SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Tuesday, May 13, 2025 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
DHS to end deportation protections for Afghanistan (Washington Post)
Washington Post [5/12/2025 3:50 PM, Brianna Tucker, 52868K]
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem announced that the department will terminate the temporary protected status (TPS) for Afghans in the United States on July 12, stating “notable improvements” in Afghanistan and that conditions no longer meet statutory requirements.TPS, which protects foreign nationals who cannot return to their home country due to unstable conditions such as war or natural disasters, was offered by the Biden administration after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and deteriorating conditions under the Taliban.In a news release, Noem said that the status, which was set to expire May 20, will return “to its original temporary intent.”
“We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation,” Noem said. “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.”Matthew Tragesser, chief of public affairs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said, “Bad actors are taking advantage of this humanitarian program,” prompting the decision to end such protections.The termination has been highly criticized by resettlement advocacy groups, and more than 9,000 people from Afghanistan who were covered by TPS as of September could now face potential deportation.“The decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan is not rooted in reality — it’s rooted in politics. Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban. There is no functioning asylum system. There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac. “What the administration has done today is betray people who risked their lives for America, built lives here and believed in our promises.” DHS terminates temporary protected status program for Afghans (Politico)
Politico [5/12/2025 3:01 PM, Amanda Friedman, 51661K]
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced on Monday that the U.S. will terminate the temporary protected status program for Afghanistan, a move that could lead to the deportation of over 9,000 Afghans residing in the country.Noem said in a statement that the conditions in Afghanistan have improved sufficiently to warrant the program’s termination. Afghans’ temporary protected status will expire on May 20 and the elimination of the program will take effect on July 12.“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Noem said. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation.”Noem also claimed that the termination aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to root out fraud in the immigration system.“The termination furthers the national interest as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security,” Noem said.The TPS program provides temporary legal status and work authorization to nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. Former President Joe Biden designated Afghanistan for TPS following the Taliban’s takeover and the U.S. withdrawal from the country in 2021, which led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans to the U.S., many under temporary “parole” status.DHS decided to not renew expiring temporary protections for thousands of Afghans living in the U.S. last month, raising concerns about the future of Afghanistan’s TPS designation.However, the Trump administration has considered exempting Christians from its campaign to deport Afghan refugees, which Christian leaders and nonprofit organizations say face persecution if sent back to the Taliban-controlled country.Refugee rights groups have condemned the administration, saying that many Afghans protected by the program have aided U.S. national security efforts. The nonprofit #AfghanEvac, which helps Afghan families resettle in the U.S., called the move “unconscionable.”
“What the administration has done today is betray people who risked their lives for America, built lives here, and believed in our promises,” The group wrote in a post to X on Monday.The decision is part of a broader immigration crackdown that has dominated the early months of Trump’s second term, including his administration’s repeated efforts to terminate TPS protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans residing in the U.S.The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to lift a judge’s order blocking the administration’s plan to end TPS protections for Venezuelans earlier this month. Trump administration to end deportation protections for Afghans (CBS News)
CBS News [5/12/2025 9:59 PM, Joe Walsh, 51661K]
The Trump administration is ending a program that offered deportation protections for thousands of people from Afghanistan.
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday it will wind down Temporary Protected Status for Afghans on July 12. The TPS program allows migrants to get work permits and temporary reprieve from deportation if the U.S. government determines it is unsafe for them to return to their home countries due to war, natural disaster or some other issues.
Over 8,000 Afghans were approved for TPS as of last year, according to federal statistics. TPS was last extended for Afghanistan in 2023, and it was set to expire in May unless the Trump administration chose to grant another extension.
When the Biden administration extended the program for the country, officials cited a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, including the collapse of Afghanistan’s economy, human rights abuses by the Taliban and the threat of terrorist attacks by a local Islamic State offshoot.
"This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent," Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement on Monday. "Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent[s] them from returning to their home country.".
The Afghan TPS program is separate from the more permanent "special immigrant visas" issued to Afghans who worked alongside for the U.S. military during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, which ended abruptly in 2021 with the Taliban sweeping through the country.
The winddown of TPS has drawn stiff criticism from advocates.
"This decision is unconscionable and will have long-lasting ripple effects," #AfghanEvac, a group that helps relocate Afghans, said in a post on X.
The Trump administration has also sought to roll back TPS for Venezuela, which applies to more than 300,000 people, but a judge halted that move in March and argued it was "predicated on negative stereotypes." The administration is asking the Supreme Court to intervene. Afghanistan: Grappling with fall-out of dwindling foreign aid (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [5/12/2025 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K]
The cut-off of almost all US humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan is helping to raise the possibility of a fresh refugee wave flowing into neighboring states. The termination of most US assistance to Afghanistan was a prolonged process starting with an executive order issued by President Trump in January, according to a study released by the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), an independent non-profit policy research organization.“The full weight of the United States’ cuts to aid to Afghanistan has finally become clear. Almost all the aid that was promised – at least USD 1.8 billion – will now not be given, according to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR),” the study states.
The US State Department so far has not provided a list of all the terminated programs that were administered by the US Agency for International Development, but according to SIGAR, the cuts mean the loss of roughly $765 million in humanitarian aid, and $1 billion in support “for basic services.”
US assistance helped pay for essential goods, including food, fuel and medicine. In addition to creating shortages of essential items, the cutoff may create a shortage of cash, potentially creating hassles for everyday economic transactions. “The aid is largely in the form of cash dollars, necessarily flown in because of sanctions-related problems with making international banking transactions, and that helps with liquidity,” the study notes.
The World Bank, in its latest development update on Afghanistan, said cash-flow uncertainty was hindering an already slow economic recovery. The update added that even before the cutoff of US assistance, dwindling foreign support for Afghanistan was threatening the healthcare and education sectors, as well as social welfare programs. “Key sectors such as healthcare, education, and social protection which have historically relied on international aid may face severe disruptions, disproportionately affecting marginalized populations, including women, children, and displaced communities,” the bank’s update states.
Refugees who had fled the countries during the previous three-plus decades have been returning to Afghanistan in recent years, many of them from Pakistan. Tens of thousands of undocumented Afghans, however, can be considered reluctant returnees, deported by Islamabad. The looming shortages created by the fall-off in foreign aid could once again create strong pressure for an outward flow of humanity.“In the short term, a humanitarian crisis looks likely, especially given that the mass deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan is only sharpening needs,” according to the AAN study. “The damage to health and education will also have an economic cost by reducing the country’s human capital.”
And in the near term, “there will be deaths,” the AAN paper quoted UN Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher as saying. Top UK Special Forces general oversaw blocking of Afghan ‘war-crime’ witnesses to Britain (BBC)
BBC [5/12/2025 12:23 PM, Hannah O’Grady, Joel Gunter, and Rory Tinman, 52868K]
A top general who failed to report evidence of alleged SAS war crimes in Afghanistan later oversaw the rejection of hundreds of UK resettlement applications from Afghan commandos who served with the elite regiment, BBC Panorama can reveal.
Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins led UK Special Forces (UKSF) in Afghanistan at a time when alleged war crimes were committed. He later appointed a UKSF officer under his command, who had also served in Afghanistan, to assess the Afghan commando applications after special forces headquarters was given a controversial veto over them.
Thousands of applications from individuals with credible evidence of service with Afghan Special Forces, including the units known as the Triples, were then rejected, leaving many of the former commandos at the mercy of the Taliban.
The rejections are controversial because they came at a time when a judge-led public inquiry in the UK had begun investigating the SAS for alleged war crimes on operations on which the Triples were present.
If the Afghan commandos were in the UK, they could be called as witnesses - but the inquiry has no power to compel testimony from foreign nationals who are overseas.
Some of those denied visas were subsequently tortured and killed by the Taliban, according to former colleagues, family members and lawyers.
According to internal emails and testimony from within the Ministry of Defence (MoD), obtained by Panorama, the UK Special Forces officer appointed by Gen Jenkins stood over civil service caseworkers from the resettlement scheme and instructed them to reject the Triples applications, one after another, on what sources described as spurious grounds.
A senior government source close to the process told the BBC that the UK Special Forces officer "would never have acted without direction", adding that "everything would have gone through Gwyn Jenkins".
At the time, in 2021-22, Gen Jenkins was the head of all UK Special Forces. He is now the chief strategic adviser to the Defence Secretary John Healey and is tipped to take over as First Sea Lord - the head of the Royal Navy.
Gen Jenkins was made aware of allegations that the SAS was committing extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan, but he failed to report the allegations to military police - Panorama has previously revealed - despite a legal obligation to do so. The suspected unlawful killings continued.
Panorama has now heard eyewitness testimony from veterans who served in UK Special Forces detailing alleged war crimes stretching over more than a decade and involving the SBS as well as the SAS.
Gen Jenkins did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment on this story. The MoD responded on his behalf. It said in a statement that there is no evidence it has tried to prevent former Afghan troops giving evidence to the Inquiry and that "anyone can provide evidence… no matter where in the world they are".
The MoD added that it was "fully committed to delivering on our pledge to relocate and resettle eligible Afghans and their families to the UK".
"Each resettlement application is decided on its own merits against the criteria outlined in the ARAP [Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy] and immigration rules," the statement said.
The rejections of the Triples applications left caseworkers from the ARAP scheme questioning the validity of the process, given that many of the applications contained compelling evidence of service alongside British special forces.
Hundreds of rejections have since been overturned following a government review.
A letter obtained by Panorama shows that concerns were raised among cabinet ministers in January 2024 over the existence of the UK Special Forces’ veto over the Triples applications.
The then Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer wrote to senior Conservatives to say the role of UKSF in denying the applications was "deeply inappropriate" and "a significant conflict of interest, that should be obvious to all".
He had been compelled to write, he added, because he had been shown evidence "that 5 members of these units have been killed having been rejected for resettlement".
Mr Mercer, who served alongside the SBS in Afghanistan before becoming an MP, went on to warn that the role of UKSF in the process had a "very high chance of being exposed by the Afghan Inquiry", which could "lead to serious questions of all those Ministers involved in the process".
The Triples units - so-called because their designations were CF 333 and ATF 444 - were set up, trained, and paid by UK Special Forces and supported the SAS and SBS on operations targeting Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.
When the country fell to the Taliban in 2021, they were judged to be in grave danger of reprisal and were entitled to apply for resettlement to the UK.
But, according to MoD documents obtained by Panorama, thousands of ARAP applications containing credible evidence of service alongside UK Special Forces were subsequently rejected.
BBC Panorama first revealed last year that it had been UK Special Forces - the very force that trained and served with the Triples - that rejected them.
"We heard some of our Triples were already killed by the Taliban," said Jumakhan Joya, a former Afghan special forces commanding officer. "Some of them are in jail in a Taliban prison. Some of them have already been disabled by the Taliban. They’re breaking their hands, their legs, their head," he said.
Mr Joya told the BBC he believed that the existence of the public inquiry was the "only reason" their applications had been vetoed.
The rejections and reported reprisals have outraged some former members of British special forces. "What’s happened is horrendous. It is a betrayal and it shames us all," one former UK Special Forces officer told Panorama.
Asked by Panorama about the government’s rejection of Triples’ applications, Bruce Houlder KC, who as a former director of service prosecutions was responsible for bringing charges against members of the armed forces, said the government must have known the Triples would have "highly relevant" evidence that would be "much easier to obtain" if they were in the UK.
"I can’t think of any fair reason why we should exclude people from their right to live in this country, which is extended to others, simply because they might be in possession of information which would embarrass special forces," Mr Houlder said.
"If that is the reason, it’s disreputable and it can’t be supported in any way.". Pakistan
Pakistan says clashes with neighbour India killed more than 50 (Reuters)
Reuters [5/13/2025 4:38 AM, Asif Shahzad and Shivam Patel, 5.2M]
Pakistan’s army said on Tuesday that more than 50 people were killed in last week’s military clashes with India which ended in a ceasefire agreed by the nuclear-armed neighbours, restoring peace to their border.
The arch rivals fired missiles and drones targeting each other’s military installations after India said it struck "terrorist infrastructure" sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday in retaliation for an attack on tourists.
Pakistan said the targets were all civilian. Its military said the dead in the attacks comprised 40 civilians and 11 of its armed forces.
