Subject: South Asia Daily: Afghan Election Official Resigns; 550 Arrested After Clashes in Lahore and Islamabad; Modi Government to Present Budget in July
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Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 09:12:35 -0400 (EDT)

Afghan Election Official Resigns; 550 Arrested After Clashes in Lahore and Islamabad; Modi Government to Present Budget in July

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Afghan Election Official Resigns; 550 Arrested After Clashes in Lahore and Islamabad; Modi Government to Present Budget in July

Afghan Election Official Resigns; 550 Arrested After Clashes in Lahore and Islamabad; Modi Government to Present Budget in July

 <p>  <b>Afghanistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Bonus read: "Will  Afghanistan be the Next Iraq?" Lynne O'Donnell (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvV8A1ca2 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">SouthAsia</a>)</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Election official  steps down</i>  </p><br><p>  Ziaulhaq Amarkhil, one of Afghanistan's top election  officials, resigned on Monday after repeated accusations by Abdullah Abduallh  that he was involved in a conspiracy to rig the presidential run-off (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWBA865a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NYT</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWFAc240 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">TOLO  News</a>). In an emotional news conference, Amarkhil maintained his innocence  but said that he was stepping down "for the sake of the country and for  national unity." He also criticized Abdullah for releasing audio recordings  that the candidate used as evidence of widespread ballot-stuffing, saying that  the tapes had been faked.   </p><br><p>  Meanwhile, the United States called for an impartial review  of all fraud claims on Monday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWHAff49 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  "The United States urges both sides to remain engaged with the electoral  institutions and avoid violence. We would regret any moves to the contrary,"  said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. He added that the United States  encouraged supporters to pursue a disposition of their concerns through the  established order as laid out in the constitution.   </p><br><p>  <i>U.S. Army veteran to  receive Medal of Honor</i>  </p><br><p>  President Obama will award Ryan Pitts, a former Army Staff  Sergeant, the highest military honor for his actions during the Battle of Wanat  in Afghanistan in 2008 (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWLAeba4 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Post</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWMA7883 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">WSJ</a>).  Sgt. Pitts and his platoon with the 173rd Airborne Brigade came under attack on  July 13, 2008 and the ensuing battle killed nine U.S. soldiers and wounded 27  more. Pitts, despite being wounded by shrapnel in both legs and his left arm,  continued to throw hand grenades and fire his weapon at enemy positions but after  less than an hour, discovered that all his fellow paratroopers at his post were  either dead or gone. "In that moment, [Sgt.] Pitts resigned himself to certain  death, but remained determined to do as much damage as possible to the enemy  before they overwhelmed the" post, according to a Defense Department account of  the sergeant's actions. The Battle of Wanat became one of the most  controversial incidents of the entire war, and investigation reports by <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWPAa6e3 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">The  Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWRA2c8c style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Army  Times</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWTAa461 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Foreign  Policy</a>&nbsp;and other publications followed.&nbsp; Pitts will receive the medal on July 21,  2014, four years after the battle.   </p><br><p>  <b>Pakistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Bonus read: "Karachi's  Killers," Ivan Sigal (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWVA024e style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">SouthAsia</a>)</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>550 arrested after  Qadri's homecoming</i>  </p><br><p>  The Islamabad and Rawalpindi police registered cases against  1,600 Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers, including the head of the party,  Tahirul Qadri, following clashes on Monday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWXAab5a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).&nbsp; The cases were registered on charges of  vandalism and violence outside Benazir International airport where at least 120  people, including 45 policemen, were injured. The police have arrested 550 PAT  workers in relation to the protests.   </p><br><p>  <i>Pakistan warns  Afghanistan against action</i>  </p><br><p>  Tasneem Aslam, a Foreign Office spokesperson, warned the  Afghan government on Tuesday to refrain from taking any action that may be  detrimental to peace along the border (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWZAf9e8 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>).  She rejected allegations by senior Afghan officials that Pakistani troops had  conducted attacks in Afghanistan's Kunar province while wearing civilian  clothing.  </p><br><p>  Aslam's statement was made in response to Afghanistan,  saying it was mulling a response to an alleged cross-border attack by Pakistani  forces in which three soldiers and eight civilians were killed (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWbA4239 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).  Ahmad Shakib Mustaghni, an Afghan foreign ministry spokesperson, said that: "Afghanistan  is pondering a response to Pakistani incursions" and that "Afghanistan Security  forces are capable of defending the country and could avenge Pakistani  attacks." He added that: "We will not remain silent spectators to Pakistani  attacks and will give a befitting response to Pakistani attacks at appropriate  time."  