Posts published in September 2016

US support of Indian concerns of cross-border terrorism and its reiteration to Pakistan to “do more” with regard to terrorists using Pakistani soil to perpetrate attacks abroad raised quite a few alarm bells in Islamabad. All of this was said during the meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday as the two countries move closer together and extend cooperation on a number of things including…

US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to India was a reaffirmation of a truth that has long been evident: the US now counts India as one of its closest allies. There is economic and political logic behind this closeness. India’s galloping development along with its massive market makes it too tempting an economic partner for the US to resist. Politically, both countries count China as a rival to be countered. This forces the US…

WASHINGTON: The US State Department has said that the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups that operate inside Pakistan and along the Afghan border are a continued security threat to the entire South Asian region and beyond. At the Tuesday afternoon news briefing, spokesman John Kirby also said that a trilateral dialogue of the United States, India and Afghanistan would be a way forward for deciding Afghanistan’s future. The dialogue is scheduled in New York…

CHAKWAL: A large amount of public money may go to waste after uplift projects worth millions of rupees in the hometown of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were abandoned by the Punjab government. Gah is located some 25 kilometres to the west of Chakwal city and a number of development projects were started in the village in 2004 by the then President Musharraf as a goodwill gesture and as an attempt to improve relations…

In another twist to Wednesday night’s reports that the chief of Hong Kong-based newspaper Sing Pao Daily News might be the target of a global manhunt initiated by mainland Chinese police, the media boss issued an angry statement claiming he was under political revenge attack for refusing to submit to a “certain power”. Gu Zhuoheng, 44, chairman of Sing Pao Media Enterprises, was a wanted fugitive, the semi official Hong Kong China News Agency reported,…

The top officer overseeing operations in the former Jinan military command is being investigated for corruption as part of a crackdown on senior figures in the People’s Liberation Army, according to a media report. Major General Zhang Ming, the chief of staff with the Jinan command before it was dissolved in January, resigned as a delegate to the National People’s Congress (NPC) in early July. Zhang tendered his resignation after he was found to be…

The suspected terrorist attack on the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek has yet again exposed weak links in security in Central Asia, a key focus of Beijing’s energy and overseas investment agenda. With the suicide bombing pointing to a resurgence in terrorist threats in the region, analysts have called on Beijing to weigh security concerns carefully as it rolls out its ambitious “One Belt, One Road” scheme. The analysts said the timing of the…

(Names have been changed to protect identity as the workers are not authorised to speak to journalists) KARACHI: Thousands of Pakistani labourers working in Saudi Arabia fear arrest and hardship as they continue to work in the country with unpaid salaries and expired work permits. “We rush back to our quarters immediately after work,” one worker tells Dawn in a telephone interview. “We are too scared of the police to step outside.” At least 100…

The writer works for the Jinnah Institute in Islamabad. The war in Afghanistan is showing little sign of a seasonal let-up. As a successful Taliban campaign quashes hopes for a quick and easy settlement, the jury is still out on the timing of the decision to eliminate Mullah Mansour at the start of the summer. The only clear takeaway is that the events of May 23 have effectively redrawn the insurgency’s battle lines: the organisational…

Australian military forces will be able to target Islamic State logistics and support personnel as well as combat fighters under a change in the law aimed at protecting defence personnel from possible criminal prosecutions. The change in legislation due soon will bring Australian law into line with international law, allaying fears that Australian Defence Force members could be prosecuted in Australian courts for military actions that are legal internationally, the Chief of the Defence Force,…