Pakistan:
The Nation: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Pakistan to take steps against extremism. “In her remarks to an American news channel during an interview Tuesday, Secretary Clinton – who is on an official trip to Peru – said that the response of Pakistani public, condemning the terrorist attack on 14 year old Malala Yusufzai at every level, was very appropriate.
‘The people of Pakistan are saying what needs to be said so eloquently now – that children, boys and girls, deserve to go to school; they deserve to have the chance to make the best of their God-given potential, to make a contribution to their society’, she pointed out.”
Daily Mail: The US government in not satisfied with Pakistan’s approach to the Mumbai terrorist attack. “‘The Pakistan government has not taken enough action,’ Geoffrey Pyatt, US principal deputy assistant secretary for south and central Asian affairs, said.
‘We are working in a way that LeT (Lashkar-e-Tayyeba) could not use the US financial systems. The work has not yet finished but the Pakistan government has not taken enough action as per our expectations,’ Pyatt said.”
Analysis: Katja Riikonen writing for Dawn: It is important to bear in mind the complexity of sectarian violence when discussing its prevalance in Pakistan, as well as when considering how to end it. “With political will to limit the operational spaces for violent sectarian groups to function, it is possible to change the trend of increasing sectarian violence. But it needs a parallel change in appreciating and valuing religious plurality in Pakistan, both at the national and local levels, and particularly in public spaces. This would make the exclusivist sectarian discourse much harder to find resonance and survive in the Pakistani society.”
Afghanistan:
CNN: A suicide bomber has driven a vehicular-borne IED into the wall of a NATO-Afghan army base, wounding 45 Afghan soldiers. The Taliban have claimed responsibility. “The base at Paktia province also came under indirect fire after the attack, according to Lt. Junior Grade Amy Hession of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.”
CTV: Afghan security services claimed that the suicide bomber who killed six was not one of its officers. “Afghanistan’s security service on Tuesday denied claims that a suicide bomber who killed two American troops and four Afghans in a weekend attack was a member of the country’s intelligence agency.
The remarks contradict statements by U.S. and local officials who had described the assault as an insider attack and the first of its kind by a member of Afghanistan’s elite intelligence service.”
India:
Newstrack India: “Launching their maiden defence dialogue, India and Indonesia Tuesday decided to bolster their counter-terror cooperation and agreed to work together for the security of the Indian Ocean.” Indian Defence Minister AK Antony said that terrorist organisations can be encouraged by state toleration of their activities – a veiled reference to Pakistan.
Times of India: Four rebels belonging to the People’s Liberation Front of India have been detained. “The operation is a part of a special resolute action launched a week ago to flush out the PLFI rebels. The special branch of the state police said that PLFI has become the second largest threat to internal security in the state after the Maoists.”
