MonitorsPublished on Jul 31, 2017
South Asia Weekly Report | Vol. X Issue 31

Country Reports

Afghanistan

US ready for talks

The Trump administration is looking for a diplomatic solution to end American engagement in Afghanistan, according to reports from the US Department. While Washington still plans to keep US troops in the country, officials are also looking at other options of stabilising the conflict, including dialogue between Kabul and the Taliban. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is not in favour of military options in the country, and wants to resolve the situation diplomatically. For more information, see: “Seeking a way forward in Afghanistan, Tillerson pushes for diplomacy”, VOA

Taliban bomb bus, kill 35

The Taliban killed over 35 people in a suicide car bombing in Kabul on July 24. The car targeted a government bus that was carrying officials from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, near the house of the deputy government Chief Executive. The bus was destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, according to Kabul's police chief spokesperson, adding that children were among the 40 wounded. For more information, see: “Taliban claim deadly Kabul suicide attack”, Al Jazeera

Anti-govt rally in Kabul

A large group of demonstrators took to the streets of Kabul on July 27 protesting against the government. Many were members of the Uprising for Change movement who raised calls against what they believed is government autocracy and monopolisation of power. The protestors called for President Ashraf Ghani and his national security advisor to step down, because of their failure to fix the security problem in the country. For more information, see: “Uprising for Change accuses govt of monopolizing power”, Tolo News

Bangladesh

Militancy has put Muslim world in danger: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this week claimed that the Muslim world was facing danger and crisis as some people chose the wrong path of militancy. She further expressed her resolve not to allow militancy and terrorism to be active in her country. Prime Minister made these remarks during inauguration of a Hajj Programme-2017. For more information, see: “Muslim world in peril for militancy”, The Daily Star

Revenue up, 19 pc

In a good news to the economy, revenue collection has recorded a 19 percent increase, a five-year-high, Tk 185,003 crore in the last fiscal year compared to the previous year. This growth has been possible due to higher imports and VAT collection. In fiscal year 2016-17, collection from import duties rose 20 percent year-on-year to Tk 53,330 crore while VAT receipts from local businesses soared 19 percent year-on-year to Tk 66,891 crore. For more information, see: “Revenue growth hits 5-year high”, The Daily Star

Bhutan

SAARC tourism on cards

Connectivity and information sharing among the SAARC member countries are seen as crucial factors to promote regional tourism. The issue was discussed at the 70th Executive Committee meeting of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industries held in Thimphu this week. For more information, see: “SARRC CCI calls for measures to boost regional tourism”, BBS, 27 July 2017; “SAARC to improve regional tourism”, Kuensel

GST to help imports

Although the government claims that it is yet to understand the impact of India’s shift to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime on Bhutan, the move is expected to impact Phuentsholing differently. With zero-tax on exports under this regime, import into Phuentsholing and rest of the places in the country is likely to increase. For more information, see: “GST could boost business for Phuentsholing”, Kuensel

India

Nitish quits, comes back with BJP

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had a smooth sailing in the state Assembly Friday as he won the decisive floor test with the support of the BJP. While 131 MLAs voted in favour of the JD(U)-BJP combine, 108 MLAs voted against the confidence motion of the chief minister. On Thursday, the NDA alliance submitted a list of 132 MLAs to the Governor — JD(U)’s 71, BJP 53, RLSP 2, LJP 2, HAM 1 and Independents 3. A day before, Nitish Kumar virtually split the Grand Alliance in the wake of corruption allegations against RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, who was the deputy chief minister before the government fell. For more information, see: Nitish Kumar wins decisive floor test in Bihar Assembly with support of BJP, Indian Express

Maldives 

More jobs soon: Yameen

Addressing the nation on the nation’s 52nd Independence Day, President Abdulla Yameen laid stress on development than democracy, as in the past years, and promised 18,000 more jobs in 2018, his re-election year. This, even as the Parliament Secretariat summoned the armed forces to clear an Opposition MPs’ meeting inside the premises and the West, reiterated the call for the Government to restore democracy and Parliament’s role. For more information, see: “18,000 new jobs will be available next year with the 30 new resorts!”, Miadhu, 26 July 2017; “Deadlock and development: Yameen’s Independence Day address”, Maldives Independent

