Chief financier of the Haqqani network shot and killed by unknown gunmen

Haqqani son/financier killed

Dr. Nasiruddin Haqqani, a son of Haqqani network founder Jalaludin Haqqani and the organization’s chief financier, was shot and killed by unknown gunmen on Sunday in Islamabad (BBC, Dawn, ET, Pajhwok, RFE/RL).  Nasiruddin was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in June 2010 as a "specifically designated global [terrorist]" for his role raising funds for the group, and the Haqqani network was branded as a terrorist organization in September 2012 (Reuters).  According to news reports, Haqqani’s body will be taken to Miran Shah in North Waziristan on Monday for burial. 

Haqqani’s death comes as Pakistan implements a new legal framework designed to address its internal militant threat – a law "some are calling a local version of the USA Patriot Act" (Post).  The Pakistani government says the law will improve its anti-terrorism efforts, which have been plagued by inefficiency and abuses, but human rights advocates have criticized the ordinance for being harsh and having ill-defined sections.  The law, which was handed down by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in October, is currently under review by the country’s Parliament.  If passed, it could be used in Karachi, where a months-long security operation against criminal and militant groups in the city led to nearly 5,000 arrests.  

The New York Times reported on Sunday that five journalists have been killed in Pakistan this year – 44 in the past decade – citing numbers from the Committee to Protect Journalists (NYT).  While the Pakistani government has said that it wants to protect journalists operating in the country, the report notes that attacks come from all sides – from insurgents and criminals, as well as Pakistan’s civilian and military intelligence agencies.  While the "most perilous reporting beats" are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Balochistan, experts say attacks on reporters are also rising in Karachi. 

Vacancy filled 

The Pakistani government announced on Friday that Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani has been appointed as the new ambassador to the United States (AP).  Jilani, who will take up the position in December, will replace Sherry Rehman, who stepped down after the May 2013 elections.  He has served in Pakistan’s foreign service since 1979, and previously served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union. 

The president of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, Adeeb Javedani, announced on Sunday that copies of I am Malala, the recently released memoir from Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot by Taliban militants last October, would be banned from the libraries of its 40,000 affiliated schools for containing anti-Islamic and anti-Pakistan content (AP, RFE/RL, VOA). Javedani criticized the book for not including the abbreviation PUH – "peace be upon him" – after the Prophet Muhammad’s name, as is customary in many parts of the Muslim world; speaking favorably of author Salman Rushdie, who angered many Muslims with his fictional work, The Satanic Verses; and for describing the persecution of the minority Ahmadi sect in Pakistan.  Kashif Mirza, the head of the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation, said his organization has also banned the book in its affiliated schools and alleged that Yousafzai was being used as a propaganda tool of the West. 

Market blast

A busy market in the Lakano section of Afghanistan’s Khost province was blown up overnight, though no casualties were reported (Pajhwok).  According to deputy police chief Col. Mohammad Yaqub, many beauty and fabric shops were destroyed in the blast.  Hidayatullah, a local resident, said that police officials diffused two additional bombs that were placed in the market, while Hijratullah, another resident, claimed the Taliban had previously asked shopkeepers to close the market.  There have been no claims of responsibility. 

Earlier on Sunday night, more than 100 Pakistani religious scholars released a statement urging Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, to use his influence to reign in his Pakistani counterparts (Pajhwok).  Speaking from Lahore, the Sunni Ittehad Council members asked Omar to convince the militant group to recognize the Pakistani constitution and the government’s authority.  Since Pakistan had recognized the Taliban government, they argued it was Omar’s obligation to bring peace to the country.  

A British Marine, known only as "Marine A," was found guilty on Friday of murdering an injured Afghan insurgent in September 2011, and telling fellow soldiers not to talk about the incident (AJAM, RFE/RL).  Fellow soldiers testified that the Marine had told them: "Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere fellas.  I just broke the Geneva Convention."  The helmet camera of one of the three Marines present at the killing recorded the incident.  Marine A will be sentenced on December 6. 

Rebuilding Bamiyan

Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province is home to 11 historical sites, many of which – like the famous Buddhas – were destroyed by the Taliban government more than a decade ago or have suffered the ravages of time.  But today, Ecomus, a French organization, has been helping to rebuild the area (Pajhwok).  According to Abdul Hameed Jalya, the Afgha
n culture and information director for historical sites, Ecomus has helped reconstruct six historical domes, two towers known as defense trenches, and some walls around Ghughala City.  The work will likely help increase tourism to Bamiyan, which is home to Afghanistan’s first national park.

— Bailey Cahall