The writer is a retired brigadier. Pak-Afghan relations have never been cordial. There is a long history of mutual mistrust, suspicion and accusations of interference in internal affairs. How did this mistrust develop? Most of the people are aware that Pakistan interferes in Afghan affairs but few know that it was Afghanistan that actually laid claim on the Pakhtun-populated areas of Pakistan and questioned the validity of the Durand Line after the partition plan was…
Posts published in “Day: February 15, 2016”
Two senior members of Taliban’s political office in Qatar have made a visit to Islamabad ahead the resumption of face-to-face peace talks with Afghan government. The delegation reportedly visited Islamabad on February 6, on the eve of third round of the quadrilateral talks for finalizing the three-step roadmap for restarting the halted process. The two peace negotiators were Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikza, who heads the Qatar political office, and Qari Din Mohammad, who is another…
Unknown gunmen gave reportedly kidnapped the former provincial governor Fazlullah Wahidi in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. Wahidi has previously served as the governor of eastern Kunar and western Herat provinces of Afghanistan. According to the authorities in Pakistan, Wahidi was on a visit along with his family when he was kidnapped by the gunmen. The authorities have told Voice of America that Wahidi was kidnapped from the vicinity of Jinnah Supermarket in Islamabad.…
Stock markets around the world are pounding bank stocks on concern their basic business is under threat. There’s an added concern about banks in China: how the stock-market falls may be exposing fraud in their operations. Bank stocks are under pressure world-wide over investor concerns that their profit margins are at risk as more central banks move toward negative short-term interest rates. U.S. banks got hit anew after U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Janet Yellensaid…
Afghanistan can perhaps be labelled as one of the most war affected country in the world. Peace has seldom been achieved since the Soviet invasion. After the end of the Soviet occupation, the country saw severe infighting over power which led to major internal armed conflicts. The fact that Afghan groups who took arms against the former USSR but later turned to each other for support is not a surprising story. By nature, Afghans are…
The author is now consulting editor at Newsweek Pakistan, based in Lahore As Pakistan denies the growing footprint of the Islamic State (IS) on its soil, its radicalised citizens keep killing “liberals” and members of Muslim sects they don’t like. There’s evidence that Pakistanis are going to Syria “for training”, one angry academic in Islamabad claimed on Geo TV last month that an ex-chief of the ISI, Hamid Gul, recruited for the IS before he…
The loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and syria (ISIS) terrorist group in Afghanistan are attempting to establish a base operations in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Army Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, deputy chief of staff for communications for NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is operating in four or five remote districts of Nangarhar province. He was briefing reports via a video conference from Afghanistan on…
LAHORE – Refuting the claims of Intelligence Bureau chief about Daesh, other security agencies of Pakistan have said a recently identified offshoot of a banned outfit is being confused with Daesh or ISIS, a terrorist organisation in Middle East. Since the action against militancy got pace in the country, main terrorist groups broke down and new groups emerged, like Saut-ul-Ummat – an off shoot of banned Hizbut Tahrir. Sources told The Nation that Saut-ul-Ummat was…
Islamabad – Pakistan will contest for membership right of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in the World Nuclear Summit slated for next month in Washington in the interest of strategic stability in South Asia. Well-placed diplomatic sources told The Nation on Friday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will lead a delegation to the World Nuclear Summit being hosted by the United States. Foreign Office is busy finalising the speech the prime minister will deliver at…
WASHINGTON: The United States State Department has said that the US is concerned over the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and tensions between Pakistan and India. In a daily media briefing, Mark C. Toner, Deputy Spokesperson of US State Department said, “US is concerned both about the security of nuclear weapons, and that’s been a common refrain, if you will, in our discussions with Pakistan; but we’re also concerned, clearly, about tensions between India and…