January 6: India/Pakistan
India and Pakistan agree to reopen a rail link between Munabao in the Indian state of Rajasthan and Khokrapar in Pakistan. The line has been closed for more than forty years, since the two countries were at war in 1965. This agreement is the latest result of a peace process between India and Pakistan that began in 2004. The rivals, both with nuclear capabilities, hope that the new rail service will further help to ease tensions.
January 8: Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai extends an invitation for reconciliation to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, who has been in hiding since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. Karzai says he would like all Afghans to return to their home country no matter what their political affiliation. However, Taliban spokesmen reject the invitation, labeling Karzai as a “mouthpiece of Americans.”
January 22: Bangladesh
An antigovernment strike closes schools, shops, and public transport in more than sixty cities and towns across Bangladesh. The strike, led by the main opposition group Awami League, protests a suspected government plan that would compile new voter lists allegedly favoring the ruling coalition. Authorities deploy seven thousand troops in the capital city of Dhaka to deter violence.
January 25: India
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah holds talks in India with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two leaders agree to work together on fighting terrorism and promoting investment. Saudi Arabia supplies a quarter of India’s oil, which India needs to support its booming economy. King Abdullah is the first Saudi king to travel to India in over fifty years.
February 2: India
The Indian government launches one of the most ambitious antipoverty programs in its history. The National Rural Guarantee Scheme promises one hundred days of work a year to one member of each of India’s 60 million rural households. If no work is available, an unemployment allowance will be provided. Critics argue that the program is too expensive and the money would be better spent on investments in rural infrastructure, particularly in health care and education.
February 2: Afghanistan
A suicide bomber in Afghanistan kills several people when a car filled with explosives blows up at a checkpoint in the southeastern province of Khost. The chief of security of Khost, Ghulam Nabi Salim, says that Taliban rebels and foreign fighters cross into Afghanistan’s three southeastern provinces from Pakistan. In 2005, 1,400 people were killed in suicide attacks, fueling fears that militants in Afghanistan try to copy tactics of Iraqi insurgents.
February 8: Nepal
Voters shun Nepal’s local elections, with initial estimates of turnout at about 10 percent. Eligible voters have been deterred by an opposition boycott and a strike ordered by Maoist rebels. Both groups claim that the elections are a sham with the aim of entrenching King Gyanendra’s direct rule.
February 12: Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s main opposition Awami League returns to parliament, ending a year-long boycott. Nearly sixty legislators reenter the chamber, led by party leader Sheikh Hasina. Hasina ends the boycott in order to introduce electoral reform proposals, which she says are necessary to ensure that the next election is free and fair. The boycott began in December 2004, following the Awami League’s claims that it was not being allowed to speak in debates.
March 2: India
During his first visit to India, U.S. President George W. Bush concludes a controversial nuclear agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which will end international isolation of India over its nuclear policy. Under the deal, India, which never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), will be allowed to purchase nuclear fuel and reactor components from other countries, and will have access to the U.S. civil nuclear technology. In exchange, India agrees to classify more than half of its nuclear power reactors as civilian facilities and open them to international inspections. The critics of the deal argue that military and fast-breeder reactors, without inspections, will allow India to develop and produce nuclear weapons faster than before. The agreement has to be ratified by the U.S. Congress.
March 21: Nepal
Nepalese authorities say that thirty-six policemen and Maoist rebels have been killed in clashes throughout the country. The clashes come two days after rebels lift a six-day old nationwide blockade of major cities. The blockade was aimed at forcing King Gyanendra to cede the direct powers he seized in February 2005. Maoist rebels took up arms ten years ago with the aim of replacing the monarchy with a communist republic. The violence has claimed more than 13,000 lives thus far.
March 23: India
Sonia Gandhi, India’s governing Congress Party leader, announces her resignation from parliament amid claims that she holds another salaried public position with the National Advisory Council. The Indian constitution forbids all members of parliament from receiving money from another public post. Main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disagrees with Congress about whether membership on the National Advisory Council violates this stipulation. Gandhi led Congress to a great victory in the 2004 elections.
March 28: Afghanistan
An Afghan man jailed for converting to Christianity is freed upon being declared unfit for trial. Abdul Rahman could have faced the death penalty for rejecting Islam under the country’s Islamic Sharia law. The Afghan government came under considerable international pressure to protect Rahman’s human rights, while domestic religious hard-liners are protesting against his release. The United Nations is working with the Afghan government to find a country that will grant Rahman asylum.
April 10: Afghanistan/India
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sign bilateral agreements on education and rural development in India’s capital, Delhi. Afghanistan is interested in close relations with India, which has provided funds for its reconstruction. India, on the other hand, wants a friendly Afghanistan, which is a gateway to significant energy resources in Central Asia. It also wants to counter Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan.
April 24: Nepal
Nepal’s King Gyanendra agrees to reinstate Parliament after weeks of protests organized by the opposition against his absolute rule. A couple of days earlier, the king asked the opposition parties to choose a candidate for a prime minister. King Gyanendra dismissed the government and assumed direct rule in February 2005, saying the move was necessary to fight the Maoist insurgency.
