Hundreds of Afghans who fled war in their own country in recent years are now stranded in Ukraine, where many are attempting to escape. 

Rana Alwat, her husband and son left Odessa and boarded a train to flee the country. After taking a bus and waiting in long queues on the Polish border, the family arrived Monday. 

“My 3-year-old son was so terrified of the bombs exploding, I told him it was just balloons popping,” she told VOA.  

Six years ago, the 26-year-old migrated to Odessa, Ukraine, in search of a better future and had been teaching at an Odessa-based Afghan refugee school. 

“This is a very bad feeling. I came here with dreams and wished to study and pursue higher education. I am facing the same misfortune; I am very scared for my family and now must resettle again.” 

Ukrainian migration data indicates at the end of 2020, there were some 1,449 Afghans with permanent residency in the country and more than 200 with temporary visas. But many Afghans like Sanaullah Tasmim arrived after the Taliban took control of Kabul in August.  

The 20-year-old left Afghanistan six months ago to finish his medical studies in Moscow. However, because Afghanistan’s government collapsed and his scholarship was no longer valid, he was unable to begin his studies and was forced to travel to Ukraine to work and earn money to finish his higher education on his own. 

He told VOA, “I escaped war and came all the way here to study and make a better future but yet got stuck in another war.” 

On February 24, Poland’s Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told the media that nine reception centers will be set up along the country’s 535-kilometer (332-mile) border with Ukraine to receive the incoming refugees. 

Tasmim said he arrived in Poland on Monday. 

“I lost everything on my way here, my phone, my money, and my luggage. However, I am very happy to be in a safer place now.” 

Sabur Shah Dawoodzai, an Afghan refugee who arrived in Poland six months ago, is now collecting food and clothing for incoming Ukrainian refugees. He told VOA over the phone that he understands their anguish. 

“Seeing the footage of Ukrainians taking shelter at subway stations reminds me of the six months earlier situations of Afghans including me at the Kabul airport during the collapse,” Dawoodzai said. “It does bring tears to my eyes. No one can feel the situation of Ukrainians more than us.” 

Jawed Haqmal, a translator for the Canadians in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, was among those evacuated by Ukrainian special forces. 

Haqmal, his wife, and their four children have been attempting to flee the fighting by crossing into Poland. 

“We are on our way, trying to get to Poland. I never thought I will find myself in the middle of another war. I wish my children did not witness another disaster. They are traumatized,” Haqmal said. 

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, more than 520,000 people have fled Ukraine so far, with the agency estimating that number could reach 4 million in the coming weeks.  

This story originated from VOA’s Deewa service. 

 
…

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Monday that his country will import about 2 million tons of wheat from Russia and buy natural gas as well under bilateral agreements the two sides signed last week during his official trip to Moscow.  

Khan pressed on with his two-day visit and met with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday, hours after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, with Western countries pushing to isolate the Russian leader for his actions. 

On Monday, the Pakistani prime minister defended his trip and responded to critics in a televised speech to the nation, saying Pakistan’s economic interests required him to do so.  

“We went there because we have to import 2 million tons of wheat from Russia. Secondly, we have signed agreements with them to import natural gas because Pakistan’s own gas reserves are depleting,” Khan said.  

“Inshallah (God willing), the time will tell that we have had great discussions,” the Pakistani leader said, referring to his three-hour meeting with Putin. He shared no further details. 

Critics, however, are skeptical about Moscow-Islamabad economic collaboration, citing tougher international sanctions slapped on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.  

On Thursday, Putin warmly received Khan at the Kremlin in front of cameras, shook hands and sat just next to the visitor for what Pakistani officials said were wide-ranging consultations on bilateral, regional and international issues.  

“The Prime Minister regretted the latest situation between Russia and Ukraine and said that Pakistan had hoped diplomacy could avert a military conflict,” a post-meeting statement quoted Khan as telling Putin. 

Pakistani officials and Khan himself maintained that the Moscow visit was planned long before the Ukraine crisis erupted and was aimed solely at reviewing bilateral trade relations, including energy cooperation. 

Pakistan’s frosty relations with the United States, analysts say, have pushed the South Asian nation closer to its giant neighbors China and Russia in recent years. 

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who accompanied Khan on the visit, said after the delegation returned to Pakistan that Washington had contacted Islamabad ahead of the Moscow trip. 

“[U.S. officials] presented their position and we explained to them the purpose of the trip and went ahead with it,” Qureshi told reporters when asked whether the U.S. was opposed to the visit. “I’m convinced after the visit that we did the right thing.” 

Speaking on the eve of Khan’s trip to Russia, a U.S. State Department spokesman, when asked about it, said Washington believed that Pakistan, like “every responsible” country, would voice objection to Putin’s actions. 

But Pakistani leaders have avoided criticizing Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and stressed the need for seeking a negotiated settlement to the crisis.  

Islamabad also has developed close economic and military ties with Ukraine in recent years, with Pakistan being a major importer of Ukrainian wheat.  

Qureshi spoke to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday and reiterated Islamabad’s “serious concern at the situation, underscoring the importance of de-escalation, and stressing the indispensability of diplomacy.” 

Pakistan sided with the U.S. during the Cold War and played an instrumental role in arming as well as training Washington-funded resistance to the decadelong Soviet occupation of neighboring Afghanistan in the 1980s.  

While Islamabad’s often uneasy relations with Washington have lately strained over the country’s backing of the Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan, ties between India and the U.S. have solidified in recent years due to shared concerns stemming from China’s growing influence in the region.  

India, Islamabad’s bitter foe, had close ties with Russia during the Cold War, as Moscow was a major arms exporter to New Delhi. 

Moscow has restored ties with Islamabad in recent years, however. The two countries routinely hold joint military exercises and are working to deepen energy cooperation to help Pakistan overcome shortages. 

Khan in his address Monday reiterated that Pakistan’s decision to join the U.S.-led war on terrorism in Afghanistan was an outcome of “the wrong foreign policy” of his predecessors.  

“I maintained from day one that we should not have taken part [in the U.S.-led war],” he said, adding that Pakistan suffered 80,000 casualties because of an Islamist retaliation and incurred billions of dollars in economic losses.  

“The most embarrassing part was that a country was fighting in support of a country that was bombing it,” Khan said, referring to U.S. drone strikes against suspected militant hideouts in Pakistani areas near the Afghan border. 

Khan also announced a cut in fuel and electricity prices to help offset a steep rise in the global oil market because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

He promised to freeze the new prices until the next budget in June. Critics said the move could result from opposition protests over rising inflation that officials blame on the coronavirus outbreak and tough economic reforms the government is undertaking in line with a $6 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. 

 
…

Balancing relations with the West and Russia will become a harder challenge for New Delhi
…

The Taliban Sunday defended a controversial widespread house-to-house search operation in and around Kabul, claiming it was aimed at capturing criminals and de-weaponizing the Afghan capital.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban government spokesman, also announced they would not allow evacuations of more Afghans until living conditions improve abroad for those who have already left Afghanistan.

The security operation, which went into action on Friday, has been focusing on city residential areas and several adjacent provinces, causing panic and outrage among residents in these locations.  

Some residents have alleged the Taliban are targeting security officials of the now-defunct Afghan government in the name of fighting crime. Others have complained of “misconduct” by security forces and consider the operation a violation of their privacy.

On Sunday, Mujahid rejected the accusations as propaganda by opponents of the new ruling system in Afghanistan, telling reporters in Kabul that security forces “are exercising utmost care” and their sole mission is to ensure public security.

“In the wake of changes we have seen, we believe once this operation is concluded there will be no need to conduct such activities in future,” Mujahid said when asked whether the house-to-house searches in the capital would become routine for the time being.  

He argued that many people had possessed or kept arms in their homes and once the operation is concluded, people will not have easy access to arms because of “laws and vigilance” of government security institutions.

“Inshallah (God willing) this will be the last operation and will lead to security,” he said.

Mujahid said the operation has been “successful” and would be completed soon. It has led to the confiscation of hundreds of light as well as heavy weapons, including rocket-launchers and grenades, 13 armored vehicles and tons of explosives, he added.

