In Pakistan the civilian
government has decided to prosecute former military dictator and army
chief general Pervez Musharraf for treason (various crimes committed
during and after his 1990 government takeover). This is a first in
Pakistan and it is feared that many other senior commanders will be
dragged into the process and prosecuted as well (for working with
Musharraf). This is a major threat to the military, where prosecution by
civilian courts and obedience to elected governments was, until
recently unheard of. That is changing, but there remains the risk of the
generals taking over, or trying to, once more.
China and India will hold border negotiations in China
starting tomorrow. India continues to have problems with Chinese troops
crossing the unofficial border both nations share. The negotiations mean
to adjust the Tibet border (which a temporarily independent Tibet
adjusted in India’s favor in 1914) to please both nations. There are
many disputed portions along the 4,000 kilometer long frontier, most of
them involving Chinese claims on territory India has occupied for a long
time.
Just across the Pakistani border in Afghanistan Afghan troops
and Afghan Taliban have been attacking bases used by Pakistani Taliban.
The Afghan security forces and the Taliban gunmen are not cooperating
but they are both going after the Pakistani Taliban. This is apparently
part of a deal the Afghan Taliban agreed to recently with the Pakistani
Army for joint attacks on the Pakistani Taliban. The Afghan Taliban
depends on a sanctuary it has in and around Quetta, the largest city in
Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan). Quetta is safe because Pakistan will
not let American UAVs to operate there. Quetta is where the Afghan
Taliban leadership has been sheltered since 2002 and is right across the
Afghan border from the Taliban heartland in Kandahar and Helmand
provinces. Since the Afghan Taliban has not made (or sponsored)
terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, there has been an unofficial truce
with the Pakistani government. For over a year now the Pakistani
military has been trying to persuade the Afghan Taliban to help deal
with anti-Pakistan Islamic terrorists in Pakistan.
Most of these
attacks are carried out by factions belonging to the Pakistani Taliban.
The Afghan Taliban were persuaded to help as long as they only had to
attack the Pakistani Taliban inside Afghanistan. There was another
reason for this as well. Pakistan assisted the Afghan Taliban in getting
permission to open up an official office in the Persian Gulf state of
Qatar recently. Pakistan has also persuaded some Islamic terror groups
that operate mainly against India to join in attacking the Pakistani
Taliban. In return for that Pakistan has increased its assistance in
financing terrorist training camps near the Indian border and using
Pakistani troops to fire on Indian border guards in order to help the
Islamic terrorists get across the border into India.
These deals with the Afghan Taliban and Islamic terrorists who
concentrate in India make it clear that for Pakistan the main enemy is
India and that the Taliban (of whatever flavor) are simply another
weapon in their arsenal. Thus there is growing cooperation between
Afghanistan and India because the Afghans see Pakistan as their most
dangerous foe. The Taliban were created by Pakistan to gain a greater
degree of control over Afghanistan and the Afghans will never forgive
Pakistan for that.
In southwest Pakistan (Quetta, the provincial capital of
Baluchistan) a suicide bomber and a nearby civilian were killed at a bus
stop when the explosive vest the bomber was carrying (not wearing) went
off. This was apparently not intended and terrorists was either on his
way to use the vest himself or delivering it to someone who would.
June 26, 2013: Bangladesh has agreed to participate in a
Chinese project that would build a highway from southwestern China
(Kunmin) through Burma and Bangladesh to eastern India (West Bengal).
This is an outgrowth of an earlier Chinese effort to rebuild the World
War II "Stillwell (or Ledo) Road", from northeast India into Burma. That
road was originally, in 1942, built to replace the "Burma Road" that
got Allied military aid to Chinese troops fighting the Japanese. But
Japan captured Burma in 1942, and cut that connection. The new Burma
Road was to bypass India, and just go from China into Burma. India was
not happy about being left out and now everyone seems onboard for this
project. The new road will be of great benefit for all areas it passes
through as it will make trade, and travel, with China cheaper and more
convenient. Previously India was concerned about the military
implications, but now trade looms larger than potential Chinese
invasion. Pakistan is trying to interest China in building a similar
road, and railroad, to Pakistani ports. So far China has not been
interested, probably because the Pakistan route goes through more
difficult (and expensive to build in) terrain and the security situation
in Pakistan is much less stable than in Indian, Burma and Bangladesh.
China is particularly angry about how three of its citizens were
recently murdered at a mountain climbing base camp in northern Pakistan.
In Kashmir Pakistani troops opened fire across the LOC (Line
of Control, the unofficial border separating Indian and Pakistani
portions of Kashmir) despite a cease fire arranged after the similar
attacks yesterday. Inside Indian Kashmir Islamic terrorists murdered a
local pro-Indian politician.
