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SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 10, No. 47, May 28, 2012
 
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Data and
assessments from SAIR can be freely published in any form
with credit to the South Asia Intelligence Review of the
South Asia Terrorism Portal
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So
Near, Yet So Far
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
As Nepal
appeared to be in clutching distance of a permanent solution
to its long-drawn conflict, it has been plunged, abruptly,
deep into political catastrophe.
With the
major parties – Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M),
Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML),
Nepali Congress (NC) and the United Democratic Madheshi
Front (UDMF) – failing to reach consensus on just a few
unresolved issues on the Draft Constitution, particularly
on the restructuring of the state, the final stipulated
deadline, May 27, 2012, came and went. The existing Constituent
Assembly (CA) has now become defunct. Indeed, almost all
the contentious issues, most prominently including the
integration
of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) cadres into the Nepal
Army, had already been resolved.
The 601-member
CA, elected in 2008, had been mandated to complete the
task of Constitution writing within two years, and to
oversee the peace process that began when the conflict
ended in 2006. Since then, the major parties reached a
number of opportunistic agreements,
to keep a tenuous peace process alive, and amended the
Interim Constitution, to extend their own mandate beyond
the stipulated two year deadline, on four
occasions. Following this pattern,
on May 22, 2012, the UCPN-M led National Unity Government
registered the 13th Constitution Amendment
Bill in Parliament, to pave the way for a further three
month extension of the CA’s term, in complete disregard
of the Supreme Court’s (SC) November 25, 2011, verdict,
which stipulated that the CA's term was being extended
for the last time, and the body would cease to exist if
the Constitution was not promulgated within the extended
term. In its verdict the SC had also asked the defendants
to decide the duration of the extension, after determining
whether the Constitution would be promulgated through
a referendum, or to elect new CA, if the current CA failed
in its task. Not surprisingly, on May 24, 2012, the SC,
responding to the writs filed against the Government’s
move to seek a further extension for the CA, issued a
ruling directing the Government not to proceed with the
Amendment to further extend the CA’s term.
In a last
bid to salvage the CA, on May 25, 2012, the major parties
reportedly agreed to promulgate the Constitution by May
27, 2012, while leaving residual disputed issues for the
"transformed legislature parliament" to resolve.
According to the agreement reached, the draft of the Constitution
was to be issued by the CA within the May 27, 2012, deadline,
and the parties would agree on the names and the number
of Provinces before that.
Regrettably,
however, no consensus could be arrived at on the demarcation
of Provinces. With no other legal alternative at hand,
on May 28, 2012, the Government called for elections to
a new CA. Prime Minister (PM) Baburam Bhattarai declared,
“We have no other option but to go back to the people
and elect a new Assembly to write the Constitution. Though
we were unable to promulgate the constitution, we have
decided to seek a mandate through elections for a new
Constituent Assembly on November 22.” The PM stated, further,
that he would be leading a caretaker Government until
the elections scheduled for November 22, 2012.
Meanwhile,
the NC, the CPN-UML, and some fringe parties, rejected
the Government’s decision to hold fresh elections, and
called for public protests. The leaders of these parties
met President Ram Baran Yadav and urged him not to approve
the ‘unconstitutional decision’ of the Government. NC
leader Ram Chandra Poudel claimed, "This is part
of a Maoist plan to capture power." Senior CPN-UML
leader Bhim Rawal stated that the PM’s move was a breach
of constitutional provisions, as there was no provision
in the Interim Constitution to hold another CA polls.
"We are not opposed to going to the polls, but we
cannot endorse the Prime Minister's unilateral move that
violates the constitutional provision," he argued.
“The Prime Minister should have made an attempt to amend
the provision of the Constitution before announcing the
fresh election by forging consensus," he pointed
out.
The CPN-UML
vice chairperson Bidhya Bhandari stated, on May 28, 2012,
that her party was no more a part of the Government. Earlier,
on May 25, 2012, the NC had withdrawn from the Government,
opposing the Government's May 22 decision to register
the 13th Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament,
to pave the way for a further three months extension of
the CA’s term.
