Washington — A U.N. report released Friday about the prevalence of female genital mutilation around the globe is drawing attention to the practice among the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Muslim minority sect based in India.

India is not on the UNICEF list of 31 countries released Friday. But the extent of FGM in India, although small relative to its population and long shrouded in secrecy, is coming into the open.

The ritual is mostly practiced by the Dawoodi Bohras, a subsect of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam with an estimated 1 to 2 million followers around the globe. Recent surveys show that as many as 80% of Bohra girls undergo genital mutilation as a religious right of passage.

“We are still significant, even if our numbers are few,” said Aarefa Johari, a Dawoodi Bohra activist and co-founder of Sahiyo, an anti-FGM advocacy group. “Injustices and harmful practices must be opposed because they are wrong, not because of the number of people they affect.”

Affluent and politically influential, most Dawoodi Bohras live in India’s Gujarat province, with smaller communities thriving in Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, the Middle East, Australia and North America.

The World Health Organization defines FGM, also known as female genital cutting, as “procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for nonmedical reasons.” The organization says the practice has no health benefits and classifies it as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

The UNICEF report, released on International Women’s Day, shows that more than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, an increase of 30 million compared with data released eight years ago. Africa accounts for over 144 million of the total, followed by Asia with over 80 million, and the Middle East with 6 million.

Shelby Quast, an international human rights lawyer, said India should have been “absolutely” included in the UNICEF report.

Noting that FGM is practiced in at least 92 countries, she said the report captures “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“We can’t eliminate FGM by 2030 if we’re not looking at it in all the countries where it exists,” Quast said in an interview.

The method practiced in the Dawoodi Bohra community involves the cutting of a part of the clitoral hood. The Bohras deny it’s a form of genital mutilation. They prefer the term khatna, or female circumcision, and say it is safe. Although not endorsed by most Muslim scholars, the Dawoodi Bohras see it as a religious duty.

Until recent years, the practice was little-known outside the close-knit community. The issue came to light after a 2011 online campaign launched by survivors. Others came forward with harrowing stories of trauma.

Court cases in Australia and the United States exposed its prevalence among diaspora communities.

In 2016, three Dawoodi Bohras in Australia were sentenced to 15 months in prison for violating the country’s FGM ban.

In 2017, four members of the community in the U.S., including two doctors, were charged with performing FGM on at least six minor girls. A federal judge later dismissed the charges as unconstitutional, but the case put the spotlight on the Dawoodi Bohra community’s practice of FGM.

Spurred by the publicity, community activists and human rights advocates sprang into action to shed light on the problem.

Research by Johari’s group revealed that FGM was also practiced by small communities in India’s Kerala state.

Female genital mutilation was long associated with Africa. But the recent “discovery” of FGM in India and other Asian communities has shown that it’s a global problem, Johari said.

“I believe it has important implications for the global movement to end it,” said Johari, herself a survivor.

Like many Dawoodi Bohra girls, Johari was “cut” at the age of 7. The physical effects of the ritual sometimes extend into adulthood. But Johari considers herself among the fortunate; she was spared the complications.

“What impacted me at a later age, however, was the realization and the understanding of what had been done to me,” Johari said via email from Mumbai. “When you are cut as a young child, you have no way of knowing what your original anatomy was like, how much was cut, and how it will affect your sexual experiences later.

“[FGM] supporters in the community like to claim that our type of ‘mild’ cut makes no difference to sexual life; some even claim it enhances sexual pleasure,” Johari said. “But none of them have a frame of reference, and the uncertainty, the not knowing, leaves me feeling frustrated, helpless and angry.”

The discord has divided the community. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the group’s spiritual leader, has defied calls for a ban.

“Whatever the world says, we should be strong and firm. … It must be done,” he said during a religious sermon in Mumbai in 2016.

Meanwhile, Indian government officials have wavered on the issue, and a push to criminalize FGM has stalled in India’s Supreme Court, according to Lakshmi Anantnarayan, a human rights activist and researcher.

Some officials initially backed a prohibition only to change their position and deny FGM’s existence, Anantnarayan said.

A petition filed in 2017 with India’s Supreme Court demanding an FGM ban has triggered strong pushback from the powerful Bohra community.

The petition calls FGM a discriminatory practice and a gross violation of the rights of women and girls. But Bohra leaders, joined by a group of Bohra women, have defended it as an “essential” religious ritual protected under India’s Constitution.

The Supreme Court has tasked two panels with examining the constitutionality of female genital cutting. A decision in the case is still pending.

The delay “clearly demonstrates the lack of political will amongst legal authorities, policymakers and law enforcement to prioritize protecting girls from FGM in India,” Anantnarayan said in an email. “Like so many other issues of violence against women in India, FGM/C too continues to be practiced with impunity as the country just turns a blind eye to the plight of women and girls.”

The Indian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

India is not the only Asian country without an FGM ban. The ritual persists in at least 10 countries on the continent, all without legal prohibition.

In the face of opposition from the powerful Bohra community, many activists view a ban as unlikely. But they don’t see changing laws as a panacea. Instead, they find hope in shifting mindsets.

Mariya Taher, another co-founder of Sahiyo and herself a survivor, noted that the same survey that revealed an 80% prevalence rate of FGM among the Bohras also found that 81% opposed continuing the tradition.

“The assumption was that everyone thought it was important to continue,” she said in an interview.

She said she learned from talking to fellow Dawoodi Bohras in the U.S. that some mosque leaders have been quietly urging mothers to spare their daughters, despite the group’s official stance.

“I think social change takes a long time, but it’s heartening to see that as this issue gets more attention, we are seeing that attitudes towards it are shifting,” she said.
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ISLAMABAD — The United Nations warned Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities Friday that their bans on women’s education and work risk pushing the country further into deeper poverty and international isolation.

The head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, called again on the fundamentalist regime to reverse the restrictions as the world marked International Women’s Day to highlight the need to invest in women.

“It is heartbreaking that we are seeing precisely the opposite unfolding in Afghanistan: a catastrophic and deliberate disinvestment that is causing immense harm to women and girls, creating only barriers to sustainable peace and prosperity,” said Roza Otunbayeva.

Since reclaiming power in August 2021, the Taliban have blocked girls from accessing secondary school education and beyond. They have limited women’s freedom of movement outside the home and prohibited most from public and private sector workplaces, including the United Nations and other aid groups.  

