MALDIVES REJECTS MILITARY AGREEMENT WITH THE US
Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul has chosen not to take part in a proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States. One of Abdul’s key ministers, Mohamed Shareef, explained that the pact would deeply upset nearby powers India and Sri Lanka. He noted the US military already has “a considerable presence” south of Maldives in Diego Garcia. (Defense News, January 22, 2014)
PAKISTAN RESPONDS AGGRESSIVELY AFTER TALIBAN BOMBING
At least six soldiers and seven civilians were killed, in addition to 20 more injured, after a Taliban suicide bombing attack near the Pakistan army’s general headquarters in Rawalpinidi. The garrison city is considered to be one of Pakistan’s most secure areas. Since the attack, the Pakistan Air Force has carried out several retaliatory bombing raids in the North Waziristan region, a key haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Pakistan. The former interim chief of the Pakistani Taliban was among the 50 militants killed in the heavy air strikes. (Times of India, January 21, 2014; New York Times, January 21, 2014; Times of India, January 22, 2014)
PM SHARIF ORDERS SECURITY REFORM AS TERRORIST THREAT RISES
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered an immediate review and completion of new legislation meant to combat the growing threat of terrorism. Several high-ranking members of the government and military agreed to carry out the review in response to the large number of recent terrorist attacks targeting government and military installations. Recently-passed legislation already increased intelligence-sharing between the central and provincial governments in Pakistan. (The International News, January 23, 2014)
KARZAI’S RELUCTANCE FUELS WITHDRAWAL ULTIMATUM FROM PENTAGON
With Afghan President Hamid Karzai looking increasingly likely to forego the signing of a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that the U.S. insists is necessary to maintain a troop presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014, the Pentagon is proposing two options for a post-2014 scenario. If President Karzai does not sign the BSA, the U.S. will be forced to withdraw all troops by year’s end. However, if he does sign the BSA, the Pentagon is now proposing leaving 10,000 troops in the country for a two-year term, before withdrawing them in 2016. The 10,000 figure is less than previously rumored figures of a residual force of 25,000 troops. (CBS News, January 22, 2014; Fox News, January 22, 2014).
ANOTHER MASSACRE IN MYANMAR
As many as 48 Muslims were killed by rampaging mobs in Myanmar this month as Buddhist-Muslim violence continues to rock the volatile Rakhine state. The attacks appear to be a response to the kidnapping and killing of a Buddhist police officer in the area. The UN officially declared the latest attack as a massacre and is calling on the government to investigate the incident. One million Rohingya Muslims live in the Buddhist-majority country of 60 million, mostly concentrated along the border with Bangladesh, where religious tensions are most acute. (The New York Times, January 24, 2013)