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Posts published in “Day: January 4, 2017

How not to end the Afghan war: by Afrasiab Khattak in The Nation, December 31, 2016

The author is a retired Senator and an analyst of regional affairs In the mid 1980s when the Cold War was at its peak and things had heated up in Afghanistan, the former Soviet statesman Mikhail Gorbachev described Afghanistan as a country that had turned into a bleeding wound. Unfortunately, apart from some brief intervals, the unlucky country hasn’t seen peace in the true sense of the word throughout the last four decades. Almost all…

Mullah Mansour acquired Pakistani CNIC in 2005: Nisar Report in The Nation, December 30, 2016

ISLAMABAD: Former Taliban commander, Mullah Akhtar Mansour acquired Pakistani identity in 2005, Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar said Friday as he verbally scathed previous governments over their alleged failure to regulate distribution of fake identity cards. “The previous government did nothing for national security but now an apparent improvement could be witnessed after the sitting government took over the affairs of the country,” Nisar told reporters at a press briefing here. The minister claimed that…

In doldrums: Pakistan’s relations with its neighbours in 2016 By Tashkeel Ahmed Farooqui in The Express Tribune, Dec, 31, 2016

In the absence of a foreign minister, Pakistan failed to revamp ties with most of its immediate neighbours in 2016. The government’s critics, including the Opposition, even went as far as calling the nation’s foreign policy a failure. This prompted a rejoinder from the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who posited that Pakistan had been pursuing a proactive foreign policy to secure its national interest in an evolving geostrategic environment. Let’s look…

.2 key ISIS commanders arrested, 10 killed in East of Afghanistan By KHAAMA PRESS – Mon Jan 02 2017, 2:22 pm

Two top commanders of the loyalists of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were arrested and at least ten others were killed during the counter-terrorism operations in East of Afghanistan. The provincial police commandment said the ISIS top commanders were arrested during a night operation conducted in Haska Mina district. According to a statement by the provincial police commandment, the US forces based in Afghanistan also conducted a drone strike that led…

Key Taliban commanders among 21 killed in Logar airstrikes By KHAAMA PRESS – Mon Jan 02 2017, 5:07 pm

At least 21 Taliban insurgents were killed in separate airstrikes conducted in central Logar province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Monday. The ministry further added that two key commanders of the group were also among those killed. “Acting upon confirmed intelligence reports, Air Forces stormed a hideout of armed Taliban in Charkh district of Logar province yesterday evening, killing 21 armed Taliban and destroying their weapons and ammunition,” MoI said. According to…

Chaman-Kandahar highway blocked against closure of border Report in Dawn, January 3rd, 2017

QUETTA: Traffic between Chaman and Kandahar remained suspended for several hours on Monday after a large number of protesters blocked in Chaman the highway linking Pakistan with Afghanistan by putting up barricades and burning tyres. The people were protesting against the closure of the Pak-Afghan border by Frontier Corps to stop illegal business across it . They gathered at the main Chaman-Kandahar highway, blocking it for traffic. The people also put up barricades on the…

Tajikistan probing alleged Russia support to Taliban via its soil By KHAAMA PRESS – Mon Jan 02 2017, 5:42 pm

The authorities in Tajikistan are saying that an investigation is underway to ascertain claims made by the former Afghan officials suggesting the Taliban weapons are being repaired by the Russian experts inside the Tajik soil. A spokesman for Tajikistan’s border guard agency, Muhammadjon Ulughkhojaev, has said the allegations by the former Afghan officials are baseless. However, he did not rule out the possibility as he vowed to probe the allegations. Ulughkhojaev quoted in a report…

Russia Blocking Afghan Peace Deal: by Jessica Donati & Habib Khan Totakhil in WSJ, Jan 2, 2017 a 12.34pm ET E

KABUL—Russia is hindering the removal of one of Afghanistan’s most notorious warlords from a United Nations sanctions list, Afghan and Western officials said Monday, a move that could complicate efforts to implement a peace deal seen as a model for a similar accords with the Taliban and other insurgent groups. The agreement reached in September between the Afghan government and Hezb-e Islami, an Islamist political and militant group led by the warlord, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, was…

China’s Pakistan bourse stake to boost ties: By Liang Haiming in Global Times, Jan 2, 2017 at 23:33:39

The author is chief economist with Guangzhou-based China iValley Research Institute A Chinese consortium led by three Chinese exchanges is slated to acquire a 40 percent stake in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for 28 rupees ($0.27) per share, valuing the stake at 8.96 billion rupees. The three exchanges – China Financial Futures Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange – will take a combined 30 percent, while the remaining 10 percent will be…

CPEC for GB?: by Arif Hussain Baltistani in The Nation, Jan 3, 2017

The writer is a CSS Aspirant. A final Year university student came to me to know the benefits of the CPEC to the province of Gilgit Baltistan (GB). He was very excited about the CPEC becoming operational. He placed his queries before me. I stared at the questions and took a long breadth and answered. Gilgit Baltistan is the gateway to the CPEC route and more than 300 kilometers of land is under the influence…

The economics of CPEC: op-ed by Ishrat Husain in Dawn, Jan 3, 2017

The writer is a public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington, D.C. IN a country where negativity and cynicism reign supreme, critics and detractors of all kinds are revered, and emotional outbursts and fabricated stories dominate the air waves and social media, it is difficult to present a dispassionate analysis of national issues. Since China announced the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), more time and energy has been spent in finding faults, poking…