washington — Once hailed for its strides in economic growth and social advancement, Bangladesh now grapples with an uncertain trajectory as its faltering economy threatens to reverse hard-won gains in poverty alleviation.

Recent data from the national statistics agency reveals a stark reality: The economy is falling significantly short of expectations.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the country’s gross domestic product, or GDP, expanded by 3.78% in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, a notable decline from the 7% growth recorded in the corresponding period the prior year. With inflation hovering around 10%, the economic landscape appears bleak.

Industrial output grew 3.24%, which compared poorly with 10% growth in the same period last year. Similarly, the service sector grew 3.06% in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, less than half its growth rate a year ago. These two sectors together account for more than 80% of the economy.

Such sluggish performance has caused the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, to revise its forecast for the year to 5.7% – lowered from the 6% growth it had predicted for Bangladesh earlier.

Economists such as Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow at the Center for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, are concerned that low growth will mean fewer job opportunities and lower income, which would hit hardest the people who have the least.

“An increase in the number of people in poverty is a high possibility, and a deepening of inequality in income and consumption,” Bhattacharya told VOA.

However, Bangladeshi Finance Minister Hasan Mahmood Ali has dismissed fears about the IMF revision, saying reforms undertaken by the government “are beginning to bear fruit.”

Bangladesh made significant progress over the past decade, bringing down the poverty level from 41.5% in 2006 to 18.7% in 2022.

The economic slowdown has not come as a surprise to Bhattacharya, who said such figures could be predicted for some time.

“The main reason is, in order to have growth we need investment, and [to] allow the investors to import goods, but we are not able to do that because of lack of foreign currency.”

Foreign currency reserves have come under pressure since the economy reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the central bank’s figures, reserves declined from a high of $48 billion in August 2021 to below $20 billion in April 2024.

Bhattacharya said the high rate of inflation, which has affected people across the board, but particularly middle- and low-income groups, has seriously slowed demand and consumption. According to government figures, inflation in Bangladesh is currently running above 9%.

Economic analysts such as Mamun Rashid, however, believe the real figure is much higher. Currently the chairman at Financial Excellence Ltd., a private company, he recently retired as managing partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Dhaka, and he earlier was managing director at Citibank N.A in Bangladesh, among other jobs.

Rashid said consumption in Bangladesh is driven by export earnings, inflow of remittances sent by migrant workers and money circulation. While exports and remittances have held steady, money circulation has been squeezed by the central bank’s efforts to combat inflation by raising interest rates.

The veteran banker said corruption and weak regulation were key factors underpinning the foreign currency crisis, which has hit business hard.

“When there is a lot of money floating around from corruption or undocumented work, it fuels capital flight and reduces inward flow of dollars,” he said.

According to Washington-based anti-corruption watchdog Global Financial Integrity, from 2004 to 2013, Bangladesh lost an average of $5.5 billion annually through illicit outflows. Bangladesh also does not receive all of its export receipts, as billions of dollars are siphoned off annually through trade misinvoicing.

Before the pandemic hit in early 2020, Bangladesh grew at an average of more than 6%, fueled by garment exports, agriculture and huge government investment in infrastructure such as bridges, roads and highways. The World Bank in 2021 called it “one of the great development stories.”

The growth was achieved despite several structural flaws in the economy that are becoming more visible, according to Bhattacharya. The current government in its three successive terms in office (since 2009) has not increased private investment’s share of the GDP. The private investment-to-GDP ratio has remained at 23% for 13 to 14 years. Foreign direct investment has remained below 2% of GDP.

Despite the problems, international development institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and the U.N. Development Program remain on board.

“They still believe in Bangladesh. That’s why Bangladesh can count on around $10 billion worth of multilateral aid,” Rashid said.

While Rashid is optimistic that export earnings and remittances from the 6 million Bangladeshis working abroad can increase and reignite the engine of growth, Bhattacharya says the current “growth narrative” is no longer sustainable without major reforms in the banking, financial and energy sectors.

“The time of reckoning has come,” he said.

This story originated in VOA’s Bangla Service.
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Taipei, Taiwan — A new report by a team of Tibet-focused cybersecurity analysts details how hackers with links to the Chinese government are using cyber espionage tactics to target members of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the office of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

“Spyware-as-a-Service,” which was released Thursday, uses information from an enormous data leak in February from Chinese cybersecurity firm I-Soon. According to the report, hackers have been targeting the mobile phones of officials from the Central Tibetan Administration, or CTA, since 2018 and the large amount of information Chinese hackers have collected could pose significant security risks to them and those in their social networks.

That targeting, “represents a significant shift in the tactics used by threat actors, signaling an adaptation to modern communication methods and an understanding of the increasing reliance on mobile devices for both personal and professional activities,” the report said. Tibet-focused research network Turquoise Roof published the report.

The February data dump was a treasure trove of information about China’s cyber espionage and other activities. Leaked documents revealed that private firm I-Soon’s clients include the Chinese police, China’s Ministry of Public Security, and the People’s Liberation Army. The leaked information also detailed tools and tactics used by the organization and connections among hacking groups in China. 

‘Tip of an iceberg’

These new findings provide a glimpse into “the sprawling cyber espionage apparatus” that China has used to target ethnic minorities over the last few decades, says Greg Walton, senior investigator at U.K.-based security consulting firm Secdev Group.  

“While the revelation is only the tip of an iceberg, it’s a very revealing one,” said Walton, who is the report’s author.

“The findings help us learn more about the opaque system [that the Chinese authorities] have been using to target the West,” he told VOA by phone.

One leaked white paper described in the report focused on how I-Soon used compromised e-mail inboxes of exiled Tibetan authorities to demonstrate how their system can satisfy the demand of China’s intelligence agencies to “mine through substantial volumes of intercepted email data.” 

“The platform is engineered to facilitate investigations into an individual’s ‘interpersonal network’ and to intricately map the social networks of targeted individuals,” the report wrote. 

