KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Besieged Afghan officials in the southern province of Oruzgan said on Sunday that scores of regular Afghan soldiers had surrendered in the past week to the Taliban, a trend also occurring recently in other provinces. The latest case involved 41 Afghan National Army soldiers who surrendered and turned their base, the Mashal base in Chora District, over to the insurgents on Saturday night, according to Dost Mohammad Nayab, the spokesman for the…
Posts published in “Day: November 1, 2016”
ISLAMABAD: Law enforcement agencies have initiated combing operations in Peshawar after startling revelations by an arrested member of terrorist outfit Daesh about active sleeper cells operating in its surrounding areas, the sources told The News here on Sunday. According to the information, the law enforcement agencies recently arrested an alleged member of Daesh who was using four names — Hamza, Abdullah, Raja and Raju — to communicate with other members and facilitators of this terrorist…
A commander of Daesh militants who was in charge of training suicide attackers was killed in a Taliban attack in Farah province, local officials said on Sunday. The commander named Abdul Razaq Mehdi, was killed in the Taliban attack while ago in Golestan district of the province and is confirmed now, district governor of Golestan, Ajmal Zahid said. He added that Golestan shares border with southern Helmand province and therefore Taliban and Daesh insurgents can…
As the relationship between Pakistan and India goes from bad to worse, the threat of nuclear war is on the horizon. Both countries have been engaged in an arms race since their inception and the acquisition of nuclear weapons was seen as something of a success by both sides. However since then, every skirmish and harsh exchange raises the possibility of one side initiating an attack which would prove devastating for the entire south Asian…
On Sunday, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) announced yet another ‘massive’ assault on Pakistani troops in the Keran sector along the Line of Control, claiming to have killed at least 20 people on the Pakistani side. Some voices in the Indian media believe these casualties to be an “appropriate response” to the alleged death and later mutilation of an Indian soldier in a Friday attack near the working boundary. As always, unarmed civilians and unnamed…
China’s anti-graft campaign has netted 35 people suspected of being part of its 100 most wanted by September, most of whom were deported, highlighting China’s efforts to work together with the international community against corruption. China’s anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), reported Sunday that half of the 35 people fled to Western countries including the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. China does not have an extradition treaty with those…
The top Communist Party official overseeing the hi-tech hub of Shenzhen is tipped to head north to lead the government of a rust-belt province in a fresh round of senior personnel changes ahead of next year’s party congress, sources said on Sunday. Space scientist and Shenzhen party boss Ma Xingrui, 57, would soon be made Jilin province’s governor, filling the void left by Jiang Chaoliang, who was formally named Hubei’s party boss over the weekend,…
The biennial Airshow China expo in Zhuhai, which starts on Tuesday, will showcase many advanced, Chinese-made weapons to potential customers in Asia and Africa. More than 900 Chinese weapons will be on display, according to the organiser of the six-day show, which will feature more than 700 exhibitors from more than 42 countries and regions – with more than 400 exhibitors from China alone. But while military experts say the quality of cheaper Chinese weapons…
ISLAMABAD: The information minister has been shown the door. He allegedly made something known in the breach of national security. What role he played and how did that compromise the national interest remain unknown. Discretion in interpretation and discrimination in dealing with such breaches are at display. Whether the story published as outcome of this leak was true or false continues to be contested by none other than the government.Is there any proof to establish…
The resignation of Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed in the wake of publication of a story in Dawn regarding ‘revelation’ of contents of a high-level meeting of civil-military leadership has given birth to widespread speculations. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has come down hard on the government for taking this step, and making Rasheed a scapegoat. A statement from the Prime Minister Office (PMO) has said that the controversial story was a breach to…
The commotion caused by the Dawn story on the civilian government supposedly telling the military to take action against militants claimed its first victim as Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed’s resignation was accepted by the prime minister because the enquiry conducted by the interior ministry has found a “lapse” on his part. It is clear then that he is not at this point being accused of actually leaking the story and, in that respect, little headway…