Bangladesh's bilateral relations with India got a major boost with its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Tripura on January 11 and 12. Sheikh Hasina visited the north-eastern Indian State to attend the convocation of the Tripura Central University at Agartala.
< class="heading1">
Analysis
Bangladesh’s bilateral relations with India got a major boost with its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Tripura on January 11 and 12. Sheikh Hasina visited the north-eastern Indian State to attend the convocation of the Tripura Central University at Agartala, which conferred on her honorary DLitt degree. Although the visit ended with no major declarations or accords, it was a major confidence-building exercise. The visit gave a major thrust to the bilateral relations which faced some jolts over the non-conclusion of agreements on sharing of the Teesta river and transit during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in September last.
Sheikh Hasina’s visit was also significant as it was the first visit by any Bangladeshi Head of Government to Tripura. This visit was a gesture of gratitude by Bangladesh to the people of Tripura for their contributions to Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971. Tripura, which shares a long border with Bangladesh, gave shelter to a large number of refugees from what was then the East Pakistan during the Liberation War.
The visit is also seen as a new beginning to Indian-Bangladesh relations as it provided an opportunity to the north-eastern States to feel closer to Bangladesh which enjoys close geographical, cultural and linguistic proximity. Bangladesh has been calling for closer ties with the region, especially for closer economic ties. It is also argued that the north-eastern region would also benefit substantially from closer ties with Bangladesh.
During her two-day visit, Shiekh Hasina met some top Indian leaders, including Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. During these meetings, the two sides reiterated the need for cooperation. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the speech of Vice-President Ansari at the convocation of the Tripura Central University. He said that the destinies of India and Bangladesh are interlinked. People of the two countries share in great measure a common history, culture, language and tradition and they have cooperated and faced challenges together. Shiekh Hasina also highlighted the commonalities shared by the two countries and stressed on the need for strong cooperation between two countries.
Sheikh Hasina said that her visit to India in January 2010 and Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in September 2011 had heralded a new era of cooperation in areas of border demarcation, water management, trade and commerce, communication and development of infrastructure and power sectors. But there are scope for more cooperation, she pointed out. To enhance cooperation, she particularly stressed on the need for improving communication between the two countries. In this regard, Sheikh Hasina stressed the need for quick implementation of the Akhaura-Agartala rail link and bridge over river Feni.
Sheikh Hasina also expressed an interest in initiating a discussion on inter-grid connectivity, as Bangladesh is interested in purchasing 250MW of electricity from the Palatana power plant in Tripura. Reiterating her commitment on not allowing her country to be used for running anti?India activities, she emphasised on the border cooperation between India and Bangladesh to stop smuggling of arms drugs and fake currencies as well as trafficking in women and children.
Sheikh Hasina also praised ndia for providing duty-free access to all Bangladeshi products to the Indian market under the Safta. She said such measures have created an opportunity for Bangladeshi goods to compete with Indian products. However, Sheikh Hasina said that India being the bigger neighbour, needed to be more liberal towards Bangladesh.
Looking at the visit from the prism of the domestic politics of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina needs commendation as she undertook this visit when she is being increasingly targeted for being pro-India. The Opposition has been constantly threatening to launch a country-wide agitation, accusing her Government of selling the interests of the country to India. In such a scenario, it will be prudent for India to take a little more effort to resolve issues like Teesta and take up steps that would convince the people that schemes like Tipaimukh hydro-electric project are not harmful to the country.
(The writer is an Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation)
< class="heading1">
Country Reports
Bangladesh
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Khaleda promises ’white paper’ on graft
Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister and chairperson of the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has accused ruling Awami League of secret killings, corruption and compromising national interests. She said that the perpetrators will be dislodged from power through a constitutional movement and will be brought to the dock. Begum Zia claimed that her party has ample evidence of massive corruption, secret killings and plundering of national wealth by the Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She promised a white paper listing the misdeeds of the Hasina Government if and when her party returns to power.