India has said at least five military personnel and 16 civilians died.
Both agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday, following diplomacy and pressure from the United States.
The Indian military has said its bases are operational, despite minor damage.
It was a "very special experience to be with those who epitomise courage, determination and fearlessness", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, in comments posted on X accompanying photographs of his visit to the Adampur air base.
The base near the border in India’s northern state of Punjab is a strategic location for its air force.
On Monday, Modi warned Pakistan that New Delhi would again target "terrorist hideouts" across the border if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad’s "nuclear blackmail".
India blames Pakistan for an attack in Kashmir on April 22 targeting Hindu tourists that killed 26 men. Islamabad denies the accusations.
Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan both rule part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, but claim it in full.
The neighbours have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over the region and there have been several other limited flare-ups, including in 1999 and 2019.
India has said the military operations chiefs of both nations spoke by telephone on Monday, reiterating their commitment to halt firing and consider steps to reduce troops on the border. Pakistan has not provided details of the call. Pakistan finance minister: conflict with India won’t have large fiscal impact (Reuters)
Reuters [5/12/2025 2:02 PM, Ariba Shahid and Charlotte Greenfield, 33298K]
The recent military escalation with arch-rival India won’t have a large fiscal impact on Pakistan and can be managed within the current fiscal space, with no need for a new economic assessment, Pakistan’s Finance Minister said in an interview with Reuters on Monday.
Trade talks with the United States – which had played a key role mediating a ceasefire between the two countries – would likely have progress in "short order" and that Pakistan could import more high-quality cotton, more soy beans and was also exploring other asset classes, including hydrocarbons, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in the online interview.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is ready to help India and Pakistan after a ceasefire agreement, claiming trade was a big reason they "stopped fighting".
Pakistan faces a 29% tariff on exports to the US due to an approximate $3 billion trade surplus, but this is currently under a 90-day pause announced in April.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved a $1 billion loan disbursement to Pakistan as part of a larger $7 billion bailout agreement.
Aurangzeb said Islamabad would receive the tranche disbursement on Tuesday.
The IMF executive board also approved a fresh $1.4 billion loan to Pakistan under its climate resilience facility.
The federal budget for the next fiscal year, starting July, will be finalised within the next three to four weeks, with scheduled budget talks with the IMF to take place from May 14-23, he said.
Regarding the India-Pakistan conflict, Aurangzeb described it as a "short duration escalation" with minimal fiscal impact, stating it can be "accommodated within the fiscal space which is available to the government of Pakistan".
When questioned about potential increased military spending in the upcoming budget, Aurangzeb deferred comment, saying it was premature to discuss specific plans. However, he said: "Whatever we need to do in terms of ensuring that our defence requirements are met will be met.".Aurangzeb said he expects the Indus Water Treaty, which India unilaterally suspended, to be reinstated and rolled back to where it was.
He said there is not going to be any immediate impact from India’s suspension and Pakistan does not "even want to consider any scenario which does not take into account the reinstatement of this treaty.".
Tensions between India and Pakistan began mounting after the April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir on Hindu tourists that killed 26 people, sparking the worst clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours in more than two decades.
On Saturday a ceasefire in the Himalayan region was announced by Trump, following four days of fighting and diplomacy and pressure from Washington. ‘We hope sense will prevail,’ Pakistan’s foreign minister says as delicate India-Pakistan ceasefire holds (CNN)
CNN [5/12/2025 9:29 PM, Nic Robertson and Sophia Saifi, 33298K]
As tensions ratcheted up over the last week of fighting, Pakistan did not consider deploying nuclear warheads to strike India, the country’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar told CNN on Monday.
In his first interview since India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire Saturday, Dar said Islamabad "had no choice" but to launch strikes in "self-defense" following India’s May 7 cross-border attacks.
Last week’s escalatory tit-for-tat strikes marked the worst fighting between the two nuclear-armed nations since 1971, killing dozens and deepening fears of a wider conflict.
Dar referred to India’s strikes as a "war" and a "wishful attempt to establish its hegemony" in the long-disputed Kashmir region – but said that the nuclear option was never on the table.
"There are certain times when you have to take very serious decisions," he said, "We were very sure that our conventional capacity and capabilities are strong enough that we will beat them both in air and on ground.".
After the initial attack last Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it had used Chinese-made fighter jets to shoot down five Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafales, sophisticated French-made jets that New Delhi acquired only a few years ago. A French intelligence source told CNN that Pakistan had downed at least one Indian Rafale.
India has not responded to those claims, which CNN has been unable to verify.
Following several days of fighting, Islamabad and New Delhi agreed to a US-brokered truce on Saturday, as explosions reportedly ripped through parts of Kashmir over one final burst of strikes.
While the agreement has so far appeared to hold, Dar told CNN that long-term negotiations between the two parties are "not done yet."."We still hope sense will prevail," he said.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India has "only paused our responsive attack on Pakistan’s terror and military hubs.".
"Operation Sindoor has drawn a new line under the fight against terrorism – this is a new phase, a new normal," he said, adding, "If there is a terror attack on India, we will give a jaw-breaking response.".
"India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail," Modi cautioned.
The Indian leader asserted the ferocity of his country’s attacks pushed Pakistan to look for "ways to save themselves" by reaching a ceasefire deal.
"They were calling the world to reduce tensions after being completely destroyed," he said.
In Islamabad, when asked about the impetus for the unexpected deal, Dar told CNN that "It is in the interest of everybody to not delay or to leave such issues beyond a certain reasonable time.".
"(The Indians) had seen what happened in the sky," he added. "They could see how serious the damage was.".
There was no direct contact between Indian or Pakistani officials, Dar said, contradicting a previous assertion made by India’s director general of military operations, who reportedly received a message from his counterpart in Pakistan during the talks.
Instead, Dar said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed on the message that India was ready to stop the fighting.
Rubio said in a Saturday statement that he and US Vice President JD Vance had spoken to the political and military leadership in India and Pakistan to secure agreement before the situation deteriorated further.
Dar told CNN on Monday that Pakistan was looking forward to establishing a path for long-term peace and security that would provide "dignity for both sides.".
Calls for ‘self-determination’ in Kashmir
The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both countries gained their independence from Britain in 1947.
The two nations to emerge from the bloody partition of British India – Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan – both claim Kashmir in full and, months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory.
The divided region is now one of the most militarized places in the world.
Dar pointed to Kashmir as "the root cause of this regional instability" and called for the region’s "future self-determination.".
India has long accused Pakistan of harboring militant groups in Kashmir that conduct attacks across the border against Indian security forces, a charge Islamabad has rejected.
India launched its cross-border strikes last week in the wake of a tourist massacre in the Indian administered part of Kashmir in April.
Dar reiterated that Pakistan was not behind last month’s rampage, saying, "We condemn terrorism in all forms and all manifestations.".
He added that he believes US President Donald Trump supports Pakistan’s antiterrorism efforts.
"If they didn’t believe (in our efforts), they would not have cooperated the way (that they did)," Dar said, pointing to Trump’s social media post on "finding a solution" to the Kashmir conflict.
However, Dar warned that the already precarious ceasefire could be threatened "if the [Kashmir] water issue is not resolved" in the coming talks, referring to ongoing disputes of access to water from rivers in Kashmir. Pakistan’s proposed solution involves reversing India’s decision to block three vast Kashmir rivers vital to Pakistan’s economy.
Last week Indian media, citing government sources, reported that New Delhi had cut water flowing through the Baglihar dam in Indian-administered Kashmir, stopping water flowing into Pakistan via the Chenab river.
Failure to resolve the water issue "will amount to an act of war," Dar said. How a US-Designated Global Terrorist Contested an Election in Pakistan (Newsweek)
Newsweek [5/12/2025 10:32 AM, Danish Manzoor Bhat, 3973K]
Hafiz Abdur Rauf, who is designated a global terrorist by the United States, contested elections in Pakistan last year, according to details reviewed by Newsweek.
The fact that he was able to stand in the ballot adds more fuel to allegations from India that Pakistan is not serious enough about tackling terrorism at a time of high tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors, analysts said.
Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to Newsweek’s request for comment.
Newsweek was unable to find contact details for Rauf. His party, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, did not immediately respond to questions on his candidacy and allegations from critics that it is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is designated by the United States and India as a terrorist group.
Massacre in Kashmir
Rauf’s identity came under the spotlight after India showed photos of him leading prayers at a funeral for victims of an Indian strike against what it alleged were terrorists in response for the massacre of tourists in Kashmir last month. Pakistan denied any involvement in that attack and accused India of killing Pakistani civilians.
Newsweek obtained Rauf’s Pakistani identity details from a security source in Pakistan. Those details were announced separately at a briefing by Pakistan’s military, which said Rauf’s role at the funeral ceremony had been innocent.
Newsweek tied Rauf’s CNIC identity number — 35202-5400413-9 — to his 2010 identification as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) for sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department.
behalf It also tied the identity to his candidacy in the 2024 election in the NA-119 Lahore district on of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML).
Critics of the PMML accuse it of links to Lashkar-e-Taiba – a Pakistani jihadi faction accused by India of involvement in attacks there.
"Pakistan Markazi Muslim League is a political party who believes on Politics of Humanity and Ideology," according to its Facebook page.
Critics Allege Failure to Curb Terrorism
Rauf received little over 2,000 votes in the constituency he contested compared to nearly 84,000 for the winner, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Punjab chief minister, daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and representative of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League.
But critics of Pakistan said the fact that Rauf had been allowed to contest showed the failure of the state to take action against those accused of terrorism.
"When a U.S.-designated terrorist operates openly, participates in high-profile events like funerals for LeT members, and receives no rebuke or prosecution from the host state, it significantly undermines the U.S. counter-terrorism sanctions architecture," Sajjan M. Gohel, international security director at the London School of Economics, told Newsweek.
According to Ashok K. Behuria, Fellow and Coordinator of the South Asia Centre at MP-IDSA in India’s capital, New Delhi: "While Pakistan officially denies links to terrorism, such public displays contradict those claims. It sends a defiant message to countries like India, the US, and others that Pakistan retains ties with these elements, despite international pressure.".
Lashkar-e-Taiba Branded Terrorist Group
The U.S. Treasury’s 2010 designation of Rauf under Executive Order 13224 identified him as a senior figure in Lashkar-e-Taiba and head of its so-called charitable wing, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF). The order prohibits all U.S. persons and institutions from conducting financial or other transactions with him.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. State Department for comment.
Indian diplomats showed photos of Rauf leading prayers for victims of an Indian attack on what it called a base of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan last week. The ceremony was also attended by high-ranking members of the Pakistani military.
India pointed to the image as an example of what it said was complicity between Pakistan’s defense establishment and alleged terrorists. Pakistan said the Indian attack had killed civilians.
Pakistan’s military spokesman dismissed the highlighting of the image as Indian propaganda, but did not dispute its authenticity.
Pakistan and India agreed a US-brokered truce at the weekend after their most serious confrontation in decades prompted fears of an even bigger regional war. India
India Denies Trump’s Suggestion He Used Trade to Secure Truce (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [5/13/2025 3:22 AM, Santosh Kumar, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, and Dan Strumpf, 5.5M]
Indian officials denied that trade with the US was used as a bargaining chip in a just-concluded ceasefire between India and Pakistan, contradicting statements by President Donald Trump that the US offered to trade more with both countries if they stopped hostilities.“I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it,” Trump said at the White House on Monday, referring to discussions with the two sides. “If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.”
Indian officials, who asked not to be identified, told reporters that trade was never discussed with US officials in a series of conversations in the lead up to the ceasefire with Pakistan.
There was no reference to trade in Vice President JD Vance’s call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9, the officials said, asking not to be identified because the discussions were private. It also wasn’t brought up in discussions between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, as well as National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the officials said.
The discussions concluded with a ceasefire first revealed by Trump on Saturday in a social-media post. India and Pakistan had been on the brink of a full-blown war with drone and missile strikes on military sites and other locations prior to the ceasefire.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking further information.
Trump’s announcement left many senior officials in New Delhi seething, as it was seen as upstaging Modi and undermining its longstanding policy of handling India’s dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir bilaterally. Pakistani officials celebrated the announcement.In a speech to the nation on Monday evening, Modi did not mention the US or credit Trump for the ceasefire. Instead, he said, Pakistan was the one to call for a de-escalation after Indian forces struck at its “heart.”“Therefore, when Pakistan appealed and said that it will not indulge in any sort of terror activities or military audacity further, India considered it,” Modi said.
