Daily brief: U.K. minister accidentally reveals Afghanistan memo

Peek-a-boo

A senior British minister, international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, was photographed yesterday after a cabinet meeting carrying a document that appeared to welcome the end of Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s term in office, and warn about the stability of Afghanistan’s banking and financial sectors (BBC, Guardian, AFP, Reuters, CNN). The document, which officials said did not contain sensitive information, described Karzai’s publicly-announced decision not to seek a prohibited third term as president as, "very important," and continued, "It improves Afghanistan’s political prospects very significantly. We should welcome Karzai’s announcement in private and in public" (BBC).

In an interview Tuesday Adm. William McRaven, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, defended the use of elite Navy SEALs in a rescue mission that ended in disaster when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Wardak province, a loss that helped make August the deadliest month in the Afghan war for American forces (NYT). NPR reports on the U.S. and NATO efforts to train Afghan forces to spot and deal with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), while Joshua Partlow notes the rapid increase in casualties among Afghanistan’s police forces (NPR, Post). And former top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus officially resigns from the military Wednesday, to take up his position at the head of the CIA (CNN).

Insurgent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar reportedly rejected peace talks in Afghanistan Wednesday, saying that, "the Afghan nation…should not attach any expectations to the reconciliation process," and that foreign forces should be fought until they leave Afghanistan (ET). The AP looks at a rare eye hospital in Kabul, where 400 patients go each day for care (AP). And Abubakar Siddique profiles a blind Afghan aid worker threatened with death by the Taliban (RFE/RL).

Back and forth

Pakistan’s Supreme Court continued its hearings into the violence in Karachi Tuesday with stinging critiques of the government and police efforts to stem the bloodshed, as political leaders continue to trade recriminations following the resignation of Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza Sunday (Dawn, ET, The News, DT, Dawn, ET, Dawn, ET, Dawn). A special committee of Pakistan’s National Assembly will meet September 6 to discuss the security situation, while the Tribune reports on how security forces prepared for the celebrations at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and the potential cost of Frontier Corps personnel becoming involved in security operations in Karachi (Dawn, ET, ET). And Samia Saleem has a must-read on the horrors experienced in the Pak Colony neighborhood of Karachi (ET).

In Quetta, a suspected suicide car bomber killed at least 11 people on Wednesday at a Shi’a mosque following prayers (BBC, ET, AJE, Dawn, CNN, AP, Reuters). And in Lahore, police announced that they had traced three mobile phone numbers believed to belong to people involved in the kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain political leader Salman Taseer, as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) criticized the failure to recover Shahbaz (ET, DT, Dawn, ET, DT).

The Telegraph reveals that according to a documentary to air next week, U.S. president Barack Obama convened a "red team" of experts days before launching a cross-border raid against Osama bin Laden that expressed doubts about the al-Qaeda leader’s presence in Abbottabad (Tel). After hearing the briefing, half of the mission’s planners reportedly advised Obama not to authorize the operation.

Two stories round out the day: according to a U.S. embassy cable released recently by the anti-secrecy website Wikileaks, former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf told Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi that Pakistan had at times "closed an eye" to militants in exchange for peace (ET). The Punjab province chief minister Shahbaz Sharif said Tuesday that Pakistan’s chronic energy shortages are having a major impact on the country’s agricultural production (DT). And the human rights organization Amnesty International has called on Pakistan’s government to stop forced disappearances of activists, journalists, and others (Reuters).

Wheels down

Pakistani authorities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi are trying to crack down on teenagers driving "full speed on single wheel" on motorcycles as they celebrate the end of Ramadan (DT). Police will reportedly deploy special units to key areas to prevent the practice.

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