Back in business

The first drone strike in Pakistan since flooding struck the country late last month killed at least 13 unidentified militants Saturday in Issori, east of North Waziristan's capital of Miran Shah (AFP, BBC, AP, VOA, CNN, Geo). The strike took place during a special Ramadan prayer on a compound near the village, and Pakistani authorities claim foreign fighters were killed. And in two separate incidents gunmen in Baluchistan killed 16 ethnic Punjabis this weekend, as 10 were pulled off a bus and shot and another group of six were killed while painting a house (AP, VOA, AFP).

Flooding continues to ravage Pakistan, causing tens of thousands to evacuate in southern Pakistan and further damaging the country's agriculture, infrastructure, and economy (Guardian, AJE, AP, CNN, Reuters, Dawn, CNN, Dawn, LAT). The flooding has destroyed more than 60 bridges in the Swat Valley, and all 41 bridges in one district of Dir agency (ABC). The Pakistani government's slow response to the crisis continues to provoke anger throughout the country (Guardian, NYT). Pakistan's government canceled official Independence Day celebrations this weekend due to the ongoing flooding (AP, AJE, BBC).

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon toured afflicted areas of Pakistan this weekend, calling the flooding's aftermath the worst disaster he had ever seen, as Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that as many as 20 million people could be affected (Wash Post, WSJ, LAT, AP, Reuters, AP, BBC). The U.N. estimates that 14 million have been affected, and that up to six million people have not yet received aid (Reuters). Officials confirmed the first case of cholera this weekend in Swat, though aid workers were hopeful that a full-on outbreak of the waterborne disease could be avoided (VOA, Reuters). Still, officials said up to 3.5 million children were at risk of disease spread by the flooding (Dawn, Tel).

There are now seven U.S. helicopters providing flood relief in Pakistan, with a total of 12 on the way (NYT, CNN). Pakistan is reportedly considering accepting $5 million in aid from India, and former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the government must "stand on its own two feet" and does not need foreign aid to help recovery efforts (Tel, Daily Times).

Making the case

Appearing in print interviews and on television for the first time since replacing Gen. Stanley McChrystal as ISAF commander, Gen. David Petraeus this weekend defended "progress" he saw in the Afghan war and said that he could recommend a delay in the drawdown of American forces in the country, scheduled to begin in July 2011 (NYT, Wash Post, AJE, Tel). Petraeus said he would give Obama his "best professional military advice" about the situation surrounding a drawdown, and urged time for the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, only very recently fully resourced (Wash Post, Guardian, CBS). Petraeus also discussed Taliban reconciliation, condemned WikiLeaks, and called hunting down Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in a remote region on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, a top priority (AFP, Daily Times, AFP).

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates also went to the media this weekend, saying that U.S. troops could begin transferring security responsibility to Afghan forces next spring, and that, "[t]here is no question in anybody's mind that we are going to begin drawing down troops in July of 2011" (LAT, AFP, BBC). Gates added, however, that there was no talk within the administration of a quick withdrawal of forces from the country.

Joshua Partlow has a must-read from this Sunday on the expanding Taliban presence in northern Afghanistan, spread by groups of fighters on motorbikes and fueled by government inaction (Wash Post). NATO forces this weekend killed an al Qaeda operative in an airstrike in the northern city of Kunduz (Reuters, AP). And Taliban militants stoned a couple they accused of adultery to death in a Taliban-held village in Kunduz province (Dawn, BBC, France 24).

Dirty money

Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry (D-MA) said this weekend that he would raise the issue of corruption in Afghanistan with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in person this week (Wash Post). Kerry stated that "the biggest single recruitment tool for the Taliban and the biggest single factor undermining [Afghan] government support is corruption." A U.S. contractor currently working on development projects worth over $1 billion in Afghanistan is being investigated for overcharging the government (AP, Tel). And an oilfield with an estimated 1.8 billion barrels of oil has reportedly been found in northern Afghanistan (AJE).

Karzai announced that he will order private security contractors to be disbanded within four months (AP). The U.S. military expressed support for the move, though it said the disbanding of the contractors, who protect projects and officials in Afghanistan among others things, would have to be dependent on the capability of Afghan forces to protect them (AP).

And international forces reached a grim milestone this weekend, as more than 2,000 international troops have been killed since 2001 in Afghanistan (Reuters).

Flashpoint

A protester was killed this weekend in Indian-administered Kashmir, as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm (Dawn, AP). And a police constable in Indian-administered Kashmir has been arrested after he threw a shoe and a black flag at the region's top elected official Omar Abdullah, yelling, "we want freedom" (AP).

Magic carpet industry?

In an attempt to help bolster Afghanistan's traditional crafts industry, the Department of Defense is ready to offer a $1 million no-bid contract to a U.S. company to help expand the market for Afghan carpets (Wash Post). Currently most Afghan rugs are sent to Pakistan, where they are washed and re-labeled as Pakistani, losing as much as 40 percent of their value.

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