Pakistan’s army has said that India first asked for de-escalation.
Trump’s comments come as the US and India are in the midst of negotiating a trade deal that New Delhi hopes will spare it from Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs. In a visit to the White House in February, both Modi and Trump said they had agreed to boost trade ties.
India took steps this week to counter higher US tariffs on steel and aluminum, proposing retaliatory levies on some American goods in a move that may complicate negotiations over the bilateral deal.
In his White House remarks on Monday, Trump said the negotiations with India were continuing, and said the US would negotiate a separate trade pact with Pakistan.“We’re going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan,” he said. “We’re going to do a lot of trade with India. We’re negotiating with India right now. We’re going to be soon, negotiating with Pakistan. And we stopped a nuclear conflict.” Modi Calls India Reaction ‘New Normal’ in Pakistan Relations (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [5/12/2025 1:08 PM, Anup Roy and Sankalp Phartiyal, 16228K]
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that his government won’t hesitate to use force to neutralize terrorist camps in Pakistan, calling it a “new normal” in relations with its neighbor.The operation “has struck a new line in the fight against terror, a new yardstick, a new normal,” Modi said in a TV address, marking his first public remarks since the Indian strikes on May 7.The two countries have been involved in tit-for-tat military strikes after India carried out the operation against what it described as terrorist camps inside Pakistan. The action was in response to gunmen killing 26 civilians — mainly tourists — in India’s Jammu and Kashmir region in April. India has accused Pakistan of involvement, which Islamabad denies.“If we talk to Pakistan, it’ll only be on terrorism. If we have a dialog with Pakistan, it will only be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” Modi said.After four days of airstrikes that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a full-blown war, US President Donald Trump Saturday declared he’d mediated a truce between the two South Asian rivals. That announcement left many senior officials in New Delhi seething, as it was seen upstaging Modi and undermining its longstanding policy of handling the dispute bilaterally.On Monday, Modi didn’t mention the US or credit Trump for the ceasefire. Instead he said, Pakistan urged the world to ease tensions after Indian forces struck at its “heart.”
“Therefore, when Pakistan appealed and said that it will not indulge in any sort of terror activities or military audacity further, India considered it,” Modi said.India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail, Modi also said, adding New Delhi will respond to any further terrorist attack on the country.Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought four wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both rule in part but claim in full.While armed forces from both the countries have agreed to reduce troop presence along the border in a bid to restore normalcy, Pakistan’s military said it’s ready to respond to any further incursions.“No one should doubt that whenever Pakistan’s sovereignty is threatened and territorial integrity violated, the retributive response will be comprehensive and decisive,” Pakistan’s military said in a statement just ahead of the Indian premier’s speech.Meanwhile, in Washington, Trump again said his administration helped secure the ceasefire, adding that he dangled the carrot of trade with both nations.“I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys,” he said at the White House, giving a brief recap of the situation. “Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.”
“We’re negotiating with India right now. We’re going to be soon negotiating with Pakistan,” he said. “And we stopped a nuclear conflict.” Modi says India has only paused military action after it and Pakistan stop firing at each other (AP)
AP [5/12/2025 11:22 PM, Rajesh Roy, 10355K]
India has only "paused" its military action and will "retaliate on its own terms" if there is any future terror attack on the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday in his first public comments since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire over the weekend.
Modi spoke after Indian and Pakistani authorities said there was no firing reported overnight along the heavily militarized region between their countries — the first time in recent days the nations were not shooting at each other.
The escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals after a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir had threatened regional peace. India accused Pakistan of backing the militants who carried out the massacre, a charge Islamabad denied.
"We will be monitoring every step of Pakistan," Modi said in an address to the nation. He added, in response to international calls for dialogue, that if India talks to Pakistan, it will be only about terrorism and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Both the nations administer parts of Kashmir but claim it in its entirety."Terror and talks can’t go together. Nor can terror and trade," Modi said.
He did not acknowledge U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate. India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea on Saturday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for his part, said his country agreed to the ceasefire "in the spirit of peace" but will never tolerate violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. He spoke during a meeting with the Turkish ambassador, according to a government statement.
Senior military officials from India and Pakistan spoke via a hotline on Monday to assess if the ceasefire was holding and how to ensure implementation.
The Indian army in a statement said the officials discussed the commitment of not "firing a single shot" or initiating aggressive action. The two sides agreed to consider taking immediate measures to reduce the number of troops in border and forward areas, it said.
"The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, and other areas along the international border," the Indian army said, adding that no incidents had been reported.
Local government officials in Pakistan-administered Kashmir reported no incidents of cross-border firing along the Line of Control — the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan — and said civilians displaced by recent skirmishes were returning to their homes.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said late Sunday that Pakistan remains committed to upholding the ceasefire and will not be the first to violate it.
Soon after the ceasefire announcement, Pakistan reopened all airports and restored flight operations. India on Monday reopened the 32 airports that were shut temporarily across its northern and western regions.
The countries’ militaries had been engaged in one of their most serious confrontations in decades since Wednesday, when India struck targets inside Pakistan it said were affiliated with militants responsible for the massacre of 26 tourists last month in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The tourists, mostly Indian Hindu men, were killed in front of their families.
The incident first led to tit-for-tat diplomatic measures. The countries expelled each other’s diplomats, shut their airspace and land borders and suspended a crucial water treaty.
After Wednesday’s strikes in Pakistan, both sides exchanged heavy fire in Kashmir followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases. Dozens of civilians were killed on both sides, the two countries said.
The Indian military on Sunday for the first time claimed its strikes into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan last week killed more than 100 militants, including prominent leaders.
Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the director general of India’s military operations, said India’s armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India.
Ghai also said at least 35 to 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes along the Line of Control. Five Indian soldiers were also killed, he said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said his country’s armed forces had killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control. Pakistani military also claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets and inflected heavy losses on Indian military installations by targeting 26 locations in India.
The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the claims made by India and Pakistan.
Air Chief Marshal AK Bharti, the director general India’s air operations, told a news conference on Monday that despite "minor damage (s) incurred, all our military bases and air defense systems continue to remain fully operational, and ready to undertake any further missions, should the need so arise.".
Bharti reiterated that New Delhi’s fight was "with terrorists, and not with Pakistan military or its civilians.". India PM Modi warns Pakistan of more strikes if there is a ‘terrorist attack’ (Reuters)
Reuters [5/12/2025 1:06 PM, Aftab Ahmed, Shivam Patel, and YP Rajesh, 44742K]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan on Monday that New Delhi would target "terrorist hideouts" across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad’s "nuclear blackmail.".
Modi’s first public comments since Indian armed forces launched strikes on what New Delhi said were "terrorist camps" across the border last week indicated a hardening of India’s position on ties with its neighbor, which were icy even before the latest fighting.
Pakistan denies Indian accusations that it supports militants who attack it and says the locations hit by India last week were civilian sites.
Modi was speaking two days after the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to a ceasefire, announced by President Donald Trump.
The truce was reached after four days of intense exchanges of fire as the old enemies targeted each other’s military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.
The military confrontation began on Wednesday, when India said it launched strikes on nine "terrorist infrastructure" sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir following an attack on Hindu tourists by Islamist militants in Indian Kashmir last month that killed 26 men.
Islamabad denied any links to the attack and called for a neutral investigation.
"If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given... on our terms," Modi said, speaking in Hindi in a televised address. "In the coming days, we will measure every step of Pakistan... what kind of attitude Pakistan will adopt.".
"India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail," he said, and listed New Delhi’s conditions for holding talks with Islamabad and lifting curbs imposed after the Kashmir attack.
"India’s position is clear: Terror and talks cannot go together; terror and trade cannot go together. And water and blood cannot flow together," he said, referring to a water-sharing pact between the two countries that New Delhi has suspended.
There was no immediate response to his comments from Islamabad.
MILITARY TALKS
Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan both rule part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, but claim it in full. They have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over the region and there have been several other more limited flare-ups, including in 2016 and 2019.
The latest military conflict between the South Asian neighbors spiraled alarmingly on Saturday, and there were briefly fears that nuclear arsenals might come into play as Pakistan’s military said a top body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.
But the Pakistani defense minister said no such meeting was scheduled.
Military analysts said this might have been Pakistan’s way of hinting at its nuclear option as Islamabad has a "first-use" policy if its existence is under threat in a conflict.
Modi’s address came hours after the military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan spoke by phone, two days after they agreed to the ceasefire.
"Issues related to continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action against each other were discussed," the Indian army said.
"It was also agreed that both sides consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas," it added.
There was no immediate Pakistani readout of the military operations chiefs’ talks.
In Washington, Trump said the leaders of India and Pakistan were "unwavering," and the U.S. "helped a lot" to secure the ceasefire, adding that trade was a "big reason" the countries stopped fighting.
"We are going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan... and India. We are negotiating with India right now. We are soon going to negotiate with Pakistan," he said, just ahead of Modi’s speech.
Pakistan has thanked the U.S. for brokering the ceasefire while India, which opposes third-party involvement in its disputes with Pakistan, has not commented on Washington’s role.MARKETS SOARPakistan’s international bonds rallied sharply on Monday, adding as much as 5.7 cents in the dollar, Tradeweb data showed.Late on Friday, the International Monetary Fund approved a fresh $1.4-billion loan and also the first review of its $7-billion programme.Pakistan’s benchmark share index (.KSE) closed up 9.4% on Monday, while India’s blue-chip Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index closed 3.8% higher in its best session since February 2021.In Beijing the foreign ministry said China, which also controls a small slice of Kashmir, was willing to maintain communication with both its neighbours, and play a "constructive role in achieving a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire" and maintaining peace.India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in 1989, but Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists. Pakistan must get rid of its "terrorist infrastructure", India PM Modi says (Reuters)
Reuters [5/12/2025 12:29 PM, Sakshi Dayal and Shubham Kalia, 41523K]
Pakistan will have to get rid of its "terrorist infrastructure" if it wants to be "saved", Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, his first comments on the military clashes with Pakistan since last week’s deadly fighting between the two countries.
"I will tell the global community also, if we talk to Pakistan, it will be about terrorism only...it will be about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir," Modi said, referring to Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The clashes erupted following India’s strikes on what it said were "terrorist camps" in Pakistan on Wednesday, a fortnight after 26 men were killed in an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir.
New Delhi said the attack was backed by Islamabad, a charge denied by Pakistan.
The fighting stopped after the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday. Trump’s mediation offer on Kashmir puts India in a tight spot (BBC)
BBC [5/12/2025 11:00 PM, Anbarasan Ethirajan, 69901K]
For decades, if there’s one thing that’s been a taboo in the Indian foreign ministry, it is third-party mediation - particularly in the long-running dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir.
Those in the know, then, are not surprised that US President Donald Trump - known for his unorthodox diplomacy - has touched a raw nerve in Delhi.
On Saturday, he took to social media to announce that India and Pakistan - after four tense days of cross-border clashes - had agreed to a "full and immediate ceasefire", brokered by the US.
Later, in another post he said: "I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at, concerning Kashmir.".
The Kashmir dispute dates back to 1947, when India got independence from British rule and was partitioned to create Pakistan. Both neighbours claim the Kashmir region in whole, but administer it only in part.
Several rounds of bilateral talks over the decades have not yielded any resolution. India treats Kashmir as an integral part of its territory and rules out any negotiation, particularly through a third party.
The latest flare-up began after India carried out air strikes on what it called terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan in the aftermath of the attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, killing 26 people, mainly tourists.
India blames Pakistan of involvement in the incident, a charge denied by Islamabad.
Trump’s intervention came as fighting between the two nuclear-armed rivals was threatening to spiral into a full-blown conflict.
The two sides were using fighter jets, missiles and drones and said they were targeting each other’s military installations, mainly in the border areas.
While US mediators, alongside diplomatic backchannels, prevented a bigger conflagration, President Trump’s offer has put Delhi in a spot.
"Obviously, it would not be welcome by the Indian side. It goes against our stated position for many years," Shyam Saran, a former Indian foreign secretary, tells the BBC.
