Village Elders Order Death of 16 Year-Old Pakistani Girl; Uruzgan-Kandahar Highway Insecurity May Lead to Deputy Police Chief’s Sacking; Lok Sabha Passes Finance Bill; Islamist Leader Motiur Rahman Nizami Loses Death Sentence Final Appeal

Pakistan

Village elders order death of 16 year-old Pakistani girl

A 15-member jirga, a decision-making body composed of elders, in Pakistan’s Abbottabad district ordered the death of a 16 year-old, Amber, who helped a friend escape from their village of Makol so as to marry someone of her own choosing (Dawn, BBC). After a six-hour jirga on the night of April 28, Amber was forcibly taken from her home, drugged, and killed. Her remains were found in a torched van in Donga Gali on Friday. Speaking to DawnNews, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MPA Shaukat Yousafzai said, “This is the first time an incident of this type has taken place.” According to Pakistani police, 13 people have been arrested.

Pakistan may buy fighter jets from Russia, China after U.S. deal falters

After the U.S. Congress denied the use of U.S. funds to subsidize the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, Pakistan is reportedly exploring alternative options, such as the Russian SU35 and the Chinese J10 and J20 stealth fighters, according to a senior foreign ministry official (FT). A former Pakistani Air Force general said, “Even if this immediate matter (the U.S.-Pakistan F-16 predicament) is resolved, no one in Islamabad will trust the Americans. I fear the feeling in Pakistan’s policy circles is increasingly to go to the Russians and the Chinese for other planes that come with a more reliable supply assurance.”

Afghan citizens to be forced from Khyber Agency

Afghan citizens who fled their home country to settle in Pakistan’s western Khyber Agency have been told by to leave and return to Afghanistan (PT, TOLO) out of concerns of their links to Afghan terrorists sheltering in Pakistan. Col. Naeemullah, a commander of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat Scouts, said, “Most terrorists came from Afghanistan and local helpers provided them with weapons and shelter in Khyber Agency to launch attacks in Pakistan.” He added, “Pakistan provided shelter to the Afghan citizens during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, but now they need to go back to their home country as they are not loyal to Pakistan.”

Afghanistan

Bonus Read: “Despite billions in U.S. funding, Afghan forces have a problem with boots,” by Tim Craig (Post)

Bonus Read: “The man who helped save Afghanistan’s treasures from ravages of war,” by Sune Engel Rasmussen (Guardian)

Uruzgan-Kandahar highway insecurity may lead to deputy police chief’s sacking

Last week, dozens of police checkpoints along the 100 mile-long highway that runs between Tarin Kot in Uruzgan and Kandahar were overrun by the Taliban, prompting claims that their loss was a deliberate action by Rahimullah Khan, the Uruzgan deputy police chief (GlobalPost/AFP). According to Martine van Bijlert, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network, “With Rahimullah there have been a lot of complaints that he intentionally gave up security posts… in an effort to undermine (his superiors) and to strengthen his own position.” Rahimullah, from Uruzgan’s dominant Popalzai tribe, has been a major provincial powerbroker for years, and his dismissal from his post could lead to further instability. Haji Khoda Raham Khan, a well-known tribal leader and Rahimullah’s uncle, said to AFP, “There will be bloodshed inside Tarin Kot if the government goes ahead with his dismissal. This is a conspiracy to take back power from Popalzais. Without Rahimullah there will be anarchy.”

Helmand offensive on hold due to lack of direction from Ghani

According to Tolo News, military officials and provincial leaders in Afghanistan’s Helmand province are concerned over the lack of direction and war-plan implementation from President Ashraf Ghani (TOLO). Karim Attal, a Helmand provincial council leader, said, “The President is different in action and speech and he is not putting his words into practice and it means he is kicking dust in people’s eyes.” Helmand is one of Afghanistan’s most contested provinces, as the Taliban reportedly control multiple districts throughout.

India

Bonus Read: “India’s long wait for justice: 27m court cases trapped in legal logjam,” by Vidhi Doshi (Guardian)

Lok Sabha passes Finance bill

The lower house of the Indian parliament, Lok Sabha, on Thursday approved legislation giving the central bank a mandate to target inflation through monetary policy (Reuters, LiveMint). The bill, which is being called the Finance Bill, sets up a seven-member monetary policy panel that will include three representatives of the government, three representatives of the central bank and the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The panel will set interest rates through a majority vote, a practice followed by major central banks globally. At present, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India is the sole authority to decide monetary policy. The panel will be reviewing inflation targets every five years.

Life sentences for murderers of Mumbai’s “heroes”

Four men were sentenced to death on Thursday by a court in Mumbai for the 2011 killings of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez who had tried to protect their female friends from being molested (BBC, TOI, Hindu). Santos, 24, and Fernandez, 29, dubbed as “Mumbai’s real heroes,” were stabbed to death in October 2011 as they attempted to fight off men harassing their female friends, who were trying to use a public restroom at a restaurant. The issue of sexual assault has been in the spotlight in India since a 23 year-old student was gang-raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi in December 2012. The case prompted tightening of India’s laws on sexual violence but analysts say tougher laws have failed to bring down the number of rape cases.

Bangladesh

Islamist leader Motiur Rahman Nizami loses death sentence final appeal

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a final appeal by the head of country’s largest Islamist party, Motiur Rahman Nizami, against his death sentence for atrocities committed during the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971 (BBC, Reuters). Nizami, 72, was seeking a review of the Supreme Court decision to uphold a war crimes tribunal verdict that convicted him of genocide, rape, and torture. His party, Jammat-i-Islami, has called for countrywide strikes and will hold street protests on Sunday. Nizami’s only recourse now is to seek clemency from the President of Bangladesh, but many believe it is unlikely to be granted.

–Albert Ford and Shuja Malik

Edited by Peter Bergen