The Khyber

The Khyber Issue 17

2010-09-14T04:28:33Z

Khyber New

Featured

Id al-Fitr under the Watchful Eyes of China

New York Times

Kashgar being Kashgar, the most Islamic city in the restive desert region of Xinjiang, the occasion was also marked by more somber moments, as the Chinese authorities kept a close eye on events.

Governance

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution

Groundviews

This article explains how the SriLankan Constitution can be amended, what the key changes are and the legal arguments advanced in favor of and against the changes. Editor's Note: The Amendment has already been passed.

How to fix flood-hit Pakistan

BBC News

Guest columnist Ahmed Rashid argues that Pakistan's unpopular civilian government should allow foreign technocrats to sort out the country's mess - or its troubles may only get even worse.

Peace & Security

China Confronts Nehru's Sensitive Legacy

The Hindu

“Nehru gave China Panchsheel,” remarked Li Changchun, one of China's most powerful leaders, on Tuesday morning, as he found himself standing, somewhat surprised, in front of a bust of India's first Prime Minister in the heart of Beijing.

Interview with A.Q. Khan

Newsweek

Yes.... Our nuclear program has ensured our survival, our security, and our sovereignty ... I am proud to have contributed to it together with my patriotic and able colleagues.

Energy & Environment

India Scraps Approval for Lafarge Project

Economic Times

Authorities have overturned environmental approval given to a $200-million-cement plant project planned by French industrial giant Lafarge in northern India. The National Environment Appellate Authority on Monday ruled against the proposed plant in the state of Himachal Pradesh, citing a threat to the local economy and wildlife.

China Needs to Stop Playing Dirty on Clean Energy

Huffington Post

China isn't beating us fair and square. China is breaking the trade rules that the rest of the world follows in order to dominate production of clean energy. It's killing our ability to create new jobs.

Op-Ed

Letter from Srinagar

Meenakshi Ganguly

"We have seen enough of India," the twenty-something-year-old told me. "We don't want to put up with the oppression anymore. We want freedom."

From the Region

Nepal's Never Ending Elections

Eurasia Review

With the elections to the post of Prime Minister likely to go the earlier way with no result unless some miracle happens, the question many analysts are asking - Is Nepal failing? The answer is no.

Prohibit Degrading Test for Rape

Human Rights Watch

Many Indian hospitals routinely subject rape survivors to forensic examinations that include the unscientific and degrading "finger" test, Human Rights Watch said in a report released last week.

China's Discreet Hold in Pakistan's Borderlands

International Herald Tribune

While the world focuses on the flood-ravaged Indus River valley, a quiet geopolitical crisis is unfolding in northern Pakistan, where Islamabad is handing over de facto control of the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region in the northwest corner of disputed Kashmir to China. Selig Harrison's explosive Op-ed.

About The Khyber

The Khyber is a fortnightly newsletter focusing on South Asian affairs. This not-for-profit venture consists of a collation of news from national, regional and international streams.

The Khyber was launched to bring oft-neglected policy discussions into mainstream academic discourse, and hopes, like the Pass from which its name is borrowed, to provide easy access for the information-thirsty traveller into this strange, misunderstood, frustrating but important part of the world. Do send us your comments, criticism and suggestions to Arun at Something About The Law.

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The Khyber Issue 16

2010-08-24T08:21:45Z

Khyber New

Featured

Billions of dollars, little goodwill

Washington Post

On her visit to Pakistan last month, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton mused that Americans must wonder "why we're sending money to a country that doesn't want it." Pakistanis insist they are not ungrateful.

Governance

Motivated Arrests and Pakistani Interests

New York Times

Pakistani officials say they set out to capture Mr. Baradar, and used the C.I.A. to help them do it, because they wanted to shut down secret peace talks that Mr. Baradar had been conducting with the Afghan government that excluded Pakistan, the Taliban’s longtime backer.

Fire in the Hole

Foreign Policy

Plent of Indians have missed out. Economic liberalization has not even nudged the lives of the country's bottom 200 million people. India is now one of the most economically stratified societies on the planet.

Peace & Security

The Autumn of Kashmir's Islamist Patriarch?

The Hindu

“Even if the wealth of the whole India is put in my pocket,” Tehreek-i-Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani promised at a press conference this August, “I will not barter away the sacrifices of our martyrs.

Obama's Timidity on Tibet

Wall Street Journal

Adapting to Beijing's "correct understanding" of Tibet undermines not only the Dalai Lama and human rights for Tibetans, but also America's own "core interest" in seeing these respected in Tibet and China as well.

Energy & Environment

India's Climate Change Diplomacy

Public Affairs Division, External Affairs Ministry

On the basis of the principle of equity, we called on the affluent developed countries to cut down their emissions in an adequate and timely manner, as well to bear the incremental costs of mitigation and adaptation actions implemented by the developing countries.

China's Clean Energy Revolution

Party for Socialism and Liberation

China has invested billions of dollars to increase clean energy in recent years. Governmental policies and incentives encouraging energy efficiency have enabled the country to become one of the world’s leaders in clean-energy industries.

Op-Ed

Nuke Deal: Costs/Benefits

Brahma Chellaney

The deal's energy benefits, in fact, are years away and will come with heavy economic costs.

From the Region

A Himalayan Rivalry

The Economist

Asia's two giants are still unsure what to make of each other. But as they grow, they are coming closer - for good and bad.

Let's Go Beyond Borders

The Daily Star

Right ideas often prove difficult to apply in practice. The India-Bangladesh $1 billion landmark agreement will entail a win-win situation for both the countries. Transit and connectivity shouldn't be held hostage to politics of competitive populism.

72 Hours in Afghanistan

Weekly Standard

If you spend 72 hours in a place you’ve never been, talking to people whose language you don’t speak about social, political, and economic complexities you don’t understand, and you come back as the world’s biggest know-it-all, you’re a reporter.

Without a Supreme Court?

Hindustan Times

The simmering political and constitutional crisis in Maldives threatened to surface again over this month after its Majlis (Parliament) failed to pass a legislation to ensure that the country's interim Supreme Court continues to function.

About The Khyber

The Khyber is a weekly newsletter focusing on South Asian affairs. This not-for-profit venture consists of a collation of news from national, regional and international streams.

The Khyber was launched to bring oft-neglected policy discussions into mainstream academic discourse, and hopes, like the Pass from which its name is borrowed, to provide easy access for the information-thirsty traveller into this strange, misunderstood, frustrating but important part of the world. Do send us your comments, criticism and suggestions to Arun or Sameer at Something About The Law.

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The Khyber Issue 15

2010-06-03T23:36:12Z

Khyber New

Featured

Taking a High Road

The Economist

India’s policymakers are faced with a big strategic decision. They could rebuff foreign capital, by tightening caps, regulations and other restrictions on foreign investment. Or they could take advantage of it.

Governance

China Bars Torture to Obtain Confessions

New York Times

The top judicial and law enforcement bodies in China have issued new guidelines that seek to halt the use of torture in obtaining confessions or witness testimony, especially in death penalty cases.

Bhutan to build Gross National Happiness Centre

BBC News

The government of Bhutan says it is pursuing plans to build a Gross National Happiness (GNH) centre in the forests of the Himalayan kingdom.

Peace & Security

The Youth Link in SriLanka's Reconciliation Process

Daily Mirror

A young boy from a border village in Polonnaruwa had fiercely sworn to hate the Tamil race. Living on the borderlines of the conflict, he lost his mother and father to a brutal LTTE attack in the height of the war. Rationality not prevailing, he blamed all Tamil people for the loss of his parents.

Kashmir Mulls Comprehensive Poll

BBC News

A recent survey in Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir has produced "striking results". The poll was conducted by Robert Bradnock - an associate fellow at the Chatham House think-tank in London - and here he assesses the results.

