AFP Asia

Pakistan’s largest city was abuzz with anticipation and apprehension Wednesday as the hosts played the opening match of the nation’s first major international cricket tournament in three decades.The eight-team Champions Trophy launched in the southern city of Karachi with the home side facing New Zealand at a sell-out 29,300 National Bank Stadium.Pakistan, a cricket-mad nation where the sport is played on almost every street corner, are the defending champions.”Pakistan are unpredictable, they can surprise anytime,” said 24-year-old Kashif Khan, queueing in the morning with his 5,000 rupee ($18) ticket.Long lines snaked outside the stadium from four hours before the match, with a smattering of New Zealand fans outnumbered by hordes of chanting and flag-waving Pakistanis.The Champions Trophy will take place in three cities in Pakistan, while India will play their fixtures in Dubai after refusing to visit its neighbouring arch-rival.Among Karachi’s population of more than 20 million, fans were adamant India would have been welcomed.”If India were here I would arrange a trail of rose petals leading them to the stadium,” Khan said. “We love the Indian team in the same way that we love the Pakistani team — because it’s all about cricket.”Pakistan last held a major international tournament as World Cup co-hosts with India and Sri Lanka in 1996.Sofia Babar, 45, was in the stands in Karachi during that tournament. Queueing on Wednesday, she said: “I want my daughter to experience what I did all those years ago.”Security concerns in the years following the 9/11 attacks kept away international tournaments, then a deadly 2009 Islamist attack on a bus carrying Sri Lanka’s team in Lahore scared off teams.”It’s my first international match,” said Abdul Latif, 29, whose age matches the hiatus global tournaments have taken from Pakistan.”I didn’t want to miss it,” he said, queueing with friends.- Success, win or lose -More than 6,000 police officers and paramilitary Rangers were deployed around the stadium — in addition to 1,000 traffic police — senior police official Muhammad Anwar Khetran told AFP.The officer overseeing security at the front gate said fans went through three checks — on roads leading to the stadium, at the stand entrance and each enclosure.Although militancy is still a threat in Pakistan, the violence is nearly entirely limited to the remote border regions from north to south, far away from the stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.Cricket is deeply entwined in Pakistan’s sense of pride and the return of a big tournament promises to boost the national mood.”We want to show the world that Pakistan is safe,” said 53-year-old Asif Majeed, a third generation Pakistani migrant who travelled from his home in Britain to watch the match.”Win or lose, this event will do wonders for Pakistan’s image globally.”The country’s most loved cricketing legend Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992, is however currently locked up in prison for graft, charges that the former prime minister says are politically motivated. Giant placards celebrating the Champions Trophy in Karachi display the gleaming trophy with the caption: “All on the line.””Everybody’s excited and expecting good cricket because it’s happening in Pakistan,” Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab told AFP.But 65-year-old fan Muhammad Yaseen struck a far more relaxed tone. “We don’t feel any tension,” he said. “Our hearts are alive.”Among Karachi’s enormous population there were minor gripes — about road closures, onerous security measures and logistical problems buying tickets.”There is also less work as people prefer to stay at home and watch the match,” said Muhammad Arif, who works with a ride-hailing service.”But I know how important it is for Pakistan’s image, so it’s a small sacrifice on the part of people like us.”

