Afghan Government Announces Cabinet Nominees; Kerry Visits India; Peshawar School Reopens After Taliban Attack

Event Notice: “Leaving the Dark Side: Emptying Guantanamo and the CIA Torture Report,” TODAY, 12:15 – 1:45 PM (New America).

Afghanistan

Unity government finally announces cabinet nominees

Afghanistan’s national unity government announced its nominees for the country’s cabinet on Monday after months of delays following a disputed election (BBC, RFE/RL). Multiple media outlets reported that Ghani’s chief of staff, Abdul Salam Raheemi, announced the 25 nominees at a ceremony in Kabul. The so-called “unity cabinet,” which includes nominees from Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah, features three women, who were nominated to head the ministries of higher education, information and culture, and women’s affairs. Rahimi noted that the nominees would now be referred to the parliament for a vote of confidence, but did not say when that vote would occur (Reuters).

Afghans praise Hebdo attackers at rally

Hundreds of people rallied in southern Afghanistan on Friday to praise the deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo last Wednesday in Paris (Reuters). The demonstration took place in Oruzgan province’s Chori district after Friday prayers, just two days after a pair of gunmen killed 12 people at the magazine for its caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. Afghan officials said the demonstrators called the gunmen “heroes” and protested President Ashraf Ghani’s condemnation of the attack. Matiullah Khan, the provincial police chief, told reporters that authorities had been notified about the rally in advance, and that it was allowed under the constitution’s free-speech provisions.

Former Afghan soccer coach stabbed in Kabul

Mohammad Yousef Kargar, the former coach of Afghanistan’s national soccer team, was stabbed by unknown assailants in Kabul on Saturday as he returned to his home from a nearby wedding ceremony (BBC, RFE/RL). Though he was stabbed in the back and suffered a head injury, Kargar was listed in stable condition. An investigation into the incident, which may have resulted from a personal dispute, is underway. Kargar was instrumental in rebuilding Afghanistan’s soccer program after the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001.

— Bailey Cahall

India

Kerry visits India, urges stronger economic ties

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke at an investment summit in Ahmedabad — the largest city and former capital of Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s home state of Gujarat – on Sunday, and urged stronger economic ties between the United States and India (Bloomberg, NDTV). Major areas of focus included trade policy, energy, telecommunications, climate change, and intellectual property. “We can do more together and we must do more together and we have to do it faster,” Kerry said at the summit, which Modi started when he was Gujarat’s longest-serving chief minister. Kerry added: “That’s why I’m here this week, because I want to make sure our economic relationship grows stronger in every respect.”

Leading an international delegation, Kerry’s visit was meant to stress the high priority the United States places on an economic partnership with India. Another theme Kerry relayed is the opportunity for U.S. firms to help Modi achieve his economic goals. One of Modi’s initiatives is reforming the Indian business environment for easier foreign investment. Bilateral trade stands at approximately $30 billion today, and Kerry said the United States shares Modi’s goal of increasing annual trade five-fold in the future (Bloomberg). This trip comes ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to India later this month, when he will join Modi as the main guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. Obama will be the first U.S. president to visit India twice during his tenure (NDTV).

Modi, Mukherjee congratulate new Sri Lankan premier

On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated Sri Lanka’s new president Maithripala Sirisena on his election victory (Economic Times, Zee News). On the bilateral relationship between the two countries, Mukherjee said: “India and Sri Lanka as [neighbors] with [civilizational] ties sharing a common history, cultural heritage, interests and values, have long enjoyed a tradition of close friendship and cooperation. Please accept, excellency, my best wishes for the success of your [endeavors] for peace and development in Sri Lanka and for the progress and prosperity of its people.”

In a letter to Sirisena, Modi said: “Your historic victory is a tribute to your vision for Sri Lanka (and) your capacity to connect with people’s yearning for change…I wish you all the success in building a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka, on foundations of genuine and effective reconciliation.” During Modi’s congratulatory phone call, he invited the new president to Delhi next month, an offer Sirisena has accepted as his first maiden foreign trip. On his first day in office, Sirisena freed all Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody as a goodwill gesture.

