Subject: South Asia Daily: Drone Strikes Continue in N. Waziristan; Firing on the Indo-Pak Border; Afghanistan: World’s Largest Refugee Repatriation
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2014 08:44:56 -0400 (EDT)

Drone Strikes Continue in N. Waziristan; Firing on the Indo-Pak Border; Afghanistan: World’s Largest Refugee Repatriation

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A special project with the New America Foundation and Johns Hopkins, SAIS

Drone Strikes Continue in N. Waziristan; Firing on the Indo-Pak Border; Afghanistan: World’s Largest Refugee Repatriation

Drone Strikes Continue in N. Waziristan; Firing on the Indo-Pak Border; Afghanistan: World’s Largest Refugee Repatriation

   <p>  <b>Pakistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Drone  strikes continue in North Waziristan</i>  </p><br><p>  A U.S. drone strike on a compound in North  Waziristan killed three suspected militants on Tuesday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSMA0d23 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">AP</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSRA1993 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">DAWN</a>).  The strike continued a recent spike in the number of strikes occurring in  Pakistan: it was the third strike in 24 hours and the fourth in the past three  days. According to data collected by New America, this is the 13th  strike in 2014 (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/U76UUsPocBqejEOjA704d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NA</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>Two  killed, one injured in attack on polio worker</i>  </p><br><p>  Muhammad Gul, a Union Council Polio Worker, was  seriously injured on Wednesday in Mohmand Agency when an improvised explosive  device planted outside of his home exploded; his brother and cousin were killed  in the incident (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSWA52bf style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">DAWN</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSbAd28d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).  The incident is the latest in a spate of attacks against polio workers and  comes as Pakistan wrestles with a surging number of polio cases. The Global  Polio Eradication Initiative reports that 174 polio cases have been recorded in  Pakistan to date, compared to 93 cases in all of 2013 (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VCqnOcPorscCeafBA4233 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">GPEI</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>--  David Sterman</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>The  Indo-Pak Border</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Cross  border firing continues</i>  </p><br><p>  Indian and Pakistani troops  continued to exchange fire over the disputed border in the Kashmir region on  Wednesday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSgAbfb4 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSlAdbf0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSqAbe90 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>). India reported that two women have been killed and around two  dozen civilians have been injured since Tuesday. According to Pakistani sources  speaking to the <i>Dawn</i> newspaper, at least  three people were killed and four were injured in the Sialkot district of  Punjab province on Tuesday following continued firing across the Indo-Pakistani  border. The sources, who are in the Chenab Rangers, added that they retaliated.  </p><br><p>  As both sides accused each other of  unprovoked firing, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked India and Pakistan to  resolve their issues through dialogue. His spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric,  told reporters on Tuesday: "The secretary general would call on both  countries to resolve their issues diplomatically and through discussions"  (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSvA2ab0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Times of India</a>).   </p><br><p>  Indian Air Force Chief Arup Raha  said on Wednesday: "The issue is quite serious and it should not happen.  Government is taking it seriously and we want a quick resolution of the  problem. We want peace and tranquillity and want the borders to be normal...  India wants good relations with our neighbours and the government is taking a  number of steps in this direction diplomatically and otherwise" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfS0A09ff style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>). Commenting on the ongoing ceasefire violations, S. Chandrasekharan,  the director of the South Asia Analysis Group in New Delhi, said: "It is very  unusual that we are seeing both sides targeting civilian areas and buildings...  At the moment, neither side seems willing to back down" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfS5A5a75 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Livemint</a>). Pakistan's Foreign Ministry lodged a formal protest with the  Indian government, calling the firing "in complete disregard"  of the Eidul Azha festival, which is currently being celebrated across the  country (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfSqAbe90 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">DAWN</a>).  </p><br><p>  India and Pakistan have fought three  wars since the two countries were partitioned in 1947, and two of them were  over Kashmir. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety, and the dispute has  been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 60 years. Although  New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to a truce in 2003, ceasefire violations have  continued across the borders.  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Neeli Shah, Jameel Khan, and David Sterman</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>India</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Court rejects Indian minister's bail plea</i>  </p><br><p>  An Indian court rejected a plea for bail made by Jayaram  Jayalalithaa -- the former chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu  and leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party -- on  Tuesday, even though the public prosecutor said he had no objection to a  conditional bail (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfS-A6252 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">The Hindu</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTDAc27f style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDPmrsPoJ9r0Pb5EAf4a3 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>). Jayalalithaa, in a case  that lasted 18 years, was jailed in September for four years on corruption  charges, after she was found guilty of accumulating unaccounted for wealth  totaling more than $10 million. Jayalalithaa's lawyers said they will approach  the Indian Supreme Court as her plea for bail was rejected by a court located  in the neighboring state of Karnataka. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu witnessed protests  and attacks on Tuesday as AIADMK members started pelting cars and  transportation buses with Karnataka license plates (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTIA2c17 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>IMF projects an increase in India's growth rate</i>  </p><br><p>  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that India's  economy has recovered from a slump, as it hiked its 2014-2015 growth forecast  to 5.6 percent (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTNA5a1e style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Livemint</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTSA2d4e style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>). The IMF, in its  bi-annual World Economic Outlook, left its growth projection for India in  2015-2016 unchanged at 6.4 percent. Olivier Blanchard, the IMF's chief  economist, said: "India has recovered from its relative slump, and, thanks  in part to policy and a renewal of (economic) confidence, growth is expected to  exceed five percent again" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTXA8347 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>). The Indian economy grew  at 5.7 percent in the second quarter of this year, its fastest in  two-and-a-half years. Last month, the Standard &amp; Poor's ?credit ratings  agency raised its credit outlook of India from "negative" to  "stable."  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Neeli Shah and Jameel Khan</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>Afghanistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Afghanistan:  the largest refugee repatriation in the world</i>  </p><br><p>  The World Bank stated in a new <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTcA8965 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">report</a>  released on Monday, that 5.7 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan in  the past decade (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfThAa0f0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  According to the report, the return to Afghanistan is the largest refugee  repatriation effort in the world. However, the report also notes that  Afghanistan is the second-largest source country of refugees and that "large  numbers remain forcibly displaced."  </p><br><p>  <i>Car  bomb kills at least four in Helmand province</i>  </p><br><p>  A car bomb killed at least four people on  Wednesday when it exploded in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand district (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTmA42f7 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTrAa1f2 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">TOLO  News</a>). Omar Zowak, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the  incident occurred at 11:00 AM near the house of Abdullah Khan, a former  district police chief; Khan was wounded in the blast. No group has claimed  responsibility for the attack.  </p><br><p>  <i>Action  commences on Kabul Bank investigation</i>  </p><br><p>  Kabul police chief Lt. Gen. Muhammad Zahir Zahir  announced on Tuesday that the city's police have initiated arrests in the Kabul  Bank investigation (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfTwA536b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  Zahir stated: "We have received a list of 19 individuals and two of them have  already been arrested." Sher Khan Farnoud, who was the founder and chairman of  Kabul Bank, is reportedly among those accused.&nbsp; Zahir's statement follows newly inaugurated Afghan President  Ashraf Ghani's direction last week to reopen the case. On Tuesday, Rahmatollah  Nazari, Afghanistan's deputy attorney general announced that the Attorney  General's office would reopen the case (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71vvgb.14l0/VDUxS8PoJ9r0VfT1A1e78 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">TOLO  News</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>--David  Sterman</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Edited  by Peter Bergen</i>  </p><br> 

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