The U.N. Development Program, or UNDP, reported Thursday that nearly 70% of Afghans do not have enough basic resources, and restrictions on women continue to thwart basic rights and economic progress. It said the Afghan economy had contracted by 27%, and unemployment doubled since the Taliban takoever.  

“The biggest challenge is the continued edict that bans girls’ education. Not being able to move forward after the sixth grade is a major stumbling block,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP’s director for Asia and the Pacific, told reporters in New York.

“Last year, no girl graduated the twelfth grade so how are they going to jump from sixth grade to moving into technical colleges or universities need for the medical field?” said Wignaraja, who recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan.

The ban on female aid workers has undermined relief activities in a country where the U.N. estimates more than 12 million women will need humanitarian assistance this year.

In a statement Friday, UNAMA said it “also fears a recent crackdown by the de facto authorities because of alleged non-compliance with the Islamic dress code is pushing women into even greater isolation due to fear of arbitrary arrest.” 

The U.N. refers to the Taliban as de facto authorities because no foreign government has formally recognized their government in Kabul.  

However, the euphemism has upset human rights groups and many women in Afghanistan, who are vehemently opposed to granting legitimacy to the Taliban government until it lifts all bans on women.  

Heather Barr, the associate director at Human Rights Watch, urged diplomats, the UN, and aid workers on Friday to stop referring to the Taliban as the de facto authorities to show solidarity with Afghan women.

“This euphemism kowtows to Taliban demands for normalization,” Barr said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Rights groups oppose any recognition of the Taliban and accuse it of implementing “gender apartheid” policies.

“Every step toward normalizing the Taliban—every time they walk a red carpet, or send a new ambassador, or host a meeting w/smiling foreigners—sends a message to the Taliban that what they’re doing to women & girls is fine and they are free to carry on,” she wrote in a subsequent X post.  

The U.N. acknowledged in a quarterly report Wednesday that the Taliban had consolidated political, security, and economic gains since taking power. However, it noted that Afghan de facto authorities “appear to be facing growing internal disagreements over key governance issues, including the enforcement of the drug ban.”  

The report did not elaborate further, but Otunbayeva suggested after briefing a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday that curbs on Afghan women were among the issues causing internal Taliban disagreements.

“There is a part of the [Taliban] government who understand that they should overcome [these restrictions]. But someone else … decided that no, women and girls should be behind the scene,” she said, without naming anyone.  

Most of the religious edicts or decrees the reclusive Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has issued over the past 2½ years have targeted women directly, banning their rights to education, work, to visit public places, including parks and gyms, as well as preventing them from taking road trips without a male chaperone.  

Akhundzada, who directs the government from the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, defends his policies and dismisses international calls to reverse them as interference in Afghanistan’s internal matters.
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HONG KONG — Hong Kong unveiled a new national security bill Friday that proposes up to life imprisonment for offenses like treason and insurrection, a move deepening worries over further erosion of the city’s freedoms after Beijing imposed a similar law four years ago that all but wiped out dissent.

The proposed law will expand the government’s power in stamping out future challenges to its rule, targeting espionage, external interference and protection of state secrets among others. Tougher punishment will be imposed on individuals who collude with external forces to carry out certain illegal acts, such as sabotage and sedition, compared to those who do so on their own.

Under a push by Hong Kong leader John Lee to finish the legislative process “at full speed,” lawmakers are set to begin their debate Friday in a meeting that was specially arranged to expedite it. The bill is expected to pass easily, possibly in weeks, in a legislature packed with Beijing loyalists following an electoral overhaul.

The legislature’s president, Andrew Leung, told reporters that the process was accelerated because the bill was necessary to safeguard national security.

“If you look at other countries, they enacted it within a day, two weeks, three weeks … So why can’t Hong Kong do it in a speedy manner? You tell me,” the pro-Beijing politician said.

Critics have warned the legislation will make Hong Kong’s legal framework increasingly similar to that of mainland China, and add to a decline in civil liberties that were promised to remain intact for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

However, the government pointed to the massive anti-government protests that rocked the city in 2019 to justify its necessity, insisting it would only affect “an extremely small minority” of disloyal residents.

Under the new law, instigating a foreign country to invade China with force could be punished by a maximum penalty of life imprisonment as a treason offense. Committing violence while being reckless enough to endanger the city’s public safety as a whole could be considered insurrection.

The government also suggested harsher penalties when residents collude with foreign forces to commit certain offenses, as opposed to doing them independently.

If they damage public infrastructure, including the airport and other public means of transport, with the intent of endangering national security, maximum penalty is imprisonment for 20 years. But if they collude with an external force in doing so, they could be sentenced for life.

Similarly, those who commit a sedition offense face a jail term of seven years but colluding with an external force to carry out such acts increase that penalty to 10 years.

Its expansive definition of external forces include foreign governments and political parties, international organizations, and companies when their directors are obligated to act in accordance with the wishes of a foreign government.

Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, requires the city to enact a homegrown national security law. But a previous attempt to pass a version of the law sparked a massive street protest that drew half a million people, and the legislation was shelved.

Huge protests against the current bill are unlikely to be repeated due to the chilling effect of the 2020 law. After it was enacted to quell the 2019 protests, many of the city’s leading pro-democracy activists have been arrested and others fled abroad. Dozens of civil society groups have been disbanded, and outspoken media outlets like Apple Daily and Stand News have been shut down.

During a one-month public comment period that ended last week, 98.6% of the views received by officials showed support, and only 0.72% opposed the proposals, the government said. The rest purely contain questions or opinions that cannot reflect the authors’ stance, it added.

But business people and journalists have expressed fear that a broadly framed law could criminalize their day-to-day work, especially when the proposed definition of state secrets concerning those linked to economic, social and technological developments.

Under the bill, maximum penalties related to state secret offenses range between three to 10 years. The government has sought to allay concerns by adding a public interest defense under specific conditions in the proposal.

John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, said how the courts will interpret the extent to which disclosure “manifestly outweighs” nondisclosure remains to be seen.

The bill, if passed as tabled, is likely to have chilling effect on local groups, Burns said, especially for political groups and public policy lobby groups which benefited from connections to their overseas counterparts.

“At least initially I expect them to be especially cautious about expanding links with similar groups overseas,” he said.

Officials were also planning to impose stiffer measures on those suspected to have endangered security. Those who were arrested but given bail could face a “movement restriction order” which limits the places they can live and enter, as well as prevent them from communicating with certain people.

