washington — A major Chinese bank for Russian importers, Chouzhou Commercial Bank, ceased operations with Russian and Belarusian companies, the Russian Vedomosti newspaper reported Wednesday. 

In addition to Chouzhou Commercial Bank, Vedomosti reported that other Chinese and Hong Kong banks are tightening regulations around transactions with Russia to ensure they comply with Western sanctions. The Kremlin has acknowledged the instability of relations between Russian companies and Chinese banks.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s government is “working” with the Chinese government to resolve the commercial problems between the two nations.

Since the West’s initial sanctions on Russia in February 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine, Chinese banks have become key commercial partners for Russian companies, facilitating increased Sino-Russian trade.

Vedomosti reported that Chouzhou’s decision was related to U.S. President Joe Biden’s December 22 executive order, which strengthened sanctions on financial institutions that aid the Russian military.

Ali Wyne, a senior research and advocacy adviser for U.S.-China at the nonprofit International Crisis group, said the move was a sign that sanctions are working.

“The United States is working harder to dissuade financial institutions from assisting Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions. Chinese lenders are taking note and maneuvering to avoid secondary sanctions,” Wyne told VOA in a statement.

Russian analysts said Chouzhou’s decisions, which coincide with the major Lunar New Year holiday season in China, would lead to short-term logistical delays.

“All the troubles are superimposed on the Chinese New Year, so the Russians will not be able to start solving this problem until the beginning of March,” Russian freelance economic journalist Maxim Blunt said to VOA Russian.

“This will not stop mutual trade, but it will certainly add to the problems on the railways and in the ports. Logistics chains between Russia and China are already overloaded, and now this is compounded by overstocking of warehouses and other problems.”

Blunt said Russian consumers would most likely face shortages or inflation as a result.

“Since China is Russia’s main trading partner, we should expect either a shortage or a rise in the price of a wide range of goods, from industrial equipment to wide ports,” Blunt said. “Another brick has been laid in the wall that separates Russia from the civilized market.”

Despite the increased costs, Chouzhou’s decision will not be paralyzing for Russia, according to Russian Sinologist Aleksei Chigadaev of Leipzig University. 

“Of course, the Russian economy will not collapse from this,” Chigadaev told VOA Russian. “The main segment that the bank serves seems to be small and medium-sized businesses. There is no exact customer data in the public domain.

“But judging by where it is located and which Russian companies are served in it, these are most likely small enterprises that are engaged in wholesale purchases of consumer goods, clothing, souvenirs and so on. Therefore, they will now record losses and come up with new payment schemes.”

Chigadaev said these tensions show that China is prioritizing its relationship with the U.S. over Russia.

“The Chinese do not mind making money on supplies to Russia, but as soon as it comes to choosing between the Russian market and the American market — and now the question often arises in this way — then, of course, they will choose the latter,” Chigadaev said. “This will be the end of any partnership.”

Wyne said, however, that Chouzhou’s decision does not necessarily reflect a recalibration in the Sino-Russian relationship.

“Whether one considers the frequent interactions between their presidents and defense ministers, the deepening of their military cooperation or the record trade that they posted last year, Beijing and Moscow are drawing closer, not drifting apart,” Wyne wrote.

“China appears to have concluded that it can simultaneously strengthen its ties with Russia and sustain the current thaw in its ties with the United States.” 
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ISLAMABAD/LAHORE, PAKISTAN — Preliminary official results of Pakistan’s parliamentary polls trickled in Friday after an unusually long delay and allegations the results are being manipulated to favor military-backed parties.

The vote took place Thursday amid a nationwide suspension of mobile phone and internet services and sporadic violence, fueling doubts about the credibility of an already controversial election.

By late afternoon Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan had released slightly more than half the results for the 266 National Assembly seats. These results showed that a group of independent candidates, supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, performed better than expected despite being targeted by a state crackdown before the election.  

The PTI-affilated candidates had secured 61 seats, while candidates of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, led by three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, had won 43. Sharif is viewed as the powerful military’s favorite.

The Pakistan Peoples Party, headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, trailed with 38 seats, with smaller regional parties splitting the rest. 

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gohar Khan, acting PTI chairman, claimed his party was leading in more than 150 seats but that “attempts are being made to change the results.”

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed her party was in a “strong” position and would be able to form a government in Islamabad.

Based on local constituency counts, unofficial overnight tallies from Pakistani media outlets showed PTI-backed candidates leading races nationwide. In some cases, they were ahead by 30,000 to 50,000 votes. However, according to early official results released on Friday, they were either lagging behind or lost the race by a small margin.

“Unfortunately, the integrity of the ballot has been trampled,” said Asma Shirazi, a prominent prime-time political talk show host, during a live broadcast on her Urdu-language Hum news channel. “The way candidates, with some winning by huge margins overnight, have been declared losers has made this election even more contentious,” Shirazi said.

The change in results was blamed on the delay in announcing what PTI alleged were manipulated results.

“The die is cast. If the final results show anything other than a PTI victory, PTI will reject it as a rigged result, and understandably so: Its early gains led to a long delay in announcing final results. The military, intent on denying power to PTI, intervened in the process,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at Wilson Center in Washington.

Meanwhile, clashes between police and angry PTI supporters protesting against alleged rigging in the northwestern town of Shangla reportedly killed a protester and injured several others.

The election commission blamed the delay in processing the results on an “internet issue,” while the Interior Ministry defended the election day suspension of mobile phone and internet services as “a result of preventive measures taken to ensure foolproof security” of the vote.

The services were reinstated Friday morning. The ministry cited deadly bombings in parts of Pakistan on and in the run-up to the polls for suspending the nationwide communication networks.

“We knew there would be noise from every side over the decision, but I would take this decision again if I had to,” Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz told a news conference in the Pakistani capital. 