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Emily Schneider</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>India</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Modi government to present its first budget in July</i>  </p><br><p>  Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new government will present  its first federal budget on July 10, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary  Affairs (CCPA) decided on Monday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWdAff65 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian  Express</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWfA1800 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Economic  Times</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWhAd8de style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>).  Also in line are the railway budget on July 8 and the Economic Survey on July  9. The budget session of the parliament will convene from July 7 until August  14. The CCPA has decided that at least four ordinances, which have to be  converted into bills by the third week of July, will be considered on a  priority basis.   </p><br><p>  Ahead of the general budget presentation, Modi is meeting  with all the department secretaries independently to take note of specific  issues and determine viable alternatives for better implementation (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWyAa906 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Economic  Times</a>). Modi has asked top officials from the finance ministry and planning  commission to attend all such meetings with department secretaries. "Though the  Budget making is a parallel exercise, some of his [Modi's] directions at these  meetings should find their way into the Budget and the policy framework  eventually," said an official.   </p><br><p>  Opposition parties are likely to raise the issue of  increasing rail passenger fares and freight rates ahead of the railway budget.  Last week, the Modi-led government also had announced its first dose of  "bitter medicine" to revive the economy with an increase in passenger  fares by 14.2 percent and freight rates by 6.5 percent. Such a move was a clear  effort to assist the state-owned railway raise money.   </p><br><p>  <i>Sri Lankan Navy apprehends Tamil Nadu fishermen</i>  </p><br><p>  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa urged Prime  Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and secure the release of 64 Indian  fishermen along with their 38 boats in Sri Lankan custody on Tuesday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWlA9a37 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">IBNLive</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWmA5ac0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Times  of India</a>). On Monday, 11 fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy  when they ventured out to sea off the coast of Tamil Nadu, one of India's  southern states. Last Thursday, seven fishermen from Nagapattinam fishing base  were also arrested off the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, while 46 other fishermen  were arrested the previous day.  </p><br><p>  Jayalalithaa acknowledged past action taken by the  government to release Indian fishermen from Sri Lanka, and urged the Indian  government to find a permanent solution through concerted and sustained  diplomatic efforts. "The Union government must impress upon the Sri Lankan  government to abstain from attacks on and abduction of our innocent fishermen  on the high seas in the Palk Bay. Further, the joint mechanisms which are  designed to ensure the speedy release of apprehended fishermen should be  effectively activated," she said.  </p><br><p>  <i>Delhi University: teachers strike, Vice Chancellor  resigns</i>  </p><br><p>  Thousands of students seeking admission to Delhi University  (DU) are stranded after DU and its affiliated colleges put the admission  process on hold on Monday, according to press reports (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWpA2827 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWrAc7cf style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Hindustan  Times</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWtAdb6d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian  Express</a>. <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWvAf690 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Times  of India</a>). After DU decided to stretch its three-year undergraduate courses  to a four-year undergraduate program (FYUP) in 2013, the University Grants  Commission (UGC), India's university watchdog, ordered DU to revert to a  three-year program. UGC, which controls the university's finances, further  informed DU on Monday that any deviation from the directive shall be  "deemed to be in contravention of the UGC Act, with its  consequences."  </p><br><p>  DU Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh resigned on Tuesday and  teachers went on a 24-hour long hunger strike to protest the UGC order. The  Supreme Court has refused to intervene in this issue and dismissed a plea moved  by the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) seeking cancellation of  the UGC order.  </p><br><p>  Students continued to protest on Tuesday and expressed their  disapproval and worry over the ongoing face-off between the UGC and DU. "At  present, there are 60,000 students under the FYUP. This controversy has cast a  shadow on this year's admission process, which was due to begin on Tuesday,  putting the future of more than 200,000 students in jeopardy," the <i>Hindustan  Times</i> reports (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71nati.bfl/U6l5GcPowa1qZvWxAe479 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Hindustan  Times</a>). The UGC order is also set to affect students enrolled in the FYUP  from its inaugural year in 2013.   </p><br><p>  -- <i>Neeli Shah and Jameel Khan</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Edited by Peter Bergen</i>  </p><br><p>  &nbsp;  </p><br> 

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