The writer is a former Pakistan ambassador to the UN. THE launch of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (comprising Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US) is the latest attempt by outsiders to pacify Afghanistan. Like a second marriage, it represents the triumph of hope over experience. Alexander the Great’s armies languished in Khorasan for a decade. The British Empire failed in three wars to control the Afghans. The Soviet Union withdrew ignominiously after nine bloody years.…
Posts published in “Day: March 20, 2016”
WASHINGTON — The United States has significantly intensified its bombing campaign in Afghanistan in the past two months as part of President Obama’s widening war against the Islamic State militants who have seized territory outside of Iraq and Syria, according to senior military commanders. American drones and fighter jets dropped 251 bombs and missiles in January and February in Afghanistan, more than three times the strikes in the same period last year, according to data…
Kashmir is one of the most intractable international territorial disputes. For 70 years, there is no resolution in sight as neither India nor Pakistan is willing to recognise the other’s claims. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond recently said in Islamabad that Kashmir should not be a precondition to the Pakistan-India dialogue. Predictably, there were howls of protests in the country over Hammond’s remarks. But realistically can Pakistan afford to keep its head permanently buried in…
While progress on the India-Pakistan front remains admittedly slow, recent developments are pushing the two countries towards a more collaborative approach in tackling regional challenges, including terrorism. After a meeting between Adviser on Foreign Policy Sartaj Aziz and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the 37th Saarc Council of Ministers Meeting on Thursday, a number of key agreements were reached. The most significant of these is the agreement to send a Joint…
The writer is a graduate from a western European university. The footage of troops from a score of Muslim countries – including Pakistan – marching shoulder to shoulder as a mark of solidarity in the concluding ceremony of the twelve-day North Thunder military drills was immensely impressive. Held in the Saudi town of Hafar al-Batin, close to the Iraqi border, the military manoeuvres sent out the message that the world of Islam is willing as…
Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost made a veiled reference to the inclusion of Pakistan in the ill-famed 34-nation military alliance, expressing ‘confidence’ in the leadership of Pakistan, saying that Islamabad was wise enough to understand the ‘other side’ of this alliance. Although he did not regale into what he meant by the ‘other side’, it is no secret that the true purpose of the alliance is to tip the balance of power in Middle Eastern politics…
The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar. The two rival Afghan Taliban factions have increasingly been fighting each other in Afghanistan since the collapse of efforts by pro-Taliban clerics to mediate between them. Twice in the last few months, the fighters loyal to Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, head of the mainstream Taliban faction, and his rival Mulla Mohammad Rasool have fought pitched battles in Herat province. The factional fighting continued for five…
SIALKOT- Some unknown accused wrote pro-Daesh slogans on three walls located in front of the Civil Rest House, Govt Postgraduate College for Women Daska and Kutchery Road. The pro-Daesh graffiti caused harassment among the local people. The Daska City police remained unable to find out any clue of the persons involved in the wall chalking. However, police removed the writings. It was the third time when pro-Daesh writings were made on walls in Daska city…