Authorities would be empowered to target specific absconders with sanctions, such as preventing people from financially providing for, employing, leasing property, or starting businesses with them.

Prisoners convicted of national security offenses will also not be granted a reduction in their sentences until authorities are confident that an early release will not cause national security risks. This would apply to all national security prisoners, even those whose sentences were imposed prior to the bill.
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washington — The United States is looking to Korean and Japanese shipbuilders to help revive its dormant naval shipyards and boost maritime competitiveness in the face of China’s accelerated naval buildup.

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro toured shipyards in South Korea operated by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan and Hanwha Ocean on Geoje Island last week.

He encouraged top executives of the companies to establish subsidiaries and “invest” resources in integrating commercial and naval shipbuilding facilities in the U.S., said a statement by the Navy.

During a speech at Harvard University in September, Del Toro called for “new maritime statecraft” to prevail in an era of intense strategic competition.

South Korean shipbuilding is “an asset” to the U.S. “as China continues to aggressively pursue worldwide shipbuilding dominance,” said the Navy statement issued during Del Toro’s East Asia visit.

“In addition to our currently active shipyards,” it added, “there are numerous former shipyard sites around the country which are largely intact and dormant.”

Del Toro said during the tour that these are ready to be redeveloped to produce military and commercial ships.

Yokohama shipyard

Following his visit to South Korea last week, Del Toro traveled to Japan, where he toured Mitsubishi’s shipyard in Yokohama and discussed efforts to revive the U.S. maritime industry with leading shipbuilding executives, said the Navy in a separate statement.

Matthew Funaiole, senior fellow for the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said these meetings “underscore a strategic effort by the U.S. to bolster alliance and enhance technological and industrial cooperation” with its allies.

“China may be the world’s largest shipbuilder, but South Korea and Japan are number two and three, respectively,” continued Funaiole via email on Tuesday.

China has the largest number of naval vessels in the world, having overtaken the U.S. Navy in 2014. According to a Pentagon report published in October, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China has more than 370 battle force ships compared with the U.S. Navy’s 292.

The Pentagon report also said that China’s navy is expected to have 395 ships by 2025 and 435 by 2030.

According to the U.S. Naval Institute, China commands almost 50% of the global shipbuilding market, with South Korea and Japan following at nearly 30% and 17%, respectively. US capacity is only 0.13 percent.

“It is clear that the United States is having trouble producing ships – both surface ships and submarines – at numbers and costs that can keep up with China’s naval modernization,” said Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Defense Department official during the George W. Bush administration.

“One way to address this shortfall is to work more closely with allies and partners to try and field more vessels or to offload some of the maintenance responsibilities to other players,” he told VOA via email on Wednesday.

Protection against competition

But, Cooper said, the opportunities for collaboration “have to be balanced” against the opposition by U.S. shipbuilders that are protected from foreign competitors by the Jones Act.

That act, passed in 1920 in response to German U-boat attacks during World War I that crippled the U.S. Merchant Marine, requires that any vessel carrying goods between two U.S. points be built, owned and crewed by Americans and registered in the U.S.

Terence Roehrig, a professor of national security at the Naval War College, said the U.S. faces a lack of “shipbuilding capacity that can crank out the needed number of vessels at a cost that can be sustained.”

He continued via email on Tuesday: “It will be difficult for the U.S. to match the size of the PLAN but the United States retains advantages in technology and weapons systems along with certain classes of ships including aircraft carriers and submarines.”

Roehrig added that South Korean and Japanese investment could help the U.S. increase its capacity to keep up with China.

The U.S. Navy currently operates public shipyards in Norfolk, Virginia; Portsmouth, Maine; Puget Sound, Washington; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Seven public shipyards closed from the 1960s to 1990s.

Seven shipyards owned by four contractors in the U.S. build warships for the Navy while China operates more than 20 shipyards to support naval shipbuilding, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.

Funaiole said: “The gap in shipbuilding capabilities can be attributed to several factors, including China’s focused efforts on accelerating military modernization through dual-use applications, strategic prioritization of naval expansion to assert its maritime interests, and effective utilization of its commercial industrial capacity.”

He continued that the U.S. should warn its international partners about engaging with Chinese commercial shipbuilders.

“These entities often bolster China’s military through its Military-Civil Fusion strategy,” which aims to eliminate barriers among commercial, scientific and military sectors to enhance its defense.
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Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited Indian Kashmir for the first time since his government stripped the Himalayan region of its semiautonomous status nearly five years ago. 

Amid tight security, Modi told a crowd that had packed the Bakshi Stadium in the region’s capital, Srinagar, that Kashmir has seen significant changes and prospered since his government took action on August 5, 2019.  

On that day, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government nullified Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution. Kashmir’s loss of its special status led to the division of the region into two federal territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Both areas are ruled by the central government and have no legislatures of their own. 

“Today Jammu and Kashmir is touching new heights of development because J&K is breathing freely today. This freedom from restrictions has come after the abrogation of Article 370,” Modi said.  

“Few political parties used Article 370 for their own political benefits, but that’s over now,” he added, apparently referring to the two regional pro-India political parties, the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party, without mentioning their names. 

He also alleged that India’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, commonly known as Congress, and its allies in the region “deceived people, J&K and the nation for political benefits” under the guise of the now-revoked special status. 

Kashmiri politicians have described Modi as divisive and anti-minority and have said that the special status designation was a constitutional guarantee, The Associated Press has reported. 

Tight security was put in place ahead of Modi’s visit to the Muslim-majority region. 

Government forces dug holes on the main road and placed wooden rafters in them to erect barricades. Local police also declared Srinagar a “red zone” for drones. Access to the secured compound, decorated with Indian flags, was restricted to individuals with government-approved passes.  

Thousands of individuals from the Kashmir valley attended the speech. Some, however, said that the local government forced them to join Modi’s gathering as they were government employees. 

Their claims were backed by two former chief ministers, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, who shared on social media platform X videos and screenshots of the list of the employees selected by the government to attend.  

“Many of us who work for the government had to attend this event at any cost. We were picked up from different places during the middle of the night,” a government employee told VOA. He asked not to be named, fearing disciplinary action.   

“They made us wear caps in three colors representing the Indian flag when we got into the vehicles. We have been waiting outside since 5 a.m., and we are tired because we haven’t had rest,” he added. 

