Neighborhood News Digest – 26 April 2023

Afghanistan

India invited to join regional group on Afghanistan: Lavrov

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that India has been invited to join the core group of four countries neighbouring Afghanistan that say they seek to bring stability there. The Quartet of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran has been working together on Afghanistan “and we invited India as well” to join making it a quintet, he said at a news conference at the UN in New York on Tuesday. “We want this Quintet to be constituted as something of a core for the format of neighbouring states,” he said. Click here to read... [2]

Taliban kill mastermind of suicide bombing at Kabul airport – The Hindu

The Taliban have killed the senior Islamic State group leader behind the August 2021 suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans dead, according to the father of a Marine killed in the attack who was briefed Tuesday by military officials. Over the weekend, the U.S. military began to inform families of the 11 Marines, the sailor and the soldier killed in the blast at Abbey Gate during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. And those family members shared the information in a private group messaging chat, according to the mother of another Marine. Click here to read... [3]

US using Afghan Taliban to fight ISIS in Afghanistan, says leaked Pentagon document – First Post

Barely a couple of years after compelling the United States (US) to pull out its military forces from Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban have started engaging with their former adversaries – this time as allies. According to a report in the Washington Post, the Afghan Taliban have expressed willingness to help the United States (US) in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban had captured Kabul in August 2021 when the United Stated (US) and its NATO allies withdrew from Afghanistan after two decades of war. Since then, the Taliban has been battling the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K). Click here to read... [4]

UN appoints Türkiye's envoy as special coordinator on Afghanistan – Daily Sabah

The U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Türkiye's envoy Feridun Sinirlioğlu to the global body as his special coordinator for Afghanistan on Tuesday. The Security Council asked Antonio Guterres in March to conduct and provide forward-looking recommendations for an integrated and coherent approach among relevant political, humanitarian and development actors to address the current challenges facing Afghanistan. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh unveils Indo-Pacific Strategy; expert says it is still trying to placate China – Financial Express

Ahead of her tri-nation visit Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has unveiled a 15 point outlook policy document on Indo Pacific. “This is a clear signal to all QUAD member nations (India, Japan, Australia and the US) that Dhaka is now willing to work with them to support a rule based international regime,” says a Bangladesh commentator. The policy which envisions a free, secure, open, peaceful inclusive Indo-Pacific comes on the eve of Bangladesh PM’s visit to Japan, the US and the United Kingdom. Click here to read... [6]

How Hasina broke the back of Pak-sponsored terror in Bangladesh - Sentinel Assam

Bangladesh is presently at a low ebb in militancy by Muslim extremists with or without links to the international terror network. But top terrorism researchers and anti-terrorism police officials do not rule out any possibility of terrorism in the country, especially by the home-grown Islamic jihad. Two secretive groups, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Ansarul Islam, presently dominate Bangladesh’s jihadist landscape, a top Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) official confirmed, who declined to be identified for security reasons. Click here to read... [7]

What should be Bangladesh’s “Myanmar Policy” At This Moment? –Daily Times

The Rohingya will be afraid to return if the military and civilians involved in the Rohingya genocide are not held accountable and brought to justice. For this reason, it has been emphasized on providing all-out assistance to Bangladesh in the ongoing cases in the international court. If Bangladesh shows reluctance in international cases at the instigation of China or any other country, it will be very harmful to the country. Myanmar is now under various pressures. At the moment, if the repatriation happens, it will go in favour of Myanmar. Intensifying full pressure on Myanmar can help solve the crisis. Bangladesh must pursue the Myanmar policy carefully at this moment. Myanmar must not betray Bangladesh. Click here to read... [8]

Bhutan

Over 600 representatives participate in conference on Nalanda Buddhism in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang – The Print

More than 600 representatives from various parts of India gathered in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh to hold a dialogue about Nalanda Buddhism, The Bhutan Live reported. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu attended the event, which was titled “Nalanda Buddhism – Retracing the Source in Footsteps of Acharyas: From Nalanda to the Himalayas and Beyond.” Click here to read... [9]

Beware of the Dragon’s moneylending claws – Herald

Currently attempts are underway to strengthen the friendly ties between China and Bhutan. Bhutan holds 1/3rd rights over the disputable Galwan Valley over which India and China clashed about three years ago. If Bhutan comes along then it’d be easy for China to gain control over the respective territory, such is the foresight of China. On the other side, China has spread its claws deep into Sri Lanka and Pakistan in order to corner India. The Dragon has been preparing itself for the war. Click here to read... [10]

Maldives

Chagos Islands dispute: differences of opinion among MPs - Raajje

An emergency motion has been moved in the People's Majlis, alleging that shallow deals have been made involving the territorial dispute between the Maldives and the Mauritius over Chagos Islands.
The emergency motion was proposed by the member of parliament for Maduvvari Constituency, Adam Shareef, to Monday's sitting. Click here to read... [11]

Maldives reports 199 new Covid-19 cases; 137 from capital - Raajje

Nearly 200 new Covid-19 cases have been reported within a week, most of which were confirmed from the congested capital of Maldives, Malé City.
In its latest figures publicized on Monday, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed that Covid-19 cases being reported from the congested capital of Maldives, Malé City, are continuing to spiral. Click here to read... [12]

