Entering into the footsteps of the volatile Middle East, the South Asian countries seem to be destined to be those countries whom peace elude perennially.



Sri Lanka: The Tamil Tigers have stepped up violence and has refused to participate in any peace process in the near future. According to the BBC, Tamil Tigers terrorists will not participate in the peace talks scheduled next week in Switzerland. The decision follows escalation of violence in the strife-torn country.



More than 60 persons have died in bombings during the past week, which has been one of the bloodiest since the Sri Lankan Government and the terrorists agreed to a truce in 2002. The Tamil Tigers want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka. More than 60,000 persons have died during the two decades of conflict in the peninsula.



Nepal: The restive Nepalese are in no mood to abandon unrest till King Gyanendra steps down and restores democracy in the Himalayan kingdom, sandwiched between two might Asian giants, India and China.



Tens of thousands people are defying the prohibitary orders such as shoot-on-sight curfew. The king imposed direct rule in February 2005, claiming that the government had failed to defeat Nepal’s Maoists.



Pakistan: The Pakistan Army has admitted that seven paramilitary troops have been killed and 22 wounded in an ambush by terrorists in North Waziristan tribal region, near the Pakistan-Afghan border.



The lawless tribal belt has seen fierce battles in recent years, but fighting has intensified over the past month. Pakistani forces entered the tribal belt a few years ago to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives who fled the US-led war in Afghanistan.



Washington sees the border zone as a front line in what it calls its war on terrorism. But local tribesmen and Islamists have increasingly been drawn into the fight. Officials say more than 250 people have been killed over the past month, most of them insurgents. Tribesmen say many civilians have died.



Bangladesh: A one-day strike called by opposition parties has disrupted normal life in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. Transport was absent from most roads while many schools, shops and offices were closed, reports said. The 14-party opposition alliance, led by Awami League party, is demanding election reforms and resignation of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The opposition has stepped up protests ahead of Bangladesh’s elections which are due early next year.