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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 98
11 - 17 November 2006


CONTENTS:

PAKISTAN: New bill on women's rights divides opinion
PAKISTAN: Lonely truck drivers face HIV/AIDS threat
PAKISTAN: Humanitarian situation stable as quake zone descends into
   winter
AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian work is the task of aid workers, not
   soldiers, Security Council team told
AFGHANISTAN: WFP to provide aid to vulnerable in restive south
AFGHANISTAN: Growing insurgency and booming opium trade major
   challenges - Security Council
NEPAL: Bilateral refugee talks planned
NEPAL: Preparations begin for demobilisation and disarmament


PAKISTAN: New bill on women's rights divides opinion

The Protection of Women bill, finally passed by Pakistan's National 
Assembly on Wednesday after many months of bitter debate and 
controversy, continues to divide public opinion. On Thursday, the 
Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA), an alliance of religious parties which 
holds 53 seats in the 342-member national assembly, upped the pressure 
on the government by threatening to resign collectively.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56412&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


PAKISTAN: Lonely truck drivers face HIV/AIDS threat

Leaning against his brightly painted truck, Muhammad Rafiq, 30, looks 
furtively at the two condoms he holds in his hand. "I plan to use these 
soon, but I hope I can remember to do so when the time comes," he says, 
a little shyly.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56372&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


PAKISTAN: Humanitarian situation stable as quake zone descends into 
winter

The humanitarian situation across Pakistan's northern 
earthquake-affected region has remained stable after the first 
widespread heavy rain and snow of the Himalayan winter over the weekend, 
officials said on Monday.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56353&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian work is the task of aid workers, not soldiers, 
Security Council team told

A leading Afghan NGO body on Thursday called on the United Nations (UN) 
to give greater support to aid agencies in delivering humanitarian 
assistance. The call came as foreign soldiers, who are battling the 
growing insurgency in the country, have become increasingly involved in 
aid and development work. This has impacted on the impartiality of aid 
workers, NGOs say.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56405&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


AFGHANISTAN: WFP to provide aid to vulnerable in restive south

Tens of thousands of people affected by the recent conflict and this 
year's harsh drought in southern Afghanistan will receive food 
assistance, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on 
Tuesday in the capital, Kabul. "Over 1,300 mt of food will be 
distributed to over 81,000 people displaced by the recent conflict in 
Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces this month," said Ebadullah 
Ebadi, a public information officer with WFP.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56373&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


AFGHANISTAN: Growing insurgency and booming opium trade major challenges 
- Security Council

The growing Taliban-led insurgency and the ongoing rise in opium 
production are the major challenges facing war-ravaged Afghanistan, head 
of a United Nations Security Council mission to the country, Japanese 
Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, said on Sunday in the Afghan capital, Kabul. 
His comments coincided with the publication of a gloomy report which 
warns that insurgent activity has risen fourfold and has claimed the 
lives of 3,700 people this year in Afghanistan.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56354&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


NEPAL: Bilateral refugee talks planned

Bhutanese refugees taking shelter in seven camps in eastern Nepal are 
pinning their hopes for a lasting solution to their plight on 
forthcoming bilateral talks between Kathmandu and Bhutanese government 
officials, said a spokesman for the refugees in the capital on Monday.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56352&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


NEPAL: Preparations begin for demobilisation and disarmament

Preparations have begun in Nepal to start the management of Maoist 
soldiers and their weapons, government officials said on Wednesday. The 
rebels signed a landmark peace deal with the interim government of seven 
national parties on 8 November after nearly a decade of armed conflict 
which resulted in the deaths of over 14,000 people.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56386&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


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