Islamabad, on the other hand, has welcomed Trump’s comments.
"We also appreciate President Trump’s expressed willingness to support efforts aimed at the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute - a longstanding issue that has serious implications for peace and security in South Asia and beyond," a foreign ministry statement said.
Delhi’s position on Kashmir has hardened, especially after it withdrew the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, triggering widespread protests in Kashmir.
President Trump’s recent comments have irked many Indians, who see this as an attempt to "internationalise" the Kashmir dispute.
The main opposition Congress party wanted an explanation from the government and an all-party meeting on the "ceasefire announcements made from Washington DC first".
"Have we opened the doors to third-party mediation? The Indian National Congress would like to ask if diplomatic channels between India and Pakistan are being reopened," said the Congress party spokesman Jairam Ramesh.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement announcing the ceasefire also said that the two countries have also agreed "to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site". This has caught the Indians by surprise.
Delhi has refused to hold discussions with Islamabad, accusing its neighbour of supporting what it calls cross-border terrorism.
Historically, India has opposed any third-party mediation, quoting an agreement signed in 1972 after a war between the two countries a year earlier. As per the Simla agreement signed by the country’s leaders, they "resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations".
Indian officials also argue that even when they reach an understanding with a civilian government in Pakistan, the country’s powerful military launched operations undermining those deals. They point to the Kargil war in 1999, when another conflict between the two countries began after a group of Pakistan-backed militants occupied strategic areas in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The conflict took place months after the then Indian and Pakistani prime ministers agreed to resolve issues through bilateral negotiations and refrain from interfering in each other’s internal matters.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has not formally responded to President Trump’s offer to mediate.
But Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said: "India has consistently maintained a firm and uncompromising stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It will continue to do so.".
It is being seen as an indication that India may not be restarting direct bilateral talks soon.
The view from Pakistan is different.
"Pakistan has always wanted third-party mediation in the Kashmir issue in the absence of mutual trust between the two countries," Imtiaz Gul, the executive director of Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, tells the BBC.
"Now a superpower is willing to stick its neck out. Pakistan will see this as a moral victory," Mr Gul says.
Pakistani strategic experts like Syed Muhammad Ali argue it is because of India’s consistent refusal to engage with Pakistan that the international community should step in to avoid any future conflict.
"Kashmir is one of the most critical issues for the international community. The recent rapid escalation proves that the sabre-rattling can go out of hand," Mr Ali says.
India’s assertive diplomacy, particularly since Modi took over in 2014, has been seen as a sign of its confidence as a rising global economic power.
But it will have to pull off a tough balancing act, to stave off Trump’s advances.
The US has courted India in recent years as a bulwark against an increasingly assertive China. India is a key member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue group (Quad), along with the US, Australia and Japan, that was formed to counter Chinese expansionism in the Indo-Pacific.
In recent decades, Washington has also sold modern transport planes, helicopters and other military equipment to Delhi, which is keen to modernise its 1.4 million strong military, that relies heavily on Russian weaponry.
The previous American administrations were aware of India’s sensitivities towards the Kashmir issue and largely stayed away from interfering with it. But with Trump, there’s a question mark over whether that position still holds.
The US is the largest trading partner of India with bilateral trade reaching about $130bn (£98bn) in 2024. Modi’s government is currently negotiating a trade deal with Washington to avoid tariffs.
Delhi will have to walk a fine line. It will be averse to taking up Trump’s offer to mediate, or see the US-brokered ceasefire, or "understanding" as it calls it, going beyond the current military tensions. But it’s also keen to have a favourable trading relationship with the US.
Any attempt to broaden the talks - on contentious bilateral issues like the now suspended river water-sharing treaty or the status of Kashmir - will invite strong criticism at the domestic level, a trap that Modi is well aware of. India Proposes First Counter Move Against Trump’s Tariff Regime (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [5/13/2025 3:29 AM, Shruti Srivastava, 5.5M]
India has proposed levies on some US goods in response to Washington’s duties on steel and aluminum, marking its first retaliation against President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, even as the two countries move closer to finalizing a trade deal.
The South Asian nation has informed the World Trade Organization that the US tariffs on these metals are “safeguard measures” — trade restrictions — that will adversely impact India’s trade, according to a notification on Monday.
New Delhi reserves its right to “suspend concessions or other obligations” as a counter measure to the US duties, the notification said, citing WTO rules.
The move marks India’s first retaliatory action during Trump’s second term. Just last month, even as the US president announced a flurry of new tariffs, New Delhi had signaled it would refrain from any tit-for-tat moves, choosing instead to prioritize negotiations toward a bilateral trade deal. Both countries aim to finalize the agreement by this fall.“India’s latest WTO action comes at a delicate moment,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of New Delhi-based think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative. “New Delhi and Washington are exploring a broader free trade agreement, and this retaliation could cast a shadow over negotiations.”
According to the WTO notification, India said that Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs would impact $7.6 billion worth of Indian exports, on which the duty collection would be $1.91 billion.“Accordingly, India’s proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected from products originating in the United States,” it said, without specifying the commodities impacted.
Early this year, Trump slapped 25% levies on all US imports of steel and aluminum effective March 12 as part of his plans to reshape trade ties with the rest of the world. Indian exporters at the time had urged New Delhi to counter Washington’s tariffs.
Shift in Tone
During Trump’s first term, India had imposed higher customs duties on 28 US goods in response to Washington’s 2019 decision to end trade concessions on $5.7 billion of products.
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So far, India had adopted a conciliatory approach during Trump’s second term. Earlier in the year, New Delhi overhauled its tariff regime, reducing import duties on some 8,500 industrial items, including on prominent American goods like bourbon whiskey and high-end motorcycles made by Harley-Davidson Inc., satisfying a longtime grievance of the US president.
New Delhi’s WTO action, however, signals a tougher stance, according to Srivastava. “India’s move reflects a broader shift: a willingness to assert itself within global trade rules to protect its economic interests,” he said in a note on Tuesday.
The notification comes the same week Indian officials have pushed back against Trump’s suggestion that trade with the US was used as a bargaining chip in a just-concluded ceasefire between India and Pakistan.“If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade,” Trump said at the White House on Monday, referring to discussions with the two sides.
Indian officials, who asked not to be identified, told reporters that trade was never discussed with US officials in a series of conversations in the lead up to the truce with Pakistan. India Proposes Counter Duties Against US, Notice to WTO Shows (Reuters)
Reuters [5/13/2025 2:20 AM, Shivangi Acharya and Hritam Mukherjee, 24727K]
India is looking at levying import duties on some products made in the United States to counter Washington’s tariffs on steel and aluminium products, a document submitted to the World Trade Organization shows."The proposed suspension of concessions or other obligations takes the form of an increase in tariffs on selected products originating in the United States," the document dated May 12 said.It did not say what kind of products might be subjected to tariffs.In March, the U.S. imposed 25% levies on steel and aluminium imports - an extension of tariffs first imposed in 2018 during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.India, the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel, said in its document to the WTO that the measures would affect $7.6 billion worth of India-made products imported into the United States.In addition to the duties on steel and aluminium, Trump’s administration has threatened reciprocal tariffs of 26% on Indian goods. The two countries are trying to clinch a trade deal, with New Delhi offering to slash its tariff gap with the U.S. by two-thirds.India has some of the world’s highest tariffs on imports, and Trump has previously called India a "tariff abuser".India has also levied tariffs of its own on steel. Last month, it imposed 12% temporary tariffs to curb imports of cheap steel, primarily from China.In addition to its attempts to stem supply domestically, New Delhi is also trying to secure greater access for Indian steel exports through trade talks with partner countries. NSB
Bangladesh’s interim government strips former ruling party of registration, barring it from polls (AP)
AP [5/13/2025 1:11 AM, Julhas Alam, 456K]
Bangladesh’s Election Commission has cancelled the registration of the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, preventing it from participating in the next national election, which is expected to be held by June next year.
The decision on Monday came hours after the country’s interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus issued an official notification banning the Awami League party and its affiliated bodies from conducting activities online and elsewhere.
Monday’s formal notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs was issued two days after the interim Cabinet decided to ban all activities of the party under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act until a special tribunal concludes a trial for the party and its leaders.
In the notification, the government said it outlawed all activities “including any kind of publication, media, online and social media” as well as “any kind of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering (or) conference until the trial of the leaders and activists … is completed.”
It said the decision was effective immediately.
Separately, the Election Commission said Monday it would not allow the Hasina-led party to contest the next election. Political parties must be registered with the Election Commission to take part in elections.
A government adviser said Monday that anyone who posts comments online in support of the Awami League party would face arrest.
On Sunday, the Awami League accused the interim government of “stoking division” and trampling on “democratic norms” by banning its activities. It said in a statement that the ban “stoked division within society, strangled democratic norms, fueled ongoing pogrom against dissenters and strangled inclusivity, all undemocratic steps.”
The Awami League is one of two major parties in Bangladesh, which has a fractious parliamentary democracy with a violent history of coups and political assassination.
Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh’s independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, fled the country on Aug. 5 last year and has been in exile in India since then along with many senior party colleagues and former Cabinet minsters and lawmakers. They have been accused of killing protesters during an uprising against Hasina’s 15-year rule in July-August last year.
The United Nations human rights office said in a report in February that up to 1,400 people may have been killed during three weeks of anti-Hasina protests. But the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights recommended in a report to “refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multi-party democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate.”
The Awami League, which led a nine-month war against Pakistan for independence in 1971, has been under severe pressure since Hasina’s ouster. Protesters have attacked and torched many of its offices including its headquarters in Dhaka. It accuses the interim government of sponsoring mobs to attack the homes and businesses of their activists and leaders. It said thousands of its supporters have been arrested across the country and that many have been killed.
Yunus has said the next election will likely be held either in December or in June next year. Ousted Bangladesh PM’s Party Barred From Election (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [5/13/2025 2:27 AM, Staff, 931K]
Bangladesh’s election commission has suspended the registration of the Awami League, the political party of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, barring its participation in future parliamentary polls.
The move comes after the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus banned the Awami League on Sunday pending the outcome of a trial over its crackdown on mass protests that prompted Hasina’s ouster last year.
The Awami League is the oldest political party in Bangladesh and led the country’s liberation war in 1971.
According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 protesters died in July-August 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the opposition.
Hasina, 77, remains in self-imposed exile in India and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka over charges of crimes against humanity.
Akhter Ahmed, senior secretary of the Bangladesh Election Commission, said they had suspended the registration of the Awami League based on a recommendation from the home ministry.
"The home ministry has imposed a ban on all sorts of organisational activities of the Bangladesh Awami League and the organisations aligned with it," he told reporters late Monday.
"In continuation of that decision, the election commission has decided to suspend the AL’s registration with the commission."
Yunus, 84, has said parliamentary elections will be held as early as December, and by June 2026 at the latest.
The election commission also issued a directive prohibiting the party and its affiliates from conducting any political activity, including rallies and conferences, until the International Crimes Tribunal completes its proceedings.
In Bangladesh, political parties must be registered with the election commission to engage in political activities, including participating in elections.
It is the third time the AL has been banned.
The first came in 1971 under Pakistani military ruler Yahya Khan and the second was in 1975 under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman when he initiated a one-party government in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Investigators Say Ousted PM Behind Deadly Crackdown (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [5/12/2025 7:01 AM, Staff, 931K]
Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina masterminded a deadly crackdown on mass protests that prompted her ouster last year, prosecutors at a domestic war crimes tribunal said Monday.
Up to 1,400 people died in July 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the opposition, according to the United Nations.
Hasina lives in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled by helicopter, and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka over charges of crimes against humanity.
"The investigation team has found Sheikh Hasina culpable in at least five charges," Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor at Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told reporters.
"They have brought charges of abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising."
Tajul Islam said the prosecution had submitted its first report to be presented at the court set to try Hasina and two of her aides -- former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and ex-police chief Abdullah Al Mamun.
"Sheikh Hasina directly ordered law enforcement agencies and auxiliary forces aligned with her party to kill and maim, and to burn corpses and even people who were still alive at certain points," he added.
The ICT was set up in 2009 by Hasina to investigate crimes committed by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh’s war for independence in 1971.
Investigators have collected video footage, audio clips, Hasina’s phone conversations, records of helicopter and drone movements as well as statements from victims of the crackdown as part of their probe.
