Pakistan:
CNN: Nine people have been arrested in connection with the shooting of teenage activist Malala Yousufzai. “Police identified Atta Ullah Khan, a 23-year-old man from the Swat district where Malala was attacked, as the primary suspect. Police said they were searching for Khan, who was studying for a master’s degree in chemistry…
In addition to arresting six men — all of them from Swat — police have arrested Khan’s mother, brother and fiancee, but the suspect’s relatives were not accused of involvement, a senior police official told CNN.”
Dawn: The Peshawar High Court has served a notice to former Pakistani President Musharraf for allowing drone attacks in the tribal areas in an attempt to uncover the Pakistani government’s complicity in the drone strikes. “A two-member bench comprising acting Chief Justice Justice Maftahuddin Khan and Justice Seth Waqar hearing a petition by Advocate FM Sabir served notice on President Pervez Musharraf to appear before the court on next hearing to explain his position.
Advocate Sabir of Difa-i-Pakistan Council (DPC) and Foundation for Fundamental Rights (FFR) had filed a writ petition against the drone attacks in Fata and the killing of innocent people including women and children in these attacks.”
Guardian: Hinna Khan, a 17-year old from the same area of Pakistan as Malala Yousufzai, has been threatened by the Taliban for also being involved in activism. “Hinna Khan, a 17-year-old from Swat, was named during a call made to her mother’s mobile phone two days after Malala, who spoke out against the Taliban, was attacked as she sat in a van with her classmates, in the town of Mingora.
Hinna’s father, Reyatullah Khan, said: “The Taliban have kidnapped me and tortured me in the past for promoting women’s development, but now they are threatening the entire family.”
Khan has long publicly opposed the Taliban and in 2008 he gathered a “jirga” of locals to denounce the extremists for forcing schools to close down in Swat. Since 1999 he and his wife have worked through their own organisation to promote development and literacy programmes that support women.”
Afghanistan:
First Post: Ten security personnel have been killed in Afghanistan in a clash with the Taliban. “Taliban militants ambushed a police convoy in Oba district of Herat province, killing 10 security personnel, provincial government spokesman Mahiudin Nuri said.”
India:
Times of India: In objection to central Government economic policy, Maoists imposed a “statewide shutdown” of traffic in Odisha. Felling trees to impose the shutdown, the banned Maoists also used posters to explain the motivation for their actions.
Assam Tribune: The RSS, a right-wing Hindu political organization, today called upon the Government to “liberate” Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to stem the rise in terrorist attacks originating from that area. In expanding upon his justification, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat argued that he was motivated by the “progressive depletion .. of the Hindu population”.
Economic Times: Suspected militants Abu Jundal and Fasih Mohammad are to be questioned jointly by intelligence analysts, as agencies suspect links between the two regarding the higher echelon commanders of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), possibly based in Saudi Arabia. Jundal is thought to be connected with LeT, whilst Fasih is thought to be a founding member of the IM itself.
