By Abubakar Siddique Senior Afghan officials have unveiled a plan to reconcile with up to 35,000 Taliban insurgents by offering jobs and vocational training, in the hope that the scheme will gain traction in the lead-up to a major international conference on Afghanistan in London later this month. Elements of the plan, which could cost more than US$1 billion to see through, were discussed during a one-day summit in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on January 12. Richard Holbrooke, the United States’ special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, attended the event along with those two states’ foreign ministers. … Continue reading A $1bn sweetener for the Taliban

By Mitra Farnik WASHINGTON – Iran has taken a skeptical view of President Barack Obama’s new Afghan strategy, but doesn’t have one of its own. Though Tehran shares Washington’s desire for the Taliban to be neutralized, it is wary of an increased American military presence in Afghanistan, even if this is aimed at achieving such a goal. Since the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan, the US and Iran have engaged in a complicated competition for influence that has been swayed by events on the ground in Afghanistan but also ideological battles inside both Iran and America. This competition has … Continue reading Iran skeptical of US’s Afghan strategy

By Brian M Downing A top al-Qaeda commander was reportedly killed on Wednesday by government forces in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province, coinciding with a top United States official suggesting that the US should launch air strikes there and Iran ramping up tensions with Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Saba news agency reported that Abdullah Mehdar, described as a leader of an al-Qaeda cell, was killed and four militants captured after Yemeni troops surrounded a house in Shabwa where he and other militants had gathered. On the same day, the chairman of the US Senate Armed Services committee, Carl Levin, said the US … Continue reading Hunt for al-Qaeda intensifies in Yemen

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – After several months of backroom wheeling and dealing between the United States and the top brass in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi, Washington has expressed its full trust in Pakistan’s military leadership and its apparatus, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which in turn is preparing to fight the next phase in the South Asia war theater. This will focus on the hunt for high-profile al-Qaeda targets in the Shawal and Datta Khel areas of Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, where it is believed Osama bin Laden’s deputy, Dr Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and the shura … Continue reading Pakistan’s military makes a stand

By Siddharth Srivastava NEW DELHI – Ever since India intervened in the partition of Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, relations between Delhi and Dhaka have been strained, with the latter ever-suspicious of its neighboring “big brother”, compounded by fears of Indian goods swamping Bangladesh’s economy. India, for its part, has been frustrated by Dhaka’s penchant to “obstruct” meaningful bilateral dialogue and is concerned Pakistan-backed terrorists and insurgents seeking shelter in Bangladesh. India has of late conveyed to the United States that its global efforts against terror in Pakistan and Afghanistan cannot succeed unless nations such as … Continue reading India, Bangladesh look to turn a corner

By Sudha Ramachandran KORAPUT, Orissa – Six weeks after police action in Narayanpatna in Koraput district in the eastern state of Orissa left two tribals dead and scores of others injured, tension here shows no signs of abating. Arbitrary arrests of tribals continue with about 109, including at least 12 children, thrown in jail so far on charges that include criminal conspiracy, rioting, sedition and waging war against the state – and police and paramilitary forces have stepped up operations to hunt down activists of the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS), a tribal rights organization active in the area. The … Continue reading India drives tribals into Maoist arms

By Fabio Scarpello DENPASAR, Bali – The escalating Allah controversy that has resulted in the bombing of Christian churches across Malaysia has called into question the country’s moderate Muslim credentials and could have major repercussions for political alliances that underpin the United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO)-led coalition government. Both main political blocs – UMNO and the Anwar Ibrahim-led Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalition – have bid to capitalize on the violence, which has devolved from an obscure freedom of expression issue into a volatile matter of internal security that could potentially determine the government’s political survival. UMNO has so far … Continue reading Using God as a political fig-leaf in Malaysia