Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Taliban forces in Afghanistan have added scores of children to their ranks since mid-2015 in violation of the international prohibition on the use of child soldiers. The rights group’s research shows that the Taliban have been training and deploying children for various military operations, including the production and planting of improvised explosive devices (IED). In a report released on Wednesday, HRW writes that in Kundoz province, the Taliban have increasingly…
Posts published in “Day: February 19, 2016”
NDS detains Taliban commander ‘dressed like a woman’ in Paktika: report in Khaama Press, Feb 17 2016
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) – Afghanistan’s intelligence agency has arrested a Taliban commander who had dressed himself like a woman in Paktika province. A statement released by NDS on Wednesday identifies the terrorist as Khozar Ali son of Gul Sof. According to the statement, Khozar Ali alias Chapai was arrested during a special operation in Barmal District. A Kalashnikov and four magazines were also confiscated from the possession of the terrorist. When Taliban…
24 terrorists have been killed and 17 others wounded in separate security incidents in northeastern Badakhshan province. Spokesperson for the provincial governor said security operation has been launched in Argu District which is successfully going on. Ahmad Nawid Froutan added that 17 Taliban militants have been killed and 10 others wounded in the operation so far. Those killed include important commanders of the group including Hamidullah, Froutan said. The governor’s spokesperson further said that security…
Almost unregulated crossing at Torkham a security challenge By Ibrahim Shinwariin Dawn, Feb 18, 2016
TORKHAM: Days before the deadly attack on Bacha Khan University Campus in Charsadda, four militants, in groups of twos, quietly crossed the regular bordercrossing at Torkham, without any checks or hindrances, security officials have confirmed. `Had there been a proper system there, at least two of them would have been caught there and then. The whole plot would have been unearthed before they could carry out the attack,` a senior security ofhcialsaid. Two of the…
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and US Secretary of State John Kerry will hold the sixth round of Pakistan US Strategic Dialogue on Feb 29 in Washington. This would be be the third annual meeting since the present government assumed office in 2013, the Foreign Office said in a statement here Wednesday.The six segments of the Strategic Dialogue include cooperation in Economy and Finance, Energy, Education, Science and Technology,…
ISLAMABAD: A senate panel on Wednesday recommended that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) should establish a temple and a cremation area for Hindu residents of Islamabad. The recommendations came during a senate committee on human rights meeting, which discussed issues being faced by Pakistan’s Hindu population. The committee was chaired by Senator Nasreen Jalil of the MQM, who is chairperson of the committee. Human rights activist Kapil Dev drew the attention of the committee towards…
BEIJING—At the heart of the U.S.-China tussle over militarization of the South China Sea is a long-running strategic contest that both sides have helped escalate for the better part of the past decade. The accusations that flew after U.S. and Taiwanese officials said Beijing had placed surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island were familiar ones. Washington warned that China is militarizing the region, while Beijing said it’s simply maintaining its defense within sovereign territory. “China…
The ‘Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism’ that includes Pakistan was announced by Saudi Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman on December 15. Quizzed in the Senate a week later Sartaz Aziz said Pakistan had joined what it considered a coalition but was still unaware of its full details. However, he cautioned parliament against “complicating” the process by “prematurely” discussing it. Aziz promised to come back to parliament once details were available. More than two months…
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had welcomed the Saudi Arabia initiative to establish a coalition of like-minded Islamic countries to counter terrorism and militancy, but Pakistan is still awaiting further details to decide the extant of its participation in it. Responding to a question in the National Assembly, the adviser on foreign affairs said the prime minister reiterated to the Saudi foreign…
The writer is a former member of the police service of Pakistan. The situation in Afghanistan does not augur well. The distressing part is that no viable solutions towards peace and stability seem to be available. Kandahar, Sangin, Kunduz, Lashkar Gah — all are under threat of Afghan Taliban takeover. How events in Afghanistan, over the decades, have gradually been overtaken for the worst can be imagined from the fact that Lashkar Gah, in the…
A drone strike has killed six Taliban militants in Gomal District of Paktika province, an official said on Thursday. Spokesperson for the governor of Paktika province told Khaama Press that militants killed in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attack in Raghi area on Wednesday morning were fighting under the command of Asmatullah, the shadow governor of Taliban for Gomal District. Nabiullah Peerkhil further said that the dead bodies of the insurgents were shifted by other…