A massive fire broke out in the middle of a refugee camp occupied by Myanmar Rohingya refugees in southeastern Bangladesh, leaving thousands homeless under the open sky, officials said Sunday.

At least 1,000 shanties, mostly made of bamboo and tarpaulin in the Balukhali refugee camp, were gutted by fire, Bangladesh’s deputy refugee commissioner, Shamsud Douza, said.

“This is however an estimated number,” he told VOA.

The U.N. refugee agency in Bangladesh later said in a tweet that Rohingya refugee volunteers trained on firefighting and local fire services controlled the fire.

The number of casualties remained unknown although officials said they managed to take many people away to safety.

Some refugees, though, said they had missing family members.

One such refugee, Mohammad Saiful, said he was out collecting relief supplies from a distribution center a few blocks away when the fire started.

“I managed to find my wife and four children but still have not found my mother,” the 42-year-old told VOA.

Another refugee, Nur Mohammad, said his two children were missing amid the chaos.

Refugee community leader Sawyed Ullah said more than 3,000 shanties had been gutted as the hilly camps were difficult for firefighters to reach.

“It [fire incidents] is happening repeatedly. People are becoming refugees twice – driven away from home first and then homeless within the camp,” he told VOA.

Fire station operator Shahedul Islam said seven firefighting units rushed to the overcrowded camps.

“The reason behind the fire is still unknown. We will be able to tell once the fire comes under complete control,” he said.

Refugee Commissioner Mizanur Rahman said they were at the rescue stage of the operation and later will set up an investigation committee.

“These camps are already prone to fire hazard. And during this time of the year, the fire spreads very quickly,” he said.

This was the third major fire in the last three years. In 2021, a fire killed at least 15 and left 50,000 homeless for days.

Last March, a huge blaze killed a minor and left some 2,000 people homeless.

The commissioner said fire incidents are becoming very common in the densely populated camps and he feared potential sabotage.

“There are groups within the camps who often fight between themselves to establish power over each other. It is a security threat and this fire could be their work,” he told VOA.

He said the intelligence agencies were probing the matters and one person was detained as a suspect in this regard from the camp.

At least 740,000 Rohingya Muslims arrived in the already overcrowded Bangladeshi refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar district in 2017. They were fleeing fatal violence involving security forces and Buddhist militias in the northern Rakhine district of majority Buddhist Myanmar.

Nearly 1.1 million refugees are now living in the squalid spread of a 28-square-kilometer camp that was once a sanctuary for rare Asian wild elephants.

Barred from regular occupations by Dhaka, many Rohingya often become desperate for a better life and become involved with criminal activity.

(Monir Uddin in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh contributed to this report.)
…

India may issue an alert on cough syrup exported by Marion Biotech, whose products have been linked to deaths in Uzbekistan, after tests showed many of the company’s drug samples contained toxins, a drug inspector said Saturday.

Indian police arrested three Marion employees Friday and are looking for two directors after tests in a government laboratory found 22 of 36 syrup samples “adulterated and spurious.”

New Delhi is pursuing the issue even as the government has pushed back against allegations that cough syrup made by another Indian company, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, led to the deaths of children in Gambia last year.

Vaibhav Babbar, an inspector involved in the Marion probe, told Reuters the samples had been adulterated with ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol — the toxins that the World Health Organization says were found in the products sold by the two companies in the two countries.

As many as 70 children have died in Gambia and 19 in Uzbekistan.

More than 300 children, most under age 5, in Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan died last year of acute kidney injury associated with contaminated medicines, the WHO said in January.

In addition, it said the Philippines, Timor Leste, Senegal and Cambodia might be affected because they may have the medicines on sale. It also called for “immediate and concerted action” among its 194 member states to prevent more deaths.

“Because Marion’s drugs have gone to so many countries, I pray nothing happens elsewhere,” Babbar said. “The health ministry could issue an alert. They may do it. It will be good to issue an alert.”

He said he did not know whether an alert was under active consideration.

An Indian health ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Marion did not answer calls from Reuters and did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

A government alert would warn people in all countries to take the products off their shelves, though it carries no legal penalty.

Babbar said the drugs had also been exported to Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia.

Babbar has been part of a team that inspected Marion’s plant four times after Uzbekistan said in December the children died after consuming the company’s cough syrups. India suspended Marion’s production soon after.

Analysis by Uzbekistan’s health ministry showed the syrups, Ambronol and DOK-1 Max, were contaminated with unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol, the WHO said in a January medical product alert. The United Nations health watchdog said it was important to detect and remove these substandard products from circulation.

The syrups were administered in doses higher than the standard for children, either by parents mistaking the product for anti-cold remedies or on the advice of pharmacists, according to the analysis.

India in October suspended production at Maiden for violating manufacturing standards after the WHO said four of its cough syrups may have killed dozens of children in Gambia.

Maiden has denied that its drugs were at fault for the deaths in Gambia, and tests by an Indian government laboratory found no toxins in them.
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Gunmen in military uniforms fatally shot a governor and five civilians Saturday while the provincial leader was meeting villagers at his home in the central Philippines, in the latest brazen assault on local politicians in the country, police said.  

At least six men armed with assault rifles and wearing military-style camouflage and bullet-proof vests alighted from three SUVs and opened fire on Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, hitting him and at least five other people in front of his home in Pamplona town. The province has a history of violent political rivalries. 

Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the wife of the slain governor, said in a Facebook video that the five villagers also died.  

She demanded justice and said her husband “did not deserve that kind of death. He was serving constituents on a Saturday along with his department heads.” 

A total of 10 suspects were seen fleeing the scene and later abandoned the SUVs, police said. Police set up security checkpoints and launched a province-wide search for the suspects. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack, which took place as impoverished villagers gathered in front of Degamo’s house to seek medical and other aid. 

“My government will not rest until we have brought the perpetrators of this dastardly and heinous crime to justice,” Marcos said in a statement. 

Marcos said, without elaborating, that authorities had gathered “much information and now have a clear direction on how to proceed to bring to justice those behind this killing.” He addressed the mastermind and the killers, saying, “We will find you. If you surrender now, it will be your best option.” 

Degamo’s killing underscores that even local politicians are not immune from high-profile gun violence that has persisted despite the government’s pledge to combat it. 

Last month, Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. of the southern Lanao del Sur province, was wounded and four of his bodyguards killed in an attack on their convoy. Police said they killed one of the suspects in a clash. 

In a separate recent attack, unidentified men reportedly wearing police uniforms fired at the van of the northern Aparri town Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda, killing him and five companions in northern Nueva Vizcaya province. The suspects remain at large. 

Crimes, decadeslong Muslim and communist rebellions, and other security concerns are some of the major problems inherited by Marcos, who took office in June last year. 
…

When Syeda received a phone call last month to say that her husband, Syed Fawad Ali Shah, was in a prison in Pakistan, she thought it was a trap.

For nearly six months, Syeda had been trying to get answers after Shah abruptly disappeared from his home in Kuala Lumpur. It wasn’t until January that Malaysian authorities admitted they had deported the journalist at Pakistan’s request.

And when Syeda — who asked to be identified only by her first name — first pressed Pakistani officials for details, she said  officials told her that Shah was not in Pakistan.

Syeda said she also has been receiving threats for speaking out about the case, which is why she was suspicious of the February phone call.

But the call was not a trap. And on February 9, Syeda was finally able to see her husband.

The reunion was bittersweet.

“When I saw my husband in jail, I have lots of tears in my eyes. And I [couldn’t] speak that time because of my emotions,” she told VOA, adding that Shah too was emotional. “At that time, my heart wanted that I hug my husband,” she said. But a barrier was between them.

The couple had last spoken on August 22, 2022 — one of their regular calls because Shah had been living in exile in Malaysia since 2011 and Syeda was still in Pakistan.

Now that Shah has been located, his wife and lawyers are starting to learn details of what happened to him.

The journalist has said that he was transported out of Malaysia on a stretcher, and believes he was drugged. Since then, he has mostly been held in various dark cells and tortured, Syeda says.

Pakistan has detained the journalist on accusations of “defamation,” “intimidation” of officials, and posting “false, frivolous and fake information” online, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Shah’s lawyers and press freedom advocates say the charges are baseless and in retaliation for the reporter’s critical coverage of Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agencies.

And when Pakistan requested that Shah be deported, Malaysia says that authorities claimed he was a police officer wanted for disciplinary proceedings. His wife says he never worked for the police.

When asked about Shah’s case and claims of abuse in detention, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told VOA that the case is before the courts.

Because of that, Baloch said, “I would not like to pass judgment on any statement made by Mr. Shah or anybody else, including the media. The courts will hear the evidence and justice will be done in this case.”