Walton said the white paper offers rare insight into the “capabilities of the Chinese party-state.” 

“[Since] we know that I-Soon has been selling their services to Chinese intelligence agencies, including the public security bureau in Tibet, we make the point in the report that the harvested social network analysis from the exiles’ inboxes could be sold to the authorities in Tibet,” he told VOA. 

In his view, Chinese authorities could incorporate “the web of personal and professional connections” identified from the compromised e-mail inboxes of exiled Tibetan officials into the big data policing platform that they use to crack down on the local community in Tibet. 

“The platform is instrumental in a campaign that criminalizes even moderate cultural, religious expressions, language rights advocacy and surfaces links to exile Tibetan networks,” Walton said. 

In response to the report’s findings, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said Beijing has “always firmly opposed and cracked down on all forms of cyber hacking” according to law. 

The accusation from the report “is a complete reversal of black and white,” Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy, told VOA in a written response. 

A long history of threats from Chinese cyber espionage

The CTA and the Tibetan diaspora community have been targets of Chinese cyber espionage for more than a decade. In 2008, an extensive cyber operation called “GhostNet,” which is connected to a specialized division of the People’s Liberation Army, caused serious problems across the Tibetan community. 

Between November 2018 and May 2019, some senior members of Tibetan groups received malicious links in tailored WhatsApp text exchanges with operators disguised as NGO workers and other fake personas, according to research conducted by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.

According to Turquoise Roof’s report, the escalation of cyber operations against the CTA by China’s military and intelligence services is “in step with” the exiled Tibetan government’s increased investment in its digital presence and reliance on digital systems for interacting with the diaspora community.

Some Tibetan organizations have been conducting training to enhance their resilience against Chinese cyberattacks. 

“The Tibet Action Institute provides tech assistance to exiled Tibetan organizations and they often teach us about the security measures we can adopt to prevent our accounts or digital devices from being hacked,” Ngawang Lungtok, a researcher at the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, told VOA by phone. 

The CTA has also been focusing on upgrading its technical capacity and offering orientations to all Tibetan officials in recent years.

“The Tibetan Computer Resource Center offers training and workshops regularly,” Tenzin Lekshay, the spokesperson of the CTA, told VOA in a written response. 

Walton adds that the CTA even sent people to the United States for specialized training. 

“The CTA has some good people trained in the U.S. and is now in the position to help tackle risks extended from Chinese cyberattacks,” he said. 

The report says the I-Soon leak offers significant insight into the Chinese authorities’ use of AI-driven surveillance systems to “enforce political controls” within and beyond its border. It also showcases Beijing’s efforts to “refine its espionage capabilities” by using novel intelligence tactics against vulnerable populations like the Tibetans before global deployment. 

Considering the impact of cyber espionage on the Tibetans, Walton said he believes investing in the protection of vulnerable populations from digital transnational repression “is an example of” aligning traditional security with human rights advocacy. 
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Islamabad — A survey released Thursday revealed that over the past seven months, nearly 250,000 children have returned to Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan with almost nothing, and they urgently need food, shelter and access to education.

The study by Save the Children said that more than 520,000 Afghans have returned home since September 2023 after Pakistan asked all undocumented foreigners to leave the country or face deportation. Nearly half of all the returnees are children.

Despite attending school in Pakistan, 65% of the children now back in Afghanistan are not enrolled in school. The majority, 85%, told the surveyors they did not have the necessary documents to register and enroll in school. 

The survey did not say how many girls were among the children questioned as they also have to deal with the Taliban government’s ban on teenage girls’ education beyond the sixth grade. 

‘Crisis levels of hunger’

The study found that 99% of the families that returned and the communities hosting them in Afghanistan do not have sufficient food to last one to two months. 

“About three-quarters of returnees and families in host communities reduced portion sizes or restricted the food consumption of adults so small children could eat on at least two days in the previous week,” said Save the Children in its study. 

According to the findings of the survey, almost 40% of returnees and host families had to borrow food or depend on relatives and friends at least three days a week. Out of the number of respondents in total, 13% of returnees and 9% of host families had to rely on others for food every day.

It highlighted the dire conditions facing returnees in Afghanistan, where almost 8 million children “are facing crisis levels of hunger” due to years of conflict and multiple recent natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and ongoing drought. 

‘Already overstretched resources’

The United Nations estimates that close to 16 million Afghans in the country face severe food insecurity at crisis and emergency levels.

“Families are returning to Afghanistan with virtually nothing,” said Arshad Malik, country director for Save the Children. “The return of so many people is creating an additional strain on already overstretched resources,” he said. 

Malik said that the crisis-hit country is struggling to cope with the pressure of displacement. In addition to the returns from Pakistan, he added nearly 600,000 Afghans arrived from neighboring Iran last year. “Afghanistan is also now home to the second largest number of internally displaced people in the world – or roughly 1 in 7 people.”

He noted that many undocumented Afghan children were born in Pakistan, and Afghanistan is not the place they call home. 

No basic necessities

A 15-year-old girl living with her grandfather after returning with her mother and three siblings told the surveyors that the family sold everything before leaving Pakistan. Her name was not mentioned to protect her identity. 

“We need shelter, living essentials, winter clothing, shoes, blankets, food and medicine. Afghanistan is very cold for us, and it is challenging because we do not have winter clothing,” said the girl.

The survey showed that nearly one in six families lives in tents and most returnees have little or no means of supporting themselves, with nearly half of them saying there were no jobs available in Afghanistan.

Economic and humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in the country since the fundamentalist Taliban returned to power nearly three years ago. They have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s access to education, employment, and public life. 

The curbs on women’s rights and other controversial policies have deterred the international community from formally recognizing the Taliban government and resuming much-needed development assistance to Afghanistan. Humanitarian aid is still being provided to the country through the U.N. and other foreign non-governmental organizations.
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Islamabad — Pakistan announced Thursday that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will pay a three-day official visit to Islamabad, starting April 22, as the neighboring countries seek to mend relations after an unprecedented exchange of antiterror missile strikes on each other’s territory.

