The government of Pakistan has placed a ban on the activities of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, a grassroots organization that advocates for the rights of the Pashtun minority, which has been subjected to decades of abuse. On Oct. 6, the government listed the PTM as a "proscribed organization," essentially labelling it a terrorist group. The order came days before the PTM was slated to hold a large demonstration. Amnesty International described the action as "part of a systematic and relentless clampdown by the Pakistani authorities on peaceful protests and assemblies by dissenting groups."

The interim leader of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, issued a stern condemnation Sept. 14 of recent attacks on Sufi shrines across the country. Bangladesh has experienced a recent rise of extremist violence targeting religious and cultural sites, including both Sufi shrines and Hindu temples. Yunus assured the public that law enforcement agencies have been instructed to take immediate action to protect these religious and cultural landmarks, promising that those behind the attacks will be held accountable.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation, rampant rights abuses and ongoing political dysfunction in Balochistan province in a statement issued Aug. 30.

The Indian government has removed a 58-year-long policy forbidding civil servants and bureaucrats from joining or associating with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an opposition leader revealed July 21. Jairam Ramesh, a member of Parliament with the Indian National Congress, posted a photo on Twitter of the memorandum lifting the ban by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT). In his post, Ramesh noted that the ban was put in place in response to the assassination of independence leader Mohandas Gandhi by RSS militant Nathuram Godse in 1948. The initially temporary ban was made permanent in 1966. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely perceived to be "on the same page" as the RSS, and his Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has long-standing ties to the right-wing Hindu paramilitary organization. This has been protested by the opposition as contrary to the spirit of India's secular constitution. The result of India's elections for the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, was announced June 4, with the BJP-led coalition winning a third consecutive term.

Lawyers for some of approximately 60 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum-seekers stranded on the British-held island of Diego Garcia have appealed to the UK's new Foreign Minister David Lammy to intervene after the US blocked them from visiting the island for a hearing set to take place this week. The US runs a secretive military facility on the island, and issued the decision to bar the legal team on a "confidential" basis, citing "national security." The lawyers are accusing the island's government—the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) administration—of illegally detaining their clients, who have been confined to a small camp for nearly three years after fleeing Sri Lanka and India by boat. The BIOT administration claims to have no role in negotiating permission for the visit, but lawyers for the asylum-seekers say the administration has a duty to persuade the US to allow the hearing to take place and ensure the rule of law on the remote British territory.

Protestors marched between two towns of Pakistan's restive Swat district July 5 in response to proposed plans by the military for a major new "counter-terrorist" operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan. The protest, organized by the local groups Ulasi Passon (Public Revolution) and Orakzai Peace Movement, saw thousands marching with white flags and signs reading "We want peace" and "We hate government terrorism." However, the government reiterated that the operation against militant organizations in the region, dubbed Azm-e-Istehkam (Resolve for Stability), will go ahead. The armed forces insisted that unlike the last major push against the insurgents, Operation Zarb-e-Azb of 2014, the new operation will not result in mass displacement of residents. (Jurist, The Diplomat)

Three protesters were killed and six injured May 14 as Pakistani security forces fired on crowds during angry street demonstrations in Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). The paramilitary Rangers were mobilized to Muzaffarabad after a police officer was killed three days earlier amid protests over high food, fuel and electricity prices. A "wheel-jam and shutter-down" strike had been called by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on May 10, but was called off as Islamabad agreed to a Rs 23 billion ($86 million) subsidy for the region. The new deadly violence erupted just as the Rangers were starting to withdraw from Muzaffarabad. A curfew remains in place in the city. (Jurist, Dawn, FPK, India Today, LiveMint, BBC News)

Indian security forces killed at least 29 Naxal insurgents in Kanker Bastar district of Chhattisgarh state this month. Chhattisgarh is one of several states officially designated as affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), along with Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala.