By Kaamil Ahmed
DHAKA
The Anadolu Agency's briefing on events from South Asia in the last week is as follows:
SRINAGAR, Indian-held Kashmir – A pro-India coalition will govern Muslim majority Indian-held Kashmir after state assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir gave no party a clear majority on Tuesday. India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is believed to have capitalized on the Hindu vote in the area of Jammu to increase its vote share, while many in Kashmir voted for a variety of regional parties.
NEW DELHI – At least 68 people were killed over two days of violence in India's northeastern state of Assam. The violence began on Tuesday when separatist Bodo rebels allegedly killed more than 50 people from the Adivasi tribal minority, who the rebels accused of aiding Indian security forces operations. More were killed the next day in continued militant attacks, clashes between protesters and police and revenge attacks on Bodo families.
KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan police said Tuesday that they had killed 151 Taliban militants over 10 days of fighting in the eastern province of Kunar, which borders Pakistan. Afghan forces began an anti-militant operation there after more than 1,000 militants reportedly clashed with locals in the area of Dangam. It is also believed to be the area where the head of the Pakistani Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah, is hiding.
KARACHI, Pakistan – Still reeling from a Taliban school siege that killed more than 100 students in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan's government decided to move high-profile terror cases to special army courts on Wednesday. Human rights groups objected to the move, which gives more power to the army.
-- The country's Supreme Court suspended the hanging of six people convicted of terrorism, shortly after the government hanged six others found guilty of terrorism in the wake of the Peshawar attack, ending a moratorium on executions.
DHAKA, Bangladesh – A former minister was sentenced to death on Tuesday after being found guilty of war crimes committed during Bangladesh's 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Mohammad Kaiser was a leader of the Jatiya Party, which is in coalition with the ruling Awami League. He became the first person sentenced to death by Bangladesh's war crimes investigation, known as the International Crimes Tribunal, who was never a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Flooding and landslides killed seven people and affected 700,000 more throughout Sri Lanka over the three days following Christmas Eve. According to Sri Lankan disaster authorities, 17 out of the country's 25 districts were affected by the bad weather.
KATHMANDU, Nepal – A right-wing Hindu political party began a 10-day campaign for Nepal to be declared a Hindu state. Rastriya Prajatantra Party want a referendum on whether Nepal should be considered Hindu or secular in the constitution, which is currently being drafted following the end of a decade-long civil war in 2006.
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