Indian police in disputed Kashmir have raided dozens of bookshops and seized hundreds of copies of books by an Islamic scholar, sparking angry reactions by Muslim leaders.Police said searches were based on “credible intelligence regarding the clandestine sale and distribution of literature promoting the ideology of a banned organisation”.Officers did not name the author, but store owners said they had seized literature by the late Abul Ala Maududi, founder of the Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami.Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full.Rebel groups, demanding Kashmir’s freedom or its merger with Pakistan, have been fighting Indian forces for decades, with tens of thousands killed in the conflict.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government banned the Kashmir branch of Jamaat-e-Islami in 2019 as an “unlawful association”.New Delhi renewed the ban last year for what it said were “activities against the security, integrity and sovereignty” of the nation.Plainclothes officers began raids on Saturday in the main city of Srinagar, before launching book seizures in other towns across the Muslim-majority region.”They (police) came and took away all the copies of books authored by Abul Ala Maududi saying these books were banned,” a bookshop owner in Srinagar told AFP, asking not to be named. “These books were found to be in violation of legal regulations, and strict action is being taken against those found in possession of such material,” police said in a statement.Police said the searches were conducted “to prevent the circulation of banned literature linked to Jamaat-e-Islami”.The raids sparked anger among supporters of the party.”The seized books promote good moral values and responsible citizenship,” said Shamim Ahmed Thokar.Umar Farooq, Kashmir’s chief cleric and a prominent leader advocating for the right to self-determination, condemned the police action.”Cracking down on Islamic literature and seizing them from bookstores is ridiculous,” Farooq said in a statement, pointing out that the literature was available online.”Policing thought by seizing books is absurd — to say the least — in the time of access to all information on virtual highways,” he added.Critics and many residents of Kashmir say civil liberties were drastically curtailed after Modi’s government imposed direct rule in 2019 by scrapping Kashmir’s constitutionally enshrined partial autonomy.

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan said on Tuesday the Champions Trophy would be a “historic occasion” for the country, a day before the hosts kick the tournament off against New Zealand.The Champions Trophy is the first major cricket event hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades and is regarded as second only to the World Cup in the one-day game.”A global event has come to Pakistan after 29 years so I think the whole nation should enjoy this historic occasion,” Rizwan told a news conference on the eve of the tournament, which runs until March 9. Pakistan had been due to host the tournament in 2008 but was thrown into cricketing isolation by a security crisis as violence spilled over from the long-running war in neighbouring Afghanistan.Islamist gunmen then attacked a bus carrying Sri Lanka’s team in Lahore the following year, wounding several players and killing eight policemen and civilians.However, major teams have toured Pakistan in the past five years as security improved, opening the way for the cricket-mad nation to stage the tournament.”Pakistan has suffered enough and for a long time, but we have also won during this phase like the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup,” Rizwan said.Still, the build-up has not been without problems after neighbours and arch-rivals India refused to play in Pakistan over long-standing political tensions. India will instead play their matches in Dubai.Pakistan’s opponents in the tournament opener in Karachi beat them twice this month during a tri-series event that included South Africa.”There shouldn’t be any doubts on our performance,” Rizwan said. “We may not have played on our abilities but we all want to win the event for the country and people.”Rizwan hoped to have pace bowler Haris Rauf on the pitch after he suffered chest muscle strain in the match against New Zealand in Lahore last week.”Haris bowled 80 percent yesterday and today he is bowling at his full rhythm and told us that he is not feeling any discomfort, so I hope he is fully fit,” Rizwan said.New Zealand senior batter Tom Latham said he hoped tri-series experience would help his team.”We’re lucky we’ve been over here for a couple of weeks and played in Pakistan quite a bit over the last three years,” said Latham whose team won the preceding tri-series final in Karachi.”But it will be a new match (tomorrow) and a new pitch so we have to adjust quickly,” he added.Latham also ruled out the possibility of pacer Kyle Jamieson — who replaced unfit Lockie Ferguson in the squad — playing on Wednesday, since Jamieson was set to arrive the same day.