“He is coming. We welcome them,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters in the Pakistani capital. “The visit is on the card for April 22nd, 23rd and 24th. We are obviously making full preparations for it.”

Dar rejected the idea that Iran’s recent military standoff with Israel could lead to Islamabad and Tehran postponing Raisi’s visit.

“This visit had been planned for weeks and months before the incident occurred,” Dar stated.

The announcement comes a day after representatives to the United Nations of nearly 50 countries, including the United States, jointly condemned Iran’s missile and drone attacks against Israel over the weekend.

“We note that Iran’s escalatory attack is the latest in a pattern of dangerous and destabilizing actions by Iran and its militant partners that pose a grave threat to international peace and security,” the statement said.

Washington, the European Union, and the G7 group of industrialized nations all announced plans to consider fresh sanctions on Tehran, an action aimed at supporting Israel while persuading it against further escalation.

The Iranian attack involving some 350 drones and missiles was a response to Israel’s suspected strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1. Tehran said the strike killed killing two Iranian generals and five other officers of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On Tuesday, Dar addressed a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud in Islamabad, where they jointly urged an immediate cease-fire in Gaza but refrained from calling out Iran for launching the attack on Israel.

Pakistan and Iran share a 900-kilometer border. The countries accuse each other of not doing enough to prevent militants from sheltering on their respective soils and launching cross-border terrorist attacks.

In January, Iranian security forces launched missile strikes against what they said were anti-Iran militant hideouts in the southwestern Pakistani border province of Baluchistan. Islamabad condemned Iran’s violation of its territorial integrity and retaliated with strikes on bases of anti-Pakistan militants operating from Iranian soil.

The strikes fueled concerns about a larger conflict between the two Muslim countries and of wider regional instability after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on October 7.

Tehran and Islamabad swiftly undertook diplomatic efforts to ease the bilateral tensions and pledged to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Pakistan and Iran recently renewed their pledges to build a long-planned multi-billion-dollar pipeline linking the two countries to import Iranian natural gas.

While Tehran says it has completed construction of 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its side of the border, construction has not started on the Pakistani side because Islamabad fears it would invite U.S. sanctions for importing energy from Iran.

VOA Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman contributed to this story.
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India’s mammoth phased election that begins April 19 will pit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party against an opposition alliance of over two dozen parties. While Modi is wooing voters by promising to continue the country’s development, the opposition has raised concerns about threats to democracy. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Dehli.
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state department — The United States warned China on Wednesday against helping Russia in its war on Ukraine and said it is “prepared to take further steps as necessary.” In Italy, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations gathered to reaffirm their support for Ukraine’s defense.

“We believe that the PRC is supporting Russia’s war effort and is doing so by helping ramp up its defense production,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters during a briefing in Washington.

“Specifically,” he said, “the PRC is providing Russia with significant quantities of machine tools, microelectronics, optics, UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones] and cruise missile technology, and nitrocellulose, which Russia uses to make propellants for weapons.”

Patel said the United States believes these materials “are filling critical gaps in Russia’s defense production cycle” and helping to revitalize Russia’s defense industrial base.

“China’s support is actively enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine, and it poses a significant threat to European security,” he added. “We’ve sanctioned relevant firms in the PRC and are prepared to take further steps as necessary.”

Blinken, G7 leaders talk

In Capri, Italy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding talks this week with foreign ministers from the other G7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom — as well as representatives from the European Union. Topics include Ukraine support, the Middle East crisis, Haitian instability and global partnerships.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday said the G7 ministers would discuss how to get more air defense to Ukraine as Kyiv faces increasing pressure from Russia.

“We and our partners around the world must now be just as resolute in our defense against Russian terror from the air,” Baerbock said in a statement.

Blinken will later visit China, where he is expected to bring up Washington’s concerns about China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base.

On the margins of the G7 meeting Wednesday, Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani signed a memorandum of understanding to counter the manipulation of information by other countries.

Blinken said the two nations are collaborating on “all of the most critical issues,” including aiding Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression, addressing challenges in the Middle East and sharing approaches to challenges posed by China.

Beijing rejected what Chinese officials described as Washington’s “smear.”

“China regulates the export of dual-use articles in accordance with laws and regulations. Relevant countries should not smear or attack the normal relations between China and Russia and should not harm the legitimate rights and interests of China and Chinese companies,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a briefing.

China continues supporting Russia

After Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Beijing last week, Chinese officials said China would “continue to support Russia in pursuing development and revitalization under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin.”

They said the two nations “have committed themselves to lasting friendship” and a deepened comprehensive strategic partnership.

Russian missile kills at least 17

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The two discussed the U.S. Commerce Department’s work with partners to coordinate export controls and restrict sales of advanced technologies to Russia.

Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said G7 finance leaders have been working toward a plan to unlock the value of frozen Russian sovereign assets to aid Ukraine in the near term. But he noted the talks are still a work in progress.

In Ukraine, officials said earlier Wednesday that a Russian missile attack hit the northern city of Chernihiv, killing at least 17 people and injuring 61 others.

Denise Brown, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, condemned the latest wave of strikes. She also emphasized that under international humanitarian law, civilians and hospitals must be protected.

In Chernihiv, aid workers provided on-the-ground support to those affected by the strikes, including psychosocial and legal assistance. Their efforts complement the work of first responders and rescue services.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan said Wednesday that its border security forces killed a group of seven “terrorists,” who were attempting to cross over from Afghanistan. 

A military statement said the overnight infiltration occurred in North Waziristan, a volatile Pakistani district on the Afghan border. It stated that “the infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged, and, after an intense fire exchange,” all of them were killed.  

The statement said that Pakistani security forces also “recovered a large quantity of weapons, ammunition, and explosives” from the slain militants. 