Lawyer calls complaint process ‘abusive’

Imaan Mazari-Hazir, an Islamabad-based lawyer representing Shah, said the journalist is dealing with several legal complaints filed across multiple jurisdictions.

“The actual process in and of itself is an abusive process, and that’s what the purpose of these proceedings is. It’s not actually to convict him. It’s to make him run from pillar to post,” Mazari-Hazir told VOA. The whole process is designed “to financially, emotionally, physically exhaust you.”

Despite Shah being in Pakistan since August, police have not yet taken the steps to move to trial, Mazari-Hazir said.

Pakistan had been trying to have Shah repatriated since the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees granted him refugee status in 2014, according to RSF.

In deporting him last August, it seems the Malaysian government believed Shah was a police officer facing disciplinary charges in Pakistan, Mazari-Hazir said.

“This is at the very least negligence on the part of the Malaysian government,” she said.

Amna Baloch, the High Commissioner of Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur, told VOA this week she did not have any details about the case.

The Malaysian Embassy in Washington did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

After speaking with Shah’s lawyers and wife, RSF has concluded that Shah was held incommunicado for five and a half months in various cells of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency.

He was officially transferred on February 8 to Adiala Jail, the main prison in the city of Rawalpindi, before being moved to a jail in the city of Peshawar 10 days later.

The Pakistani Embassy in Washington did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

‘His whole body was shaking’

Syeda was allowed to visit her husband again in the Peshawar prison on February 21.

“My husband’s health and mental condition is not very good at this time,” she told VOA. “He has become very weak, and his whole body was shaking.”

When she first saw him in early February, she said it looked like he had been tortured.

“Lots of black marks on his face,” she said but did not specify what had happened to him.

Shah’s lawyers and advocates want him released and moved out of Pakistan.

“The overall objective is to just get him out of the country because obviously he’s not safe here,” Mazari-Hazir said. International pressure will be crucial to accomplishing that goal, she said.

The persecution of journalists has been typical in Pakistan for many years, but targeting journalists outside the country is growing more common, according to Daniel Bastard, head of the Asia-Pacific desk at RSF.

Shah’s situation is dire, and it underscores the broader threats to critical journalists in and outside Pakistan, but this development is still an encouraging step, Bastard told VOA.

“It was a relief when we found him in the end,” he said.

Taha Siddiqui, an exiled Pakistani journalist living in France, agreed.

“Within the larger picture of the bad news, this is a very good development,” Siddiqui told VOA from Paris. “But we must not forget that the good news will be when he is completely free.”

Syeda still worries that she could face retaliation. “I am not secure in Pakistan,” she said. When her husband is released, she said they want to go to “any safe country.”

“In Pakistan, journalists have no right to freely write,” she said. “Journalists who write freely are treated like my husband.”
…

Shot by an unidentified assailant and left bleeding on the street, Indian journalist Devendra Khare considers himself lucky to have escaped with his life.

The Uttar Pradesh correspondent for News1India had been talking with friends outside his office on February 26 when two men on a motorbike pulled up next to them. One of them opened fire.

Khare suffered gunshot wounds to his stomach and right hand, and says he is now under police protection.

Beh Lih Yi of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) told VOA that the attack on Khare underscores the precarious conditions for local journalists in India.

At least three have been killed since 2022; journalists are regularly attacked or threatened; and media offices including the BBC have been raided.

Shooting comes after report

A journalist for more than two decades, Khare told VOA he has never been attacked in this way before.

In Khare’s police complaint, he named Rituraj Singh as allegedly being involved. Singh is the brother of Pushpraj Singh, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Jaunpur district.

Just a few days before the shooting, Khare had reported on Rituraj Singh’s alleged involvement in an assault.

Khare told VOA that Singh’s associates had pressured him to retract the story.

“Rituraj’s associates warned me not to report the incident,” Khare said, adding that he believes the attack on him may be related.

VOA was unable to find contact details for Rituraj Singh.

VOA contacted the BJP state office via email to ask for comment and more information, but as of publication had not received a response.

But Pushpraj Singh was cited in local media denying the allegations against his brother.

“This is a big conspiracy against me. I am the district president of BJP. My detractors are unable to find any reason to target me and are hence, finding ways to target my family,” Pushpraj Singh said.

Narrow escape

On the day he was attacked, Khare had just left his office in Jaunpur.

“I was talking with other journalists outside my office,” he recalled. “Suddenly, two men on a bike pulled up near us, and one of them, covering his face with a piece of cloth, approached us and fired a pistol at me.”

One of the bullets hit Khare’s mobile phone before striking him.

“The bullet hit my right-hand finger, which was holding my cell phone, but luckily, the phone stopped the bullet.”

A second bullet missed him narrowly, and Khare fell to the ground. He believes the assailant may have assumed “he had hit me as I was bleeding profusely.”

A shopkeeper saw the attack and tried to stop it, throwing a stone at the gunman who fired back, Khare said. Fortunately, the gunman missed. “The attacker fled the scene, firing a few more shots in the air.”

Khare said that his condition is stable and that he now has police protection.

“I have complete faith in the police and judiciary of Uttar Pradesh,” he told VOA.

‘Worrying pattern of attacks’

CPJ’s Beh said she hopes that state police “swiftly hold the perpetrators accountable and take action to guarantee the safety of journalists under threat.”

In an email to VOA, Beh said the CPJ has documented several cases in India recently, “ranging from censorship to raids at the BBC offices and the killing of journalist Shashikant Warishe, who reported on a land dispute.”

If India doesn’t act on these issues, she said, it will be “sending the wrong signal to the world in the year that the country chairs the G20.”

“India must realize a free press is the foundation of a functioning democracy and stop treating journalism as a crime,” she said.

India is one of the most dangerous countries for media, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

“Journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence including police violence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt local officials,” says the media watchdog’s country assessment.

On the RSF press freedom rankings, India ranks 150 out of 180 countries, where 1 has the best media environment.

Tim Crook, who is chair of the professional practices board of the Chartered Institute of Journalists in Britain, told VOA that the attack on Khare is “an example of an extremely worrying pattern of attacks on journalists” in India.

“The reputation of India’s democracy will depend on the engagement of a robust, independent and effective investigation of such intimidation and attacks on working journalists and bring those responsible to justice,” Crook said via email.

In Khare’s case, the violent attack left him undeterred. “I will not give in to these assaults and [will] continue my work as a journalist and report the truth,” he told VOA.
…

Every morning since 2021, 26-year-old Sabira Saidi would wear her black hijab and face mask and go to work accompanied by her father or brother.

Saidi, who worked as a case worker for London-based Children in Crisis in Kabul and Maidan Wardak provinces, put up with all the restrictions imposed on women after the fall of Kabul into the hands of the Taliban to keep her job and support her family of 10.

But things changed for Saidi and thousands of women working with nongovernment organizations after the Taliban barred women from working with national and international NGOs on December 24 of last year.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Economy sent a letter to NGOs ordering them to suspend Afghan female employees “until further notice.”

In the letter, the Taliban said that the ban was imposed because female employees of NGOs were not wearing the hijab properly.

Saidi and other women working with NGOs, who spoke to VOA Afghanistan, say they abided by the Taliban’s dress codes.

They say the Taliban’s ban on women working in NGOs was part of the Taliban’s strategy to erase women from public space.

A few days before the NGO ban, the Taliban ordered universities to suspend female students’ access to the universities. The group had already banned girls’ secondary education.

After returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban steadily imposed some repressive measures against women, including banning them from secondary education, working in the government, traveling long distance without a close male relative and going to parks and gyms.

The U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, in a report released February 9, considered these measures as an attempt to “erase women from all public spaces.”

The report added that “the cumulative effect of the Taliban’s systematic discrimination against women raises concerns about the commission of international crimes.”

Lost hope

Saidi said that now she spends all day at home, which has taken its toll on her.

“We suffer psychologically and financially,” she said.

Saidi said for now her organization pays her, but she is “not sure for how long it will continue.”

“My work as a case worker was to visit them [children] to see their lives from near and assess their living conditions. And then to see how we could provide them services,” said Saidi. “How can I do my job from home?”

She talks to her colleagues “daily to see if there is a change in the Taliban’s policies,” but “no one knows how long we will have to stay at home.”

“I lost my hopes,” said Saidi, adding that, “If I had my passport, I would not stay for a day in Afghanistan.”

Humanitarian crisis

Last month, the U.N. deputy special representative and humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, told journalists that 28 million people in the country depend on humanitarian aid for survival.

Since the Taliban’s return to power, “the gross domestic product [GDP] declined by up to 35 percent, the cost of a basic food basket rose by 30 percent and unemployment by 40 percent,” according to Alakbarov.

