South Asia

Many women and children among the victims. There were more than 10,000 at the event of Bhole Baba, a former policeman turned preacher who gathers large crowds. At the origin of the chaos was a sandstorm but - according to witnesses - also the behaviour of the cleric's security service. Lucknow Bishop Gerard Mathias: "I pray for the victims and that such tragedies will not be repeated".

The artificial lake with two reservoirs in the North-Central Province was damaged. The original irrigation system, which dates to the 5th century, is crucial for thousands of people who still depend on it today. Multiple investigations have been launched, but residents fear local authorities are involved.

A Punjab court issued a surreal verdict in connection with the brutal attack against a Christian neighbourhood in August 2023, handing down a death sentence against Ahsan Masih, a young man who, like thousands others, shared a post on a social media that was construed as “instigating” violence. By contrast, 135 people arrested for involvement in the incident have walked free. For Fr Khalid Rashid Asi, the sentence was issued under extremist pressure, but eventually “truth will win”.

The murder took place in the rural village of Toylanka, where the conversion of a branch of a family to Christianity did not go down well with the rest. The victim was mortally wounded while working in the fields. Relatives even opposed her burial.

In the attack against the Holey Artisan Bakery, 22 people were killed. Since the authorities carried out massive arrests, no more massacres of this magnitude have occurred. However, jihadi groups are reorganising. The leader of the JMB is operating out of Turkey via the web, especially targeting youth.

Adopted in December, the three new codes will come into force on 1 July. Several legal experts warn against greater police powers and the vagueness of some articles that could lead to the criminalisation of Satyagraha, the non-violent form of resistance used by Gandhi. Backers of the new codes see them as a step towards “decolonisation”, claiming victims of crimes will receive swifter justice.

A group of activists and journalists met with Fr Bastian Rocknadan, who is fighting for the return of Catholics to the village of Mullikulam. The dispute flared up in 1990, when the Navy took possession of the area, forcing the inhabitants to move. Fifteen years after the end of the war, the issue remains unresolved.

In Asia, Vietnam and Bangladesh serious cases of abuse and persecution were reported in 2023. India is criticised even though New Delhi is an important US ally against Beijing. In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims suffer the worst discrimination.

The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was also celebrated in Dhaka yesterday. Bangladesh is one of the South Asian countries most affected by the phenomenon. The annual report of the Narcotics Control Directorate emphasises the role of digital platforms. Prof. Choudhury: "About 8 million drug addicts, most of them young".

New Delhi has applied to explore a deposit near the Afanasy Nikitin seamount that might be within Sri Lanka’s jurisdiction. According to experts, India's desire is first and foremost to discourage further Chinese presence in the region.

The news of the horrific death in Italy of Satnam Singh, abandoned with a severed arm while employed under a gangmaster system, has reached his home village in Punjab, an Indian state second only to Kerala in terms of emigration. What until the 1980s was the country's agricultural bread basket now offers few job opportunities to young people, who follow two paths: the most educated go to Canada, the unskilled travel to the Persian Gulf and Europe.

Yesterday the US State Department released a report on efforts to fight human trafficking in 188 countries and territories. It ranks Afghanistan among the countries with the highest level of risk, slamming recruitment of child soldiers and sexual slavery. It recommends anti-trafficking legislation and an inter-ministerial commission.