Those who do not see any footprints of Daesh in Pakistan may like to know what the Intelligence Bureau chief has told the Senate Committee of Interior and Narcotics. It is a frightening picture; and it invites attention of all concerned – particularly those who may be thinking the job has been done. Daesh is an “emerging threat” to national security, and “it may take 10 years to change the mindset”. What he disclosed was…
Posts published in “Day: February 16, 2016”
For over a year, there has been mounting evidence of the presence of the Islamic State (IS) in Pakistan. It has a presence in every province to a greater or lesser degree, is not shy about advertising itself through its sympathisers who display the IS logo in their shop-windows and on the backs of their trucks, and nor shy about distributing leaflets seeking support — and donations. It does not organise popular rallies or similar…
KASUR; Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf said that his innings is not end yet and that he will play it to the end. “I will again emerge in the public once I fight out all the baseless cases that my enemies have filed against me,” pledged the former president. He was talking to All-Pakistan Muslim League (APML) senior vice-president Mian Muhammad Sharif on the phone here the other day. He said that he is…
The writer is a professor of Psychiatry and consultant Forensic Psychiatrist in the UK. What is the regional strategy of today’s Pakistan? Conflicts presently standing in the changing regional apparatus are very worrying. The strains are making themselves felt clearly. A multitude of pressures and instabilities threatens to shred the political map of Pakistan and regional countries. A toxic brew of growing terrorism, rising insecurity, militant insurgency, gas pipeline projects and success of the China…
Kabul: More Afghan civilians were killed or injured in 2015 than any other year on record, the UN has said in a report. 11,002 casualties is the highest toll since the UN began documenting in 2009, and constitutes a 4% jump from the previous year, following a worrying pattern: as the international military presence in Afghanistan diminishes, more civilians are caught in the crossfire or directly targeted. The Afghan government’s struggle to stem the insurgency…
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday summoned Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan over the abduction of Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi in Islamabad. “Mindful of this that Mr. Wahidi is a prominent personality of Afghanistan and this incident took place in a peaceful area and capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan asks the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to take immediate and strict measures and use all of its resources in identifying…
The writer is a former military officer also served as Federal Secretary Defense. Whenever two neighbouring states with strong political and military standoff, acquire nuclear capabilities with effective delivery means, the entire gambit of diplomacy and warfare changes. Nuclear parity (that exists between Pakistan and India) if properly understood by political and military leaderships, nearly precludes nuclear war and conventional military operations. This automatically pushes the conflict in the political, diplomatic, psychological and economic zones.…
LAHORE: Cracks occurred in the underframes of 16 Chinese locomotives owing to deteriorating condition of the track, especially on some sectors of the Rawalpindi-Lahore route. “Teething problems are normal on new locomotives,” a Chinese expert currently visiting Pakistan to ensure trouble-free operation of the locomotives procured from a firm of his country over a year ago told Dawn on Sunday. Some 11 of these 16 locomotives had been cleared temporarily for freight operations. Six engineers…
As the Nuclear Security Summit convened by President Obama in March draws near, the US is underlining two major concerns regarding Pakistan’s nuclear programme. The first relates to the security of nuclear weapons, the second to the possibility of a nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India. Washington believes that in both cases nuclear security in South Asia would be jeopardised. On Sunday, State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner once again underlined the US concerns. The…
Rallies held for extension in Gen Raheel’s service: report in The News, Feb 15, 2016
KARACHI: The National Peace Committee for Interfaith Harmony on Sunday took out rallies in favour of the Pakistan Army and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur. The rally in Karachi ended outside the Karachi Press Club. A large number of participants, carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans in favour of the Pakistan Army and General Raheel Sharif, chanted slogans of “Long Live Pakistan” and “Long Live Pak…