The National Unity Government
had been formed on May 5, 2012. While the NC joined the
Government on May 6, the CPN-UML, after initial opposition,
joined on May 16. Significantly, the National Unity Government
was constituted after a Five Point agreement reached between
the major parties on May 3, 2012, which stated:
-
All members of the incumbent Cabinet will resign and
a new Unity Government will be formed within two days,
as per the earlier seven point agreement.
-
All issues of Constitution drafting, including the
state restructuring, form of governance, etc., will
be resolved in three days.
-
A new Statute for the Constitution will be promulgated
before May 27. The present incumbent Prime Minister
will leave office before May 27, and a Unity Government
would be formed under the Nepali Congress to conduct
elections within one year.
-
All outstanding work on the peace process would be
completed immediately, as per earlier agreements.
-
Top leaders of the political parties will hold regular
meetings to expedite the Constitution drafting process.
As in the
past, the sanctity of this agreement could not be maintained.
Though the incumbent Cabinet resigned on May 4, 2012,
and a new Government was formed within two days, the Prime
Minister’s abrupt call for new elections and his assertion
that he would lead the caretaker Government, violates
the terms of this last agreement.
Significantly,
the issue of federalism has divided the nation. The biggest
concern is whether to go for single identity based federalism
or multiple identity based federalism. While the UCPN-M
and its ally UDMF are in favour of single-ethnicity based
federalism, the NC and CPN-UML have rejected their option.
CPN-UML Vice Chairman Bam Dev Gautam thus noted that "NC
and UML proposed (the) multi-ethnic federal model."
Here, the NC diluted its earlier stand of opposing ethnicity
based federalism in toto, arguing that state restructuring
should be based on "economic and administrative viability"
and on geography. The number, size, naming and mapping
of the federal States has also evaded unanimity. While
the UCPN and its ally UDMF insist that the 14-state model
or 10-state model suggested by the Parliamentary Committee
on State Restructuring and the State Restructuring Commission,
respectively, should be adopted, the NC and CPN-UML proposed
a 11 and 12 States model, respectively. Moreover, the
Madheshi leaders reiterated their strong opposition to
create multiple provinces in the Terai, and stuck to their
long standing demand for a 'single autonomous Madhesh
province'.
This fractious
outcome resulted despite the fact that the major parties
had already agreed, on May 15, 2012, on an 11-province
federal structure. The names of the provinces were to
be determined by the elected State Assemblies themselves.
The Federal States were to be carved out on the basis
of ethnicity, geography and language. The parties had
also agreed to constitute a Commission to determine the
boundaries of the Provinces and to go for a ‘mixed system’
of governance, with a directly elected President, who
would share powers with a Prime Minister elected from
the Parliament.
The optimism
which had reigned over the peace process since the CA
was established, after declaring Nepal a Republic on May
28, 2008, now appears to have evaporated. The Government
has put Security Forces on a high alert, as thousands
of protestors have come onto the streets. Riot Police
are patrolling the streets of capital Kathmandu. Though,
there have been no significant reports of violence, till
the time of writing, the failure of the Political classes
to reach a consensual solution, have jeopardized the tentative
peace in the nascent Republic of Nepal.
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Khyber
Agency: Another Futile Operation
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On May
16, 2012, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Masud Kausar
declared that about 90 percent of the seven tribal agencies
in Federally Administered Tribal areas (FATA) and Frontier
Regions (FRs) were under complete Government control,
as a result of ‘successful action’ by the Security Forces
(SFs): “I must say, apart from North Waziristan Agency
and some parts of South Waziristan Agency, the remaining
FATA is clear now and the Government writ is being consolidated.”
Governor
Masud Kausar’s observations, however, fail to reconcile
with the ground realities in FATA. Significantly, a
‘targeted operation’ has been going on in Khyber Agency,
a stone’s throw away from Peshawar, KP’s provincial
capital, since October 2011. FATA
has, in fact, witnessed 1,225 fatalities, including
214 civilians, 133 SF personnel and 878 militants, in
just first four months of 2012; as against 977 fatalities,
including 125 civilians, 95 SF personnel and 757 militants
in the last four months of 2011, according to the South
Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database. Out of the
1,225 fatalities in 2012 (first four months), at least
928 have been outside the North and South Waziristan
Agencies. Since May 1, 2012, FATA has added 240 fatalities,
including 61 civilians, 45 SF personnel and 134 militants
(all data till May 27, 2012).
