Pakistan:
The Guardian: Pakistani intelligence is under fire for not preventing the recent deadly bombing in Quetta, aimed at the Shia Hazara minority. “A senior politician and the country’s highest-profile television journalist have lashed out at the military Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency (ISI) after Saturday’s mass killings in the troubled city of Quetta, which sparked countrywide protests.
Hamid Mir, who present’s Pakistan’s most popular news show, said the ISI had ignored a tide of sectarian bloodshed after deliberately creating ‘private death squads’ to fight a war against separatists in the country’s troubled Baluchistan province.
Mir’s remarks came after the governor of Baluchistan said the huge blast in a crowded market showed a ‘failure of our intelligence agencies’”.
Dawn: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has ordered security forces to begin targeted operations in Quetta in response to the recent bombing which killed nearly ninety people. “According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s spokesperson, Prime Minister Raja ordered for the initiation of targeted operations in Quetta adding that those responsible for the Quetta carnage should be targeted.
The statement further said that immediate action should be taken in those areas where information indicates presence of terrorist elements and that security forces should conduct targeted operations.
The spokesman further said that the prime minister would personally supervise the Quetta operation.”
Dawn: Gunmen in the Khyber tribal region attacked a NATO convoy en route to Afghanistan, killing two. “‘At least three unidentified gunmen opened fire on the convoy, killing a driver and his helper and damaging two vehicles,’ senior local administration official Shakil Burki told AFP.
He said the gunmen fled after the attack, adding that one person in the convoy was also injured.
A senior local police official confirmed the incident and casualty toll.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assault, but Pakistani Taliban have often attacked NATO convoys.”
Afghanistan:
Dawn: Afghan intelligence officials have announced the arrest of former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan second-in-command Maulvi Faqir. “‘Maulvi Faqir and his four accomplices who had entered Nangarhar from Bajaur Agency were apprehended near Basawal on Torkham Road near the border of Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley,’ an Afghan intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.
‘Yes I can confirm their names as they had told us. Maulvi Faqir, Shahid Umar, Maulana Hakeemullah Bajauri, Mualana Turabi and Fateh are the people who have been arrested,’ he replied when asked about the identity of the arrested people.”
BBC: Civilian casualties in Afghanistan have fallen for the first time in six years, according to a UN report. “The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) documented 2,754 civilian deaths in 2012, a 12% drop, and 4,805 injuries, a slight rise.
The reduction was attributed to less fighting on the ground, and a decline in suicide attacks and air operations.”
The Guardian: According the the Unama report, however, the Taliban are targeting Afghan women and government workers. “The report showed an alarming 20% increase in the number of women and girls killed or injured in the conflict in 2012. Deliberate targeting by the Taliban and other insurgents also tripled in 2012, the UN said. Most were hit while they tended their homes or worked in fields.
Targeted killings by insurgents of government employees also spiked, resulting in a dramatic 700% increase in the number of civilian casualties attributed to this type of violence in 2012. The report cited two particular attacks in northern Afghanistan that targeted government officials but resulted in additional the loss of scores of civilian bystanders. Northern Afghanistan itself saw an increase in threats to civilians as insurgent groups re-emerged in the region.”
India:
The New Indian Express: India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, with assistance from the US government, will launch a training programme in April for “cyber cell squads” to tackle cyber terrorism in the country.
“The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) has informed that the Ministry of Home Affairs would conduct a Cellular Communications Forensic Consultation course for the enforcement agencies from April to May. According to a BPRD official, the course is being sponsored by the US Department of State to give training to police personnel, under the Anti-Terror Operations programme, in countries threatened by terrorism.
‘There are several courses given by the US agency for anti-terror operations in terror-affected countries. The Forensic Consultation training would be given to officers selected from the Cyber Cell of the Police Department and paramilitary forces. Officers would be familiarised with various hardware and software required for crime investigation. The officers would be trained in modern techniques of seizing and interpreting cyber data from terror links as well. The experts from the US would be arriving here in April to conduct the training,’ said a senior officer of the BPRD.”
BBC News: David Cameron is set to promise more co-operation between Britain and India when it comes to cyber attacks.
“In Delhi on the second day of his visit to India, the prime minister will announce police training exchanges and more research about cyber security…India is one of the fastest-developing markets for cyber exports…Mr Cameron believes that the UK has a competitive and technological advantage from its expertise in tackling cyber attacks.
…The aim would be to both protect the huge amount of British personal and commercial information that is stored in large databases in India, and to allow both countries to share information about planned cyber attacks, whether from criminals, terrorists or even other countries.”
