The Supreme Court of Pakistan Feb. 25 upheld a lower court ruling that bars Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and current leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), from holding elected office based on a past criminal conviction for "hijacking." Sharif was convicted of the offense for attempting to divert a plane carrying Army commander Pervez Musharraf during a 1999 coup against Sharif that ultimately succeeded.

As fighting continues unabated in Sri Lanka, Amnesty International has called upon the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to immediately declare a temporary truce and create humanitarian corridors to allow more than a quarter million trapped civilians to escape the war zone and also let food, water and medical assistance reach those civilians who cannot leave.

Hundreds of members of the Dongria Kondh tribe, together with many tribal and non-tribal allies, formed a human chain at the base of their sacred Niyamgiri mountain Jan. 27 to prevent British mining giant Vedanta from bulldozing it. Reports put the number of people taking part in the protest at over 10,000. Placards carried by the protesters read "Vedanta, go back" and "Stop mining in Niyamgiri."

Thousands of protestors in India marched against British mining firm Vedanta on Jan. 18 to oppose the company's plans to mine a sacred mountain and feed its aluminium refinery. Reports suggest that up to 7,000 demonstrators marched to the gates of the refinery, destroying some of the Vedanta branded sign boards which litter the Niyamgiri area of Orissa state. The protestors included hundreds of Dongria Kondh tribespeople, other Kondh tribal groups, farmers and day laborers.

Pakistani interior minister chief Rehman Malik boasted at an Islamabad press conference that authorities have arrested more than 120 in a crackdown on groups allegedly linked to the Mumbai attacks. However, he dodged a question on whether Pakistan was conceding that the plot that killed over 180 people in the Indian metropolis was hatched on his country's soil.

The TamilNet news service reports that Red Cross and other aid and medical evacuation vehicles are being barred access to the northern pocket of Sri Lanka still held by the Tamil Tiger rebels, which has come under heavy bombardment in recent days. Sri Lankan army forces are blocking all traffic in and out of the zone, while government air-strikes continue. An unknown number of wounded civilians apparently remain trapped in the besieged pocket. (TamilNet, Jan. 7)

Hundreds of Muslim men, women and children held a silent march in Mumbai, stopping at each location which had been targeted by the armed attacks of what is becoming known in India as 26-11. For the first time, liberal groups such as Muslims for Secular Democracy, which called the march in the aftermath of the attacks, were joined by conservative organizations such as Jamiat-ul-Ulema under the common slogan "Killers of innocents are enemies of Islam." Marches were also held in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Delhi and other cities. (Times of India, Dec. 8)

Pakistan's armed forces have moved against a camp used by banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, the BBC reports. A correspondent in Muzaffarabad says he was unable to reach the camp because of the cordon, but did see about 14 army vehicles leaving the area. The camp is run by the Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, widely seen as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was banned in 2002. Reports said a number of people—between three and 20—from the charity have been arrested. (BBC News, Dec. 8)