The Taliban’s restrictions have made it difficult for aid organization to work in Afghanistan, said Janti Soeripto, president and CEO of Save the Children, U.S. adding that the country is facing a humanitarian crisis.

“Operationally, it’s really impossible to do our work well and effectively without women. Women help us reach women and children in particular,” said Soeripto.

She said Save the Children has “made it clear” to the Taliban that “we will not work without our female colleagues,” adding the organization abided by the Taliban’s dress codes and female employees were accompanied by a “mahram,” a close male relative.

Save the Children has been in Afghanistan since 1976, working in 17 out of 34 provinces, with 5,000 employees in the country and half of them are women, according to Soeripto.

She added that among the 55,000 people working with NGOs in Afghanistan, one-third of them were women.

Soeripto told VOA that though her organization was able to start back its activities in the health and in the education sectors, they must get authorization not only at national but provincial level as well.

She said the Taliban gave them more assurances, but “we want to see actions not just the words.”

International pressure

Shinkai Karokhail, a former member of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of Afghanistan’s parliament, told VOA that the international community should increase pressure on the Taliban’s leaders.

“It should not be something that the people of Afghan pay the cost. … It should be sanctions on those Taliban who are making decisions,” said Karokhail.

“But the world should not remain silent,” said a 27-year-old woman, who asked VOA to use the pseudonym “Arizo” for security reasons.

Arizo was the only breadwinner of her family and lost her job with an international NGO after the Taliban’s ban on women working with NGOs.

“The world should not recognize the Taliban as they have imposed restrictions on women and violated human rights,” she told VOA.

Arizo, Saidi and thousands of other women working with NGOs, now staying home after the Taliban ban, are worried about what the future holds for them.

Under the Taliban, “I see a bleak future for me and my family,” said Arizo.

This story originated in VOA’s Afghan service.
…

In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken observed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has fostered deep fear in a region that remains wary of Moscow’s intentions. 

“If a powerful country is willing to try to erase the borders of a sovereign neighbor by force, what’s to stop it from doing the same to others?” he asked.  

Blinken made the case that U.S. support for Ukraine helps prevent other countries from falling victim to imperial ambitions. 

“That’s exactly why we remain committed to standing for the sovereignty, the territorial integrity, the independence not only of Ukraine, but for countries across Central Asia and, indeed, around the world,” Blinken told journalists in Tashkent.

But some analysts say that although countries are receptive to the U.S. views, questions remain about Washington’s commitment to developing economic and energy ties in the region, as well as uncertainty about its Afghanistan policy.  

Astana’s posture 

Kazakhstan and Russia share a border longer than 7,500 kilometers, currently under demarcation.  

Continuing to thread a needle since the invasion, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi said Astana appreciated U.S. support, yet emphasized that his country is not threatened by Russia.

“Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Commonwealth of Independent States with other states surrounding Russia. So we consider our relationship as an alliance in the framework of all these multilateral structures,” Tileuberdi told reporters alongside Blinken.

“Kazakhstan has very historic ties with both Russia and Ukraine. Our economies are interconnected … that’s why this situation is quite heavy for us, for our economy, and we are trying to avoid any negative effects from the sanctions.”   

Tileuberdi also highlighted that Kazakhstan is America’s top economic partner in Central Asia. Bilateral trade turnover exceeded $3 billion in 2022, more than 37 percent higher than the previous year. Total foreign direct investment from the U.S. surpasses $62 billion, with about 590 businesses running on American capital.  

Blinken applauded Kazakhstan for hosting more than 200,000 Russian citizens who have fled their country since the beginning of the war. And Kazakhstan has provided humanitarian supplies to Ukraine.  

The Biden administration strongly endorses President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s reform program. “We look forward to seeing additional concrete steps,” Blinken said, “expanding public participation in the political process, increasing government accountability, curbing corruption, introducing presidential term limits, protecting human rights.”   

US help for Central Asia?  

The U.S. set up the Economic Resilience Initiative for Central Asia last year with $25 million “to expand regional trade routes, establish new export markets, attract and leverage greater private sector investment.” In Astana, Blinken announced an additional $25 million for this program.  

“It’s not a very serious gesture,” said Jennifer Murtazashvili, governance and development expert at the University of Pittsburgh. “$50 million is insignificant compared to what other powers are bringing in.” 

Murtazashvili thinks the U.S. can truly be a unique partner but sees Washington failing to offer a clear strategic reason to be in Central Asia.  

“None of these countries want to be Russia’s vassals. They want more alternatives in all directions, including to the south via Afghanistan. But America does not seem to want to talk about Afghanistan now,” Murtazashvili said.  

Blinken joined the C5+1 dialogue in Astana with five Central Asian foreign ministers and held bilateral meetings with each of them.

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have pressed the U.S. not to isolate Afghanistan following the Taliban’s 2021 victory. “Afghanistan is part of Central Asia and Washington has a moral obligation to help,” Murtazashvili asserts.  

In Tashkent, talking with the U.S. delegation, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called for active engagement within the U.N. and support of regional infrastructure projects to aid Afghanistan’s people and economy.   

Blinken acknowledged the Uzbek government’s “generous aid to the people of Afghanistan, from electricity to emergency humanitarian assistance, especially to women and girls.”  

“We should understand where these governments are at present and work with them based on mutual interests,” Murtazashvili said.  

U.S. officials say that is exactly what Washington is doing: focusing on strengthening and diversifying energy and commercial linkages, so Central Asians are not dependent on one country or source for trade and investment. “There’s a very strong potential market here, and the more connectivity we have among the countries … the more investment it’s going to attract from outside of Central Asia,” Blinken said.  

He pointed out that the U.S. spent $25 million in English-language education in Uzbekistan for the past five years, training 15,000 teachers and providing textbooks to 10,000 schools.  

Promote good governance, increase assistance in education and technology,  Murtazashvili said. “But Washington does not have a credible record in promoting democracy.”  

“Leaders in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have overpromised but underdelivered. They are being very shortsighted,” she added, assessing that their respective publics are more demanding and critical than ever, noting mass protests of recent years. 

Human rights promotion 

“The U.S. can walk and chew gum when it comes to taking a principled stand on these countries’ backsliding on human rights,” said Steve Swerdlow, a law professor at the University of Southern California, who is also a longtime Central Asia researcher.  

“Despite enormous frustrations in urging Astana and Tashkent to pursue reforms, successive U.S. administrations have done well in securing the release of imprisoned human rights defenders and journalists —something that unfortunately Washington must still invest political capital into.” 

For U.S. policy in Central Asia to deliver results, Swerdlow said, “Washington should stand up for those courageously and peacefully pushing for openness and accountability.”  

Uzbekistan’s acting foreign minister, Bakhtiyor Saidov, underlined America’s continued support of Mirziyoyev’s reform agenda “aimed at ensuring good governance, rule of law, human rights, as well as deepening good and friendly relationships with our neighbors.”  

Washington wants to see the full implementation of this agenda, Blinken reiterated, including delivering on commitments to defend religious freedom and press freedom. “The progress that Uzbekistan has made on labor rights shows just how transformative that agenda can be.” 

He urged Uzbekistan to fully and transparently investigate allegations of human rights violations “committed by law enforcement officers during July 2022 unrest, holding accountable those responsible.” Blinken was referring to mass violence in Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan. 

“We talked about the importance of media freedom, having a strong space for civil society, and we did discuss briefly as well the constitutional reform process.”  

Blinken underscored the importance of having a vibrant and well-resourced local media.   

“It’s certainly true that Russia has built up a very strong and long-enduring propaganda and misinformation system that is felt here … and the best answer to that, of course, is the strongest possible environment for genuinely free, independent, open media to bring the facts to people and let them make up their minds,” Blinken said.
…

Pakistan’s economic crisis is hitting the health sector hard. Pakistan relies heavily on imports such as raw material needed to manufacture medicines and complex surgical equipment. The medical supply chain is coming under increased pressure due to the country’s low foreign exchange reserves and declining rupee. Sarah Zaman reports from Islamabad. Camera and edit: Wajid Asad, Waqar Ahmad
…

Pakistan’s currency fell 7% against the U.S. dollar Thursday as the government struggles to persuade the International Monetary Fund to resume lending to the cash-strapped country to help avert a default on its foreign debt.

The Pakistani rupee has weakened to a record low in recent weeks after foreign exchange companies were allowed in January to remove a cap on the exchange rate. The currency’s official value closed at 285.09 rupees against the dollar Thursday versus 266.11 the previous day.

The market-determined currency exchange rate is a key IMF demand for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to complete before the lender’s board approves a funding tranche of more than $1 billion to Pakistan. 