The veracity of the official claims could not immediately be ascertained from independent sources.  

The military said in its statement that Islamabad had consistently asked the Taliban government to “ensure effective border management” on the Afghan side, and it “is expected to fulfill its obligations” to prevent “acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”  

No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s alleged border incident.  

Pakistan blames fugitive commanders and fighters of an anti-state militant group known as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, for orchestrating cross-border attacks from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.   

Authorities say the violence has intensified and killed hundreds of Pakistanis, including security forces, since the Taliban reclaimed power in the neighboring country in 2021. 

Last month, Pakistani fighter planes carried out strikes against TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan, raising bilateral military tensions. 

The United States and the United Nations have designated TTP as a global terrorist organization. 

The Taliban deny they are allowing anyone to threaten neighboring countries from their territory, claiming no foreign militants, including TTP, are based in Afghanistan. 
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New Delhi — Nearly a billion Indians will be eligible to start voting Friday in the world’s biggest election, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term in office.

Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP is pitted against an opposition alliance led by the Congress Party that was formed to put up a united challenge to the powerful leader, who is widely seen as the frontrunner.  

Modi has highlighted economic growth and welfare measures for the poor as his biggest achievements. At election rallies he exhorts huge crowds to vote for him to ensure that he can continue the momentum and make India a developed country by 2047. 

“In the last 10 years, by lifting 250 million people out of poverty, we proved that we work to get results,” Modi said while releasing his party’s election manifesto last week. 

The INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, which consists of over two dozen opposition parties, has flagged joblessness and what it says is a threat to the country’s democratic and secular credentials as key issues in the race.  

It accuses the pro-Hindu leader of polarizing the country along religious lines and weakening opposition ranks with corruption probes by federal investigative agencies.

One key leader, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested weeks before the election in connection with graft allegations. The government denies the charges of politically motivated investigations.

“This election is fundamentally a different election. I don’t think that democracy has been as much at risk, the constitution has been as much at risk as it is today,” said Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress Party, as he released his party’s manifesto this month. Although Gandhi has not been projected as a prime ministerial candidate, he is widely seen as the main challenger to Modi.

Voters will choose between the competing narratives offered by Modi and the opposition over the next six weeks — the election to fill 543 of 545 seats in the lower house of parliament will be conducted in seven phases until June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4. The staggered vote enables security forces to move around the country. 

Recent surveys project that Modi will easily secure a rare, consecutive third stint in office, a feat managed only by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Ten years since he took power after decimating the Congress Party that dominated India since independence, the Indian prime minister remains hugely popular.  

He is seen as a strong, nationalist, pro-Hindu leader, who has fast-tracked development, boosted India’s global stature and delivered on promises like building a temple on the site of a razed mosque to Hindu Lord Rama – a decades-long demand by devotees in the Hindu majority country.   

“The BJP is very clearly going into this election on the shoulders of the prime minister’s image. They are very clearly keeping the Modi factor right up in front,” political analyst Sandeep Shastri told VOA. “That will help them to a certain extent offset anti-incumbency that has come in after 10 years.” 

The anti-incumbency sentiment largely centers on concerns about unemployment and inflation, which have been cited as key issues for the public, according to recent surveys. While India’s economy is growing rapidly, young, educated people are facing challenges in finding jobs. 

In a busy market in the Indian capital, New Delhi, opinion is divided on how the economy is faring. Some, like Rushil Mattta, a software engineer, are upbeat. 

“I am very optimistic. I have hope for this country and I am staying here,” said Matta, referring to the trend in earlier decades of software professionals migrating to Western countries for better opportunities.

That sentiment is not shared by others, like Surinder Ojha, a hawker who sells bags to make a living. “Livelihood is a problem. But no government solves this problem for the poor,” he says despondently. 

To woo voters, the main opposition Congress Party has promised to boost social spending and welfare payments for women, and provide 3 million government jobs and apprenticeships to college students. It also promises to reverse what it views as India’s democratic backsliding under Modi. 

Rahul Gandhi has undertaken two cross-country marches over the past 18 months to boost support for the Congress Party, but it is unclear whether that will translate into votes. The party only holds 52 seats in parliament after being routed in the last two elections and Gandhi is perceived by many as an ineffective opponent to Modi.   

“As far as Mr. Modi is concerned, there is no one on the opposite side to match him,” says political analyst Neerja Chowdhury. “Lot of people who are dissatisfied today with the BJP rule and face economic hardship, rising prices. They talk about it but turn around and say who is there on the other side?” 

The INDIA group’s hopes largely rest on putting up common candidates against the BJP to prevent splitting of opposition votes. So far, it has only been able to do that in some states. The alliance includes many powerful regional parties but has failed to come up with a common program to counter the Indian leader.

“They have the issues before them, but can they bring these before voters as a credible alternative is the question. What we see is each member of the alliance is speaking in their own voice. Each for example has its own manifesto,” says analyst Shastri.

“If you need to launch a concerted attack on the government, you need to have a clear-cut strategy, but that seems to be missing and that to a certain extent is pulling them down.” 

Surveys project Modi’s BJP could surpass its 2019 performance when it won 303 seats in parliament. But the Congress Party says that when votes are counted on June 4, the results will be much closer than expected. 
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Islamabad, Pakistan — The Taliban government in Afghanistan has suspended the broadcast of two privately run local TV channels over alleged violations of official regulations and “Islamic values.”

Free media advocates Wednesday criticized the overnight suspension, calling it a violation of Afghanistan’s media-governing laws.

The Taliban-run information ministry’s Media Violations Commission said in a statement late Tuesday that a court will examine the activities of the two channels, Noor TV and Barya TV, and decide on their fate. 

Hafizullah Barakzai, the commission spokesman, said that the broadcasters are barred from conducting operations until then. 