Energy & Environment

Copenhagen Climate Failure Blamed on Danish Text

Guardian

The UN's climate change chief blamed a secret draft treaty, leaked to the Guardian, for the summit failure.

Sherpas Warn About 'Dangerous' Everest

BBC News

Sherpa mountaineers in Nepal say a rise in the rate of snow and ice melt on Mount Everest has exposed bare rock faces and made it dangerous to climb.

Op-Ed

The Backbencher

Pratap Bhanu Mehta

If anything, the UPA’s report card reveals its listlessness and shrunken ambitions.

From the Region

The State of the Pakistan Economy

Daily Times

There is very little to cheer. “Of prime concern is the near total breakdown in the delivery of basic public services like power, gas and water”. Indeed a visit to Pakistan in the summer can be quite a punishment.

Bangladesh's Dark Brothel Secret

BBC News

Most sex workers take a steroid called Oradexon. They take it because they say it makes them stronger, larger and more attractive. But it is also the same drug that farmers here use to fatten up their cattle before taking them to market

China's Dwindling Resource

New York Times

At one level this is just a demand for a fairer share of the China cake now mostly being eaten by enterprises, local and foreign, rather than by their workers. In almost no other country are employees’ shares of national income as low as it is in “socialist” China.

Abortion in the Maldives: The Untold Story

Minivan News

When the strip on the pregnancy test turned pink, 23-year-old Mustafa asked his girlfriend to marry him. Not because he wanted to, but because he believed it was the right thing to do. She said no.

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The Khyber Issue 14

2010-05-30T20:09:30Z

About this Newsletter

The Khyber is a bi-monthly newsletter focusing on South Asian affairs. This not-for-profit venture consists of a collation of news from national, regional and international streams.

The Khyber was launched to bring oft-neglected policy discussions into mainstream academic discourse, and hopes, like the Pass from which its name is borrowed, to provide easy access for the information-thirsty traveller into this strange, misunderstood, frustrating but important part of the world.

May 31, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

Bangladesh's Dark Brothel Steroid Secret

Every country has secrets it does not want foreigners to discover, and I have just found one in Bangladesh.

It is a vast brothel, where 800 women and girls lead painful and degrading lives, in the otherwise pleasant town of Tangail, a place of flowering trees and atmospheric old bazaars, a couple of hours drive from the capital Dhaka.

[...] competition is intense, and the prostitutes are forced to take some desperate measures to survive.

Most, I learn, take a body building steroid called Oradexon. They take it because they say it makes them stronger, larger and more attractive. They say that Bangladeshi men like big women.

But it is also the same drug that farmers here use to fatten up their cattle before taking them to market.

Hundreds of acres of rubble, the city reduced to fields of blasted concrete and steel....a shattered chocolate-box of a landscape that had once been home to tens of thousands of people seeking refuge from the war raging in the Afghan hinterland.

Read the full story.


	Two countries branded as rogue nations, Iran and North Korea, are conveniently located next to each other. Mark Landler

Frayed ends of sanity :- On May 28 when terrorists associated with what is called the ‘Punjabi Taliban’ attacked various places ofworship of the Ahmadiyya community in Lahore,the TV channels were out in force covering the gruesome event. However, that did not stop them from running happy-go-lucky commercials of their corporate sponsors during breaks, giving the whole event a rather surreal feel.

The Latest Commission of Inquiry in Sri Lanka :- Louise Arbour of the International Crisis Group is reported to have said during an interview in the BBC that the government violated the laws of war by blurring the line between combatants and civilians, and that its killings of civilians were not accidents. Perhaps in response to this, a Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation set up to investigate allegations of humanitarian standards and human rights violations during the war.

When Afghans seek medical aid, tough choice for U.S.:- Marine patrols and the Taliban fight daily, and helicopters are needed to evacuate the wounded.Under NATO rules, any Afghan civilian wounded as a result of military activity is treated in the Western military’s medical system. Black Hawk helicopter crews often scramble and collect them. But each day, Afghans seek help for other injuries and ailments — for heart attacks, for trauma from vehicle and agricultural accidents, for twisted backs, cut hands, spiking fevers, infections, insect bites or dental pain.

China Announces Development Plan for Restive Xinjiang Region :- Over the last year, Xinjiang has emerged as a prominent weak spot in the system of Chinese authoritarian control, with ethnic tensions at a constant boil. This month, the central government held a high-level policy conference on Xinjiang and announced steps to invigorate the economy and, in the words of Chinese officials, ensure “leapfrog development and lasting stability.”
A Pashtun Paradox from Peshawar :- The real problem with American society is that "we’re supremely greedy, stupid and lazy" when it comes to our politics and government. Most of us invest next to nothing in thinking about issues and voting intelligently, let alone other more robust forms of political participation,” said Dr. David Michael Green, Associate Professor of Political Science at Hofstra University in New York.

Nepal Avoids Crisis in Deal to Extend Parliament :- Faced with a midnight deadline, Nepal’s Maoists reached a broadly worded deal with leaders of major political parties in which the Maoists agreed to extend the term of Parliament, the Constituent Assembly. In exchange, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal agreed to resign at an unspecified time in the future to “pave the way” for a new government.

All 3 buried militants identified as innocent civilians :-All the three persons, killed and labeled by the Indian Army as “unidentified militants” on April 29th evening and subsequently buried by residents of Kalaroos village in a local graveyard, turned out to be innocent civilians when respective family members identified them during a day-long procedure of exhumation and autopsy under heavy rains in Kupwara district.
Afghanistan- War lessons and fallacy :- The U.S. engagement in Afghanistan is now in its ninth year. It is also without any doubt the highest foreign policy priority for the U.S. administration. Yet understanding our engagement there seems to have become more convoluted as time goes by. Part of this confusion comes from the political leadership both in Washington and in the European capitals where strategies remain opaque and doubtful to the common person.

Pigeon held in India on suspicion of spying :-A white-coloured bird was found by a local resident in India's Punjab state, which borders Pakistan, and taken to a police station 40 kilometres from the capital Amritsar.The pigeon had a ring around its foot and a Pakistani phone number and address stamped on its body in red ink.

India's Heat Wave- Karma ? :- People say human genes evolve due to the surrounding environment. And national culture is supposedly shaped by many elements including the climate we live in, since it impacts food, clothing and entertainment options. So, what has the blazing heat taught us North Indians, and how does it make us different from those in cooler climes and more temperate zones?

Bangladesh-Eco Symbol ? :- From the port of Sadarghat, the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka unfolds itself in an inclement palette of greys and browns. The Buriganga River, stretching out in each direction like a puddle of mercury, is dotted with hundreds of river craft, some dredging trash from the riverbed, others weighed down with passengers and piles of vegetables.

Dragons and Paper Tigers :- At a time nuclear proliferation is a major area of concern for the international community and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference is underway in New York at the United Nations, reports that China is all set to allow its state entities to supply two new nuclear reactors to Pakistan should be a matter of grave concern. This action of China will be in clear violation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) guidelines that forbid nuclear transfers to countries not signatory to the NPT or adhere to comprehensive international safeguards on their nuclear programme.

The Khyber Issue 13

2010-05-14T02:55:35Z

About this Newsletter

The Khyber is a weekly newsletter from NALSAR University, focusing on South Asian affairs. This not-for-profit venture consists of a collation of news from national, regional and international streams.

The Khyber was launched to bring oft-neglected policy discussions into mainstream academic discourse, and hopes, like the Pass from which its name is borrowed, to provide easy access for the information-thirsty traveller into this strange, misunderstood, frustrating but important part of the world.

May 14, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

Will there be an Indian Harvard?