The suspension of phone and internet services sparked widespread allegations of an attempt by Pakistan’s military-backed interim government to rig the polls, mainly to prevent candidates loyal to Khan’s party from gaining an upper hand.

“We are also concerned about the steps that were taken to restrict freedom of expression, specifically around internet and cell phone use,” Vedant Patel, the U.S. State Department principal deputy spokesperson, told reporters in Washington on Thursday.

Pakistan has nearly 190 million cellular subscribers, including 128 million using mobile broadband services. The suspension of service prevented many voters from accessing the election commission’s data system to retrieve polling station locations and other details.

Journalists with mainstream Pakistani television channels said they could not promptly report rigging incidents and other irregularities from the field throughout the day because of the suspension.

Analysts say whoever wins the election will serve a public that is deeply disappointed in the political system, has little faith in the electoral process, and is extremely worried about the nation’s economic survival. 

The crackdown on the PTI left many unhappy with this democratic exercise.

“I came out thinking that maybe my vote will improve something for this country and for us,” said Faiza Tariq, a first-time female voter in the eastern city of Lahore.

Fazal-Ur-Rehman was among those who did not vote, citing a lack of trust in the process.

“It doesn’t matter if I vote or not. Those who are supposed to come in power will come in power,” he said.

Other voters, like Anam Khan, criticized the disruption of communication services. 

“Why? Is there a war going on here? Do they want to keep people from posting videos on social media? People can do that later, God willing,” she said.

The Pakistani government deployed more than 650,000 army, paramilitary and police personnel to provide security for tens of thousands of polling stations across the world’s fifth most populous country, with an estimated population of 241 million. 

Khan a central figure

An opposition parliamentary vote of no-confidence removed Khan from office in April 2022, a move he rejected as illegal and orchestrated by the military. He accused the United States of playing a role in the toppling of his government for his neutrality over the Ukraine war, charges that Washington and Islamabad rejected.

Khan, the 71-year-old politician, has been convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for highly disputed corruption and other charges in the lead-up to the vote.

The cricket hero-turned-political leader’s PTI has been subjected to a monthslong nationwide clampdown, in which hundreds of workers and candidates were arrested without charges and released only after quitting the party or withdrawing from the election.

Since his removal from power, Khan has been shot and wounded at an anti-government PTI rally, and mainstream media has been banned from airing his name or images. The election commission also banned the party from using its iconic cricket bat electoral symbol on highly disputed technical grounds, preventing PTI from contesting the polls as a unified force. 

However, public polls before the vote constantly rated Khan as the most popular national politician and PTI as the largest political party in Pakistan. 

PTI Senator Walid Iqbal told VOA that the restrictions on election day and subsequent alleged manipulation of results were part of the “witch-hunt” his party faced.

“I think it was a big success that, despite all these challenges, our PTI-backed independent candidates have been leading,” Waleed said. “And now we see that overnight, the results system breaks down, and the result announcements stop. So, this is just a continuation,” the senator added.

“Despite being in jail, Khan remains a central figure in the election,” Kugelman told VOA.

“But it appears the state is creating an enabling environment for rigging with its suspension of mobile services. This threatens to deny many Pakistanis the right to vote for who they choose, casting doubt on the government’s insistence that this election will be free and fair,” Kugelman said.

More than 5,000 candidates were running for 266 general seats in the 342-member National Assembly. About 12,600 candidates were running for assembly seats in Pakistan’s four provinces.  

The number of registered voters is more than 128 million, but the election commission has yet to determine how many actually turned out for Thursday’s polling. 

The U.S.-based Gallup polling company found in a survey on the eve of the elections that more than two-thirds of Pakistanis “lack confidence in the honesty of their elections.”

Rigging allegations have historically shadowed all elections in Pakistan, and the military has been blamed for taking steps to ensure its allies emerge as the winner.  

“It’s very difficult [to prove rigging] because you can’t get concrete evidence that you can use to establish it in court. This is always an issue in rigging cases,” said political analyst Hasan Askari.

“Sometimes, rigging is a perception; other times, even when it’s a reality, you can’t find concrete evidence for many things. For example, what evidence do you have that a ballot box was changed?”
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ISLAMABAD/LAHORE — Pakistan held its long-delayed elections Thursday, but almost nine hours after polling ended, no constituency had reported a complete tally.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, claimed a lead based on an initial, unofficial count.

Polling stations across the South Asian nation closed at 5 p.m. local time after nine hours of balloting. Until 2 a.m. Friday, several constituencies had barely tallied 10% of the vote, according to local media reports.

The independent Election Commission of Pakistan did not issue an update on when counts would be completed. Prior to elections, it announced that polling officials should send results to the commission by 2 a.m. February 9.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s former foreign minister and leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, complained on X that the results were “incredibly slow” coming in.

More than 90,000 polling stations were set up to serve more than 128 million registered voters for the February 8 general election.

Sporadic violence and the nationwide suspension of mobile phone and internet services overshadowed the largely peaceful polls, raising credibility concerns about an already controversial vote.

An early morning Interior Ministry announcement said the disruption in phone service was meant to “mitigate potential security threats” and “maintain law and order.”

The ministry did not discuss the internet outage, which came a day after separate bomb blasts outside campaign offices in southwestern Baluchistan province Wednesday killed 30 people. The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the bombings. Militant attacks in parts of the country on election day also killed several people, mostly policemen.

Analysts say whoever wins the election will serve a public that is deeply disappointed in the political system, has little faith in the electoral process and is extremely worried about the nation’s economic survival.

Three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Muslim League (Nawaz) Party is viewed as the favorite of the powerful military, while the last elected prime minister, Imran Khan, is in jail. A military-backed crackdown on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party has left many disappointed in this democratic exercise.