Islamabad has since failed to secure the tranche, which was initially expected to be disbursed in December as part of a stalled $6.5 billion IMF bailout program, over a lack of progress on fiscal consolidation.

“A delay in IMF funding is creating uncertainty in the currency market,” said Mohammed Sohail of Topline Securities, a Karachi-based brokerage house.

The IMF program is key to unlocking other external bilateral and multilateral financing sources for Pakistan. The drawn-out negotiations between the two sides are putting pressure on government finances and the country’s more than 220 million population.  

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have dwindled to precarious levels and stood at just over $3 billion, hardly enough for three weeks of imports.

Inflation has also skyrocketed to 31.5%, according to official data published Wednesday. Food and fuel prices have soared beyond the means of many Pakistanis.

Decades of financial mismanagement, corruption, and political instability are blamed for pushing Pakistan’s economy to the brink of default. A global energy crisis and last year’s devastating floods across the country have worsened the crisis. 

The Sharif administration has already taken most other actions to keep the talks with the IMF on track. They include a hike in fuel and energy tariffs, the withdrawal of subsidies in export and power sectors and generating more revenue through new taxation in a supplementary budget.

Analysts anticipated the fiscal adjustments would likely further fuel inflation in Pakistan whether or not a deal with the IMF has been reached. 

Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar rejected reports as “malicious rumors” that the country was on the verge of a default.

“This is not only completely false but also belie the facts. SBP forex reserves have been increasing and are almost U.S. $1 billion higher than four weeks ago, despite making all external due payments on time,” Dar tweeted Thursday.

“Our negotiations with IMF are about to conclude and we expect to sign staff level agreement with IMF by next week. All economic indicators are slowly moving in the right direction,” Dar asserted. He added that foreign commercial banks had started extending facilities to Pakistan.

China, a longtime ally of Pakistan, is the only country that has helped Islamabad get a $700 million loan facility from the China Development Bank last month.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, while speaking at last month’s Munich Security Conference, urged Pakistan to collect more taxes from the wealthy and spend the money on the poor.

“Why should rich people benefit from subsidies when the country faces such a difficult task? Why should rich people and businesses not pay their taxes when the country has such tremendous challenges?” she asked while responding to a question about the delay in reaching a deal with Pakistan.

“In my view what is at stake is fairness in society and we will stand for this fairness, of course, very much hoping that we can get to a good point in moving the policy in Pakistan in the right direction,” Georgieva said. 

Pakistan has long been under fire for not imposing taxes on the wealthy in a country where less than 2% pay income taxes. The rest evade it either in collusion with tax authorities or by exploiting loopholes in the legal system, say financial experts. 

The World Food Program, in its latest assessment, has warned the ongoing economic crisis in Pakistan is “progressively deteriorating, with a depreciated currency, increased food and fuel prices and uncertainty over resuming a $6.5 billion funding package with the IMF.”

The statement added that flood-affected people “are resorting to negative coping strategies that include the sale of income-producing assets, taking on additional debt, withdrawing children from school, and skipping meals.”

Some information for this report came from Reuters.
…

Foreign ministers of the Group of 20 convened Thursday in the Indian capital, New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged countries to work together even if they do not agree on some issues.

“As Foreign Ministers, it is but natural that your discussions are affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day,” Modi said in a video address. “However, as the leading economies of the world, we also have a responsibility towards those who are not in this room.”

He said the world looks to the G-20 to address growth, development, economic and disaster resilience, financial stability, corruption, terrorism, and food and energy security.

“We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can,” Modi said.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told Thursday’s meeting that the group “bears an exceptional responsibility” as the world faces multiple crises. Among those challenges, Jaishankar said, were the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, secondary effects of ongoing conflicts and disruption from climate events.

The G-20 meeting comes amid deepening geopolitical tensions sparked by the war in Ukraine, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang among the attendees.

Besides the Ukraine war, tensions between Washington and Beijing have also flared after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over its east coast last month.

India’s foreign ministry said the war in Ukraine would be an important part of the talks.

“Yes, given the nature and the developing situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, naturally that will be an important point of discussions,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, India’s top diplomat, told a news conference Wednesday. India holds the G-20 presidency this year.

However, analysts said the foreign ministers meeting could see a replay of tensions that overshadowed a meeting of the group’s finance ministers hosted by India last week. That meeting concluded without issuing a joint statement following objections by China and Russia to language that sought to condemn Moscow’s aggression.

At the foreign ministers gathering, the United States and its allies will push the group to adopt a firm stance on the Ukraine war.

The European Union said the success of the meeting will be measured by what it could do about the Ukraine conflict. “This war has to be condemned,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, told reporters in New Delhi. “I hope, I am sure that India’s diplomatic capacity will be used in order to make Russia understand that this war has to finish.”

Russia, for its part, said it considers the G-20 a prestigious forum “where balanced consensus decisions should be made in the interests of all humankind.”

A statement issued by the Russian Embassy in New Delhi late Tuesday slammed the U.S. and its allies, saying their “destructive policies” have already “put the world on the brink of a disaster, provoked a rollback in socio-economic development and seriously aggravated the situation of the poorest countries.”

Analysts said that given the deep divisions, India faces a tough challenge in forging a joint position at the end of the talks.

“It looks like it is going to be a difficult ride. The meeting will see a greater contestation over Ukraine,” according to Harsh Pant, vice president for studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

Pointing out that China and Russia blocked the joint statement at the meeting of G-20 finance ministers last week, Pant said the presence of the U.S. foreign secretary along with the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers at the same forum “will call for a difficult balancing act by India to deliver a G-20 outcome.”

Despite the diplomatic challenge it faces, India expressed optimism the meeting will focus on problems being faced by many countries such as food, energy and fertilizer security – issues New Delhi has been pushing during its G-20 presidency.

“What is the understanding they develop, not just on Russia-Ukraine conflict but also the impact of that on the rest of the world, the challenges the developing countries face, those are equally important to focus on,” Kwatra said.

In all, representatives of 40 countries, including some that are not members of the bloc, such as Bangladesh, and multilateral organizations are due to participate in the meeting.

A gathering of foreign ministers of the Quad countries – the United States, India, Australia and Japan – is scheduled on the sidelines in New Delhi. The Quad is an alliance of countries that want to check China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
…

De facto Taliban authorities have announced the reopening of state-run universities in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and several other cities, but say only male students will be allowed to attend.

“According to a decision by the Supreme Council for Higher Education,” reads a short statement from the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, “studies of the male students at governmental higher education institutions in the colder provinces will officially start from [March 6] of the current year.”

Schools and universities go on annual winter break in about 24 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

The Islamist government banned higher education for female students last year, saying women had not appropriately observed gender-based religious restrictions under the prior government, which was backed by the United States.

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have also shut down secondary schools for female students, saying the ban is temporary.

“Taliban are running out of time to make a decision on reopening girls’ secondary, high school and universities,” said Orzala Nemat, an Afghan activist and researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. “This is the demand of the general public, community elders, religious scholars and even some of their own members feel embarrassed to support this un-Islamic and unjustified act.”

Afghanistan is the only country where women and girls are officially barred from education and work, according to human rights groups.

The gender-based discriminatory policy has been maintained even while it costs hundreds of millions of dollars for Afghanistan’s beleaguered economy, the United Nations has reported. 

Possible internal divisions

Facing domestic and global condemnation, some Taliban officials have reportedly shown disapproval of the government’s misogynistic policies.

“The Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, appears to insist upon these measures out of personal conviction and to assert his authority over the movement and the country,” the International Crisis Group said in a report last month.

Not seen in public, Akhundzada is nevertheless revered as a god among the Taliban. He has no term limit and has unchecked powers over everything within the Taliban government.

“The Taliban are in an internal power struggle,” said Pashtana Durrani, director of Learn Afghanistan, a nongovernment organization supporting education for girls and women.

“Right now, the Taliban are in a stalemate where they can’t remove or impeach the amir, and the amir is a man who thinks women in schools and universities are haram,” Durrani told VOA, using the Islamic term for forbidden.

For Farahnaz Forotan, a prominent female journalist who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban captured Kabul, the denial of education for girls and women is a sadistic power play by the Taliban leader with catastrophic consequences for millions of Afghans.

“How can a poor country compensate for two years of no education for girls? The losses are catastrophic and irreparable,” said Forotan, who spoke to VOA from her home in the U.S. state of Maryland.

