WAGAH BORDER TERROR ATTACK
At least 61 people were killed and 100 injured in a suicide bombing on November 2 in Pakistan's Punjab province at the country's only land border crossing with India. The bombing occurred after the daily flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah border. Denied entry to the ceremony, the attacker struck attendees as they left the ceremony near a restaurant. At least three jihadi militant groups claimed responsibility for the act, including Jundallah and the Pakistani Taliban. The U.S. and India both condemned the attack. (BBC News, November 2, 2014; IBN Live, November 3, 2014)
INDIA OPPOSES UN VOTES ON NONPROLIFERATION
India has voted against several provisions offered by the UN General Assembly related to Non-Proliferation and the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) treaty. India has long decried the NPT as "nuclear apartheid" as it recognizes only a handful of "legitimate" nuclear weapons states that had established a nuclear capability when the treaty entered into force in 1970. (India's first nuclear explosion test was in 1974). India voted against provisions calling on non NPT signatories to join the treaty as non-nuclear weapons states and calling for all countries to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, among others. India reaffirmed its commitment, however, to eliminating nuclear arms around the globe. "We continue to support a time-bound programme for global, verifiable and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament," read India's explanation for the votes. (The Economic Times, October 31, 2014)
SRI LANKA OPENS PORT TO CHINESE SUB AGAIN
Sri Lanka has agreed to let yet another Chinese submarine dock at one of its ports, despite India's opposition to the neighboring island nation hosting a Chinese nuclear submarine at the Colombo port last month. Chinese nuclear submarines began their first patrols of the Indian Ocean region over the past year, rekindling Indian fears about Chinese encirclement. Sri Lanka has repeatedly sought to reassure Delhi that China has no permanent military presence in the country. (The Times of India, November 2, 2014)
PENTAGON CALLS OUT PAKISTAN
In a report on the state of affairs in Afghanistan, the Pentagon has used unusually direct language to criticize Pakistan's support for militant groups. According to the report, Pakistan is providing sanctuary and support to Islamist militant to “hedge against the loss of influence in Afghanistan and counter India’s superior military.” The Pakistani embassy in the United States has lodged a complaint over the report's language. (The Economic Times, November 4, 2014)