Many people who said they traveled to Srinagar on their own voiced disappointment, saying they were not allowed to enter the venue where the prime minister was speaking. They said they hoped Modi would listen to their concerns and address them on the spot. 

“I am devastated because security didn’t let me into the stadium to share my grievance directly,” Riyaz Ahmad, a resident of the Kangan area of Ganderbal district, told VOA. 

“I come from an economically weaker section of society, and I wanted to tell Prime Minister Modi that people like me can’t afford to pay for electricity after the regional government installed smart meters in the valley.” 

Manoj Sinha, lieutenant governor of J&K, welcomed Modi and thanked him for re-establishing peace in the valley. 

“Thanks to the efforts of Prime Minister Modi, Kashmir, also known as the Valley of Saints, has become peaceful once again,” Sinha told the gathering. “Street protests are gone forever.”

India and Pakistan have both claimed Kashmir since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947. They administer parts of the region with a “Line of Control” as the de facto border.  Kashmir has seen clashes involving Indian forces and separatists. 

Sinha said that people of J&K have sent a clear message of their huge respect and love for Modi. 

“People are standing because there are no seats available in the stadium,” the lieutenant governor said. “The figures reveal the affection for the prime minister. Even if there were enough spaces to accommodate 200,000 people, it too would still be overcrowded.”  

Modi also dedicated “Developed India — Developed Jammu Kashmir,” an agriculture development program worth more than $600 million to boost the economy of J&K. 

During his speech, Modi announced that he would kick off a campaign to promote J&K as a wedding destination.  

“I am starting ‘Wed in India’ campaign. I urge those planning weddings to come and stay here for a couple of days so that locals can earn their bread and butter,” he said. “I won’t leave any stone unturned to repay the debt of the love given to me by the people of Kashmir.” 

Mufti, the former chief minister, while taking a jab at BJP, said that common people in the past thronged venues with great enthusiasm and returned with hope in their hearts.  

“But this time Kashmiris know that everything spoken at Bakshi Stadium will be to showcase the so-called benefits of illegal abrogation of Article 370 akin to putting salt to their wounds,” she wrote on the X platform. 

“This visit is only meant to address and drum support amongst BJP’s core constituency in the rest of India for the upcoming parliament elections,” she added. The elections are set for April. 

Wasim Nabi, Ayesha Tanzeem and Bilal Hussain contributed to this report.
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In Nepal, a growing Hindu nationalist movement is calling for the country to adopt Hinduism as its state religion and reinstate the country’s Hindu monarchy. Now there is concern over recent clashes between Hindu nationalists and police. Analysts say the movement stems from a combination of disillusionment with the government, inspiration from neighboring India, and social media influencers. Henry Wilkins reports from Kathmandu.
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New Delhi — Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry has issued “sincere apologies” following a remark by Taiwan’s labor minister that has threatened to disrupt fast-warming ties between the island republic and India. 

In an interview with Yahoo TV last week, Hsu Ming-chun, Taiwan’s minister of labor, said that Taiwan may start recruiting migrant workers from India’s northeast region because “their skin color and eating habits are similar to ours.” She added that “most of them believe in Christianity, and [have] skills in manufacturing, construction and agriculture.” 

Critics on social media called the remarks racist.  

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement late Monday calling Hsu’s comments “not entirely appropriate” and expressed “sincere apologies.” 

“Taiwan will welcome any Indian worker who meets conditions for recruitment and satisfies industry demand, regardless of their ethnic background,” the ministry said in a statement. 

Amid a rapidly aging population, Taiwan has been seeking to expand its source of foreign workers beyond Southeast Asian nations. Most now come from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the Center for International and Strategic Studies.

Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India on February 16, laying the framework for recruiting workers from India, which has high unemployment and a fast-growing population. India overtook China last year as the world’s most populous country with more than 1.4 billion people.   

The details of the implementation of the MOU have yet to be worked out, but Bloomberg reported in November it could involve hiring as many as 100,000 Indian workers for industry, agriculture and health care on the self-ruled island. Taiwan has denied that it expects to hire that many workers. 

China has been publicly silent on the agreement but could be irked by any bilateral agreement involving Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province that must one day reunite with mainland China, by force if necessary.   

India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not immediately respond to the labor minister’s comments or the ministry’s apology. But there was some domestic backlash from India’s business sector. 

“The Taiwanese minister’s statement is racist in nature, and it disrespects our Indian ethos,” said Nafisul Q. Jilani, a Delhi-based businessman who wants to do business with Taiwan. “In the wake of current geopolitical fragility, such statements are unwarranted, and they could hamper the growing bilateral relation(s) between India and Taiwan.” 

He added that “India is a diverse country and constitutionally, every Indian is an equal citizen. We believe that any opportunity should be given on candidates’ individual merit, and not based on his/her skin color, appearance or religion.” 

Namrata Hasija, a research fellow at the Delhi-based Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, told VOA these kinds of statements harm the relationship between the two governments. 

Leaders in Taiwan “should sensitize their ministers to India, and they should understand that both countries have come a long way,” said Hasija, who is also a member of the advisory committee set up by Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor to look at labor issues with India.  

“But if ministers, politicians and bureaucrats are not sensitized towards India, they don’t know India, and they don’t understand how diverse India is. Then such hiccups will keep coming in, and there will be a negative image of Taiwan here. Why give fodder to China, who are trying to dismantle the relationship?” she asked. 

Priya Purswaney, an Indian entrepreneur and interpreter based in Taipei, told VOA the Indian community there “is slightly shocked by these comments, and such comments do not represent the majority view and do not align with the government’s policy on India, which has been actively working to strengthen ties with India.” 

“The particular comment that has been criticized was not meant to be offensive to anyone,” said Purswaney. “She just had an error of judgment and has apologized for that. I hope the matter is not dragged on any further, because this agreement is definitely beneficial to both sides and marks an important milestone in India-Taiwan collaboration.”  

Purswaney noted that Hsu was full of praise for India, Indians and migrant workers from India during the TV interview, emphasizing the contribution they have made in many countries around the world.  

Like most countries, India has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan and adheres to a “One China” policy as do other governments that wish to have formal relations and do business with Beijing. India was one of the first noncommunist nations to recognize the government in Beijing, but New Delhi maintained informal ties with Taipei while trade and other exchanges flourished. 

While bilateral trade between India and Taiwan is a modest $8 billion per year, compared to $136 billion between India and China, Taiwan is home to at least 5,000 Indian citizens and diaspora, considered among the best educated in the expatriate community. 

