Posts published in “Day: January 25, 2016”

The writer is a freelance columnist and audio engineer based in Islamabad More Afghan peace talks without a ceasefire is like putting the cart before the horse. How can the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US, expect a different outcome from previous tries without the Taliban halting attacks? Could it be that this multilateral confab exists for a multinational threat, meaning Islamic State (IS), and peace in Afghanistan would be…

IN the aftermath of a terrorist attack, scapegoating tends to appear.  This time, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has called for Afghan refugees to be returned to their home country — because ostensibly Afghan refugees are involved in criminal activities and facilitating terrorism inside Pakistan. Missing, as ever, was proof. Each time a call is made for the repatriation of Afghan refugees, the demand is accompanied by hyperbole about what the refugees are allegedly…

The precondition set by the Afghan Taliban to resume peace talks with the government of Afghanistan is one that cannot be accepted without carefully thinking the consequences through. The militant group wants the names of its members removed from the UN blacklist that makes them unable to travel. While the willingness to talk amid growing strength is a positive from the Taliban, allowing them the freedom to travel might spell new trouble for the global…

At least 16 Daesh insurgents were killed in Afghan security forces air strikes in eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, local officials said. The air strikes took place in Achin and Haskamina districts of the province after the Afghan air forces targeted the Daesh insurgents, a spokesman for the provincial governor, Attaullah Khoghyani said. “Qari Wahab and Qari Hafizullah, two commanders of Daesh are among the dead,” he said. He added that there were no civilian…

Kabul: Hamid Karzai had better governance than the leaders of the National Unity Government (NUG) despite facing challenges, a former minister and prominent politician has alleged. “Karzai’s administration faced problems likes corruption and inefficiency. But in general, the situation was better than it is today,” said Anwarul Haq Ahadi, who served as finance and then commerce minister under Karzai. Ahadi who was supporting President Ashraf Ghani in the 2014 presidential elections, seems to be disappointed…

ISLAMABAD – Khan Wali, 38, an Afghan refugee and a shepherd finds himself in trouble after terrorists strike any place in the country. The police and administration has to grill him repeatedly for showing his legal stay. The refugee shepherd lives in outskirts of Rawalpindi-Islamabad and earns his livelihood by selling milk and sheep. Soon after he heard about the brutal attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsada on January 20, Wali, who hold the…

Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Afghan expats in the United Kingdom (UK), from both sides of the so-called Durand Line, staged a peaceful protest in front of the Pakistani High Commission in London. While strongly condemning the attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, hundreds of protestors in the UK’s capital chanted slogans against the Pakistan’s premier spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Chanting slogans “Stop genocide of Afghans” and “Pashtuns are united, from Kandahar…

A retired Pakistani senator Afrasiab Khattak has slammed Pakistan for allowing the Afghan Taliban to use its soil as a parallel government to Kabul besides the group has stepped up terror attacks across the country including capital Kabul during the recent months. The former Pakistani senator has harshly criticized Pakistan for adopting a dual speak in anti-terror policy, blaming it for the return of terror in Pakistan while pointing finger towards Islamabad following a deadly…

LANDI KOTAL: The Khyber Agency political administration has constituted a 15-member khasadar quick response team in order to tackle any untoward situation at the Torkham border. A decision to this effect was made at a meeting held at the border on Sunday. Members of the quick response force were directed to cancel all their leaves and ensure their presence at the border round the clock. The step was taken to check the movement of suspects…

LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Sunday that Pakistan and Afghanistan had an agreement against use of their soils by any terrorist group. Talking to journalists here after arrival from Geneva, the prime minister said certain terrorist elements inside Afghanistan were involved in attacks in Pakistan, including the Army Public School in Peshawar and the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda. “Pakistan is strictly abiding by the agreement and neither is the Afghan government violating…