Meanwhile,
the ‘targeted operation’ in Bara was launched four days
after Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants attacked a SF convoy
in the Akkakhel area of Bara tehsil (revenue
unit) of the Khyber Agency, on October 17, 2011, killing
nine personnel. 14 terrorists were killed in retaliatory
fire by the SFs. Since then, the Agency has witnessed
598 fatalities including 211 civilians, 50 SF personnel
and 337 militants. The Agency has, in fact, recorded
a total of 2,582 fatalities, including 678 civilians,
188 SF personnel and 1,549 militants since 2008, notwithstanding
Governor Kausar’s claims of the ‘Government writ’. During
this period, the Agency recorded 190 major incidents
(each involving three or more fatalities), including,
among the most prominent, since January, 2012:
May 14:
Eight LI militants were killed and two soldiers were
injured in a clash with SFs at Qamberabad Chowk in Bara
tehsil.
May 9:
At least 10 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
militants were killed and several others were injured
when Army helicopter gunships heavily pounded suspected
hideouts in Tirah Valley.
April
29: Ten persons, including five militants, were killed
and 14 were injured in a clash between LI militants
and volunteers of Akkakhel Peace Committee in Bara tehsil.
March
2: 25 people were killed and another 18 were injured
in a suicide attack targeting a mosque after Friday
prayers in Tirah Valley.
23 LI
militants and 10 Army personnel were killed in fresh
clashes in Lakaro Baba area of Tirah Valley.
February
18: At least nine members of Zakhakhel lashkar
were killed and four others injured when a bomb planted
by militants exploded at the Stana Checkpoint in the
Nari Baba area of Tirah Valley.
January
4: At least six LI militants and a volunteer of the
Zakhakhel lashkar were killed in renewed clashes
between LI and the Zakhakhel lashkar in the Bazaar-Zakhakhel
area of Khyber Agency.
Fatalities
in Khyber Agency: 2008-2012
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Years
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Incidents
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Civilians
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SFs
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Militants
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Total
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2008
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49
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34
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5
|
122
|
161
|
|
2009
|
106
|
120
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48
|
623
|
791
|
|
2010
|
177
|
180
|
56
|
331
|
495
|
|
2011
|
239
|
204
|
49
|
203
|
695
|
|
2012
|
125
|
140
|
30
|
270
|
440
|
|
Total*
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696
|
678
|
188
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1549
|
2582
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Source:
SATP, *Data till May 27, 2012
The uneven
pattern of fatalities visible in the table is attributable
to the four ‘operations’ that have been conducted by
the SFs since 2008. While no militancy related fatalities
was recorded in Khyber Agency before 2008, the activities
of local militant groups like LI and Ansarul Islam (AI)
had been a major cause of concern in the region. A total
of 27 persons, including 25 civilians and two militants
had been killed before June 27, 2008. On June 28, 2008,
Operation Sirat Mustaqeem (Righteous Path) was
launched in the Bara tehsil, after the abduction
of 14 Christians from Academy Town in Peshawar, by LI
terrorists, on June 21, 2008. The Operation was halted
on July 9, 2008, as the political administration and
LI signed an agreement making it binding on the banned
group to accept the Government’s writ in the Bara tehsil.
12 persons, including seven civilians and five militants,
were killed during the operation, and 87 militants were
arrested.
A second
operation, codenamed Daraghlam (Here I Come),
was launched in Bara on December 29, 2008, with an aim
to root out militancy from the area. The operation was,
however, halted after a few days, as militants retaliated
massively. Again on March 30, 2009, the Khyber Agency
Political Agent, Tariq Hayat Khan, announced that Operation
Daraghlam-II had been launched in the Khyber
Agency. There was, however, no subsequent official statement
or media report about the fate of this operation. However,
in the period between the announcement of this operation
and the following Bia Daraghlam (Here I Come
Again) Operation, a total of 220 persons, including
117 civilians, 25 SF personnel and 78 militants were
killed. Another operation, the Bia Daraghlam,
was launched on September 1, 2009. Details of its course
and outcome remain unknown.