Nearly 3,000 Indian students study in Taiwan, making up the fastest-growing group of international students.  
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Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir  — Authorities on the Indian side of Kashmir are on high alert ahead of a scheduled visit to the region by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. This will be Modi’s first visit since his government stripped the disputed area of its special status as a semiautonomous region in 2019. Kashmir is India’s only Muslim majority region.

Thousands of troopers, including local police and paramilitary forces, have been deployed in Srinagar, the capital. Fences installed by the Jammu and Kashmir, or J&K, government and flags of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, will welcome him at Bakshi Stadium in the Wazir-Bagh neighborhood where he is scheduled to address the public.

Security forces deployed around Srinagar have taken other security measures ahead of the visit, including frisking commuters, which has offended some residents, and using sniffer dogs in the search for banned substances.

“Frisking is a form of harassment, and we Kashmiris have been subjected to it for decades. I believe nothing has changed in Kashmir; rather, the situation has in fact worsened,” said Jahangir Khan, a resident of Srinagar.

“The slogan of the security forces, ‘Respects all and suspects all,’ is full of hypocrisy. How can you respect everyone if you suspect everyone?” he said, adding that in recent days, most residents have preferred to stay at home.

Modi, according to a statement issued from his office through the Press Information Bureau, will participate in a program titled “Developed India — Developed Jammu Kashmir.”

During the program, the prime minister is expected to “dedicate” an agriculture development program worth more than $600 million “for boosting agri-economy in J&K,” a press statement read. He will also “launch multiple projects related to the tourism sector,” the statement added.

The BJP sees Modi’s visit to Kashmir as a move to gain support for a third consecutive term in power with nationwide elections scheduled for April. Politicians associated with the J&K branch of the BJP contend that more than 200,000 people from Kashmir are expected to be on hand for the prime minister’s arrival at Bakshi Stadium.

Modi “has written the new chapter of development in J&K by opening the gates of treasure of India for the people of the region,” Ravinder Raina, the J&K’s BJP president, told reporters on Tuesday. “His visit on March 7th will be remembered as a historic event.”

Raina added that people of the Himalayan territory “admire” Modi and that is why they will visit the capital from various parts of the valley in large numbers to “catch his glimpse.”

“The stadium does not have the capacity to accommodate 200,000 people, therefore arrangements are made at several locations in Srinagar so that everyone can see and hear him on big screens,” Raina said. “Every household in Kashmir appreciates Prime Minister Modi’s effort he took for the betterment of people of J&K.”

Some locals said they didn’t expect the Modi visit to produce benefits, in part because of the region’s loss of its special status.

“People were robbed of their rights on 5th August, 2019. The special status was never an obstacle to develop the region. No one expects anything from Modi and his government,” said Mohammad Ayaz, another resident of Srinagar. “People have a clear picture in front of them. People here know who is working for their betterment and who is misleading them.”

The “unemployment rate in J&K has surged to an all-time high,” Ayaz told VOA. “BJP can try everything to win seats, but they won’t succeed either in Kashmir, Jammu or in Ladakh.”

Kashmir’s loss of its special status led to the division of the region into two federal territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Both areas are ruled by the central government and have no legislatures of their own.

On March 4, The Hindu, a newspaper in New Delhi, reported that the J&K administration was mobilizing thousands of government employees to attend Modi’s rally. The report said that 13 government departments had been told to send their employees to Bakshi Stadium.

“Yes, this is true. Many government employees, including those from the J&K Bank, have been instructed to visit the venue at 5:30 a.m.,” a government employee told VOA on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

“The administration is not only compelling government employees but also private schools by asking them to send their vehicles to ferry employees to the stadium,” he added.

“Everyone has to abide or else he or she will face the consequences,” the employee said. “No unknown person would be allowed to enter the venue, as the government has prepared the list of individuals after security agencies cleared their names following a proper verification.”

Many residents of Srinagar said their family members had been detained by local police in the lead-up to Modi’s visit.

“My friend has been detained because of his past,” a resident of the Soura neighborhood of Srinagar told VOA. “He will be released after Modi travels back to Delhi.”

Vidhi Kumar Birdi, inspector general of the Kashmir police, was approached for his comments. He disconnected the call as soon as he was questioned.

India and Pakistan have both claimed Kashmir since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947. They administer parts of the region with a “Line of Control” as the de facto border.

Wasim Nabi and Ayesha Tanzeem contributed to this report. Some information came from the Associated Press.
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Washington — Moscow has a range of military technologies that it could offer Pyongyang in exchange for munitions to sustain its war in Ukraine, with advanced missile technologies high on the list, analysts say.

North Korea has been providing munitions to Russia since its leader, Kim Jong Un, visited Russia last September and met with President Vladimir Putin.

Since September, Pyongyang has shipped about 6,700 containers of munitions to Russia, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonshik said at a press briefing on February 26. He said the containers could carry more than 3 million 152 mm artillery shells or 500,000 122 mm rounds.

Those munitions are making a difference on the battlefield. The Security Service of Ukraine said last month that North Korean ballistic missiles have been killing and injuring civilians since December.

Shin said that North Korea has cranked up its hundreds of munitions factories to operate “at full capacity,” and that in return, Moscow is providing Pyongyang with raw materials and parts to manufacture weapons, in addition to food.

He also said Moscow is expected to transfer more military technology, which could embolden North Korea to escalate threats in the region.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency said in November that Russia was the most likely source of technology that Pyongyang needed to launch its Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit the same month.

But the question remains as to what kind of weapons technology is Russia willing to send to North Korea that would increase the threat it poses to South Korea and the United States?

Analysts say Russia could provide technologies that would refine Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

Michael O’Hanlon, director of research and foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, told VOA on Friday via email that Moscow most likely would provide missile technology to North Korea, “but nuclear weapons design information can’t be ruled out.”

What would concern South Korea the most would be short-range ballistic missile technology, including guidance systems, according to Bruce Bechtol, a former intelligence officer at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency who is now a political science professor at Angelo University in Texas.

“The North Koreans may be looking for technology that will help those missiles evade ballistic missile defenses as they’re attacking the South,” Bechtol said Monday during a phone interview with VOA. “The Russians do have that technology, and this is something that we must pay attention to.”

Moscow’s transfer of guidance and reentry capabilities of intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, would be the “most dangerous to the American homeland, according to David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy.

