The Middle Eastern region has been a politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region throughout the ages. Not only that, it is very much clear that its strategic and economic importance in today’s world cannot be ignored. The term Middle East, first used by the British India Office and then by naval expert Alfred Tahyar Mahan in 1902 in a British journal, designates the area between Pakistan and, generally speaking, the area up to or beyond…
Posts published in “Day: March 14, 2016”
ISLAMABAD – A number of Pakistani Taliban have fled to Afghanistan from North Waziristan Agency during the past few weeks, it has been learnt reliably. Security sources said some of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants were reportedly moved into Afghanistan prior to the military’s final push in the Shawal valley and its adjoining areas while some others were on the run. “We have no estimates how many of them have moved so far,” a senior security…
Atta Mohammad Noor, acting governor of northern Balkh province, on Sunday said Daesh insurgents are trying to infiltrate the province. He confirmed the presence of Daesh in Balkh and said security forces discovered documents during the Khorshid 21 military operation in the province. He said the documents show signs of the group’s presence in the province and indicate Daesh was “trying to recruit people” locally. He said the operation – led by himself – was…
WASHINGTON: The US commanders on the ground in Afghanistan believe that former Pakistani Taliban, Afghan Taliban and others on the run were squeezed by the Pakistan army and now joining the ranks of Daesh to gain hold. “Part of it is due to the fact that Pakistan has been a push over the last couple of years, put a significant effort against the Taliban. Some of that Taliban that was in Afghanistan, either Afghan Taliban…
DI KHAN: The political administration of South Waziristan Agency has given 24 hours to the Suleman Khel and Dottani tribes to rescue nine workers of the Fata Development Authority (FDA) who were kidnapped a day earlier. An official told The Express Tribune on Friday that action would be taken under the Frontier Crimes Regulation if the tribes failed to recover the abducted individuals. Under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, the tribes are bound by collective responsibility…
22 tribesmen arrested in ‘collective responsibility’ punishment Report in the Nation, March 11, 2016
WANA: Authorities on Friday arrested 22 tribesmen in South Waziristan region in a “collective responsibility” punishment a day after eight government officials were kidnapped, officials said. The tribal areas, which include South Waziristan, are governed by colonial-era legislation under which relatives, tribesmen and neighbours of suspects can be arrested and detained for years without trial for a crime committed by another. Eight officials of the FATA Development Authority (FDA), the government organisation for the Federally…
The writer is a retired Senator and an analyst of regional affairs As usual, it is not easy to choose news about events in Pakistan over the last one or two weeks for making comments. The deadly terrorist attack on a court premise in Shabqadar (Charsada), after a similarly bloody attack on Bacha Khan University in the same district some time back, and devastating attacks in Jalalabad and elsewhere on the western side of the…
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s deal to purchase eight F-16 jet fighters from the United States became effective on Friday, a day after the US Senate rejected a measure to block the sale. “We appreciate the leadership of the US Congress in consistently supporting Pak-US counter-terrorism partnership,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani while commenting on the Senate vote. “The vote is a demonstration of the strength and resilience of Pak-US Relationship.” On Feb12, the US State Department…
Nawaz Sharif is not known of springing too many surprises, especially the liberal-progressive type. Yet lately he’s been pulling a fair share out of his old hat. The one about turning Pakistan into a liberal country, for example – not to mention celebrating Holi and praising Dr Abdus Salam – shocked not just his core conservative right wing lobby. And there’s more; some of it far more serious. With the LeT warning, Islamabad has set…
The dust raised by the 2-day multinational military exercise hosted by Saudi Arabia in the Hafar ul Batin desert close to the Iraqi and Kuwaiti borders should have settled by now, but speculation as to its raison d’etre is likely to persist. With 20 countries participating it was a huge show of strength, and more so for the high-profile presence of foreign dignitaries. To watch its concluding ceremony many heads of state and government and…