Barakzai criticized the channels for not following “journalistic principles” and “not considering “national and Islamic values” during their coverage despite repeated government warnings and recommendations.

He reported that Noor TV was broadcasting music and that its female hosts and guests were not following the official dress code, which requires women to cover their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. Barakzai cited a controversial speech for suspending Barya TV but did not elaborate.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center or AFJC, an independent media watchdog, said in a statement that the suspensions were “against the country’s public media law” and marked another step toward stifling free media in the Taliban-ruled country.

The watchdog demanded that Afghan authorities immediately withdraw the order and reopen the two media outlets unconditionally.

The two channels did not immediately comment on the allegations and suspension of their operations. 

Noor TV has been operating in Afghanistan since 2007 and is backed by the country’s Jamiat-e-Islami party of former Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who fled the country after the hardline Taliban returned to power nearly three years ago.

Barya TV, which launched its operations in 2019, is owned by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister and the leader of his Hizb-e-Islami party. 

Critics noted that Afghan media professionals have dealt with work conditions requiring them to strictly follow a set of media guidelines the Taliban introduced after reclaiming power in 2021. 

Some directives prevent women from working in national radio and television stations, enforce “gender-based segregation” in workplaces, and prohibit broadcasting female voices and phone calls in certain provinces.

The Taliban have banned television dramas that include female performers, and female news presenters must wear an officially prescribed “Islamic hijab” on air.

Last month, Taliban officials warned media representatives to bar females from media platforms unless the women comply with the official dress code. 

“The Afghan repression continues to intensify and specifically targets women’s access to the media, whether as journalists or as listeners and spectators,” said France-based Reporters Without Borders in a statement last month.

The Taliban have prohibited teenage Afghan girls from receiving an education beyond the sixth grade and banned women aid workers from working for nongovernmental humanitarian groups, including the United Nations, except in the health sector. They have placed travel restrictions on women without a male guardian, and access to public parks and gyms is also restricted for women.   
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BANGKOK — Myanmar’s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heat wave, the military government said. On Wednesday it also granted amnesty for over 3,000 prisoners to mark this week’s traditional New Year holiday.

Suu Kyi, 78, and Win Myint, the 72-year-old former president of her ousted government, were among the elderly and infirm prisoners moved from out of prison because of the severe heat, the military’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. General Zaw Min Tun, told foreign media representatives late Tuesday. The move has not yet been publicly announced in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi’s transfer comes as the army has been suffering a string of major defeats in its fight against pro-democracy resistance fighters and their allies in ethnic minority guerrilla forces. The nationwide conflict began after the army ousted the elected government in February 2021, imprisoned Suu Kyi and began suppressing nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.

Suu Kyi has been serving a 27-year prison term on a variety of criminal convictions in a specially-built wing of the main prison in the capital Naypyitaw, where Myanmar’s meteorological department said temperatures reached 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday afternoon. Win Myint was serving an eight-year prison sentence in Taungoo in Myanmar’s Bago region.

Suu Kyi’s supporters and independent analysts say the charges were fabricated in an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power. The military had claimed that her National League for Democracy Party used widespread electoral fraud to win a landslide victory in the 2020 general election, an allegation independent observers found unconvincing.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent group that monitors casualties and arrests, more than 20,351 people arrested on political charges since the 2021 army takeover are still in detention, most of whom have not received criminal convictions.

Suu Kyi’s health has reportedly deteriorated in prison. In September last year, reports emerged that she was suffering from symptoms of low blood pressure including dizziness and loss of appetite, but had been denied treatment at qualified facilities outside the prison system.

Those reports could not be independently confirmed, but her younger son Kim Aris said in interviews that he had heard that his mother has been extremely ill and has been suffering from gum problems and was unable to eat. Aris, who lives in England, urged that Myanmar’s military government be pressured to free his mother and other political prisoners.

News about Suu Kyi is tightly controlled by the military government, and even her lawyers are banned by a gag order from talking to the media about her cases. Her legal team has faced several hurdles, including being unable to meet with her to receive her instructions since they last saw her in person in December 2022.

Whether the latest move was meant to be temporary was not announced.

Before being sent to prison, Suu Kyi was reportedly held in a military safe house inside an army base.

Other prisoners were released for the Thingyan New Year holiday, state-run MRTV television announced Wednesday, but it wasn’t immediately clear if those released included pro-democracy activists and political prisoners who were detained for protesting army rule.

MRTV said that the head of the ruling military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, had pardoned 3,303 prisoners, including 28 foreigners who will be deported from Myanmar. He also reduced sentences for others. Mass amnesties on the holiday are not unusual in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s martyred independence hero Gen. Aung San, spent almost 15 years as a political prisoner under house arrest by previous military governments between 1989 and 2010. Her tough stand against military rule turned her into a symbol of the nonviolent struggle for democracy and won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
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WASHINGTON — South Korea is cautiously optimistic about alliance upgrades that the U.S. and Japan have planned to bolster security in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.

A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the ministry “noted” that the U.S. and Japan, at their summit in Washington last week, spoke of “the defensive nature of the U.S.-Japan alliance” and emphasized “peace and stability” in the region.

The spokesperson continued via email to VOA’s Korean Service on Friday that “South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are making efforts to institutionalize expanded trilateral cooperation through agreements made at Camp David last year” and “to strengthen rules-based international order.”

The three countries held a trilateral summit at Camp David in August after Seoul and Tokyo mended ties frayed by disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

At their bilateral summit held in Washington on April 10, Washington and Tokyo announced wide-ranging plans to revamp their military ties. 

The plans include preparations for Japan to develop and produce with the U.S. military hardware, including hypersonic missile interceptors.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel toured a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-35 fighter jet factory near Nagoya on Tuesday. He underlined the importance of Japan’s role in manufacturing weapons as U.S. supplies run thin amid crises in Europe and the Middle East.

The plans announced at the summit also call for Japan’s possible involvement in the AUKUS Pillar II security pact, enabling it to develop quantum computing, hypersonic, undersea and other advanced technologies. 

