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Modi Fails to Pacify Opposition; Pakistani Taliban Move to the Mountains; Ghani Seeks Support at London Conference

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Modi Fails to Pacify Opposition; Pakistani Taliban Move to the Mountains; Ghani Seeks Support at London Conference

Modi Fails to Pacify Opposition; Pakistani Taliban Move to the Mountains; Ghani Seeks Support at London Conference

<p> <i>Event Notice: Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Pakistan, today, 12:15 - 1:45 p.m. (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmO-qSUgrpRA0878 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">New America</a>).</i> </p><br><p> <i>Bonus Read: ISAF Releases Completed Investigation on 2014 Marshal Fahim Incident (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmO-qSUgrpHAf8e6 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">CENTCOM</a>).</i> </p><br><p> <b>India</b> </p><br><p> <i>Indian PM fails to pacify opposition</i> </p><br><p> Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to pacify opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) in New Delhi on Thursday, after Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, one of his ministers, created a controversy at an election rally in the capital earlier this week by saying voters must "decide whether you want a government of those born of (Hindu god) Ram, or those born illegitimately" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmO-qSUgrpPA3306 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTbn2_VZkA0c8a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank"> WSJ</a>). Jyoti's hate speech against non-Hindus resulted in an uproar with parliamentarians from the opposition parties demanding her resignation. Although Jyoti -- a first-time member of parliament -- apologized for her remarks, opposition parties continued to demand her resignation by staging walkouts and shouting slogans. </p><br><p> Modi, addressing the Rajya Sabha, said: "I request the house that now that the minister has given an apology, and there is a message in it for all of us - let us get on with our work in the interest of the country" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNjdAe6ef style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Reuters</a>). Opposition parties, not satisfied with Modi's comments, forced an adjournment in the Rajya Sabha. Sitaram Yechury, a member of the Rajya Sabha and leader of the Communist Party of India, said: "An apology means [an] admission of guilt, and in this case the [Indian] Constitution has been violated. How can she remain a minister? Niranjan Jyoti must resign" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNjoA336f style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>). </p><br><p> <i>Indian navy chief cautions over naval threats</i> </p><br><p> Adm. R. K. Dhowan, the chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, addressed the nation's maritime security efforts in response to the rising "terror threats" at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNjuA15ef style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNj7A1d88 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank"> Times of India</a>). Dhowan said that India has taken into account the Sep. incident where al-Qaeda militants attempted to hijack PNS Zulfiqar, a Pakistani warship. Dhowan also said: "When the officer of the watch reports to the captain, 'We have a warship from another navy on our starboard bow,' the captain would say, 'Wish him good morning,' as he is in international waters and so are you. But in this changed environment, we may not wish him any longer. Instead we may have to find who he is" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNkFAbdb5 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Business Standard</a>). </p><br><p> Dhowan further spoke about China's increased presence in the Indian Ocean, noting that: "China has been deploying nuclear submarines. India is concerned. But India cannot do much as these are international waters," and further elaborated: "We have to protect our interest. Lack of submarines and helicopters is a concern but we have to fight with what we have" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNkKAf06d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>). Recently Chinese submarines were seen docked in Colombo, Sri Lanka. </p><br><p> <i>Bicycle pumps used in sterilization surgery</i> </p><br><p> The Odisha state government -- located in eastern India -- stopped mass sterilizations on Tuesday, days after a doctor used a bicycle pump to inflate 56 women's abdomens during tubectomies (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNkTA6745 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Daily Mail</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNkaAeeeb style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank"> Hindustan Times</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNklAd08b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank"> BBC</a>). According to state officials, the pumps were used instead of carbon dioxide to keep the abdomens inflated during the surgery. Aarti Ahuja, Odisha's senior health official, said: "The government has decided that henceforth no such camp will be organized for sterilization to ensure quality care. Only established healthcare centres with proper operation theatres can conduct the surgeries adhering to universal infection prevention practices... Stringent action will taken against those found not following standard operation procedures" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNkwAadc0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Times of India</a>). </p><br><p> Mahesh Chandra Rout, the doctor who performed these surgeries, said: "Cycle pumps are routinely used in many other parts of the state in the absence of costly medical equipment. There is no reason to make a big fuss about it as it has been proved fairly safe, and an affordable alternative" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNk7A208a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Times of India</a>). Last month, 13 women died in Chhattisgarh -- located in central India -- after botched sterilization surgeries. Family planning camps are routinely held in India as part of a program to control India's large population, where women who undergo such sterilization surgeries are paid nominal amounts. </p><br><p> <i>-- Neeli Shah</i> </p><br><p> <b>Pakistan</b> </p><br><p> <i>Pakistani Taliban driven to the hills</i> </p><br><p> Four Pakistani Taliban commanders told Reuters that U.S. drone strikes and tension with local tribesmen forced them to move from small Afghan towns to mountainous border areas in the region (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOTOhtVNlKA963b style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Reuters</a>). The presence of allied Pakistani and Afghan Taliban members on both sides of the border has long been a point of contention between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although Pakistani Taliban commanders fighting against Pakistan have been seeking refuge in remote areas of Afghanistan for years, the insurgency has been weakened in recent weeks due to drone strikes and tribesman in Afghanistan's Kunar province rebelling against the militants. Two of the commanders speaking to Reuters said that they narrowly escaped a drone strike in November. </p><br><p> <i>Pakistan signs CASA power accord</i> </p><br><p> Pakistan, along with Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic signed an accord to expand regional cooperation on energy, according to a statement by the Prime Minister's office on Thursday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOnfZxg_yTAb235 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>). CASA 1000, a Central and South Asia transmission line sponsored by the World Bank, will bring 1,000MW of hydroelectric power from Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic to Pakistan and 300MW to Afghanistan. The Pakistani statement said: "This is a historic achievement of the present government towards opening a regional economic corridor between central Asia and South Asia." </p><br><p> <b>Afghanistan </b> </p><br><p> <i>Ghani seeks endorsements at London conference </i> </p><br><p> As the London Conference on Afghanistan officially began on Thursday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was expected to ask the delegates from more than 50 nations for support for his plan for a "transformation decade" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOnfZxg_ycAa1a0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">AP</a>). This plan includes guaranteeing that aid donors will not abandon Afghanistan after international combat troops pull out of the country at the end of this year. According to the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group, a coalition of charities, which is participating in the conference, three-quarters of aid organizations working in Afghanistan said they had seen development funding fall in the past year (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOnfZxg_ykA5411 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>). Discussions at the conference will focus on security, corruption, and political reform. </p><br><p> <i>New police chief appointed in Kabul</i> </p><br><p> Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior (MOI) confirmed Abdul Rehman Rahimi as the new police chief of Kabul on Thursday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOnfZxg_ypA9c73 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>). Col. Mohammad Humayun, a senior MOI official, told <i>Pajhwok Afghan News</i> that Rahimi was suggested for the position by the MOI, then approved by the president. Rahimi's installment as police chief comes just a week after Gen. Zahir Zahir resigned over a dramatic rise in militant attacks in the capital city in the past month, although Zahir's spokesman initially sparked confusion by claiming that his resignation had been rejected (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c721qb4.1xro/VIBfwEmOnfZxg_yzA5f92 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>). </p><br><p> <i>-- Emily Schneider</i> </p><br><p> <i>Edited by Peter Bergen</i> </p><br>

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