Neighborhood News Digest- 11 March 2025

Afghanistan

Iran Imposes New Restrictions on Afghan Migrants for New Solar Year-Tolo News

Nader Yarahmadi, director general of the Bureau for Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Interior, recently announced that from the 1st of Hamal 1404 (March 21, 2025), undocumented Afghan migrants in Iran will be deprived of healthcare, education, and other services. Speaking to an Iranian media outlet, Yarahmadi stated that only six groups of Afghan migrants will be legally allowed to reside in Iran. Click here to read... [2]

India closely monitoring situation in Afghanistan, discussed with Taliban regime various issues pertaining to bilateral relations: Delhi tells UNSC-Hindustan Times

United Nations, India told the UN Security Council that it has discussed with the Taliban regime various issues pertaining to bilateral relations and the "special" people-to-people ties has been the "foundation" of Delhi's present day engagement with the country. Click here to read... [3]

Breakthrough in Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham Border Talks-The Khaama Press

Taliban representatives and Pakistani officials have agreed to a ceasefire and the reopening of the Torkham border crossing after negotiations aimed at easing border tensions, according to the reports. The discussions, held on Sunday, included 35 Taliban representatives and 40 officials from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The talks focused on assessing and reconstructing damaged areas in disputed sections around Torkham. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Rice prices at record high, but private importers stay on sidelines – The Daily Star

Rice prices have been rising for roughly around one and a half years, with both premium and coarse varieties now at historic highs. Prompted by soaring prices and severe flooding in the northeast last August that devastated paddy fields, the interim government approved large-scale rice imports by private entities. Click here to read... [5]

RMG workers block Dhaka-Mymensingh highway demanding arrears – The Daily Star

Workers of a garment factory located in Tongi's Hossain Market, Gazipur, have blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, demanding their due salaries. The blockade began at 9:00am, causing severe disruption to traffic. Click here to read... [6]

Nahid: No place for Awami League in Bangladesh politics – Dhaka Tribune

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Md Nahid Islam has said the fascist politics of the Awami League will no longer have a place in the Bangladeshi political arena. “We believe that the people of the country already delivered their verdict against the Awami League on August 5. No election will be held in the country before the trial of the Awami League and Sheikh Hasina,” Nahid said during an iftar and prayer gathering organized by the NCP at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on Monday. Click here to read... [7]

Anisuzzaman Chowdhury made special assistant to Chief Adviser – Prothom Alo

Anisuzzaman Chowdhury was appointed as a special assistant with the status of a state minister to Chief Adviser Prfessor Muhamamd Yunus. He has been delegating to the finance ministry and will assist the finance advisor. The Cabinet Division issued a circular on this matter on Monday. Click here to read... [8]

Bhutan

Bhutan launches national strategy to eliminate gender-based violence by 2028 – Kuensel

Every two in five women in Bhutan suffer from intimate partner violence while 6.9 percent report experiencing childhood sexual abuse. Over half of women and girls believe that violence against women is sometimes justified, revealing deep-seated societal and cultural norms that perpetuate gender-based violence (GBV). These alarming statistics are detailed in the new National Strategy and Framework of Action on Eliminating Gender-Based Violence (2024-2028), launched on March 8, International Women’s Day. The report, which lays out the country’s ambitious plan to combat all forms of GBV, highlights key contributing factors such as low education, childhood trauma, alcohol abuse, harmful masculinity, and gender inequality. Societal norms that favour men exacerbate these risks, underscoring the urgent need for change. Click here to read... [9]

Maldives

Maldives’ Usable Reserve Up 54% to Cross USD179.1 Million – PSM News

According to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) figures, the country’s official reserves stood at USD708.1 million by the end of January. However, the figure had risen to USD832.1 million as of February, recording an increase of USD124 million in a single month with an increase of 18 percent. With the official reserves, the usable reserves have also increased in February. The usable reserves stood at USD116 million in January, according to central bank data. By February, the number had increased to USD179.1 million which is a 54 percent increase in just one month. The country’s reserves have made strong gains at a time when the government has enforced a new foreign exchange law mandating tourist establishments to exchange a portion of their revenue to local banks. Click here to read... [10]

Maldives lacks independent central bank, gov’t controls MMA: Ameer – Raajje

Former Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has stated that the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has lost its independence, that there is currently no independent central bank in the Maldives and that the government controls MMA. Ameer has made these remarks at a time the government has decided to inject money into the Maldives’ economy through the central bank. This is planned to be done through a transaction where MMA will purchase 22 hectares of land from assets of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). Click here to read... [11]

Myanmar

Nearly 300 Indians brought back from Myanmar scam centres on IAF C-17 plane – The Times of India

Nearly 300 Indian nationals returned home via Thailand on Monday after being freed from scam centers in Myanmar, as reported by AFP. A crackdown on these illegal online fraud hubs, largely run by Chinese operators, has led to the release of around 7,000 workers from over two dozen countries. Many of the freed individuals, mostly Chinese, remain stranded in poor conditions near the Myanmar-Thai border. Indian officials escorted seven buses carrying 266 men and 17 women—along with three additional buses transporting their luggage—to Thailand’s Mae Sot airport. Click here to read... [12]

Chinese Military Infiltrates Myanmar in Security Guise – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar enacted the Private Security Service Law on Feb. 18, effectively opening Myanmar’s borders to Chinese military personnel disguised as private security firms. This legislation represents a calculated move by Beijing to protect its strategic investments while further deepening its influence in a vulnerable neighbor—a modus operandi China has deployed across multiple countries along its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China’s ambitious economic corridor through Myanmar has boomeranged into a security nightmare for Beijing. As resistance forces and ethnic armed groups gained control of territories containing critical Chinese infrastructure, Beijing’s strategy shifted from economic partnership to military entrenchment. The law follows a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in August 2024, after which proposals for a “joint venture security company” mysteriously materialized in Myanmar’s policy discussions. Click here to read... [13]

Pakistan

Remittances jump 40pc in February, total $3.12bn-Dawn

Remittances from overseas Pakistani workers soared by nearly 40 per cent year-on-year in February 2025, reaching $3.12 billion, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data released on Monday. Compared to January 2025, remittance inflows increased by 3.8pc, providing much-needed financial support to the economy, government reserves and liquidity for importers. Click here to read... [14]

PIA sell-off set for July, IMF told-The Express Tribune

In a briefing to the IMF over Pakistan's virtually stalled privatisation programme, the federal authorities said that they will try to privatise five to seven enterprises, including PIA, three financial institutions and three power distribution companies, according to the government sources. Click here to read... [15]

Pakistan, IMF begin policy-level talks for $1b tranche-The Express Tribune

Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have initiated policy-level discussions for the next tranche of the $7 billion loan program. The review process is scheduled to continue until March 14. According to the Ministry of Finance, the IMF delegation will evaluate Pakistan’s progress in implementing economic reforms outlined under the program’s conditions. Click here to read... [16]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka among countries with lowest terror threats in the world – Daily Mirror

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has published the annual Global Terrorism Index 2025, in which Sri Lanka ranked 100th with a score of zero and was classified as a country with «no impact» of terrorism. The Global Terrorism Index is a comprehensive study that analyzes the impact of terrorism on 163 countries, covering 99.7 percent of the world’s population. Click here to read... [17]

Foreign investors in focus as Invest Sri Lanka 2025 set to kick off in March – Daily Mirror

The highly-awaited Invest Sri Lanka Capital Market Investor Forum 2025 is set to take place on March 27 and 28, 2025, in Colombo, to woo foreign investors. To be held at Shangri-La Colombo, the event is hosted by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and stockbroker industry. Click here to read... [18]