The strategic
location of the Khyber Agency, which borders Afghanistan
to the east, the Orakzai Agency to the south, Mohmand
Agency to the north and Peshawar District to the east,
has always attracted the militants. The Agency provides
a buffer zone between Afghanistan and Peshawar. Moreover,
in recent times, it has provided safe heaven to militants
escaping from the adjacent Agencies, when they are targeted
by major ‘military operations’. Thus, Operation Koh-i-Sufaid (White
Mountain) was conducted in the Kurram Agency between
May 2, 2011, and August 17, 2011; while Operation Brekhna (Thunder)
has been in progress in the Mohmand Agency since April
6, 2011, pushing significant numbers of militants towards
the Khyber. Crucially, no operation was conducted in
Khyber Agency between June and September 2011.
Three
major Islamist terrorist groups currently operate in
the Khyber Agency – LI, AI and TTP. While LI and AI
are local outfits, the TTP is trying to consolidate
its base in the area. LI is the most active group locally,
and is presently led by the warlord, Mangal Bagh. AI
is now led by Maulana Gazi Mehboob ul-Haq. TTP, which
is a new player in the region, is under the local command
of Tariq Afridi. Turf wars between these three groups
have contributed to a great deal of disturbances and
violence. In the latest of series of such clashes, at
least 13 persons, including eight LI militants, were
killed, and another four were injured, when a TTP suicide
bomber blew himself up at Dars Jumat Mosque in Sandapal
area of Bara on March 23, 2012.
Frustrated
by the persistent violence in the region, a jirga
(tribal council) comprising elders of Bara tehsil
reportedly met LI chief Mangal Bagh on March 28, 2012,
to persuade him to abandon violence. The jirga
reportedly failed to convince Mangal Bagh. Earlier,
on March 7, 2012, a jirga of the Kukikhel tribe
had asked all armed groups to vacate their areas in
Bara immediately, threatening action against those who
provided shelter to militants in the region. The effort
of the jirgas failed to have any impact on extremist
depredations.
Meanwhile,
on May 4, 2012, the SFs decided to open a new front
in the Sholabar area of Bara tehsil, following
reports that the Sholabar tribes are giving refuge to
militants escaping the Bara ‘targeted operation’. The
expansion of current operations into Sholabar is expected
to further aggravate the problem of Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs). IDP camps in Jalozai, Peshawar, Nowshera
and Kohat are already running short of basic amenities,
and a further influx of IDPs will make conditions even
more chaotic. Significantly, the United Nations International
Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on May 2, 2012, estimated
that, out of more than a quarter million IDPs from the
Khyber Agency since January 2012, 50 per cent are children,
of which 12 per cent are less than two years old and
28 per cent are younger than five.
More
worryingly, there is every possibility of militants
leaving the operational areas in the guise of civilian
IDPs, only to return at the appropriate time. Indeed,
this has been the trend in almost all past operations,
where IDP movement have provided an ‘escape route’ to
the militants.
The latest
operation in the Khyber Agency, consequently, is likely
to be just another ill-conceived and futile effort to
contain the rising graph of militancy in FATA and its
adjoining areas.
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Weekly Fatalities: Major
Conflicts in South Asia
May 21-27,
2012
|
|
Civilians
|
Security
Force Personnel
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Terrorists/Insurgents
|
Total
|
|
INDIA
|
|
|
Assam
|
2
|
0
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0
|
2
|
|
Jammu and
Kashmir
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
|
Left-wing
Extremism
|
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
Maharashtra
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
Odisha
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
Total
(INDIA)
|
4
|
1
|
5
|
10
|
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PAKISTAN
|
|
|
Balochistan
|
16
|
2
|
0
|
18
|
|
FATA
|
4
|
0
|
55
|
59
|
|
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
|
Sindh
|
41
|
0
|
1
|
42
|
|
Total
(PAKISTAN)
|
62
|
3
|
56
|
121
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Provisional
data compiled from English language media sources.