Referring to the foreign policy, Khaleda said that the country now has been rendered friendless except the alien masters of the ruling party. She claimed that the Awami League Government has entered into secret pacts with India, compromising national interests. It is obeying the dictates of the alien masters in matters of foreign policy, running the administration and even manning the armed forces. Begum Zia pledged that the situation will not be allowed to continue.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Unconnected online, January 09, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Ex-Jamaat chief held for war crimes
Ghulam Azam, former ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, was arrested on the charges of committing crimes against humanity and peace, genocide and war crimes in 1971. The International Crimes Tribunal rejected his petition for bail and ordered his arrest. On January 5, the prosecution brought 62 specific charges against Azam.
Ghulam Azam is viewed as one of the front men who actively helped the Pakistani occupation forces’ attempt to foil the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.
An International tribunal was constituted in March 2010 for trial of the criminals of 71 war and many of top leaders are behind bars on charges of war crimes.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Daily Star, January 10, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Gas crisis to end in 2013
Finance Minister AMA Muhith informed that Bangladesh could strike a balance between demand and supply of gas by 2013 as the government is moving ahead with a raft of measures to boost production. The minister informed that at present, the country is not being able to get out of the gas crisis, as still it needs an additional 500 million cubic feet of gas daily. He also cautioned that the demand will go up when all the projects will be implemented but the minister was hope that the country will be able to strike a balance in 2013.
Muhith said that the Government has taken up projects to augment gas production, import liquefied natural gas and construct pipelines in the last three years. The Minister also added that the Government has learnt a lesson from the gas crisis that the country cannot continue to depend on a single source of fuel to produce electricity.
Bangladesh is heavily dependent on natural gas, which accounts for 76.42 percent of its daily electricity production of 5,000 megawatts. The government is planning to increase electricity generation from renewable energy sources to at least 250 megawatts in the next two to three years from the existing production of 40MW to 50MW.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Daily Star, January 10, 2012.
Bhutan
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Cooperation with Bangladesh
Prime Minster Jigyi Y Thiney has assured Bangladesh of cooperation in the power sector and has assured the free flow of river water. This come in the light of the fears and anxieties expressed by the lower riparian country.
The two countries have also inked a numbers of agreements on cultural exchange and a Memorandum of Understandings on cooperation in the health sector. Part of the agreement focuses on the hire of Bangladeshi medical practitioners to meet the shortfalls in Bhutanese health sector.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: bhutannewsservice.com, January, 12 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">The Rupee Crunch
The Finance Ministry has instituted a task force comprising members from the Economic Affairs Ministry and the Central Bank to study the current rupee crunch and provide recommendations on the best course of action.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank recently sold US$ 200 million in the Indian market to buy the Indian Rupee (INR). Indecently the Central Bank has reserves of Rs 4 billion in addition to Rs 7.5 billion borrowed from State Bank of India and another Rs 3 billion from the government of India as credit.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: kuenselonline.com, January, 11 2012.
India
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">US counts India as a challenge
For the second time in less than two months, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the country is facing challenges from rising powers like China and India in Asia of the 21stcentury.
"We have got the challenges of dealing with rising powers in Asia. We have got the challenge of you, you know, dealing with countries like Russia, rising countries like India and others," Panetta told PBS News Hour in an interview.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Hindustan Times, January 6, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Drug-resistant TB isolated
Tuberculosis, which kills around 1,000 people a day in India, has acquired a deadlier edge. A new entity-ominously called Totally Drug-Resistant TB (TDR-TB)-has been isolated in the fluid samples of 12 TB patients in the past three months alone at the Hinduja Hospital at Mahim. The hospital’s laboratory has been certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to test TB patients for drug resistance.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Times of India, January 7, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Rupee for Iranian crude under discussion
Fearing that fresh US sanctions may block a six-month-old conduit used for paying for Iranian crude, India wants to pay its second largest oil supplier in rupees. The issue is likely to figure prominently when a multi- disciplinary team visits Teheran on January 16 to discuss uninterrupted supply, a top government official said here.
