Neighborhood News Digest – 18 January 2023

Afghanistan

Afghan Taliban For First Time Reports Threat From Pakistan: Report – NDTV

For the first time, the Taliban reported threats from Pakistan, which they considered as the safe haven from 2000-2021, independent journalist Bilal Sarwary said citing an internal memo. Taking to Twitter, Sarwary said, "A leaked Taliban internal memo reports an ISKP training camp inside Pak's tribal area&warns of ISKP massing from Pak into Logar. This is an interesting twist in the story with first-time Taliban reports of threats from Pakistan where they once had their safe havens from 2002-2021." Click here to read... [2]

UN's top woman envoy in Afghanistan for talks on Taliban crackdown – France 24

Senior UN officials have arrived in Kabul for talks as the United Nations chief voiced concern over the Taliban's creation of "gender-based apartheid," a UN spokesman said Tuesday. The UN delegation, which arrived Monday, includes Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Sima Bahous, executive secretary of UN Women, spokesman Farhan Haq said. Click here to read... [3]

Taliban (IEA) Authorities Flog Nine People in Kandahar – Khaama Press

The Islamic Emirate court in southern Kandahar has announced that nine people allegedly accused of committing “adultery and theft” have been flogged in public in this province. Kandahar province’s court of appeals announced in a press release on Monday that nine individuals allegedly accused of committing adultery and theft have been lashed in public. The Taliban authorities have not provided further clarifications in this regard. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

FM: Bangladesh's growing economy entices US to maintain good relations – Dhaka Tribune

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the United States wants to maintain good relations with Bangladesh and noted that Bangladesh is "becoming a big economy". Momen said US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu came to Bangladesh to "help improve the relationship" between the two countries. Click here to read... [5]

US embassy clarifies home minister’s comment – Daily Star

Clarifying things over Home Minster Asaduzzaman Khan's comments, the US embassy yesterday said Assistant Secretary Donald Lu, during his visit to Dhaka, did not indicate a time frame for lifting the sanctions on Rab. Talking to reporters at the Secretariat on Monday, the home minister said the US sanctions on Rab would be lifted soon as Lu had expressed his satisfaction over the force's recent activities. Click here to read... [6]

Bangladesh remains hesitant on backing Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy – Economic

Times
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said that Bangladesh stood ready to do whatever was needed for the people’s welfare, noting that the government is still studying the issues related to US Indo-Pacific Strategy. Click here to read... [7]

Bhutan

Worry for Delhi: China is eyeing Doklam – Deccan Herald

There is concern in New Delhi that the Sino-Bhutanese talks to settle their border dispute could culminate in Bhutan ceding control over Doklam. The Bhutanese government is under pressure from its people to settle the border. Although India has invested heavily in Bhutan, the allure of Chinese investments seems to be growing. India may need to reorient investments into people-centric development in Bhutan. Ultimately, it is the Bhutanese people who have always stood firmly with India, who are India’s strongest defence in that part of the HimalayasClick here to read... [8]

National debt increases by Nu 7.84B at Nu 264.83B – Kuensel Online

The country’s national debt saw an increase by 3.1 percent which is equivalent to Nu 7.84 billion (B) in the last three months from October to December last year. The total debt increased to Nu 264.83B in December last year, the finance ministry’s report shows. This accounted for 129.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) estimate for fiscal year 2022-23. The finance ministry stated that the increase in debt was because of 8.2B or 3.6 percent increase in external debt. The external debt was Nu 237.63B as of December last year. Click here to read... [9]

Maldives

Jaishankar to visit Maldives, Sri Lanka - PTI News

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on a three-day visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka beginning Wednesday to further expand bilateral engagement with the two key maritime neighbours of India. Jaishankar's first destination will be the Maldives, where he will sign several agreements to bolster bilateral cooperation. His visit to Sri Lanka on Thursday comes at a time when the island nation is battling an economic crisis and is looking forward for debt restructuring from New Delhi. Click here to read... [10]

Maldives confirms six new Covid-19 cases, one hospital admission - Raajje

This was revealed by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in its latest figures publicized on Tuesday. As such, over the past week, Maldives confirmed six new Covid-19 infections out of which just one was detected from the Greater Malé Region and the remaining five were reported from others including industrial islands, liveaboard vessels and resorts. No new cases were detected from residential islands outside of the capital, between January 8 – 14.
Click here to read... [11]

Myanmar

Myanmar’s Civilian Government Calls on Neighbors to Deny Junta Jets Airspace Access - The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has called on neighboring countries to stop junta warplanes from using their airspace following last week’s air raids along the Indian border. On January 10 and 11, junta fighter jets attacked Camp Victoria, the headquarters of the Chin National Front (CNF), near the border, killing five Chin fighters, injuring many others and damaging a health clinic and civilian houses. Click here to read... [12]

HRW Urge ASEAN Chair Indonesia to Pressure Myanmar on Violence - VOA News

Indonesia is under increasing pressure to use its new one-year role as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to isolate Myanmar’s junta in a bid to end its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy opponents, analysts say. Click here to read... [13]