The spokesman said dozens of outlaws, including several members of the Islamic State terrorist group, were also rounded up and arrested.  

While it was difficult to ascertain the veracity of the Taliban claims, Kabul is considered to be among one of the most weaponized cities in the world. Posh residential areas are known for housing notorious Afghan warlords, narcotics dealers, and palatial homes built by former officials accused of massive corruption while in office.

“The intimidations, house searches, arrests and violence against members of different ethnic groups and women are crimes and must stop immediately,” tweeted Andreas von Brandt, the EU ambassador to Afghanistan.

No more evacuations  

Mujahid also said Sunday that families wanting to leave Afghanistan will now require “legitimate reasons” for doing so, insisting the Taliban has not promised anyone that the evacuation process would run indefinitely. He argued the Taliban had received reports of tens of thousands of Afghans “living in very bad conditions” in Qatar and Turkey.

“Initially we had said that the Americans… could take people that they thought had any concerns about…But this is not a continuous promise.”

“It is the government’s responsibility to protect its people so this [evacuations] will be stopped until we get the assurance that their lives will not be endangered,” Mujahid said.

More than 120,000 Afghans and dual nationals have been evacuated since the last U.S.-led foreign troops withdrew from the country in late August, days after the Western-backed government in Kabul and its security forces collapsed and the Taliban marched into the capital to seize power.  

Mostly, those people who were evacuated worked for American and allied Western forces. Fearing Taliban reprisals, these Afghans fled as the United States and its allies left Afghanistan after 20 years.

An unspecified number of Afghans with similar associations are still in the country and desperately trying to leave for security reasons. Taliban leaders have rejected those concerns, citing a blanket amnesty they announced for all Afghans immediately after capturing Kabul.

The United Nations says more than 100 people with links to the former government, including military personnel, have been killed by the Taliban, charges the group rejects.

Curbs on women

Mujahid said Afghan women would be barred from traveling abroad unless accompanied by a male chaperone.

“This is the order of Islamic sharia law,” he said, adding that Taliban officials were examining ways to make sure the order didn’t affect women who may have scholarships to travel abroad for studies.

The hardline group has already placed various restrictions on women such as barring them from undertaking long road trips unless accompanied by a close male relative. But unlike their past rule from 1996 to 2001 when women were banned from education and work, the Taliban this time around have allowed female students to return to universities and promised that all female secondary school children will be back in the classroom in late March.  

Female government employees in health and education sectors have also been allowed to go back to their offices, while the rest have been told to remain at home until further notice. Taliban officials have citied financial constraints and a lack of arrangements in line with sharia, or Islamic law, for women to work in a secure environment.

Speaking on Sunday, Mujahid also welcomed a recent U.S. decision to ease restrictions on Afghan banks, allowing for money transfers for Afghan business owners and others, but excluding individual Taliban members under terrorism-related international sanctions.

The U.S. and other Western governments have seized around $9.5 billion in Afghan foreign cash reserves, mostly held in the U.S., since the Taliban‘s return to power. They have also suspended foreign financial assistance to Afghanistan, an aid-dependent economy, triggering economic upheaval and worsening the war- and drought-ravaged country’s already bad humanitarian crisis. 
…

Humanitarian experts warn that more than 24 million people, or 59% of Afghanistan’s population, are living on starvation diets and forced to take extreme measures to survive.

Eight senior emergency experts from U.N. and non-governmental organizations recently concluded a five-day mission to Afghanistan. They describe the level of humanitarian needs as unprecedented. They say they are shocked at the enormity of human suffering they witnessed.

The experts say many Afghans will not survive the dire conditions under which they are living without international support. And this, they note is severely lacking. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports only 13 percent of the United Nations’ $4.44 billion appeal for this year has been funded.

OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told VOA the competition for donor support from a myriad of countries including Ukraine, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is intense and growing. Nevertheless, he said the plight of the Afghan people must not and cannot be ignored.

“People’s reserves are exhausted, forcing many into harmful coping mechanisms to survive, including child marriages and child labor. Women and girls in particular are affected with their human rights, participation in society, their ability to work, and access to education under threat,” he said.

Laerke said the number of people requiring lifesaving assistance has risen 30% since the Taliban takeover of the country in August. He said the consequences of not responding to their needs are very stark.

“It simply means that women who are pregnant will not have a hospital to go to for giving birth…We talk about girls and their access to school but here — this means that nobody goes to school… Peoples’ need for nutrition and food will not be met. People simply will not have enough to eat. They will starve,” he said.

Laerke said donors’ fear that their money will go to the Taliban and not toward helping the Afghan people is unwarranted. He said all the money goes to the U.N. and private humanitarian organizations for which it is intended.

Over the past months, he says aid agencies have been able to scale up their operations without interference to provide life-saving assistance to people in desperate need.
…

Public universities in Afghanistan’s colder areas, including Kabul, reopened Saturday to both male and female students six months after the Islamist Taliban returned to power.

The reopening marked the resumption of education in all of about 40 state-run universities in Afghanistan after Taliban authorities allowed university students earlier this month to return to their classes in provinces with a warm climate.

The opening day at the country’s oldest and biggest university in the Afghan capital as well as campuses elsewhere was marred by low attendance and a lack of teaching staff.

University administrations enforced gender segregation, including staggered operating hours and separate classes for men and women in accordance with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam. Women must also wear hijabs.

The Taliban banned co-education after taking control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15.

Students’ reaction was mixed after their first day back on Saturday.

“I am very happy today as the Islamic Emirate reopened our universities,” Razia Kamal, a female student, was quoted by the Afghan TOLO news channel as saying. The Islamic Emirate is the official name of the Taliban government.

In Kabul, student Haseenat said campus life for women was now very different than it was before. “There is no cafeteria anymore … we are not allowed to go to the university’s courtyard.”

“I am happy that the university resumed … we want to continue our studies,” said an English major who asked to be identified only as Basira. There was also a shortage of lecturers, she said, adding: “Maybe because some have left the country.”

Tens of thousands of mostly educated Afghans have left the country fearing Taliban reprisals since the United States and other Western nations withdrew their troops in late August after a 20-year occupation.

In the western Afghan city of Herat, students also complained about a lack of tutors.

“Some of our professors have also left the country, but we are happy that the university gates are open,” said Parisa Narwan, an arts major.

The Taliban allowed males and females to resume education in some 150 private universities in the country in September under a gender-segregated classroom system. But they took time to reopen public universities, citing financial constraints and a lack of separate classrooms for men and women in accordance with Islamic Sharia law.

“It’s a positive move albeit late,” said Mohsin Amin, an Afghan policy analyst and researcher. “It’s of utmost importance to enhance the quality of education in all universities across Afghanistan for girls and address the scarcity of female teachers as well as professors.

“High schools for girls in all provinces should resume as soon as possible,” Amin told VOA.

While the Taliban allowed boys to rejoin secondary schools in early September, most Afghan girls are still waiting for permission to resume class.

Taliban officials have pledged to allow all girls to be back in school in late March, dismissing fears they intend to ban female education, as happened during the hardline group’s previous rule from 1996-2001.

The international community has not yet recognized the male-only Taliban government. Foreign governments want the Islamist group to ensure respect for women’s rights to education and work, establish a broad-based government, and prevent terrorist groups from using Afghan soil for attacks against other countries.

Meanwhile, economic upheavals resulting from the Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan have worsened humanitarian conditions, which stem from years of war and drought-like conditions.

The United Nations estimates more than half of the population is facing emergency levels of food insecurity, saying 23 million Afghans face acute hunger, close to 9 million of them a step away from famine.

“Without urgent life-saving humanitarian aid, over 4 million children under-five will be acutely malnourished this year, over 1 million of them severely so,” the U.N. warned in a new statement issued Saturday. “More than 130,000 children could perish this year without immediate action.”

Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse. 
…

The U.S. Treasury on Friday issued a new general license authorizing all commercial transactions with Afghanistan’s governing institutions, expanding recently announced exemptions from sanctions against the Taliban and the Haqqani network.