India currently pays Iran about $1 billion every month through Turkey for the 370,000 barrels per day of crude oil it buys from the world’s fourth-largest oil producer.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Times of India, January 8, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Bank note material to get indigenised
The Government of India is aiming to indigenise all materials used for printing bank notes. Only a few countries in the world now manufacture the paper while others are importing these material, said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
He was speaking after inaugurating the automated bank note printing machine at Bank Note Press ( BNP) in Dewas on Saturday.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Times of India. January 8, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">SACU trade pact on cards
India and South Africa have agreed to ensure an early conclusion of the India-SACU (Southern African Customs Union) Preferential Trade Agreement and the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.
This followed a bilateral meeting that Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma had with South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies, in Bloemfontein.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com, January 9, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">China welcomes military delegation
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has responded to India’s decision to send a military delegation to China with positive vibes and promises to "make concerted efforts" to improve relations with India in 2012.
New Delhi’s decision to send the military delegation has caused some surprises after Beijing refused to grant visa to an Indian Air Force officer born in Arunachal Pradesh to reinforce its ownership claim over the region.
"China hopes that the two sides will support each other and learn from each other, so as to push for better and faster development of the Sino-Indian strategic and cooperative partnership," country’s Assistant Foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said ringing in the New Year. He was apparently applauding New Delhi for realising Beijing’s difficulties in granting visa to an officer from Arunachal in view of its public claims over it.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Times of India, January 9, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Robust ties with China: NSA
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and China’s Ambassador Zhang Yan said on Monday that the two countries shared a robust relationship and demonstrated maturity in handling contentious issues.
Delivering a lecture, Menon was critical of experts in both India and China who said that a confrontation between the two countries was inevitable, and noted that their political leaderships had demonstrated the maturity needed to resolve contentious issues over the last three decades.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Hindu, January 10, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Ties with Israel to be upgraded
India and Israel on Tuesday vowed to upgrade their relations in all fields and work out a joint strategy to "checkmate" terrorism, while deciding on a roadmap to elevate cooperation in areas like defence, agriculture, trade and hi-tech in the next two decades.
Setting the ball rolling, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna, the first Indian foreign minister to visit the country in over a decade, called Israel a "natural ally" in all frontiers of science in his 90-minute breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Asian Age, January 11, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">100 pc FDI in single-brand retail
The Government today notified 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail, even as the proposal of opening the multi-brand retail sector for 51 per cent FDI remains in abeyance.
After years of debate, the Government had allowed 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail and 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail on November 24 last year. But it was postponed after a huge political uproar.
"We have now allowed foreign investment up to 100 per cent with the stipulation that in respect of proposals involving FDI beyond 51 per cent there will be mandatory sourcing of at least 30 per cent of the total value of the products sold from Indian small industries/village and cottage industries, artisans and craftsmen. This step will provide stimulus to domestic manufacturing, add value and help in technical upgrade of our local small industry," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said today.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: The Indian Express, January 11, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Industrial output rebounds
India’s industrial production rebounded from the worst month since March 2009, a sign consumer demand is withstanding record interest-rate increases. Bonds fell and the stock index pared losses.
Output (INPIINDY) at factories, utilities and mines increased 5.9 percent in November from a year earlier after a revised 4.7 percent decline in the previous month, the Central Statistical Office said in a statement in New Delhi today. The median of 27 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 2.1 percent gain.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: www.bloomberg.com, January 12, 2011.
Maldives
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">GMR to deduct ADC from Govt’s share
Indian infrastructure major GMR has announced that the Maldivian Government has agreed to let it collect the $25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) and Insurance Charge from passengers. This will be adjusted against the revenue-share to be paid to the Government. The decision was made after a discussion between the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and the Ministry of Finance.
The move comes in light of a Civil Court’s ruling last month that did away with the $25 charge that was payable by international passengers flying out from the airport. This too was in the wake of the recent protests against GMR in the country.
GMR manages the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and according the agreement signed with the government, it can charge a US 425 ADC and US $2 insurance charge from those passengers who are flying internationally from the airport.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Haveeru, January 9, 2012, Miadhu, January 10, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Solar power for six islands
The State Electric Company Limited (SECL) along with Renewable Energy Maldives (REM) has begun a project that will provide 6 islands with electricity through solar energy. The project was kicked off at the Muhyiddin School in Villingili by Katherina Reiche, Germany’s Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety on 9 January.
The project is a positive move for the nation to tackle its environment related problems, and become carbon neutral.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Minivan News, January 9, 2011; Haveeru, January 10, 2011.
Myanmar
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Political prisoners freed
To mark the nation’s 64th Independence Day, the Government has released 6656 prisoners. Of this only 30 of them come under the category of political prisoners whereas it is estimated that there are anything between 500 to 1500 political prisoners in the country.
On the other hand Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD told the relatives of imprisoned activists that the government has not yet completed the process of releasing prisoners. She also reassured the family of political prisoners that she would work towards the release of their loved ones.
Myanmar gained its Independence from the United Kingdom on January, 4 1948.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: irrawaddy.org, January, 6 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Kachin battles continue despite talks
The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) has claimed that its military arm, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) 3rd brigade shot down a military helicopter on January 9. The damaged transport helicopter managed to land in Bhamo. The helicopter was transporting supplies and ammunition to the Myanmarese army battalions that are operating in the Kachin State.
The incident occurred on the same day as army troops over-ran a major Kachin military base after several days of bombardments. These military operations of the Myanmarese army were supported by military helicopters carrying munitions and supplies to the front-line positions.
The KIO claims that hostilities continues on a daily basis and have recently intensified in Southern Kachin State and Northern Shan State. So far, there have been 1000 to 2000 casualties on the government side, according to the KIA. Since June 2011 there have been 900 clashes between the KIA and the government.
On the other hand Karen National Union (KNU) will be sending a delegation to the State capital Pa-an of the Karen State to interact with the Government on the terms and conditions of a cease-fire. The outcome of this could result in cessation of hostilities between the army and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). At the same time the Mon ethnic group’s New Mon State Party has rejected any possibilities of a ceasefire with the Government till the latter reverts back on its military offensive in Kachin State against the KIA.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: irrawaddy.org, January, 9 and 10 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">UK pat for reforms
The Foreign Secretary of Britain, William Hague met with senior Myanmarese officials, including President Thein Sein, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and Speaker of Parliament Thura Shwe Mann. Briefing the media, Hague said President was "sincere" and expressed support for the reforms. However, Secretary Hague said that the sanction imposed by the international community and the European Union will not relax until concert steps are taken by the Government. To this end the by-election of April 1 are to be held in a free and fair manner as perceived by the international community. The government is also to release all political prisons to strengthen its democratic institutions.
The Australian Government too has announced that it will be reducing or removing some of the sanctions imposed on Myanmar. This includes easing the travel restriction on former ministers and deputy ministers who have retired from politics. But then Australia will not relax its targeted financial sanctions, on travel restrictions to nominated individuals and an arms embargo.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: irrawaddy.org, January, 6 and 9 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Port facility for Japan-India link
The Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industries Yukio Edano will be leading a delegation of Japanese businesses to promote bilateral trade with Myanmar. The two sides will discuss opportunities for economic cooperation wherein bids for eight onshore oil and gas exploration blocks would also figure.
The other focus of the Minister’s trip would be the ’Southern Corridor’ that aims at connecting Japan to India via Myanmar’s port of Dawei and Thilawa as well as a road network connecting Myanmar with Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The Myanmarese Government has cancelled the construction of a 4000 MW coal-fired power plant in the Dawei Special Economic Zone. The power plant project was cancelled on grounds of environmental concerns and the government instead proposed a 400 MW power plant. The power plant was part of the multi-million dollar industrial zone being developed by the Thailand based company called the Italian-Thai Developmental Company.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: irrawaddy.org, January, 10-11, 2012.
Nepal
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Peace process in trouble
Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has warned the Nepali Congress (NC) that his party would not vacate the cantonments and would stall the peace process if the latter did not agree to their demands for a directly-elected presidential system under the new Constitution.
The largest party in the Constituent Assembly, UCPN (Maoist), and the second largest party, NC, are at loggerheads over the system of governance. While the UCPN (Maoist) wants to replace the current Westminster model with a directly-elected presidential system, the NC remains vehemently opposed to the idea. The NC has indicated that it is willing to divide powers between a constitutional president elected through an extended electoral college and a powerful prime minister elected by parliament.
However, top leaders of NC and CPN-UML have held joint meetings and discussed Prachanda’s warning to stall the peace process. The leaders of the two parties have said that they are "concerned" over the delay in the peace process and non-implementation of the November 1 seven-point agreement.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: myrepublica.com, nagariknews.com, January 7, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">New towns to check urban migration
The Government has initiated the process of developing ten small settlements along the Puspalal Mid-Hill Highway into big towns with necessary infrastructure and services, through the investment of over Rs 1.37 billion, in a bid to discourage out-migration from the hill districts.
Separate urban development projects will be designed for the 10 mini-towns, which have been chosen on the basis nine criteria -- availability of space (land) and water resources, prospects for economic development, non-agricultural activities, existing population as well as prospects of growth through inbound migration from other places, literacy rate and availability and prospects of electricity supply.
The main objective behind the proposed development of towns in the mid-hills is to retain the hill population and encourage proportional development across the country. The target of the programme is to increase the population capacity of these towns to at least 50,000 each.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: myrepublica.com, January 12, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Accidents cause for most emigrants’ deaths
Over 1,300 Nepali migrants working abroad have died in the past three-and-a-half years, a study has revealed.While most of the 1,357 deaths were related to road and work place accidents, suicides and murder, a significant number of the cases could have been avoided, a survey conducted by the Foreign Ministry in coordination with the Foreign Employment Board says.
The report prepared for "internal use" has blamed lack of pre-departure orientation classes on workplace safety, road safety or rules, climatic conditions and precautions to be taken in the countries for the unprecedented number of deaths.Official data shows there are around 22,500 Nepali migrant workers in different countries across the globe.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: ekantipur.com, January 12, 2012.
Pakistan
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">SC toughens stand on Zardari
The Supreme Court has threatened to dismiss Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani if he does not agree to re-open the corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari that was dismissed based on the National Reconciliation Ordinance. The Parliament has been called in for an early session to decide on a negotiated solution as the Prime Minister Gilani has refused to consider the matter.
President Zardari on the other hand also rejected the order to write a letter to the Swiss Courts to reopen the cases against him and believed that it would be like a trial on Benazir Bhutto’s grave. The Supreme Court is set to discuss the case on January 16.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Dawn, January 6, 11, 12, 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Army defends affidavit
In an interview to China’s People’s Daily Online, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani termed the affidavits fields by the Army chief, Gen Ashfaq Kayani and the ISI chief, Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pash, to the Supreme Court as "unconstitutional and illegal".
The army warned of "serious ramifications" and "consequences" for the country over Gilani’s allegations and said that the statement did not take into account several important facts. In a statement, it said that the affidavits were sent to the Ministry of Defence for onward submission to the Supreme Court, through the Attorney-General (Law Ministry). It further added that no objections were raised before or after, on the legality and constitutional status of the replies, at any time.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Daily Times, January 10 2012.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Musharraf plans to return
Former President Pervez Musharraf has spoken to the Army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani about security obligations for a former Head of State and discussed his potential return to Pakistan. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the law of the land would take its course if the former General were to arrive in Pakistan. Reports suggested that Musharraf is likely to meet former US Secretary of State Colin Powel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, King Abdullah of Jordan and authorities in the UAE before arriving in the country.
Meanwhile, Sehba Musharraf, wife of the former President, challenged a court order that declared Musharraf a proclaimed offender. She filed a petition in this regard in Rawalpindi’s Anti-Terrorist Court. According to a government prosecutor there was no need for a ’fresh warrant’ and the General would be arrested in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on his return to the country.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Daily Times, January 8, 2012; Dawn, January 9, 2012.
Sri Lanka
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Indian fishermen arrested off Pulmudai
The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 13 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who had strayed into Sri Lankan territorial waters, off Pulmudai in the East. The fishermen along with the two fishing trawlers were brought to the Trincomalee port and were arrested by the local police.