Cracking down on internal dissent, the Taliban have defied international calls, including from renowned Islamic institutions, to lift the bans on women’s work and education, saying the world should not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

“It’s an Islamic obligation and in the national interest of Afghanistan to have its women as educated as its men,” said the University of London’s Nemat. “A well-educated new generation of women and men will eventually … dismantle the vicious cycle of colonialism in the country where our political leaders become a pawn in the hands of the superpowers of their time.”
…

Lawyers for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving a 33-year prison sentence on what are widely seen as contrived charges, have been denied meetings with her as they prepare her appeals, legal officials familiar with her situation said.

In December, a court sentenced Suu Kyi, 77, to seven years in prison on corruption charges in the last of a string of criminal cases against her, leaving her with a total of 33 years to serve. That was the last time her lawyers were able to see her in person.

The army seized power and detained Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, the day when her party would have begun a second-five-year term in office after winning a landslide victory in a November 2020 general election.

Her supporters and independent analysts say the charges against her are an attempt to legitimize the military’s seizure of power and keep her from returning to politics.

Most appeals rejected

Most of the appeals that lawyers have filed on her behalf have already been rejected, but some are still being processed, a legal official who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities told The Associated Press. Her lawyers, who had been a source of information on the proceedings, were served with gag orders in late 2021.

Currently, the lawyers are waiting for an appointment with the Supreme Court to hear their appeal of her convictions last December on five corruption charges.

The lawyers applied to prison authorities in mid-January for permission to meet with Suu Kyi to discuss the appeals, but as of Tuesday, they had not received any confirmation they can do so, the legal official said.

According to the colonial-era jail manual still in use in Myanmar’s prison system, every newly convicted prisoner should be allowed reasonable facilities for seeing or communicating with relatives or friends to prepare an appeal or to procure bail. Prisoners can communicate with any person to arrange appeals of their conviction, the law says.

Because her lawyers have been unable to meet with Suu Kyi, they cannot receive her instructions on handling her appeals or even confirm her health situation, according to a second legal official, who also asked not to be identified because he fears punishment by the authorities,

The lawyers are allowed to send parcels for Suu Kyi via prison authorities once a week.

A spokesperson for the Prisons Department did not respond to inquiries about the lawyers’ assertions. According to the jail manual, prison superintendents are allowed to refuse to grant prisoners permission for meetings if they think it is against the public interest, or if another sufficient cause exists.

Convicted for possessing walkie-talkies

Suu Kyi was convicted on a range of charges, including illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, breaching the country’s official secrets act, sedition and election fraud.

The military-installed government has not allowed any outside party to meet with Suu Kyi since it seized power, despite international pressure for talks including her that could ease the country’s political crisis.

Myanmar security forces have killed at least 3,073 civilians and arrested 19,954, according to a detailed list compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog group that tracks killings and arrests.
…

Myanmar Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh and the aid agencies helping them are warning of more hunger, crime and death in the wake of new cuts to World Food Program rations.

The United Nations agency said a $125 million funding shortfall was forcing it to drop the value of its monthly food vouchers in the camps from $12 to $10 per head as of March 1. 

This marks the first cut the WFP has made to the vouchers since 2017, when a brutal campaign of arson, rape and murder by the security forces of Buddhist-majority Myanmar drove more than three-quarters of a million mostly Muslim Rohingya into Bangladesh.

“This is a devastating blow to the Rohingya and an equally devastating blow to the humanitarian community,” WFP Country Director Domenico Scalpelli said in a statement announcing the move. “With other critical services already dwindling, the repercussions of the ration cut — even if just two dollars — will be dire.”

Malnutrition, he added, “will certainly rise.”

Besides the modest stipends some of the refugees earn working for non-government groups inside the camps, Bangladesh forbids them from paid employment, citing issues of law and order. Some slip in and out of the camps regardless to find paid work in nearby towns and villages. But refugees tell VOA that new fencing and stepped-up police checks are making that much tougher to do.

Mohammad Akmal Shareef, Bangladesh country director of Action Against Hunger, says that makes the WFP vouchers the main, and often, only source of food for the roughly 1 million Rohingya now living in the sprawling camps.

Like the WFP, he said cutting the vouchers would have “direct implications” on malnutrition.

“This means there will be a significant cut in terms of food, what we are supplying to each household, and it’s a matter of great concern,” he said. “Already when you had the $12, I think we were struggling to supply the quality food what I think these people deserve.”

Even with the vouchers at $12, the WFP says nearly half of all families in the camps are not eating enough and that malnutrition is “widespread.” According to the U.N. agency, some 40% of the children have stunted growth and 12% suffer from acute malnutrition. 

“We say that if the malnourished children proportion is about 10% of your population, it is an emergency,” said Dr. Zahid Hassan Zihad, who helps run a group of clinics for malnourished children in the camps.

Zihad said the rate has dropped significantly in the five years since the clinics opened. But at 12%, “it is still an emergency,” he added, and could worsen in the wake of the cuts.

Refugees and aid groups say spiraling inflation makes the cuts feel deeper still.

“I feel so worried,” said one refugee, speaking on condition of anonymity for his safety. 

He shared a recent month’s shopping list for his family of four using their vouchers: 52 kg of rice, 2 kg of chickpeas, 1 kg of flour, 21 eggs and a sack of onions, plus some cooking oil, garlic, salt and sugar.

“Right now, $12 per each one, it is … not enough, so how can we feed [ourselves] by $10? So, it may be we need to face more difficulties,” he said. “Now most of the families are taking the decision not to eat two times per day rice.”

Human rights advocates and aid groups are warning that the cuts will lead to more looting, prostitution and child marriage as the refugees, barred from earning their living legally, try to make up for the shortfall any way they can.

“When there is pressure, as we have seen in previous responses in different places wherever there is a refugee crisis, people tend to go for more negative coping mechanisms,” said Akmal Shareef.

The refugees echoed those fears.

“If the ration amount is cut, I don’t know what the situation will look like in the refugee camps, because when a person could not [put] enough food in their stomach, then they will engage in bad activities. They will try to loot from others, they will try to do bad things to earn money because there is not any source of income,” said Kyaw Moe Thu, using an alias for fear of reprisal from local police for speaking out.

Rising levels of crime and despair in the camps are already driving a growing number of refugees to flee by boat for Malaysia or Indonesia, Muslim-majority countries where they hope to find work, an education and a husband or wife.

The U.N. says more than 3,500 Rohingya attempted the perilous sea journey from Bangladesh or Myanmar last year, the most since 2015. It estimates that roughly 1 in 10 of them went missing or died along the way, mostly from hunger or drowning; the boats they board tend to be in poor shape, often breaking down or capsizing in open water.

Despite the risks, Kyaw Moe Thu expects the dwindling rations to drive even more Rohingya across the sea.

“They know how hard the journey is, they know there is danger, there is risk during the way. But even knowing, they are going, because the situation in the camp is very, very rough,” he said.

In a statement of its own, Save the Children said the refugees need more support, not less. It called the funding shortfall forcing the WFP to cut its monthly rations “unconscionable” and urged donors to rethink their priorities to “prevent a hunger crisis.”

Without an “immediate funding boost,” the WFP says it may have to cut the rations a second time this year.

Akmal Shareef, of Action Against Hunger, says he cannot even image the impact a second cut would have.

“I don’t really want to think about that,” he said. “That will be a horrible situation.” 

Shaikh Azizur Rahman contributed to this report.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he looked forward to discussing bilateral relations and Uzbekistan’s reform plans as he began a visit to Tashkent. 

Blinken spoke to reporters alongside Bakhtiyor Saidov, Uzbekistan’s acting foreign minister, a day after both diplomats took part in talks with their counterparts from Central Asia. 

Saidov said Wednesday’s visit would include political talks as well as topics such as commerce, investment, technology and education. 

“We appreciate the U.S. administration’s continued support for President Mirziyoyev’s reform agenda aimed at ensuring good governance, rule of law, human rights, as well as deepening good and friendly relationships with our neighbors,” Saidov said. 

Blinken said Tuesday during a stop in Kazakhstan that the United States is paying attention to how sanctions enacted in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are affected other countries in the region. 

“We are watching compliance with sanctions very closely, and we’re having an ongoing discussion with a number of countries, including our C5 partners, on the economic spillover effects,” Blinken said during a news conference after meeting with officials of the five Central Asian states.   

Blinken added that temporary waivers have been granted to companies or entities in countries that are engaged with sanctioned Russian companies so that they have time to wind down those activities and cut their ties with Russia.      

On Tuesday, Blinken also announced additional aid to Kazakhstan.    

“We also stood up the economic resilience initiative for Central Asia — $25 million to expand regional trade routes, establish new export markets, attract and leverage greater private sector investment, providing people with practical skills for the modern job market. Today, I’m announcing an additional $25 million to that initiative, a total of $50 million to build up the regional economy,” he said at a joint press conference with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi.        

