LANDI KOTAL: Twelve suspected militants were killed in air strikes in Khyber Agency’s Tirah valley on Sunday. Official sources said the air strikes were conducted in Rajgal valley, a forested area in the Kukikhel tribal region, near the border with Afghanistan. They said the air strikes were ordered after a tip-off about the presence of militants in hideouts under the thick forest of Rajgal. Fighter planes of the Pakistan Air Force destroyed at least three…
Posts published in “Day: December 6, 2016”
KARACHI: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri sounded an alarm on Sunday when he contended that Pakistan was the next target of the Islamic State (IS). “God forbid! After Syria and Iraq, the next target of ISIS is Pakistan,” he said during a peace conference held at Nishtar Park here. “ISIS is gradually gaining a foothold in Pakistan … Its influence is also expanding,” he said. Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar and leader of…
The writer is a freelance journalist. NAWAZ Sharif must be upset that his “fantastic” phone call with Donald Trump has already been overshadowed by the latter’s next diplomatic gaffe — the president-elect’s phone call with the Taiwanese president, which has left Beijing enraged. While the media hype around the ridiculous readout of the Trump-Sharif call may subside, serious questions will remain about Pakistan’s diplomatic capability to manage foreign relations in an increasingly uncertain world. As…
In what can only be called a petty move, the Trump transition team has issued its own version of the Sharif-Trump telephone call, saying that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US president-elect Donald Trump did have a ‘productive conversation’ on Wednesday, but it lacked the “flowery language” included in the Pakistani version of this talk.It is disappointing that the incumbent US administration would imply that the office of the PM lied, that the US could…
WASHINGTON: With the arrival of a vanguard team in the US capital on Sunday, Pakistan launched a major diplomatic campaign to establish early ties with the Trump administration. Some media reports claim that as part of these efforts, Pakistan is also considering the possibility of sending Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend US President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural ceremony on Jan 20. Officials at the Pakistan Embassy, however, say that while Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs…
The writer is a freelance columnist based in Islamabad. The role of diplomacy resembles gathering intelligence and not only helps in decision-making but also projects the soft power of a state. The dominant feature of international relations has always been war that is fought and can be prevented using diplomatic channels. The real art of diplomacy is to achieve objectives and policy goals without going to war that is perhaps the essence of diplomacy. This…
According to the Energy International Agency (EIA) the demand for gas in India shall continue to grow in the medium term. This shall increase from 7.9 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in 2012 to 17.2 tcf by 2040. Gas is used in three main sectors, for power generation, for heating and cooking in homes, and in industry as a feedstock for fertiliser and chemicals as well as for furnaces and boilers particularly in industries such as…
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor Despite the moments when things have appeared to approach something resembling normalcy, for example as an apparently relaxed Narendra Modi dropped in as a surprise visitor to the wedding of Nawaz Sharif’s grand daughter at Jati Umra, or Sharif attended his inauguration in 2014, the Modi years have proved tough for Pakistan. With firing continuing across the Line of Control and border villages in the…
The writer is a member of staff. IN a way, a lot of it has been predictable. Nawaz got into trouble because he likes fancy homes and thinks business is politics. Imran — he hacks away the way he does because he wants power and disdains systems. Insurgents usually need to practise guerrilla politics. Civ-mil has been rocky because it really is a zero-sum game — the civilians want to get on top, but the…
If you have not heard words like terrific, great, exceptional, amazing and “will love to visit” about Pakistan and its people in a long time, that is understandable. But all these and other equally nice things were expressed by PEOTUS (President-Elect of the United States) who was completely bowled over by the phone call from PMIRP (Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan) the other day. The two reportedly got along superbly – as…
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. 1984-2004: The Sundarji Doctrine – named after General Krishnaswamy Sundarji – comprised a total of seven ‘holding corps’ (or defensive corps) and three ‘strike corps’ or offensive corps). The ‘holding corps’ were placed close to the Pakistani border while the ‘strike corps’ were based in central India. The ‘strike corps’ – I Corps (Mathura), II Corps (Ambala) and XXI Corps (Bhopal) – were made up of mechanised…