“I came out thinking that maybe my vote will improve something for this country and for us,” said Faiza Tariq, a first-time female voter in the eastern city of Lahore.

Fazal-Ur-Rehman was among those who did not vote, citing a lack of trust in the process.

“It doesn’t matter if I vote or not. Those who are supposed to come in power will come in power,” he said.

Nazward Atta, a Pakistani living abroad, said she returned only to vote to fight the alleged unfairness.

“We just want to change the fate of Pakistan and the future of Pakistan,” she said.

Other voters, like Anam Khan, criticized the disruption of communication services.

“Why? Is there a war going on here? Do they want to keep people from posting videos on social media? People can do that later, God willing,” she said.

The Pakistani government deployed more than 650,000 army, paramilitary and police personnel to provide security for tens of thousands of polling stations across the world’s fifth most populous country, with an estimated population of 241 million.

Several hours after the polling ended, the Interior Ministry said mobile services were being partially restored nationwide and would soon be fully reinstated.

The suspension of phone and internet services sparked widespread allegations of an attempt by Pakistan’s military-backed interim government to rig the polls, mainly to prevent candidates loyal to Khan’s party from gaining an upper hand.

Khan a central figure

Khan, the 71-year-old popular politician, has been convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for highly disputed corruption and other charges in the lead-up to the vote.

The cricket hero-turned-political leader’s PTI has been subjected to a monthslong nationwide clampdown, in which hundreds of workers and candidates were arrested without charges and released only after quitting the party or withdrawing from the election.

“Despite being in jail, Khan remains a central figure in the election,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. “He retains a large base that will want to vote for the independent candidates sponsored by his party.

“But it appears the state is creating an enabling environment for rigging with its suspension of mobile services. This threatens to deny many Pakistanis the right to vote for who they choose, casting doubt on the government’s insistence that this election will be free and fair,” Kugelman told VOA.

Internet outage criticized

“We’re tracking reports of restrictions on internet and cellphone access across Pakistan on polling day,” Vedant Patel, the State Department principal deputy spokesperson, told reporters in Washington.

“We, along with the international community, will continue to emphasize the importance of democratic institutions, a free press, a vibrant civil society and expanded opportunities for political participation of all Pakistanis,” Patel said.

Amnesty International denounced the election day internet shutdown as “reckless” and a “blunt attack” on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Pakistan has nearly 190 million cellular subscribers, including 128 million using mobile broadband services. The suspension of service left many voters unable to access the election commission’s data system to retrieve polling station locations and other details.

Sikandar Sultan, Pakistan’s chief election commissioner, said security agencies maintaining law and order were solely authorized to make decisions such as suspending phone service.

“I don’t think the commission should interfere in their work, nor will it do so,” Sultan told reporters in Islamabad when asked if the commission would direct authorities to reinstate service.

Journalists with mainstream Pakistani television channels said they could not promptly report rigging incidents and other irregularities from the field throughout the day due to the suspension.

“Shutting down mobile networks on polling day is the beginning of election day rigging,” said Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, an independent candidate for the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament in Islamabad.

“Cutting candidates off from their agents and staff on election day is unacceptable. How’s one supposed to keep a check and highlight any irregularity? By the time news comes out, [the] election would have been stolen,” Khokhar said.

Sharif confident

Sharif appeared confident that his party would win and form a government on its own, saying a coalition government would not be able to address Pakistan’s economic problems.

“For God’s sake, don’t mention a coalition government,” he told reporters after casting his vote in his native Lahore.

More than 5,000 candidates were contesting for 266 general seats in the 342-member National Assembly. About 12,600 candidates were running for assembly seats in Pakistan’s four provinces.

The U.S.-based Gallup polling company found in a survey on the eve of the elections that more than two-thirds of Pakistanis “lack confidence in the honesty of their elections.”
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military said Saturday its forces had raided a “terrorist” hideout in a volatile region bordering Afghanistan and killed five militants in the ensuing shootout.

The “intelligence-based” overnight raid in the militancy-hit North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province also killed a key militant commander involved in attacks on security forces, the army’s media wing said in a statement.

The army did not name the group, but the anti-state Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said its hideout was raided and confirmed the killing of four of its members. The group’s statement, sent to journalists, also claimed inflicting heavy casualties on the raiding military forces.

Parts of the northwestern Pakistani province have experienced almost deadly militant attacks, mainly targeting soldiers and police, with the TTP claiming credit or being blamed for most of the violence.

The provincial counterterrorism department said in its annual report Friday that militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed 185 police officers and wounded 400 other people this year.

The report claimed security forces had also killed 300 militants and captured more than 900 others during the same period.

Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, bordering Afghanistan, has also seen an uptick in attacks carried out by the TTP and ethnic Baluch insurgents this year, killing hundreds of civilians and security forces.

The Pakistani military has reported the death of nearly 300 officers and soldiers in nationwide militant attacks and counterinsurgency operations in 2023 alone. Earlier this month, militants raided an army base and killed at least 23 soldiers in the deadliest attack in Pakistan’s recent history.

Authorities say TTP, listed as a global terrorist group by the United States, and allied groups are plotting the violence from Afghan sanctuaries.

Islamabad maintains that cross-border terrorism in Pakistan has sharply increased since the Islamist Taliban regained power in Afghanistan two years ago.

“While the interim authorities have reported some success in the fight against Daesh [the Islamic State group], the fact is that a number of terrorist groups are living in Afghanistan, evidently under the protection of the Afghan interim government,” Munir Akram, the Pakistani envoy to the United Nations, told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Afghanistan earlier this month.

Akram reiterated Pakistan’s claims that the TTP was launching more deadly and sophisticated attacks against security forces due to the militant group’s acquisition of modern military weapons from “the considerable stocks left behind in Afghanistan” by U.S. and NATO troops.