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BANGLADESH
HuJI-B
conducting meetings
to recruit women,
says report:
The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al
Islami Bangladesh
(HuJI-B) which
operates largely
in Bihar, West
Bengal and the
north eastern
states of India
has been conducting
meetings to recruit
women. The recent
busting of the
various modules
of the Indian
Mujahideen (IM)
in those areas
has also added
to the problem
for the HuJI-B
as there appears
to be a lot of
scrutiny of the
activities on
the border. Hence,
the HuJI -B decided
to change its
game plan and
has decided to
recruit women
and also train
them in order
to carry out terror
activities in
India. The HuJI
already has a
lot of camps in
India. Rediff,
May 24, 2012.
INDIA
India
and Pakistan vow
to fight terrorism:
India and Pakistan
on May 25, pledged
to fight terrorism
together, calling
it "a continuing
threat to peace
and security"
and a block to
the full establishment
of normal relations.
The talks were
led by the Home
Secretary of India,
Raj Kumar Singh
and the Interior
Secretary of Pakistan,
Siddiq Akbar,
and also included
security experts
from both countries.
The neighbouring
countries also
agreed to enhance
cooperation on
terrorism, human
trafficking, narcotics,
counterfeit currency
and cyber crime.
Dawn,
May 26, 2012.
Prime
Minister Manmohan
Singh to cement
border security
ties with Myanmar:
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh,
who will travel
to Myanmar for
a two-day visit
from May 27 and
28 will hold talks
with Myanmar's
President Thein
Sein for a joint
initiative on
tackling drug
money used by
Indian militant
outfits for purchase
of weapons to
wage terror campaign
against India.
This issue was
discussed threadbare
when Union Home
Secretary R.K.
Singh met with
Myanmar's Deputy
Home Minister
Brigadier General
Kyaw Zan Myint
in Yangon in January,
2012. Nagaland
Page,
May 25, 2012.
Odisha
has withdrawn
cases against
9,110 tribals,
says State Environment
and Forests Minister
Jairam Ramesh:
The Odisha Government
on May 24 said
it has withdrawn
minor cases against
tribals a day
after Union Rural
Development Minister
Jairam Ramesh
asked Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik
to free those
innocent from
the community
in jails of the
state. "The state
government has
already withdrawn
cases against
9,110 tribals
booked for minor
offences," Environment
and Forests Minister
Debi Prasad Mishra
told reporters,
responding to
the suggestions
made by Ramesh.
IBN
Live,
May 25, 2012.
Internal
security situation
improving, states
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh:
Prime Minister
(PM) Manmohan
Singh on May 22
stated that internal
security situation
is improving.
"Internal security
scenario has been
by and large satisfactory,"
the PM said. On
Naxal (Left wing
extremism) problem
he said, "The
scourge of Naxalism,
however, continues
to be a major
problem and I
seek the cooperation
of the concerned
state governments
to tackle this
menace". He also
referred to peaceful
conduct of Panchayat
(village level
local self-government
institution) election
in Jammu and Kashmir
and the high voter
turnout, saying
it showed that
things were changing
in the State.
NDTV,
May 23, 2012.
Assam
CM Tarun Gogoi
renews call to
ULFA-ATF 'Vice
president' Paresh
Barua for talks:
Myanmar has granted
autonomy to the
National Socialist
Council of Nagaland-Khaplang
(Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi, paying
homage to former
Prime Minister,
late Rajiv Gandhi,
on May 21 renewed
appeal to anti-talks
faction of United
Liberation Front
of Asom (ULFA-ATF)
leader Paresh
Barua and others
to abjure violence
and sit across
the table to solve
their problems
through democratic
means. Shilong
Times,
May 22, 2012.
NEPAL
Existing
CA becomes defunct:
The existing Constituent
Assembly (CA)
has now become
defunct, with
the major parties
- Unified Communist
Party of Nepal-Maoist
(UCPN-M), Communist
party of Nepal-Unified
Marxist Leninist
(CPN-UML), Nepali
Congress (NC)
and the United
Democratic Madheshi
Front (UDMF) -
failing to reach
consensus on just
a few unresolved
issues on the
Draft Constitution,
particularly on
the restructuring
of the state,
before the final
stipulated deadline
of May 27. On
May 28, 2012,
the Government
called for elections
to a new Constituent
Assembly. Nepal
News,
May 27-28, 2012.
