Man (Hazara) shot dead in Quetta

QUETTA: Unknown armed men shot dead a youth due to unknown reasons here at Killi Kashmirabad, Sariab officials said Wednesday.

According to the local police, the youth identified as Sardar Muhammad was on his way home when unidentified armed men shot him at Killi Kashmirabad, Qambrani area of Sariab police station.

As a result he died on the spot. Motive behind the killing could not be ascertained.

THE NEWS

New York Times; Bomb Targets Shiite Muslims at Service in Pakistan

“Ordinary Shias going about their daily lives are being increasingly targeted and killed,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director for Human Rights Watch, which is based in New York.

While sectarian bloodshed occurs throughout Pakistan, it is concentrated in Baluchistan, a sprawling northwestern province where Taliban fighters and nationalist insurgents roam. Human Rights Watch reports that more than 300 Shiites, many from the ethnic Hazara community, have been killed in Baluchistan since 2008....Continue Reading....

Rohullah's Story - Afghanistan - Olympic 2012

Battle for small changes

DISEASES and the lack of proper hygiene, healthcare and clean drinking water are huge challenges in Afghanistan. The country has long been engaged in civil war and is isolated from mainstream development.
Two Malaysian Army doctors, Captain (Dr) Rina Sumira Sukri and Captain (Dr) Juhanis Safira Johari, both 28, relate their experiences serving with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), to render humanitarian aid to the locals....Continue Reading....

Gains In Afghan Health: Too Good To Be True?

A U.S.-sponsored mortality survey released last year announced huge improvements in health across Afghanistan. But the gains are so great that experts are still arguing about whether it's correct.

During three decades of war, Afghanistan remained a black hole of health information. The few mortality studies looked at a small slice of the population and then extrapolated...Continue Reading...

SAIL upbeat on winning the iron-ore mining contract from Afghanistan

DELHI: Steel Authority of India is confident that winning the iron-ore mining contract in Afghanistan will give the state-run company an edge over rivals in bids for exploring other minerals in the war-torn country.

"We are considering biding for other assets in Afghanistan too, including copper and gold blocks. We have bid and won such a big iron ore project. Once we have a base in Afghanistan, we will be in a better position to exploit other minerals too," SAIL chairman CS Verma said...Continue Reading..

National Geographic; Helping the Hazara of Afghanistan and Pakistan

The current predicament of ethnic and religious minorities in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a cause of grave concern, and it is essential for the international community to be aware of multiple complexities and rivalries in the region. For this article I partnered with an ethnic Hazara human rights activist and Chinese-educated medical doctor, M. Saleem Javed, based in Quetta, Pakistan to provide a brief history of this threatened community and to document the challenges they are currently facing...Continue Reading....