MUSHARRAF CHARGED IN BHUTTO MURDER
Former military leader and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has been indicted on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy to commit murder, and facilitation for murder, in a Pakistani court. The accusations concern the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed during a campaign rally in 2007. The charges against a former president and army chief are unprecedented in Pakistan’s legal history. The case, however, presents a conundrum for newly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom the military leadership holds in low regard. Though Musharraf is not particularly popular even among the military brass, Sharif is likely to tread carefully so not to provoke the military, which continues to wield ultimate political power in Islamabad. (AP News, August 20, 2013)
KARZAI WITHOLDING ENDORSEMENT
As Hamid Karzai’s second term as President of Afghanistan expires, the Afghan public and the political class in Kabul await his endorsement of a potential successor. Elections are scheduled to begin in April of 2014. Various sources indicate that Karzai is considering a number of candidates, many of whom have ties to jihadi movements that fought during the Afghan-Soviet War (1980-89). Initially, Karzai was seen as supporting a former mujahedeen commander by the name of Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, although he later denied doing so. Sayyaf is a Wahhabi and one of the more extreme candidates in the race. Some believe Karzai is now biding his time until a clearer picture of the race emerges, and Karzai is in a better position to pick the “winning horse” and protect his legacy. (Foreign Policy, August 23, 2013)
AFGHAN FORCES FIND SUCCESS IN LOGAR
Afghan General Mohammad Sharif Yaftali has claimed that a group of Pakistani Taliban has been eliminated from Logar, Afghanistan. In successive clearing campaigns in both Paktika and Azra districts, the Afghan National Army (ANA) completed its largest independent counterinsurgency campaign. The operation was viewed locally as a significant accomplishment, particularly because it exhibited the ability of the ANA to conduct air support operations, a capability that has almost exclusively been handled by U.S. and allied forces in the past. However, their success was fleeting as Azra residents reported that the Taliban retook the area shortly after the security forces departed. This underscores the fact that while the ANA has exhibited an increased capacity to clear, it still lacks substantial “holding” capabilities. (Pajhwok Afghan News, August 26, 2013)
HUMANITARIAN SCRUTINY IN SRI LANKA
UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay was dispatched to Sri Lanka earlier this month to investigate government actions during the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, in which as many as 40,000 civilians may have killed when the government launched a decisive offensive against the Tamil Tigers. The Tamil insurgency was crushed by the Sri Lankan military in 2009 after 33 years of conflict. Following accusations that the government had been shelling refugee camps and hospitals, the UN Human Rights Council passed two separate resolutions insisting that the Sri Lankan government investigate the claims. Ms. Pillay arrives as an observer with the intent of speaking with local human rights activists. She also will set future benchmarks and assess whether or not Sri Lanka is compliant with the standards set forth by the UN resolutions. (BBC, August 25, 2013)
LACK OF PROGRESS IN PAKISTAN-INDIA RELATIONS
One Pakistani military officer was killed by Indian forces in just the latest bout of cross-border shelling across the Line of Control in Kashmir. A series of escalating tit-for-tat attacks in August has killed almost a dozen in cross-border artillery fire. However, Pakistan subsequently released 337 Indian prisoners, many of whom were fishermen who had ventured into Pakistani territorial waters. The move was trumpeted in Islamabad as a concession ahead of a face-to-face meet between the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers at the UN in September.(Reuters, August 21, 2013 and Reuters, August 24, 2013)