Kazakhstan has a population of 19 million people, of whom 3.5 million are ethnic Russians and 250,000 are ethnic Ukrainians.      

“The level of concern is very high and has been from the beginning,” said a Central Asian senior official, referring to Russia’s war on Ukraine.       

Kazakhstan has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is the only one among Central Asia leaders who keeps in touch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the official.      

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan maintains good relations with both Russia and China.    

“Kazakhstan will continue its multilateral foreign policy. It means that we are trying to keep the system of checks and balances to develop the mutually beneficial cooperation relationship with all the countries of the world,” Tileuberdi said during the news conference on Tuesday.    

Blinken renewed the U.S. warning for China not to provide lethal weapons to Russia for its use in the war against Ukraine. He said the United States has “information” that China is considering moving beyond the nonlethal support that some of its companies have been providing to lethal material support for Russia.    

“We will not hesitate” to target Chinese companies or individuals that violate our sanctions or otherwise engage in supporting the Russian war effort in Ukraine, Blinken added. 
…

India imposed by far the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022, internet advocacy watchdog Access Now said on Tuesday, as the country topped the list for the fifth successive year.

Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 took place in India, including 49 in Indian-administered Kashmir, the New York-based digital rights advocacy group said in a report published on Tuesday.

“Authorities disrupted internet access at least 49 times in Kashmir due to political instability and violence, including a string of 16 back-to-back orders for three-day-long curfew-style shutdowns in January and February 2022,” the watchdog report added.

Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and archrival Pakistan, which claim the region in full but rule only parts.

In August 2019, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped the autonomy of the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, splitting it into two federally administered territories.

The government has since regularly imposed communications restrictions on the region on security grounds, which rights groups have condemned and described as measures to quash dissent.

Militants have battled India’s rule in Kashmir for more than three decades. The South Asian country blames Pakistan for stoking the revolt. Islamabad denies the claims.

Although India once again led the world in internet shutdowns, 2022 marked the first time since 2017 that there were fewer than 100 shutdowns in the country, the watchdog said.

Ukraine was second on the list, with the Russian military cutting access to the internet at least 22 times after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 of last year.

“During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military cut internet access at least 22 times, engaging in cyberattacks and deliberately destroying telecommunications infrastructure,” the watchdog said in its report.

Ukraine was followed on the list by Iran, where authorities imposed 18 internet shutdowns in 2022 in response to demonstrations against the government.

Nationwide anti-government protests erupted in Iran last fall after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on September 16, 2022. Amini was arrested in Tehran by the morality police for flouting the hijab rules, which require women to entirely cover their hair and bodies. She died while in custody.
…

Rights activists are voicing concern for the well-being of Myanmar Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh after the United Nations warned of cuts to refugees’ food rations due to a shortfall in international donations.

The U.N.’s World Food Program recently announced that, as of Wednesday, the monthly allowance for each refugee will be reduced from $12 to $10 per month — a decrease of 17%. The U.N. said it urgently needs an additional $125 million to avoid deeper cuts in April.

“Many Rohingya fled genocidal attacks more than five years ago and need reliable support, not cuts to the food on which they depend,” John Quinley, director of the investigative group Fortify Rights, told VOA.

“Rohingya we spoke with after hearing of the cuts in aid expressed fear about the future,” he said. “The cuts on food aid will be dire and could lead to significant health consequences for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.” 

Mohammad Shukur is a Rohingya living in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar area.

“With the price of some food materials steeply rising in the past one or two years; we have already been facing difficulties,” he said, speaking to VOA in the Rohingya language. “Now if the WFP [food assistance] voucher value is reduced from 1,224 takas [$12] to 1,020 takas [$10] per person, we will be met with greater hardship.”

Dependency on WFP 

Upwards of 1 million Rohingya Muslims live in the congested bamboo and tarpaulin shanties of the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar district. Many fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017 to escape a crackdown that followed attacks on military personnel by an insurgent group. Myanmar has denied accusations of genocide.

The refugees are not allowed to leave the strictly guarded camps or work, and they are almost completely dependent on food aid provided by the WFP.

Rohingya refugees in the camps say the food aid they receive is already very limited; they survive on staples such as rice, lentils and oil, and most suffer from malnutrition.

“The $2 reduction per head count will have serious repercussions for each refugee family. So far, we have eaten fish or chicken once or twice a month. Now, after the cut, we won’t be able to buy fish or chicken at all,” Mohammed Rezuwan Khan, a Rohingya social activist in Cox’s Bazar, told VOA.   

“While the value of the food ration voucher has not increased, prices of many food materials have doubled in the past two-and-a-half years. The food ration assistance is being cut at a time when the refugees were praying for its increase, to cope with the growing inflation and poverty-triggered sufferings.”  

Noor Qadr, a Rohingya teacher in Cox’s Bazar, said the cut in WFP food assistance would have a negative impact on the health of the refugees.

“When the refugees are not allowed to go out of the camp, work in local villages and earn some money for their families, the cut in WFP food assistance comes as a very big blow to the entire Rohingya community,” Qadr told VOA. “Apart from food, we also need money for some medical needs, clothing, the maintenance of children, and others. Most Rohingya are going through a severe hardship not being able to earn anything by doing some work.”

‘Livelihood restrictions should go’

U.N. officials agree the repercussions of the cuts in food assistance will be massive for the Rohingya community in Bangladesh.

“If these cuts are made, they will be imposed on vulnerable people who are already food insecure,” U.N. officials Tom Andrews and Michael Fakhri said in a statement. “Acute malnutrition levels remain high and chronic malnutrition is pervasive among the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh, with more than a third of children stunted and underweight.”

Quinley, of Fortify Rights, said Dhaka’s restrictions on refugees’  rights — including livelihood restrictions — are not the answer.

“The Bangladesh government needs to support middle-term solutions for the Rohingya, including access to work and freedom of movement,” he said.

Government reluctance

Citing domestic reasons, the government said it is not in favor of lifting the livelihood-related restrictions for the Rohingya.

“Bangladesh is a densely populated country which is economically not that strong. We already have surplus manpower in the country. In such a situation, if our laborers are pushed out of the job market because of the Rohingya, it will create great social tension and the law and order situation will deteriorate,” Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, the refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told VOA.

“It will not be good for the Rohingya to be caught in such a conflict with the host nation, either…for the sake of the well-being of the Rohingya, and maintenance of law and order they are not allowed to work outside the camp.”

The employment of Rohingya in Bangladesh would enhance their integration into the local society which in turn would frustrate their process of repatriation to Myanmar, the commissioner said. The government’s agenda, he said, “is not integration, but repatriation.”

Noting that WFP’s announced cuts to food rations for Rohingya refugees deal “a severe blow to their ability to survive,” Daniel Sullivan, director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East at Refugees International, said that they are coming at a time of “rising insecurity in the camps and little prospect for safe return to Myanmar as the military junta continues to wreak havoc there.”

“The sad part is that this is something Bangladesh and the international donor community should have seen coming. They should have extended education and livelihood opportunities to the refugees to allow them to build their own resiliency,” Sullivan told VOA.

Donor fatigue, competing crises, and the economic effects of the conflict in Ukraine on commodity prices have all set the stage for this crisis, he said.

“But it’s not too late,” he said, “And as the displacement crisis continues, the time to allow those opportunities for self-reliance for Rohingya refugees is now. The United States and other leading donors should also hold a global pledging conference for the Rohingya and broader needs in Myanmar.”
…

Sumaira Saeedi was just months away from graduating from journalism school when the Taliban issued a ban on women accessing education. VOA’s Shaista Sadat Lami has the story.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged support Tuesday for Kazakhstan’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity as he made his first visit to Central Asia as the top U.S. diplomat. 

“Sometimes we just say those words and they actually have no meaning. And of course, in this particular time, they have even more resonance than usual,” Blinken said as he met with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi in Astana. 

Ahead of the trip, the Biden administration said it was focused on supporting independence and sovereignty of the region’s five former Soviet republics, which maintain strong political, economic, and socio-cultural ties with Russia.   

Blinken’s schedule Tuesday includes a meeting of the C5+1, a diplomatic dialogue launched in 2015 with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to boost regional cooperation.   

U.S. officials say the trip is an opportunity to reach out and try to improve alliances as the United States tries to further isolate Russia for invading Ukraine. But democracy supporters also are urging the United States to promote systemic reforms, arguing that accountability, openness, and the rule of law are prerequisites for ensuring the region’s long-term security and prosperity.   

Strategic move   

Richard Hoagland, a former ambassador to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, sees Blinken’s trip “as a welcome reminder to the Central Asian leaders that U.S. foreign policy is paying attention while they grapple with their traditionally dominant partner, Russia, because of [President Vladimir] Putin’s criminal war in Ukraine.”      