Sirisena’s victory dashed Mahinda Rajapaksa’s hope of a third term, and came as a shock to many. He has vowed to carry out urgent political and economic reforms, and in a move starkly different from his predecessor, Sirisena has ordered the immediate end of phone tapping and surveillance of politicians and journalists, as well as bans on dissenting websites (Economic Times).

Modi pays homage to Swami Vivekananda

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, India’s National Youth Day, paid homage to Indian visionary and social reformer Swami Vivekananda through a series of tweets and photo messages (Indian Express, NDTV, Zee News). In a tweet, Modi said: “[He] is a revered as one of the most prolific thinkers & a guiding light who took India’s message to the entire world.”

Connecting his life to the national holiday, Modi said on Monday: “Let us pledge to leave no stone unturned to integrate our youth in India’s progress & ensure youth-led development across the nation.” In another tweet, Modi called Vivekananda “a personal inspiration” and said his thoughts and ideals had a deep impact on the him. Vivekananda was born January 12, 1863 in Bengal, and is largely credited with raising interfaith awareness, reviving Hinduism as a major world religion, and contributing to the idea of nationalism in Colonial India (Zee News). Monday marks his 151st birthday.

— Jameel Khan

Pakistan

Peshawar school reopens after Taliban attack

Students and teachers at the Army Public College in Peshawar returned to school on Monday for the first time since a Taliban attack in December killed more than 150 children and staff members (BBC, VOA, WSJ). The school reopened amid heavy security, which is part of a move to strengthen safety measures at schools across the country in the wake of the attack. According to an unnamed official speaking to Reuters, 2.4-meter-high (nearly 8-feet-high) walls were being built around public schools in Peshawar, with hundreds of residents also volunteering to protect the students (Reuters).

General Raheel Sharif, the head of Pakistan’s army, was at the school to greet and console students at a commemorative ceremony on Monday; classes will officially begin on Tuesday (Dawn, ET). Sharif also addressed the parents who came to the school in a private meeting. While some parents said it was too painful for them to return to the school, others, like teacher Andleeb Aftab, who lost her son in the attack, told reporters that they had returned to the school to honor their children’s memories by being there for the other students (AP, RFE/RL).

Scores killed in fiery bus crash

More than 60 people were killed in Karachi on Sunday when an overcrowded passenger bus collided with an oil tanker (BBC, RFE/RL, VOA, WSJ). According to Pakistani authorities, the bus was traveling from the southern port city to Shikarpur when the accident occurred. While the bus was overloaded, with a number of people riding on the roof, the oil tanker was reportedly speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road. Both vehicles burst into flames after the collision, and many of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. An investigation into the incident is underway (NYT).

Ex-Taliban members join IS, behead soldier

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that a video released online earlier that day purportedly showed militants formerly aligned with the Pakistani Taliban pledging allegiance to the Islamic State and beheading a man they identified as a Pakistani soldier (AP, RFE/RL). The AP’s Zarar Khan said the video shows former Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid and dozens of other militants in a non-descript wooded area. The fighters, who identify themselves as being from Afghanistan and Pakistan, also pledged their support to the Islamic State. In addition to saying they will step up their attacks in Afghanistan, the men also identified their regional leader, Hafez Sayed Khan Orakzai, a former Taliban commander (WSJ).

The video was released one day after a Taliban fighter conducted a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Rawalpindi, killing seven people and injuring nearly 20 others (AP, NYT, VOA). According to reports, the attack occurred after a large number of people had gathered at the mosque to distribute alms to mark the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday (AJE). Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said in an email statement to journalists on Saturday: “We claim responsibility of the attack on the Shiite mosque and vow to continue such attacks against enemies of Islam. We want to make it clear to these infidel rulers that we will not be impressed by any of their laws or hangings” (RFE/RL).

— Bailey Cahall

Edited by Peter Bergen.

SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images