While political temperature may be rising across the country and could lead to 1977 like situation, if not handled with political maturity, what perhaps, went un-noticed is a “silent coup” in Sindh, as the civilian authority of the “captain,” has practically been eroded in the last one year, in dealing with “Karachi Targeted Action.” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, now under criticism within the party for not doing enough to protect party’s men…
Posts published in “Day: April 26, 2016”
The Heart of Asia conference has emerged as an interesting icebreaker between Pakistan and India. Last time, when Pakistan hosted in Dec ’15, Sushma Swaraj surprised everybody by suddenly arriving and resuming the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD). It’s another matter, of course, that such initiatives have had a way of running into unexpected potholes over the years. Despite apparent sincerity on both sides, there was just no way to keep the Pathankot incident from derailing…
The shadow deputy district chief of the Taliban group for Khwajah Bahauddin was killed during a gun battle in northeastern Takhar province. The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Mullah Hassan who was also famous as Abu Bakr was appointed as the deputy district chief by the Taliban group for Khwajah Bahauddin. A statement by MoI said Mullah Hassan was killed along with another prominent Taliban leader during gun battle with the police forces. According to…
At least 30 militants were killed during a clash between the Taliban militants and loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in eastern Nangarhar province. Provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqwal said the clash took place in Da Nari Aab area of Haska Mina district on Sunday. He said a commander of ISIS loyalists identified as Zamin was killed along with 10 other loyalists of the terror group and 15 others were wounded.…
KABUL: After courting Pakistan for more than a year, President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan changed course on Monday and warned that he would lodge a complaint with the United Nations Security Council if Pakistan refuses to take military action against Taliban commanders operating from its soil to wage an increasingly deadly insurgency across Afghanistan. Ghani has taken pains to persuade Pakistan’s leadership, particularly its powerful military, to bring the insurgent leaders to the negotiating table.…
In a historic joint session with members of both houses of parliament, cabinet members and religious scholars, President Ashraf Ghani blasted Pakistan for not fulfilling its promises to get the Taliban to the peace talks tables and said the Afghan government will no longer call on Islamabad to help with this. Ghani said Pakistan should realize that there is no difference between good terrorists and bad terrorists and that it should act as a responsible…
Nangarhar provincial officials on Monday raised concerns over Pakistan’s cross-border shelling, which has been ongoing for two days. Security officials from the 201st Selab Military Corps said that Afghan security forces are waiting for central government to give orders for them to respond to the missile attacks. Provincial council and civil society members have called on government to act. “Our request from government and NATO is to help forces respond to Pakistan,” said Zabiullah Zamari,…
Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, Alexander Mantytskiy on Monday vehemently rejected claims that his government had lent support to the Taliban in the group’s fight against Daesh. Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Mantytskiy said: “Russia has no secret plan with Taliban regarding Afghanistan, but a number of countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and even Germany have ties with the Taliban. Moscow calls on this group [Taliban] to join the intra-Afghan peace…
The Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Alexander Mantytskiy said negotiations are underway for the delivery of Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan. Mantytskiy was speaking to reporters in capital Kabul to brief regarding the bilateral ties between Kabul and Moscow. He said Moscow has agreed to deliver helicopters to the Afghan army following the recent meeting between President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and the Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Mantytskiy, the recent delivery of Mi-25 gunships by India…
Islamabad: A three-member delegation of the Afghan Taliban has arrived in Islamabad to discuss possibility of negotiations with the Afghan government, a report in the local media said on Monday. The report, however, did not confirm if the three-member team of the Qatar-based Taliban political office will be meeting with representatives of the Afghan government. The delegation includes Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, a former diplomat in Islamabad and Jan Muhammad Madni, who has served as Afghan…
WASHINGTON — As first vice president of Afghanistan, Abdul Rashid Dostum is the second-ranking official in a country that is almost wholly dependent on American military and financial might, and he is eager to visit Washington and discuss how best to overcome the Taliban. The only problem is that Mr. Dostum, who has been accused of war crimes, is not welcome in the United States. Mr. Dostum’s ascent to the vice presidency of Afghanistan, despite…