“Washington has no desire to supplant Moscow in Central Asia,” Hoagland told VOA. “But it does want to remind the leaders of the region that the United States has not forgotten their multi-vector foreign policy and continues to be a reliable partner.”      

Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu, a senior policy official traveling with Blinken to the region this week, adds that Russia’s war in Ukraine has put enormous pressure on these countries. 

“We see high food and fuel prices, high unemployment, difficulty in exporting their goods, slow post-COVID recovery, and a large influx of migrants from Russia. We are working to support people in the region,” Lu told reporters in a briefing last week.     

On Tuesday, in Astana with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and on Wednesday in Tashkent with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Blinken is to focus on security issues and economic cooperation, while also urging leaders to speed up promised reforms.     

“Advancing human rights in Central Asia has always been a top priority of the United States.  We are committed to supporting the protection of vulnerable populations in Central Asia.  That includes refugees, asylum seekers, LGBTQI+ persons, women, and girls,” Lu said.      

In both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, despite progress in recent years, the State Department’s human rights reports as well as international watchdogs point to widespread violations of basic freedoms, specifically by law enforcement and other authorities.      

U.S. assistance   

With Ukraine high on Blinken’s agenda, Lu told reporters, “We are not asking for countries to choose between us and Russia, or us and China.” He argued that Astana and Tashkent value America’s unique political and economic input which “are different from the engagement of Moscow and Beijing.”      

While Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have avoided explicit condemnation of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, they have refused to recognize the independence of Russia-backed separatist regions in Ukraine, nor their annexation late last year by Putin.      

“We’ve committed $41.5 million in assistance this year to Central Asia to support food security and economies that we see are struggling. This money will help them explore new export routes, retrain their workforce, reduce unemployment, and spur private sector growth,” said Lu.        

The State Department is helping Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan avoid secondary sanctions, as the West increases economic and financial restrictions against Russia.       

Three banks have been transformed from Russian subsidiaries to wholly locally owned, added Lu, through licenses allowing for the transfer of assets into Kazakh hands.      

It boils down to freedom   

Closely watching Blinken’s visit, Uzbek and Kazakh civil society activists are asking the U.S. to push for systemic reforms without which, they argue, these republics will not be able to overcome geopolitical challenges, including preserving their independence.         

“We have seen some positive action by the Uzbek government, but it has a long way to go in terms of allowing political freedoms and space for pluralism,” Abdurahmon Tashanov, who heads the Ezgulik Human Rights Society, told VOA from Tashkent. “The state must ease the registration of nongovernmental organizations and political parties. The authorities don’t seem to want to take these steps.”      

Last week President Mirziyoyev voiced support of journalists and bloggers, “confessing” that many around him want to suppress media freedom. He claims he is open to constructive criticism.   

“Freedom of expression and media are basic rights to be enjoyed by everyone, not because the president backs them or wants to allow them,” responds Tashanov.      

As a witness to the repressions under the previous Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, Tashanov sees two clear paths for his country: true democratic reforms or further authoritarianism.     

American officials say Washington will remain on the side of reforms, and not just in Uzbekistan, advancing “our shared goal of a prosperous, secure, and democratic region.” 

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse. 
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Afghanistan’s Taliban said Monday their security forces killed two key Islamic State commanders in an overnight counterterrorism raid against their hideout in the capital, Kabul.

The announcement came hours before the United States said in a new report that up to 3,000 IS fighters were operating in the South Asian nation and conducting terrorist activities.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a late-night statement that “the intelligence and operations chief of Daesh” in Afghanistan was also among those killed in the operation late Sunday. He identified the slain terror leader as Qari Fateh.

Daesh, or Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), is an Afghan affiliate of Islamic State and a key Taliban adversary.

Mujahid said Fateh had masterminded recent attacks against diplomatic missions, mosques and other targets in Kabul.

“The criminal was served justice last night for his brutal actions at the hands of IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] special forces during a complex operation in the Kher Khana residential area [in Kabul],” he noted, using the official title for the Taliban government. 

IS-K did not immediately comment on the Taliban’s claims of killing its top leader.

Mujahid also confirmed in his statement Monday that a Taliban counterterrorism operation earlier this month had killed the IS-K chief for the Indian subcontinent, Ijaz Amin Ahangar, along with his two commanders. He added, without elaborating, that “a number of Daesh members, including foreigners” were also detained in recent days.

IS-K last week confirmed the death of Ahangar, also known as Abu Usman Al-Kashmiri, saying in a statement he was killed in a clash with the Taliban on February 14 but did not mention the exact location.

The Taliban have periodically carried out operations against IS-K since returning to power in Kabul in August 2021 as U.S.-led foreign troops withdrew from the country.

For its part, the terrorist group has routinely launched high-profile attacks targeting civilians, Taliban members and foreign diplomatic missions in the country.

The United States describes IS-K as a “dangerous” affiliate of Islamic State and remains skeptical about the effectiveness of Taliban counterterrorism efforts.

The U.S. State Department issued the 2021 country reports on terrorism on Monday, noting that IS and other regionally focused terror groups maintained “an active presence” and conducted terrorist activities in Afghanistan.

“ISIS-K remained a resilient enemy with roughly 2,000 to 3,000 fighters in the country, although precise estimates are hard to determine,” the report said. “Although the Taliban committed to preventing terrorist groups from using Afghanistan to stage attacks against the United States or others, the extent of its ability and willingness to prevent AQ [al-Qaida] and ISIS-K from mounting external operations remained unclear,” it added.

The international community has not yet recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, urging them to respect human rights, lift education and work bans on women, cut ties with terrorist groups, and govern the country through a politically inclusive government.

The Taliban defend their governance, saying it is in line with local culture and Islamic law. They have also dismissed the reported presence of thousands of IS-K fighters in Afghanistan as baseless. 
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As Antony Blinken makes his first visit to Central Asia as U.S. secretary of state this week, the Biden administration says it is focused on supporting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the region’s five former Soviet republics, which maintain strong political, economic and socio-cultural ties with Russia.

Blinken travels to Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy with the highest level of U.S. investment, as well as Uzbekistan, the most populous country.

The trip is an opportunity to reach out and try to improve alliances as Washington looks to further isolate Russia for invading Ukraine. But democracy supporters are urging the U.S. to promote systemic reforms, arguing that accountability, openness and the rule of law are prerequisites for ensuring the region’s long-term security and prosperity.

Strategic move

Richard Hoagland, a former ambassador to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, sees Blinken’s trip “as a welcome reminder to the Central Asian leaders that U.S. foreign policy is paying attention while they grapple with their traditionally dominant partner, Russia, because of [President Vladimir] Putin’s criminal war in Ukraine.”

“Washington has no desire to supplant Moscow in Central Asia,” Hoagland told VOA. “But it does want to remind the leaders of the region that the United States has not forgotten their multi-vector foreign policy and continues to be a reliable partner.”

Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu, a senior policy official traveling with Blinken to the region this week, added that Russia’s war in Ukraine has put enormous pressure on these countries.

“We see high food and fuel prices, high unemployment, difficulty in exporting their goods, slow post-COVID recovery, and a large influx of migrants from Russia. We are working to support people in the region,” Lu told reporters in a briefing last week.

There has been no official mention of neighboring Afghanistan ahead of this trip, which has long been a priority in U.S. engagement with the region. On February 28, Blinken will participate in C5+1, a diplomatic dialogue launched in 2015 among five Central Asian countries and Washington to boost regional cooperation. Bilateral talks are also planned in Kazakhstan, including with the foreign ministers from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

On Tuesday, in Astana with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and on Wednesday in Tashkent with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Blinken is to focus on security issues and economic cooperation, while also urging leaders to speed up promised reforms.

“Advancing human rights in Central Asia has always been a top priority of the United States. We are committed to supporting the protection of vulnerable populations in Central Asia. That includes refugees, asylum-seekers, LGBTQI+ persons, women, and girls,” Lu said.

In both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, despite progress in recent years, the State Department’s human rights reports as well as international watchdogs point to widespread violations of basic freedoms, specifically by law enforcement and other authorities.

“It makes sense for human rights issues to feature strongly in Secretary Blinken’s talks in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan,” said Hugh Williamson, Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia director.

“Human rights improvements would mean more stability, which is certainly lacking in the region. He should, for instance, press for effective independent investigations into what happened during the protests in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan and in the January events in Kazakhstan. Without real respect for human rights, these governments won’t be reliable partners for the U.S.,” Williamson said.

