The Supreme Court of Pakistan July 31 declared that former president Pervez Musharraf violated the constitution when he declared emergency rule in November 2007. The court also found that Musharraf's removal of many members of the judiciary, including current Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, and subsequent appointment of Abdul Hameed Dogar as chief justice were unconstitutional. Judges appointed in consultation with Dogar were removed from office.

Under UN auspices, Nepal has started freeing an estimated 3,000 child soldiers from camps holding former Maoist guerilla fighters. Demobilization of the child soldiers, and their transfer to rehabilitation programs, is a key part of Nepal's peace process. The UN welcomed the move as a "significant milestone" for the Himalayan nation. Maoist guerillas ended a 10-year insurgency in November 2006, signing a peace deal that brought them into the government. They won the most votes in 2008 elections, but left the government earlier this year in a row over their leader's attempt to fire the army chief. Some 24,000 former fighters have been confined to UN-monitored camps since the peace deal. Of these, the UN has identified about 3,000 as being under the age of 18. (BBC News, July 17)

Thousands of protesters marched on an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, following the apparent murder of a young woman. Protesters say that the young student from the Kupwara district died after being assaulted by a member of India's Territorial Army. A general strike over the incident has brought the Kashmir Valley to a standstill. A soldier has been charged in the killing. The death is the tenth in recent weeks to be blamed on the security forces. (BBC News, July 10)

At least two soldiers were killed and three others wounded by a suicide blast in Pakistan-administered Kashmir June 26. The bomber targeted soldiers in Shaukat Lines, a military area in Muzaffarabad, the regional capital. He was described as about 18 years of age. Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud reportedly claimed responsibility. It was the first such attack in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. (BBC News, June 26)

Security forces fired on protesters in Indian-controlled Kashmir June 8, wounding at least seven in the worst clash since unrest broke out last week over the deaths of two young women. The protesters say the women, a 17-year-old and her 22-year-old sister, were raped and killed by Indian soldiers. The police, who are investigating the killings but have not charged anyone, released forensic reports confirming that both of the women had been raped. Thousands protested in the streets of Shopian, the women's hometown, before police fired tear gas shells and live ammunition at the crowd. Angry demonstrations—and a general strike that has closed businesses and schools—have spread across Kashmir since the women's bodies were found May 30. (AP, June 8)

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on May 31 dismissed calls from Amnesty International to publish the official death toll during the finals weeks of the armed conflict that ended last month. Bogollagama said that only Sri Lankan courts will be permitted to investigate both alleged human rights violations and the number of civilian deaths that occurred during the final weeks of the conflict. AI has called for an independent investigation into the matter, while the UN Under-Secretary General John Holmes has said that it will be very difficult to accurately assess such a number. Media sources have continued to question the numbers circulated by Sri Lankan authorities and the UN as potentially up to three times below the actual number of deaths.

The UN Human Rights Council May 27 dropped a Swiss-EU draft resolution calling for an investigation into possible war crimes during Sri Lanka's recently-concluded war on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and adopted Sri Lanka's counter-resolution. Of the 47-member Council, 29 voted for Sri Lanka's resolution, 12 against and six abstained. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay told the Council there is credible evidence both the armed forces and LTTE grossly violated international law.

Two people were killed, including a schoolgirl, and at least 12 injured in an explosion May 23 at a Roman Catholic church in Lalitpur, Nepal. No group claimed responsibility, but police said they suspect the Nepal Defense Army, a Hindu extremist group that seeks to restore Nepal's monarchy. The attack came just as parliament prepared to elect a new prime minister following the resignation of the Maoist leader Prachanda, who stepped down after his attempt to dismiss the army chief was blocked by the president May 3. Maoist lawmakers—many of them former guerillas— stormed Nepal's parliament May 18 to block a vote for a new prime minister. (BBC, May 23; CSM, May 18)