India is currently confronting a dilemma that threatens to stop the country's impressive economic expansion in its tracks: an acute shortage of trained manpower. To provide the country with a much-needed injection of skilled engineers and managers, India's leaders have embarked on an ambitious effort to encourage foreign higher educational institutions to open campuses on their soil.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has proposed legislation, which the Indian Parliament is expected to enact into law, paving the way for foreign universities to set up branches in India. They will have a vast pool of aspirants to choose from: 88 out of every 100 Indian students who graduate from high school don't go on to higher education.

"We go to the toilet on the street.I know other people have to walk in it. But you don't have much choice if you have to go."

Read the full story.


	Everyone knows that the Chinese people are industrious and hardworking. So what if I were to say that Chinese workers are sloppy and careless? Jiang Xueqin

Nuclear Gamesmanship: Clinton vs. Ahmadinejad:- Walking out on Monday's (May 3, 2010) U.N. speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have been good domestic politics for the Obama Administration and its closest European allies, but it won't necessarily help them prevail at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference that began on the same day. In fact, the move by delegates from the U.S., Britain and France among others, may have perversely played to Ahmadinejad's advantage.
Saving the Right to Information Miracle:- The RTI juggernaut has begun to roll over Indian babudom. Let us not turn the clock back. Over the past week, there have been reports that the Prime Minister's Office, responding to Sonia Gandhi's muscular intervention, is backing off on the dreaded amendments to the Right to Information Act, 2005.On the other hand, it is worth remembering that the amendments scare has never been too far away. It resurfaced as recently as April 30, 2010 — this time in the benign form of a friendly letter to an RTI applicant.
Taliban Hand In Failed Bombing In NY Times Square :- Interrogation of the Times Square bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad and the subsequent investigation has unearthed that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was very deeply involved in the planning and execution of the failed plot, the US said today."They (federal investigating agencies) know now that the TTP, the Taliban in Pakistan were involved in this (Times Square bombing attempt) in a very deep and involved way.And that came in part from those interrogations; in part from work that's being done in Pakistan," senior White House advisor David Axelrod, told CNN in an interview.
US-China human rights dialogue resumes:- The United States and China are holding talks on human rights for the first time in two years. Senior officials are meeting behind closed doors for two days in Washington.The US has said it will raise longstanding concerns over freedom of expression and religion in China, as well as the treatment of dissidents. Disagreements over human rights have for years been an irritant in US-China relations.

Daunting task ahead for Krishna, Qureshi :- Bridging the trust deficit — the task handed down to Foreign Ministers S.M. Krishna and S.M. Qureshi by their Prime Ministers is indeed a daunting if not an impossible one. Yet, it is a task the two sides would better prepare for if they come closer in their understanding of the terms involved: primarily, terror. It's no secret that the trust deficit both sides refer to is euphemism for India's belief that Pakistan supports and nurtures the very terrorist groups that seek to destroy India.
In India, Hitching Hopes on a Subway:- The trains arrive with a whisper. The doors slide open and a puff of refrigerated air confronts the city’s summertime miasma. A bell dings, the doors close and the train whisks its passengers to the next stop.This sequence of events might seem utterly ordinary on train platforms in Berlin or Singapore. But here in the sweaty heart of India’s northernmost megacity, the runaway success of the city’s almost complete subway system, known as the Metro, is a feat bordering on miraculous, and it offers new hope that India’s perpetually decrepit urban infrastructure can be dragged into the 21st century.
Q&A With Robert Kaplan:- We've been reading a lot about China, about China holding so much of our debt, about -- you know -- all these problems the U.S. has in their bilateral relations with China over global warming, over China's support of authoritarian regimes in Burma, in Sudan, and all that. But one thing that's the most obvious thing that nobody writes about is Chinese geography; in other words, what does the map say about China? That's what this piece is all about. And it's got several themes.
Stunned China Looks Inward After School Attack:- In the wake of a fourth horrific attackon Chinese schoolchildren — this time by a crazed man who on Friday beat five toddlers with a hammer, then set himself on fire with two other children in his arms — this shocked and bruised nation was of two distinctly different minds.On the Internet and in newspapers, people agonized over whether their tightly regimented society, a boiling caldron of change with no pressure valve to let off steam, was blowing its lid.

Terrorism Down, But Not Out:- Almost ten years into a full-on war on terrorism in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda has been dispersed. Indeed, the US is now confident enough that it has dealt a significant enough blow to militants that it has shifted its focus to transferring the burden of confrontation and development into local hands under an Af-Pak policy expected to pave the way for a NATO pull-out from active conflict.are far from destroyed—a fact that raises troubling questions about Afghanistan’s ability to meet its objectives.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps expands role in sanctions-hit oil sector:- Taking advantage of the very sanctions directed against it, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is assuming a leading role in developing the country's lucrative petroleum sector, Western oil executives and Iranian analysts say. The Guard's engineering companies, replacing European oil firms that have largely abandoned Iran, have been rewarded with huge no-bid contracts.
China Set for Naval Hegemony:-On the night of March 26 the Cheonan, a South Korean Navy corvette patrolling in the Yellow Sea, mysteriously erupted in a cataclysmic explosion and sank to the bottom. The ship was just off Baengnyeong Island, near the Northern Limit Line, which is the armistice separation line between North and South Korea. Of the 104 crew on board, only 58 survived. Salvage operations confirm the ship was struck by a North Korean heavy torpedo armed with a 200 kg warhead.
‘Cancer' of terror, not India, a threat to Pakistan: Obama:- United States President Barack Obama has warned that extremists pose a serious threat to Pakistan's sovereignty and pointed out that Islamabad had realised that it was not India but the “cancer” of terrorism emanating from its own territory that was its primary concern. “I think there has been in the past a view on the part of Pakistan that their primary rival, India, was their only concern,” he said at a joint press conference with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai here on Wednesday night.

India “saved” China from isolation at Copenhagen: Jairam:- China would have been left completely isolated at last December's climate summit in Copenhagen, if it had not been for India's backing, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has said.Recognition from China's “top leadership” that Indian support was “absolutely essential” for China at the talks, following an “ambush” by the West, had now even led to an improvement in bilateral relations after a year of hostilities, Mr. Ramesh told journalists on Sunday.
How India and China Sabotaged the UN Climate Summit:- What really went on at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen? Secret recordings obtained by SPIEGEL reveal how China and India prevented an agreement on tackling climate change at the crucial meeting. The powerless Europeans were forced to look on as the agreement failed.
The myth of missile defense as a deterrent:- The Obama administration's long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) "establishes U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities and force posture for the next five to ten years." The review signals a fresh approach to nuclear doctrine; however, its reliance on missile defense as an element of nuclear deterrence is wrong. Such systems are useless, dangerous, and destabilizing, and ramping up reliance on missile defenses because of planned reductions to the U.S. operational nuclear stockpile is deeply misguided.

The Khyber Issue 12

2010-04-02T11:05:16Z

About this Newsletter

April 2, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

Where To Buy A Landmine In Sri Lanka

The civil war in Sri Lanka may be over, but you can buy a land mine on the side of the road in Jaffna � though they're more likely to explode in your mouth than anywhere else. In the main city on Sri Lanka's northernmost peninsula, besieged by 2½ decades of bloody sectarian violence until last May, the spicy samosa sold by street vendors throughout the city is still known by its nom de guerre: midi-vedi, the Tamil word for land mine.

The name was first used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, popularly known as the Tamil Tigers, in the early 1990s when they were in control of Jaffna.

Sometimes you have to smell the truth, breathe it. Heydari lived it. Something was rotten then in the state of Iran. It still is. A historic mistake was made.

Read the full story.


	Why Is U.S-China Srategic Co-ordination So Hard? Council on Foreign Relations

India and Pakistan Feud Over Indus Waters:- A feud over water between India and Pakistan is threatening to derail peace talks between the two neighbors. The countries have harmoniously shared the waters of the Indus River for decades. A 50-year-old treaty regulating access to water from the river and its tributaries has been viewed as a bright spot for India and Pakistan, which have gone to war three times since 1947.
Chinese leader Hu Jintao to attend nuclear summit in U.S.:- The president's attendance, which was uncertain because of a recent U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, could boost President Obama's efforts to curb Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs. Reporting from Beirut and Beijing - China announced Thursday that President Hu Jintao planned to attend a nuclear nonproliferation conference this month in Washington, an affirmative gesture after months of giving the cold shoulder to the Obama administration over a U.S. arms sale to Taiwan.
Pakistani president persuades U.N. to delay report on Bhutto assassination:- Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari prevailed upon the United Nations on Tuesday to delay for two weeks the release of a fact-finding report that is expected to criticize Pakistan's security establishment in connection with the assassination of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in 2007. The move represents a political retreat by the Pakistani leader, who requested the U.N. probe during his first weeks in office but who now faces challenges to his authority on several fronts.
Blind Man's Bluff :- Over the past three months, several prominent American think tanks and academic institutions have conducted simulation games about the Iranian crisis. Although these war games have nicely covered almost all facets of the problem, they have left one aspect mostly understudied: the nature of Iran's response to a U.S. or Israeli airstrike. I recently took part in two U.S. government-sponsored games in which the participants attempted to provide a modest assessment of that crucial issue.

India embarks on world�s largest census:- India on Thursday embarks on the world's largest census in an exercise that will compile a register of fingerprints, photographs and mobile telephone usage of its billion-plus residents. Census officials will start at the top, and work their way down to the millions of Indians about which much less is known to produce a National Population Register. The first person to submit their details will be Pratibha Patil, the president, as 2.5m officials count and extract information about the identity, religion and habits of one of the world�s most diverse nations.
It�s China�s World. We�re Just Living in It. :- Back when President Obama lived in Indonesia, in the late 1960s, China loomed as a malign force to the north, where communist cadres plotted to export their revolution to the rest of Asia. The Jakarta he'll visit later this month has an entirely different attitude toward the People's Republic. Local companies are doing deals in yuan, the Chinese currency, rather than dollars.
Karzai rails against foreign presence, accuses West of engineering voter fraud:- President Hamid Karzai on Thursday delivered one of his most stinging criticisms to date of the foreign presence in Afghanistan , accusing the West and the United Nations of wanting a "puppet government" and of orchestrating fraud in last year's election. Karzai's comments come just five days after President Obama, in his first visit to Afghanistan as commander in chief.
When Beijing and New Delhi pull together:- When Hui Liangyu, China�s vice-premier, visited New Delhi last week he was presented with a miniature silver chariot pulled by two horses. The horses, his hosts quipped, represented China and India pulling the global economy into recovery. More often than not these horses pull in different directions. India bridles at its growing dependence on Chinese telecommunications and power equipment, vital for modernising its decrepit infrastructure. It has imposed curbs on Chinese companies bringing workers across the Himalayas to build pipelines and power plants.

America's India Envoy Needs to Run a Permanent Campaign: America's ambassador here, Timothy J. Roemer, will need all the skills he honed as a politician on the campaign trail in Indiana and Washington as he stumps across India in coming months. Time and again, he can expect to address questions about the U.S.'s commitment to establishing India in the top rung of its global allies.The reason: As the U.S.'s relations improve with Pakistan, its relationship with India, if not very delicately handled and consistently nurtured, will inevitably suffer fallout.
Iran nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri 'defects to US':- An Iranian nuclear scientist who has been missing since June has defected to the US, according to a US media report. ABC News said Shahram Amiri had been resettled in the US and was helping the CIA in its efforts to block Iran's nuclear programme.Mr Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia while on a Muslim pilgrimage.
Insurgent Faction Presents Afghan Peace Plan:- Representatives of a major insurgent faction have presented a formal 15-point peace plan to the Afghan government, the first concrete proposal to end hostilities since President Hamid Karzai said he would make reconciliation a priority after his re-election last year. The delegation represents fighters loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, 60, one of the most brutal of Afghanistan�s former resistance fighters who leads a part of the insurgency against American, NATO and Afghan forces
Face to face with Pakistan�s most wanted:- As Pakistani ministers and the country's army chiefs lobbied the Obama administration in Washington this week for increased military funding for the fight against Al Qa'ida militants, the top man on the US, UN and EU most wanted list in Pakistan moved freely in the streets of Lahore. Read first interview with a western newspaper - Hafiz Muhammad Saeed � suspected of organising the slaughter of 166 Indians in Mumbai in November 2008.

U.S. can suspend reprocessing if �national security' is threatened:- The �arrangements and procedures' (A&P) under which India can reprocess U.S.-obligated spent fuel allow Washington to suspend reprocessing permission if it apprehends either a �serious threat� to its national security or to the physical protection of the facility where the reprocessing is taking place that makes suspension unavoidable. But the A&P also specify a detailed consultation process similar to that contained in the Indo-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement (the 123 agreement) prior to suspension.
India�s Woes Reflected in Bid to Restart Old Plant:- �Wherever there is a lamp, there is darkness below it,� said Bava Bhalekar, a fisherman and local leader in this village roughly a hundred miles south of Mumbai. �The tragedy is that while our village has this project, we ourselves don�t have electricity.� �This project� is the power plant that Enron built. A decade after Enron withdrew from the project, the Indian government and two Indian companies are promising to bring the plant to full capacity
Causes for optimism:- �Diplomatic disasters don�t come much bigger than this� was the verdict of one European-based newspaper on the outcome of the Copenhagen climate-change conference. What had been billed as the summit to save the planet became the summit which, just barely, scraped a deal that many felt did not go much beyond an agreement to keep talking. But, argues Michael Grubb, history may judge it more kindly.

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The Khyber Issue 11

2010-03-21T03:44:51Z

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March 21, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

India�s elephant charges on through the crisis

Crisis? What crisis? Indian policymakers are not asking such a complacent question. But India has had a �good crisis�. Now its task is to unwind the exceptional support given to the economy and push through the reforms needed to sustain fast and inclusive growth.

When Pranab Mukherjee, the finance minister, presented his budget last week he noted that a year ago, India confronted a double challenge: the global crisis, and a poor monsoon. Now, �I can say with confidence that we have weathered these crises well.� As the Indian government�s Economic Survey put it: �A variety of stimulus packages were put in place in the second half of 2008-09, in the Interim Budget 2009-2010 and, again, three months later, in the main Budget 2009-2010.

The Army has no rivals and the Parliament�s 'supremacy' is but a myth.

Read the full story.


	Kill the Nuclear Liability Bill. Brahma Chellaney

No Leeway Given In Picking Dalai Lama:- The London conference on Afghanistan�s future was wishful thinking. For real stability, look to China, India, Russia--and Iran.With the notable exceptions of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, world powers�and certainly all of Afghanistan�s immediate and regional neighbours�appear to agree that democracy, fragile as it now is, offers the best hope for Afghans and the best prospect for peace.
Sri Lanka Tamil party drops statehood demand:- The Sri Lankan political party closest to the defeated Tamil Tiger rebel movement has dropped a demand for a separate Tamil homeland. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is the biggest political grouping representing the ethnic minority, said it instead wanted a "federal" solution. The party wants the two Tamil-majority provinces to be merged back into one, and significant devolution of powers.
Dalai Lama Risks Chinese Ire To Back Uighurs :- The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, voiced his support on Wednesday for an ethnic minority in China's troubled Xinjiang province, risking further worsening his fraught relations with Beijing. In an address marking 51 years since he fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the Dalai Lama referred to Xinjiang as "East Turkestan," the name given to it by pro-independence exiles.
China's Property: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble:- As he threads his taxicab every day through the epic traffic jams in and around Shanghai, jabbering on his cell phone and muttering under his breath, Yang Jinyu seems an unlikely real estate mogul. But when the government asked him to move out of his central Shanghai home so that the land it was on could be sold for redevelopment, he took the compensation payment and bought an apartment on Shanghai's outskirts.