Bangladesh’s interim government on Saturday banned Hasina’s party, the Awami League, pending the outcome of the trial.
The decision was taken to ensure the country’s "sovereignty and security" as well as the safety of the protesters, plaintiffs and witnesses of the tribunal, Asif Nazrul, a government advisor on law and justice, told reporters.
Bangladesh has requested India to extradite her but has not yet received a response. India extends financial support to debt-ridden Maldives (Reuters)
Reuters [5/12/2025 6:35 AM, Sudipto Ganguly and Karin Strohecker, 5.2M]
India said on Monday it has extended financial support to the Maldives by rolling over New Delhi’s subscription to a $50 million treasury bill by another year at the request of the archipelago’s government.
The State Bank of India (SBI.NS) has extended the subscription to the bill issued by the Maldives’ finance ministry, India’s high commission there said in a statement on its X account.
Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel thanked the Indian government for extending "crucial financial support".
"This timely assistance reflects the close bonds of friendship between Maldives and India and will support the Government’s ongoing efforts to implement fiscal reforms for economic resilience," he said on X.
China and India remain the Maldives’ biggest creditor nations and both regional rivals vie for influence in the strategically located Indian Ocean nation, whose economy has struggled with low foreign exchange reserves and substantial external debt, sparking fears of a default.
According to World Bank data, the country’s total public and publicly guaranteed debt rose to $9.4 billion - or more than 134% of GDP - in the last quarter of 2024, a more than $1 billion uptick year-on-year.
"The credit rating downgrades by Fitch and Moody’s in the second half of 2024 have further constrained the country’s ability to access markets for new financing," the World Bank said in a report on the Maldives, warning that the country’s debt servicing in 2025 and 2026 will see a spike. Nepal holds tribute for disappearing glacier (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [5/12/2025 12:22 PM, Staff, 126906K]
Dozens trekked to Nepal’s Yala glacier for a ceremony Monday to mark its rapid disappearance due to climate change and put a spotlight on global glacial retreat.The Yala glacier, located between 5,170 and 5,750 metres above sea level, is in the Langtang Valley in northern Nepal.Since 1974, the glacier has shrunk in area by 66 percent and retreated 784 meters, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development(ICIMOD).Scientists warn it may eventually disappear by the 2040s if the warming trend continues, and might be among the first in Nepal to join the growing numbers of glaciers declared "dead" worldwide."In the 40 years I have studies this glacier, I have seen it halve with my own eyes. We worry that the next generation might not be able to see it," Sharad Prasad Joshi, a cryosphere specialist at ICIMOD, told AFP.Prayer flags fluttered Monday as Buddhist monks performed a ceremony for Yala, with the Himalayas towering behind them.Two granite plaques were unveiled engraved with memorial messages in Nepali, English and Tibetan."This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it," part of the message in one of the plaques read.The words were by Icelandic writer Andri Snaer Magnason, whose message is also at the site of the world’s first glacier funeral in Iceland.Glacier funerals have also been held in Mexico, the United States and Switzerland.The ceremony comes as the world marked near-record high global temperatures in April, according to the EU’s climate monitor.In its latest bulletin, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said that April was the second-hottest in its dataset, which draws on billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations.All but one of the last 22 months exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the warming limit enshrined in the Paris agreement, beyond which major and lasting climate and environmental changes become more likely.Yala is one of seven glaciers in the 3,500 kilometre-long arc of the Hindu Kush Himalayas to have been monitored annually for a decade or more, according to ICIMOD.Joshi said that the ceremony was also to honour the glacier as it has been an "open textbook" for young researchers and glaciologists.Himalayan glaciers, providing critical water to nearly two billion people, are melting faster than ever before due to climate change, exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters.Experts say that on current melt rates, many glaciers worldwide will not survive the 21st century.Last month, the United Nations said that all 19 of the world’s glacier regions experienced a net loss of mass in 2024 for the third consecutive year.Together, they lost 450 billion tonnes of mass, the organization said, citing new data from the Swiss-based World Glacier Monitoring Service.Maheshwar Dhakal, chief at the Nepal government’s climate change management division, said in a statement shared by ICIMOD that Nepal is at the frontlines of the impacts of temperature rise despite minimal emissions."We are urging world leaders to pay attention to the changes in mountain glaciers, such as Yala, because our own fate, and futures, is bound up in those of our frozen freshwater reserves," Dhakal said."Glacier loss is irreversible on human timescales. The time to act is now." Central Asia
UAE signs agreements worth more than $5 billion with Kazakhstan, minister says (Reuters)
Reuters [5/12/2025 1:04 PM, Menna Alaa El-Din and Ahmed Tolba, 41523K]
The United Arab Emirates signed 22 agreements worth more than $5 billion with Kazakhstan, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said on X.
He did not provide details on the agreements. Russian Pressure and Kazakhstan’s Embattled Civil Society (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [5/12/2025 8:46 AM, Henry De Jong, 777K]
Kazakhstan has long been criticized for its poor record on media freedom, especially in regard to political reporting. According to Reporters Without Borders’ 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Kazakhstan ranks 141th out of 180 countries.
When President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev cryptically alluded to "those who seek to destabilize Kazakhstan’s internal tranquility" at the 34th session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan on April 24, activists and journalists interpreted the statement as yet another chilling signal.
The Assembly, established in 1995 to promote interethnic harmony, is officially presented as an advisory body. But some argue it serves as a top-down tool to manage ethnic relations and reinforce state messaging on unity and stability which is often the pretext for pressure on media.
A troubling pattern had already emerged before Tokayev’s remarks.
On the evening of April 10, police detained independent journalist Lukpan Akhmedyarov in Astana while he was filming near Triathlon Park. The 49-year-old journalist stated that his detention may be linked to his recent reporting on Kazakh citizens allegedly coerced into military contracts in Russia after traveling there for work. Akhmedyarov said relatives of some workers contacted him, and following his reports, Kazakhstan’s diplomatic mission reportedly repatriated at least one individual.
It was later confirmed that a criminal investigation had been opened under Article 274 of Kazakhstan’s criminal code, which refers to the "dissemination of knowingly false information." Akhmedyarov was designated a "witness with the right to defense." He claimed the police complaint that triggered the case was filed by a woman who had contacted him — and that she faced pressure from law enforcement to do so.
The next day, coincidentally, Temirlan Yensebek, a civil activist and creator of the satirical platform Qaznews24, was sentenced to five years restricted freedom and a severe ban on public activity following a conviction of "inciting interethnic discord through social media." Almaty police had detained Yensebek on January 17. His trial was postponed multiple times before being settled in one day.
The charges reportedly stemmed from a satirical post referencing Tina Kandelaki, a well-known Russian propagandist under sanctions, accompanied by the song "Yo, Orystar" (Kazakh for "Yo, Russians"). The rap track, long popular in Kazakhstan, only recently became controversial enough to face suppression.
Notably, a prosecutor and a judge with the same names as those handling Yensebek’s case were also involved in 2017 proceedings against civil activist Olesya Khalabuzar.
Both Yensebek and Akhmedyarov have faced prior scrutiny. In 2021, Yensebek was questioned in a separate "false information" case, which was eventually dropped. He was also targeted by the Pegasus spyware, according to Apple and human rights groups. Akhmedyarov, meanwhile, has long faced pressure, from forced removal of campaign ads to previous arrests.
Following these cases, on April 22, Timur Nusimbekov, editor-in-chief of the Adamdar/CA website and a vocal pro-Ukraine figure, was summoned for questioning over a complaint filed against him.
These cases share a common thread: Russia.
Russian state media outlet TASS’s coverage of Yensebek’s case notably centered on claims that the Qaznews24 post "offended" Russians as an ethnicity.
Akhmedyarov’s reporting on Russian military recruitment may have crossed a political red line after some dismissed his claims as "fake.".
Nusimbekov’s troubles stemmed from a complaint filed by a woman who accused him of insulting Kazakhstan’s president under a pseudonym. The woman runs a Telegram channel frequently reposting content from anonymous accounts and the "Budanbay – Central Asia" channel. That channel is reportedly operated by Anton Budarov, pro-Russian Kazakh blogger. Budanov has pushed familiar Russian propaganda lines, including assertions about the rise of fascistic nationalism in Kazakhstan.
Complicating matters further, the arrest of Akhmedyarov and sentencing of Yensebek coincided with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s April 10 visit to Almaty. At the time, Lavrov publicly challenged Tokayev’s 2022 comments on Russia-occupied Ukrainian territories – an apparent effort to pressure Astana to recognize Moscow’s claims, especially amid the Trump administration’s seemingly open sympathies for Russia.
Kazakhstan’s domestic media space has become crowded with anonymous Telegram channels amplifying seemingly pro-government narratives. At the same time, familiar themes – Russophobia, anti-Western sentiment, Ukraine, and the Russian language – suggest an effort to steer public opinion in Moscow’s favor, particularly through tactics resembling Matryoshka operations.
"Matryoshka" refers to a Russian information warfare method that layers fake, anonymous, or seemingly independent media outlets and social media accounts – like nesting dolls – to push coordinated pro-Russian narratives. Local actors could still be outsourcing them as unreachable and untraceable instruments of pressure.
Although many of these channels push the boundaries of Kazakhstan’s laws against knowingly false information and defamation, they remain operational, with some often posting in coordinated waves. While authorities have acknowledged the need to address the issue, tangible progress has been minimal, underscoring their scale and persistence.
Recently, a disinformation campaign using deepfakes targeted Kazakhstan’s civil society and officials, falsely linking them to the Immortal Regiment, a major Russian commemorative march that typically occurs on May 9, the day the countries of the former Soviet Union marked the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany. AI-generated videos and fake online ads named independent journalists and regional officials as participants — later debunked as fabrications.
Despite weeks of official silence, Almaty announced an "Immortal Regiment March" under the Kazakh name "Tribute to the Heroes," while Astana marked Victory Day with a military parade — although not on May 9. These events may reflect an effort to placate pro-Russian audiences amid attempts to maintain neutrality and rebrand them as domestic remembrances.
Similarly, Kazakh authorities may have seen an opportunity to silence prominent civil society figures — particularly Yensebek — while also signaling loyalty to Moscow. His QazNews platform is continuing operations. Yet even these moves may not have fully satisfied the Kremlin.
Astana remains acutely aware of the unofficial red lines it must navigate, despite occasional talk of recalibrating its approach to Russian soft power, evidenced by the abrupt removal of a deputy pushing for the Kazakh renaming of cities. Reports of a so-called blacklist naming prominent pro-Russian voices, including Kremlin ideologue Alexander Dugin, add to the complexity of this delicate balancing act.
Signals continue from both sides: Tokayev has publicly stressed in Russian that discrimination on the basis of language is unacceptable and reaffirmed that Russia remains Kazakhstan’s strategic partner. The country may also be grappling with internal pressure from more conservative factions, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which pushed for an anti-LGBT "propaganda" law.
Kazakhstan could be facing a situation not dissimilar to Ukraine, where Russian agents and sympathizers purportedly infiltrated official bodies, muddying the waters between truly domestic sentiments and the products of foreign influence.
Recent false claims about "large brigades" being deployed near the Russian border forced Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry to issue public denials.
The shadow of Moscow still looms large — and Kazakhstan’s balancing act is becoming ever more precarious, with civil society caught in the crossfire at a moment when its voice is needed most to counter Russian disinformation campaigns. Will Kazakhstan’s Uranium Fuel An AI Boom In Central Asia? (Forbes)
Forbes [5/12/2025 9:00 AM, Ariel Cohen, 91738K]
The Trump administration has determined that the United States must secure a position as the global leader in AI "in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security," per presidential Executive Order of January 23, 2025. The world’s top tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and others, have bet on artificial intelligence and are racing to build the most sophisticated models. They’ve also identified the fact that they’re going to need electricity – a lot of electricity.
Early developments have demonstrated that AI requires significantly more power than traditional computing. In fact, global data centers are projected to consume more power than the nation of Japan by 2030, prompting companies to invest in their own energy sources to avoid potential supply bottlenecks. This has pushed private tech companies into the energy supply industry, with Google even pushing for its own nuclear reactor. Locales that can provide the cheapest, abundant energy while possessing tech-savvy human capital for data centers and tech companies will be at a huge advantage.
