Subject: South Asia Daily: Pak Christian Couple Killed by Mob; Pak Taliban Targets India; U.S. Army Division Ends Afghan Mission
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2014 08:30:28 -0500 (EST)

Pak Christian Couple Killed by Mob; Pak Taliban Targets India; U.S. Army Division Ends Afghan Mission

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Pak Christian Couple Killed by Mob; Pak Taliban Targets India; U.S. Army Division Ends Afghan Mission

Pak Christian Couple Killed by Mob; Pak Taliban Targets India; U.S. Army Division Ends Afghan Mission

 <p>  <b>Pakistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Bonus Read: "By the  Numbers: Pakistan's Perilous Religious Laws," by Knox Thames</i>  </p><br><p>  <i>Christian couple  killed by mob</i>  </p><br><p>  A Pakistani Christian couple was tortured and burned to  death in Punjab Province on Tuesday for alleged blasphemy (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g3A68d3 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NYT</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N2ZAde13 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">RFE/RL</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g4A225e style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).&nbsp;The  couple, both in the mid-20s, was accused of burning a Quran after burned pages  of a Quran were reportedly found in their trash. According to Jawad Qamar, the  local police chief, a criminal case has been filed against at least 460 people,  and 48 people have been arrested so far.  </p><br><p>  <i style="font-size: 1.135em; line-height: 1.7em">Sharif sets  six-month polio deadline</i>  </p><br><p>  Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave the Steering  Committee on Polio Eradication six months to make Pakistan polio-free on  Wednesday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g5Adfdf style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>,  <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g6A4521 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>).  Sharif, addressing the chief ministers of Pakistan's four provinces, said: "[the]  polio epidemic will not be tolerated in the country.... I refuse to put the  generations of Pakistan at stake." The chief ministers assured Nawaz that  additional security measures were being taken to protect vaccination workers,  who are often the victims of attack. On Tuesday Pakistan ordered the additional  vaccination of 3 million children across the country by the end of November (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N2nA916a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">RFE/RL</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>Supreme Court heard  case against Sharif</i>  </p><br><p>  On Wednesday the Supreme Court of Pakistan heard a  petition that sought to strip Prime Minister Sharif from his post for allegedly  making false statements during a joint session of parliament over the army's  role in negotiations with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek  to end their sit-ins (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g7Aafde style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>).  The petition was filed by Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf leader Ishaq Khakwani and Pakistan  Muslim League-Quaid President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. A three member bench  was convened to hear the petition, filed under Article 62-f of the Constitution,  and the hearing was adjourned to Nov. 10 without a ruling.  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Courtney  Schuster</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>India</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>Pakistani  Taliban targets PM Modi</i>  </p><br><p>  The Pakistani  Taliban group behind this week's suicide bombing on the Indo-Pakistan border  said on Wednesday that Indian targets might be next (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N2uAbe1a target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Livemint</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g8A24c5 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Indian Express</a>). Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed  by his security advisors of this threat. Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesperson for the  Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat Ahrar, tweeted in Urdu: "This attack is  an open message to both governments across the border," and also: "If  we can attack this side, the other side could also be attacked" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g9Aa4b2 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">NDTV</a>).&nbsp; Ehsan further tweeted in English: "You  (Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi) are the killer of hundreds of Muslims. We  wl take the revenge of innocent people of Kashmir and Gugrat (sic)." Modi  was the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, when hundreds of  Muslims were massacred during the 2002 riots.  </p><br><p>  <i>India moves  warships after terror alert</i>  </p><br><p>  India withdrew  two warships from the Kolkata port -- located in the eastern state of West  Bengal -- on Tuesday after intelligence agencies warned of an attack at the  port (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N21A4802 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Times of India</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g-A10e1 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">NDTV</a>). The two warships, INS Khukri and INS Sumitra, were  docked at the Kolkata port for Navy week and were scheduled to participate in  the celebrations through Friday.&nbsp;Coast Guard Inspector General V.S.R.  