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla has begun hiring in India, with the company of tycoon Elon Musk issuing advertisements days after US President Donald Trump’s right-hand man met with India’s premier.Tesla has more than a dozen job listings on its website, for both the capital New Delhi and economic hub Mumbai, including for a store manager and service technicians.The job listings were posted on the employment website LinkedIn on Monday.Tesla’s India push comes after Musk met one-on-one with Prime Minister Narenda Modi in Washington, raising questions over whether the world’s richest man was meeting the Indian leader in an official or business capacity.Musk has been seeking business opportunities in the world’s most populous nation, with media reports last year suggesting it was scouting for factory and showroom locations.Musk has also sought to open his satellite internet service Starlink in India, with communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in November saying the company would be allowed to operate if it complies with “security” regulations.The potential launch of Starlink — with its network of low Earth orbit satellites capable of providing internet to remote and disconnected locations — in the world’s most populous country has been accompanied by fierce policy debates and alleged national security concerns.Musk was due to visit India in 2024, following suggestions that he would announce major investment plans, but later cancelled the trip due to what he said were “very heavy Tesla obligations”.While India’s electric car market is small, it still represents a growth opportunity for Tesla which is battling increased Chinese competition and its first slump in annual EV sales.India has long had steep import taxes for electric vehicles — Musk once complained they were among the “highest in the world” — which had prevented Tesla from making inroads in the absence of local manufacturing.But India last year cut import taxes on electric vehicles for global automakers that committed to invest $500 million and start local production within three years.New Delhi had had offered quick tariff concessions ahead of Modi’s Washington visit, including slashing duties on high-end motorcycles — a boost to Harley-Davidson, the iconic US manufacturer whose struggles in India have irked Trump.India has also already accepted three US military flights carrying more than 300 migrants as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Pakistan will host a first major cricket tournament in almost three decades from Wednesday in a move hailed as a landmark just a few years after the country was off-limits because of security fears.Staging the Champions Trophy in three cities over the next two-and-a-half weeks will be a huge boost to the South Asian nation’s reputation if authorities can pull it off smoothly and safely.”Convincing the world that Pakistan is a safe country and that it is capable of delivering such a global event from an administration point of view took serious hard work and convincing,” former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja told AFP.”The world eventually understood our viewpoint,” said Raja, under whose tenure the event was awarded in 2021.The build-up has not been without problems after neighbours and arch-rivals India refused to play in Pakistan over long-standing political tensions.A powerhouse of the sport on and off the pitch, India will instead play their matches in Dubai, but the other seven countries will be based in Pakistan.The country has stepped up security, especially in host cities Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, even if attacks in major cities are increasingly rare.Pakistan had been due to host the Champions Trophy, the premier ODI event after the World Cup, in 2008.It was instead staged in South Africa a year later because of a security crisis that spilled over from the war in neighbouring Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.Pakistan became a no-go zone for international sides in 2009 after Islamist gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lanka’s team in Lahore, wounding several players and killing eight policemen and civilians.   But since a sweeping military crackdown that started in 2014 and lasted several years, security has vastly improved.Test cricket returned to Pakistan in 2019 and Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa later toured the country, helping Pakistan’s bid to host the tournament. Those teams will all be in Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.- ‘Terrorism took everything’ -For 77-year-old businessman Haji Abdul Razzak, a global event coming back to Pakistan is like another birthday. The last time Pakistan held a major international cricket tournament was as co-hosts, with India and Sri Lanka, in 1996.Razzak raised the Sri Lankan flag on March 17, 1996 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore when the islanders defeated Australia to clinch the title.Twenty-nine years later the cricket fanatic will attend the opening match of the Champions Trophy in Karachi on Wednesday between holders Pakistan and New Zealand. “It is fresh in my mind,” a teary-eyed Razzak told AFP. “My country was thriving back then and cricket was on everyone’s mind.”He added: “Terrorism took everything away from us. I am overjoyed to see a global event coming back to our country and I am feeling like it will be my birthday.” Although militancy is still a threat in Pakistan, the violence is nearly entirely limited to the remote border regions from north to south, far away from the stadiums.With the capital Islamabad placed in lockdown, Pakistan recently hosted a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and a global meeting on girls’ education, raising its profile on the international stage. As a test case for its readiness, Pakistan last week staged a tri-series with New Zealand and South Africa and crowds flocked to the recently renovated stadiums in Lahore and Karachi.Raja, a former Pakistan captain who played in the 1987 World Cup hosted by Pakistan and India, said holding the Champions Trophy has enormous significance that goes beyond sport. “This Champions Trophy is a crucial step toward normalising its standing in the global cricket community,” he said.”It’s also about national pride and sending a strong message about resilience and determination. “It is about youth engagement, cultural promotion and building a global image.”Now the onus is on us to deliver.” 