AUKUS is a defense and security group of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. AUKUS Pillar 2 refers to a suite of cooperative activities conducted by the three nations to develop and field “advanced capabilities.” 

Japan will hold trilateral exercises with the U.S. and the U.K. starting in 2025 as the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions become “ever-more linked,” according to the joint statement. 

The plans call for Japan to expand its security role and arms buildup in tandem with efforts to implement a national security strategy issued in 2022. That called for an increase in Japan’s defense budget and a shift from a defense-only policy to one that includes counterstrike capabilities amid threats from North Korea and China. 

In December, Japan eased its arms export control regime that had allowed it to sell components but not completed weapons. 

Cho Han-Bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said “Japan’s arms reinforcement can be viewed as a double-edged sword.”  

In an interview Monday with VOA’s Korean Service, he said the arms buildup significantly helps to deter threats from the Chinese military and North Korean nuclear weapons, but that it concerns South Korea.

Due to unresolved historical disputes from Japan’s colonization of Korea from 1910 to 1945, “trust” between the militaries of the two countries “is not restored fully,” even as they cooperate together now, he said.

South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. conducted a two-day joint naval exercise in the East China Sea from April 11 to 12. The exercise included anti-submarine warfare drills to counter North Korea’s underwater threats and interdiction drills aimed at blocking the North’s weapons shipments. 

South Korea, under President Yoon Suk Yeol, has been pursuing a policy of rapprochement with Tokyo, and has aligned itself closely with Washington in countering Beijing’s economic and military coercion.  

Under the previous administration of Moon Jae-in, Seoul relied for its security on the U.S. while bolstering economic relations with China. Ties with Tokyo remained tense. 

Much of the anti-Japanese sentiment still runs high in South Korea, despite Yoon’s outreach to Tokyo, especially among progressives who increased their majority in an April 10 parliamentary election. 

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry lodged a protest on Tuesday against Japan’s claim over a disputed island that sits midway between the two countries, called Dokdo by South Korea and Takeshima by Japan. 

Won Gon Park, an adjunct professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said South Korea now has to “make a choice” whether to work more closely with Japan to counter threats from North Korea and China.

He said in an interview with VOA’s Korean Service that this might be necessary, as the U.S. builds a regional security structure to bolster defenses against China. 

At their summit, the U.S. and Japan also announced a planned revision of the command structure of U.S. forces in Japan. This will complement Japan’s plan to establish a joint operations command to improve coordination of its air, ground, maritime forces by 2025. 

Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, said Washington “is increasingly anxious to have global partners” step up their arms manufacturing because the U.S. is not producing enough military hardware to counter all the threats from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

Speaking with VOA by telephone on Friday, Bennett said what was announced at the summit was that “Japan would be a global partner,” enabling the U.S. to share highly sensitive “information, technology and other capabilities in exchange for taking responsibility with security and stability in the regions that go outside Northeast Asia.”

He added, “The U.S. recognizes South Korea can’t afford to send multiple divisions to other areas around the world because of the North Korean threats” but is “anxious” to have South Korea play a deeper global role, especially in the Indo-Pacific. 

Kim Hyungjin contributed to the report.
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ISLAMABAD — Saudi Arabia and Pakistan jointly called for a cease-fire in Gaza on Tuesday, with Saudis urging de-escalation in the region without mentioning Iran’s recent strike on Israel. 

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud led a high-level delegation to Islamabad Monday on a two-day visit to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan. 

Addressing a joint press conference with Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar at the end of the short visit, Al-Saud urged a cessation of hostilities in Gaza between Israel and militant group Hamas, citing the mounting death toll of Palestinians. 

“The situation is unacceptable. This is a complete failure of the international system. We must have a cease-fire now,” Al-Saud said. 

“The reality is the international community is not living up to its responsibility. We must do more to end the killing,” the Saudi foreign minister added. 

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, since October 7 of last year, Israeli military operations aimed at eliminating Hamas have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians. The war broke out after Hamas attacked Israel, killing nearly 1,200 civilians and taking around 250 hostages. 

Pakistan’s foreign minister said he had discussed the war in Gaza with the visiting foreign minister. 

“We both agree that what we need is immediate and unconditional cease-fire to take place,” Dar said. 

Without naming Israel, Pakistan’s foreign minister declared the situation in Gaza a genocide and called for accountability. 

Both the top diplomats urged unhindered delivery of aid to Palestinians. 

According to ReliefWeb, a platform run by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, six months into the war, 90 percent of Gazans are displaced with more than half-a-million on the verge of famine. 

Neither official called for the release of the more than 100 Israeli hostages still in Hamas custody. 

Silent on Iran 

Addressing the regional fallout of the Gaza war, Riyadh’s top diplomat called for de-escalation, but refrained from calling out Iran for launching a massive drone and missile attack against Israel over the weekend. 

“Look, we are already in an unstable region. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is already inflaming the region. We do not need more conflict in our region,” Al-Saud said.   

Long-time rivals Riyadh and Tehran restored diplomatic ties last year. The deal brokered by China ended a seven-year rift between the two Muslim countries. 

“So, it is our position that de-escalation must be everyone’s priority. When there are differences, they should be resolved through dialogue, not through the use of force,” Al-Saud added.   

The Iranian attack involving some 350 drones and missiles came in response to Israel’s alleged strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1. The strike killed two Iranian generals and five other officers of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Tehran. 

The Pakistani foreign minister also did not address Iran’s attack on Israel. 

He called, however, for the creation of a Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders, reiterating Pakistan’s diplomatic position on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. 

“It is good for Israel, perhaps, also,” Dar said, mentioning the Jewish state only once in his remarks. 

No investment deal 

Pakistan presented a wide range of investment options to the visiting Saudi delegation, however, no deals were inked during the visit. 