The Indian Express: Separatists in Kashmir have called for a shutdown in Kashmir Valley to protest the hanging of Kashmiri Afzal Guru, who was convicted for the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament.
“Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who is under house arrest in Delhi, issued a protest schedule for this week. ‘There is no alternative for us but to come out on the streets in protest against the decision (to hang Guru),’ said the chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat.
In a statement issued by his amalgam here, Geelani said civil curfew would be observed on Wednesday and Thursday. A shutdown would be observed after Friday prayers which would be followed by peaceful protests across the Valley, he said. The future course of action would be announced on Friday, Geelani said.”
Bangladesh:
Hindustan Times: At least three people have been killed in renewed violence across Bangladesh yesterday during a nationwide general strike called by Jamaat-e-Islami to protest the war crimes trial of one of its leaders.
“Witnesses said JI activists visibly took a hit and run strategy in Dhaka and several other cities amid a clarion call by rival protestors at Shahbagh Square to defy the strike.One pedestrian was killed when a minibus overturned as it was chased by JI activists, who also damaged four buses in the capital. The transport operators defied the JI’s strike call expressing solidarity with demands for trial of ‘crimes against humanity’ during the 1971 War against Pakistan.”
The National: An Islami Chhatra Shibir activist has been shot dead by police during Monday’s protests.
“Police said the man’s death on Monday came when they fired rubber bullets at about 200 brick-hurling Islamist demonstrators. ‘One Shibir (Jamaat student wing) activist died after being shot by a rubber bullet in the head,’ police constable Shahadat Hossain told AFP, adding two other protesters were injured in the police firing. In the capital Dhaka, security was tight with the government deploying border guards in addition to over 10,000 policemen. Roads in Dhaka and inter-city highways were largely empty while many shops and offices were shut.”
Nepal:
Himalayan Times: The four major political forces — Unified CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and United Democratic Madhesi Front have agreed to appoint the Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi as Prime Minister to lead the country towards elections on June 5.
The Chairman of the Interim Council of Ministers will enjoy all the rights exercised by a Prime Minister, save authority to take decisions on issues of long-term importance, which are subject to parliamentary approval. Though CJ Regmi will not have to resign from his post to head the executive, he would be barred from all his judicial roles, and an apex court justice — second-in-line to Regmi — will become officiating chief justice until Regmi returns.
Speakers at a programme in Kathmandu have expressed worries over the proposal of making the Chief Justice Prime Minister, saying it would lead the country to further crisis rather than creating atmosphere for consensus.
General secretary of Nepal Bar Association, Sunil Pokhrel, said the present proposal of making the CJ Prime Minister would gag the fundamental rights of the citizens, while the former Chief Justice Anup Raj Sharma has expressed alarm at the ‘emerging autocracy’ in the country. “There is no provision in the Interim Constitution that allows the Chief Justice’s appointment as Prime Minister. In fact, it goes against the preamble of the Interim Constitution and also against Article 106 of the Interim Constitution,” Sharma said. According to him, use of presidential power to remove difficulties in appointing the Chief Justice could invite autocracy in the country.
Sri Lanka:
The Independent: Britain is selling millions of pounds worth of small arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka despite the country’s dire human rights record, The Independent can disclose today.
The sales indicate how far President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government has been welcomed back into the international fold by Britain, despite the behaviour of his armed forces during the brutal last few months of the 2009 civil war.
Kaye Stearman, from the Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “Given Sri Lanka’s shameful military record and its continuing abuse of human rights, it seems extraordinary that the Government has approved these export licences for small arms and ammunition. In 2011-12, not a single licence application for these items was refused, even though the Foreign Office lists Sri Lanka as a ‘country of concern’ for its human rights record.”
The final destination of the small arms is not known – but a footnote in the Government’s data suggests some of it may have been intended for “maritime anti-piracy” measures. Sri Lanka is fast turning itself into an anti-piracy hub, centred around the south-western port of Galle where many ex-navy and army servicemen who fought against the Tamil Tigers are making themselves available for security details on international shipping routes heading towards the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa.
Standard Media: A new hardline Sinhalese Buddhist group in Sri Lanka has called for the abolition of the Muslim halal system of certifying foods and other goods.
The Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Strength Force, also said foreign propagators of religions should leave the country within a month. Thousands of supporters of the group attended a rally in a suburb of the capital, Colombo. The calls come at a time of mounting religious tension in the country. There have been several attacks on both mosques and Muslim-owned businesses as well as on Christian churches and the clergy.