Governments are seeking to leverage AI investment to accelerate societal and economic development and bootstrap to the next level of economic development. While some observers express concerns that the growth of AI could widen the gap between the developed world and emerging markets, it also provides an opportunity for energy-rich developing countries to technologically leapfrog. Few regions are better equipped to exploit this uranium and AI boom than the world’s largest exporter of uranium: Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh Uranium Supply
The race toward the AI future is transforming geopolitics. In Kazakhstan, which borders Russia and China, AI is helping to push a geopolitical reorientation towards the West. This isn’t just about deterring its neighbors, but also so the AI boom doesn’t cut Kazakhstan off from global development.
Kazakhstan seeks to use its plentiful local energy resources to make AI a developmental priority. Astana’s strategy specifically involves leveraging the country’s well-established position as the world’s largest supplier of uranium ore to the country’s advantage. Kazakhstan produced between 21,000 and 22,500 tU in 2024 and is projecting increased production at between 25,000 and 26,500 tU in 2025. The country’s uranium reserves and its increasing output have made it a linchpin in the global uranium supply chain. This status as a linchpin isn’t just due to total supply, as other notable producers of uranium in Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan, must traverse through Kazakhstan to export their uranium.
World powers, including the country’s two giant neighbors, recognize this position and are eager to engage in its developing civilian nuclear industry. Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s state nuclear company, which is publicly traded on the London exchange, has entered into joint venture agreements with Russia and China, as well as Canada, France, and Japan. The crowning achievement of this cooperation will be Kazakhstan’s new civilian nuclear plants. China’s rapidly increasing demand for emissions-free nuclear power and Russia’s historical relationship with Astana in the nuclear sector put them both in an advantageous position to pursue further involvement in spite of Kazakhstan’s purposeful pivot to the West.
The West can mitigate this by leveraging its ability to facilitate the development of the localized nuclear fuel supply chain through investment and technology transfer, resulting in the supply chain rooted in Kazakhstan going beyond ore mining. Additionally, Western nuclear and AI companies can integrate with Kazakhstani counterpart companies, investing in localized data centers and more partnerships with local firms.
From the U.S. perspective, building relationships with countries capable of supplying uranium will become critical as nuclear power becomes increasingly needed to meet the energy requirements to scale up AI. Following the 2024 order by the Biden administration to begin divesting from Russian supplies of uranium, which represented 35% of American nuclear fuel imports, the U.S. is facing a shortage. American efforts to build a new nuclear fuel supply chain are essential to compete in the modern technological arena viably, and for this reason, must be expedited.
Al in Almaty
Beyond having the means to power the infrastructure necessary for AI development, Kazakhstan is taking the lead in Central Asia in developing the talent and technology base necessary to support such an advanced industry. Kazakhstan has long emulated Western educational models and focused on human capital development. AI is now a mandatory part of higher education in the country, and it has been introduced into the national curriculum. This is a far-sighted step that not even the U.S. has taken yet, also serving as further evidence of Kazakhstan’s increasing orientation towards the U.S.
The March 28-30, 2025, AlmatyFair.ai summit brought together high-performing Kazakh AI companies to showcase their work. Among the technologies presented was KazLLM, a large language model trained in Kazakh, which allows professionals across IT industries to use a model trained in the local language to create AI-enhanced software that can be better tailored to users in Kazakhstan. Alem.ai is the country’s effort to boost its talent and capital base. It aims to train 10,000 specialists, launch 100 startups, and 10 research projects to ensure Kazakhstan becomes a hub where investors can confidently develop advanced AI. The KazLLM summit also featured existing IT innovation initiatives like the Central Asian Innovation Hubs, a private initiative that brings together Kazakhstan’s Astana Hub and Uzbekistan’s IT Park to promote, incubate, and invest in startups across Central Asia.
Not only will these developments result in regional percolation outwards to the rest of Central Asia, but these efforts are also drawing attention from global leaders in the AI space. For example, Google’s most recent cohort of its Cloud AI Accelerator selected two Kazakh startups, Alma and Cerebra, out of the fifteen in the entire cohort, while other tech players like Telegram and TikTok are already operating in the Astana Hub. Additionally, Singapore’s GK Hyperscale Ltd. invested $1.5 billion into the construction of Central Asia’s largest data center.
Kazakhstan’s Role in the Global AI Race
As the world’s most influential companies compete to grow their AI capabilities, Kazakhstan is gearing up to ride the wave of nuclear renaissance and AI revolution by boosting its uranium production and investing in world-class education, developing nuclear power, and developing its own IT industry. Astana’s aims were outlined by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in a recent speech to the country’s researchers on the importance of nuclear technology and AI.
Now is the time for U.S. companies and funders to step up and compete with Russian and Chinese enterprises, which already have a presence in both spaces in the region. To secure its global leadership in AI, it makes sense for U.S. enterprises to strengthen their cooperation with Kazakhstan to facilitate private investments and partnerships in the uranium and tech industries. Indo-Pacific
India and Pakistan Hold Talks Aimed at Extending Cease-Fire (New York Times)
New York Times [5/12/2025 4:14 PM, Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar, 831K]
Indian and Pakistani military leaders held talks on Monday intended to extend a tenuous cease-fire that has halted the most expansive fighting in decades between the two nuclear-armed states.
A sense of normalcy began to return on both sides of their border, two days after a U.S.-mediated truce ended their rapidly escalating military conflict.
Stock markets in both countries jumped on the first day of trading since the agreement was reached. India announced the resumption of civilian flights at over 30 airports in the north of the country, while in Pakistan, the authorities said that all airports were open.The situation along the two countries’ extensive boundary, however, remained uncertain, with tens of thousands of people still displaced. There were no reports of a major breach on Sunday night, the second evening of the cease-fire. But on Monday, brief drone sightings and explosions were reported in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
For most of last week, the two countries were engaged in intense fighting that brought cross-border shelling, drone warfare and claims from both sides that they had inflicted damage on the other’s military bases.
As called for in the agreement that stopped the armed conflict, military leaders from both sides on Monday discussed “issues related to continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action,” the Indian Army said in a statement.“It was also agreed that both sides consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas,” the statement said.
On Saturday, President Trump announced that the two sides had agreed to a cease-fire with the help of U.S. diplomacy, continuing past patterns of outside mediation when tensions rise between India and Pakistan.
The president again addressed his administration’s diplomatic efforts on Monday, saying he had made a threat to both nations in pushing them to cease their hostilities.“I said, ‘Come on, we will do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it, let’s stop it. If you stop it, we are doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we are not doing any trade,” Mr. Trump said. “All of a sudden, they said, ‘I think we will stop,’ and they have.”
The halt in the fighting, the president said, averted what could have been a nuclear war that would have killed millions of people.
While the Pakistani side has publicly acknowledged the American role in brokering the truce, the Indian government has insisted in its statements that it was reached only bilaterally with Pakistan. Privately, Indian officials acknowledge the role of U.S. diplomacy but have pushed back against suggestions that trade or anything else was used as pressure.
The Indian government’s sensitivity over the American involvement reflects its efforts for several years to portray its dispute with Pakistan, especially over the contested territory of Kashmir, as a small issue that it can handle directly.
If India’s strongman prime minister, Narendra Modi, were perceived as having caved to American pressure for a cease-fire against a weaker nation, it could cost him politically at home. Mr. Modi’s image rests in part on elevating India into a major power that would easily handle smaller nations in any conflict, and he raised expectations that India would deliver a decisive blow to Pakistan as tensions soared.
Mr. Modi, in his first address to the nation since the terrorist attack last month that ignited the standoff, said on Monday that India had “just suspended” its military strikes and would assess its next steps based on “what sort of attitude Pakistan will adopt.”
The prime minister accused Pakistan of engaging in “nuclear blackmail” and said that India would “strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hide-outs developing under the cover” of that threat.
He described the initial strikes that his military carried in Pakistan early on Wednesday, which then escalated to a fierce aerial confrontation, as an “unwavering commitment to justice.”
Mr. Modi said that the attendance of senior Pakistani military officers at the funerals of people India had identified as terrorists and targeted in strikes was evidence of “state-sponsored terrorism.” Photographs of the funerals showed the Pakistani officers in attendance.
The recent conflict was set off by a terrorist attack that killed 26 people late last month on the Indian side of Kashmir, a territory claimed by both countries. New Delhi blamed the carnage on groups that it said were receiving support from Pakistan — an accusation Islamabad has denied — and vowed retaliation.
Two weeks after the massacre, which happened near the town of Pahalgam, India bombed what it described as terrorist facilities in Pakistan.
The two countries have fought several wars against each other and have engaged in periodic clashes closer to the line that divides Kashmir between them. But last week’s airstrikes hit the deepest targets that India had struck in mainland Pakistan in at least half a century.
Pakistan retaliated soon after. While the traditional artillery shelling along the border caused the largest number of civilian casualties, the face-off expanded rapidly in the skies, including the heavy use of drones and so-called loitering munitions to target each other’s military bases.
There was optimism in financial markets even before Monday’s announcement on continued military talks. Pakistani stocks soared, with the Karachi 100 index gaining almost 9 percent, a record. But trading was halted because the market rose so fast and by so much. The markets in India, which has an economy about 12 times the size of Pakistan’s, also jumped and more than erased last week’s losses.
The return to normalcy for those living along the line that divides Kashmir will be much more difficult.
People were still mourning the loss of loved ones, with about 20 civilians killed on the Indian side after days of cross-border shelling, and about 30 reported dead on the Pakistan side. Tens of thousands remain displaced from border villages.“No shelling has taken place here after the cease-fire,” said Narinder Singh, a resident of Poonch, in Indian-controlled Kashmir. “But the sense of fear is still there. Some people are slowly getting back to their homes. But still, many people are living outside at safe places.”
Suraya Begum, whose family had left her village along the so-called Line of Control to seek shelter in a college building in the city of Baramulla, said they were fed up with how often their lives had been upended by cross-border tensions.“If they want to fight forever, let them. But compensate us with land somewhere else, so that we can live a peaceful life,” she said. “Why should our children become sacrificial lambs for their politics?” India-Pakistan ceasefire holds. But the battle lines have changed. (Washington Post)
Washington Post [5/12/2025 11:45 AM, Rick Noack, Niha Masih and Shaiq Hussain, 6.9M]
When India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday, stepping back from the precipice of all-out war, the rival powers both declared victory.
But in Pakistan, analysts said Monday, the enthusiasm may be clouding a clearheaded assessment of how the latest aerial combat — the most serious since both countries developed nuclear weapons — has upended the regional status quo.
India has made no secret of its plans to change the rules of the game, and in some ways already has with its airstrikes Wednesday deep inside Pakistan, which killed more than 20 people. It has declared publicly that the next time militants attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, Pakistan should expect a similar, if not more muscular, military response.“What was a posture has become a doctrine,” said Ajay Bisaria, a former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan.
With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi already facing some domestic backlash for agreeing to the truce — which has largely held so far — he may feel pressured to pursue escalation the next time tensions spike, analysts said.
On Monday, in his first public comments on the conflict, Modi said the Indian operation last week “has drawn a new line in the fight against terrorism. It has set a new benchmark — a new normal.”
The fragility of the current calm appeared not to register in Pakistan, where newspaper editorials and politicians remained jubilant through the weekend. During a military news conference Sunday night, Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed said that by “reestablishing deterrence,” Pakistan had prevented India from “setting a new normal.”
Officials in Islamabad have continued to trumpet the downing of Indian warplanes Wednesday as a win for Pakistan’s Chinese technology over India’s more expensive Western equipment. A Washington Post visual analysis showed that at least two French-made Indian jets appear to have crashed during the initial wave of strikes. Pakistan says it shot down five fighter planes, a claim India has neither confirmed nor denied. New Delhi has said it achieved its military objectives and that it killed “100 terrorists.”
India miscalculated Wednesday when it “launched a missile attack on a nuclear-armed state without considering the consequences, without climbing the escalation ladder carefully,” said Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s former foreign minister.“It lacked the capability to defend itself against retaliation and misjudged Pakistan’s will and capacity to respond,” Khar said, adding that “for us, the belief in India’s conventional superiority has collapsed. More weapons do not equate to superiority — it’s about how effectively you use them.”
