Subject: South Asia Daily: Indian Minister Arrives in Kabul; Dozens of Militants Killed in Pak Air Strikes; U.N. Urges Afghan Candidates to End Crisis
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Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 09:24:31 -0400 (EDT)

Indian Minister Arrives in Kabul; Dozens of Militants Killed in Pak Air Strikes; U.N. Urges Afghan Candidates to End Crisis

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Indian Minister Arrives in Kabul; Dozens of Militants Killed in Pak Air Strikes; U.N. Urges Afghan Candidates to End Crisis

Indian Minister Arrives in Kabul; Dozens of Militants Killed in Pak Air Strikes; U.N. Urges Afghan Candidates to End Crisis

 <p>  <b>India</b><b>&nbsp;</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Indian foreign minister arrives in Afghanistan</i>  </p><br><p>  Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Kabul on  Wednesday, with an agenda of improving strategic cooperation and working with  Afghanistan on stability and security issues (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0epA94ee style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0euAbe6a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">  Livemint</a>). Afghanistan has given a "wish-list" to India, which  includes supplying military hardware to establish stronger security measures in  the country, as NATO forces are scheduled to withdraw by the end of the year.  Although India has trained Afghan officers, and invested $2 billion towards aid  and reconstruction, it has been cautious about supplying weapons and military  hardware due to the armed groups operating in Afghanistan, and amid concerns of  provoking neighboring Pakistan. During her visit, Swaraj is scheduled to hold  talks with President Hamid Karzai. Swaraj's visit to Afghanistan marks the  first formal diplomatic interaction between the two countries after the new  Indian government was formed in New Delhi earlier this year.  </p><br><p>  <i>AAP shares sting operation details</i>  </p><br><p>  Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of India's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),  along with other party leaders, met Lt. Gov. Najeeb Jung in New Delhi on  Wednesday, and shared with him an audio CD of a sting operation, which  allegedly showed a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader trying to bribe  an AAP member to switch parties (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0ezAd506 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Livemint</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0e4A2f7f style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">  Times of India</a>). Kejriwal asked Jung to withdraw his Sep. 4 letter to  President Pranab Mukherjee, which recommends that the BJP -- the single largest  party in New Delhi -- be invited to form a government.  </p><br><p>  On Tuesday, in response to Kejriwal's claim that: "The  BJP has been in touch with 15 of our legislators," BJP member Sanjay Kaul  responded: "You cannot buy what is not on sale. If people are willing to  leave AAP as they are insecure about their future, they will certainly  negotiate with other parties" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0e9A82c3 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>).  With 29 legislators and the largest bloc in the New Delhi assembly, the BJP  needs five more legislative members to join it for a majority. New Delhi has  been under the president's rule since Feb. 14 after Kejriwal quit as chief  minister, after only 49 days in office, when he alleged that the BJP and  Congress party were blocking the introduction and passage of the Jan Lokpal, an  anti-corruption bill.  </p><br><p>  <i>Indian legislator: K</i><i>eep Muslim men away from dance festival</i>  </p><br><p>  An Indian legislator, Usha Thakur, who is also the BJP's  state vice president in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, said on Wednesday  that Muslims should be prohibited from attending "Garba" celebrations  -- a Gujarati dance festival celebrated in several Indian states in October -- to  stop the alleged "Love Jihad," a term used by pro-Hindu groups to describe the  so-called Islamist strategy to convert Hindu women (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fCA736a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>).  While the BJP has distanced itself from Thakur's comments, the Congress party  criticized the statement, with leader Satyadev Katere saying: "The idea is  absurd. You cannot force things on society like this."  </p><br><p>  Thakur claimed that Muslim men entice Hindu girls to convert  to Islam to distort the population ratio in the country. Thakur said: "If they  (Muslim youths) want to take part in the festival, they should first convert to  Hinduism. Muslim youths hoodwink the organizers by sporting tilak [Hindu  religious mark] on their forehead and get inside the venue to mingle with Hindu  girls. I am going to write to the organizers to insist on electoral identity  cards for men and allow only Hindu men inside the venue" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fHAbe89 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian  Express</a>).  </p><br><p>  Meanwhile, in Gujarat's Baroda city, "Love Jihad"  pamphlets are being discreetly circulated, and ask: "Do you want to Become a  Prostitute? No? Then Read, Think and Behave," according to news reports on  Wednesday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fMAb6c0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>).  The leaflet, written in Gujarati, lists statistics that allegedly show an  increasing number of Hindu women being lured by Muslim men into marriage to  live as "second, third or fourth wives." The pamphlets have been  created by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a Hindu group affiliated with the BJP's  ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Neeli Shah and Jameel Khan</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>Pakistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Bonus Read: "Pakistan  Leader's Predicament Shows Power of 'Deep State'," Yaroslav Trofimov (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fRAa9fb style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">WSJ</a>).</i><i>&nbsp;</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Dozens of suspected  militants killed in air strikes</i>  </p><br><p>  Pakistan's military released a statement on Wednesday saying  that at least 35 suspected militants had been killed in air strikes earlier  that day on three "terrorist" hideouts in the town of Datta Khel in North  Waziristan (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fWAd355 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">RFE/RL</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fbAd21c style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">VOA</a>).  Pakistan's <i>Dawn</i> newspaper reported  that an additional 30 fighters had been killed in air strikes against two  hideouts in the region's Shawal Valley (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fgAdc35 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>).&nbsp;  </p><br><p>  The strikes were part of a larger security operation in the  area, which has been ongoing since mid-June. The army says the offensive has  killed more than 900 militants so far, but that number could not be  independently confirmed. The strikes came just one day after the Pakistani  Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack on a naval facility in the port  city of Karachi last Saturday, which left one sailor and two militants dead and  seven sailors wounded.  </p><br><p>  <i>Death toll rises in  mosque collapse</i><i>&nbsp;</i>  </p><br><p>  At least 24 people were killed and seven were injured in  Lahore on Tuesday when the roof of a mosque in the Darghawala neighborhood  collapsed during afternoon prayers (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0flAdaab style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fqA01ea style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NYT</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0fvAefb5 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">RFE/RL</a>).  Pakistani authorities believe the incident -- which was first reported in  Tuesday's brief -- occurred after heavy monsoon rains weakened the roof's  structure. Muhamad Usman, who led the rescue operation, told media outlets that  it seemed all of the victims had been rescued or recovered from the site, but noted  that the search would continue until all of the rubble had been removed. More  than 250 people have been killed in Pakistan since rain started falling more  than a week ago, many from roof collapses.  </p><br><p>  The Associated Press also reported on Wednesday that  thousands of Pakistanis have fled their homes "as monsoon flooding that has  already inundated the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir coursed down onto  the plains, causing a major river to breach its banks" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0f0A151d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">AP</a>).  According to reports, the rains have washed away dozens of houses, crops,  bridges, and communications equipment, making rescue efforts more difficult in  both Pakistan and India, which has also been hard hit by flooding (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0f5A4373 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NYT</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0f-Ad593 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">VOA</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>Levies official killed  in attack on polio team</i>  </p><br><p>  A member of Pakistan's paramilitary Levies force was shot  and killed in Bajaur agency on Wednesday when unknown assailants attacked the  polio vaccination team he was protecting (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gDAb1c6 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gIAe727 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).  While no one has claimed responsibility for the incident, polio teams have come  under frequent fire from militant groups operating in the country's tribal  regions. According to Agence France Presse, nearly 60 people, including health  workers and security officials, have been killed in similar attacks since  December 2012 (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gNAa541 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">RFE/RL</a>).  </p><br><p>  Pakistan is one of three countries where the poliovirus  remains endemic -- Afghanistan and Nigeria are the other two -- and the World  Health Organization confirmed on Wednesday that another child in Balochistan  had been diagnosed with the virus (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gSA83e2 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).  The one-year-old boy, who lives in Quetta, is the suburb's first case, and the  region's second. At least 139 children have contracted polio in 2014 alone.  </p><br><p>  <b>Afghanistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>U.N. urges creation of  unity government, parliament willing to step in</i>  </p><br><p>  With negotiations between Afghanistan's presidential  candidates coming to a standstill, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged  both Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday to conclude an agreement  on a national unity government in accordance with the commitments they made in  July, when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry brokered a power-sharing deal  between the two political rivals (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gXA7881 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gcAb55f style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">VOA</a>).  In a statement, Ban said the present political situation was a pivotal moment  for Afghanistan, and that a "genuine partnership" was needed to tackle the  challenges facing the country. His statement came two days after Abdullah said  he would not accept the results of the country's run-off vote audit, or any  government based on those results, which have not yet been released, but are  expected to name Ghani as the winner.&nbsp;  </p><br><p>  Afghanistan's <i>Wolesi  Jirga</i>, the lower house of parliament, also expressed a willingness on  Wednesday to mediate a settlement between Abdullah and Ghani, noting that the  delay in resolving the election crisis has had a negative impact on the country  (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0ghA7ddb style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  Abdul Sattar Khawasi, a parliamentarian from Parwan province, said he "regretted  that foreigners were busy trying to resolve Afghanistan's political problems[,  saying:] 'Let us find a solution to this dilemma otherwise we could plunge into  serious troubles.'"  </p><br><p>  <i>At least 10 killed in  coalition airstrike</i><i>&nbsp;</i>  </p><br><p>  Afghan officials told media outlets on Wednesday that at  least 10 civilians, including a number of women and children, had been killed  in a coalition air strike in Kunar province on Tuesday, though some sources put  the death toll at 13 or 14 (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gmA5877 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">AP</a>).  According to reports, the strike occurred in the Narang district and around 12  civilians were also injured. Aimal Faizi, a spokesman for Afghan President  Hamid Karzai, said on Twitter that Karzai strongly condemned the strike, and  the Associated Press noted that the "[a]llegations of civilian deaths are a  frequent cause of friction between Karzai and NATO."  </p><br><p>  While the military alliance's International Security  Assistance Force did release a statement about the strike, it said it "resulted  in the death of one armed enemy combatant... [and that] no  civilian casualties or damage to structures occurred during this operation" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0grA30ad style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>Obama criticized for  prisoner swap</i>  </p><br><p>  The U.S. House of Representatives voted 249 to 163 on  Tuesday to condemn President Barack Obama's failure to give Congress 30-days  notice about May's exchange of five Taliban leaders held at the U.S. detention  facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for U.S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0gwA9781 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  While the resolution expressed relief that Bergdahl had returned home safely  after nearly five years in captivity, House speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said  in a statement that: "By setting free five top Taliban commanders from U.S.  custody, the Obama administration made Americans less safe" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71tcm3.r0g/VBBQkMPo0uMjr0g1Aadc5 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">RFE/RL</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Bailey Cahall</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Edited by Peter Bergen.</i>  </p><br> 

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