Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Day: February 25, 2016

Staying on track: edit in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2016.

Pakistan is playing an increasingly proactive role in peace talks both to the east and the west. The announcement that Pakistan is to host the latest direct talks between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban as well as other ‘insurgent’ groups is welcome. Getting other ‘insurgent’ groups on-side is almost as important as getting on the same page as the Taliban. Talks are imminent, probably to be held in the first week of March…

Peace talks: Editorial in The News, February 25, 2016

Islamabad has been set as the venue for talks between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives in the first week of March. After a third meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group sans the Taliban, the QCG announced their support for direct talks between the missing Taliban and the Afghan government. The QCG has been conducting futile meetings since January but has been unable to bring the Taliban to the talks table. After the announcement was…

Peace prospects: edit in Daily Times, February 25, 2016

For the first time since the US occupation of Afghanistan in 2001, ground has been paved for Taliban leaders to sit face-to-face with the Afghan government and to find a political solution to the problem. Pakistan has offered to host the important meeting that is likely to be held in the first week of March this year in Islamabad. Hopes for the possibility of this sought after dialogue process have been made possible courtesy efforts…

Russia gives a gift of 10,000 automatic rifles to Afghanistan: by Mirwais Harooni in Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 25, 2016

Russia’s move to arm Afghan security forces is seen as another sign of Moscow’s deepening involvement with the war-torn country. Kabul: Afghan officials took delivery of 10,000 automatic rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition as a gift from Russia on Wednesday, another sign of deepening involvement by Moscow in the war-torn country. Dependent almost entirely on foreign aid, Afghan security forces are struggling to secure the country amid a rising insurgency. As the NATO-led…

700 militants abandon Jawzjan district with the arrival of Gen. Dostum KHAAMA PRESS – Thu Feb 25 2016, 10:24 am

Around 700 anti-government armed militants have reportedly abandoned Qosh Tapa district with the arrival of Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum. Gen. Dostum is accompanied by nearly 10,000 members of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and is currently in Jawzjan to clear the areas under the Taliban control. Speaking to local residents, Gen. Dostum said he has not visited Jawzjan to wage war and invited the anti-government armed militants to join the peace process.…

Afghan Taliban unaware of invitation to peace talks: report in Daily Times, February 25, 2016

KABUL: The Afghan Taliban said on Wednesday they had not been officially contacted by Kabul about the resumption of direct talks aimed at ending their conflict. The comment came a day after the latest round of dialogue in the Afghan capital between officials from Afghanistan, the United States, China and Pakistan. The representatives of the four states called on the militants to return to the negotiating table and said they expect the process to begin…

Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e-Islami party says will consider if invited to peace talks

KHAAMA PRESS – Thu Feb 25 2016, 7:55 am The Hezb-e-Islami party led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar officials have said they will consider an invitation to the proposed peace talks likely to take place in the first week of March. A senior leader of the party based in Pakistan has said they have not received any formal invitation for the direct talks so far, a local newspaper reported. The senior leader, Dr. Ghairat Baheer, said Hezb-e-Islami…

China’s Increasingly Muffled Press: editorial in The NY Times, Feb 25, 2016

The Chinese media have never had much freedom to pursue muckraking stories, or even to dutifully report the facts. Now, President Xi Jinping is going to extraordinary lengths to rein the press in even further. Mr. Xi recently visited the three main newsrooms in the country to convey in unmistakable terms that journalists are expected to behave like apparatchiks. That message, which predictably received fawning coverage, came a few days after the government announced it…

Australia Takes Steps to Counter China’s Rising Military Power By ROB TAYLOR in The Wall St Journal, Feb 24, 2016, at10:16 p.m. ET

CANBERRA—Australia’s government is strengthening its U.S. alliance and plowing ahead with a 10-year, $140 billion military expansion amid rising regional tensions over China’s muscle-flexing on key trade routes in the South China Sea. A defense blueprint released by Australia’s conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday urged Beijing to be more forthcoming about its security intentions in the South China Sea, where China is building artificial islands. While stopping short of directly confronting China over…

Inside China’s Nuclear Core: by Brian Spegele in The Wall St Journal, Feb 24, 2016 at 5.58 pm HKT

China is on a quest to reshape the world’s nuclear industry and play a big role in new projects globally. A trip inside the country’s oldest large-scale nuclear power station near the southern metropolis of Shenzhen reveals the great heights of its ambition. China General Nuclear Power Group, one of the country’s biggest and fastest-growing nuclear providers, this week welcomed a coterie of foreign business leaders, diplomats and reporters inside its heavily fortified nuclear power…