Pakistan Slowly Boils

Pakistan continues its slow boil of unrest as the Musharraf government laid siege to an extremist mosque and school in Islamabad at the end of last week. The mosque is the headquarters for a group of extremist Islamists who seek to enact their strict version of Islamic law in Pakistan. The mosque has utilized students to harass local businesses, officials, and Chinese immigrants. Reportedly, over 1,000 students have emerged from the mosque in the last few days, but the government assumes that hundreds may still be holed up inside.

Tensions continue to escalate as Musharraf had his own personal “bring it on” moment when he announced that militants should surrender or be prepared to die. Today President Musharraf appointed a former prime minister to broker peace talks with the remaining holdouts. However, the Al Jazeera story also notes that a consensus has emerged at the top of the government that the standoff needs to be brought to an end quickly, and reportedly Musharraf has given the go ahead for a final assault.

Additionally, Musharraf’s plane was fired upon as it took off and three Chinese workers were shot dead. The police recovered two anti-aircraft guns and a heavy machine gun from the roof of a building less than a mile from the runway. It is unclear right now if plane incident is tied to the mosque siege, but there has been an increase in calls around the country for people to take up arms against the state to defend the mosque and the students. The shooting of Chinese workers has been tied back to Islamic militants

Albanian Parliament Fails to Elect President

The Albanian parliament failed to elect a president for the third time this weekend. A presidential candidate requires 84 votes out of the 140 total to win. Currently, the majority party in the Albanian parliament only holds 80 seats. There are conflicting reports about what this means overall. The International Herald Tribune reports that a snap general election is called if the parliament does not select a president after three rounds of voting, while Reuters states that there must be five rounds of voting before an election.

Thai Constitutional Assembly Approves Draft

A constitutional assembly in Thailand approved a draft of the new constitution last week, taking a significant step towards a planned referendum on August 19th. Some of the most contentious clauses in the original draft have been changed. Instead of all sentators being appointed, 76 will be elected and 74 will be appointed. Interestingly, the new constitution is also more “liberal” in the sense that it recognizes and protects transsexual citizens from harassment. If a constitution is approved during the August 19th referendum, a general election is planned for November 25th. However, if the referendum fails the military as said that it will utilize one of the previous constitutions to hold elections.