“Advanced technology and capabilities to support an ICBM program” probably is “what North Korea wants the most,” Maxwell told VOA during a telephone interview on Monday.

Analysts say Russia could also provide technologies that could enhance the development of satellite cameras, submarines, advanced fighter jets, air defense capabilities and tanks.

Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation, told VOA in a telephone interview this week that Russia has technology that would allow North Korea to pack greater explosive power into a small warhead, but “may be reluctant to give North Korea sophisticated miniaturization technology.”

Bennett said North Korea may have a nuclear warhead with 10 kilotons yield, but it probably does not have advanced miniaturization technology that could pack 350 kilotons of explosive power into a warhead like that of a U.S. Minuteman III ICBM.

Analysts say regardless of what weapons technology Russia transfers, it would be difficult to detect.

Bennett pointed out that Russian scientists seemed to have flown from Moscow to Pyongyang on a Russia military plane in September, two months before North Korea launched a spy satellite.

It could be difficult to discern if Russians spotted in Pyongyang are military experts now that North Korea has opened up its border to Russian tourists, said Bechtol.

Russian tourists visited North Korea in February for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.

A North Korean IT delegation returned home on Friday after attending the Eurasia IT forum in Moscow, and a delegation on the North Korea-Russia joint committee on fisheries returned home on February 29 from Russia, according to KCNA, the state news agency of North Korea.

Additionally, Kim received a Russian-made vehicle from Putin on February 18, according to KCNA. Russian state media Tass on February 19 did not confirm the make or model, saying only that Kim examined an Aurus luxury car during his visit.
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WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Tuesday to give China’s ByteDance about six months to divest popular short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban, seeking to tackle national security concerns about its Chinese ownership.

The bill is the first significant legislative move in nearly a year toward banning or forcing ByteDance to divest the popular app, after Senate legislation to ban it stalled in Congress last year in the face of heavy lobbying by TikTok.

Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairperson of the House of Representatives’ select China committee and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat, are among more than a dozen lawmakers introducing the measure, which is expected to see an initial vote on Thursday.

“This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users,” Gallagher said. “America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States.”

The bill would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok, which is used by more than 170 million Americans, or make it unlawful for app stores run by Apple, Google, and others to offer TikTok or provide web hosting services to apps controlled by ByteDance.

The bill would not authorize any enforcement against individual users of an affected app, however.

“This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it,” a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs,” the spokesperson said.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson called the bill “an important and welcome step” adding that the Biden administration would work with Congress “to further strengthen this legislation and put it on the strongest possible legal footing.”

The administration has worked with lawmakers from both parties to counter threats of tech services operating in the United States that pose risks to Americans’ sensitive data and broader national security, the official added.

TikTok says it has not, and would not, share U.S. user data with the Chinese government.

The American Civil Liberties Union called the bill unconstitutional, saying lawmakers were “once again attempting to trade our First Amendment rights for cheap political points during an election year.”

The bill, which would require companion legislation in the Senate, will be considered at an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday for a vote.

The popularity of the app could make it tough to get legislation approved in an election year. Last month, Democratic President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok.

The bill would give the president new powers to designate apps of concern posing national security risks and subject them to the risk of bans or curbs unless ownership was divested.

It would cover apps with more than a million annual active users and under control of a foreign adversary entity, the bill says.

Concerns about Chinese-owned TikTok sparked efforts in Congress last year to tackle the risks from the short video sharing app or potentially ban it. Late in 2022, Congress barred federal employees from using it on government devices.

Last year the administration backed legislation sponsored by Senator Mark Warner and more than two dozen senators to give it new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats.

That bill has never been voted on.

The new bill aims at bolstering the legal authority to address TikTok concerns. U.S. courts blocked an effort by previous President Donald Trump to ban TikTok in 2020.

Late in November, a U.S. judge blocked Montana’s first-of-its kind state ban on TikTok, saying it violated users’ free speech rights.
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WASHINGTON — China announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget on Tuesday, which has more than doubled under President Xi Jinping’s 11 years in office, as Beijing hardens its stance on Taiwan.

Since Xi became president in 2013, the defense budget has ballooned to $230 billion this year from $100 billion.

The increase mirrors the rate presented in last year’s budget and is well above the government’s economic growth forecast for this year. The growth target for 2024 is about 5%, similar to last year’s goal, according to the government report.

Bonny Lin, senior fellow for Asian security and director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the increase in the military budget is meant to demonstrate “reasonable” and “steady” growth in China’s defense spending.

“The actual PRC [People’s Republic of China] proposed defense budget is over $7 billion more compared to last year,” she said. “The official PRC budget only captures a portion of the total Chinese spending on defense national security, and the 7.2% figure showcases China’s desire to continue significant investment and modernization in the PLA [People’s Liberation Army].”

Lin said China’s officially announced defense budget figure has to take into account different pressures.

“On one hand, it would be difficult for China to publicly announce a higher defense spending, given the economic problems that China faces domestically. Beijing is also wary that a significantly increased defense spending could spark alarm and international concern that China is set on using military force abroad,” she said.

“On the other hand, a lower rate of defense spending growth could signal less PRC resolve and ability to protect and advance Chinese interest. A lower rate would also not match China’s elevated external threat perception.”

Chong Ja Ian, assistant professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, told VOA the increase may be symbolic.

“He [Xi] hopes to express to the outside world his emphasis on the country’s security. Especially in this situation, where economic growth is slowing down, he is still willing to invest in national defense. Then this may be hoping that other countries will not challenge China in terms of security and military.”

Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific program, told VOA, “The decision to hike defense spending by 7.2% at a time when China’s economy is facing severe headwinds underscores Xi Jinping’s commitment to hitting the three benchmarks he has laid out for the PLA 2027, 2035 and 2049.”

In 2021, Xi set the military modernization goal for 2027 as 1: “accelerating the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligentization;” 2: “accelerating the modernization of military doctrine, organizational form, military personnel and weapons and equipment;” 3: “adhering to quality first and prioritizing efficiency;” and 4: “promoting the simultaneous improvement of national defense strength and economic strength.” 

China is looking to ensure PLA modernization is “basically complete” in 2035 and build a “world-class” military by 2049.

China also officially adopted tougher language against Taiwan, dropping the mention of “peaceful reunification” in a government report delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the opening of the National People’s Congress on Tuesday.

