Posts published in “Day: October 14, 2016”

The writer is the author of Fixing the EU Intel Crisis Last week, a number of Afghan parliamentarians from the Kunduz province accused the national unity government and its armed forces for supporting terrorist organisations like ISIS and Taliban. They alleged that military commanders were providing arms, financial assistance and sanctuaries to terrorists, and transported their suicide bombers to their destinations. These were some of the most disturbing accusations in the Afghan history at the…

IN area after area, district after district, province after province, the war between the insurgent Afghan Taliban and Kabul is tilting towards the former. From Lashkar Gah in the south to Kunduz in the north, and from Farah City in the west to a great deal of eastern Afghanistan, the country appears to be spiralling towards a slow collapse of the state. To be sure, the Afghan security forces are fighting fiercely, defending territory and…

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) cleared the strategic Kunduz city from the presence of the Taliban militants after nine days of intense gun battle, local officials said Wednesday. Provincial police chief Mohammad Masoom Hashemi said the clearance operations fully concluded late on Tuesday night and operations are currently being conducted in the remote parts of the province. There are no reports regarding the casualties incurred to the local residents and security forces…

Officials in Farah on Thursday said NATO’s Resolute Support (RS) mission has deployed its special forces in the province to support the Afghan security forces in fight against Taliban militants. Mohammad Nasir Mehri, a spokesman for Farah governor, confirmed the report, saying that Taliban insurgents were pushed back from the northern parts Farah city – the capital city of the province. Reports indicate that clashes between security forces and Taliban are ongoing for the past…

Amrullah Saleh, former head of the Afghan intelligence agency – the National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Thursday said the rift in the country’s political front has contrasted the efforts to overcome the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Saleh made the remarks during the inauguration of a charity organization (Foundation for Funding Heroes) in Kabul, where he said Afghans have been exploited by some self-interested politicians. “What we have lost is not the absence of harmony…

First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum on Thursday met with residents of Faryab and Sar-e-Pul provinces where he said any soldier that neglects in their duty will face legal action by relevant organizations. “We implement the law on all the military personnel. No matter who they are. If they are police chief or head of security or anyone else, we ask them about the security situation and we have the authority to punish them,” Dostum…

The Presidential Palace (ARG) on Thursday raised doubts over reports published in Pakistani media that Islamabad has initiated crackdown against a number of high profile Afghan Taliban leaders residing in Pakistan. Dawa Khan Minapal, President Ashraf Ghani’s deputy spokesman expressed unawareness about the reports that could prove the credibility of the news, but advocated Islamabad for a swift handover of the Taliban inmates to Afghanistan. “Pakistani government has not informed the Afghan government over its…

The writer is a veteran journalist and founding member as well as executive editor of The Nation. The joint session of Parliament may well be seen as an expression of national unity, and ever since the joint session called in March 2012 to consider the situation arising out of the USA shooting up the Pakistani checkpost at Salala in November 2011, it has become the means of choice for Parliament to consider any changes in…

In the early 1970s, Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai accommodated the exiled Cambodian prince Norodom Sihanouk and made him an honoured state guest to demonstrate China’s support for small countries fighting imperialism. China’s vision of the world has changed much since, but its strategy of using Cambodia to showcase Beijing’s big picture has not. When Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Phnom Penh, he had a clear message to deliver not only to…

Internet censors in China are targeting another pastime enjoyed by millions – the joy of making rubbish real-time comments while watching online videos. For censors in Shanghai, such light-hearted comments – often no more than “hahaha” or a few emoji flashing for a few seconds – are too dangerous to be left unwatched. Internet security authorities in Shanghai said on Tuesday they would step up oversight of the content published on video streaming sites, including…