The writer is the author of Development, Poverty and Power in Pakistan, available from Routledge Since 9/11, the lingering turmoil in Afghanistan has led to a steady growth in opium production, and now our neighbouring country has become the largest supplier of illegal opium in the world. Massive amounts of this opium is also being refined into heroin, fueling an illegal trade that worsens prospects of stability within the country, and has major consequences for…
Posts published in “Day: March 25, 2016”
President Ashraf Ghani’s military advisor Sayed Hussain Anwari has blasted government leaders for not delivering on their campaign promises amid a surge in security threats and an economic downturn. Anwari called on government to respond to the people’s call and to fulfill their promises made during the 2014 presidential elections. The ongoing challenges and uncertainties have raised major concerns among the people and the president and his CEO must act and rebuild the people’s trust…
The supporters of General Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ata Mohammad Noor engaged in a clash today in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan. According to the local officials, one person was killed and five others were wounded in the incident, involving exchange of fire among the supporters of the two prominent political figures. Provincial police chief Syed Agha Andarabi confirmed that the victims of the incident were rally participants who were marching in Maimana city. This…
At least five militants were killed in the latest infighting among the Taliban militants in western Herat province of Afghanistan. According to the local government officials, the clash between Mullah Mohammad Rasool and Mullah Akhtar Mansoor took place Ghorian district. The officials further added that the militants killed during the infighting have been taken to Shindand district of Herat province. The supporters of Mullah Rasool and Mullah Mansoor engaged in a week long infighting in…
Just weeks after a military operation reportedly cleared the Dande Ghori district in Baghlan province of the Taliban, residents claim the insurgents have returned. According to them, clashes have resumed between Afghan security forces and the insurgents. They say Taliban insurgents are preventing farmers in the area from working their land and that a number of residents have fled the area. One Dande Ghori resident, Mir Dad, said: “Last night Taliban forced their way into…
ISLAMABAD – The United States is enhancing operational capacity of its troops in Afghanistan to tackle new challenges following the Afghan Taliban’s refusal to join the quadrilateral peace process. According to credible sources in the shipping industry the US military has sent new tactical equipment, including vehicles to Afghanistan. Interestingly, the new equipment is reaching Afghanistan through Pakistan at a time when the United States has appointed General John W. Nicholson as new commander of…
Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (HPC) on Thursday expressed hope that the four-nation group comprising senior diplomats from Afghanistan, Pakistan, US and China will be able to convene their fifth peace talks meeting by the end of the month – with the Taliban present. Known as the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), the group has so far held four meetings in Kabul and in Islamabad in a bid to pave the way for the Taliban to endorse…
By Charlie Osborne in ZDNet.com, March 24, 2016, 11:31 GMT (17:01 IST) | A Chinese citizen has pleaded guilty to hacking offences against US contractors in the quest for sensitive data. The aviation specialist, 50-year-old Su Bin, was arrested in July 2014 after law enforcement became suspicious of his role in cyberattacks against US defense contractors including Boeing, which produces military jets and technology for the country’s military. In a press release on Wednesday, the…
It is in Pakistan’s supreme interest to upgrade relations with Iran and go for a more nuanced policy in the Gulf and the Middle East. The visit by Rouhani should mark the beginning of a new era of improved economic, political, and people to people relations. The ties between the two countries which had hitherto been closer and warmer saw a downturn under Ziaul Haq whose shortsighted policies turned Pakistan into a battleground for proxy…
The evolution of Pakistan’s foreign policy in the last two years has been both rapid and positive. For decades, it has been hamstrung by the cloying dependency on particularly the Arab states in the Gulf region. Those relationships were — and still are — essentially transactional and energy-based. There is little flowing from Pakistan into the countries of the Arabian peninsula beyond migrant workers with the reciprocal outflow of their remittances. In historical cultural terms,…
KARACHI: Sanctions-free Iran offers massive trade opportunities, but to tap this market Pakistan exporters need to actively pursue prospects and improve product quality, suggested PAIR Investment Company MD and CEO Nadeem Karamat. “Pakistan can export millions of dollars of rice, meat and meat products, auto parts and many other goods to Iran. There is a fair chance that Pakistan could replace the countries that are currently selling these products to Tehran,” Karamat said while speaking…