Posts published in “Day: February 10, 2016”

The writer heads the independent Centre for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad Does the meeting between the heads of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) on February 4 mark the turning of a new page in bilateral relations? Ostensibly, yes. And for a number of reasons. First, following the revelation of Mullah Omar’s death last year, the hostility towards Pakistan in Afghanistan had peaked to unprecedented levels. As a consequence,…

The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board The success of the quartet’s — Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China — efforts in the reconciliation process will largely depend on the response of the Taliban. For Pakistan, it is vital that this endeavour succeeds, as resolution of the civil war will bring stability in Afghanistan…

A senior member of the Taliban leadership council Mullah Mohammad Hassan Rahmani has passed away, Taliban announced in a statement on Tuesday morning. According to the statement, Rahmani died of cancer last night. Images published on social media show an elderly aged man, identified as Rahmani, lying on a bed in a hospital. However, the location of the hospital is not mentioned. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Rahmani was a close aide Mullah Mohammad Omar who served…

17 fighters of the terrorist group of the Islamic State (IS) which also goes by its Arabic name Daesh have been killed in an air strike and clash with security forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Officials say Daesh fighters were busy in armed activities when they came under an air strike in Bazaar of Achin District on Monday. The air strike left 11 militants killed and two others wounded. The following night, security…

A shadow district governor of Taliban has been killed along with nine of his companions in eastern Nangarhar province. Officials say Rustam Haqyar was killed in joint security operation of police, army and personnel from the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Rodat District. The other nine militants killed include Gul Mohammad, a commander of the group, who was wearing a suicide vest for carrying out a suicide attack. The operation launched in Triley and…

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States Army will deploy hundreds of soldiers to the southern Afghan province of Helmand, where government forces have been pushed to the brink by Taliban militants, a military spokesman said Tuesday. It will be the largest deployment of American troops outside major bases in Afghanistan since the end of the NATO combat mission in 2014. Though the military insists that the soldiers will not take active combat roles, American Special…

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ordered the Punjab IG on Sunday to furnish a report on Afghan immigrants in Southern Punjab. The order was issued after security and intelligence agencies showed concerns over the activities of Afghan nationals in the Taunsa Sharif area of Dera Ghazi Khan. Taunsa is the last Punjabi tehsil before Khyber Pakhtunkhwa begins. The influx of Afghans in the area has been a cause of concern for authorities for quite…

THE nuclear-related sanctions against Iran may be gone, but the ambiguities remain. For many years now, American officials have been clear in their response to questions about the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project: it violates US sanctions, they would always say.   When Pakistani officials raised the possibility of exempting the pipeline project from US nuclear-related sanctions back in 2013 on the sidelines of the strategic dialogue, they were told quite clearly that no exemptions could be…

ISLAMABAD: The government has avoided informing the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs whether or not it has decided to join the 34-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia which is reportedly planning a ground operation in Syria. At a meeting of the committee held here on Tuesday, its members expressed concern over the possibility of Pakistan’s involvement in the Syrian conflict. Saudi Arabia has said that it is prepared to send troops inside Syria to…

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday called upon the government to be careful and maintain neutrality in cooperation with regard to the Saudi Arabia’s initiative of formation of a coalition of Islamic countries against terrorism. The members of the committee here at its meeting at the Parliament House, voiced their concerns on the matter and said that any involvement in Syrian issue would have a negative repercussion on Pakistan’s internal situation.…