Farmers in Indian-administered Kashmir say a major government infrastructure drive is taking their deeply cherished land, fearing it spearheads a push to “Hinduise” the disputed Muslim-majority territory.Musadiq Hussain said that police “destroyed” his rice crop when a large chunk of his smallholding was expropriated to make way for a four-lane, 60-kilometre (40-mile) highway around the key city of Srinagar.”It has affected my sense of who I am and my self-respect,” said 41-year-old Hussain, adding he can no longer can grow enough rice and vegetables to feed his family.”I feel like my mind is shrinking, just like my land.”Hussain’s land was taken in 2018 but the process has intensified in recent years.The road, along with other highways and railways, is also swallowing swathes of orchards prized for their almonds, apples and other fruit in the Himalayan region, split between India and Pakistan since 1947.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, which imposed direct rule in 2019, says that the multi-billion-dollar drive is bringing a “new era of peace” and “unprecedented development”.New Delhi says it will boost trade and tourism, while also bolstering military access across the restive territory and to strategic border zones with Pakistan and China.- ‘Settler colonial land grab’ -Authorities say construction within 500 metres (yards) on either side of the highway around Srinagar is banned.But last year, authorities unveiled plans to build more than 20 “satellite townships” along the route, with drawings showing highrise developments it called a “Pearl in the Paradise”.Kashmiri political parties are demanding to know who the housing is for, accusing Modi’s government of wanting to change Kashmir’s demographic makeup to create a Hindu majority — something the authorities do not comment on.Goldie Osuri, who studies Indian policies in Kashmir at Britain’s University of Warwick, uses a phrase often associated with Israel’s occupation of the West Bank to describe the situation: a “settler colonial land grab”.”Kashmiri farmers… are being dispossessed of their land and livelihoods in the name of Indian development as ‘a gift’ for Kashmir,” Osuri told AFP.She called the project a bid to “‘Hinduise’ Kashmir at the expense of Kashmiri Muslims”.After New Delhi ended Kashmir’s constitutionally enshrined partial autonomy in 2019, land laws also changed.That allowed all Indians to buy land in Kashmir for the first time.Thousands of acres of “state lands” were added to registers to attract outside businesses.”This is a land grab in plain sight,” said Waheed Ur Rehman Para, a member of Kashmir’s local assembly.Many say that has undermined previous land reforms that granted ownership or farming rights to hundreds of thousands of people.It worries Kashmiri leaders.”We want this land to remain ours”, Modi critic Omar Abdullah, Kashmir’s chief minister, told a rally last month. “Without it, what do we truly possess?”But Siddiq Wahid, a historian at India’s Shiv Nadar University, said that the region’s political parties showed “no intent to unite, only to pull each other down”.”In this lazy politics lies the chief worry for us all”, he said. – ‘Where will we go?’ -More than half a million Indian soldiers are in Indian-administered Kashmir, battling rebels who want independence or to be part of Pakistan.Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict since 1989 in the territory of some 12 million people.Police have also seized land and properties — including orchards, commercial buildings and homes — of people with alleged links to rebel groups.Exact figures for the total area requisitioned are not public. Landowners say that the compensation offered is sometimes too low, and some are suing the government.In December, government authorities ordered the transfer of more than 600 acres (240 hectares) of orchards for a new university campus for the National Institute of Technology.It sparked furious protests from the hundreds of families who depend on the almond and apple trees.Elsewhere, in the village of Dirhama, farmers are angry at their land being requisitioned for a new train station, serving a 40-kilometre railway to an important Hindu shrine.Standing in a field as snow fell, apple farmer Mohammad Ramzan said there was no room for a railway line.”Where is the space? We all have our small patches of land. Where will we go?” asked the 78-year-old.The plan has struck a nerve in Kashmir, where land and identity are deeply intertwined.”This self-sustenance has ensured Kashmiri survival despite decades of curfews, strikes and uprisings,” said Osuri.Mohammad Shafi, a 61-year-old farmer, asked: “What is this development for when my family will be landless?”

