Subject: South Asia Daily: Six Pakistani Taliban Leaders Pledge Allegiance to ISIS; India, Pakistan Armies Establish Contact; Kabul Bank Suspects Flee Country
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 08:48:04 -0400 (EDT)

Six Pakistani Taliban Leaders Pledge to ISIS; India, Pakistan Armies Establish Contact; Kabul Bank Suspects Flee Country

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Six Pakistani Taliban Leaders Pledge to ISIS; India, Pakistan Armies Establish Contact; Kabul Bank Suspects Flee Country

Six Pakistani Taliban Leaders Pledge to ISIS; India, Pakistan Armies Establish Contact; Kabul Bank Suspects Flee Country

   <p>  <b>Pakistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Bonus  Read: "Splits in the Pakistani Taliban," Daud Khattak (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VDKUNsPoJ9r0HhAIA9a53 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">South  Asia</a>)</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Bonus  Read: "ISIS Makes Inroads in Afghanistan, Pakistan," Najib Sharifi (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VDKUNsPoJ9r0HhAcAf62d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">South  Asia</a>)</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Senior  Pakistani Taliban leaders pledge allegiance to Islamic State</i>  </p><br><p>  Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid  and five other senior leaders pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State in  Iraq and Syria, according to news reports on Tuesday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_sPo1MYkmocRAa93b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_sPo1MYkmoccA0305 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>).  In addition to Shahid, allegiance was sworn by the Taliban's leaders in the  Orakzai tribal region, the Khyber and Khurram Agencies, and the towns of  Peshawar and Hangu. In a statement sent to media outlets and posted online Shahid  said: "I declare allegiance to the Caliph of Muslims, Amirul Momineen Abu Bakar  al Baghdadi al Qarshi al Hussaini. I will listen and follow his every  instruction whatever the situation may have been. This allegiance is neither  from the TTP [Taliban] or its leader Maulvi Fazlullah. This is only from me and  five leaders." Shahid added that Fazlullah supported the Islamic State, but had  not sworn allegiance to the militant group.   </p><br><p>  <i>Polio  drive launched in Balochistan</i>  </p><br><p>  A three-day polio immunization campaign  involving 1,831 vaccination teams began on Monday in six districts of  Balochistan (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_sPo1MYkmocmA75da style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).  According to Dr. Ishaq Panezai, the deputy manager for the Extended Program on  Immunization in Balochistan, 857,838 children will be immunized.   </p><br><p>  The campaign comes as Pakistani Prime Minister  Nawaz Sharif's Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell announced new  recommendations to confront polio in high-risk areas on Monday. That report noted  that 202 cases of polio-linked paralysis have been recorded so far in 2014, the  highest number in 14 years (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_sPo1MYkmocvAa456 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NYT</a>).  Pakistan's polio problem has even spilled into Afghanistan; according to the  World Health Organization's director for polio response in Pakistan, Dr. Elias  Durry, eight of the ten polio cases in Afghanistan this year are linked to  Pakistan.  </p><br><p>  <i>Peshawar  to get journalism institute</i>  </p><br><p>  The Journalists Welfare, Safety and Development  Foundation announced on Monday that it would set up a practical journalism  institute in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_sPo1MYkmoc5Aacc1 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>).  The institute plans to focus on holding events and workshops to train  journalists operating in Pakistan. The foundation also decided to collect more  data on deceased journalists' families in order to further support orphans and  widows of those who die working for the media.   </p><br><p>  <i>--  David Sterman</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>India</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Indian and Pakistani armies  establish contact</i>  </p><br><p>  Indian and Pakistani military officials spoke to  each other on Tuesday, and discussed ways to reduce tension along the Indo-Pakistan border in Kashmir  (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmodDAcdc9 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pakistan Today</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmodNAfb0b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>). Pakistani newspaper <i>Dawn</i> reported, citing a senior  military official, that: "Directors of Military Operations (DMO) of the  Pakistani and Indian armies spoke to each other over [a] hotline" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmodWA77bc style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>). This was the first contact between the two armies since  ceasefire violations began earlier this month.  </p><br><p>  In response to Pakistan's letter to the United Nations seeking its intervention on the Kashmir border  dispute, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq,  told reporters on Monday that the U.N. chief would encourage  both countries to resolve their differences through dialogue (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmodgA4630 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmodpA0115 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Livemint</a>). Pakistani officials wrote to the United Nations on Sunday, asking the United Nations  Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to intervene in the recent border  dispute in Kashmir.   </p><br><p>  <i>Retail and wholesale inflation ease  in September</i>  </p><br><p>  India's retail inflation based on the consumer price index fell to  6.46 percent in September, compared to 7.73 percent in August, marking the lowest inflation rate since the government started  releasing the data in 2012, according to news reports on Monday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmodzA7b45 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmod9Ab7f4 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>). On Tuesday, media outlets reported that wholesale price index  inflation also dipped to a  five-year low of 2.38 percent in September compared to 3.74 percent in August (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmoeHAad02 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmoeRA49d8 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Economic Times</a>). The decline in inflation was driven by falling prices of fuel  and food.   </p><br><p>  <i>India may impose duties to check  Chinese imports</i>  </p><br><p>  The Indian government said on Monday  that it may  impose "some kind of safeguard duties" on Chinese imports to reduce the  trade gap between the two countries (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmoebA8f26 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">IBNLive</a>). With Indian exports to China totaling only $15 billion, and imports totaling $51 billion, India's trade deficit  with China stands at about $36 billion. On Monday, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretary Amitabh  Kant -- working  under the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry -- said: "This trade  deficit (between India and China) is not sustainable in the long run and  therefore it is very important to understand for Chinese companies that in the  coming years, India will have to put some kind of safeguards whether it is in  terms of standards... India will do this because (India) cannot sustain this  (trade deficit) for over a long period" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmoelAe2df style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Economic Times</a>). Kant said further: "Chinese companies should actually  manufacture the same goods (which they export to India) in India. We welcome  Chinese companies."  </p><br><p>  <i>Election Commission seizes cash and  alcohol</i>  </p><br><p>  The Election Commission of India  (EC) seized over $2 million in cash and more than 200,000 bottles of illicit  liquor in the western state of Maharashtra on Monday, ahead of the state  legislative assembly elections (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmoevA22d2 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">IBNLive</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmoe5A3494 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>). According to news reports, the EC has established teams to  ensure that political parties do not lure voters with cash and alcohol before  the elections, which will be held on Oct.15. An election official noted that:  "While cash seized by the police and I-T [Income Tax] is returned in case it  can be accounted for, in the case of liquor, the seizure and vehicles are  confiscated and the people involved are arrested" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmofDA728b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">DNA</a>).   </p><br><p>  <i>-- Neeli Shah and Jameel Khan</i><b></b>  </p><br><p>  <b>Afghanistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Bonus  Read: "My Terrifying Night With Afghanistan's Only Female Warlord," Jen Percy (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0a_8Po1MYkmofMA71a9 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">TNR</a>)</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Two  Kabul Bank suspects leave country</i>  </p><br><p>  Afghanistan's Attorney General's Office  announced on Monday that two of the suspects in the Kabul Bank fraud investigation  had left the country (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0bAMPo1MYkmofWA864a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">TOLO  News</a>). Deputy Attorney Gen. Rahmatullah Nazari stated: "Two of the loan receivers  of Kabul Bank, Mohebullah Safi, CEO of the Millie Bank, and Masood Ghazi, CEO  of the New Kabul Bank, have taken leave and ran away." Both Safi and Ghazi had  been sentenced to three years in prison for their involvement in the corruption  case. Gen. Fareed Afzali, who heads the Kabul Police criminal investigation  branch, stated: "The list [of individuals involved in the case] that was given  to us had 18 names, we have arrested seven of the names, two others were bailed  out and freed by one of the embassies, two others ran away and the rest are  outside the country." Safi and Ghazi's flight from the country just a few weeks  after newly inaugurated Afghan President Ashraf Ghani promised to push the  investigation forward.  </p><br><p>  <i>37  dead in fighting at Sar-i-Pul</i>  </p><br><p>  Fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban  fighters in Sar-i-Pul province left 37 people dead, the provincial governor  announced on Monday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0bAMPo1MYkmofgAc5ce style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0bAMPo1MYkmofqA96bc style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">TOLO  News</a>). According to reports, 14 members of the Afghan security forces died  along with 23 Taliban fighters. Mullah Nadir, a Taliban commander, was among  those reportedly killed. The fighting began with a Taliban ambush in Laghman  village. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi claimed 40 Afghan security  personnel were killed in the fighting - though the militant group is known for  citing higher casualty counts.&nbsp;   </p><br><p>  <i>Bomb  kills two in Kabul</i>  </p><br><p>  A bomb killed two civilians and injured three  others in the Kote Sangi district of Kabul early on Tuesday morning according  to local news reports (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0bAMPo1MYkmofzAdfac style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71wf0s.149g/VD0bAMPo1MYkmof-Aec62 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">TOLO  News</a>). No group has claimed responsibility for the attack though it comes  one day after two other bombings occurred in the Afghan capital, one of which  was claimed by the Taliban.  </p><br><p>  <i>--  David Sterman</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Edited  by Peter Bergen</i>  </p><br> 

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