Indian Army Attacks Rebels in Myanmar; Pakistan Executes Man Convicted as Minor; Rocket Attack on Bagram Air Base Kills US Civilian

Event Notice: “War of Women,” Today, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. (NewAmerica)

India

Indian army attacks rebels inside Myanmar

Indian Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that the Indian army attacked rebel camps inside neighboring Myanmar early Tuesday morning, destroying two camps and killing up to 15 rebels (BBC, Guardian, WSJ). Rathore said this operation was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was a sign of tough new approach toward security, especially along the country’s long border. Director of the office of Myanmar President Thein Sein Zaw Htay, confirmed on Wednesday that Indian troops had entered his country’s border. He said that there was “coordination and cooperation” between authorities but no Myanmar soldiers were directly involved. Last Thursday, rebels ambushed an Indian army convoy in the northeastern state of Manipur near the border of Myanmar, killing at least 20 soldiers. Tuesday’s operation is considered to be a response from the Indian army to the attack in Manipur. Authorities in Manipur have struggled for years with an insurgency involving several militant groups. Talking to the Indian Express, Rathore responding to a query as to whether India can conduct such an operation inside Pakistan, said: “This should be a message to all countries and organizations who foster terrorism against India, including Pakistan.”

Government approves $940 million for interest-free loans to sugar mills

On Wednesday a ministerial committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved interest free loans worth 60 billion rupees ($940 million) for sugar mills which will enable them to pay off their debts owed to sugarcane farmers (LiveMint, Reuters). These debts are estimated to be nearly $3.3 billion. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said: “This is a significant immediate step to provide relief to farmers.” The committee also approved a proposal to raise imports of pulses to lower domestic prices which have risen 64 percent in the past year. India is the world’s second largest sugar producer behind Brazil and the sugar mills have long been lobbying the government to provide relief as high levels of supply have pushed prices below cost of production due to rising sugar cane prices.

Licenses of 4,470 NGOs Cancelled

The federal home ministry in India has cancelled the licenses of 4,470 organizations, most of which are NGOs (NDTV, BBC). Official sources told Press Trust of India (PTI) that these organizations were found to have engaged in financial irregularities including non-filing of annual tax returns. Sources have also indicated to PTI that these organizations were issued notices to clarify their positions but responses were deemed unsatisfactory. This action will prevent these organizations from receiving funds from foreign sources as licenses were cancelled under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The list includes a number of top universities, Supreme Court Bar Association, Escorts Heart Institute, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Gujarat National Law University. In April, the licenses of nearly 9,000 NGOs were cancelled for alleged violation of FCRA.

Pakistan

Bonus Read: “My 22 Years on Pakistan’s Death Row Could End This Week. What Purpose Will My Execution Serve?” Aftab Bahadur (Guardian) 

Pakistan executes man who was a minor when convicted

Pakistan on Wednesday executed a man who was 15 when he was sentenced to death for murder and who human rights groups say was tortured into confessing (BBC). Aftab Bahadur was hanged in Lahore’s jail early Wednesday morning. He was convicted of a double murder in Lahore in 1992 based on eyewitness accounts, but both witnesses later retracted their statements, claiming they had been made under duress. “This is a truly shameful day for Pakistan’s justice system. Aftab was subjected to almost every injustice conceivable,” said Maya Foa, director from international human rights group Reprieve, which was helping to provide Bahadur with pro bono legal assistance. “To the last, Pakistan refused even to grant his lawyers the few days needed to present evidence which would have proved his innocence. This is a travesty of justice, and tragedy for all those who knew Aftab,” Foa added.

COAS assures China CPEC will be completed on time

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Raheel Sharif assured Chinese authorities on Wednesday that there would be no hurdles to the completion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (Dawn, ET). Sharif met with Chinese Vice Minister of Ministry of State Security Dong Haizhou at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to discuss the security situation in the country as it relates to the corridor and its construction, which will be done from 2014 through 2030. “Matters relating to bilateral interest, regional security and security of CPEC came under discussion during the meeting,” according to a short statement by the Inter Services Public Relations. “China attaches great importance to its relations with Pakistan, and early completion of the project would not only benefit Pakistan and China but also the entire region,” Haizhou said. The 3,000-km (1,864 mi) corridor running from the southern Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea to China’s western Xinjiang region, was launched in April during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Islamabad in July 2013.

Afghanistan

Rocket attack kills civilian with DoD

A civilian employee of the U.S. Defense Department was killed this week when a rocket struck Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, a spokesment for the United States military said on Wednesday (NYT). The employee was identified as Krissie K. Davis, 54, of Talladega, Ala. She worked for the Defense Logistics Agency, an arm of the Pentagon that has been managing the withdrawal of wartime equipment from Afghanistan. The rocket attack occurred on Monday at about 5:30 a.m., said Col. Brian Tribus, a spokesman for American forces in Afghanistan. A second rocket hit the base early Wednesday morning, but no casualties were reported.

Afghanistan’s Sikhs feel pressure to leave

Afghanistan’s once-thriving Sikh community is dwindling fast, down from as many as 100,000 members in the 1990s to an estimated 2,500 now, the Associated Press reported today (AP). Most cite growing intolerance and discrimination in the majority Muslim country as the reason for choosing to leave the country of their birth. Sikhs have also had trouble reclaiming homes, businesses, and houses of worship that were illegally seized years ago. Under Taliban rule, Sikhs, as well as Hindus, were forced to sell their land or had it seized by warlords and intolerance toward ethnic and religious minorities became official policy. Although the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 largely put an end to the illegal land grabs, getting the land back has proved difficult.

 — Shuja Malik and Emily Schneider

Edited by Peter Bergen