Neighborhood News Digest – 15 March 2023

Afghanistan

18 persons from Afghanistan took part in MEA course: IIM-Kozhikode – The Hindu

The Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K) on Tuesday said 18 participants from Afghanistan attended the sessions on the first day of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme of the External Affairs Ministry through the online mode. Click here to read... [2]

How armed groups in Afghanistan are killing Pakistani forces using American weapons – India Narrative

The nearly $7 billion worth of sophisticated weapons that the US left behind in Afghanistan in the wake of Taliban advances are now being used by militant groups to attack security forces in different parts of Pakistan. Pakistan, which has been wrecked by political crisis and economic instability now faces the challenge of taking on battle-hardened militants in the possession of US weapons. Click here to read... [3]

Taliban launches annual polio vaccination drive in Afghanistan – AlJazeera

The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has launched the annual polio inoculation campaign aimed at reaching more than nine million children under the age of five, the health ministry said. Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan are the last countries with endemic polio, an incurable and highly infectious disease that can cause crippling paralysis – and even death – in young children. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

India, Bangladesh first cross-border oil pipeline is real manifestation of friendship: Deputy High Commissioner - ANI News

India and Bangladesh’s first cross border oil pipeline is the real manifestation of the wonderful friendship that these two countries share, Bangladesh Deputy Commissioner Andalib Elias said on Tuesday. Click here to read... [5]

Climate Change And Political Economy Of Bangladesh – Eurasia Review

According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Bangladesh is likely to experience an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, and droughts. These events can devastate the country’s infrastructure, disrupt food production, and cause widespread displacement of people. Click here to read... [6]

Bhutan

Human Rights Watch urges Bhutan government to free ‘political prisoners’ – The Kathmandu Post

The Bhutanese government should revoke the convictions of several dozen political prisoners who have been jailed for decades following unfair trials and alleged torture and release them, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Bhutanese courts have convicted and imposed long sentences on peaceful political and anti-discrimination activists and others arrested for a range of alleged national security offenses. Click here to read... [7]

90 candidates contesting for NC elections – Kuensel

This National Council (NC) election 2023 has 90 candidates nominated through the dhamngoi dzomdus in 20 dzongkhags. It is 37 fewer than the number during the 2018 NC elections making 2023 election cheaper by at least Nu 5.55 million (M) mainly in terms of the campaign fund the State pays to candidates. This year, the State will pay around Nu 13.5M for the campaign fund while paid Nu 19M in 2018. As per the election law, the State has to pay each candidate a sum of Nu 150,000 towards the individual’s campaign fund. Click here to read... [8]

Maldives

India key defence provider for us, says Maldives FM - Hindustan Times

The development of a key naval facility in the Maldives with Indian help will end the practice of sending vessels abroad for maintenance and improve the archipelago’s security capabilities, Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid said. Click here to read... [9]

Maldives and Ghana Sign two Key Agreements aimed at Enhancing Bilateral Cooperation - The Paradise

The Government of Maldives and the Government of Ghana have signed two key Agreements today that will further deepen the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Following their meeting in London at the sidelines of the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in London, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid signed the agreements on behalf of the Government of Maldives and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana, Her Excellency Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey signed the agreements on behalf of the Government of Ghana. The signing ceremony was held at the Marlborough House in London. Click here to read... [10]

Myanmar

Myanmar unwilling to take back 1.20 million Rohingyas from Bangladesh - Hindu Post

The Rohingya crisis is a humanitarian tragedy that has been unfolding in Myanmar for decades. Since August 2017, over a million Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar, also known as Burma, to escape persecution and violence by the military and Buddhist mobs. Most of them have sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh, which is now home to the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. Click here to read... [11]

Activists call on the UN Security Council to prosecute Myanmar - English News Track

On Monday, human rights advocates called on the UN Security Council to refer Myanmar's military authorities to the International Criminal Court and urged the neighbouring Southeast Asian nations to support the opposition pro-democracy movement. A closed council meeting on Myanmar was preceded by a press conference from the heads of two women's rights organisations. Members heard briefings by UN special envoy for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer and Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, whose country chairs the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Click here to read... [12]