PAKISTAN55
militants and
four civilians
among 59 persons
killed during
the week in FATA:
US drone strike
killed at least
seven militants
in Sokhel area
of Mir Ali in
North Waziristan
Agency (NWA) of
Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA)
on May 27.
Six
militants were
killed and two
others injured
in a gunfight
with Security
Forces (SFs) in
Gandi Tal area
of Orakzai Agency.
A
US drone attack
early on May 26
killed at least
four militants
in Miramshah,
the main town
of NWA.
Eight
militants were
killed when a
US drone attacked
a militant hideout
and a mosque in
the Mir Ali tehsil
(revenue unit)
of NWA on May
24.
As
many as 12 militants
were killed after
gunship helicopters
pounded several
hideouts in Mamozai,
Sama Bazaar and
Manzar Taap areas
of the Orakzai
Agency on May
23.
Meanwhile,
three militants
and a peace volunteer
were killed and
one was injured
in a clash in
Tirah valley in
Khyber Agency.
At
least 10 militants
were killed in
a US drone strike
on a militant
compound in the
Tabai area near
Miramshah, the
main town of NWA
on May 22.
At
least four militants
and one volunteer
of a peace committee
were killed while
several others
were injured in
clashes with Security
Forces in Bukarh
area of Tirah
Valley in Khyber
Agency on May
21.
Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune,
May 22-28, 2012.
41
civilians and
one militant among
42 persons killed
during the week
in Sindh:
At least seven
passengers on
a Swabi-bound
bus were shot
dead three others
were wounded when
armed militants
opened fire on
the bus on National
Highway at Rinn
Shakh, near Qazi
Ahmed Taluka town
in Shaheed Benazirabad
District on May
25.
Three
people, including
an activist each
from the Awami
National Party
(ANP) and the
Muttahida Qaumi
Movement (MQM)
were killed here
on May 25 in separate
incidents of violence
in Karachi.
Six
persons, including
two political
activists, were
killed in separate
acts of violence
in Karachi on
May 24.
At
least five more
people were killed
over a dozen others
injured in the
ongoing in Karachi
on May 23 due
to a strike call
by Awami Tehreek
(AT) President
Ayaz Latif Palijo.
A
rally opposing
creation of Mohajir
Province in Sindh,
titled 'Mohabbat-e-Sindh'
(Love of Sindh),
organised by the
Awami Tehreek
(AT), a Sindh-based
nationalist party,
was attacked by
unidentified armed
militants at Napier
Road in Karachi
killing at least
13 people and
injuring 35 others
on May 22. Daily
Times;
Dawn;
The
News;
Tribune,
May 22-28, 2012.
Pervez
Musharraf murdered
my mother, alleges
Benazir Bhutto's
son and PPP Chairman
Bilawal Bhutto
Zardari: Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari,
the Chairman of
Pakistan People's
Party (PPP) and
the son of slain
Pakistan leader
Benazir Bhutto
said on May 24
that ex-military
ruler Pervez Musharraf
"murdered my mother,"
as he vowed to
play a bigger
political role
in his homeland
"in any way I
can". Bilawal
Bhutto said that
Musharraf sabotaged
his mother's security
when she returned
to her homeland
in 2007, and said
he is confident
of his own security
in Pakistan. "I'm
confident that
the Pakistani
Government will
provide me with
the adequate security,
unlike the Government
at the time that
sabotaged my mother's
security in Pakistan,"
he told the media.
The
News,
May 25, 2012.
Treatment
with Doctor Shakeel
Afridi who helped
to find al Qaeda
leader Osama Bin
Laden 'unjust
and unwarranted',
says US Secretary
of State Hillary
Clinton: United
States (US) Secretary
of State Hillary
Clinton on May
24 denounced as
"unjust and unwarranted"
the treatment
with the Pakistani
doctor, Shakeel
Afridi, who was
jailed on May
23, 2012 for 33
years for helping
the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) in
the hunt for slain
al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden,
reports Dawn.