Iran In Its Intricacy :- A year has passed since President Obama�s groundbreaking Nowruz offer to Iran of engagement based on mutual respect. Iran is now a different country, its divided regime weaker and confronted by the Green movement, the strongest expression of people power in the Middle East and a beacon for the region.Obama�s outreach has achieved this: the unsettling of Iran�s revolutionary power structure. That alone was worth the gambit.
In India, Deadly Backlash Against Freedom of Information Activists :- When Ajay Kumar asked authorities why a local politician had authorized the construction of private houses and shops on public land, he didn�t imagine the question would land him in the hospital. He had used the Right to Information Act, which allows any citizen to ask for information from any level of government, from village leaders to the PM. It presents a cultural sea change in India, where state bureaucrats have acted more like colonial masters than servants of the people.
Iran and Pakistan sign 'historic' pipeline deal:- Pakistan and Iran have signed an agreement for the construction of a much-delayed natural gas pipeline, officials say. The $7.6bn project is crucial for Pakistan's growing energy requirements. The country has suffered severe electricity shortages.The deal was signed between the two countries in Turkey. The pipeline was initially intended to carry gas on to India, but Delhi withdrew from negotiations last year.
Pakistan Army Digs In on Turf of the Taliban :- From a forward base in the bare brown foothills of the soaring mountains of South Waziristan, Pakistani soldiers fired artillery at insurgents sheltering in scrub across the valley. Smoke blotted the sky as the soldiers set ablaze houses once used by the Taliban to hide caches of heavy weapons. In the Makeen bazaar, where Baitullah Mehsud, was once king, the army has flattened the jerry-built stores, including the ice cream parlor, scotching any idea of easy return.

Behind Headley's Plea Bargain:- Five years after he began the surveillance operation that finally guided a ten-man death squad through the streets of Mumbai in November, 2008, Pakistani-American jihadist David Headley has entered into a plea bargain with U.S. prosecutors. In India, the deal has provoked media outrage but careful study of the Plea Agreement (accessible under Resources at beta.thehindu.com) shows that claims that Headley has got off lightly are misplaced.
Pakistan arrests halt secret UN contacts with Taliban:- The UN's former envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, has strongly criticised Pakistan's recent arrest of high-ranking Taliban leaders. Mr Eide told the BBC the arrests had completely stopped a channel of secret communications with the UN. Pakistani officials insist the arrests were not an attempt to spoil talks. Mr Eide confirmed publicly for the first time that his secret contacts with senior Taliban members had begun a year ago.
Old Friends In A New World:- As the visiting Russian Premier Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh celebrate the deepening of the Indo-Russian bilateral relationship this week with a range of impressive agreements on defence and nuclear cooperation, China will be the ghost in the room. If the two leaders do discuss the implications of a rapidly rising China for the balance of power in the region that Russia and India share, they are unlikely to say much about it in public.
Spy Chief in Pakistan to Stay On Another Year:- Pakistan�s spy chief has been granted an unusual one-year extension in his job, a move that may also pave the way for a longer term for the head of the army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who is scheduled to step down this year. The announcement extending the tenure of Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha as director of the spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, was formally made by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

China's 'Astonishing' Oil Demand:- China's demand for oil jumped by an "astonishing" 28% in January compared with the same month a year earlier, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says.The body added that demand for oil in 2010 would be underpinned by rising demand from emerging markets, with half of all growth coming from Asia. But the IEA predicted demand in developed countries would fall by 0.3%.
Indian farmers battle against nuclear plant:- A robust people's movement against a major nuclear power project has built up in a cluster of small villages on India's picturesque Konkan coast. The BBC's Zubair Ahmed reports: Some 350km (220 miles) from India's commercial capital, Mumbai, lies the village of Madban overlooking the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea. It is in this village that a 10,000 megawatt nuclear power plant is proposed - and farmers and fishermen, backed by campaigners, are hardening their stance against it.
Iran tightens petrol rations as economic sanctions loom:- Iran has announced it will cut the volume of its cheap petrol ration by 25% to 60 litres per vehicle per month from 21 March. Currently, each vehicle is allowed a quota of 80 litres of fuel at 10 cents a litre, with any amount needed on top of that priced at 40 cents. The move comes as Iran faces potential sanctions on its petrol imports.

The Khyber Issue 10

2010-03-10T02:35:36Z

About this Newsletter

March 10, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

India's Many Tongues

You�d think the citizens of a country with a population of 1.17 billion people, who between them speak more than 1,600 languages and dialects, would understood that language is about communication, not identity. Yet, time and again in India, fissures over regional identities reveal in sometimes ugly ways how far the country is from achieving this ideal.

In November last year, newly-elected Maharashtra state legislator Abu Azmi was assaulted by members of the right-wing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for insisting on taking his oath in Hindi. MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the now-estranged nephew of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, had earlier written to all 288 state legislators of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, urging them to take their oath in Marathi.

John Doerr, the legendary venture capitalist who financed Sun, once said of Khosla: �The best way to get Vinod to do something is to tell him it is impossible.�

Read the full story.


	Holy SMS. Nadeem Paracha

No Leeway Given In Picking Dalai Lama:- The new governor of Tibet said Sunday that the Dalai Lama did not have a right to choose his successor however he wanted, but instead must abide by the �requirements� of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Xinhua, the state news agency, reported. The governor, Padma Choling, speaking at a news conference during the National People�s Congress, appeared to harden the Chinese government�s position on one of the most delicate issues involving the future of the Tibetan regions in the west.
Bangladesh 'ignoring plight' of starving Burma refugees :- An American medical charity has warned that thousands of Burmese refugees in Bangladesh are facing starvation. Physicians for Human Rights said government authorities are preventing the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, from receiving adequate care. It accuses Bangladesh of obstructing efforts to help the Rohingya, who have fled Burma to escape persecution.
One-third Done :- The Women�s Reservation Bill is a powerful normative signal about the desirability of the empowerment of women. It comes against the backdrop of profound social change. Women have, by the dint of their capabilities and efforts, torn down so many barriers. Even in politics, at the top echelons, there is a striking story to be told. Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, Brinda Karat hold top leadership positions in five of the most consequential political parties.
China demands Iran nuclear talks, despite US pressure:- Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, has pledged to rebuild the southern Afghan town of Marjah following a Nato-led operation to take control of the area from the Taliban. Karzai visited the former Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand province on Sunday, in his first trip to the town since US, Nato and Afghan troops launched a major military offensive in the region in February.

Iran In Its Intricacy :- A year has passed since President Obama�s groundbreaking Nowruz offer to Iran of engagement based on mutual respect. Iran is now a different country, its divided regime weaker and confronted by the Green movement, the strongest expression of people power in the Middle East and a beacon for the region.Obama�s outreach has achieved this: the unsettling of Iran�s revolutionary power structure. That alone was worth the gambit.
Atmosphere of Mistrust :- It is unfortunate that Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor hijacked a successful trip by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh. Tharoor�s remark that Saudi Arabia could be an interlocutor for talks between New Delhi and Islamabad was embarrassing. True, an interlocutor is not a mediator. Kuldip Nayyar writes for Dawn.

Natural Law Sends AfPak Crashing:- Be it a baseball struck in a neighborhood sandlot game or in high-wire diplomacy, an elementary principle of physics holds good - what goes up must come down. In a way, the sheer dynamics of the nosedive of the United States' AfPak diplomacy in the four weeks since the London conference on Afghanistan on January 28 can be attributed to gravitational pulls.
Educated And Fearing The Future In China:- As China�s economy recovers, employers are competing to hire low-skilled workers, but many of China�s best and brightest, its college graduates, are facing a long stretch of unemployment. In 1999, the government began a push to expand college education � once considered a golden ticket � to produce more professionals to meet the demands of globalization.