The delegation included Saudi ministers for water and agriculture, and industry and mineral resources, as well as the assistant minister for investment and senior officials from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, among others.  

The Saudi visit follows one by a Pakistani delegation to Saudi Arabia earlier this month. During that visit, led by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, both sides agreed to expedite “the first wave of investment package worth $5 billion which was discussed previously,” according to a Pakistani foreign ministry statement. 

Pakistani state media recently reported Riyadh could invest $1 billion in Reko Diq — a copper and gold mine project — in the restive Balochistan province. The two sides, however, did not report any progress on that during Tuesday’s media briefing. 

Al-Saud, whose team met with Pakistan’s president, prime minister and the powerful army chief, sounded optimistic about future investment in the cash-strapped South Asian country, saying his delegation was “impressed” with the presentations it received. 

Critics, however, say Pakistan has boasted of billion-dollar pledges from Saudi Arabia in the past as well with little to show for it. 
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islamabad — Authorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan said Tuesday that intense unseasonal rainfall, lightning and floods across both neighboring countries had killed at least 100 people over the past several days.

A spokesman for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said floods had caused human and material losses in 13 of the country’s 34 provinces.

Janan Saiq reported that the disaster resulted in nearly 50 fatalities, dozens of injuries, and the loss of hundreds of livestock.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan said Tuesday that the recent heavy rains and floods have affected more than 1,200 families and damaged almost 1,000 houses and at least 25,000 hectares of agricultural land.

The statement noted that the U.N. and partners “are assessing the impact and related needs and providing assistance.”

The Afghan meteorological agency has predicted that more heavy rainfall is expected in most provinces.

Poverty-stricken Afghanistan has been reeling from the devastation of years of conflict and natural disasters, including floods, droughts and earthquakes.

Last October, a series of earthquakes rattled western Herat and surrounding provinces, killing around 1,500 people.

Devastation in Pakistan

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s federal and provincial authorities reported that over 50 people have died due to heavy rains, flash floods, lightning, storms and landslides.

Most of the fatalities occurred in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, and central Punjab province. Officials said that at least 42 people were killed in both provinces, and many more were injured.

Southwestern Baluchistan province and areas elsewhere in Pakistan have reported the rest of the casualties and losses to houses, as well as agricultural land.

The National Disaster Management Authority has advised emergency services to remain on high alert, as another spell of heavy rains is expected later this week.

Officials have blamed climate change for the unusually heavy rains in Pakistan.

Although the South Asian nation, with an estimated 250 million population, contributes less than 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is listed as one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change.

Pakistan experienced severe flooding in 2022 due to seasonal heavy monsoon rainfall and floods, resulting in at least 1,700 deaths, affecting 33 million people and submerging approximately one-third of the country.

After visiting flood-hit areas in 2022, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Pakistanis were “facing a monsoon on steroids — the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding.”

Guterres criticized a lack of climate action, despite rising global emissions of greenhouse gases.

“Let’s stop sleepwalking towards the destruction of our planet by climate change. Today, it’s Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country,” he said.
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SRINAGAR, India — A boat carrying a group of people capsized in a river in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday, drowning four of them, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

The boat capsized in Jhelum river near Srinagar, the region’s main city. Most of the passengers were children, and rescuers were searching for many others who were still missing.

Heavy rains fell over the region in the past few days, leading to higher water levels in the river.

Boating accidents are common in India, where many vessels are overcrowded and have inadequate safety equipment.

Last year, 22 people drowned when a double-decker boat carrying more than 30 passengers capsized near a beach in Kerala state in southern India.

In May 2018, 30 people died when their boat capsized on the swollen Godavari River in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
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Phnom Penh — “He brutally used violence against me. … He hit me. He grabbed my neck. I really had a hard time when I was with him, and my mental health was very unstable.”

When Thach Chanty, a 35-year-old woman from the southeastern Cambodian province of Kampong Cham recalls life with her former husband, “My tears almost fall down.”

Chanty, who works as a garment worker, now struggles to support her two children in the aftermath of a marriage she describes as colored with neglect and violence.

Escaping the brutality left her alone in a society that continues to judge divorced women as having failed in their primary social role of wife and mother. Chanty found solace in her family’s support.

“I felt sorry for my two sons after I divorced my husband,” she said. “A lot of people judge me for being divorced, but luckily my parents and sister have been there to support me.”

A recent report titled Separate Ways, released in late 2023 by the small nonprofit organization Klahaan, sheds light on the struggles faced by Cambodia’s divorced women. Beyond enduring significant social shame and judgment, the report says the divorced women are more likely to face financial and mental issues compared to their former husbands.

The report also finds little has changed since a November 2015 study by Cambodia’s statistics ministry in conjunction with a U.N. agency found approximately 20% of Cambodian women faced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner during relationships including marriage. The report also found emotional abuse affected one-third of women, violence often occurred in the presence of children and few victims sought assistance.

Gender disparities after divorce

Conducted online, the Klahaan study involved 40 female and male participants from Phnom Penh, the capital city, and remote areas, including Ratanakiri and Kep provinces. Among the participants, 22 women reported having gone through a divorce.

The study revealed significant gender disparities in the aftermath of divorce. Most participants — 87% — said women bear a heavier burden of shame or stigma following divorce, while only 1% considered men to be more affected than their partners.

The report also highlighted regional differences: 48% of survey respondents believed rural women experience more pronounced effects in the aftermath of divorce, compared to 8% who felt urban women faced social stigma and judgement.

Klahaan founder Mao Map told VOA Khmer the new study, which is based on FPAR methodology, aims to address the controversial choice of divorce for both women and men.

According to Mao Map, the prevailing belief in Cambodia is that women can marry only once in their lifetime — a notion that influences perceptions of divorce. To support women, Mao Map is pushing the government to establish policies that expedite the divorce process, lessening the need for court mediation and increasing protections for women’s health by eliminating victim-blaming by law enforcement.

