US Commander Apologizes for Kunduz Hospital Bombing; Iranian President to Visit Pakistan; Reporter Arrested in India; Charges in Bangladesh Cyber Heist

Afghanistan

U.S. commander apologizes for Kunduz hospital bombing

On Tuesday, Gen. John Nicholson, the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, issued an apology to the families of those killed in an air strike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz last year (NYT). Gen. Nicholson and his wife traveled to Kunduz to meet with local officials and family members of the victims. Gen. Nicholson stated: “As commander, I wanted to come to Kunduz personally and stand before the families and the people of Kunduz to deeply apologize for the events which destroyed the hospital and caused the deaths of staff, patients and family members.” Family members and others, however, expressed anger at local officials who accepted the apology. Zabiullah Niazi, who was injured in the strike, losing an eye, finger, and use of one hand, commented, “They hit us six months ago and are apologizing now?” Niazi added, “The head of the provincial council and other officials who said we accept the apology, they wouldn’t have said it if they had lost their own son and eaten ashes, as we did.”

Child suicide bomber surrenders to Nangarhar police

A 12-year-old child suicide bomber surrendered to police in Nangarhar province, according to Afghan officials on Wednesday (Pajhwok). The officials alleged that the child was a resident of the Wazirbagh area of Peshawar and trained for two years in suicide bombing at a Pakistani seminary. Maj. Gen. Fazal Ahmad Sherzad, the chief of police for Nangarhar, commented, “This child was trained on terror techniques at a madrasa in Peshawar before being sent here to carry out a suicide attack, but he changed his mind and surrendered to police in Lalpura district.”

Drone strike kills eight in Nangarhar

On Tuesday, eight ISIS fighters were killed in a drone strike in Nangarhar province, according to local officials (TOLO News). The strike targeted a vehicle in the province’s Koot district. No civilian casualties were reported.

Pakistan

Iranian President to visit Pakistan on Friday

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Pakistan on Friday (ET). The ministry noted that the lifting of sanctions as part of the nuclear deal between Iran and the West “has opened new avenues for enhancing economic interaction.” Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif previously visited Iran in January this year to try and calm tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia following the execution of Shi’a cleric Nimr al Nimr. Sharif also visited Iran in May 2014.

Former regional ISI director killed in Peshawar

On Tuesday, a former regional director of the ISI, Abdul Latif, was shot and killed in Peshawar (ET). Latif was killed in a drive by shooting by men on a motorcycle. The superintendant of police noted that the attack looked like a targeted killing.

U.S. imports military equipment into Pakistan via Karachi Port

The United States is using Karachi Port to import military equipment with a vessel unloading 401 military vehicles in the first week of March, according to a report in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper on Wednesday (Dawn). The vehicles were reportedly humvees that were used in Iraq. A screening machine and impact crusher were also imported. The port protected the shipment and concealed it by surrounding it with other containers. The destination of the equipment is unknown but likely Afghanistan.

— David Sterman

India

Reporter arrested in Chhattisgarh after criticizing the police

A journalist in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh state in India was arrested and allegedly tortured on Monday by the police after he criticized police activities in the region on social media (WP, NDTV). Reporter Prabhat Singh, who works for Hindi daily newspaper, was presented to court on Tuesday, and according to his lawyer, was charged with “circulating obscene material.” The president of the Dantewada Press Club Kamal Shukla said that in his writings Singh was critical of police activities as well as Naxalite insurgents in the region.

Modi inaugurates 100 MW power line to Bangladesh

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated a 100 MW power transmission line which will supply power from Tripura’ Palatana to Bangladesh (HT, NDTV). At this occasion, as a measure of reciprocity, his Bangladeshi counterpart  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina initiated a internet connectivity line which provides 10 GB internet bandwidth to India. Both prime ministers launched the twin links through video conference. Bangladesh imports about 500 MW of power from India.

Bangladesh

Criminal complaints against two over Bangladesh cyber heist

On Tuesday, the anti-money-laundering agency in the Philippines filed criminal complaints against two businessmen, Weikang Xu and Kam Sin Wong, who are allegedly involved in the recent cyber theft of $101 million from Bangladesh’s central bank (WSJ). Both men run small casinos in the Philippines. The Governor of the Central Bank of Bangladesh, Atiur Rahman, resigned last week, days after it was revealed that the bank did not inform the government of a cyber theft from the bank’s account in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Hackers are believed to have breached the computer network of Bangladeshi central bank and transferred more than $100 million to casinos in the Philippines between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5.

— Shuja Malik

Edited by Peter Bergen

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