KABAL: There is considerable uncertainty in Afghanistan regarding the fate of an intra-Afghan dialogue despite a certain degree of optimism about the long-awaited peace process. Afghan officials familiar with a four-nation initiative told The Express Tribune that negotiations could be a long-drawn-out affair, adding that expecting the talks to start in a few days was an unfair assessment. A source, meanwhile, denied Afghan officials have shared with Pakistan a list of ‘influential’ Taliban leaders that…
Posts published in February 2016
Riyadh – Armed forces from 20 countries have begun manoeuvres in northeastern Saudi Arabia that the official Saudi Press Agency described as one of the world’s biggest military exercises. Troops from Pakistan, Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Sudan are among those participating in the “Thunder of the North” exercise, which began on Saturday and involves ground, air and naval forces, SPA reported. Forces from the other five Gulf Arab states are also taking part…
ISLAMABAD: A new book has once again made the claim that Nawaz Sharif received money from Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The book, Khalid Khawaja: Shaheed-i-Aman, is authored by Shamama Khalid, the wife of former ISI operative Khalid Khawaja. “Chief of PML-N Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif received funding from Osama Bin Laden, founder of Al-Qaeda, to contest elections against Benazir Bhutto’s led Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) after the end of Zia regime,” the book…
Afghan Security Forces – in an operation on the outskirts of Maimana, the center of Faryab province – destroyed the main hideouts of the Taliban and 120 rebels surrendered, officials said Saturday. The Vice President, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, who is leading the operation, said that the Taliban wanted to control Maimana.Bomb building and storage centers of the Taliban were also destroyed.http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/23985-security-forces-destroy-talibans-main-hideouts-in-faryab
KABUL: Twenty-five people were killed in two attacks in Afghanistan Saturday, including one in the capital, with the blasts putting attempts by Kabul to persuade the Taliban to join peace talks set for next month in jeopardy. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack near the Defence Ministry in the centre of Kabul. “Twelve people, including two Afghan soldiers were killed and eight others injured,” a ministry statement said, while a previous toll given…
WASHINGTON: The State Department on Friday said the United States would forward its wish list to Pakistan after the F-16s deal. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said this during a regular briefing here when a questioner asked what would be the agenda of the Pak-US Strategic talks, and secondly what would be the new US wish list, especially after the F-16s deal with Pakistan. “You are correct, sir, that the strategic dialogue will take place…
The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) has given a task to Pakistan to bring 10 influential Taliban figures for the upcoming direct peace talks with the Afghan government. An Afghan government official privy of the development has told Radio Free Europe (RFE) that the 10 influential Taliban figures have been identified by the Afghan government. The official speaking on the condition of anonymity further added that leaders of the Haqqani network were also among those influential…
Karachi: Pakistani passport has been ranked as the second worst in the world for international travel. Henley & Partners, a company that assists wealthy clients with residence and citizenship planning and the company behind the Visa Restrictions Index, has ranked countries according to the number of other countries their citizens can travel to without having to obtain a visa. Pakistan ranks 103 of a total 104 countries and only ranks better than Afghanistan. Thus meaning…
A Chinese one-hundred yuan banknote sits on a pile of U.S. one-hundred dollar bills. Recently, the value of the yuan has more closely tracked the dollar than the basket of currencies. Bloomberg News Amid rising vulnerabilities to the global economy, world financial leaders and investors fear a disorderly depreciation of China’s yuan could trigger a much larger global selloff, potentially pushing the global economy back into recession. That’s a key reason why finance ministers and…
Elimination of sectarian militants and the campaign against their networks in recent months create the impression that sectarian militancy will soon come to an end. However, these violent organisations have endured crackdowns in the past and are likely to survive the ongoing operations unless some long-term measures are taken to root out this phenomenon. Asif Ilyas aka Asif Chotu, chief of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and allegedly involved in dozens of sectarian killings, was recently arrested…
PAKISTAN’S security indicators have been improving lately, mainly due to the state’s enhanced counterterrorism efforts. Government and security officials highlight gains on the counterterrorism front; statistics support their claims. However, that does not mean we have won the war. We still need to develop effective ideological and political responses to broaden and strengthen the ongoing counterterrorism campaign. During the last two weeks, the security and law-enforcement agencies claimed some significant successes. ISPR chief Lt Gen…