Chinese Assurance:- Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi�s remark, during a press conference at Beijing the other day, that his country has neither changed its policy on the Kashmir dispute nor would it abandon Pakistan in difficult times, is only an expression of the reality on the ground. The Chinese have gone out of their way to help Pakistan, even losing the lives of their citizens in the process.
Pakistan, US agree on new Afghan set-up:- A strategic shift in Pakistan�s three-decade old Afghan policy has taken a quiet but effective shape as Islamabad has successfully negotiated a peace plan with Mustafa Zahir Shah, the grandson of late King Zahir Shah, who would play a key role in future political dispensation comprising all ethnic groups. �It is a strategic coup by Pakistan against rising Indian influence in Afghanistan,� an analyst tartly remarked commenting on the development.
Letting Women Reach Women in Afghanistan:- The Marines in a recent �cultural awareness� class scribbled careful notes as the instructor coached them on do�s and don�ts when talking to villagers in Afghanistan: Don�t start by firing off questions, do break the ice by playing with the children, don�t let your interpreter hijack the conversation.
Tibet: Two Years After The Uprising:- The Chinese are less tense and more relaxed as Tibet and Tibetans observe the second anniversary of the uprising of March 10,2008, which started in Lhasa and spread across the Tibetan areas. They have made many preventive arrests in Tibet to prevent anything untoward happening, but the high tension, which one witnessed last year, is not there.

Nuclear liability law has sting in tail for the U.S. too:- The Manmohan Singh government may be courting trouble at home by pushing a controversial new law to limit the financial exposure of nuclear companies in the event of a nuclear accident. But the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill also has a sting in its tail for the United States, which has made the passage of a liability law immunising its suppliers from lawsuits a precondition for any American nuclear sales to India.
Climate Change = War?:- For all the heat generated by discussions of global warming in recent months, it is an often overlooked fact that climate change has the potential to create border disputes that in some cases could even provoke clashes between states. Throw into the mix three nuclear-armed nations with a history of disagreements, and the stakes of any conflict rise incalculably.
India Decides To Formally Back The Copenhagen Accord:- India on Tuesday said it has decided to formally back the Climate Change Accord hammered out in Copenhagen last year joining over 100 countries that have already �associated� with the pact. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh in a suo-motu statement in the Lok Sabha said India has agreed to be listed in the preamble of the Accord subject to certain conditions. India was the last major emitter yet to formally endorse the agreement.

The Khyber Issue 9

2010-03-05T00:28:05Z

, 20

About this Newsletter

March 05, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

U.S Sells Arms To South Asian Rivals

The Obama administration is sharply expanding American weapons transfers to both India and Pakistan, longtime rivals about to sit down for peace talks Thursday.

The U.S. has sought to remain neutral in the thorny relationship between the nuclear-armed neighbors. But Washington hasn't been shy about pursuing weapons deals in the region, which officials say will lead to closer ties with each country while creating new opportunities for American defense firms.

I know Saudi Arabia has close relations with Pakistan. And I did not ask for His Majesty to do anything other than to use his good offices to persuade

Pakistan

to desist from this path.

Read the full story.


	Its Not Easy Being A Great Power In The Middle East. Daniel Drezner

Sri Lanka To Extend Emergency Laws:- Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has said he is extending the country's state of emergency and will reconvene the recently dissolved parliament next week to ratify the move. The wartime regulations, which give the government wide powers of arrest and detention without trial, are still in place despite an end to the 25-year conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels last May.
Beijing's Labor Pains:- Western media coverage of China tends to be dominated by two competing narratives. The first is all about economics. China, it contends, is an epochal success story. The economy is booming and national wealth is on the rise. The Chinese themselves are overwhelmingly satisfied with their lot. There's nowhere to go but up. The second focuses on politics.
As Afghan Role Dwindles, Doubts Grow About NATO's Future :- Washington struggled to persuade the European members of NATO to pull their military weight even in the years when the alliance's purpose was to protect them from a Soviet invasion. Now that NATO is fighting a real war against assorted insurgents far from home in Afghanistan, getting the Europeans to pony up resources is proving to be an even tougher sell � and threatening NATO's very survival.
China demands Iran nuclear talks, despite US pressure:- China says diplomacy should be given further time in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, as US officials press for new sanctions on Tehran. China's latest statement came as a senior US diplomat, James Steinberg, arrived in Beijing on the highest level visit since a series of bilateral rows.

A Government Adrift :- IMAGINE for a moment a different recent past. Zardari, overruling his insecurities, green-lights the constitutional amendment package, as a result of which the process of judicial appointments is also overhauled. So when the openings on the Supreme Court come up, CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry and the president don�t feud because the matter is left up to judicial and parliamentary committees, committees of which the CJ is but just one member and on which the president is not even represented.
In �First Step,� India and Pakistan Resume Talks :- India and Pakistan took a �first step� toward rebuilding confidence after a wide-ranging meeting between high-level diplomats that included discussions on terrorism, the Mumbai attacks, the disputed border region of Kashmir and competing water claims. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao of India described the meeting as a useful discussion, saying it would be premature to restart broader bilateral talks but adding that the two sides had agreed to keep talking informally.
Shanghai Opens Doors To Financial World:- Shanghai�s World Expo is expected to be a tourist bonanza, drawing 70 million people between May and October. But with China�s leaders aiming to turn the city into a globally competitive financial capital by 2020, it is also a golden opportunity to start recruiting bankers and barristers to settle down on the banks of the Huangpu River, Julie Makinen reports in The New York Times.
Marjah Offensive Enters Governing Phase:- The initial phase of the military offensive in southern Afghanistan to wrest Marja from insurgent control has largely ended, but the more daunting task of building a credible government in the place of Taliban rule has just begun, according to senior U.S. and Afghan officials. Helicopters bearing Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan; Karim Khalili, Afghanistan's second vice president touched down Monday afternoon next to a sandbagged, bullet-pocked school.

Indo-Pak Talks Over Already?:- Another round of Indo-Pakistani talks has drawn to a close, and, once again, there�s little to shout about. India had suspended discussions in the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008, and, given the secrecy that surrounded these latest talks, it�s far from clear what exactly was said as they resumed. But what we do know doesn�t give much cause for optimism.
C.I.A. and Pakistan Work Together, Warily:- Inside a secret detention center in an industrial pocket of the Pakistani capital called I/9, teams of Pakistani and American spies have kept a watchful eye on a senior Taliban leader captured last month. With the other eye, they watch each other. The C.I.A. and its Pakistani counterpart, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, have a long and often tormented relationship.
China Tells Colleges to Cut Ties With Oxfam:- China's education ministry has ordered colleges to cut ties with Oxfam and prevent it from recruiting on campuses, accusing its Hong Kong branch of a hidden political agenda. While Beijing is often anxious about NGOs, the British-founded agency has been working on the mainland for more than two decades in co-operation with the government. It is unclear what prompted the surprise decision.
Freedom's Our Defence:- Few things are more crooked in India than the discourse on free speech and its relation to violence. Rather than focusing on the basic framework governing speech, the debate quickly descends into the politics of double standards. There is no question that M.F. Husain�s departure from India is a serious indictment of India�s claims as a liberal democracy, and especially the ability of the state to protect those exercising their rights. But this fundamental issue was obscured by three issues that govern the politics of double standards.