US assistance

With Ukraine high on Blinken’s agenda, Lu told reporters, “We are not asking for countries to choose between us and Russia, or us and China.” He argued that Astana and Tashkent value America’s unique political and economic input which “are different from the engagement of Moscow and Beijing.”

While Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have avoided explicit condemnation of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, they have refused to recognize the independence of Russia-backed separatist regions in Ukraine, nor their annexation late last year by Putin.

“We’ve committed $41.5 million in assistance this year to Central Asia to support food security and economies that we see are struggling. This money will help them explore new export routes, retrain their workforce, reduce unemployment, and spur private sector growth,” said Lu.

The State Department is helping Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan avoid secondary sanctions, as the West increases economic and financial restrictions against Russia.

“We have issued a license so that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is able to transfer Kazakh oil to markets. It’s a pipeline that goes through Russia,” Lu said. “The purpose of these sanctions is to target entities in Russia that are fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine, it’s not to harm the interests of Central Asian republics or their peoples or their economies. Here’s an illustration of how we have made sure the world knows it’s fine to use Kazakh oil that comes out of this pipeline.”

Three banks have been transformed from Russian subsidiaries to wholly locally owned, added Lu, through licenses allowing for the transfer of assets into Kazakh hands.

It boils down to freedom

Closely watching Blinken’s visit, Uzbek and Kazakh civil society activists are asking the U.S. to push for systemic reforms without which, they argue, these republics will not be able to overcome geopolitical challenges, including preserving their independence.

“We have seen some positive action by the Uzbek government, but it has a long way to go in terms of allowing political freedoms and space for pluralism,” Abdurahmon Tashanov, who heads the Ezgulik Human Rights Society, told VOA from Tashkent. “The state must ease the registration of nongovernmental organizations and political parties. The authorities don’t seem to want to take these steps.”

Last week, President Mirziyoyev voiced support of journalists and bloggers, “confessing” that many around him want to suppress media freedom. He claims he is open to constructive criticism.

“Freedom of expression and media are basic rights to be enjoyed by everyone, not because the president backs them or wants to allow them,” Tashanov said.

As a witness to the repressions under the previous Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, Tashanov sees two clear paths for his country: true democratic reforms or further authoritarianism.

American officials say Washington will remain on the side of reforms, and not just in Uzbekistan, advancing “our shared goal of a prosperous, secure and democratic region.”
…

Iran has handed the Afghan embassy in Tehran over to the Taliban, becoming the latest country to accept Taliban-appointed diplomats without recognizing their 18-month-old government in Kabul.

The Taliban foreign ministry said Monday that it had dispatched a seven-member team of “experienced diplomats, led by a newly appointed chargé d’affaires” to the Iranian capital to formally assume the charge of Afghanistan’s diplomatic mission there.

The statement described the development as an “important and cooperative step” in bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Iran.

“We believe that with the new appointments, we would witness transparency in the affairs of the embassy as well as expanded relations in various fields between the two Muslim and brotherly countries,” Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said.

Iran joins several neighboring and regional countries to have allowed the Taliban to appoint staff to and manage Afghan diplomatic missions in their respective territories. They include Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, Balkhi claimed in written comments to VOA.

He said his ministry had already introduced new diplomats to missions in these countries. Balkhi, identified Tajikistan as the only neighbor of Afghanistan where they have not appointed new diplomats, saying the head of the embassy there “is not cooperative.”

Analysts said the growing threat of terrorism posed by Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, had apparently prompted Tehran to work closely with the Taliban to keep the terrorist group from the Iranian border.

Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan official, and political commentator noted that millions of Afghans had taken refuge in Iran after fleeing the Soviet occupation of their country in the 1980s and subsequent conflicts that engulfed Afghanistan.

“Currently thousands of Afghans cross the border daily to Iran from Afghanistan to migrate to Turkey and Europe, human trafficking is rife,” Farhadi said. “Iran needs good relations with the Taliban… and has turned over the embassy to Taliban representatives as a practical matter to handle day-to-day affairs, without recognizing the [Kabul] regime,” he added.

An Afghan opposition armed group, operating out of Tajikistan, slammed the Iranian government for allowing the Taliban to run the embassy in Tehran.

“The National Resistance Front (NRF) expresses its regret over the taking over of Afghanistan’s prestigious diplomatic mission by a criminal group,” said the group in a statement.

Iran also maintains good ties with the NRF leadership and other prominent Afghans who have taken refuge in the country and elsewhere after fleeing the Taliban takeover.

“The political presence of the Taliban in Iran… is perilous, especially for the millions of refugees who have sought protection in Iran from the fear, threats, and pressure,” the NRF asserted.

Dozens of Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions around the world are open for business but in most cases, the host nations have either refused to hand them over to the Taliban, or Afghan diplomats working there are reportedly unwilling to work with the new Kabul administration.

The international community has not recognized the Taliban since they stormed back to power in August 2021 as the U.S.-led Western troops exited the country after almost 20 years of war.

Foreign governments demand the Taliban keep their promises to respect human rights, give women access to education and work, cut ties with terrorist groups, and form an inclusive government representing all groups in Afghanistan.
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Police in Sri Lanka fired tear gas and water cannons Sunday to disperse protesters angry over a decision to postpone local elections after the government said it cannot finance them because of the country’s crippling economic crisis.

About 15 people were treated for minor injuries, according to Colombo National Hospital.

Thousands of supporters of the opposition National People’s Power party tried to march toward the main business district in the capital, Colombo, ignoring police warnings after a court order barred them from entering the area, which includes the president’s residence, office and several key government buildings.

The order had been obtained in the backdrop of last July’s massive protests, when thousands of people stormed the presidential office and residence and occupied them for days. The crisis forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.

The turmoil was caused by severe shortages of some foods, fuel, cooking gas and medicine, after Sri Lanka went bankrupt because it could not repay its foreign debt. The new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, negotiated a rescue package with the International Monetary Fund for $2.9 billion over four years, but it can be finalized only if Sri Lanka’s creditors give assurances on debt restructuring.

Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt exceeds $ 51 billion, of which it must repay $28 billion by 2027. India and several other creditor countries have so far given assurances that meet the IMF standards, but the deal hinges on whether China would agree to debt restructuring at the same level.

The Finance Ministry under Wickremesinghe said it can’t allocate sufficient funds for the March 9 elections for town and village councils, even though political parties had submitted nominations.

The decision forced the Election Commission to indefinitely postpone the elections.

Despite signs of progress in reducing shortages and ending daily power cuts after nearly a year, Wickremesinghe is immensely unpopular. Many people say he lacks the mandate because he was elected by lawmakers backed by Rajapaksa supporters. They accuse Wickremesinghe of protecting members of the Rajapaksa family from corruption allegations in return for backing him in Parliament.

The National People’s Power party, which organized Sunday’s rally, has only three lawmakers in Sri Lanka’s 225-member Parliament but it enjoys a wave of public support after the economic crisis eroded the popularity of traditional political parties that have ruled Sri Lanka since independence.
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Police in southwestern Pakistan said Sunday a bomb blast had ripped through a crowded market, killing at least four people and injuring 16 others.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in the remote Barkhan district in Baluchistan province, where insurgent attacks are not uncommon.

Local hospital officials said children were among those injured, describing the condition of several victims as “critical” and fearing the death toll could rise.

The deputy district commissioner, Abdullah Khoso, said the explosion was caused by a remote-controlled bomb on a parked motorcycle.

Several shops were also badly damaged in the ensuing blast, according to local TV news channels.

Provincial Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo condemned the violence as a terrorist act and called the perpetrators as “enemies of humanity.” He did not name any group.

“Terrorists are trying to create uncertainty through such attacks to achieve their nefarious designs, but we won’t allow these anti-state elements to succeed,” an official statement quoted Bizenjo as saying.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also denounced the deadly bombing in Baluchistan, vowing to bring those behind the bloodshed to justice.

Sunday’s violence comes a day after militants staged a bomb and gun attack on a police vehicle in the province’s Khuzadar district that killed two security forces.

The natural resources-rich Pakistani province has long been in the grip of a low-level insurgency led by ethnic Baluch separatist groups demanding its independence from Pakistan.

Militants linked the outlawed Pakistani Taliban group have lately also stepped up attacks on security forces in Baluchistan.
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German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Saturday it was “regrettable” that China had blocked a Group of 20 communique to condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“But for me it was more important that all the others adhered to a clear position of international law, multilateralism and the end of the war,” he said.

Lindner was speaking to reporters after a meeting of finance leaders from the world’s major economies in Bengaluru.

He said that he was cautiously optimistic that there could be progress this year on debt restructuring for highly indebted countries.

China is one of the largest creditors to poor nations in Africa and Asia.

“There was a cautious signal from China,” Lindner said.
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