The new license, the seventh issued by Treasury in recent months, allows “all transactions involving Afghanistan and its governing institutions that would otherwise be prohibited by U.S. sanctions,” the Treasury Department said.

However, it still prohibits financial transfers to the Taliban, the Haqqani network, associated entities and individuals blocked by the Treasury Department.

The action came after talks between the Treasury Department and private sector executives doing business in Afghanistan and is similar to a series of sanctions exemptions granted in recent months to nongovernmental organizations.

“Our action today recognizes that in light of this dire crisis, it is essential that we address concerns that sanctions inhibit commercial and financial activity while we continue to deny financial resources to the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and other malign actors,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

Wide-ranging U.S. economic sanctions against the Taliban date to their first time in power in the 1990s. Both the Taliban and the Haqqani network are labeled Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the Treasury Department.

‘Too many Afghans starving’

However, in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August, the Treasury Department has issued a series of sanctions exemptions to allow Afghanistan to cope with a teetering economy and a humanitarian crisis.

“There are too many Afghans starving today, too many Afghans who are cold; we all need to act faster,” a senior administration official told reporters during a press call announcing the general license.

There is also a growing recognition that Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is interlinked to an economic crisis exacerbated by a U.S. decision in August to freeze more than $7 billion in Afghan reserves held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“One of the things we know that is critical is ensuring that the economy is able to function,” the senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order that would split the frozen Afghan assets, freeing up $3.5 billion for the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks, while allocating the remainder for a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan.

The move was condemned by the Taliban and other Afghans who say the money belongs to Afghanistan. But administration officials have since said any decision to transfer the funds to the 9/11 victims will be subject to court proceedings.

“No decisions have been made regarding specific uses of this $3.5 billion,” the senior administration official said.

Since October, the Biden administration has announced more than $780 million in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in the region.

In January, the United Nations launched an appeal for more than $5 billion in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, saying half of the country’s population of 35 million faces acute hunger.
…

U.S. financial regulators have fined the New York branch of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) more than $55 million for anti-money laundering violations and compliance deficiencies.

The fines by the Federal Reserve Board and the New York’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) led to a 7% drop in NBP’s shares Friday.

NBP’s “banking operations did not maintain an effective risk management program or controls sufficient to comply with anti-money laundering laws,” the U.S. Federal Reserve Board said in a statement Thursday.

Pakistani authorities have said the fines were agreed upon through a settlement with U.S. regulators and that there has been no “willful misconduct” at NBP’s New York branch.

Under the settlement the NBP will be required to offer a plan “detailing enhancements to the policies and procedures of the Bank’s BSA/AML compliance program, its Suspicious Activity Monitoring and Reporting program, and its customer due diligence requirements,” reads a NYDFS statement.

The government of Pakistan owns more than 75% of the NBP.

In June 2018, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering watchdog, put Pakistan in its “grey-list” because of concerns the country was not doing enough to counter money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Pakistani government is expected to inform the FATF in February 2022 of its progress in tackling financial loopholes which benefit terrorist groups.

Terrorism Concerns

Pakistan’s military and intelligence services have long been accused of maintaining links with and using terrorist groups to further strategic objectives in neighboring India and Afghanistan.

“At the core of such money-laundering penalties lies serious concerns about repeated non-compliance with terrorism financing enabled by Pakistan’s state-owned entities,” Javid Ahmad, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told VOA.

“It’s a slap on the wrist, but Pakistan, like a corporation, has certain financial obligations to its elaborate network of militant shareholders, so it will find other creative ways like the use of cryptos to circumvent banks and stay semi-compliant with [the] AML regime,” he added.

Pakistani authorities deny any involvement with terrorism and contend that the country has suffered immensely from terrorist attacks over the last two decades.

“Pakistan made limited progress on the most difficult aspects of its 2015 National Action Plan to counter terrorism, specifically in its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organizations without delay or discrimination,” the U.S. State Department said in its 2020 Country Report on Terrorism.
…

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is raising concerns about the lack of accountability in Sri Lanka after gross violations of human rights.

In a report, Bachelet said human rights violations and abuses were continuing to spread throughout the country. She attributed that to the failure of the government to carry out necessary reforms to its legal, institutional and security sectors. 

The high commissioner’s spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, said the government had shown some willingness to initiate reforms. However, she said the steps taken so far have done little to address past human rights violations or redress the harm done to victims.

Since the 1980s, an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 people from all ethnic and religious communities have disappeared. To this day, the fate of thousands of those who have gone missing remains unknown.

Call for reparations, justice

Shamdasani said the suffering of the families of the disappeared was immense and must be acknowledged by the government. She said that victims must receive reparations and that perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice.

“The reason why we are highlighting these issues is because we have very serious issues,” she said. “I mean, the militarization, the ethno-religious nationalism, the continued lack of accountability. And you couple that with a pattern of surveillance and harassment of those who try to speak out — civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists — and it is a recipe for further human rights violations.”

Shamdasani said the Prevention of Terrorism Act amendment bill, which was presented to parliament on February 10, was an important initial step. 

“We welcome the proposed increase of magistrates’ powers to visit places of detention, the speeding up of trials and the repeal of the section which imposes serious limitations on publications,” she said. “However, other proposed amendments do comply fully with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations, and it leaves intact some of the most problematic provisions of the PTA, the Prevention of Terrorism Act.”

Shamdasani said the high commissioner had shared her concerns with the Sri Lankan government. She said the government had engaged constructively with her office and had made some relevant comments. 

The report will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council, which begins a five-week session next week.
…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged an end to violence in Ukraine in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Indian government.

The call between the two leaders took place after Russian forces launched the invasion of Ukraine.

“The prime minister appealed for an immediate cessation of violence and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue,” the Indian government said in a statement late Thursday.

It said that Modi had reiterated to the Russian leader “his long-standing conviction that differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue.”

Earlier on Thursday, Igor Polikha, Ukraine’s envoy to India, urged New Delhi to intervene, saying he was “asking and pleading” for its support.

“India should fully assume its global role whenever a totalitarian regime commits aggression against a democratic state,” he told reporters.

So far, India has not condemned Russia for the military operation against Ukraine as it treads carefully in the unfolding crisis, which poses a diplomatic dilemma for New Delhi.

While India and the United States have built close strategic ties, New Delhi also maintains a security relationship with Moscow, which still supplies India with the bulk of its military equipment.

The situation is “complicated” and “evolving,” and “no country saw it coming,” Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told a press briefing on Thursday.

Meanwhile, India is stepping up efforts to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry said Thursday that teams of Indian officials have been sent to Ukraine’s borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania to assist about 16,000 Indian nationals who are stranded.

The issue of the safety of the Indian citizens, especially students, was raised by Modi during his phone call to Putin.

“The prime minister conveyed that New Delhi attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India,” according to India’s statement.

Putin paid a high-profile visit to India in December 2021, during which both countries reaffirmed their partnership.
…

President Vladimir Putin of Russia hosted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for “wide-ranging consultations” Thursday, covering bilateral relations and regional as well as international issues of “mutual interest.”

Khan arrived in Moscow the previous day on a long-planned two-day “working” visit, the first by a Pakistani prime minister in 23 years, hours before Russian forces attacked Ukraine.

Pakistani officials said Thursday’s three-hour meeting was held at the Kremlin, where the two leaders also discussed the Ukraine crisis.

“The prime minister regretted the latest situation between Russia and Ukraine and said that Pakistan had hoped diplomacy could avert a military conflict,” Khan’s office quoted him in a post-meeting statement as telling Putin.

Khan “stressed that conflict was not in anyone’s interest” and noted “the developing countries were always hit the hardest economically in case of conflict.” He went on to underline Pakistan’s “belief” that disputes should be settled through dialogue and diplomacy, according to the statement.

The Russian president’s office said in a brief statement the two sides “discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics, including developments in South Asia.”