Sharif in Male

Pakistan’s domestically-embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Maldives on a two-Day State visit, when he participated in Maldives’ Independence Day celebrations. The two sides also signed a number of agreements. The Opposition MDP, in a statement, criticised President Abdulla Yameen, for allowing the visitor to criticise the larger Indian neighbour from Maldivian soil on the SAARC front, during their joint news conference. For more information, see: “Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives in Maldives”, SunOnline, 25 July 2017; “PM Nawaz Sharif concludes visit to Maldives”, Maldives Independent

Myanmar 

Revenue from China pipeline

Myanmar will gain financially from the China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline, which began operations in early April after the two countries signed an agreement for the transport of crude oil, said officials. The crude oil transport agreement was signed on April 10 in Beijing during president U Htin Kyaw’s state visit to China. For more information, see: “Myanmar to receive revenues from China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline”, Myanmar Times

UN statement criticised

Lawmakers in the Lower House on July 25 put their official stamp of disapproval on the UN special rapporteur’s latest end-of-mission statement, unanimously approving an urgent proposal condemning remarks she made last week that were critical of the government. For more information see: “MP’s approve unanimous rebuke of UN human rights envoy”, DVB

Probe head changed

The United Nations Human Rights Council decided to replace Indian lawyer Indira Jaising with Marzuki Darusman, a former attorney-general of Indonesia, who has previously conducted rights investigations on North Korea, the council said in a statement from its headquarters in Geneva. For more information, see: “New Chair for UN Fact-finding Mission”, The Irrawaddy

Nepal

PM inducts 19 expands cabinet

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba finally brought about the expansion of his cabinet, 50 days after assuming office. The cabinet looks more or less comprehensive with the induction of 19 Ministers from four political parties. However, the incorporation of fewer women and Daliths, has invited questions on the fine balance that needed to be maintained. For more information, see: “PM Deuba inducts 19 ministers, The Kathmandu Post, 27 July 2017; “New faces dominate expanded cabinet”, Republica

‘No’ to simultaneous poll

The Prime Minister’s proposal to simultaneously conduct the Provincial and Parliamentary Polls due to time constraints has been rejected by the Election Commission. There has been a concern regarding the invalid vote percentage of the past, leading to such a decision, with only six months in hand. The EC on, on the contrary, has urged the Prime Minister to make way for the election dates by removing administrative hurdles. For more information, see: “PM proposes holding provincial, parliamentary polls simultaneously”, Republica

BIMSTEC meeting in August

The 15th Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in August. It has set 14 priority sectors for cooperation including trade and investment, transport and communications, energy, counter-terrorism and others. The ministerial meeting is expected to finalize various key agreements on priority areas including the establishment of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection. For more information, see: “BIMSTEC ministerial meeting set for August 10-11”, Republica

Pakistan

PM ‘disqualified’, quits

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quit office after the Supreme Court, in a landmark decision on 28 July, disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding the high office. The court made their ruling following allegations of corruption that rose to the surface after the release of the Panama Papers in 2015. The five-member bench passed a unanimous ruling against Sharif. This has been Sharif’s third-stint as Prime Minister, which ended almost one year behind scheduled general elections in the country. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was also declared unfit for office. For more information, see: “Supreme Court disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in unanimous verdict”, Dawn

Taliban bomb kills 26

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan orchestrated a large suicide attack in Lahore on  July 24, killing at least 26 people. The bomb blast occurred near a software technology park near the residence of the chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif. A senior police official in Lahore, confirmed the claim and told journalists that a suicide bomber appeared to target police personnel taking part in a drive to clear street vendors from the market area. For more information, see: “Suicide bombing in Lahore leaves more than two dozen dead”, The Washington Post

Musharraf considered n-option during Kargil war

According to media reports, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf contemplated the use of nuclear weapons against India in December 2001. Following the attack on the Indian parliament building, Musharraf says he had sleepless nights, debating whether he should deploy nuclear weapons, but decided against it in fear of retaliation from the Indian side. For more information, see: “Musharraf thought of using nukes against India after Parliament attack: Report”, The Hindustan Times