Washington has repeatedly denied leaving any weapons in Afghanistan during the American military’s withdrawal from the country in August 2021, dismissing such allegations as “farce.”

Taliban authorities reject charges they are sheltering or allowing militants to stage attacks against Pakistan or any other country from Afghan soil.
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united nations — The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday calling for the appointment of a special envoy for Afghanistan to increase engagement with the country and its Taliban leaders. 

It followed an independent assessment report issued in November that called for greater engagement with Afghanistan following the return to power of the Taliban in August 2021. 

The resolution calls on U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to name a special envoy to promote the independent report’s recommendations, particularly regarding gender and human rights. 

The resolution was adopted after 13 members of the Security Council voted in favor, while Russia and China abstained. 

“The UAE and Japan firmly believe the independent assessment serves as the best basis for discussions going forward,” Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki said ahead of the vote. 

“The resolution highlights the need to increase international engagement in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner, as the independent assessment states.” 

The United Arab Emirates and Japan have responsibility for raising the situation in Afghanistan at the Security Council as so-called penholders for the issue. 

The Taliban government is not officially recognized by any country or world body, and the United Nations refers to the administration as the “Taliban de facto authorities.” 

Officials initially promised a softer version of the strict Islamic rule that characterized their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, but restrictions have gradually been reintroduced – particularly affecting women. 

Teenage girls have been banned from attending most secondary schools and women have been banned from universities, prompting global outrage and protests in some Afghan cities. 

In November 2022 women were prohibited from entering parks, gyms, funfairs, and public baths. 

“The United States strongly supports this resolution’s call for a U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan,” said the U.S. representative following the adoption of the resolution. “A special envoy will be well positioned to coordinate international engagement on Afghanistan, including with relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders.”
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan confirmed Friday that India officially demanded the extradition of Hafiz Saeed, a hardline Pakistani cleric suspected of involvement in terrorist attacks on Indian soil.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch effectively rejected India’s demand, stating that the two countries have no bilateral treaty to address such matters.

Baloch made the statement just hours after the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told a routine news conference that India has asked Islamabad to extradite Saeed for trial in India.

Baloch said New Delhi sought Saeed’s extradition in a “money laundering case.”

Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for India’s Foreign Ministry, would not discuss details of the request on Friday, saying only that the request was submitted “some weeks ago.”

“The person in question is wanted in numerous cases in India. He is also a U.N.-proscribed terrorist,” Bagchi said. “In this regard, we have conveyed a request along with relevant supporting documents to the government of Pakistan to extradite him to India to face trial in a particular case.”

Bagchi was responding to Indian media reports claiming that Saeed’s custody was sought in connection with the 2008 attacks on Mumbai that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

“Pakistan has received a request from the Indian authorities, seeking extradition of Hafiz Saeed in a so-called money laundering case,” Baloch said in a written statement she sent to VOA. “It is pertinent to note that no bilateral extradition treaty exists between Pakistan and India.”

Saeed is serving a prison term in Pakistan on terrorism-financing charges. Last year, an anti-terrorism court found him guilty on multiple counts and sentenced him to 31 years.

Indian officials accuse the Pakistani cleric of masterminding the four-day Mumbai bloodshed and supporting militants battling security forces in the India-administered part of the disputed Kashmir region. Saeed denies the allegations.

The United States has also offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on Saeed in connection with the Mumbai violence.

Saeed is known as the founder and leader of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, or LeT, a U.S.-designated global terror group that India blames for plotting the Mumbai attacks and other violence from its alleged bases in Pakistan, charges Islamabad rejects.

A group of 10 LeT gunmen reportedly carried out the carnage in Mumbai after slipping into the city by boat from Pakistan. India hanged the lone gunman who survived the attack, identified as Pakistani national Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, in 2012.

New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of financing and training separatist groups in majority-Muslim Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charges, saying it provides only political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri “freedom fighters.”

Pakistan accuses India of human rights violations in Kashmir and of suppressing the democratic rights of Kashmiris.

India controls two-thirds of the Himalayan region and Pakistan the rest, with both claiming Kashmir in full. The dispute has sparked two of the three wars between the nuclear-armed South Asian rival nations and remains the primary source of bilateral tensions.
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NEW DELHI — A rebel group that fought for decades to free India’s northeastern state of Assam from New Delhi’s rule signed a peace accord Friday with the government pledging to end the insurgency in the region. 

The United Liberation Front of Assam — also known as ULFA and led by Arabinda Rajkhowa — concluded 12 years of negotiations with the Indian government. The signing ceremony in New Delhi was attended by India’s Home Minister Amit Shah and the top elected official of Assam state Himanta Biswa Sarma. 

However, the group’s hard-line faction, led by Paresh Baruah, is not part of the agreement. Baruah is believed to be hiding somewhere along the China-Myanmar border, the Press Trust of India news agency said. 

Group demanded ‘sovereign Assam’

ULFA, formed in 1979 demanding a “sovereign Assam,” carried out a reign of terror in Assam state in the late 1980s, including extortion, kidnappings and killings, especially targeting the state’s flourishing tea companies. It killed several tea planters. 

India banned ULFA in 1990. It then set up bases in neighboring Bangladesh and coordinated with several other insurgent groups in India’s northeast. 

Indian military operations against ULFA began in 1990 and have continued until the present. 

In 2011, ULFA split after Bangladesh handed over several top ULFA leaders, including Rajkhowa, to Indian authorities. The Rajkhowa faction joined peace talks with the Indian government that year. 

ULFA shifted its base to Bhutan, but in 2003 it was attacked by the Indian and Bhutanese armies. Rebels were dislodged from 30 camps in the Bhutanese jungles. 

Indian forces are battling dozens of ethnic insurgent groups in India’s remote northeast who are pushing demands ranging from independent homelands to maximum autonomy within India. 