UNHCR seeks comprehensive regional response to address rise in deadly South-East Asia sea journeys - Relief Web

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. More than 3,500 desperate Rohingya attempted deadly sea crossings in 39 boats in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal in 2022, according to the latest data from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. This represents a 360 per cent increase on the year before when some 700 people made similar journeys. Click here to read... [14]

Nepal

Nepal temple prepares to gift 350-tonne stones to build Ram statue in Ayodhya – The Hindu

Two shilas (stones), around seven feet long and weighing over 350 tonnes, from Nepal’s Kali Gandaki river are set to arrive at Ayodhya, where they will be used to carve the idol of Lord Ram, said the priests from Janaki temple (Janakpur), Nepal. Interestingly, in Ayodhya, there is still no clarity if the stones from Nepal will be used to build the idol, according to an official from the temple trust. Click here to read... [15]

PM Dahal expands Cabinet, inducts 15 more ministers – Himalayan Times

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal today expanded the Cabinet, inducting 15 more ministers from partners of the seven-party alliance. The expanded Cabinet has 23 ministers, including four deputy prime ministers and three ministers of state. The PM inducted lawmakers from his party, the CPN- MC, as well as the CPN-UML, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party, and the Janamat Party. Click here to read... [16]

Pakistan

US lawmaker introduces bill to terminate Pakistan’s designation as major non-NATO ally – The Indian Express

A US lawmaker has introduced a legislation in the US House of Representatives that seeks to terminate Pakistan’s designation as a major non-NATO ally, and require annual certification from the president with certain conditions for Islamabad to be given such a designation. It needs to be passed by the House and the Senate before it can be signed into law by the US President, and has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for necessary actions. Click here to read... [17]

Pakistan PMO: No talks unless India revokes 'Art 370 move' – Times of India

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif's office Tuesday amended his seemingly unconditional offer of “serious and sincere talks” with counterpart Narendra Modi “to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir”, saying a dialogue with India would be possible only if the latter reversed its “illegal action of August 5, 2019” on J&K. Sharif said the UAE could play an important role in bringing the two countries to the table, adding he would hold talks with “sincerity of purpose”. The Pakistan PM said his country and India being neighbours, there was no choice but to live with each other. Click here to read... [18]

Pakistan's economy South Asia's weakest, World Bank report says amid crisis – Hindustan Times

The World Bank forecast Pakistan’s economic growth to slow further to two percent during the current year. This will mark a drop of two percentage points from its June 2022 estimates, according to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report. The report, issued by a flagship publication of the World Bank Group, said that Pakistan’s economic output was not only declining itself but also bringing down the regional growth rate as well. Forecasting Pakistan's GDP growth rate to improve to 3.2 per cent in 2024, the report said, “Policy uncertainty further complicates the economic outlook” of Pakistan. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistani FM Zardari slams previous government’s TTP policy – Al Jazeera

Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accused the previous government of Prime Minister Imran Khan of following a “wrong approach” towards the armed group Pakistan Taliban (Tahreek-e-Taliban, or TTP). “Its policy of appeasement towards the Taliban has created problems for the people of Pakistan,” Zardari told Al Jazeera in an interview on Tuesday, adding that the former approach has been ended by his government. Click here to read... [20]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka nears IMF bailout as India backs debt plan – Deccan Herald

Sri Lanka’s debt negotiations with China and India “are successful,” according to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, bringing the bankrupt nation closer to clearing a major hurdle to unlock $2.9 billion from the International Monetary Fund. The nation’s president, who doubles as finance minister, spoke before the parliament Tuesday, without providing details. Before that, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News that India formally notified that it would support Sri Lanka. Click here to read... [21]

Sri Lanka Announces Major Cut to Armed Forces - DSM

Confronted with a severe financial crisis, the government of Sri Lanka has announced plans to slash its armed forces over the course of the year in an effort to get a handle on public expenditures. According to the Ministry of Defense, the move will see the Sri Lankan Army shrink to 135,000 next year from its current total of around 180,000. It will then fall further down to 100,000 by 2030. Click here to read... [22]

SL forces and U.S. Marines to hold joint training exercise – Daily Mirror

The U.S. Navy and Sri Lankan Marine Corps including Airforce and Navy will commence a joint military exercise in Colombo from Jan.19 to 26. The US embassy said the CARAT/MAREX Sri Lanka is a bilateral exercise between Sri Lanka and the United States designed to promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance maritime interoperability. This is the fifth CARAT/ MAREX exercise between the United States and Sri Lanka, and this year includes participants from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Maldives National Defence Force. Click here to read... [23]

Sri Lanka, India discuss priority areas for cooperation – Daily News

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda met National Security Advisor of India Ajit Kumar Doval on January 16 and discussed matters pertaining to India-Sri Lanka relations. The discussion focused on mutual strategic interests of the two countries and priority areas for cooperation. The meeting took place as part of the regular and ongoing dialogue between the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka and the National Security Advisor of India. Click here to read... [24]