After 22 months of the formulation of 20 points National Action Plan (NAP), debate regarding its implementation gave birth to a number of questions. Before the drafting of the NAP, national consensus regarding tackling the challenge of militancy and terrorism was a missing link. The NAP depicts that with political ownership, clarity, better civil-military understanding, coordination and public support, we may effectively respond to the challenge and convert it into an opportunity for structural readjustment.…
Posts published in “Day: November 2, 2016”
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Defence has refused to ease restrictions on building new oil storages at Keamari and asked the Ministry of Petroleum to take up the matter with the National Security Council. Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the state-owned oil marketing giant, is seeking to set up additional storages to keep adequate fuel reserves and ensure a smooth supply to different consumers. It also wants to lay a pipeline connecting Karachi Port and Port Bin…
Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Tuesday said that a large-scale military operation is underway in Uruzgan to repel insurgents’ attacks on some key areas. The operation started following reports of a Taliban takeover of a number of army check points in Chora district of the province. Meanwhile, a number of sources have said that at least 41 army soldiers had surrendered to the Taliban along with their weapons, but the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has…
Members of the Supreme Council of Afghanistan Jihadi and National Parties at a gathering on Tuesday urged the National Unity Government (NUG) leaders to end their rift and said if it continues it will drive the country towards a crisis. They did say they are committed to helping government leaders to end their tension. The council said the tension between NUG leaders is because of personal interests and that they have started meddling between President…
The Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said Tuesday that the Mi-25s supplied by India prevented further deterioration of the security situation of the country. Speaking during a joint conference of the leadership of security institutions, President Ghani said “The situation could further deteriorate if the Mi-25s supplied by India would not arrive on time.” Hailing the Afghan Air Force (AAF) leaders for their efforts to provide air support to the Afghan forces during the ongoing…
PESHAWAR: The recent plain talk by Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rasheed Dostum, presently the First Vice-President, has angered both President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Dr Abdullah and triggered a new debate in Afghanistan. Dostum had accused them as well as National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar and NDS chief Mohammad Masoom Stanekai of nepotism and favouritism and complained of the discrimination against ethnic minorities such as the Uzbeks. Regarding President Ghani, Dostum said he favoured his…
WASHINGTON: Spokesperson for the United States Department of State John Kirby said on Wednesday that it was for the government of Pakistan to decided who would be the next Pakistani Chief Of Army Staff. During a press briefing, Kirby said that the government of Pakistan would select the next army chief. He said that USA did not want to comment on the decision that will be undertaken by the Pakistani government. Regarding the political situation…
The writer is a former ambassador, political analyst and Advisor to CRSS, an independent think tank The Chinese government is concerned whether projects related to the CPEC will ever be completed in the wake of a growing security threat to Chinese workers and the international difficulties faced by Pakistan. In order to convert existing challenges into opportunities, the Chinese government has activated its state-run think tanks to understand the undercurrents impeding consensus between the provincial…
GILGIT: Pakistan People’s Party, Gilgit-Baltistan chapter, has threatened to not allow China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project through the region until the constitutional status of GB is determined. They made the demand during a protest procession organised by the PPP on GB’s 68th Independence Day on the Karakoram Highway at Danyor here on Tuesday. The party claimed that about seven to 10,000 activists of political parties participated in the protest rally. Through a resolution, the participants paid…
UPPER DIR: Parliamentary leader of Jamaat-i-Islami in the National Assembly, Sahibzada Tariqullah, has asked the federal government to make the national highway passing through the Malakand division part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as it could be used as an alternative route to the landslide-prone Karakoram Highway. Talking to mediapersons after inaugurating a road project in Dir on Tuesday, he said that inclusion of N-45, passing through Nowshera, Dir and Chitral, would not only strengthen…
GILGIT: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s G-B chapter staged a rally in Danyor Town of Gilgit on Tuesday, demanding that the region’s due share in the multibillion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and ownership rights for locals over barren lands should be respected. “If G-B is a disputed region and its representation is not possible in the parliament, how is its land being used for CPEC?” asked regional PPP President Amjad Hussain. The rally coincided…