A day after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh warned Pakistan of an armed conflict, saying it was capable of giving a “bigger blow” with its advanced naval prowess.

“Pakistan needs to understand that Indian Navy has become much stronger… They should know our capabilities and we can use them if required,” NDTV quoted the Indian defence minister as saying on Saturday.

The statement comes amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations.

On August 5, New Delhi revoked the semi-autonomous status of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), along with imposing severe restrictions including curfew and communication blockade.

This is not the first time Indian leadership has resorted to warmongering.

Earlier this month, India’s army chief General Bipin Rawat said they were ready to occupy Azad Kashmir if Narendra Modi’s government gave a go-ahead.

Even Singh had made a veiled threat of a nuclear war in the region.

“Pokhran is the area which witnessed Atal Ji’s firm resolve to make India a nuclear power and yet remain firmly committed to the doctrine of ‘No First Use’. India has strictly adhered to this doctrine. What happens in future depends on the circumstances,” Singh wrote on his verified Twitter handle in August.

The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear tests conducted by India at the Indian army’s Pokhran Test Range in May 1998 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister.

IN THE NEWS: VOTER TURNOUT FALLS SHARPLY IN AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION (SEPTEMBER 29, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Voter turnout falls sharply in Afghan presidential election
SOURCE: Al Jazeera
Sunday, September 29, 2019

* Low turnout, technical glitches mark Afghan presidential election today
* Afghanistan elections: US calls for transparent process today

A preliminary count of voter participation in the first round of Afghanistan’s presidential vote indicates a sharp drop in turnout, in an election held amid Taliban threats to disrupt the process.

The initial tally, released on Sunday by Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission with data from slightly more than half the polling stations, showed that just under 1.1 million people had voted the previous day.

If that turnout trend holds, it would represent a participation level of less than 25 percent – lower than any of Afghanistan’s three presidential elections since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

About 9.6 million citizens of the war-torn nation – with an estimated population of 35 million – had registered to vote in Saturday’s election, which was held at some 4,900 polling stations. (more…)

IN THE NEWS: AFGHAN ELECTION COULD CREATE ANOTHER STATE OF CHAOS (SEPTEMBER 28, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Afghan election could create another state of chaos
SOURCE: Asia Times
Saturday, September 28, 2019
By M.K. BHADRAKUMAR

During an exclusive interview with The Associated Press this week, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai severely questioned the rationale behind the presidential election that was due to take place in his country on Saturday. Those who drive the Afghan policy in the Indian establishment should take careful note.

Karzai’s opinion runs completely contrary to the Indian stance. New Delhi must be the only world capital that is enthusiastic about the Afghan presidential election. The Indian establishment has exhorted Afghan people (“brothers and sisters”) to turn out in large numbers to cast their ballots.

The Indian calculus is that by rigging the election, the incumbent president Ashraf Ghani and his group will be able to secure another four years in power. What brings the Indian establishment and Ghani’s group on the same page is their common interest in preventing the Taliban from holding the levers of power in Kabul, no matter what it takes. India has emerged in the most recent years as the main patron of Ghani’s group.

Ghani’s group comprises figures like the country’s security czar Amrullah Saleh, whose policy trajectory is hostile to Islamabad, which helps New Delhi’s hardline policies toward Pakistan. In this warped “Chanakyan” thinking – “your enemy’s enemy is my friend” – India stands to gain if Pakistan is bogged down in a seamless war of attrition, sandwiched between its two hostile neighbours.

A hostile regime in Kabul will never compromise on the Durand Line, which implies that Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will remain under challenge for the foreseeable future if Ghani and his group remain in power. As for the Indian policy, it is determined to establish “physical jurisdiction” over Pakistan-administered Kashmir and northern areas of Pakistan proper. (more…)

IN THE NEWS: PAKISTAN: CHANGE THE SYSTEM, NOT JUST ITS FACE (SEPTEMBER 27, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Pakistan: Change the system, not just its face
SOURCE: Asia Times
Friday, September 27, 2019
By IMAD ZAFAR

Politics in Pakistan has long been the toughest of jobs. The graveyard in Ghari Khuda Baksh, where the family of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is buried, is a testimony that in a country where the deep state rules and enjoys a monopoly over state affairs, politicians are probably the most vulnerable and most criticized segment. State propaganda under the influence of the security establishment has made sure that not a single military dictator or top establishment official should be blamed for the country’s failure to progress on the economic front and for its global isolation on the diplomatic front.

