KABUL, Afghanistan — Since he first picked up a gun as a 15-year-old, Abdul Basir has killed a lot of people. Yet the operation on Friday night was different: He was out to kill his son. Around midnight on Friday, Mr. Basir, now in his 40s and the commander of a government militia in the northern Afghan province of Faryab, arrived at a compound in an area called Zyaratgah, part of the restive Qaisar District.…
Posts published in “Day: May 18, 2016”
A major rocket attack plot on Kabul city was foiled as the Afghan security personnel seized three 122 mm rockets before the militants manage to fire them on the city. (Resolute Support Photo) “Resolute Support Mission-trained Ministry of Interior #MOI Major Crimes Task Force (MCTF) Corruption Investigation Unit personnel thwarted a major rocket attack on Kabul on Friday, May 13,” according to a statement by the alliance. The statement further added that the MCTF members…
At least 20 Taliban insurgents were killed in a drone strike in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan, local officials said. The airstrike was carried out earlier today in Dasht-e-Archi district targeting two vehicles of the Taliban insurgents. Provincial police spokesman Hejratullah Akbari said the two vehicles were targeted around 10:00 am local time in Mullah Quli area. He said preliminary reports suggest a number of the Taliban commanders were also among those killed in the…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will on Wednesday host a new round of four-nation Afghan peace talks aimed at reviving long-stalled negotiations with the Taliban, a Foreign Office official said. The group comprising Afghanistan, the United States, China and Pakistan has been attempting since January to restart the nascent peace process. But the lack of progress has left many frustrated, as the Taliban ramp up their insurgency launched in late 2001 after they were toppled from power by…
The writer is a freelance columnist. For quite some time, the US government and media have been painting Pakistan in the most ignoble colours. What Obama administration could not say it straight it says through its mouthpieces — The New York Times and The Washington Post. Baseless stories are published to mislead the world, and accusations are levelled against Pakistan and its armed forces to denigrate them in the public eye. However, it is not…
WASHINGTON: The US State Department has assured Pakistan that it does not support the demand for an independent Balochistan, as it respects the country’s unity and territorial integrity. “The US government respects the unity and territorial integrity of Pakistan, and we do not support independence for Balochistan,” says a policy statement the US State Department shared with Dawn. Elaborating the US position on the matter, a State Department official said: “We have consistently urged all…
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Khawaja Mohammad Asif said on Monday that Pakistan would explore other options to meet its defence needs if the F-16s deal with the United States did not materialise. Talking to journalists after addressing a two-day international conference, he said that Pakistan was an independent and sovereign state and it could acquire defence-related products from other suitable markets of the world. The conference, titled ‘Refugee crisis and its ramifications for global and…
DUBAI: Former president Asif Ali Zardari has stated that halting finance for F-16s fighter jets purchase by the US authorities clearly indicates distance in Pak-US relations. In a statement here Tuesday, Asif Ali Zardari said, “Pak-US relations are badly affected in the past 15 years.” He said in the past, bilateral ties between Pakistan and US were strengthened owing to the Russian threat in the region. Zardari went on to say, “Pakistan has emerged as…
ISLAMABAD: Expressing concern over India’s test of supersonic interceptor missile, Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Monday that Pakistan would consider options for augmenting its defence capability. “Pakistan is not oblivious to its defence and will think seriously to upgrade its defensive capabilities…by acquiring advanced technology,” Sartaj Aziz said in comments given to state-run Radio Pakistan. India, which is working to develop a multi-layered ballistic missile defence system, on Sunday…
ISLAMABAD: The upper house of parliament on Monday unanimously passed a resolution calling on the government to complete a dossier about Indian interference in the country and send it to other countries and international institutions. The resolution, moved by ruling party Senator Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum but taken up by Senator Lt. General (retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi, was passed during a brief session of the Senate on Monday after the opposition walked out protesting the…
HONG KONG — Chinese authorities are quietly scrutinizing technology products sold in China by Apple and other big foreign companies, focusing on whether they pose potential security threats to the country and its consumers and opening up a new front in an already tense relationship with Washington over digital security. Apple and other companies in recent months have been subjected to reviews that target encryption and the data storage of tech products, said people briefed…