The writer is author of The Prospect of Nuclear Jihad in Pakistan Last week, Pakistani and Afghan intelligence chiefs held talks in Islamabad in an effort to boost intelligence sharing on terrorist networks operating across the Durand Line. The purpose of this meeting was to persuade the National Directorate of Security’s (NDS’) authorities to help in the arrest of terrorists involved in the Bacha Khan University (BKU) attack. The stance of the NDS is not…
Posts published in “Day: February 9, 2016”
THE Quadrilateral Coordination Group on Afghanistan has produced something of a surprise: talks with the Afghan Taliban are to resume by the end of the month. With the fighting season in Afghanistan rapidly approaching, delayed talks would have meant the possibility of the Taliban making fresh gains on the battlefield and therefore being in a stronger position for delayed talks.Now it appears that talking and fighting will take place simultaneously, giving the Afghan government and…
There is a strong argument in favour of peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan as there appears to be no other way forward, but getting beyond a position that is purely conceptual to one that is substantive is a tortuous road indeed. The latest construct to be deployed in the search for peace is the Quadrilateral Coordination Group made up of representatives from Pakistan, Afghanistan, the US and China. They met on February 6…
Six people have lost lives and nine others sustained injuries in a suicide bomb blast in Paktika province. The blast took place in front of a baker in the capital city of Yahyakhil District around 11:30 am this morning. The apparent target of the suicide bomber was Musa Khan Kharotai, the district governor, who just drove through the area before the blast took place. Kharotai said all of the victims of the blast are civilians.…
Three people have been killed and 20 others wounded in a suicide attack near Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of northern Balkh province, this morning. Abdul Razaq Qadiri, Deputy Police Chief of Balkh province said the blast took place in Nawabad area of Dehdadi District around 7 am. He said the suicide bomber was waiting in the area and when the mini-bus of 209 Shaheen Corps of Afghan National Army (ANA) reached to him he detonated his explosives.…
At least 34 anti-government armed militants were killed in the latest counter-terrorism operations conducted by the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces. The Ministry of Defense (MoD0 said the operations were conducted during the past 24 hours in the vicinity of Dangam district of Kunar, Maiwand district of Kandahar, Herawud district of Uruzgan, Dand-e-Ghori district of Baghlan, and Marja and Musa Qala districts of Helmand. A statement by MoD said at least 30 anti-government armed militants…
Embattled Afghan armed forces have conducted a major military operation against Taliban insurgents in Baghlan-e-Markazi district, eliminating a number of insurgents in the process and breaking their four day siege on an Afghan National Army (ANA) base in the volatile region in northern Afghanistan. Reports from the warfront reveal that the insurgents kept the base under their siege for four days in their attempt to capture the soldiers alive, but they did not succeed and…
By Spencer Ackerman in New York and Sune Engel Rasmussen in Kabul Hundreds of additional US troops are slated to deploy to a volatile province in Afghanistan to bolster the local military against a resurgent Taliban, the Guardian has learned. By month’s end, a force described as battalion-strength, consisting of mostly army soldiers, will arrive in Helmand province where US and UK forces have struggled in battles for over a decade to drive out the…
General John Campbell, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan Sunday rejected a role for Taliban and Haqqani network in Afghanistan’s future as he believes that these groups are involved in killing Afghan civilians and have the status of an enemy. A joint meeting of senior Afghan defense officials and NATO and US commanders was held in Kabul on Sunday to evaluate the implementation process of the two security agreements the US and NATO alliance…
BEIJING — Kang Weiwei considers herself cautious. When China’s stock market took off, she stood on the sidelines. She steered clear of financial products that she couldn’t really understand. But the 32-year-old Beijinger needed somewhere to park the $76,000 that her family received from selling an apartment they got as part of a government relocation program. What, she wondered, could beat inflation but keep them safe? The answer came on the 7 o’clock news. An…
Violence erupted in Hong Kong Monday night after a municipal crackdown on outdoor food vendors rapidly escalated, with enraged protesters clashing with police overnight. At least 300 people gathered in the streets, becoming increasingly violent as the night went on. Demonstrators hurled bottles and garbage cans at police officers and tore bricks from the pavement to be used as weapons. Police responded with pepper spray, and also reportedly fired warning shots into the air —…