In 2020, more than 600 insurgents belonging to different rebel groups surrendered to Indian authorities in the northeast in response to a government peace initiative that will allow them to rejoin mainstream society, police said. 

They laid down assault rifles, grenades, bombs and other weapons and were kept in government-run camps and taught technical skills to equip them to take up jobs. 
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New wars and growing hunger and poverty on a warming planet — and little the United Nations can do to fix it. VOA correspondent Margaret Besheer looks at the U.N.’s future in a world where its impact is shrinking.
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islamabad — Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, on Thursday announced a nationwide ban on New Year celebrations in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel continues its military campaign to crush Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“The whole Pakistani nation and the Muslim world are in a state of deep grief over the genocide of unarmed Palestinians, especially the massacre of children, in Gaza and the West Bank,” Kakar said in his nationally televised announcement.

“Given the extremely worrying situation in Palestine and to express solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters, there will be a complete countrywide ban on organizing any kind of events in connection with the New Year celebration,” the prime minister said.

Muslim countries worldwide, including Pakistan, have sharply criticized Israel’s relentless military campaign and intensified calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to help address the ensuing humanitarian crisis.

The entire 2.3 million population in the Gaza Strip has suffered severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine, with only limited aid entering the territory.

Kakar said that Islamabad had already sent two consignments of relief aid to Gaza and a third would soon be dispatched.

Israeli military airstrikes and ground operations have left vast parts of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 21,000 Palestinians since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The offensive was unleashed after Hamas militants poured over the border with Israel and attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israel. Hamas also seized around 240 hostages, of whom 129 remain captive in Gaza. The Israeli military says 167 of its troops have been killed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep up the military campaign until the elimination of Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other countries, is achieved.

Pakistan does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and refuses to recognize it as a sovereign country until “a viable and independent Palestinian state” is established — a long-running policy of many Muslim-majority countries.

Pakistanis cannot visit the Jewish state because their passport states it is “valid for all countries of the world except Israel.”
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NEW DELHI — India and Russia Wednesday reaffirmed their strong friendship and discussed deepening trade and strategic ties during a visit to Moscow by Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Jaishankar said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that the two countries have “made progress” in trade, which now exceeds $50 billion.

“We believe that this is something whose potential is now only beginning to be visible,” he said.

India has emerged as one of Russia’s major economic partners as it has exponentially increased its imports of Russian crude oil, ignoring Western sanctions that were imposed in 2022 over the war in Ukraine.

New Delhi, which has taken a neutral stance on the Ukraine conflict, has maintained its ties with Moscow citing its decades-old friendship with its old ally.

Putin was quoted by Tass as saying at the meeting with Jaishankar that the trade between Russia and India is growing for the second year in a row, particularly due to crude oil and high technology areas, according to Tass.

Putin also invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Moscow.

“We will be able to discuss all current issues, talk about the outlook for the development of Russian-Indian relations,” according to Tass.

India and Russia have held annual summits for over two decades but have not held one since the war in Ukraine erupted last year.

New Delhi has not given any official reason for not holding the meetings, but analysts see it as part of India’s attempt to walk a fine line as its ties grow with Western countries. Modi visited Washington in June for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden that was seen as giving new momentum to their partnership.

“India has avoided a summit meeting with Putin because it does not want to be seen as too close to Russia. At the same time it is important to show to Russia and the world that we have not abandoned them in any way,” according to Manoj Joshi, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. “The foreign minister’s visit to Moscow emphasizes that we still have close ties but at the same time it avoids all the attention that a high-profile summit gets.”

Putin’s meeting with Jaishankar is considered significant because he usually does not meet visiting foreign ministers. Analysts see it as an effort to underline that Russia is not isolated.

“It is a statement on India’s relative importance to Russia. India is a large country and is doing well economically. To show that you have good ties with New Delhi is important for Russia at this stage when they have their back to the wall,” Joshi said.

Jaishankar, who is on a five-day visit to Moscow, also met with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday.

At a joint news conference, Lavrov said they discussed “the prospects for military-technical cooperation, including the joint production of modern types of weapons.”

Russia was India’s major arms supplier for decades, and New Delhi still imports about two-thirds of its military equipment from Moscow, although it has tried to diversify its purchases in recent years.

Analysts point out that India remains reliant on Russia in both the defense and energy sectors.

Calling Russia India’s “valued and time-tested partner,” Jaishankar said ties between the two countries “are based on strategic convergence on geopolitical interests.”

The two countries also signed agreements related to the construction of future power-generating units at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant that is being built in southern India with Russian assistance.

During the visit, Jaishankar called India’s relations with Russia “the only constant in global politics.”

In a meeting with Indians living in Moscow on Tuesday, he said that “typically defense, nuclear and space are collaborations you only do with countries with whom you have a high degree of trust.”
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s former foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was rearrested on Wednesday and manhandled during the process shortly after being released on bail from a prison facility near the capital, Islamabad, in another case.  

The 67-year-old opposition politician is the deputy chief of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s opposition, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party. Both are being tried on charges of making public state secrets involving the United States while in power. Both denounce the trial as a politically driven smear campaign. 

On Wednesday, Qureshi was leaving the prison after the country’s Supreme Court approved his bail a week earlier in the so-called “cipher case” involving state secrets, but police officers quickly detained him again in the presence of his family members and media waiting outside the jail premises. (Qureshi had been prevented from leaving the prison over other allegations despite the court’s December 22 decision to grant bail.) 

Footage of him being roughed up and pushed into an armored police vehicle quickly went viral on social media and some mainstream Pakistani TV channels. It sparked widespread criticism from Qureshi’s party, politicians and civil society activists. 

The arrest came amid an ongoing military-backed crackdown on the PTI and its candidates, who are preparing to contest the February general elections that, they allege, were designed to stop them and Khan from participating in the upcoming elections. 