The report emphasized that China wants to “be firm” in unifying the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Previous statements from the annual meeting only vowed to “resolutely oppose” Taiwan independence.

“It’s a sign that China is set on reunification with Taiwan through all means possible and is willing to adopt all means possible,” Lin said. “Peaceful was dropped prior to the word reunification, but the government work report still stated that China “will promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.”

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday urged China to accept the fact that the two sides are not subordinate to each other and urged China to create healthy cross-Strait exchanges.

The island’s defense minister said on Tuesday that Taiwan’s armed forces would increase the number of missile drills they hold this year.      

Chuang Chih-wei contributed to this report.
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JAKARTA — Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is overcrowded, polluted, prone to earthquakes and often described as the world’s fastest sinking city, due to groundwater extraction and climate change.

All that, plus the government’s interest in distributing opportunity and wealth more equitably among the nation’s 1,700 islands, contributed to President Joko Widodo’s announcement in August 2019 of plans to move the capital from the island of Java to the island of Borneo and create a smart, “sustainable forest city” — Nusantara.

Since then, Indonesian authorities have envisioned foreign investors bankrolling Nusantara, a $32 billion project.

Now, months before the first phase is scheduled to be unveiled on August 17, Chinese entities are emerging as one of the biggest blocks of investors in what is widely seen as Widodo’s legacy project, where work began in August 2022.

Singapore has shown the most interest, followed by Japan. Malaysia and China are tied for third place.

But submission of letters of interest is just the first step in a time-consuming process. The 260,000-hectare (642,474 acre) design is due for completion in August 2045, Indonesia’s 100th anniversary of independence from Dutch colonial rule.

The Nusantara Capital Authority (NCA) has used investment forums and meetings in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to reach investors. In October, Widodo said Beijing is set to become the largest foreign direct investor in Indonesia within two years, surpassing Singapore.

China has already invested in smart cities like Nusantara elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar, according to a 2021 University of Kentucky study.

In Indonesia, Chinese investments have usually flowed into major infrastructure or industrial projects, such as the $7.3 billion Jakarta Bandung high-speed rail project, the Mentarang Induk Hydroelectric Project (MIHEP), which is affiliated with the Chinese state-owned enterprise PowerChina and will power the new capital and the controversial $11.6 billion facility on Rempang Island for Xinyi Glass, a giant Chinese-owned glass and solar panel manufacturer.

Disputes over who owns the land remain unresolved.

In a phone interview with VOA Indonesian, Andry Satrio Nugroho, an economist at Indonesia’s Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, warned that the government should be able to assure investors that there are no similar land disputes attached to Nusantara.

NCA has said the government is working to include Indigenous and local people in the land acquisition and development process.

Agung Wicaksono, NCA deputy for finance and investment, said they have received 345 letters of intent submitted by potential investors.

At a conference on sustainability hosted by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings in June 2023, Widodo introduced 300 development packages worth $2.6 billion to investors interested in building Nusantara. The Indonesian government offered incentives such as tax holidays for companies investing at least $647,000 in projects like airports, toll roads, hospitals, shopping malls and hotels.

“Under the PPP [Private-Public Partnership] scheme, the NCA is advancing with a Chinese consortium led by CITIC Ltd. to construct 60 residential towers in the capital,” Wicaksono said.

CITIC Ltd., one of China’s largest conglomerates, is 58% owned by CITIC Group, which U.S. Republican Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, called “one of China’s largest and most important Party-controlled financial conglomerates.”

Two Malaysian entities, Maxim and IJM, will also build residential property in Nusantara, according to the Indonesia Business Post.

Interest from China has also included a pitch from China Railways Construction Corporation to develop Nusantara’s transportation system, according to the official China Daily, which reported that “Chinese enterprises have already been helping realize Widodo’s plans.”

China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Communications Construction Indonesia, and China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corporation are bidding for parts of the toll highway to link the Balikpapan oil storage port with Penajam Paser Utara, where the new capital will be built, according to a September 4 report.

By law, Widodo cannot serve more than his two five-year terms. His successor is expected to bePrabowo Subianto, the top vote-getter in last month’s election, who backs the Nusantara move.

“Everything will be fine, no need to worry,” Widodo told potential investors at a Singapore meeting last year. “Your investment in Indonesia will continue to be safe, and [there will be] continuity in the development of Nusantara capital city.”
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BEIJING — China has scrapped one of the most widely-followed events on its economic and policy calendar, the premier’s post-parliament news conference, a move seen by some observers as a sign of the country’s increasingly inward focus and centralized control.

For three decades, during a period when China was opening up, the briefing had offered foreign investors and governments insights into how Chinese policymakers regard the challenges of managing what is now the world’s second-largest economy.

In a surprise announcement Monday, a spokesperson said China’s Premier Li Qiang will not brief the media at the close of this year’s annual parliamentary meeting, which begins Tuesday in Beijing.

Moreover, barring special circumstances, Li will hold no such annual press conferences for the remaining term of China’s parliament ending in 2027, National People’s Congress spokesperson Lou Qinjian said.

Since 1993, China’s premiers have met the media after the annual parliament gathering, taking wide-ranging questions from Chinese and foreign journalists in news conferences broadcast live globally.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, China had actively sought to elucidate its politics and policies in a bid to attract foreign investment and boost trade.

“China was heading towards an era of opening up. Now it is heading towards an era of isolation, as shown by the canceled premier news conference,” said Chen Daoyin, an independent political commentator who formerly taught at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Lou said the premier’s news conference was canceled because there would be more briefings on diplomacy, the economy and the livelihoods of the people by government ministers during the weeklong parliament meeting.

The premier’s annual meet-the-press session used to be the highlight of the parliamentary meeting, because as the head of the State Council and the main person tasked to run economic policy, he was seen as speaking with more authority and more big-picture perspective than cabinet ministers.

At the close of the annual parliament session last year, Li sought to reassure the country’s private sector in his first media conference as premier.

While premiers generally toe the Communist Party line in their answers, some have in the past used the news conference to express views that struck a different tone.

For example, Li Qiang’s predecessor, Li Keqiang, said in 2020 that 600 million Chinese earned less than $140 per month, a revelation that stood in stark contrast with the official line that China had eradicated rural poverty.

Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University, said that scraping the premier’s news conference is Beijing’s effort to further control the narrative about the state of China.

This does not mean that President Xi Jinping distrusts Li Qiang, the current premier, Sung said.