Khan is the first foreign leader to have visited Moscow since Putin recognized the independence of Ukraine’s breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk earlier this week and had Russian forces invade the country early Thursday.

The military deployment escalated tensions with the West and drew international condemnation and sanctions against Russia, with the United States promising to impose tougher new sanctions.

Before meeting with Putin, Khan attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow.

While responding to a question about Khan’s visit, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Wednesday that Washington believed that Pakistan, like “every responsible” country, would voice objection to Putin’s action. Price noted that the U.S. has a long-standing partnership and history of cooperation with Pakistan.

“And we certainly hope that every country around the world would make that point clearly, in unambiguous language, in their engagements with the Russian Federation,” Price said.

Energy issues

Senior Pakistani officials who accompanied Khan on the visit said the discussions on bilateral issues focused specifically on enhancing energy cooperation. The two sides said they also resolved “90%” of the issues related to a proposed multibillion-dollar gas pipeline, known as Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline, that Islamabad wants to construct in partnership with Moscow.

“The prime minister reaffirmed the importance of Pakistan-Stream Gas Pipeline as a flagship economic project between Pakistan and Russia and also discussed cooperation on prospective energy-related projects,” said the statement issued by Khan’s office.

The project has suffered delays since the two countries first agreed to it in 2015. Technical disputes and earlier U.S. sanctions on Russia are blamed for the delay. The 1,100-kilometer pipeline would transport imported liquified natural gas from Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi to the country’s most populous northeastern province of Punjab.

Some critics called Khan’s visit ill-timed in light of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. But Khan dismissed those suggestions in an interview he gave to the state-run Russia Today channel in the run-up to his trip.

“This [Ukraine crisis] does not concern us. We have a bilateral relationship with Russia, and we really want to strengthen it. What we want to do is not become part of any bloc,” Khan said.

‘Mission accomplished’

“All things considered, Imran Khan’s visit to Russia could have been much worse, given the dreadful timing,” said Michael Kugelman at the Wilson Center in Washington. “Limited visuals, measured comments, no gaffes, and so on. This won’t appease those that wanted him to postpone, but mission accomplished.”

Pakistan and Russia were once bitter adversaries, as Islamabad closely aligned itself with the United States during the Cold War.

The Pakistani intelligence agency worked closely with the American CIA in arming and training Afghan fighters to successfully end a decadelong Russian occupation of Afghanistan in 1989.

Islamabad and Moscow have restored ties in recent years, however. They routinely hold joint military exercises and are attempting to develop energy cooperation to help Pakistan overcome shortages.

Pakistan also maintains close economic and military ties with Ukraine and is a major importer of Ukrainian wheat.
…

The United Nations said Thursday at least eight members of polio vaccination teams were killed “during the course of their life-saving work” in Afghanistan.

Ramiz Alakbarov, the U.N. secretary-general’s deputy special representative for the South Asian nation, strongly condemned the violence while disclosing details of the incidents in the Afghan provinces of Takhar and Kunduz.

“We are appalled by the brutality of these killings, across four separate locations,” Alakbarov said in a statement. “These are the first attacks on polio workers since nationwide campaigns resumed in November last year.”

The envoy said the violence prompted Afghan authorities, the Taliban, to suspend house-to-house polio vaccination campaigns in Takhar and Kunduz. There were no immediate claims of responsibly for the violence.

Afghan health workers have previously come under attack across the country, ravaged by years of war and persistent drought. Nine polio workers were killed during national polio vaccination drives in 2021.

“This senseless violence must stop immediately, and those responsible must be investigated and brought to justice. This is a violation of international humanitarian law,” Alakbarov said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries where wild poliovirus continues to paralyze children, although new cases have dropped lately to historic low levels on both sides of the border.

The last wild poliovirus infection in Pakistan was detected in January 2021. Afghanistan has reported one case in 2022. Four were detected there last year. The dramatic drop in cases in both countries has raised hopes of ridding the region of the crippling disease.

U.N. officials say the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and cessation of hostilities have led to an increase in vaccination rates and health workers were able to vaccinate 2.6 million additional children in November and December for the first time in three years. 

 
…

Aid groups warned Wednesday that a spike in COVID-19 infections and an alarming measles outbreak have compounded the health emergencies in Afghanistan, stretching the impoverished, war-torn country’s fragile health care system.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement that urgent global support, including health and testing services, as well as vaccinations, was needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus that is surging across Afghanistan.

“A new wave is hitting Afghanistan hard. Testing is inadequate, and the World Health Organization reports that almost half of tested samples are coming back positive, indicating an alarming spread of the virus,” the statement added.

It said the underfunded and understaffed national health system was struggling to cope with the surge in cases. Dozens of COVID-19 health facilities have closed because they didn’t have enough medicines, essential medical supplies and funds to pay the utilities and health workers’ salaries.

The aid group said that fewer than 10 of the country’s 37 public COVID-19 health facilities remained functional, and that they were unable to keep up with demand. Only 10% of the country’s estimated population of 40 million is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Mawlawi Mutiul Haq Khales, the acting president of Afghan Red Crescent, stressed the need for increasing the number of functional health facilities so that pressure can be eased on the few functioning hospitals.

“As the number of COVID-19 infections increases from cities to remote corners of the country, the international community needs to open up the doors to support critical health care, testing and other essential services before it’s too late for the people of Afghanistan,” Khales said.

The Taliban takeover of the country in August prompted international donors to suspend foreign aid, impose financial sanctions and freeze billions of dollars in Afghan foreign cash reserves, mostly held in the United States. The restrictions triggered economic upheavals, worsening an already bad humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan that stems from years of war and a persistent drought.

The U.N. World Food Program estimates nearly 23 million people, or 55% of the country’s population, suffer from severe hunger, saying around 9 million of them are a step away from famine. More than 3 million children suffer from severe malnutrition.

The IFRC noted in its statement that the measles outbreak has infected thousands and killed dozens of people in the last month in Afghanistan.

“The measles outbreak is alarming since Afghanistan is in the middle of one of the worst droughts and food crises in decades, leaving children malnourished and far more vulnerable to the highly contagious disease,” said Necephor Mghendi, IFRC’s country head.

Doctors Without Borders, an international charity known by its French acronym MSF, said in a separate statement that most of its programs, including those in southern Helmand and western Herat provinces, have seen high numbers of patients. It described the malnutrition rates as concerning.

“MSF is treating a high number of patients with measles in our projects in Helmand and Herat. Our teams are concerned about how the situation will progress unless more children are vaccinated against the disease,” the charity said.

The ripple effect of long-running sanctions on the Taliban and the financial measures against the new rulers in Afghanistan are being felt nationwide, according to MSF.

“The country faces near economic and institutional collapse, and tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and are struggling to find work,” it said.
…

Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, arrived in Russia Wednesday for a crucial meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Officials said the two sides will review bilateral ties, including energy cooperation.

Pakistan’s state-run PTV broadcast live Khan’s arrival at the airport in Moscow, where he was received by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov.

Khan is the first foreign leader visiting Moscow since Putin recognized the independence of Ukraine’s breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk earlier this week and deployed troops there. Russia’s action escalated tensions with the West and drew new international sanctions against the country.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin’s meeting with Khan is scheduled for Thursday. “The leaders plan to discuss the main issues of bilateral cooperation, as well as topical regional affairs, including the developments in South Asia,” Peskov said. The trip marks the first visit to Russia by a Pakistani prime minister since 1999.

Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, accompanying Khan on the visit, said that several “potential (energy) projects” the two countries have already discussed in recent months will come under discussion, among other issues, in Thursday’s meeting.

Azhar said both sides will discuss “certain outstanding issues and further clarifications regarding those projects.” He did not elaborate.

The construction of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar, 1,100-kilometer gas pipeline in Pakistan, in partnership with Russian companies, is among the proposed initiatives.

Moscow and Islamabad had initially agreed to launch what is known as the North-South gas pipeline in 2015 to transport imported liquified natural gas (LNG) from the southern port city of Karachi to the country’s most populous northeastern province of Punjab.

