Neighborhood News Digest – 16 March 2023

Afghanistan

Afghanistan Situation Discussed in Doha at Global Security Forum – Tolo News

Afghanistan was discussed on the last day of the Global Security Forum in Doha, where the participants included activists and ex-officials from the former Afghan government. The former deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hekmat Khalil Karzai, said that while the Islamic Emirate was denying girls an education in religion, "in Islam, it's obligatory.” Click here to read... [2]

Pakistan overtakes Afghanistan as the most terror-hit country – Hindustan Times

Pakistan has overtaken Afghanistan as the country with the most terrorist attacks and death in South Asia, the annual Global Terrorism Index report released by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace stated. Pakistan recorded the second largest surge in terror-related deaths worldwide last year, the toll increasing significantly to 643. The number of deaths in Pakistan represented the largest year-on-year increase in the last decade. At least 55 per cent of all terror-related victims were military personnel. It has moved up four places to sixth position on the index due to sharp surge in fatalities, the report stated. Click here to read... [3]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh's RMG exports prosper in Jul-Feb FY23; textiles decline - Fibre2Fashion

The apparel sector continues to be the backbone of Bangladesh’s export earnings. In the first eight months of the 2022-23 fiscal year (July-Feb), the country's ready-made garment (RMG) exports increased by 14.06 per cent to $31.36 billion, compared to $27.50 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to recent data released by the country’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). These earnings make up 84.58 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports of $37.08 billion, with woven RMG exports growing at a faster pace than knitwear. Click here to read... [4]

Passenger route revival between India and Bangladesh - Telegraph India

The Centre has allowed passenger movement between India and Bangladesh through the Mahadipur immigration check-post (ICP) in Malda after a three-year gap. From Thursday, movement of people will resume along the route that from Mahadipur leads to Sona Masjid, a locality under Bangladesh’s Chapai-Nawabganj district. Senior officials of both the countries are likely to be present on either side of the border on Thursday as people start crossing the international border again on this route. Click here to read... [5]

Bhutan

Arunachal Pradesh Working To Boost Its Border Infrastructure With China, Bhutan & Myanmar – Republic World

In a big move to secure its borders, the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh has initiated several infrastructure development programmes in the areas along the international border with China, Bhutan and Myanmar. According to the news agency ANI, the border infrastructure development is being carried out in at least 65 model villages of the state. Click here to read... [6]

India allows import of Bhutanese marble without minimum import price – Kuensel

The Indian government has allowed the import of 10,000 metric tonnes (MT) of marble from Bhutan every year without the minimum import price (MIP) from March 14 this year. The Bhutanese government earlier wrote to the Indian government and India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry to amend the import policy condition. Click here to read... [7]

Maldives

Ministry urges tourist facilities to strengthen safety protocols for all water- based activities - Raajje

Due to the recent increase in incidents related to water-based activities, Ministry of Tourism has once again urged tourist facilities to strengthen their safety protocols for all water- based activities. The Ministry published a circular reminding all tourist facilities to be vigilant and take precautionary measures especially in relation to swimming, snorkeling, diving and other water-based activities. Click here to read... [8]

Opinion: Decoding Maldives bond - Telangana Today

Most of the discussion on South Asia from an Indian perspective focuses on Pakistan. Undoubtedly, for post-independent Indian foreign policy, Pakistan posed some stringent challenges. Thus, it occupies much of our intellectual space in a discussion centred on South Asia. Click here to read... [9]

Myanmar

China, Pakistan pull a fast one on Myanmar, deliver junk fighter jets - First Post

The decision to buy JF-17 fighter aircraft from China and Pakistan has come back to haunt Myanmar. The JF-17 fighter jet, which has been jointly built by China and Pakistan, has become a burden for the Myanmar Air Force. According to an ET report, Pakistan has had to send a team of engineers to Myanmar to fix these JF-17 fighter jets. Myanmar currently has 11 JF-17 fighter jets but none are currently operational due to technical glitches. Click here to read... [10]

Two Persons, Including Myanmar National, Held With Heroin In Mizoram - Outlook India