However, things are gradually changing, and the defiance of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz has produced a situation where the deep state cannot run state affairs through its puppet government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and giving space to Sharif spells the end of the game for the establishment.

Sharif is biding his time right now and remaining in jail. He has advised his lawyers to ask for time to prepare his case. The Islamabad High Court is hearing Sharif’s petition in the wake of the scandal over a video of the judge who convicted Sharif confessing that he had been pressured by the invisible forces to do so.

In the meantime, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and his close aide ex-prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi have also been sent to jail. Now Maryam is being sent to the same Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore where her father is imprisoned. Father and daughter now can communicate directly and can devise a strategy that will need no interpreter or messenger. This can be seen as either a blessing in disguise for Sharif or an old carrot-and-stick strategy of the establishment. (more…)

IN THE NEWS: AFGHANISTAN’S 2019 ELECTION – WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR ON ELECTION DAY (SEPTEMBER 26, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Political Landscape: Afghanistan’s 2019 Election. What to watch out for on election day
SOURCE: Afghanistan Analysts Network
Thursday, September 26, 2019
By THOMAS RUTTIG, MARTINE VAN BIJLERT, ALI YAWAR ADILI and JELENA BJELICA

Past Afghan elections have frequently been bewildering and surreal, even for those following the politics of the country for a long time. With this in mind, and taking into account the recent measures adopted to try to stave off a repeat of the chaos, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, Martine van Bijlert, Ali Yawar Adili and Jelena Bjelica (with input from Obaid Ali) have put together this brief guide. It discusses crucial issues on and around election day that could both affect the election and indicate how the rest of the process might go. They discuss: the implications of the lack of reliable data, the likely impact of insecurity on turnout and vote shares, the likely role of social media in the election, the potential improvements and risks provided by biometric voter verification, the role of observers and agents, and the thorny issues of turnout and voter disenfranchisement.

1. Lack of reliable baseline data and of transparency

Elections in Afghanistan, in general, are complicated by a lack of reliable baseline data, including exact population figures and the total number of eligible voters. In a significant improvement over previous elections, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) has since 2018 sought to establish a fixed voter list that connects voters to specific polling stations. This gives greater control over where voters can be expected to turn up and limits the possibilities for mass ballot stuffing.

However, the key figures released by the IEC – on how many Afghans have registered to vote, and how many polling centres and polling stations are planned to open – are incomplete and contradictory, as they were during the 2018 parliamentary elections. This is concerning, as these figures form the foundation of the IEC’s measures to prevent and address fraud.
Inconsistencies, ambiguities and a failure to release or update figures may indicate that the IEC is either not fully in control of its own data gathering, management and vetting procedures, or that it is intentionally keeping the figures vague. This leads, at best to a lack of clarity and suspicions of manipulation, and at worst to providing actual opportunities to perpetrate and cover up fraud.

This guide looks at three types of data: the number of registered voters, the existence of inaccuracies in the voter lists, and the number of planned-to-be-opened polling sites. (more…)

IN THE NEWS: TRUMP URGES INDIA, PAKISTAN TO ‘WORK IT OUT’ (SEPTEMBER 26, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Trump urges India, Pakistan to ‘work it out’
SOURCE: The Express Tribune
Thursday, September 26, 2019

NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he encouraged India and Pakistan to work out their differences in separate meetings with their prime ministers this week.

“I said, ‘Fellas, work it out. Just work it out,’” Trump told a news conference after attending the UN General Assembly.

“Those are two nuclear countries. They’ve gotta work it out,” he said.
Tensions have soared this year between India and Pakistan, which have fought three full-fledged wars, two over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

New Delhi last month revoked the Muslim-majority Indian Occupied Kashmir’s autonomy and imposed a clampdown that included snapping off internet and cellular communications and mass arrests of Kashmiris.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the United States to take up Kashmir, but India has long refused outside mediation.

Trump showed his support on Sunday for Modi by attending a rally with him before Indian-Americans in Houston, where the Hindu nationalist leader accused Pakistan of fomenting extremism.

