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Posts published in “Day: September 26, 2016

Hekmatyar’s return: by S. MUDASSIR ALI SHAH in Dawn, Sept 25, 2016

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Peshawar. TWO years of intense negotiations have finally led to the signing of a peace agreement between the Ashraf Ghani administration and Gulbadin Hekmatyar’s faction of the Hezb-i-Islami (HiG). Under the deal, the fugitive ex-prime minister has virtually been pardoned for his past offences. Although the HiG is the second largest militant organisation in Afghanistan behind the Afghan Taliban, its role in the insurgency has not been…

Peace in Afghanistan: edit in Daily Times, Sept 25, 2016

The signing of a peace deal between the government of Afghanistan and one of the notorious warlords, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, can be a termed a breakthrough amid ongoing bloodshed in the war-torn Afghanistan. A former prime minister, Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s and stands accused of killing thousands of people in Kabul from 1992 to 1996, a period when various Mujahedeen factions fought each other for supremacy and which ended when the…

Peace pact in Kabul: edit in Dawn September 24th, 2016

IF one lives long enough in Afghanistan, it is possible to have been everything: mujahideen commander, war criminal, political leader, aging military commander — and peacemaker too. Gulbadin Hekmatyar inspires passionate debate about what he has meant to Afghanistan and, indeed, about his relevance in that country today. But Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has judged that Mr Hekmatyar and the faction of the Hizb-i-Islami (HiG) he leads are worth making a peace deal with, a…

Delivery of 141 weapons to Taliban stopped in Herat city: NDS By KHAAMA PRESS – Sat Sep 24 2016

1 Comment281 viewsEmail Email Print Print taliban-weapons-seized-in-herat-cityThe delivery of at least 141 different types of weapons to the Taliban insurgents in western Herat province was stopped by the Afghan intelligence operatives. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) said the weapons were loaded professionally in a truck and the group was looking to deliver them to its fighters in Herat province. According to a statement by NDS, the cache included at least 51 Ak-47 assault rifles,…

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar may nominate for the presidential elections By KHAAMA PRESS – Sat Sep 24 2016

0 Comments522 viewsEmail Email Print Print Hekmatyar send out curse to democracy in AfghanistanThe leader of Hezb-e-Islami party Gulbuddin Hekmatyar may nominate for the presidential elections scheduled to be organized in 2019 as a draft peace agreement was signed between the Afghan government and the party last week. A top leader of the party Qazi Hakim has indicated that Hekmatyar could stand in the next presidential elections. “Although it is premature to say anything now,…

Analysis: Hekmatyar could run for president By Tahir Khan in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2016.

ISLAMABAD: The Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan has finally signed a long-awaited peace deal with the government that paves the way for the group to wind up its armed struggle and join mainstream politics. Hizb fighters and commanders would be ‘recruited’ into the security forces, according the 25-point draft of the agreement. As the deal clears the way for the return of the Hizb chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, possibly in a few weeks, the group is now weighing options…

Cross-border militant attack repulsed: report in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2016.

PESHAWAR: Militants carried out on Friday cross-border firing, using heavy weaponry in Mohmand and Bajaur agencies, but they fled when Pakistani security forces retaliated. The incidents took place in Safi tehsil in the Mohmand Agency and the Nava Pass area in Bajaur. “Militants used heavy and light weapons,” a senior security official said. “There were no casualties.” Pakistani security forces deployed on the border responded when they were fired upon by the militants, forcing the…

‘Small minority behind anti-Pakistan bill’ by AMIR WASIM in Dawn, Sept 25, 2016

ISLAMABAD: United States Senator John McCain has assured former president Asif Ali Zardari that a bill currently before the US Senate for branding Pakistan a “sponsor of terrorism” will not succeed. According to a press release issued by the PPP media centre on Saturday, the US senator talked to Mr Zardari by phone and both leaders discussed bilateral and international issues, including those related to the current situation as a result of a war of…

PM’s discourse with the UN: Editorial in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2016.

The Prime Minister fulfilled his promise to highlight the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly during his speech on September 21. Talking about the need to resolve this issue in a peaceful manner, the PM spoke about the human tragedy that has unfolded in Kashmir over the last several weeks. Civilians who have launched a largely peaceful protest campaign have been targeted by the Indian military. Over a hundred individuals have lost their lives…

Pakistan-India: the surreal unravelling of relations : edit in Daily Times, Sept 25, 2016

Characterised by a churlish belligerence, Pakistan-India relationship at present is tenuously hanging on the precipice from where things would not take too long to spiral out of control. Realistically, the two nuclear armed states realise that war would bring destruction to both sides, and so it is not on either’s interest to let the situation come to that. However, India’s muscle flexing by bringing its troops closer to the Line of Control, which is both…

As Kashmir issue lingers, do we have hope;edit in The Express Tribune, Sept 25th, 2016.

The plans to avenge the 17 soldiers killed in the Uri attack and to punish Pakistan for its alleged participation in instigating the incident has gained traction in several segments of the Indian society. From high-level military officials who have spoken about the need for a cross-border targeted response to social media pundits calling for retaliation, there are many who would support a military offensive. There is nothing quite so effective in unifying a nation…