Buwaneka Aluvihare - Summons Reform – Justice Laffar Thahir - Recovery of Leased Premises – Palitha Kumarasinghe PC
- Notarial Practice Laws – Mr. G. G. Arulpragasam. Tittle Registration- Mrs. Saumya Amarasekera PC and many more. Every reform proposal was the product of consultation not imposition. Every law reviewed or proposed was grounded in contemporary need and expert input.Progress That Speaks for ItselfOver the course of just 20 months: - Nearly 100 laws were reviewed - Over 30 laws were enacted, many of which continue to shape legal practice today - Several key laws have since been amended beyond their original scope, including the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act (PODD) and the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act, all building on the groundwork we laidJudicial Capacity and InfrastructureWe also addressed systemic bottlenecks: - Supreme Court judges increased from 11 to 17
- Court of Appeal judges increased from 12 to 20 - The largest batch of magistrates in recent history, 47 was appointed in 2021
- Nearly 100 court buildings were refurbished and many new court houses were built or initiated. - The House of Justice initiative was launched, with the Supreme Court now temporarily functioning from its premisesDigital TransformationA justice system fit for the 21st century cannot function with tools from the past. That’s why we prioritized digitization: - Introduced and institutionalized online court hearings - Linked prisons to courts via secure digital platforms, reducing delays and risks - Distributed digital equipment across the country to support remote hearings - Laid the groundwork for a future-ready e-justice platform, with the design and tender process initiated during my tenureA Period of Constructive Work, Not RhetoricWhile I later took over the portfolios of Finance and Foreign Affairs amidst the gravest economic crisis in our country’s history, the reform drive I led in the justice sector remains a chapter I take pride in not because of titles or accolades, but because of the tangible outcomes achieved in a short period through focus, professionalism, and teamwork. Unfortunately, I couldn’t complete the full reform agenda, as I was entrusted with even greater responsibilities during a national emergency. However, I remain truly satisfied that I didn’t waste the opportunity I had. I gave it my best shot, focused on delivery, not distraction; on substance, not slogans. In public service, there will always be those who minimize, distort, or ignore. But what matters at the end of the day is being able to look back and say, “I did what I could with the time and responsibility I was given.” And in that, I find peace. Because nothing is more fulfilling than the quiet confidence of self satisfaction,knowing that when it mattered, I chose to act, not to complain. Central Asia
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[3/31/2025 2:37 AM, 214.9K followers, 5 retweets, 12 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev arrived in #Khujand on a working visit. He was met by #Tajikistan’s President @EmomaliRahmonTJ at the airport. State flags were raised, culture and art workers performed national music and dance.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[3/30/2025 12:09 AM, 214.9K followers, 7 retweets, 23 likes]
The working visit to #Almaty concluded with President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev being seen off by the President of #Kazakhstan, @TokayevKZ, at the international airport prior to his departure for Tashkent.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[3/29/2025 12:16 PM, 214.9K followers, 6 retweets, 41 likes]
As part of the cultural program of the visit to #Almaty, President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev and President of Kazakhstan @TokayevKZ visited the National Museum of Arts named after Abylkhan Kasteyev. They viewed the works of the Kazakh national artist Abylkhan Kasteev and Uzbek painter Ural Tansykbayev, symbolizing strong cultural ties between the countries.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[3/29/2025 11:34 AM, 214.9K followers, 6 retweets, 57 likes]
The Presidents of #Uzbekistan and #Kazakhstan visited the exhibition of digital technologies and artificial intelligence “http://AlmatyFair.ai”, featuring advanced solutions and innovative developments. They emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation in the field of digitalization, creating joint #IT products, aligning national strategies in the relevant field.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[3/29/2025 6:47 AM, 214.9K followers, 16 retweets, 76 likes]
Today Presidents Shavkat #Mirziyoyev and @TokayevKZ held an informal meeting in #Almaty with the delegations of two countries. They reviewed reports on boosting trade and promoting joint projects in key areas, including engineering, energy, agriculture and other sectors, and instructed to develop a long-term industrial cooperation plan and accelerate regional infrastructure projects. Launching the International Center for Industrial Cooperation this year and expanding activities of the joint foreign trade company were emphasized.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[3/29/2025 5:56 AM, 214.9K followers, 4 retweets, 45 likes]
Presidents Shavkat #Mirziyoyev and @TokayevKZ visited the #Medeu high-mountain cluster - a sports, tourism, and cultural hub, and got acquainted with its facilities. They also watched performances by young figure skaters.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[3/29/2025 3:30 AM, 214.9K followers, 8 retweets, 69 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev arrived in #Almaty on a working visit. He was met by the President of #Kazakhstan @TokayevKZ . In honor of the arrival of the leader of Uzbekistan, a guard of honor was lined up and state flags were raised.
Saida Mirziyoyeva@SMirziyoyeva[3/30/2025 5:23 AM, 21.9K followers, 6 retweets, 107 likes] Grateful to Oguldjakhan Gurbangulyevna Atabaeva for the kind invitation to Turkmenistan and the warm hospitality. Honored to visit during the holy month of Ramadan. Wishing Turkmenistan a blessed Eid al-Fitr, peace, and lasting prosperity.
Saida Mirziyoyeva@SMirziyoyeva[3/30/2025 2:19 AM, 21.9K followers, 2 retweets, 50 likes]
1/2 Honored to take part in the “Year of Peace and Trust: Development of International Activities for Children” Conference in Turkmenistan, at the invitation of Oguljakhan Atabayeva yesterday.
Saida Mirziyoyeva@SMirziyoyeva[3/30/2025 2:19 AM, 21.9K followers, 4 likes]
2/2 Deeply inspired by the tireless work of the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Foundation. Our nations are bound by more than geography — shared values and vision unite us. Together, we can build a brighter future for our children.{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.