“This is the sorry state of affairs in Pakistan under a fascist regime, where there is no regard for the rule of law and the constitution,” a PTI statement said. 

Police said the former foreign minister was detained over his alleged involvement in attacks against military installations during anti-government protests last May, charges Qureshi rejects as politically motivated. 

There was no response from the caretaker Pakistani government, which is mandated to oversee and ensure free and transparent elections. 

Manner of arrest criticized

Mushahid Hussain, a veteran Pakistani senator and head of the parliament’s defense affairs committee, harshly criticized the way Qureshi was arrested. The senator represents the Pakistan Muslim League-N Party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the upper house of the parliament. 

“While the world around Pakistan is being transformed, at home, the country remains mired in an unending ‘political tribalism’ with such shameful scenes not only making Pakistan an international laughing-stock but also a pointer towards the country’s slow-motion descent into a lawless Republic of Fear!” Hussain wrote on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. 

Pakistani President Arif Alvi also took to X to advise authorities against turning the country into a state where “human rights and dignity are trampled upon with impunity.” Alvi is a PTI loyalist, but the president is merely a figurehead post under the constitution. 

Alvi wrote that “treating an ex foreign minister from two regimes in an undignified manner must draw the attention of the authorities.” 

Ammar Ali Jan, a human rights activist, condemned the detention of Qureshi, and demanded he be released. “This is not an arrest. It is an abduction in broad daylight by a gangster state,” Jan said on X. 

Khan still facing lawsuits

Khan, 71, was ousted from office last year through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, which he said was orchestrated by the powerful Pakistani military under pressure from the United States, charges Washington and Islamabad deny. 

Since his ousting, the cricket hero-turned-prime-minister has faced dozens of lawsuits filed by authorities, which he claims to be a ploy by the military to prevent his return to power. 

The cipher case stems from charges Khan revealed a confidential diplomatic exchange between Washington and Islamabad for political gains. The deposed prime minister maintains the contents of the leaked, confidential exchange serves as evidence that the U.S. orchestrated the toppling of his government, and that he was bound to share the “foreign conspiracy” with his voters. 

In early August, Khan was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison. He denies the charges. Although an appeals court later suspended his sentence and ordered his release on bail, Pakistani authorities have refused, citing other lawsuits against him. 
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Environmentalists and local communities in India’s Himalayan region are raising concerns that a massive infrastructure push in the mountains is making them more disaster prone. They say climate change is exacerbating the impact of large-scale development projects such as roads and dams in one of the world’s most fragile regions. Anjana Pasricha has this report. (Camera: Kritagya Pandav)
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New Delhi — Lila Devi’s family built a new home after their house in Khanyara village in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh collapsed when intense rains lashed the Himalayan mountains this summer.

They moved to lower slopes where they own a patch of land – they had to sell a part of it to fund the new home. They hope they will be safer if a flash flood inundates their village again, but memory of the torrent of water and debris that coursed down the hill still haunts them.

“We keep praying to God that this never happens again. Does anyone want to abandon their home?” said Devi. Her brother-in-law is equally apprehensive. “I am frightened to even venture up the hill because I witnessed the deluge with my own eyes,” said Ramel Singh.

They were among thousands impacted by a series of unprecedented disasters that ravaged India’s Himalayan region this year. The devastation has raised questions whether large-scale infrastructure development along with the impact of climate change is making the mountains more disaster-prone.

In Joshimath town, hundreds of people were evacuated from houses that developed huge cracks when land began sinking in January. In the monsoons, heavy rains unleashed landslides and floods that swept away roads and buildings in several towns and villages. In October, a glacial lake in Sikkim state overflowed, flooding many villages. Last month, 41 men were trapped in an under-construction road tunnel for 17 days.

In recent years, India has fast-tracked construction of highways, hydroelectric dams, bridges and rail lines in the Himalayan mountains. Environmentalists point out that hillsides are being blasted, tunnels drilled and trees cut at a time when global warming is bringing more intense bursts of rain and causing glaciers to melt.

“Climate change is a force multiplier. These projects when they were planned had not taken climate change into account,” said Anjal Prakash, a research director at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.

“What if 250 millimeters of rain falls in just two days which is the order of the day now in the Himalayas? That means the road infrastructure, the tunnel infrastructure must adhere to these new realities, the new normal that we have.

Development is needed in the Indian Himalayas – home to 50 million people. Dams ramp up clean energy and light villages, while roads cater to an ever-growing influx of tourists, boost local economies and create livelihoods.

Highway construction is also a vital strategic project – India is accelerating road construction to ferry troops and military equipment to India’s tense border with China where tens of thousands of soldiers remain deployed for a fourth year.

But local communities fear that the infrastructure push is destabilizing the mountains. In Joshimath town, where homes developed cracks, some residents said that the rampant construction had caused the land to sink.

Joshimath resident, Vikesh Sikri, who runs a hotel close by, said while schools and roads are necessary, more caution is necessary. “Tinkering too much with the mountains will make them loose and crack or damage hillsides,” he said.

Last month the spotlight turned on a flagship project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government – a 900-kilometer all-weather network of roads being built to improve connectivity to four Hindu pilgrim sites in the Himalayas. The 41 men who were trapped in a road tunnel before being rescued had been working on the project.

Some environmental groups had raised questions about the viability of the two-lane road that will wind through high mountains.

“The road will go through some areas about which we have limited understanding,” according to Rajneesh Sareen, Program Director of the Sustainable Buildings and Habitat Program at New Delhi’s Center for Science and Environment. “The variation in environment within just two to three kilometers in the mountains can be huge. Detailed studies have not been done in some of these areas, so how do we assess the likely impact of construction?”

Environmentalists say there is no time to lose in switching to more sustainable development in mountain ranges that are warming faster than other parts of the planet.

