One hundred days after the fall of Kunduz, militants continue to create problems on the outskirts of the city. Kunduz Police Chief Qasim Jangalbagh said on Tuesday that plans are however in place to bring an end to this problem. Jangalbagh said: “Taliban militants are operating on the outskirts of the city but we have plans to stop them and eliminate them.” Meanwhile, tribal elders and residents of the province warned that if government fails…
Posts published in “Day: January 6, 2016”
At least one US soldier was killed and two others were wounded in Taliban attack in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan. Earlier reports indicated an unknown number of Afghan and US troops were killed or wounded in the attack. However, the US Forces in Afghanistan confirmed the incident and said one U.S. service member died as a result of wounds sustained during operations near Marja in Helmand Province today. Additionally, two U.S. service members were…
Security forces have killed 15 Daesh militants in a clash in eastern Nangarhar province. A statement released by the police headquarters of Nangarhar states that the gun battle erupted around 04:30 pm (local time) on Monday. According to the statement, insurgents had planned to attack a security post in Saluram Farm area of Bati Kot District. After receiving the tip-off, additional security forces reached to the site to assist those already in the area, the…
ISLAMABAD (AFP) – The Afghan Taliban have launched an unprecedented winter surge that points to a desire for an upper hand in peace talks, analysts say, while some suggest rogue Pakistani elements may be bolstering the effort to derail overtures by Islamabad to India. Taliban fighting normally quiets down in winter months with the insurgents resting ahead of an annual spring offensive, but this year has seen a series of fierce attacks — many focused…
The writer is an analyst and commentator. For several months, the official line from both civilian and military leaders in Pakistan has been that the country has turned the corner. Loadshedding is down, and might be reduced quite substantially in the near future. The economy isn’t booming, but it is far better than it has been in several years. Most of all, security has improved. Karachi is better off, if temporarily. The TTP is on…
The writer is an author and journalist. THE escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric has intensified sectarian polarisation in the Middle East. This has far-reaching implications for the region and beyond. It is yet another provocative action by the new Saudi rulers which has further inflamed the strategic rivalry between the two countries that underpins the current turmoil in the region. It is surely not…
The writer, based in Doha and Istanbul, is a Pakistani investigative journalist and academic with extensive reporting experience in the Middle East. After Saudi Arabia sentenced 47 men on terrorism charges, capital punishment in the Kingdom has drawn global outcry. However, Iran’s reaction has been more than usual. Among those executed was Nimr al-Nimr, a Shiite Saudi citizen who participated in Iran’s blood-soaked overthrow of the Shah and lived there for a decade. Iran’s initial…
IT is difficult to imagine what exactly the Saudi authorities were thinking when they decided to put Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr to the sword at the turn of the year, alongside 46 other men, while simultaneously announcing an end to the barely heeded ceasefire in Yemen. It’s not just Iran that had warned of repercussions in the event of al-Nimr’s execution, after he was sentenced to death in 2014. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pitched…
The writer is a professor of history at Rutgers University and the author of “Desert Kingdom: How Oil and Water Forged Modern Saudi Arabia.” WHEN Saudi Arabia executed the Shiite cleric and political dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday, the country’s leaders were aware that doing so would upset their longtime rivals in Iran. In fact, the royal court in Riyadh was probably counting on it. It got what it wanted. The deterioration of relations…
Ominous clouds are forming over the Gulf and Pakistan — for a variety of reasons — we must find middle ground and not take sides in the brewing Saudi-Iranian conflict. There was a cautious note in Sartaj Aziz’s words when he addressed the National Assembly on Tuesday regarding the issue.A day earlier, the government had been criticised in parliament for failing to outline a clear policy on the Gulf crisis by members of various parties.However,…
In a convoluted attempt to maintain order within, Saudi Arabia (SA) executed 47 people, including al Qaeda members but most significantly a Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, known for boldly calling for peaceful resistance against the Saudi leadership’s unjust treatment of the Shia minority in the kingdom. Predictably, what followed was a fierce reaction from SA’s persisting rival, the predominantly Shia state of Iran, where in retaliation protesters ravaged the Saudi embassy. While the Iranian…