Daily brief: Pakistan court delays Davis hearing 3 weeks

Peter Bergen’s new book, The Longest War: Inside the Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda, which the Guardian called "detailed, serious, scrupulously fair, perceptive and sometimes startling," is on bookshelves in the U.K. today (Amazon).

Davis delay

The chief justice of the Lahore High Court agreed to the Pakistani government’s request for three more weeks to prepare an opinion on whether Raymond Davis, the American associated with the U.S. consulate in Lahore who shot and killed two Pakistani men who he says were trying to rob him late last month, qualifies for diplomatic immunity, and extended his detention for two more weeks (AP, NYT, ET, Dawn, Reuters). Senator John Kerry left Pakistan last night after meeting with Pakistani leaders, including Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and the head of the PML-N opposition Nawaz Sharif, and said he was hopeful that the issue could be resolved "in the next few days" (Dawn, NYT, CNN, ET, Post). The next hearing is scheduled for March 14.

The Post reviews the high tensions over the Davis case, noting that "senior U.S. officials have warned Pakistani leaders that the refusal to release Davis makes them appear unappreciative of billions of dollars in U.S. aid" (Post). Pakistanis retort that the U.S.’s position on the Davis case is a "bold symbol of the lack of American trust in Pakistan," and "threats of aid cuts, combined with what is viewed as insufficient American remorse over the deaths of three Pakistanis in the incident, demonstrate that U.S. vows for a long-term partnership are disingenuous." Bonus read: Raymond Davis and the cost of immunity (FP).

In the tribal areas, clashes between militants and security forces continue in Orakzai, and the government of Sindh has waived a tax on trucks headed to Afghanistan that were stranded at the port in Karachi (APP, Pajhwok).

Captured

Coalition officials announced that leaders affiliated with the insurgent groups Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, including one involved in the Finest supermarket bombing in Kabul last month, have been detained (AP). In Helmand, a local anti-Taliban militia has reportedly been disbanded because of infighting between different groups (Guardian). And Afghan women’s rights activists continue to condemn an Afghan government plan to take control of women’s shelters in the country, which some officials allege are corrupt (BBC, NYT, LAT). 

Afghanistan has announced that the career diplomat Eklil Hakimi will be the country’s new ambassador to the United States, replacing Said Jawad, who left in September 2010 (Pajhwok, Bloomberg). Hakimi played a crucial role in negotiating the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, and will also serve as non-resident ambassador to Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina.

And the NYT reflects on the ups and downs of increased access to communication tools like social networking sites and cell phones, and other technological advances in war zones (NYT).

Bowling with neighbors

A cricket team from the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar is headed to Pakistan’s Khyber-Pukhtunkwa to participate in a week-long tournament, which involves 40 clubs from different parts of the northwestern province (Pajhwok). The chief coach of the Nangarhar Cricket Academy says his team will benefit from the practice and exposure.
And the NYT reviews "Out of the Ashes," a "remarkable film" chronicling the Afghan national cricket team’s ultimately unsuccessful quest to qualify for the cricket World Cup (NYT).

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