Khan, while speaking to the state-owned RT television network on Tuesday, noted that earlier sanctions on Russian companies had prevented the two countries from launching the project. 

“This North-South pipeline suffered. One of the reasons… was the companies we were negotiating with… turned out that U.S. had applied sanctions on them,” Khan told the network on Tuesday.” So, the problem was to get a company that wasn’t sanctioned.”

Officials in Islamabad are maintaining that the two-day trip was taking place at the invitation of President Putin and planned before the Ukraine crisis escalated.

Khan himself dismissed suggestions, while talking to Russian media, that his visit had anything to do with Moscow’s escalating tensions with Europe and the United States over Ukraine.

“This [Ukraine crisis] does not concern us. We have a bilateral relationship with Russia, and we really want to strengthen it,” Khan told RT on Tuesday.

“Now, what we want to do is not become part of any bloc. We want to have trading relations with all countries,” the Pakistani leader stressed, saying he hopes the Ukraine crisis is resolved peacefully.

Skepticism

Critics have questioned Khan’s assertions and said his visit to Russia under the circumstances could still trouble policymakers in Western countries, where Pakistan has much bigger and long-running economic stakes.

“With developments unfolding as quickly as they are, Pakistan risks painting itself into a corner if we are to see a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” said Elizabeth Threlkeld, the director of the South Asia program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

“The fact the visit is going forward will certainly be noticed in Western capitals, in the U.S., in the EU countries and blocs that far outstrip Russia’s role in Pakistan’s economy,” she added.

Pakistan and Russia were once bitter adversaries, as Islamabad closely aligned itself with the United States during the Cold War.

The Pakistani intelligence agency worked closely with the American CIA in arming and training Afghan fighters to successfully end a decade-long Russian occupation of Afghanistan in 1989.

Islamabad and Moscow, however, have restored ties in recent years, routinely holding joint military exercises and attempting to develop energy cooperation to help Pakistan overcome shortages.

Pakistan also has developed close economic and military ties with Ukraine in recent years and is a major importer of Ukrainian wheat.

Islamabad’s ties with Washington have recently been strained over allegations the South Asian major non-NATO ally covertly helped the Islamist Taliban in waging a deadly insurgency against U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan. The Taliban regained power last August.

Islamabad denies the accusations and blames what it says was a flawed U.S. military policy in dealing with the Afghan conflict that ultimately led to a chaotic withdrawal of international troops from the neighboring country in August after 20 years.

Russian and Pakistani officials acknowledge their efforts to deepen bilateral economic cooperation face multiple challenges. Several major Russian companies are under U.S. sanctions and are not able to invest in Pakistan.

Critics say meaningful bilateral defense cooperation also faces roadblocks, such as Russia’s longstanding ties with Pakistan’s bitter rival India, a major importer of Russian military hardware. They say Moscow does not want to upset New Delhi by offering any major defense-related, or for that matter, economic deals to Islamabad.

Combating regional terrorism and the flow of narcotics from Afghanistan seems to be what is primarily driving Russia’s diplomatic engagement with Pakistan, according to analysts.
…

GULMARG, INDIA — For a unique dining experience, travelers will want to visit the world’s largest igloo cafe in Jammu and Kashmir. But they had better hurry, because the 40-seat cafe is expected to melt away sometime next month.

Owned and operated by the hotel Kolahoi Green Heights, the Snoglu Cafe sits at an altitude of 2,500 meters in the Himalayan ski resort of Gulmarg, 50 kilometers southwest of Srinagar.  Its creator, Syed Wasim Shah, says he was inspired by an igloo village that he saw during a visit to Zermatt, Switzerland, a couple of years ago.

With a height of 11.43 meters and a diameter of 13.56 meters, the ice-and-snow structure is easily larger than that listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest of its kind. That one, located in Switzerland, is 10.5 meters tall, with an internal diameter of 12.9 meters. 

“We have already written to Guinness Book of World Records to certify our record and they will do it in due course of time,” Shah told VOA. 

The cafe has two sections — one for seating where it serves coffee, chocolate and snacks, and the other for artwork. 

“It took us 64 days, precisely 1,700 man-days to complete: We started on the 3rd December and completed on the 4th of February,” Shah said. “We employed all locals to construct it and the snow art was all done by me.” 

The cafe has become an instant hit with visitors, attracting overflow crowds from among visitors to the ski resort. “We are catering to 300 to 400 guests every day,” Shah said. “The numbers could have been much higher, but we charge INR 200 (about 3 USD) for entry to control the flow of people visiting us.”

One of those customers was Dr. Vaishnavi, a first-time visitor to Kashmir from the eastern Indian state of Orissa, who dined with her husband, Dr. Indrajeetm.

Vaishnavi told VOA that she was attracted by the unique concept and impressed by the ambience of the Snoglu Cafe, where guests remain wrapped in their winter woolens and sit on sheepskin seat cushions for warmth.

Hamid Masoodi, general manager of the Hotel Kolahoi Green Heights, says this is the second year that the hotel has maintained an igloo cafe, which is only possible during the winter season from early December until about the middle of March.

“We had built one last year with a capacity of 16 people inside the cafe,” he said. During a full season with the larger igloo dimensions, he estimates the cafe could serve almost 20,000 guests.

Shah, meanwhile, has even more ambitious plans for next year.

“As for our future plans regarding the Snoglu we would create a full-fledged igloo village next year where we would offer sleeping facilities also, apart from our signature Snoglu Cafe,” he said. 

Hibha Bhat contributed to the report.  
…

Arshi Qureshi was “auctioned” on the Bulli Bai app, where many Muslim women and girls were offered “for sale,” and even though the app was shut down after widespread condemnation, intimidation and online trolling against her have not ceased.  

“I am quite often abused on social media if I put up a tweet or post criticizing the ruling regime,” Qureshi told VOA. 

As a journalist, Qureshi says, it’s her job to report on social and political issues affecting her country, India, but she finds doing so increasingly difficult and risky.  

“I’ve realized I can’t be silent. This is what they want. They want to silence vocal Muslim women’s voices,” she said.  

Qureshi’s is not the only case.  

This week, United Nations-appointed independent rights experts issued a statement calling on Indian authorities to stop systematic harassment against a prominent Indian Muslim journalist.  

“Relentless misogynistic and sectarian attacks online against journalist Rana Ayyub must be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the Indian authorities and the judicial harassment against her brought to an end at once,” the statement said.  

Ayyub has been targeted for her consistent reporting on women’s rights, government accountability and the situation of religious minorities in India.  

“They call our existence, our reportage, our opinions as insignificant but unleash all their favorite anchors, prime time shows, twitter trends, right wing ecosystem, propaganda websites and leaders to defend themselves against a journalist,” Ayyub wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.  

Media under fire 

Over the past few years, India has ranked as one of the most dangerous and restrictive countries for journalists in the world.  

Of the 27 journalists killed in different parts of the world in 2021, five documented deaths occurred in India, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

And despite its secular and democratic status, India is ranked 142nd — next to Myanmar and Pakistan — in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2021 World Press Freedom Index.  

“Ever since the general elections in the spring of 2019, won overwhelmingly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, pressure has increased on the media to toe the Hindu nationalist government’s line,” RSF said.  

In addition to facing increased public harassment, Muslim journalists, particularly women, are also exposed to discrimination at their workplaces.  

“Even within the large Indian media companies, there is kind of a glass ceiling for many Muslim journalists, … that they had been discriminated against inside many of the big publications,” Steven Butler, Asia program coordinator at CPJ, told VOA.  

The risks facing free media in India also undermine the country’s democratic institutions.  

“You cannot have democracy without freedom of the press,” Butler said.  

Majoritarian politics  

India is the world’s most populous democracy, and about 14% of its 1.4 billion people are Muslim, but human rights groups say the country has become increasingly intolerant and at times even threatening toward them.  

These groups blame the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Modi, for stoking Hindu-Muslim tensions.  

“The BJP government at both central and state levels have adopted laws and policies that discriminate against minorities and vulnerable communities, especially Muslims,” Jayshree Bajoria, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, told VOA. 

