Foreign Fighters Drive Afghan Violence; India Receives $70 Billion in Remittances; Nisar: No Extradition in Farooq Murder Case

Afghanistan

Foreign fighters drive Afghanistan violence

Hundreds of foreign fighters are flowing into Afghanistan from Pakistan bolstering the Taliban and increasing the brutality and level of violence in the conflict according to a report in the Washington Post on Tuesday (Post). Ahmad Nawid Froutan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, attributed the beheading of Afghan National Army soldiers after Taliban militants overran military positions in the province killing at least 18 soldiers over the weekend to the effect of the influx of foreign Pakistani fighters. Froutan stated: “The foreign Taliban fighters beheaded the soldiers, not the local Taliban,” adding: “In the past, the local Taliban have never committed such brutality.” Indeed, in December, the Taliban in Badakhshan, which was composed largely of the same Tajik ethnic group as the local population, released 24 captured police officers after the local group of Taliban prevailed over a small group of foreigners who wanted to behead the policemen. Atiqullah Amarkhel, a military analyst in Kabul predicted: “Considering the influx of foreign fighters in Afghanistan, this fighting season will be the bloodiest fighting season” while Afghan Interior Minister Noor-ul-Haq Ulumi stated: “The foreigners are behind the recent insecurity in the country.” The influx of foreign fighters is in part driven by militants fleeing Pakistan’s military operation in North Waziristan, and one Pakistani intelligence official speaking anonymously told the Washington Post that part of the threat had simply migrated to Afghanistan.

Pakistan to propose joint polio eradication

According to a report on Wednesday in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, Pakistan will propose a joint polio vaccination campaign with Afghanistan during meetings scheduled to occur in Kabul on Thursday and Friday (Pajhwok, Dawn). An official of the polio program speaking anonymously told Dawn: “the virus is transmitted between the two countries because of frequent movement of people across the porous border as Pakistan is also hosting Afghan refugees. It is especially difficult to vaccinate people who cross the border illegally.” The official said the joint effort would be proposed at the Thursday meeting saying: “It is hoped that simultaneous campaigns in the border areas will ensure that no child is missed.” Pakistan’s delegation at the meetings will be led by the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq and also include the head of the Emergency Operation Centre for Polio Dr Rana Safdar.

NDS: Deputy Taliban Shadow Governor for Balkh detained

On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s National Directorate for Security (NDS) announced that the Taliban deputy shadow governor in Balkh province, Mawlawi Rustam, had been detained in Kabul (Pajhwok, TOLO News). According to the NDS, Rustam had intended to travel to Quetta, Pakistan for training and financial support and was detained following a special operation in Kabul on Tuesday. The Taliban have not yet commented on the announcement.

— David Sterman

India

India receives $70 billion in remittance

A World Bank report states that India’s global migrant workforce remitted $70 billion to India in 2014, according to news reports on Tuesday (WSJ, Business Standard). While India topped the list for the seventh time, the growth rate slowed to 0.6 percent in 2014 from 1.7 percent in 2013. The World Bank report further estimates that Indians have approximately $44 billion in savings in the countries where they work. Kaushik Basu, the World Bank chief economist and senior vice president, said: “Total remittances in 2014 reached $583 billion… India received $70 billion, China $64 billion, the Philippines $28 billion. With new thinking these mega flows can be leveraged to finance development and infrastructure projects” (IBNLive). The report also stated that in addition to India, the top five remittance recipient countries, in terms of value of remittances, include China, Philippines, Mexico, and Nigeria, and the top migrant countries include the United States, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Flipkart withdraws from Airtel deal

Flipkart, India’s biggest e-commerce company, withdrew from a deal with Bharti Airtel Ltd., a multinational telecommunications services company, after receiving social media backlash, according to news reports on Tuesday (BBC, Indian Express, Economic Times). Under the deal, Airtel would allow customers to browse Flipkart’s website for free, as the e-commerce company would bear the Internet data costs. Flipkart received social media backlash for the agreement, as critics claimed that the deal went against net neutrality, which means that users should have access to all the websites at the same cost and speed, and all traffic on the Internet should be treated equally. Flipkart said in a statement: “We will be walking away from the ongoing discussions with Airtel for their platform Airtel Zero… We will be committing ourselves to the larger cause of net neutrality in India” (Reuters). Over 100,000 people have emailed the Indian telecom regulatory body asking that the government protect net neutrality.

Dalit-American woman uses art to fight caste discrimination

Thenmozhi Soundararajan, a Dalit (a group of people considered untouchable in the Indian caste system)-American artist based in the Bay Area in California, has been highlighting the challenges that Dalit women face in India, particularly as victims of sexual violence, through her art (Ozy, The Guardian). Soundararajan, a transmedia artist, has titled her art ‘Dalit History Month,’ and has spoken in front of thousands of people. Her work has been showcased in eight countries and 52 cities. Soundararajan is also an Activist Fellow of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, which fosters the legacy of an artist’s life, work, and philosophy that art can change the world. Soundararajan believes that the sexual violence inflicted on Dalit women highlights how women in India are treated, and will use her grant money to fight for the #Dalitwomenfight movement.

— Neeli Shah

Pakistan

Bonus Read: “Loosening a Party’s Grip on Karachi, a Pakistani City Known for Violence,” Declan Walsh and Zia ur-Rehman (NYT).

Nisar: Pakistan will not hand over Farooq murder suspect

On Wednesday, Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudry Nisar said that Pakistan would not handover any suspects in the Dr. Imran Farooq murder case (ET, Dawn). Nisar stated: “As far as handing over a suspect to Britain is concerned, I clarified to the high commissioner that we don’t not have an extradition treaty with them.” While refusing to hand over any suspects, Nisar argued that Pakistan had been cooperating in the investigation stating: “we have been trying to take this case to its logical conclusion to the best of our abilities.” Dr.Farooq, a high-profile member of the MQM political party was murdered in London in September 2010.

Joint Investigative Team to question Saulat Mirza

On Wednesday, a Joint Investigative Team (JIT) arrived at Balochistan’s Mach jail to question Saulat Mirza in the wake of the release of a videotaped confession in which he alleged that Altaf Hussain, the leader of the MQM political party, ordered him to commit murder (ET, Dawn). The JIT, which was formed after Mirza’s allegations, is led by Amir Sheikh, the Deputy Inspector General Police Karachi, and involves officers of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, and police. The MQM has denied Mirza’s allegations. Mirza has been found guilty of murdering the then-managing director of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, Malik Shahid Hamid, and his and guard on July 5, 1997.

Cricketeer banned for 2 years after positive cocaine test

Pakistani cricket player and left-handed spinner Raza Hassan has been banned from playing cricket for two years following a positive drug test of cocaine according to reports on Wednesday (ET, Dawn). An anonymous official of the Pakistan Cricket Board told Pakistan’s Express Tribune: “The tests have been taken and they are positive,” and “He will be banned for two years from domestic and international cricket.” The PCB is expected to release a statement soon. In the past, Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif were dropped from play in the 2007 cricket world cup following positive drug tests.

— David Sterman

Edited by Peter Bergen

Noorullah Shirzada/AFP/Getty Images