Najam Sethi, a prominent Pakistani journalist, believes the triumphalism is premature and potentially dangerous: “The Pakistanis are rejoicing in their success and are not getting ready to face the next onslaught. … I’m scared, to be honest.”
Absent from the celebrations is a recognition of how serious the fighting became in its final stages, particularly early Saturday, when India struck several military bases in Pakistan, including one in Rawalpindi, where the country’s armed forces are headquartered. The strikes prompted a large-scale Pakistani retaliation on military targets inside India.
At one point, the government body that oversees Pakistan’s nuclear and other strategic weapons was summoned for discussions with the prime minister, according to officials in Islamabad, alarming U.S. officials.“We conveyed to the U.S. that this is now very serious,” said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States. “The U.S. itself saw that the attack on the air base in Rawalpindi was just too close for comfort. … It was edging towards an all-out war.”
Later Saturday, President Donald Trump announced a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that India and Pakistan had also agreed “to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site,” raising hopes that the countries might be willing to broach more fundamental disputes — including the status of Kashmir.
But both India and Pakistan have described upcoming talks this week as low-level and technical. “There’s no indication that the talks the U.S. wants to have — which we would welcome — will happen anytime soon,” Lodhi said, blaming “Indian reluctance.” Indian officials have not directly addressed the possibility of broader talks.
India waited until Monday to announce the reopening of 32 civilian airports that were closed last week. Srinagar, the largest city in Indian-administered Kashmir, was still reeling from last week’s wave of drone attacks and loud explosions. The city’s popular gardens, usually full of tourists looking to escape the summer heat, were deserted.
In the town of Surankote, in Poonch district, where multiple camps were set up for families displaced from border areas, skepticism about the ceasefire runs deep. “The dilemma is whether to go back or wait,” said resident Saima Choudhary.
In New Delhi, analysts and commentators said the Indian leadership appeared far from deterred by Pakistan’s military response.
India has made clear that major militant acts will now prompt increasingly forceful military responses, said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi.“I think the nature of the operations and the depth of the strikes is going to result in significant adaptations by terrorist groups and their sponsors in Pakistan in the sense that it will no longer be possible for them to operate with impunity,” he said, potentially driving some of them underground.
Pakistan has denied any links to last month’s rampage by gunmen in a tourist area in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people — the deadliest assault on Indian civilians in more than 15 years. While India said its initial strikes inside Pakistan on Wednesday targeted militant sites in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan said the victims were civilians.
Over the past decade, each conflict that revolved around Kashmir has been bloodier — and has veered ever-closer to all-out war — said Christopher Clary, an associate professor of political science at the University at Albany and a former South Asia expert for the Defense Department.
In 2019, after a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary police, India launched an airstrike on a remote stretch of forest about 40 miles into Pakistani territory. Wednesday’s aerial assault extended into populous parts of Punjab for the first time in decades, and the Saturday strike in Rawalpindi was just a stone’s throw from the Pakistani capital.
Bisaria, the former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, said last week’s Indian strikes hit Pakistan “more decisively, more visibly” and established “a new equilibrium.”
The next time India feels compelled to enforce this new equilibrium, some experts worry its military may rely even more on missiles to avoid any further missteps by the air force.“There is this very real danger that another attack will come, and we will be back into a near war,” Clary said. “We just don’t have that many wars between nuclear-armed powers to know how dangerous this deadly game can be.” From missiles to ceasefire: how India and Pakistan pulled back from the brink (The Guardian)
The Guardian [5/12/2025 11:59 AM, Shah Meer Baloch and Hannah Ellis-Petersen, 1131K]
Indian surface-to-air missiles were already soaring towards Pakistan’s most significant military bases when the first call came from the US.
It was 4am in Islamabad and Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state and recently appointed US national security adviser, was on the line to the man everyone knew was calling the shots in Pakistan:army chief Gen Asim Munir.
It was the beginning of eight hours of negotiations, mediated by the US, that finally secured a fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan at midday on Saturday, according to two Pakistan security and intelligence officials who spoke to the Guardian. The agreement was first publicly announced by Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, although Pakistan said the US president never personally made any calls to their side during the negotiations.
When India first launched missiles at Pakistan early on Wednesday, as retribution for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April that killed 26 people, the US showed little interest in getting involved.
The US had already said India had "the right to defend itself" after the Kashmir attack, and India framed its strikes on Pakistan as solely hitting "terrorist camps" that threatened its national security, rather than any civilian or military targets.
Asked in the Oval office that day about the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Trump said dismissively: "They’ve been fighting for a long time. I just hope it ends very quickly."
Speaking on Thursday, his vice-president, JD Vance, said simply it was "none of our business".
But by late Friday night, as both sides escalated the conflict, it was made clear to the Trump administration that leaving the two nuclear armed countries to their own devices posed a danger not just to the region but to the world - and that the only third party mediator acceptable to both sides was the US, as it has historically been over decades. In particular, the US began to fear the escalation towards a nuclear threat was becoming a very real possibility.
This threat was seen to escalate further after India launched strikes at three critical Pakistani air bases, including Nur Khan air base in the city of Rawalpindi, in the early hours of Saturday - an attack said to be an attempt to pre-empt an imminent strike by Pakistan. The headquarters of the army and military wing who safeguard Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are based in Rawalpindi, and the army chief and the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, were so concerned that the PM called for a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA), the body in control of Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities. Pakistan later denied ever calling the meeting.
"At this point, the fear for everyone was a nuclear war between two arch rivals," said one Pakistan security official - something Trump referenced on Monday when he boasted on his Truth Social social media network that he had prevented a "bad nuclear war" between the two countries.
Trump had tasked Rubio with talking down the Pakistan side, while Vance was the one dealing directly with India and its prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Rubio made repeated calls not only to Munir, the army chief, but also Pakistan’s national security adviser, Asim Malik, and Sharif. According to officials, the message from Rubio was simple: this needs to stop.
Interventions were also made by Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE, and the UK also applied pressure through diplomatic backchannels.
"We welcomed the US intervention," said one Pakistan official. "We don’t want war but if it is imposed upon us, then we have no choice to respond with aggression, as we did."
India has since maintained that their fight was "only with terrorists" and that it was "a shame that the Pakistan military chose to intervene".
By 2.30pm on Saturday, the heads of both Pakistan and India’s military operations spoke on the phone for the first time since hostilities broke out. Initially they agreed for the ceasefire to begin at 4pm, but after reports of cross-border firing and drones along the disputed border in Kashmir, known as the line of control, it was pushed back.
As well as an end to all aggressions, the ceasefire included an agreement for future truce talks to take place between the two countries, likely in one of the Gulf states such as the UAE, according to officials.
Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, the former prime minister of Pakistan who has been privy to high level discussions, said the talks would primarily focus on securing the ceasefire and discussions on India’s ongoing suspension of the Indus River treaty, which governs critical water flow into Pakistan.
"Immediately Kashmir issue might not be discussed - but after some confidence building measures, the issue of Kashmir will be on the table," said Kakar.
While Pakistan openly discussed the US role in brokering peace, Sharif publicly thanking Trump for his involvement, India made no mention at all of any outside influence in the agreement - instead later claiming it was Pakistan who had first approached them for a ceasefire.
Indian officials did not respond to requests by the Guardian to discuss the ceasefire negotiations. However analysts said India’s refusal to discuss any US role in a ceasefire was indicative of the Modi government’s non-alignment foreign policy and its bullish rejection of outside interference in India’s affairs.
On Sunday, Trump - who seemed to have discovered a newfound interest in the subcontinent - tweeted that he was willing to work with India "to see if, after a ‘thousand years’, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir".
India and Pakistan’s dispute over Kashmir dates back not thousands of years, but instead to 1947, after the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan. The two countries have since fought three wars over the region, which remains divided between both. Indian-administered Kashmir is home to a decades-long violent insurgency, said to be backed and funded by Pakistan, and is one of the most militarised zones in the world.
India has historically rejected third-party mediation on Kashmir, viewing it as a sovereign issue, and remains highly sensitive to any discussion over it at an international level. Twitter
Afghanistan
Rep. Eric Swalwell@RepSwalwell
[5/12/2025 8:18 PM, 1.4M followers, 940 retweets, 2.3K likes]
Noem’s claim that Afghanistan’s “security situation has improved” is a damning lie. Afghanistan is under Taliban control. Deporting our allies who fought alongside our country means putting thousands of lives at risk. I’m proud to represent one of the largest hardworking Afghan communities in the U.S. They deserve protection, not betrayal. https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5295656-trump-administration-lifts-afghan-deportation/
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[5/12/2025 12:58 PM, 33.4K followers, 15 retweets, 46 likes]
#BREAKING -- @DHSGov Secretary Noem has decided to end TPS for Afghanistan -- learn more here.
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[5/12/2025 11:59 AM, 33.4K followers, 51 retweets, 130 likes]
#BREAKING: The U.S. just announced the termination of TPS for Afghanistan, effective July 12, 2025. Over 11,000 Afghans—many of whom fled Taliban rule and helped U.S. forces—will lose legal protection. A quick @AfghanEvac
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[5/12/2025 11:59 AM, 33.4K followers, 8 retweets, 30 likes]
.@DHSgov @SecNoem says Afghanistan no longer meets TPS criteria due to “improved security and economy.” Let’s be honest: The Taliban is still in power. Women are banned from school and work. There’s no real freedom or protection.
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[5/12/2025 11:59 AM, 33.4K followers, 6 retweets, 23 likes]
This isn’t policy—it’s abandonment. It ignores every on-the-ground reality and turns our back on wartime allies, human rights defenders, and women who dared to dream.
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[5/12/2025 11:59 AM, 33.4K followers, 6 retweets, 17 likes]
The administration claims this serves the “national interest.” But what kind of nation sends people back into the arms of the Taliban while pretending it’s about public safety?
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[5/12/2025 11:59 AM, 33.4K followers, 3 retweets, 24 likes]
AfghanEvac expects this to be fought:- In court- In Congress- In coalition with Afghans, veterans, and Americans of conscience
We won’t let this stand. We demand congress do SOMETHING to protect our allies because clearly @Sec_Noem and @StephenM are intent on betrayal.
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[5/12/2025 11:59 AM, 33.4K followers, 2 retweets, 18 likes]You can find the federal register notice at: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-08201.pdf
Beth W. Bailey@BWBailey85
[5/12/2025 12:00 PM, 8.5K followers, 4 retweets, 25 likes]
TPS designation set to be removed after a handful of bad actors found to have been given protected status under Biden admin, and 55 found to have applied for U.S. programs using multiple names. This is a bad outcome for the remaining 10,000 Afghans who did not engage in duplicity or criminality - and for all the Afghans still awaiting processing whose security checks have occurred long before they can come to the U.S.
Beth W. Bailey@BWBailey85
[5/12/2025 9:25 AM, 8.5K followers, 3 retweets, 30 likes]
Kreshma Fakhri of ZanTimes joined me on The Afghanistan Project Podcast to talk about the dangers she faced as a journalist long before the Afghanistan withdrawal, the deteriorating situation for women in Afghanistan today, and Zan Times’ vital work Please listen, share, and subscribe: https://youtu.be/Qv_zVzKn7OE?si=yu0AC-OHKQ6XCi1L
Jahanzeb Wesa@Jahanzeb_Wesa
[5/12/2025 2:13 PM, 5.8K followers, 27 retweets, 42 likes]
Tawazon has reported that the Taliban banned 130 local education classes for girls in Logar province, following their earlier actions in Paktika province. These classes were supported by UN agencies. The decision has deprived thousands of girls of their right to education.
Jahanzeb Wesa@Jahanzeb_Wesa
[5/12/2025 1:24 PM, 5.8K followers, 5 retweets, 8 likes]
8AM Reported:—Taliban have shut down 267 educational classes for young girls in Paktika, which were supported by organization WAIFA, and transferred the equipment to jihadist schools. Over 11,800 girls have been deprived of education, and hundreds of teachers are now unemployed.
Jahanzeb Wesa@Jahanzeb_Wesa
[5/12/2025 10:00 AM, 5.8K followers, 21 retweets, 22 likes]
Afghan journalists in exile warn of arrest, threats, and retaliation if deported. Over 18,000 Afghans were expelled from Pakistan last week. Many live in fear, & without protection—as calls to halt forced returns remain unanswered. Human rights activists face similar danger.