Myanmar

Ex-UN chief Ban Ki-moon to do ‘all he can’ for peace in Myanmar - Aljazeera

Former United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has urged an end to the violence that has rocked Myanmar since the February 2021 coup, and renewed efforts to secure lasting peace and a legitimate government. Ban, who is part of The Elders advisory group of former world leaders, made his comments in a statement following a visit to the country at the invitation of the military. Click here to read... [13]

Rule of law: Myanmar’s junta uses legislation to quash civil society - IBA

Military forces in Myanmar are using legislation to create a tougher operating environment for civil society, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and those providing aid in the country. ‘They are trying to legalise their status [and] misuse their power’ via legislation that permits them to ‘restrict [and] to oppress the population’, explains a human rights activist who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. Click here to read... [14]

Conflict exacerbates Dry Zone drought - Frontier Myanmar

Sitting under the blazing 43-degree Celsius heat in Sadaung village, Ko Min Naung* stared despondently at what was once a four-acre lake. “There are two big lakes in the village. Now both are dried up,” he told Frontier in early April. “We can produce groundwater, but it’s salty. We can’t drink it; we can only use it to shower.” This is not an unusual development for the Sagaing Township village. In fact, it’s a yearly phenomenon that occurs every April and May, during the hot season in an area of Myanmar known as the Dry Zone. In years past, Sadaung residents simply transported water from nearby villages, not giving much thought to what was just a minor inconvenience at the time. Click here to read... [15]

Time Is Running out for Indonesia to Turn the Tide on Myanmar - The Diplomat

There are two ways of looking at Indonesia’s handling of the Myanmar crisis during its once-a-decade stint as ASEAN chair. Either Indonesia has been ASEAN chairman for only a few months so shouldn’t be blamed for having, so far, not come up with a meaningful policy on the Myanmar crisis. Or it only has eight months left as the chair and if it fails to devise a policy, the entire ASEAN-led response could crumble when it hands over the chairmanship next year to Laos, which is sure to steer the regional bloc down the path of greater acceptance of Myanmar’s military junta. Click here to read... [16]

Nepal

RSP wins two seats in Nepal by-polls – The Print

The Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the fourth largest party in Nepal’s Parliament, has won two out of three seats of the House of Representatives in recently held by-elections, in a surprise defeat to the ruling alliance. On Sunday, by-elections were held in Nepal’s three constituencies Tanhun-1, Chitawan-2 and Bara-2. The by-polls in the three constituencies have become a prestige issue for both the ruling alliance and the RSP, which has not yet withdrawn its support to the Prachanda-led coalition government, though its ministers had already quit the government. Click here to read... [17]

Nepal issues record 454 Mount Everest climbing permits – Al Jazeera

Nepal has issued a record 454 permits to climb Mount Everest this spring, officials say, four years after at least four deaths on the world’s highest peak were blamed on overcrowding.“This is the highest number of permits the department has issued to summit Mount Everest,” Bigyan Koirala from the tourism department told the AFP news agency on Monday, adding that the number could rise further. Click here to read... [18]

Pakistan

J&K terror attack casts shadow of uncertainty over meeting of India, Pakistan Foreign Ministers in Goa – Deccan Herald

The terrorist attack on the Rashtriya Rifles personnel at Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir last week is likely to cast a shadow on the possibility of a bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart from Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in Goa early next month. Bilawal is expected to visit Goa to take part in the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on May 4 and 5. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistan army chief in China to boost defence relations - Tribune

Pakistan’s Army chief General Asim Munir has arrived in China on a four-day official visit aimed at boosting bilateral defence ties. This is Gen Munir’s fourth overseas visit ever since he took command of the Pakistan Army in November last year. In January, he visited Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on his first official visit abroad since his appointment. A month later, he visited the UK on a highly important visit on Britain’s Ministry of Defence invitation. After his UK visit, Gen Munir again visited the UAE. Click here to read... [20]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka appreciates India's offer to evacuate its stranded citizens from Sudan – Hindustan Times

Sri Lanka has appreciated India for offering support to evacuate the stranded Sri Lankans from Sudan after the warring factors entered into a 72-hour ceasefire agreement. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka, MUM Ali Sabry on Monday said that the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka is closely monitoring the situation of its citizens in Sudan and that they were working to ensure their safe evacuation. Click here to read... [21]

Protests in Sri Lanka’s northern, eastern provinces over anti-terror bill – Indian Express

Normal life was disrupted in Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern provinces on Tuesday due to widespread protests by the main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance against a new controversial anti-terrorism bill drafted to replace a draconian counter-terrorism law. The new Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) will replace the much-maligned Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979. The PTA was introduced as a temporary arrangement to counter the campaign of separatist violence by the Tamil minority militant groups in 1979. Click here to read... [22]

China Aid donated National Hospital’s OPD building opened – Daily News

Health Minister Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella said that the cordial relationship between China and Sri Lanka reached a significant milestone with the commissioning of a newly constructed outpatient building of the Colombo National Hospital. The Minister said so addressing the handing over ceremony of the newly constructed outpatient building project of the National Hospital, Colombo yesterday. The new outpatient building, which was commissioned jointly by Minister Rambukwella and Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Qi Zhenghong, has been constructed with a donation given by China-Aid of the Peoples’ Republic of China. This donation is the largest ever donation by China to Sri Lanka as the project cost is around US $ 80 million. Click here to read... [23]