"We regret both
the fact that
he was convicted
and the severity
of his sentence,"
Clinton told a
joint press conference
with New Zealand
Foreign Minister
Murray McCully.
Dawn,
May 25, 2012.
US
shows concern
over extrajudicial
killings and religious
intolerance in
Pakistan:
The United States
(US) on May 24
voiced concern
over extrajudicial
killings and religious
intolerance in
Pakistan, including
in the restive
province of Balochistan.
In an annual report
on human rights,
the US State Department
said that the
"most serious
human rights'
problems" in Pakistan
included extrajudicial
killings, torture
and disappearances
by both Security
Forces and terrorists.
"Lack of government
accountability
remained a pervasive
problem. Abuses
often went unpunished,
fostering a culture
of impunity,"
the report read
further. Daily
Times,
May 25, 2012.
If
PM fails to act
on Balochistan
emergency would
be declared, says
CJP Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry:
The Chief Justice
of Pakistan (CJP),
Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry,
on May 23 said
constitution was
being violated
in Balochistan
and if the Prime
Minister (PM)
says he is not
responsible for
restoring law
then the constitution
will take its
way and emergency
could be declared.
The Chief Justice
ordered registration
of a case against
Balochistan Home
Minister Mir Nasirullah
Zehri. Daily
Times,
May 24, 2012.
Communication
Ministry proposes
USD 1,000 fee
per NATO container:
The Communication
Ministry has proposed
charging NATO
forces USD 1,000
per container
to offset the
PKR 100 billion
in damages caused
to the road infrastructure
in the past 10
years, said Communications
Secretary Anwar
Ahmad Khan. "According
to our conservative
assessment, the
NATO containers
caused Rs100 billion
in damages to
the road infrastructure
and have not paid
a penny in return,"
said Communications
Secretary Anwar
Ahmad Khan while
briefing the Public
Accounts Committee
on May 22. Tribune,
May 23, 2012.
No
large pullout
possible without
Pakistan help,
says NATO Secretary
General Anders
Fogh Rasmussen:
NATO Secretary
General Anders
Fogh Rasmussen
acknowledged on
May 21 that there
could be no large
drawdown of troops
from Afghanistan
without Pakistan's
help as both sides
also expressed
the desire to
stay engaged with
each other despite
differences. "We
count on Pakistan's
commitment to
support ISAF and
NATO efforts in
Afghanistan,"
Mr Rasmussen told
a briefing at
the NATO summit
in Chicago after
a meeting with
President Asif
Ali Zardari. Dawn,
May 21, 2012.
SRI LANKA
Major
human rights problem
in Sri Lanka in
Tamil areas, says
US Department
of State report:
The 2011 country
reports on human
rights practices
published by the
United States
(US) State Department
claimed that unlawful
killings by Security
Forces (SFs) and
Government-allied
paramilitary groups
are a major human
rights problem
in Sri Lanka,
often in the predominantly
TAMIL areas. In
addition, attacks
on and harassment
of civil society
activists, persons
suspected of being
Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) sympathizers,
and journalists,
by persons allegedly
tied to the Government
created an environment
of fear and self-censorship,
the report says.
Colombo
Page,
May 25, 2012.
Former
Army Commander
Sarath Fonseka
released on an
unconditional
presidential pardon
grant: Former
Army Commander
General (retired)
Sarath Fonseka
was released on
May 21 on an unconditional
presidential pardon
granted by President
Mahindra Rajapaksa.
He was discharged
from the private
Nawaloka Hospital
where he was receiving
treatment since
April for a respiratory
ailment. He was
later brought
to the Supreme
Court where his
counsel withdrew
two appeals pending
in court, where
a five-judge bench
granted permission
for Fonseka to
withdraw the appeals
filed by him,
against the verdict
on the White Flag
case and a Writ
Application filed
related to the
verdict on second
court martial
case, ahead of
the release. Colombo
Page,
May 22, 2012.
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