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[5/12/2025 4:24 AM, 62K followers, 2 retweets]
Disappointing to see @WHO sending an all-male delegation to meet the Taliban--unless a woman has been cropped out of the picture? Here’s more on why this is harmful: https://hrw.org/news/2021/10/18/when-foreign-men-talk-taliban-about-womens-rights Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[5/12/2025 6:01 AM, 6.8M followers, 913 retweets, 5.4K likes]
Pakistan welcomes the announcement of PKK’s dissolution, a significant step toward lasting peace and a terror-free Turkiye. This historic development reflects the unflinching resolve of the Turkish leadership, under my dear brother President Recep Tayyip Erdogan @RTErdogan and the Turkish nation, to continue their march forward towards reconciliation, unity and stability. Together, Pakistan and Turkiye remain committed to root out terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Mariam Solaimankhil@Mariamistan
[5/12/2025 5:23 PM, 100.5K followers, 53 retweets, 175 likes]
Pakistan’s drone incursions aren’t isolated- they’re strategic provocations. Karachi port isn’t just a Pakistani asset; it’s the backbone of China’s CPEC. If India decides to shuts it down, it’s not just Pakistan that bleeds- China’s entire regional game plan takes a hit. Let that sink in.
Hamid Mir@HamidMirPAK
[5/12/2025 3:45 PM, 8.7M followers, 3.6K retweets, 14K likes]
A Western tourist was stunned to see Chinese soldiers and Pakistani Soldiers dancing together at Khunjerab border crossing. These visuals are telling a lot about the changing scenario of this region where India is isolated. India must resolve its disputes with Pakistan & China. India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[5/12/2025 10:30 AM, 108.7M followers, 40K retweets, 155K likes]
Address to the nation. https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrDyrDznJX
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[5/12/2025 11:23 AM, 3.8M followers, 2.4K retweets, 14K likes]
An inspirational address to the nation by PM @narendramodi this evening. #OperationSindoor: A promise redeemed. Peace through strength; strength through action. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[5/12/2025 12:54 PM, 289.5K followers, 375 retweets, 1.6K likes]
In an implicit rebuke of Trump, who says he wants "to see if ... a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir," Modi declares any Indian negotiations with Pakistan will focus solely on: (i) the return to India of the Pakistan-held part of Jammu and Kashmir; and (ii) terrorism.
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
[5/12/2025 3:06 AM, 289.5K followers, 2K retweets, 5.5K likes]
Five years on, India’s government still hasn’t explained how it was blindsided by China’s stealth land-grabs in Ladakh. Worse, it has sought to obscure the current reality on the ground. Now, a new and troubling question confronts the nation: Why did India, under U.S. pressure, abruptly halt a military campaign against Pakistan just as its armed forces had seized the upper hand? Instead of capitalizing on that military momentum to secure a decisive outcome, the operation was inconclusively terminated within three days — after a phone call from JD Vance to Modi. Typically, a ceasefire is carefully negotiated, with terms vetted and agreed upon by both parties. Yet in this case, an oral understanding was hastily cobbled together — without any commitment from either the U.S. or Pakistan to dismantle the latter’s state-sponsored terrorist infrastructure. The root cause of the conflict was left unaddressed, even as Washington shielded Pakistan from the consequences of its actions. The result? Donald Trump — the real estate mogul who has fancied acquiring Greenland, the Panama Canal and even Gaza — has now turned his gaze to Kashmir, while remaining conspicuously silent on the cross-border terrorism that India continues to face.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[5/12/2025 1:20 PM, 225.3K followers, 64 retweets, 536 likes]
India has ruled out formal talks with Pakistan since early 2016, when terrorists targeted an Indian airbase soon after Modi visited Pakistan. And the article 370 revocation in 2019, in India’s view, ruled out any future talks on J&K. Recent days have likely solidified this view.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[5/12/2025 1:20 PM, 225.3K followers, 9 retweets, 87 likes]
In that sense, US claims of upcoming India-Pak talks and Trump’s pitch for a Kashmir “solution” put the US at odds w/India on these critical & sensitive issues. US-India ties will have inevitable blips, but this one wasn’t on my bingo card. Will need to be quietly smoothed over.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[5/12/2025 11:35 AM, 225.3K followers, 145 retweets, 909 likes]
Modi’s speech more or less confirmed what was presumed from the start: Talks between India and Pakistan on a “broader set of issues,” which the US claimed will follow the ceasefire, are a nonstarter. But wouldn’t rule out Trump personally offering to host talks in a 3rd country.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[5/12/2025 11:29 AM, 225.3K followers, 51 retweets, 469 likes]
Notable that Modi repeated his longstanding position that “terror and talks cannot happen together,” but he also identified terrorism as one of the two issues (Pak-administered Kashmir being the other) that can be discussed in talks with Pakistan.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[5/12/2025 11:18 AM, 225.3K followers, 164 retweets, 1.1K likes]
Modi, in his first public comments on the recent crisis and ceasefire: “We have only suspended our retaliatory actions on Pakistan’s terrorist and military bases for now. We will assess every step taken by Pakistan based on its actions.”
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[5/12/2025 10:36 AM, 225.3K followers, 157 retweets, 895 likes]
Trump said today that trade is a big reason why India and Pakistan stopped fighting. He’d said earlier that with the ceasefire, he’ll now expand trade with both. I wouldn’t be surprised if US officials used trade/tariffs as a pressure point during their mediation.
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[5/12/2025 10:50 AM, 225.3K followers, 28 retweets, 212 likes]
Trump: “I said, ‘come on. We’re gonna do a lot of trade with you guys. If you stop it [fighting] we’re doing trade, if you don’t stop it we’re not gonna do any trade.’” NSB
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[5/12/2025 6:58 AM, 161.2K followers, 18 retweets, 154 likes]
Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi Briefs Ambassadors and High Commissioners on progress in Labour Reforms DHAKA, May 12 — Special Envoy to the Chief Adviser for International Affairs, Lutfey Siddiqi, held a high-level meeting with top Western nations ambassadors and high commissioners, including US, UK, Canada, European Union and ILO on Monday at the Chief Adviser’s Office in Tejgaon to review the past eight months of progress on labour reforms and outline the government’s roadmap ahead. He was joined by technical experts and labour rights specialists.
Lutfey delivered the first full summary of the government’s reform efforts since the July 2024. “Over the past eight months, we’ve made dramatic progress,” Lutfey said. “The ILO roadmap is not just a guide — it’s a commitment. We’re investing time, energy and goodwill to get this right both in terms of process and outcome”. He commended the personal engagement and moral authority of Labour Advisor Dr. Sakhawat Hossain who spent hours with tripartite stakeholders to bring them along.
Labour Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman said, “We are targeting July 2025 for conclusion of Labour law amendments and other substantial milestones. The process is moving fast.” European Union Ambassador Michael Miller called the process “unprecedented,” adding, “we note that there’s been a lot of social dialogue and we appreciate the sense of urgency. We look forward to seeing the draft legislation soon and track tangible improvements on the ground. Resolution of this has implications for continued access to EU markets.”
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Tracey Ann Jacobson said, “We welcome the momentum under the current government and would also like to see accountability for past violations.” Canadian High Commissioner Ajit Singh added, “We appreciate the work done so far and support the ILO roadmap. This is particularly important for Bangladesh in the context of LDC graduation.”
British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke said, “Bangladesh’s LDC graduation must be backed by strong labour standards. I echo others in expressing my appreciation for the seriousness with which the interim government of Bangladesh has approached this issue.” ILO Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen remarked, “We’re very close to shaping the updated Bangladesh Labour Act. What matters now is doing this in a way that stands the test of time and protects workers in the long run.”
Legislative Secretary Dr. Hafiz Ahmed Chowdhury confirmed, “We’ve made substantial legal progress, and our team is working closely with stakeholders”. Lutfey also briefed the diplomats on earlier inter-ministerial meetings with the Home, Labour, and Public Administration Ministries to address politically motivated cases from the previous regime, better dispute resolution mechanisms to avert logjam in courts, and the issue of insufficient capacity in inspector roles.“This is not just a domestic issue,” Lutfey said. “Labour rights are now tied to market access, global trade decisions, including the tariff agenda of President Trump. We must act accordingly.” Diplomats agreed that labour reform and accountability must remain a priority across all political contexts. Several reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to supporting Bangladesh’s transition. “The July uprising provides a unique opportunity for the Bangladesh government to do the right thing. We are grateful for the support from everyone as we approach the final stretch towards closing the case at the ILO governing board ,” Lutfey said in conclusion.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[5/12/2025 5:22 AM, 161.2K followers, 20 retweets, 202 likes]
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus addresses the inaugural ceremony of the civil surgeons’ conference at Shapla Hall in the Chief Adviser’s Office, Tejgaon, today.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[5/12/2025 5:20 AM, 161.2K followers, 207 retweets, 800 likes]
Chief Adviser Calls for Regional Economic Integration and Hydro Power Collaboration with Nepal DHAKA, May 12: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has called for an integrated economic strategy between Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Seven North Eastern States of India, emphasising the potential of cross-border collaboration in hydropower, healthcare, and road connectivity. The Chief Adviser made these remarks on Monday during a courtesy call paid by Ms. Indira Rana, Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament of Nepal who is currently visiting Bangladesh for attending an event organized by the Embassy of Nepal in Dhaka.
Professor Yunus stressed the urgency of fostering regional cooperation through shared infrastructure and energy initiatives. “There should be an integrated economic plan for Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Seven Sisters,” he said, referring to the northeastern states of India. “We have more to gain together than apart.”
One of the key points of discussion was cooperation between Bangladesh and Nepal in hydropower sector. Referring to the Bangladesh-Nepal-India Tripartite Power Sales Agreement that was signed in last October to import 40MW hydropower from Nepal to Bangladesh using the Indian grid, both sides emphasized the importance of having more hydropower initiatives in larger scale.The Chief Adviser also reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to expanding healthcare access across the region. “Our upcoming 1,000-bed hospital in Rangpur will be open to patients from Nepal and Bhutan as well. We believe in regional health security and shared prosperity,” he said. Deputy Speaker Indira Rana conveyed Nepal’s interest in deepening bilateral ties across sectors. “All our parliamentarians want to work closely with Bangladesh,” she said. “We’re serious about strengthening our economic partnership and boosting people-to-people connections.”
The Deputy Speaker highlighted the significant presence of Nepali students in Bangladesh, noting that over 2,700 are currently studying in Bangladeshi institutions, primarily in medical colleges. She praised the quality of education and called for more educational exchanges and academic cooperation between the two nations. The two sides also discussed enhancing physical connectivity. The Chief Adviser noted that improving direct road links with Nepal would significantly lower trade costs and ease the movement of people and goods across the region. The meeting was attended by Mr. Ghanshyam Bhandari, Ambassador of Nepal to Bangladesh; Lamiya Morshed, SDG Coordinator to the Chief Adviser; and Ishrat Jahan, Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
PMO Nepal@PM_nepal_
[5/12/2025 9:52 AM, 721.8K followers, 1 retweet, 18 likes]
The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli attended a special ceremony held in Lumbini to commemorate the 2569th Buddha Jayanti. In his address, he expressed heartfelt gratitude to all those who have contributed to the development of Lumbini, the sacred birthplace of Lord Buddha. Central Asia
Bakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov
[5/12/2025 5:06 AM, 12.1K followers, 10 retweets, 21 likes]
Glad to host H.E. Eduards Stiprais, the EU Special Representative for Central Asia (@EUSR_CA), today @UzbekMFA. The recent #CentralAsia — #EuropeanUnion Summit in #Samarkand once again underscored the vast potential we have to utilize for the benefit of the people in both regions. During our meeting, we covered all the aspects of dynamically growing ties — from education to green energy, as well as acute regional and global topics. Underscored mutual commitment to further expand the horizons of cooperation.
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[5/12/2025 12:18 PM, 24.3K followers, 1 retweet, 2 likes]
Uzbekistan #MediaFreedom: As if the UZ government didn’t already exert significant control over online activity and the blogosphere, it is now taking further steps to tighten its grip. While the proposed bill promises greater protection and freedom, in substance, it appears aimed at broadly censoring internet content. https://regulation.adliya.uz/project/6294/12680 {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.