BANGALDESH PROTESTS CONTINUE
At least four more protesters have been killed in Bangladesh as police opened fire on Sunday in reaction to ongoing protests. The activists are from an Islamist party, protesting the execution of one of its leaders last week, Abdul Quader Mollah, who was charged with war crimes during the 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Since the protests began last week at least 24 people have been killed. The activists are claiming Mollah’s execution was politically motivated. Many people in Dhaka are now calling for an end the strikes and violence, which has halted economic activity in the city. The strikes have come just a few weeks before national elections on January 5, and the opposition now wants the government to hand over power to an independent caretaker to oversee the vote. (Al-Jazeera, December 15, 2013)
INDIA PLANS SEPERATION WALL IN KASHMIR
India is mulling a plan to build a “separation wall” along a 179-kilometer stretch of the Line-of-Control (LoC) with Pakistan in Kashmir. India already has “several meters high double-row concertina-wire fencing” along large stretches of the LoC, but the new security wall, 10-meters high and 41-meters thick, would be built in a part of the LoC where the terrain is flat and where there has been repeated infiltration by militants. The wall is opposed by Islamist groups, pro-independence political parties, and farmers, who argue that the wall would cut through their land and isolate border villages. (Al Jazeera, December 18 2013)
PAKISTAN SWEARS IN NEW CHIEF JUSTICE JILLANI
Pakistan has sworn in a new Chief Justice of the Pakistani Supreme Court. Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, nicknamed “the gentleman judge” for his mild manner was seen by many inside and outside the country as a welcome change from his outspoken and controversial predecessor, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Under Mr. Chaudhry’s rule, the Supreme Court sacked the previous prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, and engaged in high-profile political squabbles with the civilian political leadership. Some praised him for his ability to challenge powerful politicians and authority figures, while others accused him of exceeding his mandate, being an attention hound, and doing the bidding of the military. The incoming Mr. Jillani has called for “judicial vigilance to be tempered with restraint.” (Al-Jazeera, December 12, 2013)
HAGEL WARNS PAKISTAN ON TRANSIT ROUTES
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was in Pakistan earlier this month for the first visit by a U.S. defense chief in almost four years. As the U.S. prepares for a major drawdown of forces and material from Afghanistan next year, Mr. Hagel warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that if the Pakistani government does not “guarantee safe transit for American and allied shipments” exiting Afghanistan via Pakistan, it could result in a freeze of U.S. aid. Pakistan remains the largest recipient of Coalition Support Funds and Prime Minister Sharif offered assurances that the government would take action to guarantee the safe passage of American and alliance shipments. Though the U.S. has steadily built up the capabilities of a Northern Distribution Network through Central Asia and Russia, Pakistan remains the primary – and by far the most cost-effective – means for transporting supplies into and out of Afghanistan. (The New York Times, December 9, 2013)
Amid a general souring of ties between Washington and Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, agreeing in principle to start negotiating an economic and security “pact of friendship.” President Karzai and the Obama administration have been deadlocked over the former’s refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement which would allow a small contingent of U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014.. However, the U.S. has provided President Karzai with a year-end deadline that will almost certainly not be met. During his meeting with Karzai, Mr. Rouhani explicitly stated “all foreign forces should exit the region of Afghanistan.” (The New York Times, December 8, 2013)