Two persons, one of them a Myanmar national, were held with heroin in Mizoram, officials said on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, officials of the Excise and Narcotics Department seized 69.9 gram of heroin from the possession of a 32-year-old Myanmar national in Serchhip town on Wednesday, they said. Click here to read... [11]

Myanmar is a failing state, led by a junta fuelled by Russian arms, says UN rights envoy - The Guardian

Myanmar is a “failing state” and the crisis is getting exponentially worse, a UN special rapporteur for the country has warned, urging countries to adopt the same unified resolve that followed the invasion of Ukraine. Click here to read... [12]

Nepal

Ten-party meeting fails to reach consensus over Nepal’s Vice-President candidate – The Print

A meeting of Nepal’s ten political parties to find a consensus over their vice-president candidate Ramsahay Yadav ended inconclusively on Wednesday. The election for the post of Vice President is scheduled to take place on March 17. The three candidates vying for the vice-president’s post include Ramsahay from Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal, Ashta Laxmi Shakya from CPN-UML and Mamata Jha from the Janamat Party. Click here to read... [13]

Nepal PM 'Prachanda' to take vote of confidence on March 20 – Deccan Herald

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" will hold a vote of confidence in Parliament on March 20 after the culmination of the vice-presidential election on Friday, officials said on Wednesday. The second round of vote of confidence comes after Nepal's second largest party in Parliament -- CPN-UML -- in February decided to withdraw its support to the "Prachanda"-led government in the wake of a renewed political equation in the run-up to the presidential election, dealing a jolt to the two-month-old coalition. Click here to read... [14]

Anti-money laundering grouping asks Nepal to curb private sector corruption – The Kathmandu Post

The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering has pointed out Nepal’s failure to criminalise corruption involving the private sector as one of the country’s deficiencies in complying with the standards on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, a senior government official said. Click here to read... [15]

Pakistan

Imran Khan Arrest Live Updates: Temporary relief for ex-PM as Lahore court halts his arrest till 10 am today – The Indian Express

Imran Khan’s residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park is seeing a ‘calm before the storm’ after the court-ordered relief from arrest attempts till 10 am today. The area still has a large number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers, but there is no police presence and the traffic is as usual, reported Pakistani media. This comes after over 24 hours of tensions as Khan’s supporters clashed with police officers who had reached his home to arrest him in connection with a non-bailable warrant issued in the Toshakhana corruption case. Click here to read... [16]

India invites Pakistan Defence minister for SCO meet – The Indian Express

India has invited Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting here in April alongside his counterparts from other member-nations of the grouping. India is the current chair of the eight-nation SCO, and the invite to Asif came after New Delhi invited Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, for an SCO foreign ministerial conclave, to be held in Goa in May. Click here to read... [17]

IMF puts damper on loan deal, sets new condition for Pakistan – Samaa

The revival of the IMF loan program for Pakistan has taken a new turn, as the international lender has put forward a new condition before signing a staff-level agreement. After allegedly fulfilling all prior conditions to unlock the next tranche of a billion dollars, Pakistan is faced with another obstacle. SAMAA TV sources claimed that the IMF has sought a written assurance of financing from friendly countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by June 30. Click here to read... [18]

Sri Lanka

Freedom Of The World Report 2023 Downgrades Sri Lanka – Eurasia Review

As per the 2023 report, Sri Lanka has got an overall score of 53/100. In terms of “political rights” it has got 22/40 and in terms of “civil liberties”, it has got 31/60. Last year’s overall score was 55/100 and the status was “Partly Free”. Click here to read... [19]

China shows interest to build an oil refinery in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port - India Shipping News

China has expressed interest to build an oil refinery in Sri Lanka’s strategically located Hambantota district, in a move aimed at expanding its footprint in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). China had earlier built a port in Hambantota and acquired a lease to run it for 99 years. On Monday, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe met a delegation from Chinese state-owned oil company Sinopec to discuss the construction of an oil distribution hub and refinery in Hambantota. Click here to read... [20]