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Posts published in “Day: June 8, 2016

Civil-military leadership discusses security, foreign policy at GHQ Web Desk, The Nation, June 07, 2016

ISLAMABAD: According to ISPR, the Civil-Military leadership convened a meeting at the GHQ Headquarters. In the meeting, various security matters came under discussion. Federal Ministers and the Senior Military Command were present. The leadership expressed satisfaction on the achievements of Zarb-E-Azb as it has entered in its final stages. Matters pertaining to Internal situation and Economic corridor were highlighted. COAS Raheel Sharif was leading the top level meeting. Khawaja Asif (Minister of Defense / Water…

Afghanistaning ourselves: By Mosharraf Zaidi in The News, June 07, 2016

The writer is an analyst and commentator. Has the state-building exercise undertaken by the US and its allies in Afghanistan failed? It sure seems like it. We have witnessed a tumultuous Karzai era, followed by a tumultuous Ghani-Abdullah era. In between, we’ve witnessed botched elections, constitutional amendments, delayed reforms, and a jet-stream off scorched-earth terror attacks by the Taliban and the Haqqani Network that have taken hundreds of innocent lives. We’ve witnessed the destruction of…

Frankenstein’s monsters: By Dr Madiha Afzal in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2016.

The writer is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. A troublemaker that causes its neighbours harm, a country being attacked by monsters of its own creation: this is how the world sees Pakistan. Yes, there are moments of unreserved sympathy for the country and the suffering of its people — after the Army Public School attack in Peshawar, after the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park…

Re-setting relations with Afghanistan :By Talat Masood in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2016.

The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. Much of Pakistan’s problems are rooted in the reality that it is not clear what sort of a state it wants to be. Every state institution has its own concept of what a state should be and tries to mould the country in accordance with its thinking. Taking advantage of the weakness of the democratic leadership, major institutions are…

The Worrisome Rise of Kidnapping Civilians: By Abdul Ahad Bahrami in the Daily Outlook Afghanistan, June 08, 2016

. The writer is a staffer There has been a sharp increase in kidnapping of civilians by Taliban militants in recent weeks. Late last month, militants apparently loyal to the Taliban abducted around 200 passengers traveling from Kabul to northern Badakhshan and Takhar provinces. Most of the passengers were soon released, but the kidnappers have killed around 20 of the abductees. Some of the kidnapped passengers still remain in captivity with their fates being unknown.…

An unending misery: EDIT in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2016.

Calls to the Afghan Taliban — and presumably every other iteration of the Taliban — to observe a ceasefire during Ramazan have fallen on deaf ears. The Taliban have been on a roll for 18 months, steadily advancing across the map of Afghanistan with ever more of the country coming under their direct control or influence. The Afghan National Army (ANA) is indifferently led, poorly equipped and leaking men and materiel like a sieve. The…

Pakistan’s isolation,Need to explain policies: Editorial in Pakistan Today,June 7, 2016

Surely even Pakistan’s most committed lobbyists – if there were any – would find it difficult to sensibly explain the latest resurrection of the Difa e Pakistan Council. It does seem – when saner minds do not intervene and explain – that the Council has been mobilised, by someone, for specific foreign policy optics. Why, otherwise, would Maulana Sami and Hafiz Saeed gather it in Islamabad, with everybody watching, and swing fists at India and…

Civilian Casualties Up By 55% In May: by Sayed Sharif Amiri in TOLONEWS, 07 June 2016

A security report by TOLOnews reveals that civilian casualties have increased by 55 percent in May compared to March this year. According to the report, over 120 civilians were killed in conflict and violence during May in Afghanistan. The report indicates that Afghan Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) have escalated their military operations but they did not make any considerable achievement in retaking areas from insurgents. But from another perspective, May did record achievements by…

Taliban Used Biometric System During Kunduz Kidnapping by Sharif Amiri in TOLONEWS,, 05 June 2016

Taliban insurgents behind the recent mass kidnapping in Kunduz, used a government biometric system to check if bus passengers were security force members, said commander of 808 Spinzar Zone, Sher Aziz Kamawal. The insurgents ambushed a number of busses along the Kunduz-Baghlan highway last week, and initially took 200 passengers hostage. They executed 10 on the spot and later killed another two. The majority of hostages have been released but the fate of at least…

Dostum Asks Noor Not to Spark Tensions Among Jamiat, Junbish Parties Report in The Daily Outlook Afghanistan, June 8, 2016

KABUL – Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum has asked the acting provincial governor Ata Mohammad Noor not to spark tensions among Jamiat-e-Islami and Junbish-e-Milli parties. Ata Mohammad Noor is a prominent political figure and Chief Executive of Jamiat-e-Islami who has reportedly blamed Gen. Dostum among several other prominent political figures for the recent upheavals in Balkh province. However, Gen. Dostum dismissed the allegations by Noor as baseless and inappropriate, saying he is involved in…

NSC wants Income Sources of Militants Dried up Report in The Daily Outlook Afghanistan, June 8, 2016

KABUL – The National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday issued necessary directives to the authorities concerned regarding security of judicial employees and drying up income sources of insurgents. A statement from the Presidential Palace said President Ashraf Ghani presided over the NSC meeting at the Presidential Palace before noon.  The security and defence sector ministers presented their reports about the security situation in Helmand, Uruzgan, Laghman, Kunduz, Sar-i-Pul, Baghlan, Faryab, Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces…