Summer
of violence ahead
The NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan
will reportedly begin major operations in Kandahar, the southern Afghan
province that was once the seat of the Taliban's government, this June,
with the aim of completing the "clearing phase" of the offensive by
August for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (BBC,
AP, Fox, Reuters, USAT). The Journal looks at the context around the
Kandahar offensive, writing that the Afghan government has been "so
weak, predatory, and corrupt that more and more Kandaharis have come to
view the Taliban as a lesser evil" (WSJ).
After U.S. President Barack Obama's
surprise six-hour visit to Kabul on Sunday, the president told Today's
Matt Lauer that progress addressing corruption in Afghanistan has been
"too slow" (NBC-video, AFP, AP). Earlier today, Obama's top military commander
Adm. Mike Mullen, also visited the Afghan capital and added to the
pressure over government corruption, saying that this summer's Kandahar
offensive will not succeed unless "a vast majority of corruption" can be
eliminated (Times, Reuters). Adm. Mullen is currently in Marjah, site
of a recent coalition operation (AFP).
Karzai, meanwhile, has been accused
of blocking the arrest of the former Afghan minister for Hajj, who was
allegedly involved in a "kickback racket which made hundreds of
thousands of pounds" from pilgrims to Mecca (Tel, Irish Independent, Pajhwok). Pajhwok reports that Sediq Chakari was
recently detained in London.
Dexter Filkins and Mark Landler have
some details about the run-up to Obama's Afghanistan trip, reporting
that the Obama administration revoked Karzai's invitation to Washington
as a signal of displeasure at Karzai taking control of an independent
body investigating electoral fraud (NYT). Karzai, "incensed," invited Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Kabul, and the Times has a fascinating broader
picture of the complicated Kabul-Washington relationship. Laura King
reports on the Afghan (and Taliban) reaction to Obama's quick visit (LAT).
Kidnappings,
drones, and corruption
An Iranian diplomat who was
kidnapped by militants in Pakistan in November 2008 has been freed by
"complex intelligence operations," in an apparent cross-border operation (BBC,
AFP, AP, NYT, CNN). Pakistani police have arrested three men from
the sectarian militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in the suburbs of
Karachi, including a commander, and seized nearly 90 pounds of
explosives (AFP, Daily Times).
Ongoing Pakistani military
operations in Orakzai, a tribal agency in northwest Pakistan, have
reportedly killed 30 more suspected militants (AP). Yesterday, two suicide bombers killed three
people involved in anti-Taliban lashkars in separate incidents in Tank
and Bajaur (AFP, CNN). And the Pentagon is considering what type of
surveillance drones may be best to deliver to Pakistan within a year (Reuters, AFP, DoD transcript).
Yesterday morning,
Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the government to re-open a slew of
corruption cases within 24 hours, including at least two against
embattled Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, increasing tension
between the president and the judiciary (AP, Dawn, Daily Times, Wash Post). Earlier today, the government's
deadline was extended another 24 hours, but at least one current
Pakistani official who received amnesty under the controversial National
Reconciliation Ordnance, which was thrown out by the Supreme Court in
December, has been detained (Dawn, The News, Reuters).
The
economic front
Foreign ministers of the G8 announced
earlier today at a meeting in Quebec that they have developed an
economic "initiative" for Afghanistan and Pakistan in cooperation with
the countries' governments, the World Bank, and the Asian Development
Bank (AFP). And the FT reports on the growing dispute
between India and Pakistan over access to water in the region (FT). Pakistan's representative to London told the
FT that "assertiveness" by New Delhi is inhibiting Islamabad's ability
to target Taliban militants in the country, and Pakistan recently moved
more troops to its Indian border (FT).
Where
will they honeymoon?
A top Pakistani cricket player and a
top Indian tennis player are getting married in April, a seemingly
unprecedented sporting union between athletes of the South Asian rivals (AFP). The couple will make
their home in Dubai.
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