India captain Rohit Sharma and superstar batsman Virat Kohli enter the Champions Trophy this week with intense focus on their dwindling powers and speculation over when they will retire.The 37-year-old Rohit and Kohli, 36, got back among the runs to some degree in India’s 3-0 ODI home sweep of England last week.But both have been mired in long lean patches in Tests and have already retired from T20 cricket following last year’s World Cup triumph.Age is clearly catching up with the duo ahead of India’s first match of the 50-over Champions Trophy, against Bangladesh on Thursday in Dubai.Neither player — both mainstays of a formidable India team for more than 15 years — has said what their plans are.But one Indian media report, citing anonymous sources at the cricket board, said opener Rohit had been pressed to make a decision on his future by the time the tournament ends.Rohit’s Test career already looks over, the skipper having “rested” for the decisive, final Test against Australia.”Hopefully they know when the right time to play is,” India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev said. “When they think it is not, they will call it off.”Following the bruising 3-1 Test defeat in Australia, India’s board ordered contracted players to play domestic cricket.But both flopped, with Rohit scoring three and 28 in his first and second innings for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and Kohli scoring six off 15 balls for Delhi.If the idea was to help them play their way back into form, it did not work.Despite intense conjecture about their futures India head coach Gautam Gambhir said the two stalwarts will have “massive roles” to play at the Champions Trophy. India, who will play their games in Dubai after refusing to visit neighbours and hosts Pakistan, are favourites to win the title for a third time.- ‘Not confident’ -Rohit came into the England ODIs with just 31 runs in three matches in the Australia Test series defeat.He scored two in the first ODI against England before rolling back the years in the second with a 90-ball 119.Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar was sceptical that Rohit could push on from there.”He wanted a big hundred and he finally got it,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.”Whether he can hit a few more… we will have to wait. I am not confident.”Rohit then got out for one in the final match against England.It was in that match that Kohli finally came good with his 52 — his 73rd half-century in 297 ODIs.Kohli started tentatively before finding his groove in Ahmedabad to finish with seven fours and one six in his 55-ball innings.No matter what happens at the Champions Trophy, the expectation in India is that Kohli will continue to play Test cricket.Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen warned India against discarding the duo prematurely.”You can’t write these guys off because of the aura they have when they walk out to bat,” said Pietersen in his role as a television pundit.Pietersen said that Kohli in particular had earned the right to go out on his own terms.”The question mark doesn’t come down to me, you, the selectors, the coaches, and the other players,” he said.”Virat Kohli can only answer the question in terms of how long he wants to continue and how much fight he has to get better and to create those high standards that everybody expects from him.”

The head of the World Health Organization insisted on Monday it was “now or never” to strike a landmark global accord on tackling future pandemics, after the United States withdrew from negotiations.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said no country could protect itself from the next pandemic on its own — three days after US President Donald Trump’s administration told the UN health agency it was leaving the pandemic agreement talks.”We are at a crucial point as you move to finalise the pandemic agreement in time for the World Health Assembly” in May, Tedros told WHO members at the opening of the week-long 13th round of negotiations in Geneva.”It really is a case of now or never. But I am confident that you will choose ‘now’ because you know what is at stake.”You remember the hard-won lessons of Covid-19, which left an estimated 20 million of our brothers and sisters dead, and which continues to kill.”A further one-week session is planned before the WHO’s annual assembly.The process began in December 2021, when, fearing a repeat of Covid-19 — which killed millions of people, crippled health systems and crashed economies — countries decided to draft an accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.- Next pandemic ‘when, not if’ -After returning to office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order to start the one-year process of withdrawing from the WHO, an organisation he has repeatedly criticised over its handling of Covid-19.The order added that Washington would “cease negotiations” on the pandemic agreement.Tedros said Washington had formally notified the WHO on Friday of its withdrawal from the talks.”The next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. There are reminders all around us — Ebola, Marburg, measles, mpox, influenza and the threat of the next disease X,” he said.”No country can protect itself by itself. Bilateral agreements will only get you so far,” Tedros added.”Like the decision to withdraw from WHO, we regret this decision and we hope the US will reconsider,” he said.- System ‘under siege’ -Non-governmental organisations following the pandemic agreement process urged remaining member states to get the accord finished.Pandemic Action Network said: “Despite geopolitical and policy challenges, do not walk away from this vital mission.”Spark Street Advisors, a health sector consultancy, said the world had changed since the last negotiations in December, with the global multilateral system “under siege”.”This is why member states cannot afford to fail this week. In this new reality meant to reverse decades of progress, the pandemic agreement is a concrete action against this great dismantling,” it said.While much of the draft text has been agreed, disputes remain over sharing access to pathogens with pandemic potential and the sharing of benefits derived from them — vaccines, tests and treatments.Talks co-chair Precious Matsoso expressed hoped that proposed new wording would ensure a breakthrough. “Let’s make sure that the three years that we’ve spent does not end up being regretted — that we wasted three years of our time,” she said.

