Pakistan is under a double attack: (1) from India because Kashmir, the Indian-occupied part of it, is on the boil and nothing that India is doing is having any effect; and (2) from Afghanistan and the United States because the Taliban are on the march and are refusing to be defeated. Pakistan, even if it wanted to, can’t settle Kashmir for India nor pacify Afghanistan for the US. And so it is being blamed by…
Posts published in “Day: September 21, 2016”
By INAM UL HAQUE | RIAZ HUSSAIN KHOKHAR | RIAZ MOHAMMAD KHAN | MAHMUD DURRANI (Haque, Khokhar and Riaz Md Khan are former foreign secretaries; retired major general Mahmud Durrani is a former national security adviser) PAKISTAN is facing an exceptionally dangerous challenge with aggressive rhetoric and threats from India and Afghanistan and hostile narratives gaining resonance in Washington. Failing to suppress the sustained uprising in India-held Kashmir, the Modi government has intensified its smear…
The 17th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit has concluded in Venezuela with Pakistan clearly opposing attempts to equate the right to self-determination’s legitimate struggle against terrorism. Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz led the Pakistani delegation at the Summit held on September 17 18 at Venezuela’s Margarita Island, a Foreign Office statement said on Monday. The Summit concluded with the adoption of the NAM Declaration on issues such as terrorism, self-determination, the situation…
One reason the foreign office did not react too strongly to PM Modi’s sudden turn to Balochistan was that it likely considered it a very short term measure. Even as the Bengalis and Afghans hopped on to the bandwagon, there was only so far they could push it. And it’s not like nobody could see the timing with a very indigenous uprising, and a very brutal crackdown, in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Another, of course, is…
UNITED NATIONS: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged the United States on Monday to help resolve issues between Pakistan and India. At a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in New York, Mr Sharif highlighted the atrocities Indian security forces were committing in held Kashmir as part of their effort to curb a popular uprising in the Valley. The prime minister, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, also criticised…
ISLAMABAD: Instead of blame games, Pakistan and India need to focus on strengthening the mechanism of information sharing which should be legally admissible in the courts of both the countries and mutual legal assistance laws should be strengthened so that both the neighbours could fight terrorism in a better and organised manner. In the wake of Uri Attack, India, instead of playing war of words through media, should share legally admissible evidence with Pakistan so…
NEW YORK: The prime minister’s media team made a blunder when the premier reached New York, as it issued a press release claiming that Nawaz Sharif would address the Pakistani community, but the team was apparently too jetlagged to mention when and where. This slackness on part of the media team created ambiguity not just among the media but also the Pakistani community. It may be mentioned here that soon after his arrival, Prime Minister…
ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Irfan Siddiqui on Monday arrived in Italy on the first leg of a five-day visit to Europe for highlighting the Kashmir issue. According to the information received by Online, the Pakistani and Kashmiri communities have not been informed in any European country about his visit. When contacted, staff at the PM’s special assistant’s office said they only knew that he was going abroad. The PM’s Secretariat told Online…
The writer has a master’s degree in conflict-resolution from Monterey Institute of International Studies in California Afghan refugees in Pakistan constitute the largest and most prolonged refugee population under UNHCR’s directive. Until June this year, Afghans could enter Pakistan without a visa, though Pakistanis required a visa to enter Afghanistan. After a recent mandate was issued to return refugees to their home-country, Pakistan has extended the deadline for a third time till March 2016. By…
At least 8 Taliban insurgents were killed during an operation conducted by the Afghan intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS) operatives in the vicinity of Kabul province. According to local officials in Qarabagh district of Kabul, the militants were killed late on Saturday night during an operation that was launched around 11:00 pm and ended around 1:00 am local time. District administrative chief Samiullah Sharifi confirmed the report and said another suspect was arrested by…
Officials from the ministries of interior and defense on Saturday welcomed U.S pressure on Islamabad and said Washington should increase this pressure to get Pakistan to fight terrorism. Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials said that anyone or any country that provides safe havens to the likes of the Taliban should be isolated, like that involving North Korea. Both ministries however said the change in world and regional policies against Pakistan is a good step forward…