Pakistani police crackdown on opposition party members; China-US argument escalates; South Korea-US free trade deal closer; China exports plummet; and more

Top of the Agenda: Pakistan's Political Turmoil

Pakistani police launched a crackdown (al-Jazeera) on lawyers and opposition party members ahead of a mass protest march, opposing the country's government, scheduled to kick off tomorrow.

Dawn reports the government has issued a ban against the protests and has put police in Punjab and Sindh provinces on alert. The paper also reports that the government has ordered troops to put opposition leaders under house arrest.

Meanwhile, opposition leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said the country is going through the worst crisis in its history (The News) and urged a high turnout for the march. Pakistan's interior minister responded that Sharif's comments yesterday urging a revolution against the Pakistani government were "tantamount to mutiny" (Daily Times) and that the government will pursue criminal charges against Sharif.

Background:

- CFR's Daniel Markey explains the country's turmoil in a new op-ed in Foreign Policy.

- This Backgrounder examines Pakistan's political and civil institutions.

 

PACIFIC RIM: China-U.S. Sea Row

China's foreign ministry lodged a formal complaint with the United States after a weekend confrontation between the two countries. China alleges a U.S. vessel conducted unauthorized operations (China Daily) in Chinese waters. The United States initially blamed China for the incident, saying Chinese ships "harassed" the U.S. vessel without due cause. The BBC reports Chinese media have lashed out at the United States following the incident, saying the U.S. ship behaved "like a spy." Meetings are planned today in Washington between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi--though the focus of those meetings is expected to be planning for the upcoming G-20 summit.

S.KOREA: South Korea's foreign minister urged Seoul's legislature (Yonhap) to rapidly approve a free trade deal between South Korea and the United States.

 

ELSEWHERE:

- Chinese exports plummet but markets rally on Citi forecast.
- U.S. intelligence officials contradict Israel regarding Iran.

 

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.