Pakistan team sent to Myanmar to repair combat aircraft - Economic Times

Pakistan Air Force has sent a technical team for repair and maintenance of Myanmar's JF-17 combat aircraft, a move that will help upgrade their defence partnership. This comes as Myanmar Air Force officials are visiting Pakistan for a six-month training course on maintenance of JF-17, ET has learnt. Click here to read... [13]

Nepal

Nepali Congress to join government next week as Prachanda, Deuba seek to bolster eight-party alliance – India Narrative

The Nepali Congress, largest party in Nepal’s parliament, is all set to join the Prachanda-led coalition government next week, according to party leaders. Prakash Sharan Mahat, spokesperson for the Congress party, said that an informal dialogue is taking place between Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda and Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba regarding the restructuring of current government. Click here to read... [14]

Chinese President Xi congratulates Nepalese counterpart, stresses on advancing BRI co-op – The Print

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday congratulated Nepal’s newly-elected President Ram Chandra Paudel and said he is willing to work with him to carry forward the traditional friendship between the two countries, consolidate mutual political trust and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Click here to read... [15]

Nepal seeks easier trade access to Chinese markets – Reuters

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday asked China to provide "easy and more generous" market access to products from the Himalayan country to help narrow its wide trade deficit with Beijing. Click here to read... [16]

Pakistan

Families of bigwigs collected gifts worth Rs260m – Dawn

Family members of politicians, bureaucrats and retired generals pocketed foreign gifts worth over Rs260 million from Toshakhana, either for free or after making paltry payments amounting to Rs56.7m over the past 20 years, according to the details released by the government. A careful review of the 446-page document reveals that a sizeable number of family members of these public office holders were among those who collected precious gifts from the Toshsakhana after depositing a meagre amount in the national exchequer. Click here to read... [17]

Fresh turmoil in Pakistan as former PM Imran Khan faces arrest – The Times of India

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a court-ordered arrest by police in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday amid clashes between his supporters and law enforcement personnel. Court orders to arrest Khan came in a case pertaining to his selling state gifts given by foreign leaders while he was prime minister. Pakistan's election commission found him guilty in the matter and now a criminal inquiry is under way. Khan says he broke no rules and sold the items legally. Click here to read... [18]

IMF deal in jeopardy, only China can bailout Pakistan: Report – Mint

A US bank said that China can rescue crisis-hit Pakistan because of its close ties with the country, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan are still in tough negotiations on financial aid for economic recovery, according to a report by Dawn news. “As China and Pakistan have close ties, the hope is rising for China to provide a backstop to its long-term ally. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistan: Army will not be available for election duty due to security situation, defence ministry tells ECP – Firstpost

The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the Pakistan Army will not be available for election duty during the upcoming provincial elections in the wake of the worsening security situation in the country, noting that the security of the borders and the country was the army’s “first priority”. Elections in the Punjab province are scheduled to be held on April 30 while the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor proposed to hold elections in the province on May 28. Click here to read... [20]

Pakistan cabinet ministers ignore austerity plan announced by government – The Print

Despite a strict austerity policy announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month, his cabinet colleagues and subordinate senior officers have not given two hoots to the fiscal restraint measures, Dawn reported. A meeting of the monitoring committee on the implementation of austerity measures presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was informed that more than half of the luxury vehicles given to cabinet members, parliamentary secretaries and chairmen of standing committees had not been returned to the cabinet division that maintains the federal government’s central pool. Click here to read... [21]

Sri Lanka

Strike grips Sri Lanka as unions protest IMF bailout - France24

"Sri Lanka is one of the countries with the lowest tax revenues in the world. Unless state revenue is increased, there is no solution to the country's economic crisis," a Sri Lankan official told AFP. Sri Lanka sought IMF help after defaulting on its $46 billion foreign government debt last April. Colombo received assurances last week from Beijing, its largest single bilateral creditor, that it is willing to restructure its loans to the South Asian nation and clear the final hurdle for the IMF rescue. Click here to read... [22]

Sri Lanka president says no side arrangements with any creditor - DeviDiscourse

Sri Lanka will not make side arrangements with any of its bilateral or commercial creditors to reduce the impact of debt treatment on them, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a letter to creditors seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The crisis-hit island has secured financing assurances from all its major bilateral creditors, including India and China, and so has set the stage for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to give its final approval for a $2.9 billion, four-year bailout package on March 20. Click here to read... [23]