Beyond Copenhagen:- For many climate-change experts, the Copenhagen summit was something of a failure. In order to make real progress on pressing climate issues, policymakers must give up on a binding deal and begin to look outside the UN process. Before last December's Copenhagen climate conference, expectations for an agreement went from sky high to rock bottom, eventually settling at some perplexing place in between.
Push To Over Simplify At Climate Panel:-In the next few days, the world's leading authority on global warming plans to roll out a strategy to tackle a tough problem: restoring its own bruised reputation. A months-long crisis at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has upended the world's perception of global warming.

China Says Moving To Enforce Greenhouse Gases Goals:- China said that it will spell out greenhouse gas emissions goals and monitoring rules for regions and sectors in its next five-year plan, with monitoring to show it is serious about curbing emissions.The Chinese government said in November it would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from human activity, emitted to make each unit of national income by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, compared with 2005 levels.

The Khyber Issue 8

2010-02-25T00:46:45Z

About this Newsletter

February 25, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

The Arrogance of China's Leadership

The West hopes that China's growing prosperity will also lead to political liberalization. But the reverse is likely to be true. The Communist Party's increasing confidence means China is set to become more of a troublemaker on the international stage, and more brutal in its crackdown on dissidents.

China's Communist Party is omnipotent. It can move mountains, as it did when it built the world's largest hydroelectric plant on the Yangtze River. It can build the world's highest railway line, as it proved when it constructed the rail link to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

Public and political opinion should refrain from creating a situation similar to the one created before 1962 when the clamour for a macho response to China's nibbling at our territory led to unwise decisions. Hit, but stealthily.

Read the full story.


	Prabhakaran Must Be Laughing: A Look At Sri Lanka's Future. Groundviews

The U.S Won't Bomb Iran, But Another Country Might:- Let's be serious for a moment. President Barack Obama will not bomb Iran. This is not because he is a liberal, or because he is a peacenik, or because he doesn't have the guts to try and "save" his presidency in this time-honored manner, as Sarah Palin said she would like him to do.
The Conflict in Afghanistan:- The largest military offensive since 2002 is now under way in the Helmand province in Afghanistan. At the same time, a consensus is emerging that the conflict in this country can ultimately not be solved by military means. I have consistently advocated the need to prepare the ground for a political process, which could lead to a political settlement. Kai Eide, UN Special Representative, writes.
India's Green Revolution Is Withering:- In the 1970s, India dramatically increased food production, finally allowing this giant country to feed itself. But government efforts to continue that miracle by encouraging farmers to use fertilizers have backfired, forcing the country to expand its reliance on imported food. Popularized during the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, fertilizers helped boost crop yields and transformed India into a nation that could feed itself. But now their overuse is degrading the farmland.
China Intensifies Tug of War With India on Nepal:- For years, Nepal never bothered too much with policing its northern border with China. The Himalayas seemed a formidable-enough barrier, and Nepal�s political and economic attention was oriented south toward India. If Nepal was a mouse trapped between elephants, as the local saying went, the elephant that mattered most was India.

Pakistan's Governance Gap Filled By Overzealous Courts :- In one small village in Pakistan�s tribal areas, parents became alarmed when their children came home from the only school available, a madrasa, and told them that they were not �real Muslims�. The predominant Pashtun society of the tribal areas takes a dim view of a maulvi interfering with non-religious matters. The community decided to set up their own school to provide their children a proper education. But after failing to obtain funding from the government or charities, they had little choice: they had to send their children back to the madrasa.
Sino-US Ties Aren't That Bad:- There seems to have been a noticeable shift in tone in the Obama administration�s approach to China, with the statement of intent to meet the Dalai Lama, the announcement of the arms sale to Taiwan and concerns being voiced over Google and hacking from China. Why is this happening now and does it reflect a substantive shift? I don�t think there�s been a major shift in the administration�s approach to China.
Karzai Has Taken Personal Control Of The Electoral Process :-The Afghan president has subverted the intended legacy of the 2001 invasion by seizing control of the electoral watchdog.Hamid Karzai's decision to take control of Afghanistan's electoral watchdog by presidential decree is a terrible blow to the intended legacy of the 2001 invasion � fair elections, democratic institutions and a constitutional government.
Burmese Refugees Prosecuted in Bangladesh:- Stateless refugees from Myanmar are suffering beatings and deportation in Bangladesh, according to aid workers and rights groups who say thousands are crowding into a squalid camp where they face starvation and disease. In a campaign that seems to have accelerated since October ethnic Rohingya refugees who have been living for years in Bangladesh are being seized, beaten and forced back to Myanmar, which they had left to escape persecution and abuse and which does not want them.

Policing Thought, Not Controlling Terror:- As Union home minister P. Chidambaram grapples with the new architecture for counter-terrorism that he says India desperately needs, here's a suggestion he ought to consider: Dismantle the Department of Bad Ideas. Never heard of it? This is the section of his ministry which recommended that preventing foreign tourists and non-resident Indians from visiting India twice in a two month period would somehow protect the country from the likes of David Headley.
Balancing Act for India as Talks With Pakistan Resume:- The resumption of diplomatic talks between India and Pakistan on Thursday comes at a critical moment, with the United States hoping that even a modest improvement in relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors could help the broader American military effort in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet achieving that is likely to prove a challenge, analysts say. Even as the foreign secretaries were preparing to meet in New Delhi, the countries have squabbled over what would be discussed.
Miliband Criticizes The LTTE:- Foreign Secretary David Miliband speaking at the Global Tamil Forum Conference in London a short while ago heavily criticized the LTTE for the violence it created and for its use of child soldiers. Speaking further, Miliband also called for an investigation into war crimes committed by the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government and called for constitutional changes and power sharing in Sri Lanka.
Q&A: Afghan Journalist in Helmand:- Majid Dawari is one of the first Afghan journalists to see first-hand the effects of fighting in the southern province of Helmand, where the biggest offensive in Afghanistan since 2001 is continuing. Unlike his Western counterparts, Mr Dawari was visiting the area without being embedded with foreign troops.

A New Approach To Tackling Climate Change:- The resignation last week of Yvo de Boer, the Dutch diplomat, as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, reflected his frustration over the Copenhagen meeting andproblems in climate change treaty design. Jagdish Bhagwati writes for FT.
Minister Admits Differences With Special Envoy:- Admitting that there might have been differences between him and former special envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said bureaucracy cannot decide policies as it was ultimately the minister who had to face Parliament."The differences might have been over style or how one approaches the problem, but I was not aware of them. I am a political personality, he (Saran) is a bureaucrat," Ramesh said.

Climate Pact Appears Increasingly Fragile:- Just two months after patching together a climate deal in Copenhagen, the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases are trying to figure out how to keep the fragile accord together, while the United Nations, which has played a central part in 15 rounds of climate talks, seems destined for a smaller role in the future.

The Khyber Issue 7

2010-02-19T02:35:16Z

About this Newsletter

The Khyber is a student-reviewed biweekly newsletter from NALSAR University, focusing on South Asian affairs. This not-for-profit venture consists of a collation of news from national, regional and international streams.

The Khyber was launched to bring oft-neglected policy discussions into mainstream academic discourse, and hopes, like the Pass from which its name is borrowed, to provide easy access for the information-thirsty traveller into this strange, misunderstood, frustrating but important part of the world.

February 19, 2010 | A South Asian Affairs Brief

What an Eggplant Uproar Says About India's Economy

The humble eggplant, known in some parts as aubergine and in South Asia as brinjal, has enjoyed a rare celebrity in India over the past few weeks. It has been the topic of spirited debate in town hall meetings and on television talk shows. The brinjal in question is no ordinary vegetable: it's full name is Bt brinjal, whose DNA scientists have fortified with a gene that kills a range of common pests. Its creators say the genetically modified vegetable will increase farm yields and bring a less pesticide-laden vegetable to Indian dining tables, where the fiery brinjal-laden baingan bharta enjoys cult status.