May 4: India/Pakistan
India and Pakistan agree to open a trade route through the Line of Control in the contested Kashmir region. The trade link marks some progress in the latest round of peace talks, which have been moving slowly since the 2003 cease-fire between India and Pakistan. The two sides also agreed to open a second bus route, which will run between Poonch in Indian-administered Kashmir and Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
May 18: Nepal
The Nepalese Parliament unanimously approves a plan that strips King Gyanendra of much of his powers, including his control of the military and the royal family’s freedom from taxation. Cutting the king’s powers has been a key demand of pro-democracy protestors and Maoist rebels, who want to establish a republic. King Gyanendra seized direct powers in 2005, prompting mass protests.
May 19: Afghanistan
Key Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah is captured in the southern Afghani province of Kandahar. U.S.-led coalition forces have been pursuing Dadullah for more than four years. He is a former member of the Taliban’s ten-member leadership council, and is widely known as one of the most brutal Taliban commanders.
July 24: Pakistan
A new nuclear reactor is being built in Pakistan, according to a nuclear monitoring institute in the United States. The reactor could bring about an arms race in the region, as Pakistan and India attempt to rival each other’s nuclear capabilities.
July 27: India
The United States House of Representatives approves an agreement to share nuclear technology with India. Critics argue the deal sends the wrong message to other countries, such as Iran, which are also attempting to build nuclear programs. Some also fear that the deal will set off a nuclear arms race in the region.
July 31: Sri Lanka
Heavy fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers continues in a dispute over access to a blockaded canal in the Trincomalee district. The government claims the advance is an effort to open the canal’s gates to give nearby villages access to water. The attack presents a further obstacle to the international ceasefire monitoring mission.
July 31: Afghanistan
NATO forces, led by the UK and Canada, officially gain control over military operations in southern Afghanistan. The operation represents the first land deployment outside of Europe for NATO. The southern area of Afghanistan has seen a recent upsurge of violence. The mission is focused on providing security and assisting the reconstruction of infrastructure, such as schools, roads, and hospitals.
August 28: Afghanistan
A suspected suicide bomber blows himself up in a busy market in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, killing 17 people and injuring 47. Insurgents have recently intensified their attacks against government and foreign forces in the south and east of the country. So far this year, casualties amount to 2,000 people, including militants, civilians, aid workers, Afghan soldiers, and 90 foreign troops.
September 13: India
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Brazil, where he and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sign multi-million dollar trade deals. The trade deals, which involve technology and alternative energy sources of development, are intended to increase ties between the two major emerging economies.
September 18: Sri Lanka
Tensions increase in Sri Lanka after the bodies of 11 murdered Muslim men are found in the town of Ampara. The government and the Tamil Tiger rebels exchange blame, while many citizens of the town blame the Special Task Force (STF) of the local police for the killings. The STF denies the killings. Muslims have been caught up in recent violence between the Tamils and the mainly Sinhalese government, despite the two sides having agreed to a ceasefire in 2002.
October 5: Afghanistan
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) takes command of 10,000 U.S. troops in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan, considered by many to be an al-Qaeda stronghold. With 31,000 troops, Afghanistan is the biggest NATO ground deployment in history. The supreme commander of NATO has said its exit strategy is a matter of economic and political reconstruction rather than a military victory.
October 5: Nepal
Seventy Tibetan refugees are shot at by Chinese border guards while trying to flee to a UN-sponsored refugee center in Nepal. Two are killed, several are injured, and forty-two enter Nepal safely. Hundreds of Tibetans try to cross the border each year attempting to escape Chinese rule.
October 17: Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan Supreme Court reverses the 1987 merger of two majority Tamil-speaking provinces. The Indo-Sri Lankan accord required that Sri Lanka merge the two provinces and that the Tamils put down their arms. The referendum that was to solidify the merger never took place because people displaced by conflict had not yet returned. The Tamils were denied representation in the court case.
November 13: Pakistan
In Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, a bill is passed to set up a Taliban-style department to enforce Islamic morality. The department, headed by a cleric, is able to utilize the police “to promote virtue and prevent vice,” as well as address issues such as honor killing of women and child labor. The governing party, a Taliban-sympathetic alliance, claims this bill is an important step in promoting an Islamic system.
November 22: Nepal
Celebrations take place in Nepal after the government and the country’s Maoist rebels sign a landmark peace agreement. The accord formally ends a ten-year insurgency during which 13,000 people were killed. Rebels have agreed to have their weapons monitored by the UN in exchange for joining a transitional government.
November 22: Bangladesh
After weeks of protests, the chief election commissioner of Bangladesh, MA Aziz, agrees to step aside for three months. The Awami League Party and its allies accuse Aziz of bias towards the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), resulting in a recent nationwide transport blockade to demand Aziz’s resignation. A caretaker government is currently running Bangladesh until the next elections.
November 30: India
Indian police charge 30 people in connection to the Mumbai bombings that killed 185 people in July. The Indian authorities claim Azam Cheema, an alleged Pakastani commander in the Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba, was the mastermind behind the attacks. The two countries have recently revived talks after Pakistan denied India’s accusations of its involvement in the Mumbai bombings.
December 5: India
Former Indian cabinet minister Shibu Soren is sentenced to life in prison for murdering his aide, Shashinath Jha, in 1994. The conviction embarrasses the Indian government and gives weight to opposition accusations that the government shields corrupt politicians. A recent study reports that nearly 25 percent of India’s parliamentarians face criminal charges.