Sar Sineth, spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs, emphasized the government’s commitment to assisting women and girls who have experienced violence, particularly those navigating divorce and coping with post-traumatic stress disorder. She said the ministry coordinates closely with government and the legal system to provide swift support.

“We’re working hard to expedite the proceedings … in providing legal assistance to victims of … divorce due to chronic violence,” she said. “And with this provision of lawyers, the National Women’s Action Council has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bar Association to support the victims and provide timely services.”

Sar Sineth did not respond when VOA Khmer asked for details about how women could access those services.

Infidelity prompts divorce

The study revealed that infidelity is a significant factor influencing women’s decisions to get divorced, with 81% of survey respondents identifying “cheating and affairs” as a likely cause for women choosing divorce. In contrast, only 68% selected the same response for men.

One participant said that while her husband began cheating on her soon after their marriage, after their children were born “he went too far — he brought her to sleep at the house that we had built together. In the end, I decided to sell that house and get a divorce.”

Thach Chanty said she no longer cares about how others judge her for divorcing to escape violence and focus on her sons.

“Initially, when I contemplated my divorce, I cried and sometimes even considered ending my life,” she said. “But now, I have let go of those thoughts and am living my normal life, driven by my desire to do everything for my kids.”
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Washington — A Vietnamese writer and journalist serving a nine-year prison sentence for her work has been recognized with an international literary award.

The rights group PEN America has announced that Pham Doan Trang will receive its 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. The honor is bestowed each year to a writer imprisoned for his or her work.

Trang is known in Vietnam for her blog and books about civil liberties. She started a blog in 2006 as a way to create space for independent debate. Since then, the writer has started online magazines, opened a publishing house, and authored books on politics, human rights, and the Vietnamese legal system.

Her books include Non-Violent Resistance, Politics for the Common People, A Handbook for Freedom Fighters, and Politics of a Police State.

The writing brought Trang to the attention of Vietnamese authorities. Her books have been confiscated and people who buy or own copies risk charges of spreading anti-state propaganda, according to PEN.

In 2020, Vietnam arrested Trang on accusations of spreading “anti-state propaganda,” and in a one-day trial in 2021, a court sentenced her to nine years in prison.

The writer is serving her sentence in a remote prison 900 miles from her hometown, which means family can visit only occasionally.

“Trang has galvanized the Vietnamese people through her writings on democracy, human rights, environmental degradation, and women’s empowerment. The Vietnamese government has persecuted and jailed Trang in an effort to still her voice,” Suzanne Nossel, the head of PEN America, said in a statement.

“She has sacrificed her health and freedom in the pursuit of justice. Despite the government’s crackdown on dissent and activism, her powerful words continue to inspire people across Vietnam and throughout the world.”

PEN America has said that Trang’s imprisonment contradicts international human rights law and violates her right to free expression.

Neither Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor its embassy in Washington responded to VOA’s comment inquiries.

Trang is one of 19 journalists imprisoned for their work in Vietnam, making the country one of the leading jailers of media workers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

One of Trang’s lawyers will receive the award on behalf of the writer at a gala in New York in May, along with a friend of the writer, says PEN.

The lawyer, Dang Dinh Manh, said that Trang, “completely deserves all the honors” that are recognizing her work and the sacrifice she has made to speak up.

“As a defense lawyer for Trang, I understand her commitment to fighting for universal values, along with the very high price she had to make tradeoffs: her health, her youth, her freedom,” Manh told VOA.

The lawyer, who fled Vietnam for the U.S. because of harassment related to his legal work, added, “She completely deserves all the honors.”

The award sends a message to the Vietnamese government that “the suppression of people’s freedom is not welcomed, and is even condemned everywhere,” said Manh.

Trang’s friend Quynh-Vi Tran will also travel to New York for the award ceremony.

“PEN America had given these awards to people that they believe are writers who inspire and who use their writings to inspire others to do better things in society,” Tran, who lives in Taiwan, told VOA.

Tran, who is co-founder and executive director of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, expressed thanks to PEN for “advocating for Trang’s freedom” and raising awareness of the challenges to free expression in Vietnam.

“Vietnam should understand and should follow the legal standard of human rights in the world. Because Vietnam is a member of the Human Rights Council, they cannot say they have a different definition for human rights than the rest of the world. Right?” Tran said.

PEN America has called for Trang’s release from prison and the repeal of the law under which Trang is imprisoned, among other laws that infringe on free expression.

Previous PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write winners include Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi and Ukrainian freelance journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko.

This article originated in VOA’s Vietnamese Service.
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LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistani authorities are investigating the shooting death of a man who had been acquitted of killing accused Indian spy Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore prison in 2013, a police official said Sunday.

Pakistan has previously accused India’s intelligence agency of being involved in killings inside Pakistan, saying it had credible evidence linking two Indian agents to the deaths of two Pakistanis last year.

The man who died in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday was Amir Tamba. He was a suspect in the death of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national who was convicted of spying in Pakistan and handed a death sentence in 1991.

But Singh died in 2013 after inmates attacked him in a Lahore prison. His fate inflamed tensions between the two South Asian nuclear-armed rivals.

Tamba and a second man went on trial for Singh’s death but were acquitted in 2018 due to lack of evidence.

The deputy inspector general of police in Lahore, Ali Nasir Rizvi, said gunmen entered Tamba’s house and shot him. They fled the scene on a motorbike. Officials from Pakistan’s army and intelligence agency reached the site and removed Tamba’s body, taking it to the city’s Combined Military Hospital.

Rizvi said a case had been lodged against unidentified assailants but gave no further information about the case, including a possible motive for the attack.

There was slow coverage of Tamba’s death in Pakistan’s media. However, Indian outlets were quick to report on the shooting. There was no immediate comment from the Indian authorities.

Singh was arrested in 1990 for his role in a series of bombings in Lahore and Faisalabad that killed 14 people. His family said he was innocent.
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