Tear down this wall! No wait - Tear down this Firewall!!

Read the full story.


	Proved: There is no Climate Crisis\|How the Energy Lobby is Fighting Back. Science & Public Policy Institute

Obama Meets Dalai Lama, and China Is Quick to Protest:- President Obama met with the Dalai Lama on Thursday, welcoming the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader to the White House for a low-profile meeting that nonetheless raised the hackles of China. The two men spoke about democracy, human rights and the need to preserve Tibet�s religious identity and culture � all issues that, predictably, irritated Beijing.
Sri Lanka Arrests Defeated Candidate:- The retired general who sought unsuccessfully to defeat his onetime ally in Sri Lanka�s presidential election last month was arrested on February 8 by the military police, raising concern that the country was veering into political vengeance and autocracy after having barely emerged from a quarter-century of war.
U.S. Encounters Limits of Iran Engagement Policy:- For two days this month, Gen. James L. Jones, President Obama�s national security adviser, and Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister, were in the same place at the same time, attending a high-level security conference in Munich with a number of high-ranking officials from around the world. And yet the two made no plans to meet with each other.
Chinese court upholds Liu Xiaobo's punishment:- A Chinese court upheld last week the unprecedented 11-year sentence given to a prominent scholar who had called for political reform, the latest in a string of harsh punishments for dissenters. The ruling -- the third legal defeat this week for veteran Chinese activists -- drew a rare public rebuke from the U.S. ambassador, who said Liu Xiaobo should be released immediately.

Call for �Green Revolution� in India :- At New Delhi�s Bhogal Market, pushcarts are piled high with fresh fruit and vegetables, and small shops are lined with burlap sacks filled with an array of lentils. But for 40-year-old Jamilla Khan, who has to feed three hungry teenagers on the Rs5,000 ($107, �78, £69) her husband earns each month as a driver, such foods are increasingly rare treats.
Another week, another clash :- Was this round ever going to end any differently? Never say never in Pakistan but the odds were heavily against it. Here�s why: none of the jobs of the big players were on the line. Be honest. Does anyone even know what justices Saqib Nisar and Khwaja Sharif look like? Justice Ramday may be a slightly more familiar figure but he�s still more likely to be mistaken for someone�s grandfather than a central figure in a near constitutional crisis. This is Pakistan. Nobody is going to risk their jobs for the sake of some second-tier figures.
Why China Needs the U.S - And Vice Versa - It hasn't been a banner few weeks for U.S.-China relations. In mid-January, Google announced that it was contemplating pulling out of China because of repeated attacks on its network as well as censorship constraints. In the past week, the U.S. government authorized $6 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, and the White House announced that President Obama would meet with the Dalai Lama after having postponed that visit last fall on the eve of Obama's trip to China.
Listen to the Iranian People:- Thursday promises to be another dramatic day in Iran, and to lift hopes here in the West. It�s the 31^st anniversary of the 1979 revolution, and opposition leaders have scheduled rallies of the sort that the increasingly repressive government has had trouble gracefully repressing. As we watch reformers once again face off against the black-clad motorcycle-riding Basij militia, it will be tempting to hope that maybe, somehow, the good guys will win this time.

Indian Motion:- India may well feel slighted when it comes to gratitude from the global community on Afghanistan. Currently, New Delhi is the fifth-largest donor of civilian aid to Kabul. India has constructed the new parliament building, the Palace of Democracy; trained the country's parliamentarians; and donated aircraft to resuscitate Afghanistan's national airline, Ariana. But from New Delhi's perspective, the AfPak debate is all about 'Pak'. In the WSJ, Sumit Ganguly makes a case for Indian training of the Afghan Army.
In Pakistan Raid, Taliban Chief was an Extra Prize:- When Pakistani security officers raided a house outside Karachi in late January, they had no idea that they had just made their most important capture in years.American intelligence agencies had intercepted communications saying militants with a possible link to the Afghan Taliban�s top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, were meeting. Tipped off by the Americans, Pakistani counterterrorist officers took several men into custody, meeting no resistance.
Why China�s Naval Rise Could Help the World:- Foreign observers of China's growing naval prowess might be worried by what they�ve seen in recent years. Around a hundred new warships have come off the country's slipways since 2001, while another dozen are under construction. Chinese ships are getting bigger and more powerful as Beijing builds what is shaping up to be the world's biggest submarine fleet, as well as new types of anti-ship missiles and aircraft carriers.
Politics of terrorism:- A couple of years ago when President Bush visited New Delhi he pointed towards Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to say that here was a person who had no Taliban in his country. This was not really true even at that time. The then security advisor, M.K. Narayanan, said that he had his fingers crossed because the terrorists could strike anywhere, at any time. A bomb blast in Pune a few days ago, has confirmed that Indian sleeper cells are very much there.

UN Climate Chief Resigns:- Yvo de Boer, the UN's top climate change official, says he will resign after nearly four years in the post. His departure takes effect from 1 July, five months before 193 countries are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt at a global deal on climate. Nations failed to reach a binding deal at the Copenhagen meeting in December. Mr de Boer said he was announcing his departure now so that a successor could be found well before the Mexico meeting later this year.
Global Weirding is Here:- Of the festivals of nonsense that periodically overtake American politics, surely the silliest is the argument that because Washington is having a particularly snowy winter it proves that climate change is a hoax and, therefore, we need not bother with all this girly-man stuff like renewable energy, solar panels and carbon taxes. Just drill, baby, drill. Thomas Friedman, for the NY Times.
The ever-growing population:- Just over two years ago, Rajendra K. Pachauri seemed destined for a scientist�s version of sainthood: A vegetarian economist-engineer who leads the UN climate change panel, he accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the panel, sharing the honor with Al Gore. But Dr. Pachauri and the IPCC are now under intense scrutiny, facing accusations of scientific sloppiness and potential financial conflicts of interest from skeptics, right-leaning politicians and even some mainstream scientists.

The Khyber

The Khyber Issue 17

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Id al-Fitr under the Watchful Eyes of China

New York Times

Governance

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution

Groundviews

How to fix flood-hit Pakistan

BBC News

Peace & Security

The Hindu

Interview with A.Q. Khan

Newsweek

Energy & Environment

India Scraps Approval for Lafarge Project

Economic Times

China Needs to Stop Playing Dirty on Clean Energy

Huffington Post

Op-Ed

Letter from Srinagar

Meenakshi Ganguly

From the Region

Nepal's Never Ending Elections

Eurasia Review

Prohibit Degrading Test for Rape

Human Rights Watch

China's Discreet Hold in Pakistan's Borderlands

International Herald Tribune

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About The Khyber

The Khyber Issue 16

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Billions of dollars, little goodwill

Washington Post

Governance

Motivated Arrests and Pakistani Interests

New York Times

Fire in the Hole

Foreign Policy

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The Autumn of Kashmir's Islamist Patriarch?

The Hindu

Obama's Timidity on Tibet

Wall Street Journal

Energy & Environment

India's Climate Change Diplomacy

Public Affairs Division, External Affairs Ministry

China's Clean Energy Revolution

Party for Socialism and Liberation

Op-Ed

Nuke Deal: Costs/Benefits

Brahma Chellaney

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A Himalayan Rivalry

The Economist

Let's Go Beyond Borders

The Daily Star

72 Hours in Afghanistan

Weekly Standard

Without a Supreme Court?

Hindustan Times

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The Khyber Issue 15

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Taking a High Road

The Economist

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China Bars Torture to Obtain Confessions

New York Times

Bhutan to build Gross National Happiness Centre

BBC News

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The Youth Link in SriLanka's Reconciliation Process

Daily Mirror

Kashmir Mulls Comprehensive Poll

BBC News

Energy & Environment

Copenhagen Climate Failure Blamed on Danish Text