CHIEF JUDGE, ARMY CHIEF CLASH IN PAKISTAN
A row between the leader of Pakistan’s military and its judiciary has spilled into the public arena, and for now has overshadowed longstanding tensions between Pakistan’s military and civilian officials. The episode was prompted by a statement from Pakistan’s Army Chief seemingly targeting the country’s the Supreme Court, which in recent weeks has criticized the military’s for interfering in domestic politics. “No individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or wrong in defining the ultimate national interest,” said Gen. Asfhaq Pervez Kayani, Pakistan’s Chief of General Staff. Hours later, Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry countered with a speech that reaffirmed the court’s paramount authority “Gone are the days when stability and security of the country was defined in terms of number of missiles and tanks as a manifestation of hard power available at the disposal of the state.”
The friction is likely the result of recent criminal proceedings against senior retired generals in a case involving election-rigging dating back to the 1990s. Additionally, the court has cracked down on military intelligence agencies in cases of “enforced disappearances”—including illegal abduction, torture and execution of suspected militants and rebels. Washington-based analyst Arif Rafiq explains: “Kayani is seeking to establish red lines for the activist Supreme Court...The army has historically seen itself as the guardian of Pakistan’s stability and as a cleansing force in politics. The Supreme Court has in many ways usurped that role.” (The New York Times, November 5 2012)
CANADIAN PM IN INDIA TO PUSH TRADE
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stressed the importance of improving bilateral Indo-Candian during a six-day visit to Guragon, near New Delhi, earlier this month. Harper has been a proponent of expanding Canada’s spectrum of trading partners and the two countries are still negotiating an investment agreement and a free-trade agreement, though negotiations are likely to stretch well into 2013.
During his visit Harper called Canada a “natural-resources powerhouse”
and encouraged India to take advantage of this to support its growing industrial and technological sectors. Like others, Canadian firms remain frustrated by the dearth of red tape and the lack of economic reforms. (Brandon Sun, November 7 2012)
KARZAI: NO PEACE WITH THE HAQQANIS
Following the U.N.’s decision to blacklist the Haqqani network, Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government welcomed the news by ruling out the possibility of negotiating a peace deal with the terrorist group. Though the Afghan government is currently in talks with members of the Taliban, a spokesman for Karzai differentiated between the two groups, blaming the Haqqanis – who have close links to the Taliban -- for most of the country’s terrorist attacks in the last decade. “We have certain negotiating conditions with armed opposition groups but the Haqqanis...are in the service of a foreign spy agency,” the spokesman said, hinting at the widely held perception that Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, has been using the Haqqanis as proxy militias against India and Afghanistan. (Reuters, November 6 2012)
SAUDI ARABIA’S RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IN AFGHANISTAN
Saudi Arabia is revisiting a decade-old plan to construct a $100 million mosque complex on a hilltop overlooking Kabul. At the earliest, the mosque – which will also include an education center -- will be completed in 2016. The project is seen as an effort by Riyadh to regain influence in the war-torn country, where its close ties to Pakistan are likely to pay dividends. For its part, Kabul is in dire need of Saudi money. (Rediff, November 4 2012)
PRESIDENT OBAMA PLANS LANDMARK VISIT TO BURMA
During a tour through Asia scheduled for November 17-20, President Barack Obama will become the first US president to visit Burma. The historic visit, signifying America’s continued support for the country’s nascent transition toward democracy, will include a meeting with Burma’s top leaders, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein. Additional stops in Cambodia and Thailand will round out his Asian tour. Chinese investment in Burma reached $20 billion last year, a reminder of China’s status as Burma’s largest foreign investor over the past decade. Analysts say Beijing is less than enthusiastic about the US-Burma rapprochement. (The Irrawaddy, November 7 2012; USA Today, November 8 2012)