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Pakistan's threat to forcibly expel illegal Afghan immigrants is "unacceptable", a spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul said on Wednesday, adding that Afghans were not to blame for Pakistan's security problems.

Estimating that there were 1.73 million Afghan immigrants living in Pakistan without any legal status, Pakistan's caretaker government on Tuesday set a Nov.1 deadline for them to leave or face forcible expulsion.

"The behavior of Pakistan towards Afghan refugees is unacceptable," Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul, said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

To help justify the crackdown, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti alleged that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 out of 24 suicide bombings in Pakistan this year.

The Taliban spokesman rejected that claim.

"The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan's security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them," Mujahid said.

Pakistan's ultimatum to the immigrants, most of whom have been living in the country for years, came after a meeting of civil and military leaders to review the law and order situation following two suicide bombings on Friday that killed at least 57 people. Bugti said one of the suicide bombers was an Afghan national, and he also accused India's intelligence agency of involvement.

Relations between the Taliban and the Pakistan government have deteriorated markedly, with border clashes temporarily closing the main trade route between the neighbours last month.

Islamabad alleges that the militants use Afghan soil to train fighters and plan attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban denies those accusations, saying Pakistan's security problems are home-grown.

A caretaker government was installed in August to guide the Pakistan through to elections expected some time in the coming months, and the military has been able to exert more influence as a result of the uncertainty and instability in the country.

(Reuters)

Foreign military forces cannot stay in the Maldives, president-elect Mohamed Muizzu told a rally celebrating his victory in closely watched weekend presidential elections that are expected to redraw ties with India and China.

Muizzu, who beat incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in a second-round runoff on Saturday, is backed by a coalition known to be close to China, and championed an "India Out" campaign a few years ago, against a small unit of Indian military.

"All the countries which agree to our pro-Maldives policy will be our close friends and allies," Muizzu told supporters at Monday's event.

"We will send back foreign soldiers in the Maldives," he added, without naming any country.

In the past his party has viewed India's overwhelming influence as a potential threat to sovereignty and Muizzu accused the South Asian nation of aiming to establish a permanent military presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

India, with traditionally close ties to Male, denies that assertion, and is helping to build a naval harbour for Maldivian forces to be trained by its military.

New Delhi will "wait and watch" Muizzu's policies, a senior Indian government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"He has to work with us, and we have to work with him," the official added, emphasising that India was "not anti-Maldives".

Solih, who championed an "India First" policy, continues in office until Muizzu is inaugurated on Nov. 17.

(Reuters)

North Korea criticised a new U.S. strategy on countering weapons of mass destruction for describing the reclusive state as among those it considers a "persistent threat," KCNA media reported on Wednesday.

In a statement, a spokesperson for North Korea's defence ministry accused the United States of increasing nuclear threats, citing joint military drills with South Korea and sending a strategic nuclear submarine, the state-run KCNA report said.

The North Korean military will counter the U.S. military strategy with the "most overwhelming and sustained response strategy," the spokesperson said, citing an addition to the country's constitution.

North Korea last week adopted a constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force, as leader Kim Jong Un pledged to accelerate production of nuclear weapons to deter what he called U.S. provocations, according to state media.

South Korea's defence ministry criticised the move in a statement on Wednesday, saying Pyongyang will be "further isolated" internationally, which would "worsen" the suffering of North Koreans.

Any use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang will bring the regime to an end, the ministry added, echoing President Yoon Suk Yeol's remark last month.

The U.S. Department of Defense's unclassified version of its "2023 Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction" said "North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organizations remain persistent threats as they continue to further pursue and develop WMD capabilities".

The spokesperson for North Korea's defence ministry also criticised the U.S. military's Sept. 28 strategy statement for its descriptions of China as the "pacing challenge" and Russia as an "acute threat", calling it a "political provocation" against independent sovereign states.

Unification minister Kim Yung-ho told reporters in Germany on Tuesday that the situation for inter-Korean exchange was "being monitored," according to news agency Yonhap.

(Reuters)

India's drug regulator has found that a cough syrup and an anti-allergy syrup made by Norris Medicines (NORI.BO) are toxic, according to a government report, months after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to 141 children's deaths worldwide.

The medicines were contaminated either with diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol (EG), the same contaminants found in the cough syrups that caused the deaths in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since the middle of last year.

This is the first time in at least two years that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has flagged any DEG and EG contamination in its monthly reports as the country tries to crack down on its $42 billion drug industry dominated by small players.

H.G. Koshia, commissioner of Gujarat state's Food and Drug Control Administration, told Reuters on Wednesday that it had inspected Norris's factory last month and ordered it to suspend production and recall the drugs.

"The company failed miserably on compliance parameters of good manufacturing practices," Koshia said. "Adequate water system was not there. The air-handling unit was also not up to the mark. In the larger interest of public health, we ordered the unit to stop production."

Norris Managing Director Vimal Shah declined to comment outside business hours.

The company's Trimax Expectorant contained 0.118% of EG, while allergy drug Sylpro Plus Syrup had 0.171% of EG and 0.243% of DEG, according to tests at a CDSCO laboratory, according to its list of "not of standard quality/spurious/adulterated/misbranded" drugs for August uploaded on its website. Koshia said Norris used to export the cough syrup, but did not say where.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the safe limit, based on internationally accepted standards, is no more than 0.10%.

It was not immediately clear if the Norris drugs had been recalled or if they caused any harm. Both medicines were listed on online pharmacies when Reuters checked.

The CDSCO also found three batches of COLD OUT syrup made by Fourrts (India) Laboratories contaminated with DEG and EG. The World Health Organisation said in August that a batch of COLD OUT sold in Iraq had unacceptable levels of DEG and EG.

Fourrts Chairman S.V. Veeramani did not respond to a request for comment.

Veeramani, who is the chairman of the government-backed Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (pharmexcil), told Reuters in August that a recent "analysis of retention samples" of COLD OUT showed there was "no contamination or toxins".

"There is no report of any adverse effect or death due to the product," he said in a WhatsApp message. "As a matter of abundant caution, we have voluntarily recalled the product in Iraq market."

The alerts on the toxic medicines come at a time when the government, through pharmexcil, is organising workshops for drugmakers across the country to stress the importance of drug quality and patient safety.

The CDSCO list also named a glycerine batch made by Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS), despite it containing 0.025% EG, within the WHO safety limit. Adani Wilmar did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

Indian pharmaceutical executives and regulators have told Reuters that it is common practice among some manufacturers in the country to substitute cheaper, commercial-grade ingredients when making cough syrups.

(Reuters)