The crossing of fishermen across the maritime boundary has been a matter of concern for both Governments and is frequently discussed at high-level meetings. This one came the very day the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group (JWG) on fishing issue was scheduled to meet in Colombo, and ahead of the three-day Sri Lanka visit of Indian External Affairs Minister, S M Krishna.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Daily Mirror Online, January 11, 2011; Colombo Page, January 11, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Free passports for refugees
The Government has waived the SL Rs 4,400 LKR (` 2000) for the issuance of passports to Sri Lankan refugees in camps in India. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister for Defence and Urban Development, announced the decision, saying that it would help the refugees to return home at minimum cost.
The total number of refugees from Sri Lanka living in Indian camps is put at 69,000. According to Sri Lankan law, the returning refugees are required to have valid passports before they can enter the country.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Daily Mirror Online, January 10, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Campus strike
The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) announced a countrywide strike next Tuesday against the Government’s proposal to bring in the Private Universities Bill. After protests against the Bill across colleges and universities in the country, the FUTA strike will be the next phase of agitation against the bill. The bill seeks to grant autonomy to universities and set up a council to govern private universities.
FUTA president Dr Dewasiri called for a dialogue among stake-holders before the introduction of the policy. The protesting university teachers are also demanding the increase in their salaries which were proposed and approved by the Treasury Secretary last year but have yet to be implemented.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Daily Mirror Online, January 12, 2011.
Afghanistan
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Pacts with neighbours
The Government has inked protocol with Tajikistan that covers areas like economic, commercial and cultural cooperation. The agreements are aimed at gaining assistance from Tajikistan in the above mentioned areas.
At the same time a fuel purchase agreement was inked with Iran. The agreement was signed by the Government in a bid to control the spiralling fuel prices. The Government has also entered into similar type of agreements with both Russia and Turkmenistan.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Khaama, January 8, 2011; Bakhtar News, January 9, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Taliban Leader captured
The Afghan forces in a joint operation with the US-led coalition forces have captured the Taliban weapons facilitator in the Eastern Province of Nangarhar.
The captured person, Mashahud was a senior functionary in the Taliban. He is a well know arms facilitator within the ranks of the Taliban and has orchestrated a number of large scale attacks in the region. He has also been linked to the wire bomb explosion that left five members of the International Security Assistance Force dead on December 21, 2011.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Surgar, January 9, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">Peace Council to go to Qatar
Members of the High Peace Council will be travelling to Qatar in a bid to see and asses for themselves the prospective political office of the Taliban that is expected to be opened in the country. This comes at a time when the Taliban has announced that it will be opening an office in Qatar in exchange for the release of its personals who are detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On the other hand officials of the Afghan government have warned the international community against the prospects of the Taliban using Qatar as a centre for fundraising and other activities.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Outlook Afghanistan, January 9, 2011.
< class="heading12boldGeorgia">US told to return prison
The US has been accused by Afghan investigators of abusing detainees in the country’s prisons. The Afghan officials have also called upon the US to release those who are held in absence of concrete proof. This comes at a time with the government has asked to US to handover the prison facility near the Bagram Air Base within a month’s time.
This comes at a time when President Hamid Karzai has conveyed his displeasure with the US on initiating talks with the Taliban in Qatar without the knowledge of his Government. To this end the Governor of Balkh Province, Atta Mohammad Noor had said that no foreign country has the right to enter into direct talks with the Taliban without consulting with the Afghan people or the Government.
< class="text11verdana">
Source: Post-Gazette, January 9, 2012; Outlook Afghanistan, January 9, 2012 .
< class="brown12verdana">
Contributors:
Afghanistan, Bhutan and Myanmar: Sripathi Narayan;
Bangladesh: Joyeeta Bhattacharjee;
India: Satish Misra;
Nepal: Akanshya Shah;
Pakistan: Astik Sinha and Aarya Venugopal;
Maldives & Sri Lanka: Preeti John;
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
PREV