“Climate change is striking us very fast. The window of opportunity is only 10 to 15 years. If we don’t put our act together, we will have a much bleaker future,”

according to Prakash.

The climate crisis that the Himalayas are facing also got attention at the Cop28 climate summit held in Dubai earlier this month.

“It is deeply shocking to learn how fast the Himalayan glaciers are melting. And deeply distressing to hear first-hand from local communities about the terrible impact on their lives,” United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said. His comments followed a visit he made to Nepal last month.

In India, those who have seen their mountain homes collapse, like Lila Devi’s family, are apprehensive. “I worry that our new home might get flooded. People say that might happen when the rains come,” said Swarna Devi in Khanyara village.

Echoing her concerns, her father-in-law, Ramel Singh, pointed to the mountains around. “This is where we want to stay because these hills have been our home for generations.”

 
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ISLAMABAD — A high court in Pakistan allowed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party Tuesday to use its iconic cricket bat logo as an election symbol, a crucial legal victory for the jailed leader ahead of national polls in February. 

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, was stripped of the symbol by the Election Commission of Pakistan, or ECP, citing irregularities in the party’s internal elections. PTI leaders rejected the decision as illegal and a “shameful attempt” to stop the country’s largest political force from contesting elections.  

“Today, the election commission’s decision against PTI, in which its election symbol, the cricket bat, was unjustly revoked through an illegal and unconstitutional order, has been suspended,” PTI lawyer Syed Ali Zafar told reporters outside the court in the northwestern city of Peshawar, where the party filed its appeal.  

The court directed the electoral watchdog, in its ruling, to reinstate PTI’s cricket bat symbol “keeping in view the urgency that a political party has been denuded of its symbol, meaning hereby that aspirants from the general public who were willing to vote for the petitioners’ party were divested of their right to vote as per their choice.” 

Election symbols are essential campaign tools for identifying candidates on ballot papers in Pakistan, a country with a population of about 241 million people and an adult literacy rate of about 60%. 

PTI has increasingly complained of a government crackdown on its candidates and campaign meetings, saying the unlawful attempt to deprive it of its traditional bat symbol was also part of efforts to keep Khan and his party from the upcoming elections.

According to public opinion polls, the incarcerated Khan is the most popular political figure in Pakistan and his PTI is rated as the biggest national political party.

In a Tuesday editorial, the English-language Dawn newspaper raised questions about the legitimacy of the elections in the wake of the crackdown on Khan supporters and attempts to exclude his party from the electoral exercise. 

“The state’s attempts to cancel the PTI must cease, and all parties need to have a level playing field during elections. Let the people of Pakistan decide who is to steer the ship of state for the next five years. Political maneuvering has never worked, and will only exacerbate our multiple crises,” the paper wrote.  

Khan, 71, was removed from office last year through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, which he said was orchestrated by the powerful Pakistani military under pressure from the United States, charges Washington and Islamabad deny.

Since his ousting, the cricket hero-turned-prime minister has faced dozens of lawsuits filed by authorities, which he claims to be a ploy by the military to prevent his comeback to power because of his advocacy for an independent foreign policy for Pakistan, one free from the influence of the United States. 

In early August, Khan was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison.  He denies the charges. Although a higher court later suspended his sentence and ordered his release on bail, Pakistani authorities have refused, citing other lawsuits against him.

Khan is also being tried by a special court behind closed doors on allegations he disclosed classified state information to the public while in office. He denies any wrongdoing. 

The military has staged several coups against elected governments since Pakistan gained independence from Britain in 1947, leading to more than three decades of military rule. The interventions have encouraged generals to meddle in national politics even when not in power, prompting sustained criticism of the security institution in recent years. 

In November 2022, the then-army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, admitted in a nationally televised speech just days before he retired that decades of meddling in politics had exposed the military to criticism.   
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NEW DELHI — An explosion near the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday caused no deaths or injuries among staff members, authorities said, adding that investigations into its cause were ongoing.

Officials were still inspecting the area, but it has been reopened to the public. There was no information suggesting anyone on the street had been hurt.

Israel urged its citizens in India, specifically in New Delhi, to exercise caution. The blast “may have been an attack,” Israel’s National Security Council said in a statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Israeli missions around the world have been on alert amid a rise in antisemitic attacks since Israel launched its counteroffensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

“We can confirm that around 5:20 p.m. there was a blast at close proximity to the embassy,” Israeli Embassy spokesperson Guy Nir told Reuters, adding that local police and security teams were investigating.

Nothing had been found in the search operation three hours after the blast, an official involved in the investigation told Reuters.

In January 2021, a small bomb went off near the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi; no one was hurt. An Israeli official said at the time that Israel was treating the blast as a terrorist incident.
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VATRY, FRANCE — A charter plane that was grounded in France for a human trafficking investigation arrived in India with 276 Indians aboard early Tuesday, authorities said.

The passengers had been heading to Nicaragua but were instead blocked inside the Vatry Airport for four days in an exceptional holiday ordeal.

The regional administration said that 276 of the original 303 passengers were en route to Mumbai, and that 25 others requested asylum in France.

Those who remained were transferred to a special zone in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport for asylum-seekers, it said.

The passengers grounded in France had included a 21-month-old child and several unaccompanied minors.

The remaining two passengers were initially detained as part of a human trafficking investigation but were released Monday after appearing before a judge, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

The judge named them as ‘’assisted witnesses” to the case, a special status under French law that allows time for further investigation and could lead to eventual charges or to the case being dropped.

The Legend Airlines A340 plane stopped Thursday for refueling in Vatry en route from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates for Managua, Nicaragua, and was grounded by police based on an anonymous tip that it could be carrying human trafficking victims.