As millions of Indians cast votes in seven state legislative elections, including in the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, some Hindu religious groups have reportedly stoked religious sentiments for political gains.  

In recent weeks, BJP political rallies have included threats of mass violence against Muslims, and some party leaders have labeled Muslims as terrorists.

And a new law banning Muslim girls from wearing hijabs at educational centers has led to protests and closures of schools in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.  

The hijab ban “is the latest example of Indian authorities increasingly seeking to marginalize Muslims, exposing them to heightened violence,” Bajoria said.  

For the journalist Qureshi, the fight for hijab is not just religious.  

“Hijabi Muslim women are fighting for their constitutional right — rights that are being snatched away in a democratic country,” she told VOA. 

While Modi has not publicly commented on his party’s policies regarding Indian Muslims, he claimed at an election rally this month to have the blessings of Muslim women.  

Modi was quoted in Indian media as saying: “We freed Muslim sisters from the tyranny of triple talaq (divorce). When Muslim sisters started supporting the BJP openly, these vote mongers became uneasy. They are trying to stop Muslim daughters from progress. Our government stands with Muslim women.”  

 
…

The Snoglu Cafe sits at an altitude of 2,500 meters in the Himalayan ski resort of Gulmarg
…

India on Tuesday sent the first consignment of 50,000 tons of wheat that it has pledged to give Afghanistan, where more than half the country is grappling with hunger.

The grain is being transported via Pakistan in a rare instance of the archrivals setting aside their deep differences to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid to reach conflict-ridden Afghanistan.

A convoy of 50 Afghan trucks loaded with about 2,500 tons of wheat and bearing banners that read, “A gift from the people of India to the people of Afghanistan,” was waved off by Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla at the Attari-Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan.

The wheat will be handed over in Jalalabad to the United Nations’ World Food Program, with which India has signed a pact to distribute the aid in Afghanistan.

The Attari-Wagah border crossing has been virtually closed to all exports from India since August 2019, when Islamabad suspended trade ties with New Delhi, but Islamabad allowed the shipment through its territory after a request from New Delhi.

It, however, took them nearly three months to sort out the logistics of the transportation.

Afghan trucks are carrying the wheat because Islamabad did not want Indian trucks to travel through its territory, according to reports. Pakistan has said it is opening the land route as an exception for the humanitarian aid.

Shringla said that India will fulfill its commitment to supply 50,000 tons of wheat in two to three months.

In a tweet, Afghanistan’s Karzai administration-appointed ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, who was present at the ceremony when the trucks rolled out, said, “I thank the Indian government for the generosity displayed at a time when more than 20 million Afghans are facing crisis or the worse levels of food insecurity in more than three decades.” He said the wheat committed by India is “one of the largest food contributions done by any country in this difficult hour.”

The director of the World Food Program in India, Bishow Parajuli, who was also present at the ceremony, said, “All the help Afghanistan receives will be of extreme value and therefore this help coming from India is really timely and very important.”

After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year, India, which had helped build key development projects in the country, was largely sidelined and suspended its diplomatic presence in Kabul.

New Delhi, however, has reiterated it will continue humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, with the Indian Foreign Ministry saying in a statement on Tuesday that “it remains committed to its special relationship with the people of Afghanistan.”

New Delhi has sent five consignments consisting of half a million doses of coronavirus vaccines, along with 13 tons of essential medicine and winter clothing — the latest being dispatched on Saturday.

In its annual budget presented earlier this month, India also allocated about $26.5 million for aid for Afghanistan – but the figure is at a lower level compared to last year, when it committed $40 million.

Political analysts say the humanitarian aid is a diplomatic route for India to build some links with the Taliban, which has welcomed India’s offer of help.

In January, the United Nations asked the international community for $4.4 billion for Afghanistan for 2022 — its largest ever appeal for humanitarian assistance for a single country.

U.N. aid agencies have described Afghanistan’s plight as one of the world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crises.

About 23 million people there face acute food insecurity, and 9 million are on the brink of starvation, according to the World Food Program.
…

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to travel to Russia on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin, as the West condemns the Russian leader over the deepening Ukraine crisis.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Putin and Khan “will review the entire array” of relations between the two countries, including energy cooperation. 

“They will also have wide-ranging exchange of views on major regional and international issues, including Islamophobia and situation in Afghanistan,” the statement added. 

Russia’s official news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters Tuesday that Putin’s meeting with Khan “is scheduled for Thursday.”

Officials in Islamabad are maintaining that Khan’s two-day trip, the first such visit to Moscow by a Pakistani prime minister in 23 years, was taking place at the invitation of President Putin and was planned before the Ukraine standoff happened. Khan will be the first foreign leader to visit Moscow since Putin recognized the independence of Ukraine’s breakaway republics of Donestsk and Luhansk.

Speaking to Russian state-controlled RT channel Tuesday, Khan dismissed suggestions his visit had anything to do with global politics in the wake of Russia’s escalating tensions with Europe and the United States over Ukraine.

“This [Ukraine crisis] does not concern us. We have a bilateral relationship with Russia, and we really want to strengthen it,” Khan said.

“Now, what we want to do is not become part of any bloc. We want to have trading relations with all countries,” the Pakistani leader said. 

Khan went on to says he hopes the Ukraine crisis is resolved peacefully. 

“I do not believe that military conflicts solve problems. … The countries that rely on a military conflict have not studied history properly,” Khan argued. “The developing world really wishes that there is not another Cold War.” 

The Pakistani leader said international oil prices already have risen sharply because of the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine conflict and that it would have “huge repercussions” on the developing world. Khan also noted that both Ukraine and Russia are among major suppliers of wheat to the world.

Meanwhile, Russian tanks rolled into eastern Ukraine early Tuesday, ostensibly on what the Kremlin calls a “peacekeeping mission” to protect the two breakaway republics that Moscow fashioned eight years ago and now is formally recognizing as independent states.

Pakistan and Russia were once bitter adversaries, as Islamabad closely aligned itself with the United States during the Cold War.

The Pakistani intelligence agency worked closely with the American CIA in arming and training Afghan fighters to successfully end a decade-long Russian occupation of neighboring Afghanistan in 1989.

Islamabad and Moscow, however, have restored ties in recent years, with both routinely holding joint military exercises and attempting to develop energy cooperation to help Pakistan overcome shortages.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ties with Washington have deteriorated over allegations the South Asian major Non-NATO ally covertly helped the Islamist Taliban in waging a deadly insurgency against U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan. The Taliban regained power last August. 

Islamabad denies the accusations and blames what it says was a flawed U.S. military policy in dealing with the Afghan conflict that ultimately led to a chaotic withdrawal of international troops from the neighboring country in August after 20 years.

Russian and Pakistani officials acknowledge their efforts to deepen bilateral economic cooperation face multiple challenges. Several major Russian companies are under U.S. sanctions and unable to invest in Pakistan.

Critics say a meaningful bilateral defense cooperation also faces roadblocks, such as Russia’s longstanding ties with Pakistan’s bitter rival India, a major importer of Russian military hardware. They say Moscow does not want to upset New Delhi by offering any major defense-related, or for that matter, economic deals to Islamabad.

Combating regional terrorism and the flow of narcotics from Afghanistan seems to be what is primarily driving Russia’s diplomatic engagement with Pakistan, according to analysts. 

Pakistan also has developed close economic and military ties with Ukraine in recent years and is a major importer of Ukrainian wheat. 

Emine Dzheppar, the first deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, tweeted on Monday after meeting the Pakistani ambassador to Kyiv and said the two sides discussed ways to enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

“Grateful to Pakistan for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Dzheppar wrote.
…

Pakistan is under fire for toughening its controversial cybercrime law to allow anyone to file a complaint against posting so-called fake news on Twitter and Facebook, and for increasing the prison term from three to five years for those found guilty.

The changes to what is known as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, introduced on Sunday through a presidential ordinance or decree, have made spreading fake news or defaming any person or state institution online an offense for which there is no bail.