The head of the World Health Organization insisted on Monday it was “now or never” to strike a landmark global accord on tackling future pandemics, despite the United States withdrawing from negotiations.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said no country could protect itself from the next pandemic on its own — three days after US President Donald Trump’s administration formally told the United Nations health agency it would play no further part in the pandemic agreement talks.”We are at a crucial point as you move to finalise the pandemic agreement in time for the World Health Assembly” in May, Tedros told WHO member states at the opening of the week-long 13th round of negotiations at the organisation’s Geneva headquarters.”It really is a case of now or never. But I am confident that you will choose “now” because you know what is at stake.”A further one-week session is planned to finalise the agreement before the WHO’s annual decision-making assembly.In December 2021, fearing a repeat of the devastation wrought by Covid-19 — which killed millions of people, crippled health systems and crashed economies — countries decided to draft a new accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.While much of the draft text has been agreed, disputes remain over some key provisions, notably over sharing access to pathogens with pandemic potential and then equitably sharing the benefits derived from them, such as vaccines, tests and treatments.- ‘Protect future generations’ -“You remember the hard-won lessons of Covid-19, which left an estimated 20 million of our brothers and sisters dead, and which continues to kill. “They are why we are here — to protect future generations from the impact of future pandemics,” said Tedros.”The next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. There are reminders all around us — Ebola, Marburg, measles, mpox, influenza and the threat of the next disease X.”Hours after returning to office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order to start the one-year process of withdrawing from the WHO, an organisation he has repeatedly criticised over its handling of Covid-19.The order also said that during the withdrawal process, Washington would “cease negotiations” on the pandemic agreement.Tedros said Washington had formally notified the WHO on Friday of its withdrawal from the agreement talks.”No country can protect itself by itself. Bilateral agreements will only get you so far,” Tedros said, adding that prevention, preparedness and response was the responsibility of all countries.”Like the decision to withdraw from WHO, we regret this decision and we hope the US will reconsider,” he said.

Sri Lanka is banking on vehicle import taxes to boost revenue and revive the island nation’s battered economy, leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s maiden budget showed on Monday.Vehicle imports were banned in 2020 to save foreign exchange but the move deprived authorities of a lucrative revenue stream, as cars were taxed at about 300 percent. Dissanayake said the ban’s end would bolster state revenue to meet the tax target of 15 percent of GDP, which the country must achieve under the terms of an International Monetary Fund bailout agreement.”For the year 2025, the bulk of revenue gains is expected to be delivered by the liberalisation of motor vehicle imports,” the president told parliament.”This process is being carefully monitored to ensure that the import of vehicles does not result in undue negative impacts on external sector stability.”The budget also doubled the entrance fee of the island’s two casinos to $100 and raised the turnover tax on gaming establishments to 18 percent, up from 15 percent. The IMF wants Sri Lanka to double its income from taxation compared to the 7.3 percent of GDP it took in 2022, when the country defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt.That year saw the island run out of foreign exchange to finance the import of food, fuel and other essentials, prompting months of street protests led to the toppling of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.Sri Lanka secured a $2.9 billion four-year loan from the IMF the following year.Dissanayake, who was elected last year promising to end corruption and bring back stolen assets stashed abroad, said the economy was on the mend.”We should be in a comfortable position to service our foreign debts from 2028,” he said. He also announced a hefty 65 percent increase in the minimum wage to 40,000 rupees ($133) and raised subsidies for low-income earners.