On Monday, he reiterated his offer for mediation between Pakistan and India but emphasised that arbitration could not be carried out unless both the parties involved welcome it. (more…)

IN THE NEWS: TALIBAN’S PRIME OBJECTIVES: US WITHDRAWAL, ‘ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ISLAMIC GOVERNMENT’ (SEPTEMBER 25, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Taliban’s prime objectives: US withdrawal, ‘establishment of an Islamic government’
SOURCE: The Long War Journal
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 (Posted)
By BILL ROGGIO

The Taliban reiterated that its prime objectives in negotiations with the US is to get Coalition forces to withdrawal from Afghanistan and the “establishment of an Islamic government,” a thinly veiled reference to the return of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

The Taliban also said that it was “religiously” obligated to continue fighting until the US leaves the country.

The message is nothing new. The Taliban has repeatedly stated that it has a religious obligation to wage jihad to expel foreign forces, and has said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is the only true representative of the Afghan people.

The Taliban made the most recent claims in a short statement, titled Occupation and Ceasefire!!, published on its official website, Voice of Jihad, on Sept. 21.

In the statement, the Taliban argued that the US canceled negotiations to withdraw because the US would not agree to the ceasefire. The Taliban said that a ceasefire “will only prolong and strengthen the occupation,” and that it will continue to fight until the US agrees to leave. (more…)

IN THE NEWS: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY IN AFGHANISTAN (SEPTEMBER 24, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Presidential Election is a Golden Opportunity to Strengthen Democracy in Afghanistan
SOURCE: Daily Outlook Afghanistan
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
By MOHAMMAD ZAHIR AKBARI

In recent weeks, the election campaigns have been decentralized from Kabul to remote provinces and main districts of Afghanistan. The Presidential candidates have increased their trips to remote provinces so as to explain their programs to the people. On the other hand, people warmly participate in election campaign gatherings to hear the programs of the presidential candidates. Few days ago Mr. Sarwar Danesh went to Jaghori and warmly welcomed with bunches of flowers and large gathering of people including men, women, intellectuals and other elders of Jaghori people. Thus, he traveled to Daikundi and other provinces facing with unprecedented warm welcome of huge number of people.

In general, election has become as a hot topic among the citizens; everywhere has beatified with posters, slogans and pictures of presidential candidate members. Every citizen including students, teachers, drivers, shop keepers and other social gatherings are talking about their favorite candidates. Social media network users, especially face-book users have become more active; they post hundreds of pictures, notes, slogans and comments against or in interests of their favorite candidates. These all show the interests and readiness of Afghan people for participation in the upcoming presidential election.

Given the positive reaction to cancellation of faulty peace process by Donald Trump and warm welcome to presidential candidates, especially from the current president and his team, people will say no to extremist groups by warm participation in the upcoming election. Also, given the social diversity of the country and bitter experience from the past, people have gotten the right path which is election and overall promotion of democracy in the country. Therefore, Afghan people seem very determined to participate in the upcoming election at any cost but not repeat the unfortunate circumstances of the past. (more…)

IN THE NEWS: KARZAI, AFGHAN POLITICIANS PUSH FOR HALTING ELECTION EFFORTS (SEPTEMBER 24, 2019)

Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten

Karzai, Afghan Politicians Push For Halting Election Efforts
SOURCE: TOLO News
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 (Posted)
By SIYAR SIRAT

* Instead of an election, this group of Afghan leaders — which includes a former Taliban member — want efforts to be made for peace
* Afghan Govt Firmly Focuses On Election For Now: Sediqqi
* Afghan Peace ‘Highest Priority’for US: Envoy

Afghan leaders including former President Hamid Karzai, former Mujahideen leaders, and former Taliban, in a nine-article statement, called for stopping the election and focusing on peace.

Other figures who attended the meeting were former Vice President Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, former Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor, former Minister of Energy and Water Mohammad Ismail Khan, former National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta and former Taliban member Agha Jan Mutasim.

They argued that the election will lead the country towards a deeper political and social crisis and that the US-Taliban negotiations should resume as soon as possible.

Besides the lack of Afghan control over the election, the security situation is not suitable for voting and therefore a large number of people will be prevented from casting their vote, the members of the gathering contended. (more…)