This week in Himal
This week, Zahra Nader writes about the escalating deportations of Afghan refugees in Iran, with Afghans navigating growing hostility, systemic neglect and violence while being forcibly returned to Afghanistan, where they face an uncertain future under Taliban rule.
Don't miss Sreyarth Krishna's article on the power of speculative and science fiction as instruments of the anti-caste struggle in Southasia.
Indian historian Irfan Habib speaks to Harsh Mander about the decay of socialism and secularism and the Hindu Right’s project of rewriting Indian history in episode 7 of ‘Partition of the Heart: Conversations with Harsh Mander.’
Also read: The present and deep past of anti-caste speculative fiction
Also read: Irfan Habib & Harsh Mander on the decay of socialism and secularism in India
Also read: Iran’s harrowing drive to deport Afghan refugees
This week in Southasia
Massive UK data breach left 33,000 Afghans vulnerable to Taliban reprisal
On 15 July, UK Defence Secretary John Healey revealed that the UK secretly resettled thousands of Afghans after a British soldier leaked their personal details, for fear they might be targeted by the Taliban. The breach occurred in February 2022 when a spreadsheet containing details of around 33,000 Afghans who had applied for relocation to the UK after the 2021 Taliban takeover was forwarded to the wrong email. Most of the Afghans on the list had worked as translators, assistants or in other capacities for the British military in Afghanistan and were vulnerable to Taliban reprisal. A Ministry of Defence-commissioned review said that more than 16,000 Afghans affected by the breach had been relocated to the UK as of May 2025, at a cost of GBP 400 million, with more expected in the near future.
The British response to the data breach was marked by delays and a lack of transparency thanks to a rare court order that stopped the leak from becoming public until this week. It also highlights how careless foreign government intervention in Afghanistan has deeply impacted Afghan lives, reviving memories of US forces’ hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 which left many Afghans who worked with the US stranded, with US President Donald Trump’s pause on US refugee admissions continuing to leave Afghan refugees in limbo. The leak underscores the urgent need for reforms to support refugees’ privacy and welfare.
From the archive (October 2023)
Also read: Bangladesh’s murky games to get Saima Wazed to the WHO
On 11 July, Saima Wazed, the regional director for the World Health Organization’s South East Asia regional office was placed on leave, four months after Bangladesh’s Anti Corruption Commission filed two cases against her for fraud, forgery and misuse of power. Wazed came under public scrutiny when she was first appointed to the post with allegations that her mother, Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, had used influence in order to ensure that Wazed would receive the post. In light of this, Disha Shetty’s article from October 2023 is worth rereading.
Elsewhere in Southasia
- Air India probe finds no issues with fuel control switches on Boeing 747s, weeks after preliminary investigation into Air India 171 flight crash finds fuel-control switches were moved to the cut-off position seconds after take-off
- Bangladesh police clash with supporters of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina during National Citizens Party rally led by student protesters, leaving 4 dead as the country marks one year since student-led protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina government
- Indian army carries out cross-border strike targeting United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) bases in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, killing five ULFA-I members
- State of emergency declared in several districts of Pakistan’s Punjab on 17 July due to flooding, with over 60 lives lost in a day
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warns India, China and Brazil could be hit with secondary sanctions if they continue trade with Russia as negotiations continue for India-US trade deal continues
- Furore over demolition of Indian film director Satyajit Ray’s ancestral home in Mymensingh; Bangladesh says home being demolished has no connection to Ray family after India offers to help restore it
- Islamabad High Court gives federal government one month to set up commission to investigate misuse of blasphemy law
- New report from Human Rights Watch says Thai authorities threaten, extort and detain refugees fleeing conflict in Myanmar in Mae Sot, calls for recognition of Myanmar refugee status, temporary protection regime for Myanmar refugees
- Nepal’s Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Raj Kumar Gupta resigns after audio recording of him accepting a bribe made public
Revisit some of our archival stories adding more context to some of this week's news updates from Bangladesh and India.
Also read: Shahidul Alam's dispatches on Bangladesh's uprising and the government's reprisal
Also read: How Thailand and India continue to fail Myanmar refugees
Snap Southasia
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