In Karachi (Pakistan) Islamic terrorists attempted to kill a
senior judge with a roadside bomb. The judge escaped injury but nine
others in his convoy, or nearby civilians, were killed
June 25, 2013: In Kashmir Pakistani troops opened fire across
the Line of Control from several of their border posts. Indian troops
returned fire and it soon became apparent that this was another attempt
by Pakistani troops to create a diversion while Islamic terrorists (four
of them this time) sneaked into Indian Kashmir. While the ceasefire
between Pakistan and India has greatly reduced the violence along the
border, there is still shooting. The Indian troops usually fire back and
Pakistan will often try to create an issue out of that, claiming that
the Indians started it all.
In Pakistan's tribal territories (
Khyber
) a suicide bomber attacked a funeral killing 29 people. One
of the victims (believed to be the main target) was a recently elected
member of parliament. There were over 800 people at the funeral service.
Indian and American military commanders met in Hawaii to
discuss how the two countries could cooperate to deal with growing
Chinese military power and aggression in waters off China and the Indian
Ocean.
In eastern India (Bihar) about twenty Maoists dressed in
police uniforms attacked the home of a bank executive and killed two
people. The Maoists are generally hostile to banks and accuse them of
exploiting the poor.
June 24, 2013: In Indian Kashmir two Islamic terrorists
ambushed an army convoy killing eight soldiers and wounding 19. This was
the most damaging such attack in a long time. So far this year thirty
Indian soldiers have been killed in Kashmir as Pakistan has increased
its efforts to sneak Islamic terrorists into the area. The terrorists
are housed and trained in camps across the LOC in Pakistan. The violence
had been declining in the last decade as Indian security measures
became more effective and Pakistan finally agreed to talk peace. But
pro-terrorism commanders in the Pakistani military and intelligence
agencies (ISI) appear to have gained more influence of late and the
Islamic terrorists have become more active. This is seen as a Pakistani
tactic to encourage more Islamic terror groups to make peace with
Pakistan and halt their attacks inside Pakistan. These terrorists are
angry at Pakistani cooperation with Western (especially American)
antiterrorism efforts.
Some of the local Islamic radicals also want
Pakistan run by a religious dictatorship, not a democracy. That only
appeals to a minority of Pakistanis, but this is a radicalized minority
that accepts the use of terror to achieve their goals. The Pakistani
government hopes to isolate these radicals by offering other radicals
most assistance in getting into India and making attacks there. This is
all unofficial, of course, as Pakistan has never admitted that it is
sponsoring Islamic terrorism, especially groups operating against India.
This stances has been the source of growing embarrassment as more and
more evidence piles up proving Pakistani involvement.
June 23, 2013: In southwest Pakistan (Baluchistan) the army
launched another major search operation against tribal rebels. Locals
complained that the troops were firing indiscriminately at unarmed
people. This is a common complaint during such operations.
In eastern India (Jharkhand) police arrested a local Maoist
commander, one of his followers and captured weapons and a large
quantity of bomb making equipment.
June 22, 2013: In northern Pakistan fifteen Taliban, disguised
as local tribal paramilitary police (the Gilgit Scouts), hiked two days
up to a complex of base camps for foreign mountain climbers and killed
nine of them (including American, Chinese, Lithuanian, Nepali,
Slovakian, Ukrainian victims) along with a Pakistani cook. Many
potential victims managed to flee. Northern Pakistan contains some of
the highest, and most difficult to climb, mountains in the world. The
area had always been quiet and safe and the government encouraged the
development of tourism. Foreign climbers were particularly attracted to
the remote area and their visits have become a major part of the local
economy. For a while at least, that is all gone. Even Pakistani tourists
are cancelling. Many non-climbers, especially Pakistanis, came to the
area for its cooler weather in Summer and reputation for safety from
terrorism and crime. After this recent attack the government managed to
get all the other foreign climbers off the mountains and back to safety.
Soldiers and police are searching the area for the attackers, who will
have a hard time evading detection. Satellite phones got word of the
attack out quickly and the site of the crime had few escape routes. For
now, and the next few years, the economic damage is done and the locals
will suffer a sharp decline in living standards until tourists return.
That can take a few years, or longer if the Taliban continue operating
in this area. A Taliban faction took credit for the attack and said it
was revenge for a fatal UAV attack against one of their leaders last
month.
June 19, 2013: In Pakistan's tribal territories (outside
Peshawar) Islamic terrorists ambushed an army convoy and killed six
soldiers. Some of the attackers were killed or wounded but they all got
away before army reinforcements arrived.
June 16, 2013: In northeastern Pakistan (Swabi) two more
volunteer health workers were killed by Islamic terrorists because the
victims were immunizing children against polio. The Islamic terrorists
consider these immunization efforts un-Islamic.
June 15, 2013: In southwest Pakistan (Baluchistan) 23 people
were killed (including 14 female college students) by two terrorist
attacks in the Quetta (the provincial capital). A faction of the
Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. This group usually attacks
local Shia, but in this case they managed to mainly kill local Sunnis.
The Taliban agree with al Qaeda that women should not be educated and
that Shia are heretics who must die.
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