UNIPATH STAFF Uzbekistan hosted the first meeting in December 2021 of the Strategic Partnership Dialogue with the United States, highlighting the two countries’ commitment to improving security in Central Asia. The engagement in Tashkent was hosted by Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu. Both parties stressed continued cooperation to counter the threats of terrorism and extremism and reduce insecurity in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan’s loan of the Termez cargo terminal to help deliver international humanitarian aid to Afghanistan earned praise from the U.S. side. The United Nations Office of High…
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UNIPATH STAFF United Arab Emirates company Majid Al Futtaim Retail, among the top supermarket retailers in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa, earned top honors for following best practices in cybersecurity. During Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX), a consumer trade show in Dubai in October 2021, Majid Al Futtaim was singled out by Trend Micro Inc. for its efforts at securing its chain of hundreds of grocery stores. Majid is franchisee and operator for the French-based Carrefour chain. Trend Micro said Majid is responsible for protecting more than 10,000 computers, laptops and mobile devices and 2,500 servers from…
Unipath Staff The Pakistani government has reported record seizures of illegal drugs at one of the country’s main border crossings with Afghanistan. In just a few weeks in December 2021 and January 2022, Pakistani officials at the Torkham border post disrupted the smuggling of 524 kilograms of hashish, 255 kilograms of heroin, 280 kilograms of opium, and almost 22 kilograms of methamphetamine. On January 6, 2022, Pakistan discovered two separate caches of heroin, one amounting to 100 kilograms, the other 130 kilograms. The latter seizure represented a record at Torkham. Acting on a tip, the Pakistanis discovered the heroin at…
UNIPATH STAFF Preemptive action by the Sultan’s Armed Forces saved the lives of potentially hundreds of Omanis residing in the path of Cyclone Shaheen in October 2021. Omani authorities rescued more than 600 people as the storm hit the country with winds of up to 150 kilometers per hour and waves approaching heights of 10 meters. To diminish casualties from the approaching cyclone, Omani Internal Security Service halted traffic in the governorates of Al Batinah North and Al Batinah South, restricting movement to emergency cases and deliveries of vital goods. Power was cut as well in al-Qurm, east of Muscat,…
UNIPATH STAFF As part of an expanding diplomatic and security partnership, high-ranking diplomats from Kazakhstan and the United States committed their countries to further cooperation on counterterrorism, nuclear nonproliferation and border security. The December 2021 meeting in the Kazakh capital of Astana occurred between Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu. Lu expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan on behalf of the U.S. for its strong cooperation in addressing challenges such as border security, counterterrorism, peacekeeping, nuclear nonproliferation, climate change and regional security. He commended Kazakhstan for its leadership…
BY GEN. MICHAEL KURILLA, COMMANDER OF UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND Somewhere in the Arabian Gulf, a dhow makes its way along the surface of the water, almost 50 kilometers off the coast. From the outside, this dhow appears just like the thousands of other vessels that make a trip over those seas every day. But there’s a difference — this dhow is moving thousands of kilos of explosives into the region. Those explosives are undetectable by any external observation. Suddenly, two vessels punch through the ocean at 70 knots. The men on the dhow are encircled before they can even…
UNIPATH STAFF Making history, the first batch of female Saudi Soldiers graduated from the Armed Forces Women’s Cadre Training Center of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces in September 2021 after 14 weeks of boot camp. “The daily training program begins with the early morning inspection, then starts a physical training period under the supervision of the fitness trainers, then trainees get dismissed for breakfast, then start field training. Once done, the theoretical classes start,” trainer Manahil bint Saleh bin Humaid said. The plan to allow Saudi women into the military was announced in 2019, though the first female Soldiers didn’t…
UNIPATH STAFF In a move to boost military recruitment, the Kuwait Armed Forces is studying the benefits of allowing women to serve in the military. Maj. Gen. Khaled Al-Kandari, deputy chief of staff for manpower, announced that the study on female recruitment is scheduled for the end of 2021. The debate on whether to enlist women in the Armed Forces was revived in September 2021 during a recruitment campaign, launched by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense, called “Be Among Them.” Kuwait considered a similar move in 2018, when Sheikh Nasser Al Sabah, then Kuwait’s minister of defense, advocated admitting…
UNIPATH STAFF In a boost to regional security in Central Asia, Tajikistan’s parliament ratified agreements with Uzbekistan to cooperate on air defense and military intelligence. The agreements were signed during the official visit to Tajikistan by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in June 2021, but achieved final Tajik approval in December 2021. In terms of air defense, both countries agreed to share best practices in aviation and air defense, conduct joint training, assist each other’s aircraft in distress, and exchange information about air traffic. Intelligence-sharing will entail mostly exchanging information about suspected terrorists and religious extremist groups. Information includes terrorists sponsors…
UNIPATH STAFF A joint effort by hundreds of thousands of Iraqi police officers and military personnel helped secure early parliamentary elections across the country in October 2021. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior reported no terrorist attacks, accidents or security breaches, despite the absence of a curfew imposed in previous elections. The plan for securing the election included the deployment of 300,000 members of the Army, police, Air Force, Military Aviation and civil defense. Aerial surveillance helped ensure that many of Iraq’s 8,278 polling centers were protected from potential terrorist attacks. “This election is fundamentally different from all previous elections…