“It was important to bring this ordinance to curb fake news. Spreading fake news will now become an unbailable offense with up to five years imprisonment,” said Farogh Naseem, federal minister of law and justice.

Political opponents and free speech advocates have denounced the move as an attempt by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to stifle freedom of expression.

The criminal defamation law was originally enacted in 2016 by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government, and harshly criticized back then as an assault on dissent and political rivals.

Marriyum Aurangzeb, a spokesperson for the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N Party headed by Sharif, criticized the government Monday for what she said were “draconian and black” amendments to the law. She told reporters in Islamabad that the amendments give sweeping powers to federal authorities to detain anyone on allegations of spreading fake news.

In a statement, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said the government action was “unwarranted and deplorable” and undermined media freedoms.

The undemocratic act “will inevitably be used to clamp down on dissenters and critics of the government and state institutions,” said the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights defender.

Reema Omer, a South Asia legal adviser for the International Commission of Jurists, said the amendments have made the existing law “more oppressive.”

“This has happened at a time when there is a global movement against criminal defamation laws, with such laws being considered incompatible with freedom of speech,” Omer said on Twitter.

While defending the ordinance at a news conference on Sunday, Naseem acknowledged that recent misinformation through social media posts about an alleged rift between Khan and the first lady, as well as the use of abusive language against the recently retired chief justice of Pakistan, prompted the government to toughen the measure.

“This law will put an end to such news reports,” he said.
…

Afghanistan’s Taliban Monday strongly defended their government against fresh criticism by the United States that the male-only leadership in Kabul is “dominated by one ethnicity” and lacks inclusivity.

“This is invalid and we reject it,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told VOA when asked for his reaction to the critical remarks made by the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Tom West.

“In our government, all the requirements within the framework of our society and values have been taken into consideration,” Mujahid insisted.

West said Saturday, while speaking at an international security conference in Germany, that his meetings with Taliban leaders on respecting women’s rights to education and work have been productive, but he found them “rigid” on the question of a representative government.

“There is not one woman in a position of leadership in this government. Overwhelmingly it is dominated by one ethnicity. I think there is a dearth of professionals at the senior most levels of this government who are exceedingly well-educated,” West said.

The Taliban are ethnic Pashtun, the majority group in Afghanistan, and their interim Cabinet mostly consists of senior leaders of the group, including those who are under longstanding terrorism-related U.S. and United Nations sanctions.

The Islamist group regained power from the now-deposed Western-backed government in August and the U.S. along with its NATO allies withdrew all troops from the war-torn country after 20 years.

The Taliban quickly installed an interim government, known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, but the international community has not yet recognized them as the legitimate rulers of the country.

Before considering the legitimacy issue, foreign governments want the hardline group to govern the country through a broad-based ruling system that represents all Afghan ethnicities, respects human rights, including women’s rights to education and work, and disallows terrorists from using the country for cross-border attacks.

Restrictions on women

The Taliban had banned females from education and work in their previous government from 1996 to 2001. Since returning to power six months ago, the hardline group has placed restrictions on women such as requiring them to wear hijab and undertake long road trips only if accompanied by a close male relative.

Most public sector women employees, except for those in the health and education departments, have not been allowed to resume their duties.

Monday, the Taliban Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention Vice, responsible for administering the group’s strict interpretation of Islam, announced that female government employees will be dismissed from jobs if they do not wear all-covering hijabs or veils while at work.

However, the Taliban have opened private and public universities to female students and have pledged to allow all school-age girls back to school in late March. They have blamed delays on financial constraints and the time it takes to ensure that female students resume classes in accordance with Islamic Sharia law.

West stressed on Saturday that Washington is not alone in urging the Taliban to meet the international expectations, saying that Afghanistan’s neighbors along with regional countries, including China, Iran and Russia, are also backing the call.

Taliban leaders traveled to Qatar last week for the latest round of meetings with foreign government representatives, including diplomats from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), on a range of issues, including diplomatic recognition for their government and economic as well as humanitarian aid for Afghanistan.

In its post-meeting statement, the GCC stressed the need for the Taliban to devise a national reconciliation plan that “respects basic freedoms and rights, including women’s right to work and education.”

Pakistan, which shares a long border with Afghanistan and is known for traditionally maintaining close ties with the Taliban, has also been urging them to ensure political inclusivity and respect human rights if they want “mainstreaming” of their country in the community of nations.

However, Pakistan’s national security advisor, Moeed Yusuf, while speaking alongside West at the conference in Germany, said that abandoning Afghanistan would worsen humanitarian conditions in a country ravaged by years of war and natural calamities.

“We cannot punish 35 million Afghans for 30 Taliban that some may not like. At the same time, Pakistan stands for inclusivity, for human rights and for ensuring that there is no terrorism from Afghan soil,” Yusuf said.

Yusuf defended Islamabad’s engagement with Kabul since the return of the Taliban to power, saying decades of conflicts in Afghanistan have undermined Pakistan’s national security and economic interests, including hosting of millions of Afghans.

“For others, it may be a luxury to decide when and how the engagement (with the Taliban) will happen. Pakistan cannot afford instability in Afghanistan,” he said. “We don’t have an option but to engage and we are counseling the world to be pragmatic. Let’s find a way to move forward, incentivize (the Taliban) and get the results all of us want,” Yusuf argued.
…

Farmer Anger Will Test Modi as India’s ‘Grain Bowl’ Votes

Amandeep Kaur Dholewal rose from a traditional Indian cot and began speaking to a small gathering of men and women who sat cross-legged in a park opposite a white-domed gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs.

The 37-year-old doctor was flanked by supporters, mainly drawn from the protesters who last year hunkered on the edges of the Indian capital and demonstrated against farm laws pushed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which they feared would decimate their income. 

“We have already defeated Modi once. Let’s defeat him again.” Her voice bellowed from a loudspeaker attached to an auto rickshaw, displaying none of the flamboyance of a seasoned politician but drawing bursting applause from the audience.

The scene underscored the changing electoral landscape in India’s Punjab state, where more than 21 million voters cast ballots on Sunday in polls that are seen as a barometer of Modi and his party’s popularity ahead of general elections in 2024. The polls will indicate whether riding the crest of the yearlong protests that forced Modi to make a rare retreat and repel the farm laws could be enough to prevent his party from making inroads in a state considered the “grain bowl” of India.

Political newbies like Dholewal are pinning their hopes on this very formula. They are vying to convert the farmers’ anger into votes, arguing that a new party is the only path to change.

“People are asking me, ‘Why are you late? We were waiting for you,'” said Dholewal, who ran a medical camp at one of the protest sites last year. She is now a candidate for Sanyukt Samaj Morcha, a newly minted political party that includes some of the farm unions that organized the protests. 

“People know their rights now,” she said.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party rammed the farm laws through parliament without consultation in September 2020, using its executive powers. His administration billed them as necessary reforms, but farmers feared the laws signaled the government was moving away from a system in which they sold their harvest only in government-sanctioned marketplaces. They worried this would leave them poorer and at the mercy of private corporations.

The laws triggered a year of protests as farmers — most of them Sikhs from Punjab state — camped on the outskirts of New Delhi through a harsh winter and devastating coronavirus surge. Modi withdrew the laws in November, just three months ahead of the crucial polls in Punjab and four other states. The election results will be announced on March 10.

Modi’s BJP has a relatively small footprint in Punjab but hopes to form a government there with a regional ally and strengthen its fledgling voter base among farmers, one of the largest voting blocs in India. Punjab, where people are deeply proud of their state’s religious syncretism, also represents a test for his party’s Hindu nationalist reach, which has flourished in most of northern India since 2014.

Meanwhile, the BJP is running its campaign by trying to frame the incumbent Congress party state government as corrupt. It is also making grand promises to create more jobs, provide farm subsidies and free electricity for farmers, and eradicate the drug menace that has ailed the state for years.

The anger against the government, however, runs deep.

More than 700 farmers died during the protests as they weathered brutal cold, record rains and sweltering heat, according to Samyukt Kisan Morcha, or the United Farmers Front, the umbrella group of farm unions that organized the agitation. Dozens also died by suicide.