Sri Lanka 

Cabinet puts off PC polls

With an unsure Government, acting through the Cabinet, resolving to amend the Provincial Council Act to facilitate single-day polling for the nine Provincial Council where staggered elections begin due from September 2017 to October 2019, the Joint Opposition identified with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has warned of moving the courts in the matter. Independent poll monitors, once sympathetic to the anti-Mahinda camp, have criticised the Government decision, and sought to know if the single-day polling would be held early or late. For more information, see: “Postponing PC elections: JO warns of legal action”, Daily Mirror Online

Primary Documentation

Maldives

“‘Joint communiqué between the Republic of Maldives and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 July 2017

Nepal

Press Release on Congratulatory message”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal, 20 July 2017 Press Release issued by Permanent Mission of Nepal, New York regarding establishment of Diplomatic Relations with Antigua and Barbuda”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal, 26 July 2017

Bibliography

Afghanistan

Opinion Pieces

Paul Rogers, “Afghanistan: despair…then imagine”, openDemocracy, 28 July 2017 Krishnadev Calamur, “The Taliban’s steady gains”, The Atlantic, 26 July 2017 Max Bearak, “What would happen if the United States totally disengaged from Afghanistan?”, The Washington Post, 26 July 2017

Bangladesh

Michael Kugelman and Atif Ahmad, “Why Extremism Is on the Rise in Bangladesh”, Foreign Affairs, 27 July 2017 Brig-Gen Shahedul Anam Khan, “Political will, not only roadmap”, The Daily Star, 27 July 2017

Bhutan

Opinion Pieces

Tenzing Lhamsang, “More than the Doklam issue, Bhutan worried about hydropower projects and trade”, The Indian Express, 27 July 2017

India

Rajiv Ranjan, “In China, social media is shaping the public discourse on Doklam stand-off” , Scroll, 26 July 2017 Rajeev Sharma, “India Caught Off Guard as Maldives Faces Turmoil Again”, The Quint, 26 July 2017

Myanmar

Editorials

UN Disappointed so all are disappointed”, The Irrawaddy, 26 July 2017 

Nepal

Opinion Pieces

Biswas Baral, “Doklam deterrent for Nepal”, Republica, 24 July 2017 Kul Chandra Gautam, “Consolidating democracy”, Republica, 27 July 2017 Bishnu Raj Upreti, “Money arguments”, The Kathmandu post, 28 July 2017

Editorials

The Kathmandu Post, “Defending digital frontier”, 28 July 2017 Republica, “Time and space”, 23 July 2017

Pakistan

Opinion Pieces

Syed Khawar Mehdi, “Trojan horses of democracy”, Dawn, 27 July 2017 Harris Khalique, “How power works in Pakistan”, The New York Times, 24 July 2017 F.S. Aijazuddin, “The sixth river”, Dawn, 27 July 2017

Sri Lanka

Opinion Pieces

Kusal Perera, “Crisis of credibility”, Daily Mirror Online, 28 July 2017 C A Chandraprema, “Govt’s new strong-arm approach”, The Island, 28 July 2017 Kelum Bandara, “Ravi Karunanayake goes through a political turbulence”, Daily Mirror Online, 27 July 2017 Lasantha Kurululasuriya, “Is the Govt playing good cop, bad cop?”, Daily Mirror Online, 26 July 2017 Neville Ladduwahetty, “The Bill on enforced disappearances”, The Island, 25 July 2017 Jehan Perera, “Reconciliation process is taken up by national champions”, The Island, 25 July 2017 Sanjeeva Fernando, “Black July: The absence of the collective guilt”, Daily Mirror Online, 24 July 2017 N Sathiya Moorthy, “Winners who, losers who?”, The Sunday Leader, 23 July 2017

Interviews

Kelum Bandara, “President has no mandate to abolish Executive Presidency: Rathna Thero”, Daily Mirror Online, 28 July 2017

Contributors:

Afghanistan & Pakistan: Kritii M Shah Bangladesh: Dr Joyeeta Bhattacharjee Bhutan & Myanmar: Mihir Bhonsale India: Pushan Das Maldives & Sri Lanka: N. Sathiya Moorthy Nepal: Sohini Nayak
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