Prosecutors wouldn’t comment on whether the passengers’ ultimate destination could have been the U.S., which has seen a surge in Indians crossing the Mexico-U.S. border this year.

French authorities are working to determine the aim of the original flight, and opened a judicial inquiry into activities by an organized criminal group helping foreigners enter or stay in a country illegally, the prosecutor’s office said.

It did not specify Monday whether human trafficking — which the U.N. defines as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit” — is still suspected.

The Vatry airport was requisitioned by police for days. Local officials, medics and volunteers installed cots and ensured regular meals and showers for those held inside.

Then it turned into a makeshift courtroom Sunday as judges, lawyers and interpreters filled the terminal to carry out emergency hearings to determine the next steps.

Some lawyers at Sunday’s hearings protested authorities’ handling of the situation and the passengers’ rights, suggesting that police and prosecutors overreacted to the anonymous tip.

The Indian Embassy posted its thanks on X, formerly Twitter, to French officials for ensuring that the Indians could go home. French authorities worked through Christmas Eve and Christmas morning on formalities to allow passengers to leave France, regional prosecutor Annick Browne told The Associated Press.

Foreigners can be held up to four days in a transit zone for police investigations in France, after which a special judge must rule on whether to extend that to eight days.

Legend Airlines lawyer Liliana Bakayoko said some passengers didn’t want to go to India because they had paid for a tourism trip to Nicaragua. The airline has denied any role in possible human trafficking.

The U.S. government has designated Nicaragua as one of several countries deemed as failing to meet minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking.

Nicaragua has also been used as a migratory springboard for people fleeing poverty or conflict because of relaxed or visa-free entry requirements for some countries. Sometimes charter flights are used for the journey.

 
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Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir — The Indian army ordered on Monday a Court of Inquiry to probe the circumstances around the deaths of three civilians on Friday in Poonch district on the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir.

India and Pakistan each control parts of Muslim-majority Kashmir, where militants have fought Indian security forces for decades.

Troops from 48 Rashtriya Rifles — a counterinsurgency force of the Indian army — had detained eight people from Topa Pir village in the Poonch district for questioning after a deadly ambush on security forces on Dec. 21.

In the attack by anti-India rebels, four Indian soldiers were killed and three others injured.

Local residents and family members of those detained alleged all eight civilians were tortured, with three of them — identified as Safeer Hussain, Mohammad Showkat and Shabir Ahmed – dying while in military custody.

Videos allegedly showing the torture of the detained civilians were circulated on social media, which triggered anger among local residents.

“Two of the three men, including my nephew, seen in the video died in army custody due to inhumane treatment,” Mohammad Siddiq, a shopkeeper and an elected member of the local self-government body known as Panchayat, told VOA. “Five other people are battling for their lives.”

In a statement released late Saturday, the Indian military said “reports have been received regarding three civilian deaths” in Poonch, The Associated Press reported. The statement continued, “The matter is under investigation. Indian army stands committed to extending full support and cooperation in the conduct of investigations,” according to AP.

Local media on Sunday reported that four senior officers were removed from their unit following the demands by locals and regional pro-India political parties to ensure a fair investigation into the matter.

Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand, public relations officer of the Indian army in the Jammu region, told VOA. “I am not aware of any incident as I am on leave.”

Haseeb Mughal, deputy inspector general of police in Rajouri-Poonch range, confirmed to VOA that police have filed a first information report in the case at Surankote police station in Poonch.”

He refused to provide any additional information.

The alleged custodial killings triggered protests on the Indian side of Kashmir led by politicians affiliated with pro-India political parties.

“We condemned the killing of our security forces and similarly we condemn the killings of civilians,” National Conference General-Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar told VOA. “We demand [a] fair probe into this matter and punishment should be given to everyone involved in this criminal activity.”

Guftar Ahmed Chowdhary, an advocate and political activist from the region, told VOA that people in and around the village are terrified after the incident.

“The sad part is that the people living in Rajouri and Poonch have stood for the nation and the army,” Chowdhary said. “People demand exemplary punishment to be given to the culprits involved in heinous crime.”

Choudhary Mohd Yasin, deputy commissioner of Poonch, did not respond to calls from VOA for comment.

In a separate incident, militants on Sunday morning killed the former senior superintendent of police, Mohammad Shafi, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Shafi was offering morning prayers at a local mosque.
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KABUL, Afghanistan — Bahara Rustam, 13, took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul on Dec. 11 knowing it was the end of her education. Under Taliban rule, she is unlikely to step foot in a classroom again.

In September 2021, a month after U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan following two decades of war, the Taliban announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade.

They extended this education ban to universities in December 2022. The Taliban have defied global condemnation and warnings that the restrictions will make it almost impossible for them to gain recognition as the country’s legitimate rulers.

Last week, U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva expressed concern that a generation of Afghan girls is falling behind with each day that passes.

Last week, an official in the Education Ministry said Afghan girls of all ages are allowed to study in religious schools known as madrassas, which have traditionally been boys-only. But Otunbayeva said it was unclear if there was a standardized curriculum that allowed modern subjects.

Bahara is holding onto her education and pores over textbooks at home. “Graduating (from sixth grade) means we are going to seventh grade,” she said. “But all of our classmates cried and we were very disappointed.”

There was no graduation ceremony for the girls at Bibi Razia School.

In another part of Kabul, 13-year-old Setayesh Sahibzada wonders what the future holds for her. She is sad she can’t go to school anymore to achieve her dreams.

“I can’t stand on my own two feet,” she said. “I wanted to be a teacher. But now I can’t study, I can’t go to school.”

Analyst Muhammad Saleem Paigir warned that excluding women and girls from education will be disastrous for Afghanistan. “We understand that illiterate people can never be free and prosperous,” he said.

The Taliban have barred women from many public spaces and most jobs, all but confining women to their homes.
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