But in December last year, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told parliament that his government had no record of the farmers’ deaths. This caused widespread outrage among the families of the deceased, many of whom are small or landless farmers who constitute the lowest rung of India’s agricultural community.

“Where did those 700-750 farmers go then? The Modi government is responsible for their deaths,” said Amarjeet Singh, choking back tears in his family home in Kaler Ghuman village, some 40 kilometers (24 miles) from Amritsar, the state’s capital.

Singh’s father, Sudagar Singh, died on a sweltering September afternoon from cardiac arrest, according to his death certificate. At the time of his death, he was accompanied by his friend Charan Singh, the village head, who said the 72-year-old collapsed while returning home after spending weeks at the protests.

“Even though we won in the end, those laws only brought misery to our lives. Do you think we would forget that?” said Singh, pointing to a framed portrait of his friend.

Scarred by the death, Sudagar Singh’s younger brother fell into depression, the family said. He stopped eating and working on his farm. Three months later, he too died.

In some cases, the Punjab government has announced jobs and funds for the families of the deceased, but farmers say the elections are an opportunity to turn their anger into meaningful change.

“That’s why you don’t see flags of any political party flying atop our homes,” said Singh, the village head. “We don’t trust them anymore.”

Among those seeking to consolidate their political dominance through the election is the Aam Aadmi Party, which was formed in 2013 to eliminate corruption and has since ruled Delhi for two consecutive terms.

Its campaign plan in Punjab, however, is not limited to just the farmers’ anger. The party hopes to ride on reemerged fault lines that were blurred during the demonstrations. 

At its peak, the protest drew support from Punjab’s rural and urban populations. Now, those protests find very little resonance among city voters who say the farmers’ issues should take a backseat since the laws have been withdrawn.

“The youth want education, health, employment and an end to corruption. That’s what people want. They want a change,” said Avinash Jolly, a businessman.

On a recent afternoon, Harbhajan Singh, one of the Aam Aadmi Party’s candidates, stopped near a public park and talked to supporters about chipping away at the entrenched political system. A band of young men followed him on motorbikes waving flags brandishing the party symbol — a broom to sweep out corruption.

To resounding applause, he ended his speech with a call to the crowd: “Will you teach a lesson to those leaders who have ruined this sacred land and humiliated our farmers?”

The young men, in unison, chanted, “Yes!”
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UNICEF announced Sunday an emergency cash support effort for all public education teachers in Afghanistan for January and February, saying the move will allow continued access to education for all school-age girls and boys.

The European Union-funded payment, amounting to the equivalent of $100 a month per teacher, will benefit an estimated 194,000 male and female teachers across the country who have not been paid for six months.

UNICEF said in a statement that the agency and partners have taken the initiative in recognition of the “crucial role” these teachers in Afghanistan are playing in the education of around 8.8 million enrolled in public schools.

“Following months of uncertainty and hardship for many teachers, we are pleased to extend emergency support to public school teachers in Afghanistan who have spared no effort to keep children learning,” said Mohamed Ayoya, UNICEF’s country representative

Ayoya said UNICEF would need an additional $250 million to be able to continue supporting public school teachers and called on donors to help the agency fund the initiative.

Since militarily taking over the country in mid-August, the Taliban have allowed women to resume work in health and education, and opened private and public universities to female education, while secondary school girls are also back in school in about a dozen of the 34 Afghan provinces.

The new Islamist rulers have pledged to allow all girls to return to school by late March, blaming delays on financial constraints and the time it takes to ensure that female students resume classes in accordance with Islamic Sharia law.

Relief agencies say humanitarian needs have skyrocketed in war-torn Afghanistan since the Taliban took power last year and U.S.-led international forces withdrew from the country.

The United States and other Western nations have halted nonhumanitarian funding to Afghanistan, amounting to 40% of the country’s gross domestic product, and blocked the Taliban’s access to billions of dollars in Afghan central bank reserves, mostly held in the United States.

The restrictions have pushed the fragile Afghan economy to the brink of collapse, worsening the humanitarian crisis stemming from years of war and natural calamities.

The United Nations is warning that nearly 23 million people — about 55% of the poverty-stricken country’s population — face extreme hunger, with nearly 9 million a step away from famine.

Tomas West, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, while speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, said Washington was also playing its role in ensuring Afghan girls return to schools next month.

“We have before the World Bank a proposal to extend roughly $180 million in support of teacher stipends and in support of books and in support of refurbishment of buildings and so forth,” he said.

“But what do we need to see from the Taliban? We need to see them deliver on stated commitments to open and enroll women and girls in education countrywide… after Nowruz [the first day of Afghan new year] on March 20th,” West stressed.

No country has yet recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. Before considering the legitimacy issue, the global community wants the Islamist group to install an inclusive government in Kabul representing all Afghan ethnic groups, ensure women’s rights to education and work, and prevent terrorist groups from using Afghan soil for attacks against other countries
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India and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement Friday that the two countries expect will increase bilateral trade to $100 billion in five years.  It is the first of several free trade deals that New Delhi is racing to conclude this year to expand its pandemic-hit economy.  

Economists say it reflects a significant change from the past, when India, which has protected several sectors of its economy with high tariffs, was slow to conclude free trade pacts.   

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed during a virtual summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan. 

“This is reflective of the new emerging world order, the post-COVID world, which will see new alignments and realignments in which we see the UAE and India as strong partners,” Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said after the pact was signed.  

The UAE is India’s third-largest export partner after the United States and China, with bilateral trade of about $60 billion.   

While the UAE hopes the pact will help make it a business hub, India says it will give it access to markets in Africa and West Asia and create more than a million jobs in labor-intensive sectors such as the auto industry.   

In 2019, worries about cheap imports from China led India to exit the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest trade pact, which took effect this year among Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and 10 other Asian countries. That prevented India from gaining preferential access to fast-growing markets and led to concerns that one of the world’s major economies was turning more protectionist.  

Goyal said that India is no longer signing trade pacts to join a group but looking at agreements with nations that have values of democracy, transparency and mutual growth.

“We are talking not of closing India’s doors but actually opening India’s doors wider for greater international engagement,” he said.   

New Delhi hopes that the bilateral trade pacts that it is negotiating with countries such as Britain, Australia, the European Union and Israel will help it get greater market access.  

For many of those countries, building closer economic ties with New Delhi would help reduce their huge trade dependence on China, which they want to do amid unease about Beijing’s rise in several countries.    

After suffering a major contraction last year, India’s economy grew by about 9% last year, the fastest among major economies.  

“Exports have been buoyant since the beginning of last year when India started coming out of the economic downturn and the government is trying to see what more can be done to get additional market access. They really want to push forward and aim for greater exports,” Biswajit Dhar, Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University told VOA.

India aims to close trade agreements with Australia and Britain by the end of this year to boost exports to $500 billion by 2023.  

Even before hammering out a more comprehensive deal, New Delhi hopes to clinch a limited trade pact, termed an “early harvest agreement,” with Australia next month. Both countries are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad along with the United States and Japan, formed with an eye on China.  

The grouping has also given an impetus to trade relations between the member countries, Australian Trade, Tourism, and Investment Minister Dan Tehan, said in New Delhi earlier this month during a visit to discuss the free trade pact.

“I think the Quad has just added to the strength of the relationship. My hope is within 30 days we will have an announcement [on an interim trade agreement] with India. Then we can start to build the economic cooperation within the Quad,” he said.  

British Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan also visited India last month to start negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two countries.

While Britain hopes to double its exports to India by 2035 by tapping into its large middle class, New Delhi wants greater opportunities for Indians to study and work there.    

“The government has adopted a very interesting pathway for agreements with Britain and Australia. They are trying to do an early harvest agreement for sectors that are ready at this point to accept reciprocal market access as they are confident to face competition from imports,” said Dhar.

“This will lead to some forward movement in terms of working toward broader free trade agreements,” he added. 

Suhasini Sood contributed to this story.
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