Murthy said: "All our ships and establishments are on high alerts and we have  told our staff to be on high alert... There hasn't been a specific warning as to  what we can expect" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3g_Aa8b6 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">WSJ</a>). However, a defense ministry press release stated that  the two visiting warships sailed out "within hours of a recall to the sea for  undisclosed 'operational reasons' on orders by Eastern Naval Command HQ today"  (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3hAA1dd3 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Indian Express</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>Pentagon  report: Pakistan uses terror proxies against India</i>  </p><br><p>  The Indian  ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Tuesday welcomed a U.S. Pentagon report,  which stated that Pakistan was using terrorists to counter the Indian Army (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3hBA694f target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Economic Times</a>). A MEA spokesperson said: "If the  international community is saying Pakistan is using terrorists as proxies to  counter Indian army then its welcoming. Issue of terrorism should not be  segmented" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N3MA4cc0 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">IBNLive</a>). The U.S. Pentagon, in its latest six-monthly  report on the current situation in Afghanistan, told the U.S. Congress that  "Afghan-and Indian-focused militants continue to operate from Pakistan  territory to the detriment of Afghan and regional stability. Pakistan uses  these proxy forces to hedge against the loss of influence in Afghanistan and to  counter India's superior military" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3hCA2729 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">NDTV</a>).  </p><br><p>  The report  further talked about the attack on the Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan  prior to the swearing-in ceremony of the then newly elected prime minister,  Modi, and said: "In June, the US Department of State announced that the  terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba was responsible for the attack. Following the  attack, former Afghan President Karzai denounced the attack and made strong  statements supporting relations with India" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3hDAa81c target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Indian Express</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i style="font-size: 1.135em; line-height: 1.7em">Indian village  celebrates monkey wedding</i>  </p><br><p>  More than 200  villagers in the Bettiah district -- located in the northern state of Bihar --  attended an elaborate Hindu wedding for two monkeys on Monday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3hEAfdfe target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Gulf Times</a>). While Ramdulari, the bride, was dressed in an  orange dress, Ramu, the groom, was wearing a yellow T-shirt. The married couple  were taken in a procession on top of a car decked with flowers, and were  accompanied by people dancing in the procession. Also, numerous villagers were  lined along the streets to greet them. Udesh Mahto, a daily wage worker and  owner of both the monkeys, said that Ramu was "like my eldest son."  Talking about Ramu and Ramdulari, Mahto said: "Initially they didn't get  along well. But later they began liking each other, so I decided to marry them  off" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N3bAab69 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">BBC</a>).  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Neeli Shah  and Jameel Khan</i>  </p><br><p>  <b>Afghanistan</b>  </p><br><p>  <i>U.S. Army division ends  Afghan mission</i>  </p><br><p>  The 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army ended its mission  in Afghanistan on Tuesday, 13 years after it arrived in the country (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFoZ38PoiVxIBNbCA7bb0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Washington  Post</a>). At the departing ceremony, Major General Stephen Townsend, 10th  Mountain Division commander, said: "We were the first division here, and I  think it's fitting we'd be the last," (in a combat role).  </p><br><p>  <i>Dozens of Taliban  killed in fighting</i>  </p><br><p>  Dozens of Taliban members have been killed in Uruzgan  province, according to Haji Abdul Raziq, the Deh Rawud district police chief (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N3gA31f9 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  For the past three days, hundreds of Taliban in Uruzgan province have been  fighting security forces, resulting in the deaths of Taliban and seven  policemen, Raziq said. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi claimed that 17  policemen have been killed and denied any Taliban deaths.  </p><br><p>  The identity of a Taliban commander slain in fighting  between Afghan security forces and the Taliban in Faryab province&nbsp;on  Monday&nbsp;has been released (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmOnSH78N3iA5fc1 target="blank" style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414">Pajhwok</a>). Mullah Ghulam Sakhi was killed by Afghan forces,  and two additional commanders injured in the fighting have been identified as  Qari Daud and Mullah Khairullah.  </p><br><p>  <i>Ghani promises  support for women's rights</i>  </p><br><p>  Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addressed the Afghanistan Independent  Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Tuesday where he urged the protection of  women's rights in Afghanistan. Ghani asked AIHRC for recommendations to improve  human rights law in Afghanistan (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3hFA2bb6 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>).  </p><br><p>  On Tuesday, Ghani also told the husband that a group of  men accused of gang raping his wife eight years ago would be arrested and brought  to justice (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71ymyo.1250/VFomYEmObuwf-3hGA0fe9 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>).  Ghani made a phone call to the husband after six of the eight men accused of  raping his wife were released because of their political connections.  </p><br><p>  <i>-- Courtney  Schuster</i>  </p><br><p>  Edited by Peter  Bergen<i></i>  </p><br> 

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