ISLAMABAD – The government yesterday told the Senate that there was deadlock in Pak-US relations at the moment due to different reasons but the deal of sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan had not been scrapped yet. The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz gave these remarks while concluding the debate in the house over the withdrawal of subsidy on sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan by the US.…
Posts published in “Day: May 13, 2016”
BEIJING—One November afternoon a few years ago, President Xi Jinping met an elderly woman while visiting a remote mountain village in central China. A folksy tune spun from their encounter and crafted into a rousing music video last winter went viral. Titled “How Should I Address You”—in reference to the question the farmer asked Mr. Xi—the music video celebrates the president’s concern for the rural poor. Heavily promoted by state media and praised by viewers,…
BEIJING — The death of a well-educated environmentalist after plainclothes officers detained him outside a Beijing foot massage parlor last Saturday is rattling nerves in China and causing its growing middle class to wonder: How safe are we from our own police? A deluge of articles, online comments and petitions for justice suggests that many suspect that unjustified police violence was at fault in the death of the environmentalist, Lei Yang, 29, who, according to…
The tragic incident in Kabul on April 19, in which 64 persons lost their lives and 347 were wounded, not only derailed the process of reconciliation that the Quadrilateral Contact Group (QCG) had initiated with optimism but also put an end to Pakistan’s peace efforts after President Ashraf Ghani blamed Pakistan for not doing much to battle terrorism. Kabul, he said, would not ask Islamabad for help to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table…
Stung by the April 19 bombings in Kabul, which claimed 64 lives and injured 350 others, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has hardened his stance against the Taliban, prioritising war over reconciliation. One broad indication of this altered strategy came in the execution of six Taliban inmates on May 8, the first instance of capital punishment being awarded since the Afghan leader came to power in 2014. He even rebuffed calls from Amnesty International, which only…
SELDOM is the outcome of a counterterrorism operation in Afghanistan of such direct significance to those on this side of the border. However, a joint Afghan-US raid on Tuesday in Paktika province led to Pakistan’s most high-profile kidnap victim, Ali Gilani, being rescued after three years in captivity. The son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had been abducted by gunmen from an election rally in Multan on May 9, 2013, in an attack…
KABUL – The Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah said the enemies of Afghanistan and their supporters dreamt to topple down the government by ramping up insurgency activities. In his remarks during a ceremony to introduce the new intelligence and minister of defense picks in Kabul, Abdullah said the enemies of Afghanistan do not want the safety of Afghanistan even for one day. Reiterating the government’s definition of enemy, Abdullah said anyone picking arms to fight…
President Ashraf Ghani met Tajikistan’s Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda on Tuesday afternoon and asked for the re-opening of Tajik Consulates in Kunduz and Badakhshan provinces, the president’s office said in a statement on Wednesday. Ghani also discussed the issue of visas for Afghan businessmen and residents of Badakhshan province and assured Rasulzada that security forces will provide security for their consulates, according to the statement. This comes after Tajikistan closed its consulates in Kunduz and…
Taliban commander was killed in an airstrike by the Afghan Air Force in northeastern Takhar province of Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the Taliban commander identified as Hanif was killed in the raid which was conducted in Darqad district. A statement by MoD said at least two other militants were also wounded in teh airsrike which was carried out as part of the routine counter-terrorism operations in the past 24 hours. The Taliban…
LANDIKOTAL: The Torkham border remained closed for the second day as the third round of talks between Pakistani and Afghan authorities failed to reduce the tension over installation of barbed wire and fencing in Pakistani territory, official sources said on Wednesday. Hundreds of stranded passengers including women and children stayed in mosques, hotels and other empty buildings Tuesday night at Torkham, Landikotal and nearby areas. They were anxiously waiting for opening of the border so…
By MUJIB MASHAL and JAWAD SUKHANYAR KABUL, Afghanistan — Since his days as a C.I.A.-backed Afghan guerrilla leader against the Soviets in the 1980s, the former prime minister and perpetual insurgent Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has always seemed to be negotiating his next shift of alliances. Now, with his Hezb-i-Islami militant group nearly eclipsed by the Taliban, Mr. Hekmatyar, 68, is once again working a deal — this time to formally reconcile with the Afghan government for…