Pakistan gets tough with Afghan refugees

Pakistan ordered the deportation today of about 50,000 Afghan refugees from Bajaur in the restive belt of "tribal agencies" along the border with Afghanistan. "The orders have been issued to the tribal police to push all of them out," Abdul Haseeb, a local government official, said on Monday, adding that their homes would be bulldozed to keep them from returning. An estimated 20,000 refugees had returned to Afghanistan in recent weeks. Thousands more have moved to other parts of Pakistan.

The toD verdict: Government officials have long accused Afghan refugees of links to extremist armed groups. "We have reports of their links with militants and their involvement in terrorist activities," said Safirullah Wazir, the government's top administrator in Bajaur. Critics have suggestedthe move unfairly scapegoats the refugees, affording the government the convenient impression of taking action. However, the move may also signal a new genuinely hard-line approach to the growing militancy problem. The army recently launched a military offensive against insurgents in the Federally Administered Tribal Regions. Previous FATA offensives were halted prematurely by truces which allowed militants to regroup. This time the army has orders to fight until they control the entire area. Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.

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The fresh resolve of the Pakistani government hints not only at mounting US pressure, but also at a confluence of domestic factors providing a unique window of opportunity to address the security situation. Local FATA tribesmen have recently formed militias to face down destabilising foreign elements in their land. Meanwhile, devastating suicide bombings such as the blast at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel last month have increased public opinion in favour of stern action in the border regions.

In a bid to build political consensus, the government has convened a joint session of the upper and lower houses of parliament on Wednesday to discuss the situation. Could an alliance of political unity, public support and heavy military action prove the turning point of Pakistan's troubles?

Iraqi minorities face political marginalisation

Roughly 75 Christians and other peaceful protesters gathered at a church in Baghdad on Monday to demand a restoration of measures which would ensure minority political representation. A draft version of the provincial elections law Skip to next paragraphallowed for provincial council seats for Christians, Yazidis and Shabeks, but it was dropped before Parliament approved it on 24 September. There are signs however that the article may be put back into the law, which must be approved by a three-member presidential panel before it can take effect. The panel has indicated it would recommend to Parliament that the measure dealing with minorities be reinstated. Even so, the incident reflects the precarious state of Christian communities in the country; more than a million Christians used to live in Iraq, a number that has now nearly halved.

Twenty dead in Pakistan blast

A suicide bomber killed at least eighteen people and injured more than sixty others at the home of a lawmaker in Bhakkar in eastern Pakistan on Monday. The attacker attempted to force his way into the house of opposition politician Rashid Akbar Khan Nawani. According to police reports Nawani was injured but survived. The suicide bombing was the third attack this week aimed at a prominent Pakistani politician. Pakistan has been plagued by suicide attacks, killing about 1,200 people in the last year, which many believe are in reaction to the government's moves against Islamist extremists. However, there is speculation this latest attack was motivated by sectarianism. Nawani is a member of Pakistan's minority Shiite Muslim community, which some militant groups regard as a threat in this predominantly Sunni country.

Bomb blasts as Iraq and US discuss military pact

Two blasts occurred near Baghdad's Green Zone on Tuesday moments before a joint US-Iraqi press conference involving US Deputy Secretary of State Joseph Negroponte. One report claims the blasts were caused by two mortar bombs falling close to the foreign ministry. A second said the blasts were caused by car bombs. Mr Negroponte is in Iraq for talks on the handover of security to Iraqi forces. At the press conference, Iraq's Foreign Minister said Washington and Baghdad are close to a deal to keep US troops in this country next year but it will take "bold political decisions" to overcome the final hurdles.

Seventeen dead in Mogadishu clash

At least seventeen people have been killed in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday during fighting between government and anti-government forces. Islamist insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace from Bakara market. Guards and their Ethiopian allies responded by firing shells at the market. Reports indicate 3 soldiers and 12 civilians were killed. The deaths are just the latest example of rising violence in Mogadishu, which has displaced almost 40,000 people in the last few weeks. The UN has started to pull out its foreign staff from Baidoa, where Somalia's parliament is based. According to Human Right Watch, Somalia is the most ignored tragedy in the world today.

African governance improving

Governance in nearly two-thirds of sub-Saharan African countries has improved according to the new Ibrahim index. Funded by Mo Ibrahim, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, the index is a comprehensive survey of political participation, human rights and the rule of law, transparency, corruption, development and economic opportunity. Based on data from 2006, Mauritius is the best-governed out of 48 countries, Liberia was considered the most improved and Somalia is ranked last. "Obscured by many of the headlines of the past few months, the real story coming out of Africa is that governance performance across a large majority of African countries is improving," said Ibrahim.

Kenya releases 8 victims of African rendition

Eight Kenyan men deported to Ethiopia and jailed as terror suspects for more than a year have returned to Kenya. Their release comes just a few days after a report from Human Rights Watch which highlighted the victims of the 2007 Horn of Africa rendition program. Around 90 people fleeing Ethiopia's offensive in Somalia were arrested by Kenyan authorities and then unlawfully rendered to Ethiopia in early 2007, where they effectively disappeared. Reports suggest that a Kenyan human rights lawyer is to encourage the men to sue the Kenyan government for deporting them in the first place.

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