“This is consistent with their relations with Xi playing policy architect and Li playing Xi’s faithful policy implementer.”

“Willingly stepping away from the limelight is an act of loyalty,” Sung said.
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Authorities in Nepal say hundreds of vulnerable Nepalis have been recruited by the Russian military in recent months, with promises of high wages and citizenship. In this report from Kathmandu, a Nepali family tells VOA about how their son joined the Russian army as a mercenary after being left destitute in Russia by a scammer. Henry Wilkins has the story.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif took the oath Monday as prime minister for a second time, almost a month after a general election that was marred by large-scale allegations of voter fraud and resulted in a split mandate.

State television broadcast Sharif’s swearing-in ceremony from the presidential office in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, with top military leaders and bureaucrats in attendance, among others.

The 72-year-old new prime minister will spearhead a minority coalition government, with his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, and the Pakistan Peoples Party, or PPP, being the two key partners.

On Sunday, the newly elected National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, chose Sharif for the prime ministerial role amid loud protests from opposition lawmakers aligned with Imran Khan, the jailed former Pakistani prime minister.

Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party accuse Sharif of returning to power with the help of the military through what they say were one of the country’s most brazenly rigged parliamentary elections held on February 8.

Candidates backed by Khan’s PTI, rated the most popular national party by public polls, won the most seats but fell short of a simple majority, allowing its bitter political rivals PML-N and PPP, the two family-controlled traditional ruling parties, to form a coalition government.

Sharif held office until last August, when he dissolved the parliament at the end of its mandatory five-year term, allowing an interim government to hold the elections.

On the February 8 polling day, authorities blocked mobile services and disrupted access to social media platforms for users in Pakistan, citing terrorism concerns. There was also a nearly 70-hour delay in announcing the results, leading to accusations of electoral fraud to prevent PTI allies from sweeping the polls.

In the months leading up to the national and four provincial assemblies’ elections, Khan was convicted on disputed charges and sentenced to long prison terms, barring him from running. He denied wrongdoing, maintaining that the military was behind his prosecution and scores of other civil and criminal cases to keep him from returning to power.

PTI supporters and candidates faced a military-backed crackdown, hundreds of them were detained, barring them from holding campaign rallies. The mainstream media was also prohibited from reporting on Khan’s speeches or his party’s election-related activities, while PML-N and PPP freely organized rallies and dominated news on national TV channels.

The United States, the European Union, and Britain have backed domestic critics in expressing concerns over reported electoral irregularities and have called for an independent probe.

Khan, a cricket celebrity-turned-prime minister, was removed from office in 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence that paved the way for then-opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif to replace him. The deposed leader accused the military of orchestrating the vote at the behest of the U.S., charges Washington and Islamabad rejected as baseless.

Analysts say the election’s controversial outcome has dampened hopes for the political stability needed — in the nuclear-armed nation of about 245 million people — to address critical economic problems, rising food and energy prices, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

During his previous stint in office, Sharif was able to negotiate a crucial $3 billion loan with the International Monetary Fund. The program expires in April, and economists say the new government will be required to immediately open talks with the IMF to secure a fresh multimillion-dollar loan to keep Pakistan’s fragile economy on track.

Last week, Khan wrote a letter to the IMF asking that future lending to his cash-strapped country be tied to an independent “audit of at least 30%” of the elections. The global lender has not commented on the letter.
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SYDNEY — Although Australia isn’t a member of ASEAN, the country is hosting a summit of leaders from nine members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Strengthening economic and security ties will be the focus for the Canberra government, which has set aside $186.7 million to help countries in Southeast Asia and more broadly in the Indo-Pacific region boost their maritime security.

Analysts say Australia will also have to negotiate the region’s intricate ties to China. 

The multimillion-dollar funding was announced Monday by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.  Analysts have said the move is a response to China’s growing assertiveness and its disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Wong said in a statement that Australia was “working closely with Southeast Asian partners to respond to shared maritime challenges and uphold international law.”

Wong did not mention China by name when she later told the ASEAN meeting in Melbourne that the region faced “destabilizing, provocative and coercive actions including unsafe conduct at sea and in the air.”

ASEAN was set up in August 1967 and comprises 10 members, including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Relations with China have a been divisive issue within the alliance. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have strong ties to Beijing, while Singapore and the Philippines have had strained relations with China.

There has also been friction between Australia and China in recent years over various geopolitical and trade disputes, although tensions have eased since the election of a left-leaning government in Canberra in May 2022.

Nick Bisley, a professor of International Relations at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.  that the Canberra government’s dealings with ASEAN require deft diplomacy.

“Because we have been so full-throated in not only being on America’s side, but from the previous government pointing fingers at China in various ways, and so that definitely complicates our relationship both with individual Southeast Asian countries and with ASEAN as a whole,”  he said.

The special ASEAN summit in Melbourne marks 50 years since Australia became the grouping’s first dialogue partner.  The United States and China have similar partnership arrangements.

Melbourne is hosting leaders and officials from the association from Monday to Wednesday.

ASEAN member Myanmar was excluded from the summit because of the ongoing conflict in the country.

Timor-Leste wants to become an ASEAN member and is attending the gathering in Australia.
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BANGKOK — Thailand’s Supreme Court on Monday cleared former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra of corruption in awarding a government contract during her time in office.

Yingluck, who ruled from 2011 until she was ousted in a 2014 military coup, was charged with malfeasance in a 2013 project worth over $6.7 million.

The ruling is the latest legal success for the powerful Shinawatra family after Yingluck’s brother Thaksin — a two-time premier also ousted in a coup — was freed on parole in February, six months into what was originally an eight-year prison sentence.

Yingluck and five others were accused of not running a proper bidding process to run the “Roadshow to Build the Future of Thailand,” a campaign to promote her government’s infrastructure projects.

Nine judges sitting in the kingdom’s top court ruled unanimously in favor of the former premier, saying they “found no intention” to benefit the two major media outlets that won the contract, according to a statement.

“The project was done according to the regulations,” the court statement said.

Yingluck, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 2017 to avoid a conviction in another case, was not present at the court but was represented by her lawyer.

“We received the mercy from the court to dismiss the case,” fellow defendant Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan, a former deputy PM, told reporters outside of court.

“We are not corrupt,” he added.

Yingluck was sentenced in 2017 to five years in prison in a graft case related to a rice-pledging scheme for farmers in 2011.

She still faces six more cases over alleged graft during her premiership.
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